THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM

An "elephant in the room" is an  English metaphorical idiom or expression for an obvious truth that is going unaddressed, or an apparent but difficult problem or an uncomfortable situation that people refuse to talk about. Case in point, there is a  huge "academic" hoohaa  about the  poet Rumi. 

This 13th-century Islamic philosopher, Persian poet, Sufi master, dervish  mystic, theologian, Muslim jurist, was born  Jalal ad-Din Muhammad Balkhī Rumi  807 years ago in Vakhsh, a small village in what is now Tajikistan. In his twenties Rumi traveled to Samarkand in Uzbekistan, to Iran and to Damascus and Aleppo in Syria  where he studied to be a traditional Muslim preacher and scholar, much like his father and grandfather; and he finally settled in the city of Konya in what is now Turkey. During this time Mawlana Jalal Rumi composed his greatest mystical poetic work  in the Persian language — a six-volume spiritual epic, The Masnavi.

The general theme of the Masnavi is that of tawhid — longing and desiring to attain union with God Almighty, Prophet Muhammad and Shams of Tabriz from whom he sees himself as severed and aloof. Mawlana  Rumi's other works include the Maṭnawīye Ma'nawī (Spiritual Couplets), Majāles-e Sab'a (Seven Sessions), Makatib (The Letters), Dīwān-e Kabīr (Great work) etc. “Two Kinds of Intelligence,” “Elephant in the Dark,” and “The Guest House” come from the Masnavi . “Which is Worth More?” is drawn from Rumi’s Rubaiyat which is  a large collection of quatrains, or four-line stanzas. 

These mystical teachings is an intricate tapestry  of  fables, anecdotes, stories, proverbs and allegories that have peaked tremendous interest in recent years at University level. Rumi's literary influence transcends national borders and ethnic divisions and he has been  described as the "most popular poet"  and the "best selling poet" in the United States.  As a consequence, centuries after his death, Rumi sold more than 2 million copies, making Rumi the most popular poet in the US and he also has a massive global following. To the point that  even today Rumi’s tomb draws reverent followers and heads of state annually for a whirling dervish ceremony on 17 December, the anniversary of his death. Rumi's works have been widely translated into 23 of the world's languages and transposed into various formats so much so that  readers of "inspirational" literature are drawn to Rumi’s poetry.

Be that as it may, Rumi was just an ordinary man that the academic masses are turning him into a demi god. Though Rumi cannot come close to holding  a candle to our beloved Prophet Muhammad (SAW) who should in fact deserve such reverence though much more. 

Muhammad (SAW) was illiterate but he dictated the entire Qur'an from memory to his scribes over a period of 23 years. That in itself is a huge miracle, because no ordinary person who can neither read nor write would ever  be able to produce a 114 chapter, manuscript of such astounding  perfection —  a manuscript that is totally inimitable from a literary perspective.  Yet, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) did so, which more than proves that the Qur'an is divine revelation, and that Muhammad (SAW)  was an elect of God Almighty. 

Today, the Qur'an is the most read book in the entire world and the 
liturgical guide to more than a 1.2 billion Muslims globally.
Muhammad (SAW) teaching of Qur'an gave rise to the exegesis (Tafseer) of Qur'an by several Islamic scholars. To mention but a few, there is the Tanwir al-Miqbas (Tafsir Ibn Abbas). Tafsir al Kabir (The Great Interpretation) by Muqatil ibn Sulayman. Ahkam al-Qur'an (The Commands of the Qur'an) by al-Jassas. Tafsir al-Jalalayn (The Commentary of the Two Jalals) by Jalaluddin al-Mahalli. Fi Zilal al-Quran (In the Shade of the Quran) by Sayyid Qutb. Tafsir Ishraq Al-Ma'ani by Syed Iqbal Zaheer and  Maariful Quran by Muhammad Shafi Usmani. Beside there are several dozen of additional books of Tafseer written between 687 and the present day. Not to mention the hoards of other books of Tafseer, written in languages other than Arabic.

Muhammad (SAW) was a father to 4 daughters and a husband to 11 wives. He was also a father of 3 sons all of whom died. He was a Statesman, and in several situations a Military Leader, none of which detracted from his prophethood and the compilation of Qur'an.  He was also a judge and an arbitrator. He confirmed all the previous monotheistic prophets. All his companions pledge allegiance to him.  He had the most exemplary character and forgave and forgot easily. He was extremely generous and charitable with a great concern for the poor. He was a mercy to all mankind and he was the Final Prophet. 

