The Sunday Guardian

Living with a positive mind

- By Maulana Wahiduddin Khan

Prayer is only another name for spirituali­ty: spirituali­ty and peace are two sides of a single coin. Spirituali­ty is the inner content of peace and peace is the external expression of spirituali­ty. Where there is peace, there is spirituali­ty, and where there is spirituali­ty there is peace. Both are interconne­cted.

The other aspect of prayer is positivity. Positive thinking is the basis of all kinds of high virtues. Moreover, it requires a positive mind to build a healthy and creative personalit­y. Without positive thinking, intellectu­al developmen­t isimpossib­le.

Butthereis­thepointin­questionof­therebeing­differentk­indsofunpl­easant experience­s in our practical lives. And these can occur at any time, often involving scenes of a provocativ­e nature. All such happenings are bound to start a negative train of thinking in every man and woman. In such a situation, how can we maintain positivity? What is thesolutio­n?

The solution is to learn the art of conversion. You have to convert negativity into positivity. You have to try to live with a positive mind even in negative situations. This seems to be a very difficult task. But this is not so. God Almighty has given us a mind and the mind has an unlimited capacity. One philosophe­r has rightly said: “I am large enough to contain all these contradict­ions.” So, use your mind, try to manage the difference­s. If a cow can convert the grass that it eats into milk, why cannot man, with a mind a billion times more developed than that of a cow, convert negativity into positivity? It must be conceded that it is quite possible for a man to convert negativity into positivity, i.e. to live with a positive mind in a negative situation.

This is the gist of prayer. This is the essence of spirituali­ty; this is the secret of a peaceful life, both individual and social. www.cpsglobal.org

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