wrong and right...

Walking through this strange landscape of rolling sand dunes, we met many people; people with very idiosyncratic behaviors. While some were alone, and others were traveling in groups, their numbers varying from a very few to numbers so large that I couldn’t count them, they all seemed to share a strong aversion toward us. This, however, wasn’t something I would have wanted otherwise. As far as I could tell, they were all mad, or at least behaving as if they were.

Thus, while a whole procession had gone past us walking backwards, another, made of hundreds, was crawling its way toward us. A few hours earlier, a large group with members, each carrying a massive stone, made their way in front of us, under a brazing sun, led by their strongest –the man carrying the bulkiest rock, while their elders were falling behind without anyone to care for them. Whomever fell was just left behind. Every few paces, they all would stop, drop their load, and prostrate themselves before the stones, before picking them up once more and continuing ahead. Sometimes, a challenger would attack the leader to take his place. The men would fight to death, and whomever survived would be the group’s new leader.

Completely baffled, I asked Aslam the meaning of what I had witnessed. His reply was as follow, “Every group you met and will meet, has come together because of fear, fear of tomorrow, fear of not finding water, of not finding food. Somehow, they’ve come to believe that they have found the way that assures their survival in this desert.

“Some walk backwards because they believe that in doing so, they are behaving, according to the laws of creation, in a manner that assures that they are rewarded by their gods, who shall reward them with water, food and shelter. It is the same for those who crawl. And it is the same for those who carry those rocks, who judge their merit by the weight they can lift, who show no kindness for their own elders and weak, and who can kill for the privilege of being first to drink and eat when the opportunity arises.

“But,” I protested, “You know how to find water. I’ve seen you. Why don’t you show them? Why don’t you help them?”

He shook his head, “I’ve tried and succeeded only in angering them. It doesn’t work. They believe that they are right. To them my way isn’t an option. To them I am wrong. To them I am disrespectful of their traditions.”

“Can’t they see that they are suffering?”

“They aren’t ready. They believe that they have to suffer to deserve whatever they are seeking. I cannot change that. I am following the path of Noor. I am living my life according to the truths She shows me. These aren’t truths I can force on others. No matter how painful and wrong this seems, you need to accept that not everyone is ready for Her way. In fact, we will meet many going on very different paths than yours, doing what they whole-heartedly feel is right. And no matter how wrong it may seem, you have absolutely no right in judging them. Life is a journey, and while the paths may seem to differ, sooner or later, we all end up having walked through the very situations we once stood against.


“What is right and what is wrong are but perceptions from a particular point of view. While one may believe that the wrong can, or should be eliminated, the truth is what is deemed right can only exist in juxtaposition with its counterpart. They are inseparable facets of one reality. What is right and what is wrong come together, like light and darkness. One can only be understood, or at least experienced, in relation to its opposite.


Thus, it is best to abstain from judging others, and to focus on being as true to yourself as you possibly can. Only then will you create the change that you wish to see, not only in yourself, but in the whole of reality as you experience it.”

To be continued...