There are more books of hadith —  narration of events of the life of prophet Muhammad —  written than any other human being past and present. In essence, prophet Muhammad served as an inspiration to the likes of Rumi. So, you owe it to yourself to study Muhammad (SAW) rather than Rumi.

Downloads:

1) Muhammad: His Life Based on the Earliest Sources
2) The Sealed Nectar - Dr Khalid
3) The Life Of The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH)
4) Short Biography of Prophet Muhammad - The Quran Project
5) Life of Muhammad - The Religion of Peace
6) Life and Teachings of the Prophet Muhammad 
7) Life of Muhammad
8) Prophet Muhammad (pbuh): A mercy to all creation!
9) PROPHET MUHAMMAD S.A.W.
10) Prophet Muhammad

YOU WILL LOVE ME LATER

YOU WILL LOVE ME LATER

My wife was cooking duck with roast potatoes for supper but soon realized that we ran out of potatoes, so she called me on my cell phone asking me to buy some on my way home from work.  A 
u-turn and a two minute detour later, I arrived at the shopping mall. It took me longer to find a parking space than it took me to get there. Anyway, it seemed like everyone who owned a car was there. Either they come to have supper at one of the restaurants in the mall or were also running last minute errand, like I was. Moments later I found myself zigzagging through the aisles on the lookout for anything that we may have run out of, that I may notice on the shelves.  As I made my way down the toys aisle, I heard crying even  before I saw the  4-5 year-old little girl sitting on the floor in the isle with a doll in her hands, with tears running down her cheeks. 

Her dad was sitting on his haunches beside her, with shopping basket in hand. He was talking to her in a soft and gentle voice. Seriously, it's not my habit to listen to other people's conversations in supermarkets but I couldn't help overhearing their exchange. Dad was explaining to his daughter that at that moment in time he couldn't afford to buy her the doll because the food stuff in their basket takes priority over toys but as soon as he saves enough money, he will definitely buy her the doll. This didn't go down to well with little daughter who loudly exclaimed "I hate you, I hate you".  In the same calm and gentle voice as he spoke to her previously he replied, 

"That's OK my sweety, you will love me later". 

I thought that was very profound. Dads are generally not known to be very tactful but this dad was an absolute scholar and a gentleman for the way he handled the situation.

I've seen similar scenarios play out a few times before in supermarkets and shopping malls, where mothers spanked their kids right there for throwing a tantrum, or for insisting on a toy that she couldn't afford or just wasn't willing to buy. I've seen parents shout at their kids for lying on the floor of the aisles kicking and screaming and embarrass themselves and their parents as the other shoppers attention was directed at then for the raucous they made.  I suppose everyone  raise their children differently. That being said, I sincerely believe in “To each his own”.

Meanwhile I looked at the Dad and felt inclined to offer to  pay for the doll, but it may seem like I’m rubbing his nose in it, that he is failing as a dad. He may consider it a slap in his face. And that was definitely not my intention. Also it would be telling that I was listening to his conversation, and I certainly couldn’t have that. Alternatively, I would upset the lesson of patience and perseverance he was trying to teach his daughter. So I just walked away, with my mind milling over “super dad”.  As I pulled into the driveway at home, my wife was standing in the doorway, smiled at me and said, “Where’s the potatoes”? I had bought countless of other grocery items but I completely forgot about the potatoes.

THE EMEMY FROM WITHIN

SMOKING GUN

Things at home, weren't going well for Sergeant Nicolai Wollstock. He has a serious gambling problem and is completely in denial about it. Wollstock's a decorated policeman who had knowingly lost twice his monthly salary playing poker on a one-armed-bandit at the local casino the night before. His Russian bride Nikita is quite fed up of her husband's excuses even though Nicolai  never ever told her about his gambling escapades. But, in his desperate attempt to hide it from her, he pacifies her with his lies but it doesn't help with her despondence.  

His excuse are always "We are being paid late", or that "The commissioner didn't authorise the cheques and he will only be back in two weeks time", or "The banks don't do transfers over weekends", or "I lost the money somewhere" or "I forgot it in my drawer at work".   This has always given him a reprieve until he wins again but he had steadily lost a lot more than he has ever won. Nicolai is the head of the liquor licensing and lottery squad, frequenting most of the casinos in Luggo Province, Prunsiak Russia, doing spot checks on gambling permits and checks on the legitimacy and physicality of winners. He is well know, well loved and well respected in the industry and as such has been allowed to run-up a gambling tab.

