To Live at All Is Miraculous Enough
By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
19 March 2026
“People usually consider walking on water or in thin air a miracle. But I think the real miracle is not to walk either on water or in thin air, but to walk on earth. Every day we are engaged in a miracle which we don't even recognize: a blue sky, white clouds, green leaves, the black, curious eyes of a child—our own two eyes. All is a miracle.”
― Thich Nhat Hanh, The Miracle of Mindfulness: An Introduction to the Practice of Meditation
“Blind nature will nearly always select the most probable, but man can let the most improbable become actual.”
― Hans Jonas
Once someone approached a disciple of the Muslim mystic Baha' al-Din Naqshband (1318-1389) and said, " Tell me why your Master conceals his miracles. I've personally collected data that shows beyond any doubt that he's been present in more than one place at a time; that he healed people by the power of his prayers but tells them it was the work of nature; that he played people in their troubles and then attributes it to their good luck. Why does he do this? " I know exactly what you are talking about," said the disciple, " for I've observed these things myself. And I think I can give you the answer to your question. First, the Master recoils from being the centre of attention. And secondly, he is convinced that once people develop an interest in the miraculous, they've no desire to learn anything of true spiritual value. " Faith, I mean true faith, is never miracle-based. That one requires miracles to believe, shows the fundamental weakness of belief and dilapidation of faith.
Miracle is sorcery. It's a sleight of hand and exploitation of collective gullibility. Once Vivekananda saw a hatha yogi walking on water as if he was walking on a surface, he asked him where he learned this 'great art', ' a never before miracle.' That man proudly replied that he spent 24 years of austerity and learnt how to walk on water from a sanyasi in the Himalayas. ' Sad, very sad', said Vivekananda.' ' You and your guru wasted two decades for imparting and learning a mere magical trick.
You could have utilised these years to uplift the lives of the poor. That would have been the greatest miracle, because untiring service to mankind is no less a miracle. Moreover, by learning how to walk on water, you just inflated your ego and wasted your life on earth and this has helped no one.' Those who are firm in faith, never believe in miracles. And those who are truly enlightened, never resort to miracles to attract their followers. Human life itself is the greatest miracle. No other so-called miracles can eclipse it. And every golden morning is nature's own way to mesmerise us with a miracle. Seeing an infant's guileless and angelic face is a miracle. Hearing someone's unaffected and hearty laughter is a miracle because in this age of universal gloominess and deep-rooted sorrows, a consummate laughter is an unexpected phenomenon. It's a miracle.
To quote Jamaal Sitapuri, 'Is daur mein tere chehre pe hansi / Hansne waale tu kahin farishta toh nahin?' (There's a streak of smile on your lips in such difficult times / Man tell me, are you an angel?' Despite so much bloodshed, so many wars, conflicts, skirmishes and so much violence, man has not lost his inherent goodness and faith in mankind and our audacious optimism that a day will come when there will be no differences, no distinctions and no discrimination among men and no boundaries among nations. However, Utopian all this may sound and seem, is it not a great miracle? Expecting that all war mongers will one day realise their blunders and peace will return is no less than a miracle. To have an unwavering faith in anything and in any idea is a faith of the most sublime form. Motivation Guru Shiv Khera always says, 'Vishwas khud ek chamtakaar hai' (Faith itself is a miracle). What else is required to be qualified as a miracle when miracles are scattered around aplenty? You have to see the miracles for there to be miracles. We require miracles when we lose faith in ourselves and in our universal goodness.
Remember the words of the modern American sage Ralph Waldo Emerson, 'Look deeper. The whole world and your own life will appear as the greatest miracles.' In fine, the whole world is a series of miracles, but we're so used to them we call them ordinary things. To live at all is miraculous enough. So, create your own miracles; do what you think you cannot do. Let miracles be subjective like your dreams. Let them be private because to love someone is to see a miracle invisible 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/live-at-all-miraculous-enough/d/139321
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