As A llama’s view:

جو پردے میں ہے پنہاں یہ چشم بینا دیکھ لیتی ہے

زمانے کی طبیعت کا تقاضا دیکھ لیتی ہے

کیا رفعت کی لذت سے نہ دل کوآشنا تو نے

گذاری عمر پستی میں مثلِ نقشِ تو نے

“Jo parday main hai penhan ye chasm e bina daikh laiti hai

Zamanay ki tabyat ka taqqaza daikh laiti hai

Kya RIFFAT ki lazat say Na dil KO ashna to nay

Guzari omr pasti main missal e naqshe to nay”

What is RIFFAT? Khudi? Hieght? A Very Easy but a difficult question which has to be answered. It is thrash about to reaching spirituality, understanding one’s distinctiveness, developing a sense of responsibility, having kindness and intelligence, drawing from universal elements to feeling the fragile human emotions.

Aspects of very human conditions, the ascend and the descend of character of a person or a nation, concepts of loyalty and self-reliance and a whole modification of subjects such as the power of a prayer, historic places and monuments, events and people are appraised.

If God has made the night, then humans have made the lamp, and if God has made deserts and mountains, then humans have made parks and meadows.

Humans must, therefore, strive to be perfect humans, and that is a goal yet to be achieved.

“Gard-e-Laymay Aeena Bay Jhooar assT

War behar Faam Gair Quran muzamar assT

Roz-e-Mehsaar Khwar-o-ruswa Kun mera

Bay Naseeb az boosa Pakaan mera”

Translation would be roughly…. O lord if there is something else in Work then your words (Quran) … Drag me to insult on the Day of Judgment.

(“Self. “ Iqbal’s use of term “Khudi” is synonymous with the word of “Rooh” as mentioned in the Quran. “Rooh” is that divine spark which is present in every human being and was present in Adam for which God ordered all of the angels to prostrate in front of Adam. But one has to make a great journey of transformation to realize that divines park which is “Khudi”. A semblance of this journey could be understood by the relationship of fragrance and seed. Every seed has the potential for fragrance with in it but to reach its fragrance the seed must go through all the different changes and stages. First breaking out of its shell. Then breaking the ground to come into the light developing roots at the same time. Then fighting against the elements to develop leaves and flowers. Finally reaching its pinnacle by attaining the fragrance that was hidden within it. Same way to reach one’s Khudi or rooh one needs to go through multiple stages which Iqbal himself went through and encourages other to travel this spiritual path. Like not all seeds reach the level of fragrance, many die along the way incomplete. Same way only few people could climb this Mount Everest of spirituality, most get consumed along the way by materialism. Iqbal condemns self–destruction. For him the aim of life is self-realization and self-knowledge. He charts the stages through which the “Self” has to pass before finally arriving at its point of perfection, enabling the knower of the “Self” to become the vicegerent of God.

            “Self” has to pass before finally arriving at its point of perfection, enabling the knower of the “Self” to become the vicegerent of Allah on earth. Iqbal believes the answers to essential questions regarding the ego are important in determining morality for both the society and the individual.

            It is this very concept which when awakened in someone, not only does it revolutionize the person but through it provides the human society with the true essence and meaning of existence.

            Man’s dignity and honor was eternally guarded when Allah ordered him to bow and prostrate in front of no one but Him. His self-respect was guarded by ordering him to bow to God only so that he might not be placing his sacred forehead on every door step. In this way human was equipped with the protective shield of Khudi. Satan coaxed human with deviousness and betrayed human in such a way that man once forgot his status and claimed to be God and at the other instance prostrated before his own fabricated idols. Self-Respect is a legacy of acceptance laced with humble appreciation and fueled by contribution. Having a healthy sense of Self Respect empowers us to put our middle finger tip to conventional wisdom and so is an essential element to creating and living the life of our dreams.

            Society wide, respect is a social virtue. We are taught to “respect our parents”, “respect our elders”, and “respect authority”. To respect is to pay homage to people, institutions or situations, circumstances that, through their own achievements, successes and / or experiences, deserve to be considered in high regard. As an extension, self-respect is a virtue also, gained through positively contributing to society and being an active member of our communities, but for us to actually feel self-respect. These contributions need to be coupled with acceptance and appreciation.

            We accept ourselves by acknowledging who and what we are just one of 6.8 billion human beings populating this planet. All with individual needs, complicated by emotions, powered by intellectual capabilities and prone to making mistakes as a means to improve, develop and grow wiser. When we acknowledge the reality and truth of this and accept ourselves and others for not being prefect, we lesson the burden on ourselves and our awareness expands as we contemplate beyond the four corners of the room around us, to the greater and more profound perspective of thinking about our place, as human beings, in this world. When we turn our thoughts forwards the ‘bigger picture’. It is difficult not to be humbled and appreciate the sheer complexity and enormity of the universe we live in and we pay homage to ourselves by recognizing and appreciating our place within it all, and when coupled with our positive contributions to this world, we naturally develop a strong and geniuses sense of Self Respect, a Self Respect that is no dependent on anyone or anything else.

