Blessings of Khilafat — Page 169
Objects of Human Life 169 possessed of any such sense or knowledge. They are slaves to their whims and keep changing courses as it suits them. When hungry, they fill their stomachs. When they feel sleepy, they go to sleep. When they feel like having sex, they have sex. This is why they are not deserving of any reward from Allah. Second Rank The next stage resembles plants. Man is composed of different elements. Some elements come from non-organic matters, whereas some come from plant life and then some others from animals. That is why the most balanced diets contain elements of all three of these things. Since the body is composed of organs that develop from these elements, they exercise a kind of influence in their lives. Sometimes animalistic behaviour prevails over spiritual behaviour and man becomes like animals; whereas, at times, animalistic tendencies are suppressed and buried under the vegetable organism, and he sinks further into materialistic pursuits. Sometimes he is swayed by an influence that likens death and he takes on a character that exhibits no signs of life. His heart becomes hardened. Like a stone which can be thrown by people in any direction, he too is tossed in one direction or the other by the vicissitudes of life. Such a person becomes totally unaware of himself. Then when one takes a step toward progress and shuns the condition that likens the dead, a kind of energy develops in him that causes him to flourish. So there are two kinds of people: those who are like stones and are devoid of any sense of life; and then there are those who are like plants and behave like sentient beings. It is now a proven fact after much experimentation that