Ahmad Rafique Akhtar is a notable Islamic scholar from Pakistan. A graduate of the famous Government College, Lahore, Prof. Rafique has been associated with teaching for years. Later, he returned to his native town Gujar Khan near Rawalpindi to run a small crockery shop there. In Gujar Khan he started delivering lectures on different Islamic and philosophical topics and this eventually grew to such an extent that he had to travel all over Pakistan as well as to many other places in the world. Many of his lectures have been published in book form as well.
MY THOUGHTS, MY
WANDERINGS AND
THE MYSTIC
by Salman S
The Mystical
Ahmad Rafiq Akhtar abruptly left a reputable and stable teaching career to open up a crockery shop in Gojar Khan, a small town an hour’s drive away from the capital city of Pakistan. Born in 1941, exposed to a wealth of world literature and accompanying an exceptionally keen mind he started to ask some seriously loaded questions at a very early age. The kind of queries which frequently pop up probably in all maturing minds but unlike most, Rafiq decided to take these thought bubbles on a test drive. What we know of him today, it can be safely said that in this era of information overload, one would hardly be able to find a mind with such a total command on the contemporary knowledge domains this world has to offer. This fascinating mix of historical, philosophical, anthropological, mythological and religious insight provides a unique and multifaceted perspective when you are forming opinions around issues like identification of God, nature of man, essence of knowledge and sciences of thinking and emotions.
Let me attempt to summarize and share some of his opinions about mind and thoughts. Thoughts are externally triggered streams of proposals constantly landing on the backplane of human consciousness. These are not standalone structures and actually have families with linkages and correlations. Humans may not have any control on the incoming proposals, but can have the ability to observe, filter and act on them. What really separate men from boys is to know, that this ability to choose exists and to understand the difference between involuntary and voluntary thought patterns. With this core capability available to all of us, the sophistication level of this “thought backplane” does vary from person to person. At one extreme, basic human wants like fear, security, control and approval dominate the filtering process and at the other end grasp of moderated behaviours, unbiased knowledge and deep parapsychological practices can take it to unprecedented levels of refinement.
An augmenting aspect of Rafiq’s observations and experiences is that perhaps for the first time we have an introduction to the workings of the basic principles of a new branch of knowledge centered on this theme. This body of knowledge was initially theorized by 11th and 12th century mystics like Ibne-Arabi, but were never really established as a science which can be clinically practiced. Thanks to Rafiq, we now know that this “thought backplane” has a design blueprint and more importantly the patterns are so recurring that with proper tooling they can be read externally! Rafiq will tell you about the ontology, correlations, complexities, anomalies and attributes of this blueprint. He will tell you about the adaptabilities as well as repulsions you inherently have with other humans and non-humans actors around you. He will tell you about your core tendencies, opportunities and limitations and most importantly he will tell you who this “I” is when you say “I think”! There is a reason we always call him “Professor” Ahmad Rafiq Akhtar.
September 2010: 5:10 PM: Vancouver - Southbound Sky Train
Holding the metal pipe with one hand and gently rocking back and forth, I yanked my BlackBerry out with the other and quickly searched for any urgent emails. None to be found. Next 35 minutes were mine. I looked around and saw faces of every age, race and mood busy with themselves. Mostly like me, were fidgeting with smart phones and few with the evening tabloids. No familiar faces, no eye contacts, no friendly smiles. The kind of air you would expect on a tired midweek commute anyway. Time to make my BlackBerry busy again and the choice was between finishing off the PDF version of “Futuhaat-ul-Makki”, listening to “Radio Ambiance” live stream or gaze aimlessly out to the world passing by. Before any of that though, I needed to meet the deadline I set up for myself. I had to finalize the title of my most recent write up. BlackBerry memo was showing up two choices. “Cracked Open” or “I Choose Therefore I Am”. I picked the former.
Post Script
Jill Bolte Tyler: Currently lives and works out of Bloomington, Indiana, US. She is frequently invited all over the world to speak about her experiences. You can see some of her lectures on TED.
Eckhart Tolle: Currently lives and works out of Vancouver, Canada. He is an accomplished writer, engaging presenter and acclaimed top tier new age thought leader.
Ahmad Rafiq Akhtar: Currently lives in Gojar Khan, Pakistan. Top mystic of his age, an excellent teacher and a profound healer who has influenced lives of a generation.
Mohammad Ali: Current location and status is unknown. Probably driving his own truck somewhere in South Punjab.
Saabir: Very likely dead by now due to lung cancer.
Cadets: Most likely Lt. Colonels in the armed forces.
Salman: On the transit train in Vancouver.
Concluded.
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Source: Takhtee
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