X-Sender: bala@...
X-Apparently-To: agathiyar@egroups.com
Received: (EGP: mail-8 0 1 3); 25 Jan 2002 08:41:13 -0000
Received: (qmail 52627 invoked from network); 25 Jan 2002 08:41:13 -0000
Received: from unknown (216.115.97.167) by m11.grp.snv.yahoo.com with QMQP; 25 Jan 2002 08:41:12 -0000
Received: from unknown (HELO sydneywerks.com.au) (203.22.101.2) by mta1.grp.snv.yahoo.com with SMTP; 25 Jan 2002 08:41:11 -0000
Received: from bala (nas0ppp45.sydneywerks.com.au [203.22.103.55]) by sydneywerks.com.au (8.9.3/8.9.3) with SMTP id TAA19988; Fri, 25 Jan 2002 19:41:06 +1100
Message-ID: <000d01c1a57b$dbb335c0$6201a8c0@bala>
To:
Cc:
Subject: Balance & Networked Cooperatives
Date: Fri, 25 Jan 2002 19:39:40 +1100
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit
X-Priority: 3
X-MSMail-Priority: Normal
X-Mailer: Microsoft Outlook Express 5.00.2615.200
X-MimeOLE: Produced By Microsoft MimeOLE V5.00.2615.200
From: "Bala Pillai"
X-Yahoo-Group-Post: member; u=1292804
X-Yahoo-Profile: bala2pillai
X-Yahoo-Message-Num: 15190
----- Original Message -----
From: Bala Pillai
To:
Cc: SK
Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 7:36 PM
Subject: The Islam & Siva Balance
> Dear Sangkancilers,
>
> Re: below whose parallel in Hinduism is the "Siva balance".
>
> A key pillar of the economics of networked cooperatives is *balance*.
>
> Examples: balance between cooperation and competition. (instead of the
> current obsession with competition - present any innovative proposal to a
> banker and he will kill the proposal with concoctions of competition, yet
> there is so much room for more good customer service and more innovations.
>
> Balance between spending and savings (instead of the current obsession
with
> savings) -- don't forget if you are tight with your money, how is someone
> going to have money to buy your services?
>
> Interested in discussing this more? To find where we are off balance and
how
> to bring it back?
>
>
> The Balance of Islam
> http://www.islam-online.net/english/discover/discover7.shtml
>
> The Holy Book of Islam, the Qur'an, describes the Muslim society as
> "Ummathan wasathan", a balanced society. (2: 143) It means a society that
> adopts a middle course, not swerving to
> extremes.
>
> This balance is seen in many aspects of Islam. One example is its stand
> towards this world and the other world. Religions are expected to be
> afterlife-directed, and renunciation of earthly life is generally
considered
> a very desirable attitude to life, though most people fail in this
venture.
> The Qur'an, however, teaches: "Seek your Home of the Hereafter with what
God
> has given you in this world; and do not forget your portion
> in this world". (28:77)
>
> Allah has also said: "It is He (God) Who has created for you all things on
> this earth" (2:29). This clearly shows that God wants us to make use of
the
> blessings of this world for our progress. So Islam does not teach us to
> adopt a negative attitude to this world; it does not say that the world is
> evil in itself. And when we see that God created everything for our use,
> then who are we to say, "We don't want them"?
>
> In fact it is our approach and attitude to this world that makes the world
> good or evil as the case may be. God has given us guidance in how best we
> can live here in peace and prosperity. It is up to us to determine how we
> use the resources of this world and how we live here.
>
> Although chronologically Islam is the latest religion, in many ways it
> stands between the formalism of Judaism and the spirituality of
> Christianity. Islam teaches Muslims to have the best of both worlds: the
> world of business, politics and turmoil, and the world of eternal peace in
> Hereafter.
>
> Man as God's Ambassador on Earth
>
> God tells us that He created us as His ambassadors on earth (Qur'an 2:
30).
> This means,
>
> (1) that He has given us certain faculties to make us
> worthy of being his ambassadors (Qur'an
> 17:70); and (2) that we have to discharge the duties that
> are placed on us as God's ambassadors.
>
> God has given us intellect, imagination, memory, speech,
> and so on, which are all required for our
> life on earth. He has also given us freedom, without
which
> our intellectual faculties will be
> useless. It is up to us to use these faculties to our
> benefit in this world as responsible persons. But
> is it proper on our part to be reckless in our use of our
> God-given freedom and these faculties? Not
> at all.
>
> Then how do we know the limits of our freedom or the
> seriousness of the responsibilities entrusted
> to us?
>
> To this end, He has given us Guidance. He helps us to use
> all His blessings optimally so that we
> do not exceed the limits set by Him.
>
> The Balance in the Creation of the Universe
>
> We read in the Holy Qur'an: "He has created man; He has
> taught him intelligent speech. The sun
> and the moon follow courses exactly computed; and the
> plants and the trees, bow in adoration.
> The Firmament has He raised high, and He has set up the
> Balance, in order that you may not
> transgress due balance." (55: 3-8)
>
> As God's representatives on earth, we too have to observe
a
> balance and justice in the use of God's
> bounty. This means that as responsible citizens of God's
> kingdom, we cannot squander or waste
> natural resources, or even the wealth we presume to be
> ours; for, we have to consider not only our
> own needs, but also the needs of the future generations.
>
> This balance should be present in everything we do.
> Therefore a Muslim cannot be an extremist
> in anything, just as he cannot be a spendthrift or a
miser.
> God decries extremism even in religious
> matters. God commands: "Do not commit excess in your
> religion", as He has commanded us to
> observe justice in everything. For this reason, a Muslim
> has to be a reasonable person, a person of
> proper balance and equanimity. In times of good fortune
or
> bad fortune, he has to keep his cool; he
> cannot lose his balance.
>
> Thus we find that Islam is a religion of justice and
> balance. It visualizes an ideal society where
> people live in peace as equal citizens striving for the
> material and spiritual welfare of all.
>
