AWARENESS OF PURPOSE
In 1931, Japan occupied northeastern China (Manchuria) and set up a government of its choice there. After this, relations between China and Japan deteriorated. On 7 July 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge incident near Beijing (Peking) took place. This incident inflamed suppressed feelings, and military conflict broke out, which eventually led to the Second World War.
From then on, hatred and tension existed between China and Japan. A few years ago, the two countries signed an agreement under which Japan was to set up a steel mill in China. But after the agreement was fulfilled, the Chinese government suddenly canceled it.
When China’s Prime Minister, Deng Xiaoping (1904-1997), recently ended extreme communism and adopted the Open Door Policy, Japan found a new opportunity. Today, Japan has launched a strong commercial drive in China. If you want to travel from Japan to China, you must book your plane seat three months in advance, because every seat is full.
China offers enormous opportunities for trade. Japan wants to make full use of them. For this reason, Japan deliberately forgot the bitter memories of the past. As one traveler put it, Japan decided to endure every “pinprick” from China without complaint.
That traveler wrote that during his stay in Tokyo (June 1985), Radio Beijing announced that China would build a museum showing pictures of Japanese atrocities from the past. The museum was to be inaugurated in 1987, marking fifty years since the Marco Polo Bridge incident. When Japanese people were asked to comment on this news, they remained silent. When pressed further, they replied:
“You know our Chinese friends have a way of twisting our tails, and appealing to our conscience.” (The Times of India, 13 June 1985)
Japan had one clear goal: to expand its trade. That goal shaped its character. It taught Japan wisdom, patience, restraint, and to speak only when necessary. That goal showed Japan how to forget the past and bury all disputes and grievances unilaterally, so that the road to its objective would be clear.
The psychology of a purposeful group is always the same, whether its goal is trade or something else. When a group loses these qualities, it is a sign that it has lost its sense of purpose. Without a goal before it, its members have no character either.
In today’s times, the greatest weakness of our community is its lack of character. Whatever field you test, you will immediately see that people have lost their strength of character. No solid plan can be built on them. Wherever they are used, they turn out to be weak bricks in the wall. They do not prove to be strong bricks that can hold a structure together.
The fundamental reason for this weakness is that our community has lost its sense of purpose. It has become a directionless group, with no goal for the development of this world or for the Hereafter. This is its true weakness.
If the sense of purpose is revived among the people, they will once again emerge as a vibrant and dynamic community. They will regain the noble character that once distinguished them.
To awaken a sense of purpose within individuals is to awaken everything within them. Purpose stirs a person’s hidden potential and transforms them into a new human being.
