One of the most pleasant and unexpected things about Hajj is the variety of people from all over the world. As we stay in Madinah for a week, we found ourselves to get to know something about every new culture. The routine of our trip is pretty interesting itself – pray together at the mosque, then hang out at the hotel lobby or courtyard having tea or a meal with friends and strangers. There is a little courtyard near the mosque where Sanjida and I often come back to after visiting the mosque. Here we find people from the US, Canada, Africa, Indonesia, Bangladesh, India, China, Poland and just about every other country I can think of. Not only so, after the second or third time, we started noticing the same people coming here, sitting under the shades of the palm trees having hot tea and enjoying a gentle breeze that flows from the winter desert. I have truly never enjoyed such an “interncontinental” breakfast. I experienced the generosity of the Arabs, the keen minds of Indians during our discussions, the pragmatism of Indonesians as they managed groups of pilgrims, the beautiful voices of Nigerians as they sang chants in the streets, the kindness of a poor old Bangladeshi man as he offered his thin and almost non-existent prayer rug for me to pray upon and so much more.
It didn't just stop at breakfast. As part of the requirements of Hajj, in Muzdalifah, we spent a night camping under the stars literally in the middle of the desert with countless other pilgrims. We laid out our sleeping bags next to complete strangers and all slept under the same sky. When I woke up in the morning, I said hi to an Somalian boy who couldn't speak English. I asked him his name but he seemed really shy. His father encouraged him to say hello back which he did in his vernacular – he shook my hand in the way they do in his country which is a handshake between a “high five” and a regular handshake. It was cool.
Not just breakfast and bed, but also the latrines are shared. There usually is a long line for the public bathrooms, which is all that is available during some portions of our trip. When the pilgrim starts the journey, he or she enters into a state of “ihram” which basically precludes him or her from engaging in any destructive action such as killing an animal to even breaking the branch of a tree or fighting with someone verbally. The state of ihram for men mandates men to wear two, unsewn pieces of white sheets (or in our case towels). There I was wearing nothing but two towels waiting in line with men from all over the world waiting to answer the call of nature. It sounds crazy, but it was an enlightening experience.
The shared breakfast, bed and latrines had a pretty deep impact on me. It showed how similar we truly are as human beings and how we share so many basic needs. Experiencing these needs together with millions of people together for an extended period of time is truly something that cannot be described in words. For me, it encourages me work and pray harder. It makes me realize how much more work we all have left do to create a harmonious and just world. I started to see not only my prayer as an intercontinental prayer, but my work, my efforts to create a family, my friendships and relationships to truly be an intercontinental effort. Especially given my goal to empower the Bangladeshi economy to become abundant, holistic and sustainable, I see a greater need to understand not only the Bangladeshi business landscape, but also the world business landscape. I pray for an end to all wars and for world peace. For financial abundance for all countries. For sustainable companies and economies. For a greener earth. Those are things I will be praying for and working for.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment