The soul shall rise from the deep depths of darkness. The darkness that has layers after layers, hence exists in many forms. The manyness of this darkness, its different shades, blurs the realities and forces the soul to leave the search for the truth and negotiate with the environment- dark indeed. The force of darkness is so mighty that even the stronger souls succumb. They first resist to their strength but soon get drenched and dejected by what they are up to. Pessimism breeds in them and drains all the vital energies from their existence. They appear handicapped, handcuffed, chained, meager and weak not only in their appearances but from inside also. The human ‘will’, the ‘I’, that has been granted as a trust, soon fade away. Once the Khudi is lost, physical existence is nothing but a facade. ‘I’ is the source for all endeavors to change the environment and human history is nothing but a continuous encounter between man’s ‘I’ and its environment. The environment acts with all its determinism but the ‘I’ works with possible means to change and control the environment for the benefit of entire humanity. Once the darkness befalls and takes the soul hostage, ‘I’ is lost and with it all efforts to take humanity form darkness to light. When the soul surrenders, darkness magnifies its might and looms large across the human civilization. The fallen souls are conditioned to the extent that they start designing the plans to negotiate with the darkness and to accept the status quo. They shun the path of resistance and do not realize that the resistance is the only way for their existence. Existence breaths its last when resistance stops. The soul shall rise to resist the encroachment of the darkness, shall come victorious, and shall feel proud to regain its lost glory and pride. But at the same time resistance has to be beautiful even if the occupation is ugly. The soul shall not accept to become oppressor of the oppressor or the oppressed.
The soul shall rise from the clutches of all what is material as all what is solid perishes. It shall liberate itself from the colonization of all physical forces that have enslaved it, tamed it and oppressed it. Oppression is the worst calamity that can befall humanity. It stops the flight of the souls and bring them down. The oppressed souls become lesser of themselves, they are dwarfed and one cannot expect ‘big things from the small people’. Souls that are not liberated cannot achieve the taste of higher pursuits as the chains they wear, drain all happiness, all emotions and all rationality from them. They turn into the automated machines with souls absent- a metamorphic effect indeed. When this stage is reached the souls are unable to find their identity, and when identities are lost existences become value less. Identities matter not only in defining what one is, but also what one is not. When souls lose identity, they get stuck between what they are and what they are not, thus become confused and confused beings are no assets rather liabilities. No revolutions come through confused beings. What is required, are the souls with a clear understanding of themselves and their environment; a clear motive of their existence and mission. They shall possess a futuristic vision of a liberated society where all shall reach to the level what they are capable of reaching; and where justice and dignity are cherished above all. Colonization takes these values away and makes humans lesser humans. Dehumanization is the necessary outcome of oppression and colonization. The soul shall rise to resist the entire process of dehumanization. It should resist the colonization of physique over the soul. The physique may indeed look very beautiful but cages, even if made up of gold and diamond, are but cages. Physical development, unless it liberates, is nothing but a deception and deceptions trap human souls with glamour and glittering appearances and therefore, develop a false consciousness in them. With false consciousness no liberation is possible. Liberation demands tearing of all the threads of false consciousness and replacing it with a revolutionary one. Liberation demands debunking of all the myths that thwart revolution, confront all the narratives that become base for the development of false consciousness. But breaking the tentacles of colonization is not an easy task. A real courage and endurance, along with a continuous struggle is required.
The soul shall rise from the deep slumber of believing that all has been accomplished and nothing remains to be accomplished. Believing in such claims brings ossification of mind. It freezes human understanding and blocks all the cognitive impulses that dream about new realities. Being human demands thinking beyond the thinkable, even if nothing solid comes out of such an exercise but the soul shall not be deprived from this liberty. If human ‘I’ is satisfied it means a virtual end. Dissatisfaction is progress, movement is life; cease the movement life automatically comes to a halt. Satisfaction strengthens status quo and blocks revolutions. It gives the oppression and the colonization a license to operate till eternity. It justifies the sufferings and miseries of the oppressed. It makes fate a stumbling block, an impediment in the road of revolution. Revolutions demand a revolutionary outlook, a critical thinking and an endeavor to carry it to the logical conclusion. The soul shall rise for such and endeavor.
Sheikh Javaid Ayub is Assistant Professor Political Science
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