The true Jihad -Within.

" We used to wonder where war lived,
what it was that made it so vile.
And now we know where it lives,
That it is inside of our selves." - Albert Camus.

I was moved by this quote that i got at the end of a movie called, The Stick (1987) about a war that took place in South Africa.
Directed by Darrell Roodt Writing Credits Darrell Roodt ... (writer) and Carole Shore ... (writer) Anant Singh ... producer. I am writing about the movie but about the quote which appeared as the movie came to an end. The quote reminded me of the saying of the Prophet of Allah, (PBUH) when he mentioned Jihad,  that after winning a battle at Uhud if I amnot mistaken, the Prophet was said to have said that, " You may have won won a battle, but the greater war is raging within you and this is the was you have to win." or something like that. I am sure Camus was not alluding to this saying of The Prophet, but his words resonates the truth about humanity as we are so attached to the external that we fail to see the reality behind our actions. That carry within us the potential to commit atrocities within our hearts and minds, the our subconscious mind is a pressure cooker of  suppressed anger and negative energies. If not checked these energies will manifest into a reality in the form of a middle finger pointing at a driver of another vehicle that had overtaken you or it will take the form of an uncontrolled snap at someone you love over a minor issue.

This battle is waged by the splintered soul that functions through a dual thinking mind. The right and wrong, black and white thinking process of a stoic ego dominated mental formations of thoughts and ideas that are mostly self centered. In Islam it is called the 'Nafs', the never satiated entity  that will always crave for more and brays like a donkey when its needs are being obstructed. The true essence of the fasting month of Ramadan is to bring forth the realization of this entity that we call the ego. Thirst and hunger are a few of the means that an ego or the nafs can be bent or made to become more humble and less demanding. When the ego is well fed, well clothed and well entertained, it demands for more power, more authority, more domination over others including, to becoming masters of the universe at whatever cost. Humanity today is ruled by collective ego, that looks upon itself as the master race, the advanced civilized nation, the superior and will do all it can collectively to maintain a staus quo over the rest of humanity. When two opposing collective ego meets, war happens, just as fist fights breaks out when two drunks have a difference of opinions.

The question is, how can and can we, ever subjugate the egoic mind that has become innate in our own being, or can we remove it from our genetic equation? This is the question that has plagued man for as long as when he started thinking for himself. The President of the United States is considered the most egotistical maniac to sit in the oval office by most Americans and those who rooted for him believes that he is what is needed to carry the country forward in this era. His counterparts, both in Russia and China are no less in virtues but they are not as brazen and over confident as the American President is. But all three are in a collision course one way or another as they carry on their rhetoric and foreign policies according to their egotistical cravings and attachments. Every one wants to become ahead, a leader, and plays the one up game without restraint and the ego like to be complemented and suckered up to. Thus we have lesser countries taking advantage of this egotistical flaws to get their agenda worked out. Thus in the name of a system, democracy and communism, religious or economic, war is ever ready to be waged one agains another at all levels and it is not getting any easier.