Answers are not born in a Vacuum

In his book “No God But God” Reza Aslan writes,

Admitting that Muhammad might have been influenced by someone like Zayd is, for some Muslims, tantamount to denying the divine inspiration of Muhammad’s message. But such beliefs are based on the common yet erroneous assumption that religions are born in some sort of cultural vacuum; they most certainly are not.

Vacuum. A lot of us seek mental isolation in our efforts to find answers. We feel that creating a vacuum around us insulates us from the worldly disturbances that plague our mind. In our pursuit of inner peace we look for opportunities to cut ourselves from the routine life we live in. I have come across more than a few people who have expressed their desire to retire into the forests or the mountains to discover themselves, people who seek answers to their problems in seclusion. But is that the way to go about it? I doubt it. Yes, a quiet and peaceful surrounding facilitates our mind in collating our thoughts, in putting together the pieces of the puzzle. But a vacuum can never answer the questions that arise in our spiritual and subconscious mind. Those answers are right here, right now in the real world that we live in. The answers lie in the mayhem that surrounds us.

Answers come from learning, not from a moment of inspiration. Learning is most effective when gained by observing outcomes of actions being performed, either by ourselves or by those around us. The quickest way to learn is being aware. And learning inspires answers. Since a vacuum is devoid of any action, it does not provide any learning and hence cannot yield answers, no matter how much the level of awareness.

Hence, do not seek answers where there are none. Seclusion is a place of quiet not of peace.