Career Counselling By Qasim Ali Shah
Time is indeed an invaluable and the most precious thing which once passed never returns. This is something equally available to all humans.
The main reason of a person’s success lies in how he or she makes the best use of time, and in return time gives them the reward they really deserve.
I would especially like to share with the Education Scenario International readers on the basis of my experience that days, months and years are just a yardstick of time which ultimately takes a round in its orbit and reappears before us so we can realise the value of time and do not let it idle away.This is the start of year 2020. Maybe, or maybe not, some of us have planned something for our future. Anyway, Allah Almighty is giving us yet another great gift in shape of the New Year. So it deserves to be taken seriously and appreciated utmost. What we can do is aim at some targets and mark our goals in accordance with what is available. In any profession, a successful person does possess the planning skill apart from other traits. As a result, anything done with proper planning incurs and produces the best possible results. If planned and done appropriately everything relieves you of stress.
Let’s make a solemn pledge at the start of the New Year that we all will make the best use of time and refrain ourselves from trivial pursuits and worthless (unproductive) activities.
Being Murshed-less!
Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the child working together and to motivate him/her,the teacher is the most important (person).
‑‑‑Bill Gates.
Murshed-less means without a teacher. Anybody related to the job of studying and teaching, or training or counselling/life coaching whether they favour it or not somehow get in touch with several other people. For instance, a teacher may usually get involved with their student’s parents. When they come into contact with more and more people their thinking style changes because they take along their experience and move towards the knowledge gained by themselves. It is only then that they learn what the writers wrote in their books was absolutely true. And then they realize that some people who are above them in age, stature, or at some higher pedestal are not necessarily that useful, whereas on the other hand some of others who may be their juniors prove themselves as really beneficial for the society they live in. So a Murshed is a person in your life whose piece of advice far surpasses your intellect.

Motivation and inspiration
All those who prove beneficial for their fellow-humans in society must have some inspirational spirit behind in their past. That very spirit may be that of their teacher, father or some other individual. Quite naturally one always tries to look for something as a source of inspiration. Virtually one may seek inspiration from a number of people in different phases of their life.
Worthless, without a Murshed (guide or mentor)
Those without a Murshed or a teacher are a fruitless creature. They have no inspiration in their lives. An old sayinggoes: one without a teacher has the devil as his guide. People without their Murshed (guide) are neither inspired by anybody, nor are they able to inspire others. A large number of Murshed-less are those who cannot judge between the right or wrong (path). Sometimes one feels after leading their life for a long time that they are on the wrong path, but by that time it is already too late for them. This time is very dangerous in the sense that one’s decision- power gets rusted. This danger can however be averted if one commits allegiance to someone as his Murshed.
Having a teacher is good luck
Blessed are those who get (positive) inspiration at some proper time and age. One listens to and follows him easily by whom he is inspired or whom he loves. It is easy for one to jump to success when he determines (or names) his role-model consciously or unconsciously. Success is a long and a full-of-difficulties path, anyway. It is too hard to achieve it. The only short-cut towards achieving that is to establish relationship with some rewarding (enlightened) personality.
Man is the only creature who is inspired by others. This honour is only bestowed upon him by the Providence. Just imagine the personality of Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon) at the time of his first revelation when he returned home and narrated the whole incident to his sagacious wife Hadhrat Khadija-tul-Kubra (God be pleased with her) who soothed him and took him along straight to her uncle Warqa bin Nofil. Warqa bin Nofil stated: “You are the last of the chain of Prophets in the world.” Knowing about the Holy Prophet (peace be upon him) in itself is the most reverent thing and just imagine how great those people were who knew his revered position since his childhood.
Whoever knows about greatness finds it. Nothing can be more devastating than being unmindful of the existence of someone great around. We remain in quest for good people even if we are bad ourselves due to which one finds someone bad instead of a good person. A man was sent to Hadhrat Wasif Ali Wasif (Allah be pleased with him) and gave him 50 questions.He told him to remember that the real saint (Wali) would be the one who would answer all those questions. He put all the 50 questions into his pocket and sat down in the saint’s meeting-session. He got the answer to the first question the moment he was seated, followed by the second one, and then all the rest. The saint told him to ensure that nothing was left unanswered by looking at the paper he had in his pocket. A change can happen fairly quickly if there is some inspiration in one’s life.
A rule commonly followed in our society is that in case an allegiance is once made, it is final and unchangeable. Hadhrat Wasif Ali Wasif (Allah be pleased with him) says: “An allegiance belongs to the heart, not to the hand.” The heart-related allegiance means a change from within that prevents one from accepting any other persuasion. When heart gets inspired by someone, then a single sentence uttered by him can change the whole life of the listener. So it is possible that just a sage can click while an erudite scholar may remain uninspiring.
A change from within‑‑outward appearance is not all
Inspiration is actually the change in thinking. This is the name of a change of the inner-world. A change in the inner-world brings about a change in one’s circumstances. People change their appearance, not thinking which is why they are looked at with suspicion.
Once aking invitedfamed scholar-poet Hadhrat Shykh Saadi Shirazi to a dinner at his palace. Shykh Saadi put on his ordinary clothes and went to the king’s court. Upon reaching the court gate, the great poet was stopped by the court guard. So he went back. Then, he put on some expensive clothes and again visited the court. This time around the guard happily allowed Hadhrat Saadi the court entry. When the dinner started, he dipped his gorgeous robes into the curry which surprised everybody around when they noticed the strange thing. Shykh Saadi seeing the wondering guests said: “It was not me who was invited to the sumptuous dinner, in fact it is my nice dress which has earned me this honour (food). This is why I’m feeding my expensive clothes.”
A person treated well by Almighty Allah is the one who is clean in one’s heart. Inspiration is something that purifies a person inwardly.
Sometimes we stay unaware of the need for a guide, but we are bestowed upon one by Allah, and then one feels as if some visible change has occurred in the universe. Sometimes one feels like holding some (guiding) finger. This thing happens only when love is born. One should never commit customary allegiance to anyone. If done so, one begins to follow one’s own intellect. Hadhrat Wasif Ali Wasif (Allah be pleased with him) says: “Never try your intellect upon whom you trust (for that matter).”
Acquisition of inspiration is sheer good luck. A saint seated somewhere was told by a caller that he had gone to see some other saint, and he replied: “He (the other saint) is just my child (disciple).” The man said: “He is a great man.” The saint inquired, “How?” The man explained that he (the other saint) instantly discerned and described the caller’s state of affairs. The saint then told the man that he had given that knowledge to him 20 years ago. “These are just petty tricks (jugglery).”
The reward is transferred
Sometimes you find a good teacher by dint of your mother’s praying; and a guide is found due to your father’s good deeds. Hadhrat Wasif Ali Wasif (Allah be pleased with him) says: “We are the result (what we’re) of someone else’s praying, and our prayers would be heard in some other age.” Sometimes a sincere prayer shows the result in some other epoch.”
A Lahore-based doctor sometimes used to take along his nephew to the mental hospital where there was an old man, but he was not a lunatic. He was a saint. He would look upon the boy from behind the barrack bars and observed. One day the boy also noticed the old man’s affectionate looks. Time continued to pass and the child grew young. Whatever the child uttered became true soon after. The boy wondered as to the miracle. Some other saint told him (the boy) that he had been bestowed sainthood during that very period when the old man at the hospital would look upon him and prayed for him. So a reward is transferred from one soul to the other and, no wonder, in any shape.

