আমার
দেখে
শুনে
জ্ঞান
হল
না।
কি
করিতে
কি
করিলাম
দুগ্ধেতে
মিশালাম
চোনা।
মদন
রাজার
ডঙ্কা
ভারি
হলাম
রে
তার
আজ্ঞাকারি
জার
মাটিতে
বসত
করি
চিরদিন
তারে
চিনলাম
না।
লালন
ফকির
Amar dekhe shune gnan holo na.
Ki korite ki korilam, dugdhete mishalam chona.
Modon rajar donka vari, holam re tar agnakari
Jar matithe boshot kori
Chiro din tare chinlam na. Lalon Fakir
(I learn not from listening, seeing.
To do things right I err like mixing urine with milk.
I have become wish-bearer of powerful king Modon - lust.
Living in someone’s land I never bother to know Him). Lalon Fakir
According
to Guru Aziz Shah Fakir the song reveals the four-fold evils such as
stubbornness, willful erring, greed and ignorance have inflicted most of
our people in power. The
progressive deterioration of sustainability in all sectors of the
country including foreign affairs, political, economic, social, moral,
law and order, and ecological conditions bear the witness. He considers
the rising trend towards the worst as an indication
of a potential social revolution. A revolution is of course desirable
for retreat facilitating the emergence of a new era with a new set of
revolutionary people enriched with values and spirituality of Sufism,
and new governance for restoration of our degrading
sustainability. The guru is elated about it, for
a new governance would hopefully cause to end the inherently
oppressive, exploitative and corrupt western democracy in one hand, and
implant a righteous democracy embedded in the spirit
of Khelafat system of deliberative governance, on the other. To help
restore historic Sonar Bangla, the guru outlines a guideline for
establishing the Khelafat system of governance largely compatible to our
sustainability icons:
নদী
ভরা
জল
মাঠ
ভরা
ফসল
পুকুর
ভরা
মাছ
গোয়াল
ভরা
গরু
বাড়ী
ভরা
গাছ
পাখির
কলতান
শিশুর
কোলাহল
বাউলের
ও
মাঝির
গান
রাতে
বন্য
জন্তু
ও
ভূতের
ভয়।
nadi vora jol (water in river),
math vora sashya (field full of crops),
pukur vora maas (pond full of fish),
gohal vora garu (cow in the cowshed),
bari vora gaas (homestead with trees),
pakhir kolotan (melodious tune of the birds),
shisur koahol (uproar of children),
bauler o majheer gaan (songs of Bauls and boatmen),
Rathe banya jantu O vuther voy (fear of wild animals and ghosts at night)
The
guru would call the new era as the era of ‘Ecocracy’ (ecological
democracy). The Ecocracy of the historic Khelafat system needs to be
revived and intrinsically implanted at
National, Thana, Union and Ward level. Firstly, a national Khelafat
committee can be constituted with 2 representatives (1 male, 1 female)
from each of the like-minded
(pro-Sufi) political parties. This integrated committee can recruit a
national recruiting body consisting of 50% male and 50% female members.
They should be distinguished practicing individuals of various
disciplines who are laudable for their stewardship
values such as patriotism, competence, trustworthiness, honesty and
resilience. With the expertise of the national recruiting committee, the
national Khelafat committee can recruit 1 male and 1 female Ward
Khalifas, Union Khalifas and Thana Khalifas throughout
the country. There may not be any Khalifas at the district level. The
districts can be administered by a team of
patriotic civil servants.
The selection process must be based on the basis of merits of the candidates as outlined in “I am Harun Baul Speaking (part 19;
www.bangladesh-web.com
Tuesday June 03 2008)”. The selected Ward Khalifas can then recruit one
male and one female member from the Ward Gotras (clans) to form an
Integrated Ward Khelafat Committee. The national Khelafat committee and
national recruiting committee jointly can form
the Thana Committees who can form the Union Committees in their
respective unions. Both the Thana and the Union committees need to be
selected strictly on the basis of merits of the candidates.
The
Khalifas at all levels may be given honorarium to meet their basic
living costs. They will work from their respective Ward Community Centre
which will be constructed in every
Ward. The centre should be large enough to accommodate a training
centre, a healthcare facility, a food security go-down, a crop bank, a
cooperative shop, a ration shop, an organic fertilizer centre, a
permissible entertainment facility, a Shalish Kendra etc.
The local agenda with regards to social, economic and ecological issues
must be identified and prioritized locally reflecting the deliberative
wisdom of the local people including the local elders. The resolved
matters and any unresolved ones (legal matters
etc.) including any socio-economic conflicts and future development
plans are to be forwarded to the Union and Thana Khalifas. The Thana
Khalifas will endeavour to resolve them. The yet-unresolved
matters will be sent to the National committee. This bottom-up
functionality clearly
means that a Ward Community Centre is the primary hub of community
activity. This model of governance, the guru claims, is a sustainable
grassroots-based
Ecocratic system.
The
guru suggests that the National Khalifas have to be trained up by the
guru’s authorised trainers on all aspects of the national election
manifesto and ministerial framework
as revealed in “I am Harun Baul Speaking part 21”. The National
Khalifas will train the Thana Khalifas who will train the Union Khalifas
who will train the Ward Khalifas who will train the Ward Committee
members who will implement development in their respective
community. The focus of training would be to reinforce Khelafat
governance’s intrinsic capital such as patriotism, belief (Iman) and
spiritual strength that can synergistically revitalise our degrading
culture to advance a transition towards reviving our inherent
cultural values such as caring for the environment, learning from
nature, honesty and trustworthiness, responsibility and obligation,
patience and resilience, and kindness and cooperation. The synergies
between these values can transform the people of ignorance
into “the people of integrated understanding”.
