Maulana Wahiduddin Khan I Speaking Tree Website I Monday, January 13, 2014

There is a saying that ignorance of law has no excuse. Apparently this saying is regarding legal matters, but in fact, it is a general principle. It applies to every situation, from booking a ticket to forming state policies.

For example, suppose that you are doing a job in a company and develop a serious dispute with your boss. If your boss takes strong action against you, then in such situations you cannot say that I wasn't unaware that the boss would take my case so seriously. This kind of excuse is not acceptable. If you are serving in a company, you have to know the principle: the boss is always right.

If you are doing business and you adopt a behaviour that annoys your customers, and consequently your business suffers, then in such situations you cannot say that I wasn't aware that my customers would become angry. You have to understand this fact in advance that customer-friendly behaviour is essential for success in business.

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This is true also in the case of political activities. If you are president of a democratic country, you cannot go against the public opinion or opposition parties. If you adopt a policy that fails due to strong opposition from the other parties, you cannot complain against those opponents. You are living in the age of democracy. So if you are the president, it doesn't mean that you enjoy absolute power. You have to accept the ground realities. You have to know in advance that politics is the art of the possible.

This principle is a very common principle. It is related to all branches of life. It is true for individual, social and political matters. If you are deciding something entirely about your individual life, then you are free to adopt your own ideals. But, when you want to do something that pertains to the social life or political life, you have to be practical.

Don't try to achieve what is not achievable for you. First of all you have to assess the situation, realistically examine the whole matter, and try to know your position in comparison to others. Make your plan after assessing all these matters.

There is a saying in Chinese that start your journey from a point such that every step is a step forward.