No man is an island entire of itself. Every man is born in a particular society, and it is this society that creates the mindset of an individual. We imbibe the effects of our surroundings and the prevailing culture. Every person is a product of the environment or society they live in. These societal effects that are cultivated in one’s mind are referred to as the conditioning of the mind. Everyone possesses a mind that is conditioned in some way or the other, and this is the biggest issue we face. It is this conditioning that is responsible for turning us away from our original pure nature. In this respect, everyone is a sure case of a conditioned mind. It is very important that this unnatural effect is eliminated; which means the conditioned mind must be deconditioned. Hence, it becomes imperative that each one of us decondition ourselves and bring ourselves back on to our pure original nature. This process of deconditioning of the mind can also be called as the re-engineering of the mind.
Islamic movement begins with iqra, or educating people The first verse to be revealed was: Copy Arabic text (94:1-4)
We are doing the same task by spreading literature. We are educating people by the pen. First we have to educate people, develop their thinking and reengineer their minds. Nobody performs this task. People just want someone to become caliph. This is entirely impossible. People are unable to understand this. It is extremely important to understand the starting point. The foremost importance is of the starting point. The starting point is not to declare that so and so person is a caliph. The starting point is to develop the temperament in people to be organized and united. Unity comes when we accept a person, just as we do in namaz.
What is namaz? Namaz is a lesson:
a person stands in front and everybody stands behind him to offer prayer. This means that one person should be in front, while the others should take the back seat. We offer namaz in a formal way, but are not ready to follow it in our lives. The lesson given in namaz is: one person stands in the front and others take the back seat.
Who follows this outside the mosque? What is the starting point?
The starting point is to change people's thinking and develop in them the temperament of acceptance of others. The issue facing us is not that of lack of leadership but lack of acceptance of leadership. The problem confronting us is not that of lack of leadership, but lack of acceptance of leadership. We need to develop this thinking in people.
