Fagen Shakatawa Na Times, na Alexander Chen
WE suna rayuwa a lokuta masu haɗari. Amma kaɗan ne waɗanda suka gane shi. Abin da nake magana game da shi ba barazanar ta'addanci ba ne, sauyin yanayi, ko yakin nukiliya ba, amma wani abu ne da ya fi dabara da kuma yaudara. Shi ne ci gaban maƙiyi wanda ya riga ya sami gindin zama a cikin gidaje da zukata da yawa kuma yana gudanar da ɓarna mai ban tsoro yayin da yake yaduwa a cikin duniya:
Surutu.
Ina maganar hayaniya ta ruhaniya. Hayaniya mai karfi ga rai, mai kurman zuciya, da zarar ta sami hanyar shiga, sai ta rufe muryar Allah, ta rufe lamiri, kuma ta makantar da idanu don ganin gaskiyar. Yana ɗaya daga cikin maƙiyan maƙiyan zamaninmu domin, yayin da yaƙi da rikici suke cutar da jiki, amo shi ne mai kashe rai. Kuma ruhun da ya rufe muryar Allah yana cikin kasada har abada ba zai taɓa jin sa ba har abada.
amo
Wannan maƙiyin ya kasance yana fakewa a ko da yaushe, amma watakila ba fiye da yau ba. Manzo St. Yohanna ya yi gargadin cewa murya shi ne harbinger na ruhun maƙiyin Kristi:
Kada ku ƙaunaci duniya ko abubuwan duniya. Idan kowa yana ƙaunar duniya, ƙaunar Uba ba ta cikinsa. Domin duk abin da yake a duniya, sha'awa na sha'awa, da sha'awa ga idanu, da kuma rai rai, ba daga wurin Uba ba ne, amma na duniya ne. Duk da haka duniya da sha'awarta suna shuɗewa. Amma duk wanda ya aikata nufin Allah ya dawwama har abada. Yara, sa'a ta ƙarshe ce; Kuma kamar yadda kuka ji magabcin Kristi yana zuwa, haka ma yanzu magabtan Kristi da yawa sun bayyana. (1 Yohanna 2:15-18)
Sha'awar jiki, sha'awar ido, rayuwa mai ƙima. Waɗannan su ne hanyoyin da mulkoki da masu iko suke ja-gorar hayaniya a kan ’yan Adam da ba su ji tsoro ba.
RUWAN SHA'AWA
One cannot surf the internet, walk through an airport, or simply buy groceries without being assaulted by the noise of lust. Men, more than women, are susceptible to this because there is a stronger chemical response in men. It is a terrible noise, for it pulls not only the eyes, but one’s very body into its path. To even suggest today that a half-clad woman is immodest or inappropriate will draw bewilderment if not scorn. It has become socially acceptable, and at younger and younger ages, to sexualize and objectivy the body. It is no longer a vessel for transmitting, through modesty and charity, the truth of who the human person truly is, but has become a loudspeaker blaring a distorted message: that fulfillment comes ultimately from sex and sexiness, rather than the Creator. This noise alone, now broadcast through rancid imagery and language in nearly every facet of modern society, is doing more to destroy souls than perhaps any other.
RUWAN SHA'AWA
In the Western nations in particular, the noise of materialism—the enticement of new things—has reached a deafening pitch, yet few are resisting it. Ipads, ipods, ibooks, iphones, ifashions, iretirement plans…. Even the titles themselves reveal something of the potential danger that lurks behind the need for personal comfort, convenience and self-pleasure. It is all about “I”, not my brother in need. The exportation of manufacturing to third world Kasashe (sau da yawa suna haifar da rashin adalci a cikin kanta ta hanyar albashi mai ban tausayi) sun haifar da tsunami na kayayyaki masu tsada, kafin daga bisani tallar tallan da ba ta da iyaka da ke sanya kai, ba maƙwabta ba, a saman jerin abubuwan da suka fi dacewa.
But the noise has taken on a different and more insidious tone in our day. The internet and wireless technology continually serve up a vast array of high definition color, news, gossip, photos, videos, goods, services—all in a split second. It is the perfect concoction of glitz and glamor to keep souls enamored—and often deaf to the hunger and thirst in their own soul for the transcendent, for God.
We cannot deny that the rapid changes occurring in our world also present some disturbing signs of fragmentation and a retreat into individualism. The expanding use of electronic communications has in some cases paradoxically resulted in greater isolation… —POPE BENEDICT XVI, jawabi a cocin St. Joseph, Afrilu 8th, 2008, Yorkville, New York; Katolika News Agency
RUWAN KYAU
St. John warns about the temptation to “pride of life.” This is not limited to simply wanting to be rich or famous. Today, it has taken on a more cunning temptation, once again, through technology. “Social networking”, while often serving to connect old friends and family, also feeds into a new individualism. With communication services like Facebook or Twitter, the trend is to put one’s every thought and action out there for the world to see, fostering a growing trend of narcissism (self-absorption). This is really in direct opposition to the rich spiritual heritage of the Saints in which idle chatter and frivolity are to be avoided, as they cultivate a spirit of worldliness and inattention.
