When Thinking Turns an Apple (Seb) Into A Fig (Anjeer)!
By
Sumit Paul, New Age Islam
3 November
2023
Woh Baat
Sare Fasane Mein Jis Ka Zikra Na Tha/ Voh Baat Un Ko Bahut Naa-Gavaar Guzri Hai (What wasn't mentioned in the whole
story/ Became particularly objectionable to the other person).
I'm afraid,
Mr Anburaj neither knows Urdu nor does he have the intelligence to dig the
subtle sarcasm hidden in Faiz Ahmad Faiz's famous couplet. We've monomaniac
Anburajs all around us whose only vocation is to spread negativity and see what
they want to see.
This
reminds me of Shaikh Sadi's Persian moral story 'Seb Dargash' (A cluster of
apples) in his 'Gulistan.' By the way, Noam Chomsky called Shaikh Sadi,
world's first systematic psychologist. Interestingly, 'Seb' for an apple
is actually a Persian word. Once a fruit-seller had a box of apples that
couldn't be sold till the evening. He was quite frustrated. Then a customer
came and asked for a box of Anjeer (fig; yet another Persian word!). The
fruit-seller said that he didn't have Anjeer. He only had apples.
"But I want, figs," the customer insisted. Fruit-seller told him that
he had an unsold box of apples which he could give him for half the
price." Give me half its price and when you go home, close your eyes and
think that you're eating figs, not apples. In this way, you can save your money
and also get the taste of figs. After all, it's your thinking that turns an
apple into a fig," the fruit-seller tried to convince the customer and
succeeded eventually!
This
parable, written a millennium ago, underlines the power of thinking and
visualization. It has its negative ramifications as well because when it's
practised by people like Anburaj, they tend to think and see what they want to
see. They create a narrative of their own thinking because they're convinced
that what they're doing or thinking is infallible. We've full of such people.
Now Hindus have created a narrative that Muslims are pariahs and heathens. So,
Muslims must be banned from participating in Hindu festivals like Garba,
Dussehra, Karva Chauth and what not?
Just the
way, thinking can change an apple into a fig, Hindus' monomaniac thinking has
made them see every Muslim as a potential terrorist or a jihadi. People who're
justifying the killings of poor Palestinians, perpetrated by the marauding
Israelis are like the monomaniac whose name I've already mentioned.
The
Problem with Hindus at The Moment Is:
They've
been lionised to think in an audaciously hateful manner. Now a majority of
Hindu's favourite hobby-horse is to condemn Muslims. Every Muslim is a
potential criminal like every apple is a fig! These misguided and fanatic
Hindus see what they want to see. A sort of preconceived thinking, prejudice is
a better word, regulates their (bovine) brains. This is alarming. We've a
plethora of such fanatics whose only motive and objective is vilification.
These people cannot eat a morsel without cursing and abusing Muslims. Alas,
we've stooped too low,
-----
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/thinking-apple-seb-fig-anjeer/d/131038
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