-Dr. Md. Habeeb Haris
The desire for success is the fuel that propels man in the world of struggle and activity. In fact, this basic desire is behind all human actions whether individual or collective. Moreover, the behavioural patterns and path of life-struggle vary according to the variations in the concept of success.
An individual's perception of the elements that go on to make him a successful person largely determines his lifestyle and the way he would respond to the challenges at every moment of his encounter with life. The concept of success depends on various influences like culture, religion, education, the dominant ideology, social trends, media influence.
In the previous centuries religion was a predominant factor in the determination of this concept. But in the times that we are living in today, every concept - including the all important concept of success - is fashioned basically by the prevailing materialistic worldview.
The materialistic ideology has overwhelmed our thinking so much that there seem to be no other criteria which can influence our judgement.
Though the materialistic concept of success is nothing new to human history, the scientific hue that it has acquired to get wider acceptability makes it all the more bewitching to the eyes of the modern man.
However this not-so-holy embrace of materialistic ideology has left man with a lopsided view of the goal of life and has changed the very direction of his life. Once his concept of success changed, everything else changed. Man's concerns became narrower. He started running only after the mirage of worldly success, looking for things ephemeral and in the bargain lost sight of
everything that stood for permanence and eternity.
This mad race also changed the equations of human relations which threw the whole society in to disarray. The family structure was dismantled that left man feeling such insecurity and loneliness as he has never felt before.
The loss of permanent values has made every thing uncertain. This erroneous concept of success has eaten away the roots of human character and opened the doors to all sorts of corruption. We see today quite helplessly that the humanity is drowning in this sea of corruption. But unfortunately this sea is of man's own making.
Every individual and society is crying for peace but peace seems to elude all. In pursuit of happiness man is adopting crazy lifestyles, hollow entertainment and bewildering behaviour. Even religion is being exploited for selfish material gains. There is a culture of madness everywhere. The darkness of doom is all set to engulf us.
So, if the modern materialistic concept of success has left Man at the brink of annihilation, should he now turn to oriental monasticism for the true definition of success? Alas, the Eastern (Buddhist, Hindu etc.) as well as the Western (Christian) monasticism, inspite of its spiritual aura and mystic pretentions, has shown its barrenness in this regard. Can man attain success by running away from the struggle of life? Can this world be left at the mercy of criminals and debauchees; which will be the logical outcome of truly spiritual people shying away from social involvement and taking to forests and caves in search of nirvana?
Moreover, history has seen such monasticism quite often ending up in worst forms of materialism which even ordinary people find disgusting. Many monasteries have been turned into temples of lust and corruption. Perhaps it is a logical consequence of an unnatural concept of success based not on any sound foundations but merely on superstition, ignorance and conjecture.
So, where does man go from here? What is it that can give man the true concept of success? What are those criteria which can enable man to take the right step in the right direction? And finally how can man know what he really wants from life? This crisis is basically due to the innumerable cobwebs covering certain elementary concepts regarding man and life.
To attain the true concept of success, man has to first understand his true nature, his position in the universe and the purpose of his creation, because success is measured by the extent of the achievement of one's purpose. He has to realize that his presence on this planet is not just a matter of chance but rather it is the result of a very wise plan of the Creator of this universe. This fact itself makes it clear that his life and existence cannot be a purposeless wandering but has a definite aim behind it.
This is in total contrast to the atheistic theory of "existence by chance" which at the very outset degrades man into a purposeless entity and robs human life of all meaning and direction and makes it a rudderless ship caught in a whirlpool of circumstances.
Moreover, the truth is that man is not just one of the creatures but he is indeed God's representative in this world and he has to act as such. Neither should man rebel against his Master nor should he degrade himself by bowing before other creatures.
This moderate approach towards his own position empowers and puts man on a firm track and now he can realize that the true concept of success is nothing but to attain God's pleasure by fulfilling the demands of his unique position in this world.
This can further be elucidated as: a man who serves God's will by maintaining the delicate balance between the demands of his material and spiritual aspects of life and tries to maintain peace and order within his own self and in the society around him, and in the process earns God's pleasure and rewards, both in this world and the hereafter, is really and truly successful.
On the contrary, a person who fails to acknowledge God's favour of life and indulges in rebellion against his own true nature, and in the process creates disturbance and chaos within himself and the society around him, thus earning God's wrath and punishment, both in this world and hereafter, is really and truly unsuccessful.
Of course this balanced concept of success cannot be conceived without the clear concept of life Hereafter. Man is not destroyed after death but is transferred into
another life wherein he has to face the full consequences of his earthly sojourn so that full justice can be done and no criminal escapes the fruits of his misdoings and everyone gets what is his due.
This is the true concept of success which grants honour and dignity to Man's life, sets a proper direction for each of his actions, makes him a responsible and compassionate being, helps him to lead a more complete and a meaningful life based on firm foundations and permanent values and transforms his journey of life in to a purposeful endeavour. So, now let every soul decide what it wants it's future to be!
