Nature opens the great treasure of God-realization, believed MAULANA WAHIDUDDIN KHAN, and advised seekers to look at the sun, trees, rivers, birds and other beautiful bounties of creation to find God
From early in life, Maulana Wahiduddin Khan used to love to live in nature. Nature for him was a complete school. Nature also contributed greatly to the formation of his thoughts in life.
By learning from nature he realized God, his Creator and derived many principles of life such as positive thinking. In nature, Maulana ji found the glory of the Creator which could be seen in the form of His creation.
He said that the sun symbolically displays that maarifah or God-realization ― It is that which enlightens the existence of man from the inner self to the outer self.
The flowing river tells man to achieve God-realization in such a way that it flows as a spring in the soul, Maulana ji believed.
“The lush green branches of a tree when swayed by wind convey the message to man to achieve God-realization in such a way that it becomes a thrilling experience for him,” he added.
Further, the chirping of birds tells man that discovering the wonders of God should happen in such a way that praises of God flow from his tongue. The greatness of the mountains silently expresses God’s greatness.
Maulana ji believed that both nature and science opens the great treasure of God-Realization for a person. “Through creation we can find the Creator,” he often said.
He elaborated: “Everywhere there was the unpolluted world of nature which taught me the lesson of universal morality. The universe is a great library of maarifah or God-realization.”
From Maulana ji’s love for nature sprung forth his respect for all living beings and his belief in vegetarianism. “He was a vegetarian by nature,” says Dr Rajat Malhotra, Disciple of Maulana Wahiduddin Khan and Global Coordinator of CPS International, Center for Peace and Spirituality.
“He used to tell us that when he was a child and his mother would feed him an egg dish, he would immediately take it out,” Dr Malhotra said. Another good habit about his food was that he used to prefer simple food and would never waste it. He said that if we cannot produce anything on our own, that does not give us the right to waste it either.
Maulana ji strongly felt that Islam is a religion of peace and with its universal teachings conveyed to humanity the Creation Plan of God. It has answers to the basic question of every human being ― that why is he in this world and why this world was created.
Maulana ji’s focus was on wishing entire humanity well and for this, he worked tirelessly to bring about peace, unity and harmony in the world.
Note: The information in this article is based on a Q & A with Dr Rajat Malhotra, Maulana ji’s Disciple and Global Coordinator of CPS International, Center for Peace and Spirituality.
Oswald Pereira, a senior journalist, has also written eight books, including The Newsroom Mafia, Chaddi Buddies, The Krishna-Christ Connexion, How to Create Miracles in Our Daily Life and Crime Patrol: The Most Thrilling Stories. Oswald is a disciple of Paramhansa Yogananda, and practises Kriya Yoga.