Feature Post

Top

"Fail to plan, plan to fail"


The lifestyle and thoughts of Hazrat Ali has always been a source of motivation in my life; Probably mostly because I heard alot of stories of the Might, and Kindness, and Bravery, and his Thoughtfulness. There is this famous story that used to roam around us all the time when we were young: Once, a man came to Hazrat Ali and questioned that exactly how much control do we have on our lives? Hazrat Ali smiled thoughtfully, and asked him to stand and fold one of his leg; The man followed, and looked at Hazrat Ali as to how this is going to answer his question; Harzat Ali said; fold your other leg. The man wondered, puzzled, said he cannot do that. Thats about it, thats all the control that you have on your life.

This is a very well known story that most of us has heard, but I believe seldom are the people who would know the meaning of this story. And well being "smart" I believe I am able to "decypher" the meaning (0:

All it means, that everything, basically every "Result", is based upon effort. The more the effort, the better the effort, the more "Managed-Effort", the more well-planned-effort, the more predictable-obvious-desireable-result.

And if, after well planned effort, you did not get the desired-result, so according to Hazrat Ali, that is out of the control of our life. Thats where the "Fate" comes in. I donot have to do anything and that I "cannot-do" anything about it. Exactly like the man who couldnt fold the other leg at the same time, otherwise he would fall down. And the good thing is that atleast he tried; otherwise he wouldnt have known.

And I believe in effort. Result is the outcome of the effort. "Fail to plan, plan to fail".

Obviously I am talking about "normal" human beings, and not the especial-exceptional-cases.

thinking about this story some years back, following was the "aamad('synchronous-flow-of-incoming-thoughts' is how I would define it :0)" I had:

~ poochay hain kay maula, ye taqdeer kya bala?
kehtay hain kay koshish mein hai taqdeer bas chupi.

~ jana meray maulna nay, Rehman ko tabhi.
iraadon kay tootnay pay tadab'bur kiya jabhi!

The second verse is from a quote from Hazrat Ali, that I like, and that I "rendered" into a poetic-verse. (o:

I like this: "Most gulls don't bother to learn more than the simplest facts of flight—how to get from shore to food and back again. For most gulls, it is not flying that matters, but eating. For this gull, though, it was not eating that mattered, but flight. More than anything else, Jonathan Livingston Seagull loved to fly." — Richard Bach, 'Jonathan Livingston Seagull'