Introduction

Man is a complete being in himself. There are two dimensions of man’s being: the physical and the spiritual. The physical dimension of man relates to man’s physical or external existence, while the spiritual dimension of man relates to man’s inner self. Both dimensions are important in their place, but the status of the two is distinct.

‘Modernity’, or what is called ‘modern civilizational progress’, has made available to man an enormous variety of things that cater to the material aspect of his being. There has been much ‘progress’ as far as material ‘development’ is concerned, catering to human needs, and beyond that, to people’s seemingly endless wants and desires for comfort and luxury. Nothing like this ever happened in any earlier age of human history.

However, as far as man’s inner being—the spiritual dimension—is concerned, the process has been moving in the opposite direction. There has been no noteworthy progress on man’s spiritual front. It would be true to say that man’s inner character or being is now drowned in a sort of extreme starvation. The people's seemingly beautifully adorned bodies hide extremely starved spiritual souls.

It is necessary to understand this contradiction in man’s personality and discover the solution; otherwise, man’s actual personality will deteriorate rapidly despite all ‘progress’ in material terms. There is an urgent need to save man from this looming crisis. The most serious aspect of this crisis is that while human life's material or physical dimension might give the appearance of flourishing, man’s spiritual or intellectual faculty has been almost totally abandoned.  People are engaged in the seemingly never-ending pursuit of sensual pleasures, but few make time to fulfil their spiritual or intellectual needs and ponder higher realities.

This book aims to draw people’s attention to this crisis. Along with fulfilling the needs of the material dimension of his being, this book urges that man must also seek to fulfil the demands of the other part of his being—the spiritual dimension. Only then can one develop a truly evolved personality. Only then can one nurture and express his hidden innate potential.

Wahiduddin Khan

21 February 2021
New Delhi, India