            While elf Respect is synonymous with self-esteem. They are actually two very different things, yet are often confused and the meanings enchanted. Self Esteem is a traditionally more self-absorbed and egotistical consideration that reflects our exaggerated and often unfounded perception of our own self-worth which is then echoed in our behavior e.g. someone with “ high self-esteem” would think “ I am the best” and would behave arrogantly as if he is superior to everyone else, while some-one with “ low self-esteem” would think } I am the worst} and behave with trepidation and timid ness, whereas when we have a high level of self-respect, it is earned though our positive contributions coupled with our accepting and appreciative mindset.

            From this strong and genuine sense of Self Respect a healthy measure of Self Esteem is gained because, despite wheat ever shortcomings and failures, or talents and successes we may have, we come to understand that ultimately we are all equal. Equal in the sense that we are all human beings, experiencing life and all dealing with our own unique challenges and journey’s while alive.

            If you have little self-respect ( you do not accept yourself as an inherently flawed human being and do not appreciate your connection to this world) you will easily torture yourself for making mistakes, saying the wrong things, or making the wrong choices, and may ultimately stop living a rewarding and satisfying life out of fear of failure, or you may agonize over trying to be someone you are not, and if you are someone who does accept your mistake prone inheritance and appreciates your connection to this world, but does not contribute positively to society, you will be missing a vital factor and so will not be able to enjoy the satisfaction and contentment associated with earned Self Respect.

            When we have a strong and genuine sense of Self Respect we feel empowered to define and live by our values. Because we accept ourselves, appreciate our connection and place in this world and are conscious to act with good deeds we do not search for approval and permission externally and we do not look to other people’s opinions and perceptions of us as a measure of our own self-worth. Instead we give ourselves approval and permission to act in accordance to what we believe is right and what should be done and under the wings of this empowerment, we feel satisfied and content with ourselves and abilities. Having a strong and genuine sense of Self Respect is especially pertinent to creating your own concept of the Ultimate Lifestyle because by the very nature of creating and living a life which is not in strict keeping with conventional living means you will face objections, criticism and general misunderstandings about your intentions, so a healthy dose of Self Respect will arm you will the confidence and belief in your decisions as you go about creating and living your life aligned to your own values and passions.. Self -Respect can be developed in several ways:-

1.                              Positive Contributions

Positively contribute to your community. This involves helping others whenever and wherever possible and positively contributing by being kind, compassionate and generous – to yourself as well. Be selfless and expect nothing in return. Help an elderly person with their grocery bags, hold the door open for a stranger, volunteer for non-profit organizations, recognize opportunities to assist and offer your services. Proactively focusing on your own personal self-growth is also a positive contribution to society- personal development leads to greater self-awareness which ultimately helps you connect and help with other people and when we focus on helping other people, our personal problems melt away in comparison to the collective needs of our world and it feels good to know we are making a positive difference.

THE EDUCATION OF THE EGO:

“The ego is fortified by love (Ishq). This word is used in a very wide sense and means the desire to assimilate, to absorb. Its highest form is the creation of values and ideals and the endeavour to realize them. Love individualizes the lover as well as the believed. The effort to realize the most unique individuality individualizes the seeker and implies the individuality of the sought, for nothing else would satisfy the nature of the seeker. As love fortifies the Ago, asking (sua’l) weakens it. “” All that is achieved without personal effort comes under Sua’l. The son of a rich man who inherits his father’s wealth is an “asker” (beggar); so is every-one who thinks the thoughts of others. Thus, in order to fortify the Ego we should cultivate love, i.e. the power of assimilative action, and avoid all forms of “asking”, I.e. In Action.

The Ego in its movement towards uniqueness has to pass through three stages:-

(a)                           Obedience to the Law.

(b)                           Self-control, which is the highest form of self-consciousness or Ego- hood!

(c)                            Divine vicergency.

“This (divine vicergency, niyabat-e-Alahi) is the third and last stage of human development on earth. The naib (vicergent) is the vicegerent of God on earth. He is the completes Ego, the goal of humanity, the acumen of life both in mind and body; in him the discord of our mental life becomes a harmony. This highest power is united in him with the highest knowledge. In this life thought and action, instinct and reason become one. He is the last fruit of the tree of humanity, and all the trial of a painful evolution are justified because he is to come attend. He is the real ruler of mankind; his kingdom is the kingdom of God on earth. Out of the richness of his nature he lavishes the wealth of life on others, and brings them nearer and nearer to himself. The more we advance in evolution, the nearer we get to him. In approaching him we are raising ourselves in the scale of life. The development of humanity both in mind and body is a condition precedent to his birth. For the present he is a mere ideal, but the evolution of humanity is tendering towards the production of an ideal race of more or less unique individuals who will become his fitting parents. Thus the kingdom of God on earth means the democracy of more or less unique individuals, presided over by the most unique individual possible on this earth.