Some days ago a friend of mine remarked “we don’t want religion we want character”
I quite understood what he meant not withstanding the inaccuracy of the phraseology. But the antagonism that this arrangement of words suggested how ever mechanical did not please me. Any how it indicated a certain confusion of thought on these two most vital subjects to the world and Pakistan in particular. One should keep the moral judgments for a moment in suspension and look at things as they are .Character as Webster’s says “A sign or token placed upon an object as an indication of some special fact with reference to it as of ownership an origin; a trait or characterstic.specially one serving to distinguish one object from another.
This makes it clear that character of a human is not determined as is commonly supposed by qualities in common with other human beings but by a trait, feature or characteristic that distinguishes him from others.
The character of salt for example is to be savoury and to preserve things. That of sugar is to be sweet, that of velvet to be smooth. That of thorn to be pricky that of sheep to be meek. That of lion to be ferocious and dominating.
Now it can be seen that as far as their characteristics are concerned they can’t be compared. Each one is distinguished from the other and possesses a different sphere of usefuleness.As soon as any one of these loses its characteristic it can be justly said that it has lost its character.
Humans posses a different characteristic that characterizes human species as such and distinguishes them from animal and vegetable.
The characteristic called “Self consciousness” with power to form concepts. The “I” making power. In one word by ratiocination humans analyze and synthesize. IT can be seen that in human being external movement of the primitive element has reached to a climax. But much more then that a new movement has started in him too; which is complete severance with the first.
First “I” and “You” stand on the absolutely opposite poles. Later on “I” doesn’t only trace relationship with “You” but conceives and images the entire external phenomena within it. To illustrate when one thinks of an object outside him and by naming it makes it a part of him it is no further development of the external world but a new movement in contradistinction with the external manifestation of the things which for convenience can be termed as “inward movement”
Thus it can be seen that human being begins to form within himself the images of the physical world and creates the intellectual.
This marks the conjunction of the external and the internal. Later he walks deeper and deeper inward and the depth he terms spiritual.
There is continuous interaction between the intellectual physical and spiritual speheres.By mere slight permutations and combinations of these there forms different varieties of human beings come into existence. Slightest preponderance of certain elements gives rise to totally different characters. ____ And it may be said that the main characteristic of Pakistan is spirituality all other things re only means to this end but means must not be neglected. However if the means are turned into ends and that far off look and profundity that is in our blood and our birth right have been lost it will be a woeful day for Pakistan and then with tears one will have to ask “When the salt has lost its savour, with what shall it be salted?”
