Posterity Will Not Require Today's Knowledge

By Sumit Paul, New Age Islam 20 July 2023 "Editing out on a massive scale would be good for our book. In fact, let us call it "the religion of righteousness and justice", rather than "the religion of the book". The learned and balanced contributor Mr Arshad Alam's article on Houris described in the Quran and Hadees as well as the aforementioned statement of a level-headed reader must be taken seriously by all devout Muslims who blindly believe in all the inanities in their books. Turkish critic of Islam, Turan Dursun rightly said that Islam's books, including the Quran, are its bane. But this issue is not just limited to Islam. All religions have been sullied by their books. Followers of all faiths are dictated by their books which lost their utility and relevance long ago. An example from the life of Buddha will drive home the point. Once, Buddha was engaged in a discourse with a few disciples. A disciple, whose name was Shravin, was writing frantically. " What're you doing, son?" " I'm writing what you're saying, replied the disciple." "That's good. But, did I ask you to write? You're writing without mulling over my words. Your comprehension of my words is not complete. Reading without understanding is like eating without digesting, " said Buddha. " But I'm doing this for posterity", Shravin said. The great Buddha smiled and said, "Son, the posterity will not require today's knowledge. It'll have its own wisdom and that'll be greater. What we speak today will be useless tomorrow. So, please stop writing and exist in the moment you're in. All these talks of educating the generations to come are full of ego". Remember, Sahir Ludhianvi also said the same, albeit in a poetic way, "Kal Aur Aayenge Naghmon Ki Khilti Kaliyan Chun-Ne Wale, Mujh Se Behtar Kahne Wale, Tum Se Behtar Sun-Ne Wale". Any scripture is like a newspaper; useless by noon. Written words in screeds and scriptures often create an aura of inviolability and infallibility. That's not desirable. Believe nothing to be specifically sacrosanct. Then only will everything be naturally sacred and pious. Evolving (if indeed we believe that we're evolving!) mankind needs no religious books. Cultivate all noble attributes like love, equality, righteousness, justice, piety, fellow-feeling and empathy. What else do you need to learn from your Agamas, Pitakas, Granths, Gaathas, Geeta, Torah, Bible and Quran? At least, shelve all these 'holy' books and move on if you're still not ready to consign them to the bin of history. Don't let them pull you back. ---- 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/posterity-today-knowledge/d/130259 New Age Islam, Islam Online, Islamic Website, African Muslim News, Arab World News, South Asia News, Indian Muslim News, World Muslim News, Women in Islam, Islamic Feminism, Arab Women, Women In Arab, Islamophobia in America, Muslim Women in West, Islam Women and Feminism