KARFIN ZUCIYA
Tabbas, duk wannan hayaniyar ba dole ba ne a yi la'akari da mugun abu. Jikin ɗan adam da jima'i baiwa ne daga Allah, ba abin kunya ko ƙazanta cikas ba. Abubuwan abu ba su da kyau ko mara kyau, kawai… har sai mun sanya su a kan bagadin zukatanmu muna mai da su gumaka. Hakanan ana iya amfani da intanet don amfani.
A gidan Nazarat da kuma a hidimar Yesu, akwai always the background noise of the world. Jesus even walked into “the lions den,” eating with tax collectors and prostitutes. But He did so because He always maintained tsare zuciya. St. Bulus ya rubuta,
Kada ku bi zamanin nan, amma ku sāke ta wurin sabunta hankalinku… (Romawa 12:2).
Kame zuciya yana nufin cewa ba na dogara ga al’amuran duniya ba, a kan bin hanyoyinta na rashin ibada, amma bisa Mulkin, hanyoyin Allah. Yana nufin sake gano ma'anar rayuwa da daidaita manufofina zuwa gare ta…
…bari mu kawar da kanmu daga kowane nauyi da zunubi da ke manne da mu kuma mu dage wajen yin tseren da ke gabanmu yayin da muke mai da idanunmu ga Yesu, shugaba da kamala na bangaskiya. (Ibraniyawa 12:1-2)
In our baptismal vows, we promise to “reject the glamor of evil, and refuse to be mastered by sin.” Custody of the heart means avoiding that first fatal step: being sucked into the glamor of evil, which, if we take the bait, leads to being mastered by it.
Duk wanda ya yi zunubi bawan zunubi ne. (Yahaya 8:34)
Jesus walked among sinful people, but He kept Hi s heart unstained by continually seeking first the will of the Father. He walked in the truth that women were not objects, but reflections of His own image; in the truth that material things are to be used for the glory of God and the good of others; and by being small, humble, and hidden, meek and gentle of heart, Jesus shunned the worldly power and honor that others would have bestowed on Him.
KEEPING CUSTODY OF THE SENSES
In the traditional Act of Contrition prayed in sacramental Confession, one resolves to ‘sin no more and to avoid the near occasion of sin.’ Custody of the heart means avoiding not just the sin itself, but those well-known traps that would cause me to fall into sin. “Ka yi babu tanadi ga jiki,” said St. Paul (see Tiger a cikin Kejin.) A good friend of mine says that he hasn’t eaten sweets or had any alcohol in years. “I have an addictive personality,” he said. “If I eat one cookie, I want the whole bag.” Refreshing honesty. A man who avoids even the near occasion of sin—and you can see the freedom in his eyes.
da muguwar sha'awa
Many years ago, a married fellow worker was lusting after the women who were walking by. Noting my lack of participation, he snorted, “One can still look at the menu without having to order!” But Jesus said something quite different:
...duk wanda ya kalli mace da sha'awa ya riga ya yi zina da ita a cikin zuciyarsa. (Matta 5:28)
Ta yaya, a al’adunmu na batsa, mutum zai kiyaye kada ya faɗa cikin zunubin zina da idanunsa? Amsar ita ce a ajiye menu all together. For one thing, women aren’t objects, commodities to be owned. They are beautiful reflections of the Divine Creator: their sexuality, expressed as a receptacle of life-giving seed, is an image of the Church, which is a receptacle of the life-giving Word of God. Thus, even immodest dress or a sexualized appearance is a snare; it is the slippery slope that leads to wanting more and more. What is necessary, then, is to keep tsare idanu:
Fitilar jiki ido ne. Idan idonka lafiyayye ne, duk jikinka zai cika da haske; Amma idan idonka ba shi da kyau, duk jikinka zai zama duhu. (Matta 6:22-23)
The eye is “bad” if we allow it to be dazzled by the “glamor of evil”: if we allow it to wander around the room, if we peruse the magazine covers, sidebar internet pictures, or watch movies or shows that are indecent.
Avert your eyes from a comely woman; gaze not upon the beauty of another’s wife——through woman’s beauty many perish, for lust for it burns like fire. (Sirach 9:8)
It is not a matter then of just avoiding pornography, but all forms of indecency. It means—for some men reading this—a complete transformation of the mind as to how women are perceived and even how we perceive ourselves—the exceptions we justify that, in reality, snare us, and drag us into the misery of sin.
