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First Solution - Sheer Ignorance
Relying exclusively upon his own senses when a person arrives at some opinion in relation to these problems, he, in a manner quite natural to this mode of thought, concludes that this entire system of universe is a result of mere chance. There is no cause or purpose behind this universe. It has come into being by itself; it is operating automatically; it will meet its end without producing any consequences. There is no visible master who controls the universe. Hence there is no master of the universe, and if at all there is one, His connection with man's life is nonexistent. Man is specie of animals, whose birth is only accidental. It is not known whether somebody has created him or he was self-born. In any case, this question is not garment to our discussion. We know only that man exists on this planet called earth. He entertains certain desires and there are some inner urges which compel him to fulfill these desires. Man is equipped with limbs and organs by means of which he satisfies these wants. Around him, on the fare of earth, there are countless provisions and by rising his limbs and organs man can satiate with these things. Hence there is no other use for the powers of man than that he should satisfy his desires and fulfill his needs to the optimum degree. World is no more than a tray upon which booty is arrayed for man to lay hands on. There is no. sovereign being over man to whom he is accountable; there is no spring of Knowledge, no source of Guidance from which man may derive the law for regulating his life. Hence man is an autonomous being who is responsible to none. It is his own function to make laws and regulations, to devise means for expending his powers and to determine his behavior toward things existing around him. If man is in need of any guidance, he should resort to the laws of life of animals, the story of stones and the experience of his own history. Man is either accountable to himself or to the human authority which the society of men has imposed upon itself. The present worldly life is the only life and the consequences of all actions are confined to this world alone. Hence judgment as to what is right or wrong, useful or harmful and good or pernicious and what is to be adopted or rejected is based on the effects of actions produced in this world. This is a complete ideology of life which deals with the fundamental problems of life on the basis of sensorial observations. There is a logical link and an intrinsic compatibility between sash strains of thought contained in this ideology. A person, therefore, who believes in this dogma can adopt a fairly smooth and consistent attitude in life disregarding the fact that this dogma and the attitude produced by it are right or wrong. Now let us look at the conduct which a person adopts on the basis of this answer.
Conduct based on Sheer Sensorial ExperienceAn inevitable consequence of this viewpoint in individual life is that the entire range of human conduct should be unfettered and devoid of any sense of responsibility. Man will deem himself the sole master of his body and his physical powers. He will, therefore, use his physical powers and qualities of his head and heart according to his whims and caprices. He will treat all things and all men whom chance places under his power as his chattel and himself will feel as their master. Only the bounds of natural law and the inevitable restrictions imposed by collective life will set a limit to his authority. His own soul will be devoid of any moral sense - a sense of responsibility and a fear of accountability - and no moral force will check his refractory action. Where there are no external restraints upon his action or where he is able to bypass these checks, the natural tendency of his faith will impel him to be tyrannical, dishonest, wicked and mischievous. He will temperamentally be selfish, materialist and a time-server. The satisfaction of his carnal desires and animal needs will be the end-all and be-all of his life. Only those things will hold value in his eyes which prove serviceable to him in the attainment of his life's purpose. It is natural and quite logical that the believers in this dogma should boar such characters and personalities. There is no doubt, however, that for the sake of expediency and impelled by far-sightedness such a person may show traits of sympathy and selflessness. He may spare no pains in the task of national welfares and progress. He may on the whole display some sense of responsibility and respect for moral principles. But on a careful observation of his conduct you will find that all his seeming virtues are mere extensions of his selfish motives and carnal desires. He looks at the welfare of his nation or country from purely personal motives: he seeks his own welfare through the betterment of his nation and country. For these reasons, such a man can at least be called a nationalist only.
Characteristics of the Society built upon this ConductThe distinctive features of the society fashioned by individuals bearing afore mentioned characters and personalities will be as follows The basic principle of politics will be that sovereignty is vested in human beings, and individual, a family, a class, or the common people. The loftiest collective ideal considered feasible will be that of the setting up of a Commonwealth. This state will be governed by man-made laws. . All laws shall be made or amended according to human desires and experience of circumstances. Policies, too, shall be formulated and altered in deference to profit motive or personal expediency. In this state people who are stronger and excel others in cleverness, craftiness, lies, perfidy, callousness and wickedness will gain ascendancy by force. The leadership of the society and the reigns of authority will be in the hands of these people. Their book of constitution will enshrine the principle: "Might is right and the weak are always wrong". The whole edifice of society and culture will be raised on the foundations of self-interest. Increasing permissiveness in the satisfaction of one's lusts shall become the rule and standards of morality shall be so established that maximum freedom for the attainment of sensuous pleasures is guaranteed to every one. Arts and literature will be affected by this philosophy of life and will progressively reflect nudity and pornographic trends. In the economic domain of life sometimes feudalism will hold sway; at other times capitalism will gain ascendancy and sometimes the working classes will establish the proletariat dictatorship through violent means. Equity, however, will not form part of any of these economic systems. The conduct of every individual in this society shall be dictated by the fundamental conviction that the world and all the wealth contained in it is a booty and all men are free to lay their hands on it at will and whenever the chance presents itself. The education system set up for the training of the members of this society will be based on this philosophy of life and shall reflect the same attitudes of mind. This system of education will impart to each successive generation the same notion of the world and man's place in the world which I have explained earlier. In all fields of knowledge information shall be so arranged and presented as to inculcate in the minds of the rising generation the same theories of life. The entire program of training will be designed to prepare individuals who will adopt this same attitude in life and will completely assimilate in this type of society. I need say no more to you about the characteristics of this type of educational system as you have had personal experience of such a system. . You are studying in institutions which have been set up under the same system, though they bear such names as 'Islamic College' or 'Muslim University' etc. The attitude of mind which I have just analyzed springs out of sheer ignorance. This attitude is similar to that childlike state of mind which relying upon sensory observation considers fire as an attractive plaything. There is one difference, however. The fallacy of the child's observation soon becomes apparent through experience. The fire which the child takes as a plaything and wants to hold in his hands is a hot substance. So as soon as it touches the hand, it reveals that it is no more a plaything. Contrary to it, in the other cases, the fallacy of observation becomes manifest after a long time. Indeed most people remain blissfully ignorant of the fallacy of their observations. The fire which these people hold in their hands has low heat; it does not burn instantly; it simmers on for centuries. However, if a person wishes to learn from common experience, he should ponder that due to this attitude of mind, individuals are constantly committing frauds, the rulers are oppressive and tyrannical, the judges are unfair, the rich are covetous and the commonality is depraved. This, indeed, is a better experience for a man and, over and above this, the burning flames of nationalism, imperialism, war and confrontation, invasions and the monstrous acts of the extirpation of the same attitude of mind may force him to conclude that this attitude of mind is based on sheer ignorance rather than on true Knowledge of the Reality. Man's opinion about the system of this universe and his own position in the universe which lies at the root of this attitude of mind is not consistent with Reality, or else it could never have entailed such horrible consequences.
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