Conversion to God

The sun is nature’s laboratory, in which atomic reaction converts into light. Cows are a living laboratory in which grass converts into milk. Trees are also a laboratory of nature, which take in water, minerals and gases and convert them into blossoms and fruits.

God requires man to undergo the same process of conversion as the sun, trees and animals undergo with such perfection. But there is one difference: in other things conversion is an instinctive process, whereas in man it is a conscious one; in other things conversion occurs on a material plane, whereas in man it occurs on a spiritual plane.

Normally, we just observe the outside world, but we should do more than just observe. The Creator of the universe requires us to see His reflection in the mirror of His creation. Facts may enter our minds as information, but we should convert this information into knowledge of God. When we are successful in this world, we should attribute our success wholly to God. When we fail, we should, through our failure, see how helpless man is. When we have cause for complaint against anybody, our inner mechanism should convert resentment into forgiveness and pardon.

Land which converts earth into trees is fertile land: land which does not do this is sterile. So it is with man. Whoever is able to awaken his inner mechanism in such a way that it begins to convert raw matter into sublime matter is a true believer. One whose inner mechanism is unable to do this is a disbeliever. The former can look forward to heaven when he comes before God, whereas the latter can look forward to nothing but hell-fire. □

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We cannot deny that the conception of brotherhood in Islam transcends all barriers of race and nationality, a feature which does not characterise any other religion.

Dr. S. Radhakrishnan in his ‘East and West in Religion’ (London, 1933)