Jari-hujja
Mutum zai iya rubuta littafi akan talauci. Amma St. Bulus wataƙila ya taƙaita shi mafi kyau:
If we have food and clothing, we shall be content with that. Those who want to be rich are falling into temptation and into a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge them into ruin and destruction. (1 Tim 6:8-9)
Muna rasa kulawar zuciya ta koyaushe muna siyayya don wani abu mafi kyau, don abu mafi kyau na gaba. Daya daga cikin Dokokin shine kada ku yi kwadayin abin makwabci na. Dalilin, Yesu ya yi gargaɗi, shi ne, mutum ba zai iya raba zuciyarsa tsakanin Allah da mammon (mallaka) ba.
Ba wanda zai iya bauta wa iyayengiji biyu. Ko dai ya ƙi ɗaya, ya so ɗayan, ko kuwa ya yi biyayya ga ɗayan, ya raina ɗayan. (Matta 6:24)
Kiyaye kamun zuciya yana nufin samun, galibi, abin da muke bukatar maimakon abin da muke so, ba yin tarawa ba sai dai rabawa ga wasu, musamman talakawa.
Dukiyar da ka taras da ita ta ruguje a lokacin da ka yi sadaka ga matalauta, da tufafin da ka mallaka kuma ka gwammace ka ga asu ya cinye su maimakon tufatar da talakawa, da zinariya da azurfa. ka zabi ka ga karya a cikin zaman banza, maimakon ka ciyar da abinci ga matalauta, duk waɗannan abubuwa, in ji su, za su ba da shaida a kanka a ranar sakamako. - St. Robert Bellarmine, Hikimar Waliyyai, Jill Haakadels, p. 166
Prevention
Tsare zuciya kuma yana nufin kula da kalmominmu, mu samu tsare harsunanmu. For the tongue has the power to build-up or tear down, to snare or liberate. So often, we use the tongue out of pride, saying (or typing) this or that in hopes of making ourselves appear more important than we are, or to please others, gaining their approval. Other times, we simply release a wall of words to entertain ourselves by idle chatter.
There is a word in Catholic spirituality called “recollection.” It means simply to remember that I am always in God’s presence, and that He is always my goal and the fulfillment of all my desires. It means recognizing that His will is my food, and that, as His servant, I am called to follow Him in the path of charity. Recollection then, means that I “gather myself up” when I have lost custody of my heart, trusting in His mercy and forgiveness, and once again committing myself to loving and serving Him in yanzu lokaci da dukan zuciyata, raina, tunani, da ƙarfi.
When it comes to social networking, we need to be careful. Is it humble to paste pictures of myself that stroke my vanity? When I “tweet” others, am I saying something that is necessary or not? Am I encouraging gossip or wasting other’s time?
Ina gaya muku, a ranar shari'a, mutane za su ba da lissafin kowace irin maganar da suka faɗa. (Matta 12:36)
Ka yi tunanin zuciyarka kamar tanderu. Bakinka shine kofa. Duk lokacin da ka bude kofa, kana barin zafi ya fita. Lokacin da kuka rufe kofa, kuna tunawa a gaban Allah, wutar ƙaunarsa ta Ubangiji za ta yi zafi da zafi ta yadda, lokacin da lokacin ya yi, kalmominku za su yi amfani don haɓakawa, 'yantar da su, da sauƙaƙe warkar da wasu-zuwa Dumi others with God’s love. At those times, even though we speak, because it is in the voice of Love, it serves to stoke the fires within. Otherwise, our soul, and that of others, grows cold when we keep the door open in meaningless or s inful chatter.
Kada kuma a yi maganar fasikanci, ko kowane irin ƙazanta, ko kwaɗayi a cikinku, kamar yadda ya dace a wurin tsarkaka, ko batsa, ko wauta, ko zagi, wanda bai dace ba, sai dai godiya. (Afisawa 5:3-4)
BAKI DA WAJE
Keeping custody of the heart is foreign sounding and counter-cultural. We live in a world that encourages people to experiment with a multitude of sexual acts and lifestyles, plaster themselves all over YouTube, seek to become a singing or dancing “Idol”, and be “tolerant” of anything and anybody (except practicing Catholics). In refusing this kind of noise, Jesus said that we would look odd in the world’s eyes; that they would persecute, mock, exclude and hate us because the light in believers would convict the darkness in others.
Duk mai yin rashin gaskiya yakan ƙi hasken, ba ya kuma zuwa wajen hasken, don kada ayyukansa su tonu. (Yahaya 3:20)
Keeping custody of the heart, then, is not some outdated practice of bygone ages, but the constant, true, and narrow road that leads to Heaven. It’s just that few are willing to take it, to resist the noise so that they can hear the voice of God that leads to eternal life.
Domin inda dukiyarka take, can kuma zuciyarka za ta kasance... Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the road broad that leads to destruction, and those who enter through it are many. How narrow the gate and constricted the road that leads to life. And those who find it are few. (Matt 6:21; 7:13-14)
Ƙaunar abin duniya wani nau'i ne na tsuntsu, wanda ke dame rai kuma ya hana shi tashi zuwa ga Allah.. - Augustine na Hippo, Hikimar Waliyyai, Jill Haakadels, p. 164
LITTAFI BA:
Na gode don goyon baya!