In Becoming Eternal

The wish to be eternal had been inherent in human being ever since. The trace of this wish can be obviously seen from the ancient history to nowadays. From the history of Indian Maya, to the history of Chinese culture, to the history of Toraja tribe in Sulawesi to ancient Egypt had shown proof to the wish. A wonder to me that none of the prophets and messengers in the past had undergone the same procedure as they did. So it seemed to me that there was the right way of becoming eternal and the wrong way of becoming eternal for the same purpose. And by the grace of Allah both serve the purpose of becoming eternal.

the records life cycle

And as I live in today's age, the wish to become eternal still inherent in people. Only they show it a bit differently. Of the wrong way of knowledge to become eternal, now they use the past information to preserve things, like food, dead animals, or documents. I mean in the practicality way-of- thinking, I hardly hear or read people use mummy process to the corpses; they either cremate or bury them. I think this is mainly affected by the religions practice.

So now people use technology to serve their purpose in becoming eternal. They are in the form of audio recording, video filming, printing out documents and bottling up perfume. They are the technology people use to capture their moment. Each serves its own unique purpose. The audio is to capture the moment in audio, the video is to capture the moment in the form of visual in motion with or without audio, the printing documents is to capture the moment in the form of static visual and bottling perfume is to capture the scent of the moment. As people thrive to improve the quality of technology, we then have these tool to be eternal are also getting better and more sophisticated that it may last almost forever like 350 years or more provided it is kept in its required condition.

Portraying life

When it comes to quality,
is perception matter?

Last month I was working on some pictures. Basically what I wanted to do was to print a picture on cd label. Due to technical and software problems, I couldn't print it directly. So the picture had to be copied through one software to another software before it could be printed out. After going through four different softwares the quality of the picture was getting reduced that finally when it was printed out, the outcome wasn't very pleasing. Before I printed it, I had told my friend that I didn't like the result, but he said it's ok just go ahead with the printing. He didn't see the trial as I had. Since it was quite a rush, I went ahead with his approval. But still I didn't like it at all. So it was printed. And when he saw the result, he didn't like it either.

This experience then got me to thing about this life. Because many of us feeling regret over something that was meant to happen with or without our conscious understanding. Like a joke that people here made. It is related with newly married couple especially the virgin ones. He/she would say that they felt sorry for getting into marriage by then. And when somebody asked 'Why? What happened?' And the person said that he/she felt sorry getting into marriage by then because if only he/she knew it was really that good (they usually referred it to sexual intercourse) they would had done it earlier.

Though it was said as a joke, it got me thinking about myself. Will I say the same? Because in my feeling grateful of this life, I want to make sure that there would never be a room for feeling sorry to anything that happened to me. In my gratitude to my Creator, I want to tell Him that I accepted His decree upon me all of them either good or bad. That if He ever is going to test the quality of my gratitude by putting me in any kinds of situation, I pray that my thankful heart will not find any room for regret that will reduce its picture quality.

That anything happened had been within measurement and knowledge of Allah SWT. That if it happened that I was to be in the wrong side, I was meant to feel sorry at that time and need to find my way back to Him, for He is the Most Forgiving. That if it happened that I was to be in the right side, I was meant to feel grateful for He is the Most Benevolence. That if it happened that I was to be the subject of people's action, I was meant to react as I had been guided for He is The Guidance. That if it happened that I was to be the object of people reaction, I was meant to learn my lesson not from the person who did it but from the Almighty Allah for He is the Supreme Lord.

And this reminds me of Prophet Ayub AS (Job). As the Bible and Qur'an told his amazing patience in enduring his trial. It was such a great test to show the true quality of his obedience. That in good time and bad time, his faith to Allah wasn't deteriorated. Let us learn from his faithfulness and patience in facing both fortune and misfortune in life.

And Remember Ayub when he cried to his Lord: "verily distress has seized me,
and Your are the Most Merciful of all those who show mercy."
[QS 21 : 83]

Be like a flower

In perfume industries, one of the most important aspect is how to capture the fragrance of certain plants or animal, especially musk deer and then mix them to produce different kind of perfume. And this is fascinating. Because we know that those plants or animal don't live longer than the perfume made of them. Especially the plant in which their parts of body are taken then extracted to get its essence. One thing for sure is that once they're extracted from its essence, they are nothing else but becoming a trash.

And this got me to think about this life. About my life. How I should live my life. So that when the time for me to live my life is no longer given, I will not be a trash.

As I have mentioned earlier, that what makes a jasmine or a rose or a gardenia or frangipani unique is because when they still attach to its plant, they smell wonderful. And even after sometime they're taken away from its plant they smell beautiful. And when they start dried up, they still have its unique smell with them. How could it be?

It is because in their very own existence, they carry within them the essence of their uniqueness. Within them, they carry something that cause jasmine to be called jasmine, rose to be called rose or gardenia to be called gardenia. It makes them eternal.

In our short lifespan living in this planet Earth, the wish to be eternal is inherent. It is inherent for it is the Divine message. Yet, we are like a flower of this big tree of Life. Some flowers undergo a full bloom process thus give fruit and seed for the new tree to grow. Some flowers get to full bloom then being cut out and served as a center piece in someone's table. Some flowers never get to full bloom, decomposed and become fertilizer. No matter how short or long our life is, we need to understand this and take full advantage of this moment.

Be like a flower. Not the rotten kind of flower but one that permeate wonderful smell. For it will please us too. It is our nature to love wonderful smell. I don't think there is any person who would stand to live with a rotten smell for the rest of their life. Now, don't argue by giving example of a homeless person who lives in or near dumping area. If they have a choice they won't live there. In the beginning it wasn't pleasing, then they get used to it. After a while they take the smell as it is because their nose has adapted to it. So it is in our nature to love wonderful smell.

