Ramadan is usually associated with Indulgence in food, take Jama masjid or Old Delhi to Mohammed Ali street in Mumbai to streets in Bangalore or Abstinence, where those observing fast, don’t even quench a drop of water from Dawn to dusk. Let us dwell deeper beyond the texture of Seek kabab ,zing of Biryani and zesty Falooda. What makes Ramadan a truly unique mechanism for humanity to return to the primordial humane spirit, nourishment, elevation of Soul and character.
This is very important in the present milieu of Hate & Violence being the ever increasing norm and hoodlum in the society. To characterize this as an ideology driven mission and the ramifications as the success of the project is very simplistic to say the least. The hate, vitriol, violence, loss of empathy, enmity are not the signs of healthy society, thus how do we comprehend this and finally the last jig-saw of nation-state and its engagement with citizens.
The crux of Fasting (Roza) is to attain piety, which translates in being a better human being. In all major religions and philosophies, the central doctrine is the struggle between good and evil within us. In Islamic tradition, it is said that, “then with the knowledge of˺ right and wrong inspired it”-Quran (91:8), that human being has capacity of both right and wrong, and the successful is the one who has purified himself. In Hinduism, it is the struggle of Dharm and adharm in an individual and similarly such aspects exist in Christianity and even among the Philosopher’s from Aristotle to Plato. Thus Fasting provides an insight into how this purification or goodness is operationalized.
When a person is fasting, he isn’t allowed to do quench his thirst, or satiate his hunger or indulge in satisfying his desire with his/her spouse, all lawful activities within the framework of Religion, but declared unlawful during the interval of fasting. This has a broad and larger manifestations in Human life. Human being is comprised of Body and soul. Body urges for material desires; food, drink, sex, etc. The soul desires to move upward and indulge in angelic activities such as prayer, remembrance etc. This could also be put up as there is an Animalistic instinct within us , that seeks pleasures, drives and an Humane instinct, which seeks humility etc. This struggle ultimately defines us as a person and its manifestation is the making of the society.
For example, if a person abstains from drinking, eating, etc even though, it is well within the moral ambit, than he develops a greater resilience and is trained to abstain from desires and abstinence. This is a very important because in life, many instances, a moment of slip results in catastrophic results. The modern framework of law and order and stick and carrot fails to connect with deeper levels of human cognition and soul. Thus corruption of all orders in rampant, due to this phenomenon of not connecting with human at a deeper level. Thus Ramadan and fasting is primarily entailed to develop piety, the dominance of soul over body and Humane over animalistic instinct. This could be the roadmap of building a healthy society.
Secondly, this is the Month of Quran, the book of guidance for humanity. The Quran itself tells the key to unlocking its secret is piety. And Ramadan is the month of training module to unlock new levels of Piety and reach the station of human being is sync with his soul, his feelings and in a journey towards God.
I feel it is very necessary to reflect on the above point. The fundamental problem of our era, is that Modernity has atomized our lives. This is also a spiritual and moral crisis. The inward looking, the reflection of the self is absent in our present disposition. The concept of soul, its nourishment has been made null and void. Religion is being used to create an Ethnic Nation-state devoid of soul and spirit.
People are turning hollow from inside, as the fundamental question of inward looking is absent from the narrative of man today. Thus it is very important to build the character of human’s with deep spiritual outlook who then be expected to be a good human and to carry out his duties ahead. I think the idea of Ramadan and Quran as a holy book, is also important in addressing the current decadence.
Finally, the message of Ramadan also invokes empathy, spirit of giving, sacrifice, Charity and many other things. I feel it is very important to reflect on the spirit of abstinence, reflection, inward looking in order to return to our primordial nature and especially for Muslims to fully benefit from this festival of Quran, remembrance and take energy, gratitude, wisdom and chart a course individually for a holistic life ahead envisioning a better and a humane society for our fellow countrymen.
We as a society are going through a tumultuous time, and one of the messages of Ramadan is introspection. Thus we need serious introspection at every level, from individual to society, from morality to religion. I urge each one of us to reflect and contemplate, and may this Ramadan bring peace and solace in our minds and Heart.
