From Tribalism to Humanism

Thank you, Sir, for that lovely gift. Your mastery of poetic expression is admirable, and your deep sensitivity to That Which Can Only Be Sensed is rare. Getting that opportunity to meet shall be my hope too. Regards.

greetings sohail sahib. great subject you have chosen for your article. and very true indeed!!

kaalchakra: trouble i have with the terms ``left winger`` and ``right winger`` is that they represent ideologies, i.e. solutions. however, a given solution is effective only in the context of a given issue in a given context. people who identify with ideologies seek to apply their solutions to all problems in all context - and thus, invariably end up making as mess. as the communists did in soviet russia, china and most of the third world for three decades after WWII. or, on the other hand, as the neo-cons have done in iraq (where they stuck to a military strategy that made short work of saddams conventional military but failed miserably in achieving the broader goal of turning iraq into progressive, democratic nation as the US had done in japan e.g. aftr wwii.

so - please dont label yourself as a leftist or a rightist. because either way, you become an ideologue. far better, i think, to simply keep some broad principles and goals (i.e. a better world for the next generation) in mind instead.

Re: # 110
Dear Kaalchakra....If you were close to me physically I would have

given you an affectionate hug. Keep the candle buring in your heart. That is far better than

complaining about the dark night...

Being a humanist poet who is fascianted with mysteries of life and love, all I can offer you

is one of my ghazal couplet as a gift

main apni zaat ki gehraion main jab utarta hoon
andharon kay safar main roshni mehsoos karta hoon

I hope I meet you one day

all the best....sohail

Re: # 110
Dear Kaalchakra....If you were close to me physically I would have

given you an affectionate hug. Keep the candle buring in your heart. That is far better than

complaining about the dark night...

Being a humanist poet who is fascianted with mysteries of life and love, all I can offer you

is one of my ghazal couplet as a gift

main apni zaat ki gehraion main jab utarta hoon
andharon kay safar main roshni mehsoos karta hoon

I hope I meet you one day

all the best....sohail

Dr. Sahib, less important things will only clutter this special place dedicated to exploring your humanistic (and hence Godly) ideas... Chowk is lucky to have a few large-hearted individuals - true universalists and humanists like you - who can glimpse the real Kingdom of God. The rest of us remain mired in the mud, stuck in our petty beliefs, forever insulting God, fighting petty battles in His or Her name...

---

Zee Ustaad, Farzana is remarkable, isn`t she? :) Hope she is doing great.

I see Dr. Sohail has discovered Kaalchakra ....

Brings to mind a couplet by Ustad Imam Din Gauhavia of Gujranwalla ...

``Itni gehrayon mein na jaa Ghalib,
Bh***i dya ... dub jayen gaa!``

Happy exploring, Doc.

Just a word of caution as another great Chowkie philosopher, Farzana Versey had said to me in a similar situation:

......better bring along your own anchor ...

Re: # 104
dear kaalchakra....you sound very modest.

samandar say milay piasay ko shabnum

bakheeli hay ye razaqqi nahin hay

can you share with me your views who you consider....leftists....and rightwingers?

i am also curious about your philosophical shift. how did that take place?

sincerely sohail

tahmed32

That`s very nice of you, tahmedji. At some point in time, as a staunch leftist, there came a feeling that leftist approach to accomplishing what they wanted to do wasn`t sufficient. One could actually face issues, describe things as they are (in all their ugliness and beauty), not as we would like them to be, not by running away from mankind`s differences and conflicts, but by actually resolving problems, by understanding and respecting differences. There wasn`t much market for that way of thinking among the left. So I became a rightwinger. The best consequence is that one can think of the rightwingers as the vermin that they are, and not feel guilty of ``offending`` the left. Actually, I thoroughly enjoy doing the latter :)

Sorry, enough about me :)

---

Khurram

Precisely. Philosophy essentially `takes God out` as the final doer or even the subject of all human efforts...making man responsible and accountable, and man`s fate itself the final goal.

That`s why humanistic religions (made by humans for humans) actually are quite different in form, nature, behavior, and effect. In some good ways and some bad ways.

drsohail, kaalchakra

I guess it eventually comes down to the Reality of God and Man`s relationship to that Reality. That`s a whole another discussion and I hope we get to it someday.

For now I will just say that a simplistic distinction between man-made and God-made is questionable since that reduces God to an actor on par with humans.

For me, a philosophy is an attempt by the human mind to crearte an autonomous and self sufficient reality while religion is an attempt by the human mind to ground itself in the Ultimate Reality that transcends it.

#104 ``That just sounds cooler. Besides, that saves me from feeling eternally obligated to everyone else on the planet. ``

You are being sincerely humble here. So let me balance that out by noting that your posts indicate that in fact you do feel obligated and responsible. Which is more than can be said for the ``leftist intellectuals`` and ``nationalists`` and suchlikes on chowk.

Dr sahib, thanks a million for the interest.

Although our own persons are really not important here, I like to consider myself a right-winger of all sorts. That just sounds cooler. Besides, that saves me from feeling eternally obligated to everyone else on the planet. Works like a charm. Kind regards. :)

Re: # 102
dear kaalchakra....well said.

i read on your website that you were away since may. were you not feeling well?

tell me more about yourself what are your professional and philosophical interests?

sincerely

sohail

khurram

All philosophy is man-made, for man`s benefit. From a philosophical point of view, God will be happy when man is happy. Some religion is God-revealed, for God`s benefit. For all such religion, Man will be happy when God is happy. Subtle difference in priority, but that difference completely changes character and effect of philosophy and religion.

---

malikjahanzeb

Been around off and on :)

Re: # 97
dear teshah...thank you for your affectionate comments. i fully agree with you that family

and ethnic identities are to care for each other but when loving relationships become

political then we become punjabis and bengalis, shiites and sunnis, muslims and jews and

put our humanity behind and that politics can create cycles of violence that can go on for

generations. i went to medical school in peshawar and my kashmiri punjabi family always

advised me not to marry a pathan woman. how sad. i met many pathan women who were

beautiful and charming and intelligent and with wonderful character. i was taught by pathan

professors when i was doing my obstetrics training in labour room and i have great respect

for them. politics if not done with a good conscience can become dangerous for humanity.

sincerely sohail

Re: # 98
dear malik...yes i live half an hour east of toronto in whitby and have my clinic there.

please come to the seminar and we will meet or give me your number and i will call or call

me at 905-666-2140 residence...or 905-666-7253 clinic...looking forward to meeting you

sohail