JAMMU & KASHMIR :
Srinagar :
Even as tension brews in Kashmir following the killing of Hizbul commander, a Muslim couple is defying restrictions to feed a Pandit family across river Jhelum.
As Kashmir burns after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani, and half the state is under curfew, a lone Kashmiri woman and her husband braved a strict curfew to get some food across to her Pandit friend.
At first glance, Zubeda Begum and her husband walking on a deserted road in Srinagar with a bag of food items looked like any another desperate family trying to fend for itself in the strife-torn city. However, this couple was actually risking their lives to get some food to a friend, who had telephoned from across the river Jehlum to inform them of their plight.
“She had called me in the morning saying her family needed food supplies. They have an ailing grandmother staying with them. I am taking the food to them. It is difficult but we are trying to reach them,” Zubeda said.
CURFEW, LACK OF TRANSPORT DID NOT DETER THE COUPLE
The shops and establishments remain shut for days and there is no means of transport on the roads. To add to their woes, police have limited movement of people.
According to the couple, the risk and effort of the long walk was compensated with the warmth they received after arriving at the doorsteps of Diwanchand’s flat in Jawahar Nagar.
“Everyone is suffering here. We are so glad that these people came here. This is where the humanity lies,” said Diwanchand Pandit.
Diwanchand and his family have been living in the Valley for many years. He works at All India Radio and his wife is a teacher in a local school where Zubeda also works.
DIWANCHAND’S FAMILY DESPERATELY SOUGHT HELP
Diwanchand and his family, including an ailing grandmother, were desperate for help as crisis mounted in the Valley.
Kashmir has been in the grip of unrest for last four days. Violent protests are being reported from many areas following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani.
In the midst of this violence, Zubeda’s heartwarming story is a perfect example of how humanity prevails even in times of adversity.
source: http://www.indiatoday.intoday.in / IndiaToday / Home> News> India / by Shuja-ul-Haq / posted by Bijin Jose / Srinagar, July 11th, 2016
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Views
“Reform Yourself Instead of Confronting Others” (By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan)
http://newageislam.com/islam-and-spiritualism/maulana-wahiduddin-khan-for-new-age-islam/reform-yourself-instead-of-confronting-others/d/107963
Words of Wisdom from Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa
“With sincerity and earnestness one can realize God through all religions. The Vaishnavas will realize God, and so will the Saktas, the Vedantists, and the Brahmos. The Mussalmans and Christians will realize Him too. All will certainly realize God if they are earnest and sincere.
“Some people indulge in quarrels, saying, ‘One cannot attain anything unless one worships our Krishna,’ or, ‘Nothing can be gained without the worship of Kali, our Divine Mother,’ or ‘One cannot be saved without accepting the Christian religion.’ This is pure dogmatism. The dogmatist says, ‘My religion alone is true, and the religions of others are false.’ This is a bad attitude. God can be reached by different paths.
[…]
“Once, some blind men chanced to come near an animal that someone told them was an elephant. They were asked what the elephant was like. The blind men began to feel its body. One of them said the elephant was like a pillar; he had touched only its leg. Another said it was like a winnowing-fan; he had touched only its ear. In this way, the others, having touched its tail or belly, gave their different versions of the elephant. Just so, a man who has seen only one aspect of God limits God to that alone […]
(Extracted from The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna [Abridged Edition], Sri Ramakrishna Math, Chennai, 2002, pp. 177-78)
Words of Wisdom from Sufi Hazrat Inayat Khan Sahib
A study of life is the greatest of all religions, and there is no greater and more interesting study. Those who have mastered all grades of activity, they above all experience life in all its aspects. They are like swimmers in the sea who float on the water of life and do not sink.
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If we only knew how much the study of life can tell us! One could go into the British Museum and read every book in the building, and yet not obtain satisfaction. It is not study, it is not research, it is not inquiry which gives this knowledge; it is actually going through the experiences of life, witnessing life in its different aspects and in its different phases or spheres; that is what reveals the ideal of life. … Look not on life as a person would watch a play on the stage. Rather look upon it as a student who is learning at college.
It is not a passing show; it is not a place of amusement in which to fool our life away. It is a place for study, in which every sorrow, every heartbreak brings a precious lesson. It is a place in which to learn by one’s own suffering, by the study of the suffering of others; to learn from the people who have been kind to us as well as from the people who have been unkind. It is a place in which all experiences, be they disappointments, struggles, and pains, or joys, pleasures, and comforts, contribute to the understanding of what life is, and the realization what it is. Then do we awake to the religion of nature, which is the only religion. And the more we understand it, the greater our life becomes, and the more of a blessing will our life be for others.