It is a fact that man is born on an inquisitive nature with the capacity to think. Those are the facets of his being which differentiate him from other living species. Endowed with a reasoning faculty, he cannot help but question the existence of certain phenomena and the events taking place all around him. He becomes restless unless rational answers to questions pertaining to the Ideology of Life through contemplative spirituality, such as the following are addressed: Who am I? Where did I come from? Does God exist? What is the purpose of my life? Why do I have so many desires? Is life governed by destiny or free will? Where shall I go when I leave this world?

According to Maulana Wahiduddin Khan it is essential that man should have within his reach, a super formula for life’s management. God provides just such a formula—a complete principle for life’s management – a reason-based understanding of the plan that God has created us with.

Human beings are not like machines, controlled by a mechanical system; nor are they like animals, governed by their instincts. Human beings enjoy freedom. They take decisions about their actions of their own free will. Now the question arises as to how to keep man to the right course, how to make him consistently disciplined in his behaviour. History shows the ineffectiveness of all worldly measures in this connection, whether social pressures, enforcement of the law of the land or the appeals of reformers.

Experience shows that the pressure of society is limited, if not totally ineffective. There are so many loopholes in the law that it is not difficult for wrongdoers to find a way out. The reformers’ bid to reform people is nothing but appeals and appeals alone cannot bring about a revolution in human life.

The truth is that for the attainment of disciplined behaviour, it is essential for one to be convinced of the existence of a Power far Superior to himself, a Being Who is aware of man’s activities at every moment; Who can reward and punish man, and from Whom it is impossible to escape.

There can be only One Being of this nature and that is God. Belief in God functions at two levels at the same time. On the one hand, man finds in God a Guardian Who is aware of all his activities and Who has unlimited power to chastise him. It is not possible for man to escape God’s chastisement. Belief in God compels man to steadfastly adopt a proper attitude in all situations, privately as well as publicly. Only then can he save himself from the wrath of God.

Another point is that belief in God is a storehouse of limitless hope. Man can lead his life in this world with the conviction that if he incurs any loss because of treading the path of truth, or if he suffers from any other adversity, he will be able to endure it. For if he adheres to the path of truth, God will grant him a reward in the form of eternal paradise, and there can be no reward greater than this.

It is not possible for man, on his own, to bind himself to moral values or adhere to justice. This is possible only when he is convinced of the fact that he is under a Super Power—a Super Power Who observes justice to the extent of perfection; for Whom it is fully possible to guide man to the true path and also punish those who deviate from this true path.

This present, limited, world is totally inadequate for punishing a criminal. Similarly, this world is also inadequate for granting great rewards for one’s good deeds. The concept of God tells us that God can create a far better world free from all the limitations of the present world, where reward and punishment both can be satisfactorily awarded.

The concept of a living and powerful God is necessarily accompanied by the concept of accountability. And the concept of accountability guarantees right thinking and right actions on the part of man. It makes man cautious by reminding him of God’s chastisement. Moreover, this gives him the conviction of receiving God’s reward if he adheres to the right path at all costs and in all situations.

The concept of God provides man with an ideology of life in which loss is turned to gain and in which adversity brings with it good tidings. It is therefore submission to God that is the only way of life for both man and the universe.

In terms of the Creation Plan of God, human life is divided into two stages –the pre-death stage and the post-death stage. The limited period before death is meant to be a test for man, while the period after his death will be the period for his reward in Paradise or punishment in Hell, based on his performance in the test in this life. In the present world of trial, any man or woman, to be eligible for Paradise, needs to have two qualifications: one is to acknowledge truth and the other is to lead a principled life.

Man finds himself totally free in this world. However, this freedom does not belong to him as a matter of right, but rather as a test paper. The first important thing that man has to do is to acknowledge One God, and surrender to him not by compulsion but by his own choice. The second important thing in this set of requirements is to lead a principled life. In spite of negative emotions, man has to develop a positive disciplined personality. This is what is called as divine character. This is the creation plan according to which man has been created.

Contemplative spirituality, therefore, helps man find rational answers to questions pertaining to the ideology of life. On receiving these answers, he is able to understand his Creator and come to know the purpose for which he was created by understanding the creation plan of God. He can then, plan his life according to the principles given by his Creator so as to achieve eternal success.