Distant Drums Sound Good (Aawaaz-e-Duhul Az Door Khush Mee Numayad)
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
21 November
2022
" When Your Small Cottage Provides All
Comforts, Opting For A Palace Is Unwise. "
-A Turkish maxim
" A Bird In The Hand Is Worth Two In The
Bush."
-An English proverb
" I Prefer My Simple Village Home To
Valhalla's Magnificent Dome. "
-W H Auden
Two fish
were in a pond and they were quite safe and secure there. There was a nearby
river. One day, one fish said that life in a small pond was not exciting. So
both must move on to the river. But the other fish said that life in a river
was risky as there were bigger fish, which could kill them. The other fish
wasn't happy. One day it left the pond and its old friend and went to the river.
Immediately, a bigger fish killed the fish from the pond.
Moral of
the story is: While it's good to explore new and bigger horizons, it's
stupidity to risk one's life in exploring new avenues. We all must know our
capacities and limitations. Self-preservation is the most wise thing in life
because Jaan Hai Toh Jahan Hai. A new place, new job, new responsibility
and a new girlfriend/boyfriend may appear to be very exciting from a distance
but the reality becomes obvious only when we jump into the new sphere without
prior thinking and doing proper homework.
Self-preservation
invariably entails discretion. It's not sluggish complacency. In the military
parlance, retreat is an act of discretion. Don't we often say, discretion is
the better part of valour? It (discretion) is the preservation of life and
conservation of force and energy. It's an insightful approach to life and its
varied issues. If you're alive today, you can look forward to having a
tomorrow, a better and greater one at that. Looking to enjoy a distant and
seemingly exciting and ever-elusive tomorrow has its pitfalls. Remember the
Persian adage, Aawaaz-E-Duhul Az Door Khush Mee Numayad (Door Ke Dhol
Suhane Lagte Hain; Eng. equivalent: blue are the hills that are far from
us). It's, therefore, a must to be aware of the ground realities and facts
about the new place we're going to venture into.
Sahir, an
eternal single like yours truly, once advised a fellow Muslim friend, " Ek
Biwi Zindagi Ko Dozakh Mein Badalne Ke Liye Kaafi Hai. Kisliye Chaar-Chaar
Chahiye? " (One wife is enough to turn your life into a hell. Why on
earth should you long to have four?). So very wise!
Safety of a
smaller place is much more desirable than the insecurity of a bigger place.
It's better to reign in hell than to serve in heaven. We all must strive to
make the 'small' place as good as it gets rather than rush and go somewhere
endangering our life and existence. A state of certitude is always desirable
however small or humdrum it may seem to others.
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A regular
columnist for New Age Islam, Sumit Paul is a researcher in comparative
religions, with special reference to Islam. He has contributed articles to the
world's premier publications in several languages including Persian.
URL: https://newageislam.com/spiritual-meditations/distant-drums-sound-good/d/128443