All the slot machines in the whole of Brunsiak are network by via leased lines, and gateways routers to a central data centre that houses all the gamblers information. Richard is a VIP client card holder which gives him credit of up to 5 million Russian Rubles, and considering his losses, he is almost at its limit. The house rule is, that should you reach or exceed this limit, the entire balance becomes payable with immediate effect,  even though thirty percent is his salary is automatically deducted through a stop order system in favour of Goldbricks Casino on a monthly basis. Richard is on the verge of default.

Richard watches the digital display on the slot machine as it subtracts the last 5 Russian Rubles from his VIP card. Then his cell phone rings, sounding the ringtone he dedicated to Goldbricks Casino. He always rejoiced when he heard this ringtone because it signalled his winnings but today he didn't even look at the phone message since he is fully aware of what is about to happen. If he cannot make payment within 24hrs Goldbricks Casino will foreclose on his house and auction it off, as a return on their investment. He, his wife Nakita and their 22 year old mute daughter Natalia would then be homeless. If this happens, he will surely be dismissed from the police force, even prosecuted because he signed a non- gambling declaration when he was promoted to head of the liquor licensing and lottery squad. He would also have to declare himself bankrupt and since no policeman is allowed to go bankrupt and remain of the Russian police force, he will never be employed in the police force ever again. Nicolai saddened by his train-of-thought knew that he could not allow this to happen because it would be a disgrace on him and his family.

So while sitting in his car he decided to take his own life using his service firearm / gun and it would be as if he died on duty. He thought best to shoot a bullet into his brain from the area between his neck and throat but after several minutes of nervous thoughts he realised that Goldbricks Casino would still claim his house even if he's dead and that he would still leave his family in jeopardy homeless and they would still be subjected to disgrace. Question after question mill through his mind. What if the state decides not to bury me and burden my Russian bride Nakita with the expenses? What is the state decide to cancel my pension because of my suicide and deprive my Russian bride Nakita and daughter of an income? What if the casino keeps his Russian bride Nakita responsible for dept?

After a long soliloquy Nicolai went to Nikita's favourite Chinese restaurant Tien Sen, and booked a table for three. He then phoned her to meet him for supper. Both of them arrived, warmly dressed with smiles on their faces. It’s not often that they get such a treat because Nicolai is always cash strapped, and it just seemed to good to be true. Nakita ordered Peking duck and Din sum soup, Natalia ordered Crayfish salad, Prawn Chow Ming and Chop Sui. Nicolai ordered Hong Kong Roast Chicken with stir-fry vegetables. After a hearty meal, all three of them had more rice wine than any person should ever drink, then left the restaurant to go home. Nicolai stopped to ask Hop Sing the restaurant owner to put the meal on his tab. Back home, Nakita suggested that she was going to make them some coffee but Nicolai insisted "No my dear, you go to bed I will make it and bring it you." By the time Nicolai brought the coffee, Nakita was fast asleep in bed brought on by the rice wine. 

He then looked through the doorway towards the couch in front of the TV. Natalia was lying fast asleep, snoring with her mouth wide open. So, Nicolai removed his service pistol from its holster placed it between Nikita's neck and chin without touching her and pulled the trigger. He then walked over to mute Natalia who was still sound asleep, put the gun into her open mouth and pulled the trigger. He then fell on his knees and started sobbing, holding his pistol under his chin with both hands as if in prayer, and pulled the trigger. Nicolai thought that taking the lives of his family and commit suicide would eradicate the disgrace but all it did was heighten it. It's just so sad that innocents have to suffer for the sins of others.

QUOTES TO PONDER ON

"Gambling is addictive"

"When Gambling becomes a budget item you're in trouble"

"Gamblers lose their lives at a roll of the  dice."

“Everything's a gamble, even love.” 

"Don’t make your problems my problems."

"If you can't take the heat get out of the kitchen."

"Cash today, credit tomorrow but tomorrow may never come."

"When it seems too good to be true, it probably is."

 "Beware of the last meal for the condemned" 

CURSE IN A BOTTLE

CURSE IN A BOTTLE

The day was dawning when Lucinda woke up on the back seat of her VW Polo Highline and realized she was naked from the waist down. Freaked-out, bewildered and scared, she curiously looked around to determine her whereabouts.  For the life of her she couldn't recollect what had happened to her, where she was, how she got there, why a silhouette of her panties was hanging over the rear view mirror and why she was butt naked. Lucinda  started crying out of fear, making the hangover from hell she woke up with, even worse. In the dim light of daybreak she groped around on the floor of her Polo for her mini skirt but instead ended-up with a used condom stuck to her fingers. "No, no, noooo" she shouted, shaking it off and hurriedly opening up the left door, in order to slide out. 

