Ab Kaha Dusre Ke Dukh Se Dukhi Hone Wale

Summary:

This lesson describes how a creature called man wants to possess everything and his hunger is never
going to be satiated. He has become so selfish that he had already evicted other creatures but now
he does not hesitate at all in evicting his own species i.e. humans. The situation has become such
that neither does he care for anyone's happiness or sorrow nor does he have any intention of
supporting or helping anyone. The author gives examples of such people in the lesson who
considered it their duty to protect all kinds of living beings. The first example among them is of
Solomon. Solomon was a king 1025 years before Christ. He also knew the language of all animals and
birds. Once Solomon was passing through a road with his army. When some ants on the way heard
the sound of horses passing by, they got scared and started telling each other that everyone should
quickly go to their respective burrows. Suleman heard their words and told the ants that none of
them needed to be afraid. God had made Suleman to protect everyone. A similar incident like
Suleman's good heart has been described by the great Sindhi poet Sheikh Ayaz in his biography. One
day, Sheikh Ayaz's father returned from the well after taking a bath. His father had just broken the
first piece of bread when his eyes fell on a black ant slowly walking on his side. As soon as he saw the
insect, he left his food and stood up. On this, his mother asked whether he did not like the food? On
this, Sheikh Ayaz's father replied that there was no such thing. He had made a family member
homeless and he was going to leave him near his house i.e. the well. The Bible and all other holy
scriptures describe a messenger of God named Noah. His real name was not Noah, his name was
Lashkar, but the people of Arabia remember him by this name because he kept crying all his life, that
is, he used to feel sad at the pain of others. The author says that when the earth came into existence,
the whole world used to live like a family, but now it has been torn into pieces and everyone has
become distant from each other. There has been so much change in the environment that it is very
hot in summer, there is no fixed time for rain, earthquakes, floods, storms and some new disease or
the other every day and what not, all this is the result of man's tampering with nature. It is said that
the bigger a person is, the less he gets angry, but when he does get angry, no one can calm his anger.
The same thing happened with the sea as well, when the sea got angry, one night it came running on
its waves and picked up three ships and threw them in three directions like someone picks up a
child's ball and throws it. The author says that in his childhood his mother always used to say that
one should not pluck leaves from trees in the evening because if you pluck leaves at that time, the
trees cry. One should not pluck flowers during the time of worship because if you pluck flowers at
that time, the flowers curse. If you go to the river, you should greet it, it becomes happy. One should
never disturb pigeons and hens. The author had a house in Gwalior, there were two ventilators in the
verandah of that house. A pair of pigeons had made their nest in those ventilators. When the cat
broke one of the pigeon's eggs, the author's mother climbed on a stool and tried to save the other
egg. But in this attempt, the second egg slipped from the author's mother's hand and broke. Seeing
the sorrow of separation from their children in the eyes of the pigeons, tears came to the eyes of the
author's mother. To get this sin forgiven by God, the author's mother fasted for the whole day. Now
the author gives an example of the changing emotions of humans with time - two pigeons had made
their nest at a high place in the author's flat. Their babies were still small. The responsibility of their
upbringing was on the elder pigeons. But their coming and going caused a lot of trouble to the
author and his family. Sometimes the pigeons would collide with something and break things by
dropping them. Troubled by the frequent coming and going of the pigeons and breaking things, the
author's wife had put a net at the place where the pigeons' house was and had also removed the
babies from there. The window from where the pigeons used to come and go was also started to be
closed. Now both the pigeons used to sit outside the window all night quietly and sadly. But now
neither Solomon is there who can understand the language of those pigeons and remove their
sorrow nor is there the author's mother who keeps praying all night seeing the sorrow of those
pigeons. This means that with time there has been a lot of difference in the feelings of people. In the
end, the author wants to tell us that like the river and the sun, we should work for the benefit of
others and like the parrot, we should consider everyone equal, only then all the living beings in the
world can remain happy and content.

Transalation:

Solomon of the Bible, who is called Suleiman in the Quran, was a king 1025 years before Christ. It is
said that he was not only the king of mankind, he was also the ruler of all small and big animals and
birds. He knew the language of all these as well. Once Suleiman was passing through a road with his
army. On the way, some ants heard the sound of horses' hooves and said to each other in fear, 'You
all quickly go to your holes, the army is coming.' Solomon stopped at a distance after listening to
them and said to the ants, do not be afraid, God has made Suleiman the protector of everyone. I am
not a problem for anyone, I am love for everyone. The ants prayed to God for him and Suleiman
moved towards his destination.