Get out of your shell
For inspiration sake, get out of your tiny circles and just try to explore the world around you. The more you roam about your outer world, the more chances of seeking inspiration you would have. Inspiration is such a way that helps you in coming across great men. The first sign is that the seeker never feels burdened by the company of a genuinely nice person (as his guide) from whom the inspiration is sought rather he feels as if his own burden has been shared and lessened. He feels happy, thinking that his Murshed (guide) is happy with him. Then, he just surrenders his intellect to that of his Murshed’s. We recite this verse daily in our prayers that “show us the straight path, the path of those whom You have rewarded (and showered Your blessings upon).”
We have to have some instance of the sort in our lives. If there is no such instance, then that is a tragedy. There should be some model who one should lookupto as his ideal (or icon). Before such an individual your knowledge would probably look something like the head of a fly. Have you someone like that (as a role-model)? If not, try to look for one. Then many of your hardships would end there and then, paving your way forward.
QASIM ALI SHAH at a glance!
Mr Qasim Ali Shah is a great teacher and the most popular trainer of the present time. He is a noted public speaker, counsellor, life coach and an excellent writer. He is known throughout Pakistan as an influential leader, a role-model and an icon for the youth. A great number of government, private and corporate institution officers have admittedly benefited from his vast knowledge and training skills. Listed on top of the list,among his beneficiaries,are army, police and the Customs Department officers aside from the judiciary, civil services, National Highways and the Motorway Police officers. According to a survey conducted in year 2018, Mr Qasim Ali Shah was nominated as the No. 1 public speaker.

So far around 3700 of his video lectures have been uploaded onto YouTube in which he has talked about problems faced by young people and also suggested their solution. In year 2017, he set up Qasim Ali Shah Foundation which is working on thinking patterns of the new generation. On the writing side too, he is rendering invaluable services. He has already published 12 books which are among the bestsellers in Pakistan. Not only that, two books have been penned on this wonderful man’s personality. Side by side with his skills and expertise as a public speaker, Mr Shah stands committed to the weal of his fellow-humans ‑‑the entire Pakistani nation. Indeed his writings will continue to prove a torch-bearer for the new generation.