The
guru
asserts that a nation comprised of a people of understanding can cause
to prevail a culture where the rulers are guided by the pious. The
rulers of Indian sub-continent
enjoyed this privilege during the time of Pir Minuddin Chisty of Ajmer
(d. 1230), Pir Shah Jalal of Sylhet (d. 1384), to list a few. Under the
guidance of the pious, rich are obliged to see the poor as their valued
patrons, and the people in general understand
themselves as the custodian of all in nature. Tyranny and exploitation
have no chance to prevail under this circumstance.
On
the contrary, the rulers devoid of the guidance from holy saints, and
also the highly recognised pundits who venerate the western democracy
often tend to talk like idiots, behave
like blinds, and act like cheats. The advocacy for the highly
profiteering micro-credit programs in order to push the country’s
various types of poverty caused by both human (social and political) and
natural causes into museums is a living example. The guru
asserts that the previous proclamation made by a distinguished
personality regarding poverty alleviation through the business of
micro-credit has resulted in creating a massive destitution compared to
its microscopic economic well-being.
However, the socio-moral losses that our culture has already suffered
due to this deceptive micro-credit business stand irrecoverable. To add
salt to injury, another deceptive slogan is being made now-a-days. This
is to trigger the marketing of values-driven
social business with moral obligation to be undertaken by the
university graduates. Again, it is being told that the social business
shall put poverty into the museums. This is also a classic bluff.
The
social business of indiscriminate sale and usage of mobile phones is at
the root of some serious evils in Bangladesh. Blackmailing, cheating,
mugging, extortion, robbery, theft,
road accidents, mobile marriage, suicide, illicit relationship between
male and females, watching of immoral scenarios, murder, potential
damage to ear (and/or brain) from over-use - all have flourished hundred
times greater than when it was not in use. Many
students and non-students youths are being spoiled, even losing their
lives, because of the evil use of mobile phones. Innumerable city
parents pass their times in dreadful stress. It has also caused
nutritional deficiency to many low income people. As the
people first increase food consumption when they have extra money, so
they decrease it when in deficit. The guru claims that wise distribution
and morally acceptable use of mobile phones will gradually lead to
abolish all the negative consequences significantly.
Recognizing
the above unsustainable anti-values phenomena, the guru repeatedly asks
the values-driven pro-Sufi political parties to act in unity for
devising an action plan for
effective values education program from the early childhood – not at
the tertiary level as has been suggested in view of promoting so-called
social business. Beside enriching the primary and secondary school
curriculum for values education, a dedicated TV
centre is long due in order to facilitate moral and spiritual
development of our people including children through moral
advertisements, depicting the sayings and doings of the Sufis, Baul
songs, religious discourses, educational drama, and
sustainability-centric
documentary shows including sustainable development activities in the
country. A concerted effort is required to achieve this. The political
parties in context have so far failed even to come to a common platform
for mutual discussion. But it is an imperative
for creating a discussion based synergy for uniting the pro-Sufi
political parties who can collectively motivate people to ignite a
social movement. The time is substantially favourable now, but is
running out fast. Missing this great opportunity this time
may result in a missing for forever. Lalon reminds:
সময়
গেলে
সাধন
হবে
না। .
দিন
থাকিতে
তিনের
সাধন
কেন
করলে
না।
জানো
না
মন
খালেবিলে
মিন
থাকে
না
জল
শুকালে
কি
হবে
তার
বাধাল
দিলে
শুকনা
মোহনায়।
অসময়ে কৃষি
করে
মিছা মিছি
খেটে
মরে
গাছ
যদি
হয়
বীজের
জরে
ফল
ত
ধরে
না।
লালন
ফকির
Somoy gele shadhon hobe na.
Din thakite thiner sadhon keno korle na.
Janona mon khale bile,
Min thake na jol shukale,
Shukna mohonay.
Osomoye krishi korile,
Misamisi khete more,
Gass jodi hoy bijer jore.,
Fol to dhore na. Lalon Fakir
(Futile
is untimely contemplation. Why not complete for the three (brotherhood
for social sustainability, modesty for economic sustainability and
nature conservation for ecological sustainability). Know you not that
fish never exist in the dried out wetlands? What result would it produce
if a dam is constructed there? Even if plants
grow because of quality seeds, fruiting never occurs).
Over
two months have passed since the last discourse on “I am Harun Baul
Speaking (part 21)” was published on April 24, 2012 in the News From
Bangladesh describing a simple framework
for a sustainable Khelafat governance in Bangladesh. Guru Aziz Shah
Fakir is relentlessly discoursing about the need for and significance of
the Khilafat governance not only for making Bangladesh a happy and
sustainable country, but also for orchestrating
of a sustainability showcase for the global socio-economic and
political management. It is rather unusual that the dedicated political
parties are hardly doing any visible endeavours
to constitute a governance framework in light of the Khilafat
democracy in congruence with Bangladesh’s pluralistic cultural and
climatic conditions.
The guru suggests that the political parties in context should foster the 'underlying' cultural basis of the country.
Our culture is by and large a Sufism centric culture vibrant with spirituality, Milad Mahfil and Urs
manifesting brotherhood, modesty and conservation of nature.
The guru, thus, urges:
মিছে মায়ায় মদ খেয়ো না
প্রাপ্ত পথ ভুলে যেও না
এবার গেলে আর হবে না
পরবি কয় যুগের পিছে ।
Misse mayai mod kheo na
prapto path bhule jeo na
Ebar gele ar hobe na
Porbi koy juger pisse.
(Do not follow
prohibited paths under false temptations forgetting the sustainable
pathway that you have been bestowed with. To miss opportunities this
time will leave you behind time).
Md.
Amzad
Hossain