As her bare feet touched the ground , she quickly withdraw them out of horror because she stepped on a another used condom causing it to ooz its contents. By now her heart was racing and sitting in her throat while she sobbed uncontrollably. "What's Barry gonna say, what's Barry gonna say", flashed through her mind. "Oh no, I was raped, oh no, I was raped by at least two men", she said hysterically, repeating it over and over, as the fog cleared from her mind.

As she donned the mini skirt that she was searching for, her first rational thought was to phone her best friend Angela,  who may be able to shed some light on this darkness. Shaking uncontrollably she retrieved her clutch bag from the front seat of the car but her brand new iPhone 6 cell-phone was missing. "No no, noooo"! she shouted. "Ok now, Ok now, I must calm down and drive home or should I go to the police station" flashed through her mind, "but what do I say to them". Lucinda  then looked for her car keys in her bag but it also wasn't there either. On her knees on the left front seat, she searched frantically for her car's keys, "Ok, Ok, its not in the ignition, not behind the sun visor, not in the glove box, not on the console, not in the ashtray, not between the seats, not under the seats". 

Then Lucinda  just sat there on her knees crying her heart out, as the first sun rays streaked across the carpark.  "Ok now, I need to get to a public phone" she though, but then realized that her money, credit cards and drivers licence were also missing from her purse. Lucinda realized she was stranded, no keys, no phone, no money. Plucking all the courage she had left, she put on her shoes that was lying on the dashboard, she got out of the car, looked around and somewhat recognized her surroundings because by then it was much lighter.

Her headache had subsided and she easily identified her whereabouts as the car park of  Three Rivers Mall not too far from... ZiggBee's Dance Club. That thought, jolted Lucinda 's mind, when suddenly she recalled the occurrences and all the mental images of everything that happened the night before, flashing through her mind's eye.  She remembered that she fetched Angela that afternoon for cocktails at the Merengue Lounge. Angela needed some cheering up because she was fired from Omega Psychiatric Academy where she still worked a week ago. She was caught on CCTV footage slipping a few vials of psychotropic drugs into her cleavage, for her boyfriend Jorge.

DRUGS AND BOOZE

Thereafter she remembered driving Angela to Jorge place, for supper and sun-downers.  Jorge then suggested they go out for shots and everyone was game except her.  See wasn't dressed for the occasion but Angela quickly convinced her to come along, after Jorge slipped Lucinda's wineglass  a psychotropic pills as a mood changer. Angela provided her with a complete attire for the evening, from miniskirt to sequined-top to high heel shoes. Lucinda remembered ZiggBee's Dance Club, the tequila and the group of guys who were hitting on her and buying her drinks, and the argument she had with Angela, 'about going with whomever she pleases', and the rest is blank. After a police investigation, it turned out the group of six guys who were flirting with Lucinda were unknown to Zigbee's regulars. They were in fact night club hoppers, going from club to club usurping the wares of vulnerable young women. In their inebriated state it was also easy for these "usurpers" to rob  them of whatever they held dear, including their chastity.

Now Lucinda  is emotionally scared, uncertain how many of those six men raped her and apprehensive of Barry's reaction.  She was also penniless because they had found her bank card pin number on her iPhone 6 and helped themselves to the remainder of her bank balance. And temporarily car-less, because a new car key with immobilizer remote control is going to cost her at least $250.00. Having to apply for new bank cards and a driver's licence is another nightmare  in itself. All due to an error in judgment and Satan's "curse in bottle."

Other young women who go to nightclubs looking for love could find  horror instead. Flunitrazepam is  a powerful oral sedative and benzodiazepine is a  potent oral valium route sedative when pulverised and snorted. It is popularly known as the ‘date-rape’ drug by the name rohypnol. It is also  known as "roche," "la rocha," "roachies,"   "roofies,"  "rophies," "ruffies" and "roofenol", when illegally mixed with alcoholic drinks provides an aid to rape. The effects of benzodiazepine  is slurred speech, impaired judgement, sedation, difficulty walking and  blackouts of up to 24 hours, much like drunkenness.  It may also cause  amnesia and respiratory distress; but may also have paradoxical effects and trigger aggression in some people. An overdose can cause death  if mixed with alcoholic drinks or other drugs. 

QUOTES TO PONDER ON

"Bad things only happen to you because you allow it."

