Flowers for the Women Wearing Veils - Volume II — Page 56
56 at the door, his face yellow, because Mussolini had given us an hour of his time from 11 :00 a. m. to 12 noon. We were half an hour late. The private secretary was in such a bad state of anxiety, and so worried, he would not even enter Mussolini’s room. H e asked, “What have you done ? I am finished now. ” We said, “ What fault is it of yours ? It is we who were late. ” Anyway, we went into Mussolini’s room. He had dropped all his other plans and had been waiting for us for half an hour. We explained to him what had happened with us and since we were foreigners , he tolerated the delay, otherwise his s ecretary was sure tha t he would be dismissed from his j ob. Thus, you should also make a habit of punctuality and schedule your meetings at a time when everyone will be able to attend them on time. Now, I would like to direct your attention to the fact that human life has two aspects. One aspect is nourishment from which a person receives energy. The second is the functional aspect where the individual utilizes this energy. For example, electricity is produced from coal. M achines utilize coal to make electricity. We press a button and utilize the electricity. Where there is no electricity, we have to create both the nourishing and functional aspects. For example, we have a lantern. We put oil inside, which is its nutritional aspect. We then put flame to the wick and make use of the light. That is the functional aspect. The same is the case of the human bod y. No human being even if he be a P rophet, can live without eating or drinking. Everyone among us eats food, whether they are an elder ly person , youth, child, woman, or a grown man. It does not matter whether that nourishment is healthy or unhealthy , whether it is rice or wheat, meat, or vegetable. Partaking of food is necessary. If one does not eat, the body dies or would be unable to maintain strength. Having eaten food , the body can function. T he businessmen can run their business es , the laborers can labor, and the civil servants can do their job. In short, whether it is a n employment or someone who does agriculture, or someone who is a businessm an the foundation of all work is dependent upon food. If a person does not eat , his body will become useless and he will not be able to work. There is a saying in the English language, “The army marches on its stomach. ” Will any soldier fight i f the stomach is not full ? In short, first a man eats, and then he works with the energy obtained from that nutrition.