And the source of wonderful smell of life is about hidden virtues. It is hidden because mind doesn't interfere in the process. Its source is the genuine acts of sincerity. First we can learn to practice it by mindfully setting up our intention. But it won't be a genuine act, it will be an engineered act, like all those personality ethics. To bring out the wonderful smell it has to come from our unique source of our true characters. Covey in his book of 7 Habits of Highly Effective People called it character ethics.

It was told that at the end of Kabir's life (1440- 1518) in this world, his disciples disputed over his body; the Muslims wanting to claim the body for burial, the Hindus wanting to cremate the body. Kabir appeared to the arguing disciples and told them to lift the burial shroud. When they did so, they found fragrant flowers where the body had rested. The flowers were divided, and the Muslims buried the flowers while the Hindus reverently committed them to fire. This story was almost similar to another story of Laila 'Arifa (Laila the Gnostic). So was the wisdom of Syaikh Abdul Qadir al-Jilani that had him known as The Rose of Baghdad.

Magnetic records

Last month, I visited my parents' tomb in my hometown. It was in the morning before I returned to my work town after a week working on some recordings. I didn't bring any flowers with me. I visit them anytime I have a chance to be home for a few days. That morning, I couldn't stay long so I sent my short prayer for their peaceful souls. As I stood up, I smelled in the air a faint wonderful flowery smell that I had when my mother died. And I looked around to see if any garland was on any body's tomb. I didn't see any. Then I knew, to whom the smell belonged to. I had the same experience as stood in front of my father's tomb about 8 meters from my mother's. In my heart I knew they welcomed me and I felt the connection with them. That though the body will decay, The Way will not [TTC:16 Decay and Renewal].

And then I was reminded to something else. Anybody using computer and internet must have known the term hard disc though they may not know and understand how it operates. First they may know the term as something inside the computer to enable it to run, to function. As I further find out, hard disc is like a heart to a computer, just like processor is like a brain to a computer. And then we also know that in human body, the brain is known as memory storage while the heart is a push button to indicate one is dead or alive. Right?! Is it really so?

Do we understand the principle of writing and keeping the records alive? 

When we talk about hard disc drive (HDD), it doesn't serve the function as 'the heart' alone, it also functions as data storage, so that we have what is now called external hard drive that can store a data up to 1 or 2 or more Terabit (Tb). The way it is doing its job is by writing the data in a magnetized material while it goes round and around in certain speed. For further information which is very technical, you can read the link given.

As I read this article and understand its principle works, I was reminded to something bigger. I was reminded to this earth as a giant magnet that goes around and around in its axis. Most of us including scientists think that the function of the Earth magnetic field is to protect the inhabitants of Planet Earth from solar winds and other electromagnetic influence from space, which is right. However, very fews have ever thought that there is a relationship between the Earth rotation, the magnetic field and the atmosphere in relation to the data recording of anything that goes on in the Earth, of mankind - being the living creatures that have one after the other come and go for as long as the history could tell.

Of this, I had two valid sources of information then affirmed me that the ethereal air has functioned as the giant data storage. One is the biography of Tao Master Wang Liping in the Opening the Dragon Gate and the other is the words of my spiritual master. Both affirmed that with certain spiritual practice, the information can be downloaded. And my friend had told me his experience on this too. These is in accordance to the Qur'an verse:

And everything they did is in written records

[QS 54: 52]

For me everybody is unique in front of the Lord. Each serves their own purpose in life for none of His creation is meaningless. The good and the bad are serving His purpose. The right and wrong are to fulfill His Wills. For He is the Wisest of All. Since everyone is given their choices to pick the road that is leading to their original Nature or against their original Nature [QS 91: 8], then becoming eternal is not about a choice. In relation to the magnetic storage, whether we choose to become eternal or not, our life is already recorded. And just like the computer data can always be played back, our life is also the same. It's only that it will be played to us in the most unexpected time. That's why we need to prepare ourselves for that. Being wise is about living as consciously as we can be, so that when the time for u to see our own recorded film, we will not feel ashamed of it.

Some people prefer to watch or read other people's story than their own life. Or they'd rather create a different kind of story called fantasy than to read and really understand their own life script. What do you think will happen to them, when they have no other choice but to read and see their own life story? The story in which they feel sorry for or they hate it or they regret it because it was so often made in their unconscious acts thus led their own life feeling sorry and regret in every turn they make and in the end lead them to a miserable life they wished they never had. Whereas this life is the only life we have.

How about reading the book of our life? For it is written
by the Most Merciful and the Most Compassionate Hand of Allah

Understanding that no matter what happened in the past, the journey of life is afoot and is written. Our past story may be full of sorrow, mistakes, hatred, bad choices, wrong turns but as long as this breath is given, we have the possibility to make it right, beautiful, wonderful, joyous, lovable. So that when the book of our life is given back for us to read [QS 45: 28 - 31], we have no shame nor complaint nor sorry nor regret but only gratitude that under the Guidance of The Most Merciful and Most Compassionate it has been written in the most wonderful and lovable story of life. That the story has made both the Writer and the Reader contented for its eternity.

Notes on:
Story of Prophet Ayub AS http://www.islaam.net/main/display.php?id=1702&category=148
Story of Kabir http://www.poetry-chaikhana.com/K/Kabir/ 
Story of Laila 'Arifa http://peerbaba.co.uk/jalaludin.html.
Story of Abdul Qadir al-Jilani http://www.inspirationalstories.org.uk/2012/03/17/the-rose-of-baghdad/
Magnetic storage device http://www.ehow.com/info_8013485_magnetic-storage-devices.html