One such incident has been mentioned by the great Sindhi poet Sheikh Ayaz in his autobiography. He
has written – ‘One day his father returned after taking a bath. His mother served him food. As soon
as he took a bite of bread, his eyes fell on his arm. A black ant was crawling there. He left his food
and stood up. Mother asked, ‘What is the matter? Did you not like the food?’ Sheikh Ayaz’s father
said, ‘No, that is not the case. I have made a family member homeless. I am going to leave that
homeless person at the well to his home.’ In the Bible and other holy scriptures, there is a mention of
a prophet named Noah. His real name was Lashkar, but Arabs remember him by the title of Noah.
That is because he kept crying all his life. The reason for this was an injured dog. Once an injured dog
passed in front of Noah. Noah rebuked it and said, 'Go away you dirty dog!' In Islam dogs are
considered dirty. Hearing his rebuke the dog replied... 'Neither am I a dog by choice, nor are you a
human by choice. The creator of all is the same.'

When soil meets soil,

All traces are lost.

Who is how much in whom,

How to identify.

When Noah heard his words, he became sad and kept crying for a long time. In 'Mahabharata', the
dog who is seen to be with Yudhishthira till the end, was also a dog in a symbolic form. When
everyone left him, only he was calming his loneliness. How did the world come into existence? What
was it before? From which point did its journey begin? Science answers these questions in its own
way, religious texts in their own way. The world may have been created in some way, but the earth
does not belong to anyone. Birds, humans, animals, rivers, mountains, seas etc. have equal share in
it. It is another matter that mankind has built huge walls with its intelligence in this share. Earlier the
whole world was like a family, now it has been divided into pieces and has become distant from each
other. Earlier everyone used to live together in big corridors and courtyards, now life has started
shrinking in small box-like houses. The increasing population has started pushing the seas back, has
started removing trees from the roads, the increasing pollution has started driving the birds away
from the settlements. The destructive activities of gunpowder have started tormenting the
environment. Now excessive heat in summers, untimely rains, earthquakes, floods, storms, and new
diseases every day are proof of this imbalance between humans and nature. Nature has a limit to its
tolerance. A sample of nature's anger was seen in Bombay (Mumbai) a few years ago and this sample
was so scary that the residents of Bombay were scared and started praying to their gods in their
respective places of worship. For many years, big builders were grabbing the land of the sea by
pushing it back. The poor sea was continuously shrinking. First it folded its spread legs, shrunk a little
and sat down. Then when there was not enough space, it sat squatting. Then it stood up... when
there was not enough space to stand, it got angry. The bigger a person is, the less he gets angry. But
when he gets angry, it becomes difficult to stop him, and this is what happened, one night it picked
up three ships running on its waves and threw them in three directions like a child's ball. One of
them fell on the seashore of Worli. The second one fell face down in front of Carter Road in Bandra
and the third one broke down at Gateway of India and became a spectacle for tourists. Despite
efforts, they could not be made to move again. My mother used to say, do not pluck leaves from the
trees in the courtyard after sunset, the trees will cry. Do not pluck flowers at the time of lighting
diyas, flowers curse. If you go to the river, salute it, it becomes happy. Do not harass pigeons, they
are dear to Hazrat Muhammad. He has allowed them to make nests on the blue dome of his tomb.
Do not harass the rooster, it wakes up everyone in the morning by giving azan in the neighborhood
before the Mullah ji – Everyone's worship is the same, but their rituals are different. The Maulvi goes
to the mosque, the cuckoo sings songs. We had a house in Gwalior, there were two skylights in the
hall of that house. A pair of pigeons had made a nest in it. Once a cat jumped and broke one of the
two eggs. My mother felt sad when she saw this. She climbed on a stool and tried to save the other
egg. But in this attempt, the second egg fell from her hand and broke. The pigeons were flapping
here and there in distress. Seeing the sadness in their eyes, tears came to my mother's eyes. To get
this sin forgiven by God, she fasted the whole day. She did not eat or drink anything the whole day.
She just kept crying and kept praying to God to forgive this mistake by reciting Namaaz again and
again. The distance from Gwalior to Bombay has changed the world a lot. In Versova, where my
house is today, earlier there was a forest as far as the eye could see. There were trees, birds and
other animals. Now a large colony has come up here on the seashore. This colony has taken away the
homes of so many birds and animals. Some of them have left the city. Those who could not go have
camped here and there. Two of these pigeons have made a nest in a loft in my flat. The babies are
still small. The responsibility of feeding them is still on the elder pigeons. They come and go several
times a day. And why not, they also have a home. But their coming and going also troubles us.
Sometimes they break something by dropping it. Sometimes they enter my library and start
harassing Kabir or Mirza Ghalib.

Tired of this daily trouble, my wife has put up a net at the place where their house was and has
shifted their children to another place. The window through which they used to come has also been
closed. Now both the pigeons sit silent and sad all night outside the window. But now there is no
Solomon who understands their language and shares their sorrow, nor is my mother there who
spends the whole night in prayers in their sorrow – The river irrigates the field, the parrot pecks
mangoes. The sun is like a contractor, it distributes work to everyone. The river irrigates the field, the
parrot pecks mangoes. The sun is like a contractor, it distributes work to everyone.a