Id Mubarak, Bhaijaan

Id originates from the Arabic root word "Aud" that denotes returning times and again.  Id is an Islamic festival that returns every year to spread peace, kindness, brotherhood and equality among people irrespective of castle, creed and religion.  Silence it is also observed as a festival of distributing charity, it's called Id-ul-Fitr.

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The word "firt" or "fitra" means a form of charity from the rich to the poor to help them celebrate Id with festive joy.  Id is not just about feasting on delicious food and wearing fancy clothes, it stands for promoting a humane and noble spirit in the society.
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Id-ul-Fitr signifies living with the true spirit of brotherhood and showing compassion for the poor.  It is actually meant to achieve the highest spiritual status through selfless services towards the less fortunate ones.  Islam is a social religion that seeks to establish a well-mannered society; therefore, it reiterates the importance of good manners through different ways.  Id is one such way to imbibe this basic Islamic value among people in a festive spirit.
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Characterising men of good manners, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said:  "The best among you is Islam are those with the best manners, so long as they develop a sense of understanding".  To build an idea Muslim personality, one should be generous, compassionate, humble and sincere.
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The observance of Id, in its expanded sense, symbolizes the very; bright side of an Islamic personality.  These social virtues are reflected in the true Islamic manners being displayed on the day of Id in a way that pleases others and does not cause harm to anyone.  This is precisely why Islam has enjoined that, particularly on this day, Muslims share food with others, distribute fitrah (charity) to the poor, organise feasts and invite friends and neighbours.  Obviously, such noble activities help us strengthen bonds of love, mutual harmony, brotherhood and social integrity....  GHULAM RASOOL DEHLVI is a Delhi-based writer.
 

Good Sayings - 54

1061.  Who is cynic?  A man who knows the price of everything, and the value of nothing.  _Oscar Wilde

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1062.  In great straits and when hope is small, the boldest counsels are the safest.  _  Livy

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1063.  The first hour of the morning is the rudder of the day.  _  H.W. Beecher

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1064.  Death, like generation, is a secret of Nature.  _  Marcus Aurelius

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1065.  Youth is in danger until it learns to look upon debts as furies.  _  Bulwer-Lytton

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1066.  The worst deluded are the self-deluded.  _  C.N. Bovee

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1067.  Where there is great love, there are always miracles.

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1068.  A man will fight harder for his interests than his rights.  _ Napoleon Bonaparte

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1069.  Where the willingness is great, the difficulties cannot be great.  _ Niccolo Machiavelli 

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1070.  Take time to be sure, but be sure not to take too much time.

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1071.  The distance is nothing; it is only the first step that costs. _Mme. Du Deffand

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1072.  To wish you were someone else is to waste the person you are !

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1073.  A noble deed is a step toward God. _ J.G. Holland

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1074.  A business that makes nothing but money is a poor business.  _ Henry Ford

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1075.  To yield to the stronger is valour's second prize.  _Martial

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1076.  To sensible men, every day is a day of reckoning. _ John W. Gardner

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1077.  By the street of By-and-By, one arrives at the house of Never.  _ Cervantes

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1078.  People may doubt what you say, but they will believe what you do. _ Lewis Cass

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1079.  Your obligation in any lifetime is to be true to yourself.  _ Richard Bach

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1080.  We should aim rather at levelling down our desires than levelling up our means. _ Aristotle

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Good Sayings - 53

1041.  The measure of a man's real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.  _ Macaulay.

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1042.  The world will never disarm until disambitioned.

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1043.  Every man is an omnibus in which his ancestors ride. _ O.W. Holmes

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1044.  What we earnestly aspire to be, that is some sense we are.  _ Anna Jameson

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1045.  It is safer to hear and take counsel than give it.

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1046.  Stability itself is nothing else than a more sluggish motion. _ Montaigne.

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1047.  All things are admired either because they are new or because they are great.  _ Bacon.

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1048.  We ask advice, but we mean approbation. _ C.C. Colton

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1049.  Anger wishes all mankind had only one neck; love, that is had only one heart.  _ J.P. Richter

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1050.  Anger makes a rich man hated, and a poor man scorned.

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1051.  Truth, goodness and beauty are but different faces of the same all.  _  Emerson

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1051.  Begging a courtesy is selling liberty.

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1052.  Principles have no real force except when one is well fed.  _  Mark Twain

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1053.  It is an error to suppose that courage means courage in everything. _ Aeschylus

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1054.  If the heart be right, it matters not which way the head lies.  _Sir Walter Raleigh

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1055.  A man's own good breeding is the best security against other people's ill manners.  _ Chesterfield

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1056.  A civil denial is better than a rude grant.

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1057.  Cowards do not count in battle; they are there, but not in it.  _Euripides

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1058.  We easily forget crimes that are known only to ourselves. _ La Rochefoucauld

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1059.  Silence is sometimes the severest criticism.  _  Charles Buxton

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1060.  Curiosity is little more than another name for hope.  _ A.W. & J.C. Hare

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Renew Yourself...

"MIND IS GOOD SERVANT, BUT BAD MASTER", said Anandmurti Gurumaa in a Satsang.
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 Our mind is where our thoughts emanate from.  So mind is the master.  The great Rishis of yore had analysed and concluded that change for the better can be brought about only by a change of the mood of the mind.  If that is changed, then changes in one's lifestyle, attitude to things, behaviour and quality of thoughts also follow suit.  This change has to be brought about at three levels - the quality of thoughts, the quantity of thoughts and the direction of thoughts.  After all, the mind is but a flow of thoughts.  Once the thoughts change, we can confidently say that the mind has changed.  When the mind is changed, we are changed.  When we change, everything about us becomes new.  We don't have to wait for the first of January.  The day we change, it is new beginning for us.  We are the masters of our life.

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In the same way, we must learn that Time as such is ever pure, ever new, never old.  Now-a-days, the trend is to say, 'I don't know what kind of a time this is, a very sad time.  Everywhere around the world there are wars, destruction..."  If we examine this carefully, we realise that we, the humans who have committed these atrocities.  Who is to blame?  Is it Time?  Has time killed anybody?  Time never did it.  It is 'We', the people on Earth, prompted by our false values of hatred, jealousy, greed, passions and lust, act in the world.  The quality of these very actions is our contributions to Time making of marring it.

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What we need is courage to change and renew ourselves.  If the courage to change is absent, no progress is possible.  What is wanted is a renewal of attitude.  This can be attained through devotion to the Lord, which can bring a sea change in one's thoughts.  When we are in a good company of quiet and serene-minded people, our thoughts can seldom go astray.  We don't even indulge in vices, entertain mean thoughts.  When each individual changes thus, the world outside is also effective changed.