The Enlightenment

Written by Samet Faruque

Dear Reader,

This is a short story that I wrote a few days ago. If you find a bit of
enlightenment reading this, I shall consider my work a profound success. 

Wishing you all the Best,

Samet,

Yr 10, 2010. Australia.

It never rained in winter. But you would have loved the weather in Abu Dhabi.
The sun would shine brightly, but without the intensity of summer. During such a
time, the gardens of Samet’s Mansion would be like a lush paradise. Its likeness
was the Hanging Gardens of ancient Babylon, being a pearl in the midst of the
arid desert, a wonder of the ancient world. During the day, men wearing long
white robes would be working in the garden, perfecting it with picturesque
flowers, accumulated from all around the world. Women with veils would do all
the sweeping and dusting of the mansion. The entire scene was that of peace,
serenity, and the song of birds.

You may have thought that the master of the mansion was a jolly old man as
bright and sanguine as the place. But you couldn’t have been more wrong.

Samet was a billionaire, and he was out of ideas of what to do with his money.
Samet had nothing to look forward to, nothing to make him want to live, and no
purpose in life. He was a lost, deserted being, lonesome in the wideness of the
world.

What was the use of the gardens, luxuries, and all the splendours and grandeurs
of life? Nothing. What was the point of existence? Nothing. Why did man
struggle to get a better life, when there will always be problems? Life had lost
it’s meaning for Samet, and he was terribly depressed.
When Samet woke up that day, he got up with a sudden plan of action. Did it
ever happen to you that you woke up with a very good idea? This wasn’t any
exception.

‘I thank Allah for this idea, for it greatly uplifts my mood’ thought Samet, as he
found himself planning to spend the day disguised as a normal man, to examine
people’s lives and learn from it. With such a plan came a vigour and zeal as he
had not felt for many years, and the purposelessness of life left him
momentarily.

‘Shams’ called Samet. ‘Come immediately!’

Shams was the housekeeper of the mansion, and he came running, so surprised
was he to listen to the new tone in his master’s voice.

‘Today, I would like you to bring me a false beard, some false eyebrows, and
some ordinary clothes.’

‘Sir?’

‘Just do as I say.’

A flabbergasted Shams left, worried about his master’s sanity.

At last, after some confused looks from the attendants of the mansion, and
some hasty words of explanation, the master left for the local bazaar. To see
what he could see, and learn what he could learn.

But, as you might have guessed, for Samet the market proved to be a place of
wonder and awe. Never could anyone in the Bazaar have guessed that by seeing
the normal stream of life, and the daily activities of the people of the world,
the enlightenment of Samet began.

As he walked in awe and wonder, he saw a poor child, in ragged clothes, laughing
and skipping. To him, it appeared as one of the purest forms of joys seen on this
earth. Even as Samet watched, deep in his mind, the image of his childhood
stirred.

And even as he thought, his senses stirred. For all the smell around him, all the
hustle and bustle about him, took him back to the realms of his own childhood,
when he and his sister had played this game. This child was mirror to a world
forgotten, a world of joy and hope. For the first time in countless years, Samet
felt that he had tears in his eyes.

As he walked around the bazaar, Samet heard words of purpose and wisdom. As
he walked about, thanking Allah for His Grace upon him, and for the
enlightenment which he was feeling within himself, he saw the forces of hope,
faith, joy and happiness. Yet, he did not fail to see the poor and the needy, the
charlatan and the angered, the tears and the toils of life. To you, this might
have meant nothing. But to Samet, these were living reminders of the world he
had left behind in his depression.

Filled with awe, and a sense of wonder for the world, the master entered the
threshold of his mansion. But now, the sky darkened. The winds blew violently,
and the clouds clashed to bring flashes of lightning. In this momentary
darkness and chill, the heavens opened and rain poured down hard.

As the rain fell upon him, Samet felt all his stress, depression and the
purposelessness of life being cleansed. This was a new beginning. A new era of
life had begun, born with hope. The world would see a new Samet, the one who
would help the poor and give to the needy. The new Samet would purify himself
from uselessness and with faith, and use the remaining of his strength to the
good of humanity.

Just as the rain had suddenly appeared, the rain suddenly vanished. The clouds
parted, and in a moment, it was the pleasant sunny winter of Abu Dhabi. Who
would have known that it had rained a while ago, knowing that it never rained in
winter? And who would have known that the man who rushed in the mansion to
thank the Lord for His Grace and Mercy, that this was the same man as before?