Smell of 2004

Bismillah. The smell of mint steams up from the cup this winter morning. Then I hear the news on the radio, read the paper, devour my breakfast, and go out and live the whole day in a state of forgetfulness. Where did it go?

But maybe I can remember myself when I return home, as my hand touches the banister. I can suddenly observe and even feel on my skin the warmth of the lighting in the hall, and as I open the door to my silent apartment, will breathe in the air of my home. I taste the air. Perhaps now for a moment my apartment is a part of something. I am aware I am part of something: “Remember Me and I will remember you”. Yes, for a moment….then I am taken by friends, family, feelings and a thousand thoughts.

When we pray to Him we also truly come home to ourselves. But can we really see how quickly we forget that state of inner freedom after our Salat? Can we observe that loss as it occurs? Without consciousness we lose the ability to embody peaceful action in our lives. But if we are to really sense the scent of our being, we might be grateful for the gift of life. We might also deeply understand how peace is built on justice and love, not only on such words as these!

How do we build a safer world in 2004? To start with words, we can replace threats with real communication. The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation gathering currently taking place in Islamabad encourages us to hope. President Gen. Pervez Musharraf hosted all seven regional leaders - including Indian Prime Minister Vajpayee - at a dinner on Sunday evening, and Pakistan state television showed the leaders of the nuclear-armed neighbors shaking hands. Vajpayee stated, “Mutual suspicions and petty rivalries have continued to haunt us… History can remind us, guide us, teach us or warn us. It should not shackle us."

To move from words to actions will be of course a challenge. What can help us be free and unshackled by the past?

Jiddu Krishnamurti has observed; “When the lake is very quiet you can see the depth of it, you can see every fish, every weed, every flutter; similarly, when the mind is completely motionless one can see very, very clearly. This can only take place when there is a suspension of thought, not in order to resolve the problem, but to see it significance, its fragmentary nature, and then thought of itself becomes quiet, motionless, not only at the conscious level but profoundly. That is why self-knowledge is essential…”(On Freedom, 1991 p. 30).

This creative, meditative state is a great source of human understanding. This grace is not the special turf of Hindu or Muslim or Christian or Jew, but is perhaps the highest common ground we share. However this special state of understanding not well nourished by modern educational methods that replace wisdom with information, not well supported by hectic or political work conditions or by the technology we all rely upon. It is however supported by Salat and Dhikr.

Now at this time of hope, we hope no more assassination attempts will be made. It is time to understand our shared humanity. Our world will not know peace through a balance of terror— this primitive idea that India and Pakistan should each have nuclear weapons. Let them move to finally sign the non-proliferation agreements before it is too late, but Israel must do the same. Dr. El Baradei of the United Nations estimates that 35 to 40 nations now have the knowledge to build an atomic weapon. In place of the nonproliferation treaty, which he calls obsolete, he proposes revising the world's system to place any facilities that can manufacture fissile material under multinational control.

However, as the New York Times notes in long January 4th article focusing on Pakistan’s promiscuous sharing of nuclear technology, “Mr. Bush and the leaders of the other established nuclear states are reluctant to renegotiate a stronger treaty because it will reopen the question of why some states are permitted to hold nuclear weapons and others are not.”

Even now the US and most likely Israel are developing plans to help “safeguard” Pakistan’s so-called “Islamic bomb” in case of further instability. Be that as it may. But should we Muslims allow such proliferation? Should we not do all we can to avoid a show-down with hundreds of thousands dead ? A nuclear accident or attack of any kind would make the dead of Bam’s tragic earthquake fade fast from memory and the tragic casualties of recent wars and terror attacks would seem insignificant. That would be a very rude and rough awakening –into a long and seemingly inescapable bad dream! And all for a dream of power!

Let us also ask if Muslim money is best spent on arms or instead might be used for education and development for our billions of sons and daughters. For the smiles of our loved ones near and far. While it is wise to question how it will be implemented, President Bush's plan to assist better-governed, less corrupt developing nations, known as the Millennium Challenge Account, is not without interest. It promises 5 billion annual foreign assistance starting in 2006, a 50 percent increase over the base foreign aid budget of $10 billion, much of which currently goes to Israel and Egypt. Most likely beneficiaries in the first round would be: Armenia, Bhutan, Ghana, Honduras, Lesotho, Mongolia, Nicaragua, Senegal, Sri Lanka and Vietnam. It would be good to see if other Muslim nations might qualify. Is this just a pay-off for America’s uncritical allies or is it a sign of hope and long-term planning? See www.mca.gov -- how does it smell to you?