"Don't set yourself up for failure."

"Real men don't rape."

"Reverence the wombs that bore you"

"Look & think before you leap."

"Men are endowed with their God given strength to protect women, not to use it against them."

"All actions have consequences."

"Drink and make Mary, sucks."

"Alcohol beclouds the mind and permits Satan's suggestions to influence it."

"You can never win the lottery if you don't buy a ticket."

"Sex without a condom is like bungee jumping without a rope."

"C'est la vie" / "Shit happens"  Even shit happens for a reason."

THREE GENERATIONS OF ABUSE

THREE GENERATIONS OF ABUSE

Giuseppe winemaker extraordinaire was sitting on the back porch of his farm-house overlooking his vineyard. He was sad, remorseful and filled with regret and hadn't washed or eaten for three days. Mercedes his wife of three years had left him because of his constant and incessant abuse. She had noticed that he becomes a monster whenever he gets into a drunken stupor. She had threatened to leave him once before, but this was the final straw, so she walked out of his life for good. He had slapped her and swore at her for spilling his drink, inadvertently. Taking another slug straight from his unfinished bottle which he opened the night before, he chocked and shook his head from side to side. He could not reconcile with the idea that the woman he loved so much, who he gave so much, who he was intermit with for three whole years, could just give it all up without batting an eyelid and leave him.

Whenever Giuseppe distilled a batch of liquor he would save the third bottle for himself since he was a third generation Guerra. His father Ernesto Guerra, also a famous winemaker always saved the second bottle for himself since he was a second generation winemaker.  But his father, Giuseppe’s grandfather, the world renown winemaker believed that his needs always came first and the first bottled was always his. Giuseppe stooped over and embedded his face in his hands which rested on his knees, reflected on his past misdeeds which mimicked that of his father Ernesto who he had seen punch his mother in the face because their supper was cold. As a child he also witnessed Sebastian his grandfather push his grandmother off the porch that he was now sitting on, because she spilled tea into the saucer when she served it to him. All Giuseppe remembers about her, is that she walked with a cane ever since, hardly spoke and had tremors in her voice whenever she did. Then it dawned on him that they were three generation of winemakers, three generations of women abusers and it surprised him, that it took all of three years to wreck his marriage.

A few moments later he leaped to his feet, knocked the chair he was sitting on, off the edge of the porch with force, sending flying into the distance. In his anger he punched the fluted pillar that held up the pergola, covered by a bougainvillea creeper. He then back hand slapped the bottle of wine he was drinking from which was perched on a round table beside him, breaking it and sending glass splinters flying all over. Then Giuseppe burst out crying and through his sobs, in a hardly audible and muffled voice repeated, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry", over and over again. He had just realised that the chair he shoved could have been his grandmother Louisa and that the pillar he punched could have been his mother Rebecca, and that the bottle he backhanded could quite easily have been Mercedes. 

He impersonated the actions of Carlos Guerra his grandfather and Ernesto his father and felt ashamed of himself, because not only did he inherit winemaking from them but he had learnt abuse by example. "It’s the wine that made us do it," he said loudly, "it’s the wine." Without thinking he ran into the vineyard and started trampling and stomping on the young vines as if he wanted to force it to go back to where it came from. Suddenly Giuseppe went completely calm, walked over to the shed where the tractor lived which he promptly started and drove through the vineyard uprooting and destroying every visible vine. Right in the middle of the field he dismounted the tractor and amidst the dust Giuseppe fell on his knees, looked up to the sky and prayed for guidance. He hadn’t prayed in a very long time because he succumbed to Satan's "curse in a bottle"  and was far too busy making wine for himself and others. Three years later, the new, reformed, teetotaller Giuseppe finds himself walking hand in hand with his new wife Tatiana through the paths in his olive grove explaining to her that they can expect a bumper harvest in the next three years-  God willing.

QUOTES TO PONDER ON

"Abuse is learnt."

"Actions have consequences, good actions have good consequence and bad actions have bad consequences."

"Be a man, cultivate good habits and lead by example." 

"Self control is the key to happiness." 

"The strongest man is not the one who wins the fight but the man who controls his anger to prevent a fight."

"Liquor destroys lives, the permanent damage and destruction it causes outweighs the momentary pleasures it brings, by far. " 

"Don't blame others take responsibility for you own deeds."

"Prayer is the answer to all your troubles."

"The best prayer is a prayer for guidance."

"God will not change the condition of anyone until they first change that which is in their hearts."