Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I The Sunday Guardian I March 23, 2014

Trigger is a mechanical term. It is a device, which actuates the firing sequence of a firearm. It is used to initiate the firing of a cartridge in the firing chamber of the weapon. This is the mechanical concept of triggering. But, there is also an intellectual triggering. Just as a mechanical trigger can produce an explosive result, the same is the case with intellectual triggering.

For example, if you take a glass of water and drink it, this is also an occasion that may trigger your mind. If you have an awakened mind, you are bound to reflect on how water was created. If you think how two gases could combine and convert into a very useful liquid (H2O), it would certainly trigger your mind.

If you continue your thinking process, it is bound to lead to a high level of spiritual development. Every moment you face such kind of an experience- the rising sun in the morning, continuous supply of oxygen in the air, birds flying in the sky, green trees standing on the face of the earth, flowing streams, and so on.

There are numerous such phenomena in nature that may trigger your mind and give you a high kind of spiritual food.

The only condition is that you should be a prepared mind. A prepared mind is like a loaded gun; if the gun is loaded then the trigger would work, otherwise not. If you are a prepared mind or an intellectually awakened person, then, every experience or observation is bound to trigger your mind and it would compel you to engage in serious contemplation.

It would initiate a thinking process in your mind. If you are not an awakened mind, then you would live in the midst of experiences, but you will fail to avail them as an opportunity. You will live as a person who is blind, and due to his blindness the rising sun's rays are not visible to him.