When Irfan invited me to attend a historical meeting, I had no idea that it would be such a memorable encounter. He did not give me any details as he wanted it to be a surprise. When I arrived at the airport, he was there to receive me. He took me to his home, we had dinner and I went to bed. The next morning he drove me to the meeting. He asked me to enjoy the day on my own as he had to take care of his responsibilities as one of the organizers of the event.
As I wandered around the huge hall, I was surprised at the length and breadth of the arrangements. On one side was an auditorium for lectures by intellectuals and scholars from all over the world, and on the other stood a number of pavilions that looked from a distance like cottages. Coming closer, I could see that each pavilion had a banner over the door. Rather than attending the lectures I chose to visit the pavilions.
The first pavilion was named 21st Century People. At first glance, that title seemed meaningless. I thought that all 7 billion people living on earth were 21st century people. But keeping that cynical thought to myself, I entered the pavilion where I found many men and women, some sitting reading books and others engaged in a passionate dialogue. I approached them to see what they were talking about and soon realized that they were discussing Stephen Hawking’s recent book, The Grand Design.
The first person was saying, “After reading that book I realized that we are living in a multi-verse and not in a uni-verse. Knowing that completely changed my world-view.”
The second person responded, “And I was amazed to read that the Big Bang Theory may not be correct and the question of how this universe was created might be an irrelevant question.”
The third added, “I was fascinated with the concept of black holes. There have been many times when the whole universe disappeared into a black hole and after a while a completely new universe appeared. This cycle of death and re-birth of universes has been going on for a long time. Now we are forced to re-think our concept of the beginning and the end of time and the universe.”
The fourth asked, “But why do you think millions of people refuse to accept these facts?”
The fifth responded, “Because they are not living in the 21st century.” At that moment I realized the significance of the title 21st Century People.
I came out of that pavilion and entered the one bearing a banner that said 20th Century People. The people there seemed more conservatively dressed than those in the 21st.century pavilion.
I came upon women two women deep in discussion, the content of which seemed to indicate that they were psychotherapists. When they welcomed me and invited me to join their dialogue, I asked one of them what kind of psychotherapy she practised. She said, “I am a classical analyst. My orientation is Freudian. I ask my patients to lie down on the couch and free associate.”
“How often do you see your patients?”
“For one hour, four or five times a week.”
“For how long?”
“Four to six years.”
“But I thought that most therapists have discarded that method. They have face to face dialogues with their patients and see them only once or twice a week.”
“But I am a Freudian analyst and I see my patients the way Sigmund
Freud used to see them.”
At that moment I realized why she was a 20th century woman. She was one of those who lived in the 21st century physically but thought like a 20th century person. I did not want to offend her by saying that if Freud were alive today, even he would have modified his methods and practices.
Then I entered the next pavilion with a banner that said 19th Century People. When I asked an older man dressed in a traditional suit and a tie what he believed in, he said that he was a Classical Marxist. During our dialogue, when I stated that when Lenin put Marx’s views into practice, it had limited results, he disagreed with me. He said that the problem lay in the faulty practice and not in the philosophy. His response reminded me of my Muslim friends who tell me that the problem is with Muslims, not Islam. When the Marxist asked my opinion, I shared that I had great respect for Karl Marx as a genius who made wonderful contributions to our understanding of the human condition. But after two centuries we know so much more and have gone beyond Marxist theories. Now we need to integrate his theory into new models.
When he pursued the subject I told him that Marx was preoccupied with class struggles and class analysis; but now we know that to understand the socio-economic and political condition of any community, country or culture, alongside the class struggles we also need to focus on ethnic, racial, gender, language, nationalistic and religious struggles. Since every community is unique, their struggles are also unique. The Classical Marxist smiled and said, “All those struggles might be important but the most important struggle is the class struggle.” After that dialogue I shook hands with him and left the pavilion.
I wandered around the area for a while and realized that I did not have time to visit each pavilion, so I chose to enter the pavilion proclaiming itself 7th Century People. In that pavilion there were many orthodox Muslims with long unkempt beards, wearing caps and clutching tasbeeh [prayer beads]. They were arguing passionately with each other over the right way to offer prayers, fast, go to Hajj, offer zakat [charity], and whether Jihad meant purifying one’s soul or declaring holy war on infidels. Many of them expressed satisfaction that in Afghanistan, followers of Osama bin Laden and Mullah Omar had destroyed the statues of Buddha because the true Islamic tradition was to destroy all statues and idols.
Then I entered another pavilion that said People of the Era Before Christ. In that pavilion there was a group of orthodox Jews with beards and long curly hair, wearing black hats and coats. Some of them were praying and rocking, while others were discussing the miracles of Moses and his encounters with Pharaoh. When I asked one of them about Jewish law, he said, “An eye for an eye.” When I asked him whether he had heard the saying that if we followed the principle of an eye for an eye, half of the village would be blind, he thought I was being disrespectful to his philosophy and tradition. I apologized and left.
After that pavilion I was planning to go home but I saw two pavilions at a distance from the others. They were labeled 22nd and 23rd Century People. I thought I should meet those people before I left, so I entered the pavilion of the 22nd Century People.
When I talked to one of them he shared that he was born into an orthodox Muslim family. But when he became a teenager and studied science, psychology and philosophy, he said goodbye to all religions as they represented a tribal mentality. He realized that all human beings from diverse religions, nationalities, languages and cultures belong to one human family. He was pleased that more and more people all over the world are rejecting organized religions and realizing that humans are more important than age-old deities.
My last visit was to the pavilion of 23rd Century People. When I talked to one of the women there she told me that she was from an orthodox Jewish family who ate kosher food and believed in the Torah. They had a dream of going to Israel and seeing the land that was promised to the Jews according to the holy scriptures. But as she grew older and studied world history, she realized that most religions were more myths than realities and that holy books contained more fiction than facts. She realized that human beings were so arrogant and self-centered that they considered themselves the chosen people of God. She believed that human beings were irresponsible and had done a lot of damage to planet earth. One example was cutting down the rainforests; by doing that they had not only cut down the trees that provide us oxygen, but had also destroyed the habitat of thousands of species of animals, plants, birds and insects. She thought human beings should learn to live in harmony with their environment and consider animals and birds their brothers and sisters. She believed we were all children of Mother Earth. I was quite impressed by that woman who seemed to be a compassionate human being.
When I returned to Irfan’s house I thanked him for inviting me to such an enlightening meeting. It had made me aware that although 7 billion individuals might be physically living in the 21st century, mentally they were living in different centuries.
The next day Irfan took me back to the airport. While we were waiting for my flight, he said, “Before I talk to someone, I ask myself, ‘What century does this person live in mentally?’ Once I figure that out, my communication with that person becomes easier.” Before leaving, I thanked Irfan for organizing such a thought-provoking meeting that had included people from different centuries and cultures. Irfan said that knowing me, he was sure that I would enjoy such an experience. Flying back home I realized that it was a Historical Meeting in more than one way.