What Gülen Said of the Olympics
The fifth International Turkish Olympics held in Istanbul has become the nation's greatest common denominator. At a time when there were certain attempts to polarize this society through its political preferences in the wake of the annulled first round of the presidential election, we hugged each other in tears.
The audience expressed great appreciation for the event. An old friend of mine, from my younger days, told me over the phone he regretted not having known this movement that serves the nation and not having taken part in it. The thing I most wonder about is what the honorable Fethullah Gülen -- who, I am pretty sure, watched the entire show live -- said of the event since he was the architect and pioneer of this human-oriented project, which is based on education and dialogue and involves the proliferation of Turkish schools throughout the world. I found the answer I was seeking at www.herkul.org in his own words. I would like to share it with readers:
"Obviously this is not an ordinary job. Those who are in it are unable to grasp its magnitude. You cannot appreciate what it means for the world, either. To us, it is a divine blessing. God's will should be taken into consideration; otherwise, we put the emphasis on ourselves. It is a matter of expressing ourselves. Supposing we are at the heart of everything is a colossal mistake and an illusion. This sometimes happens through open statements. We look for the best opportunity to mention what we did. This is part of human nature. Overcoming this weakness is relevant to the bonds with God. Putting the emphasis on ourselves is the immaturity of the human being. 'Let God be mentioned; but also let me be mentioned and praised' -- this is the talk of the devil and the profane manifestation of our flawed nature. We should always say it is God who did all this.
"Self-esteem is the sickness of old age. You can get rid of it by invigorating will and determination. Selfishness should be destroyed. This is God's job in macro terms. It is not possible to assert that this is human nature. To imply that it may be the human at work would be a big lie, comparable only to the assertion that "I confronted Mt. Everest and subsequently I destroyed it." These young teachers -- who I hope did not consider age, status and fame when doing their job -- will stay away from the sickness of self-esteem and become more focused on furthering their cause.
"When it is the right time, God will bestow things you cannot imagine. At that time, you will be amazed by God's blessing, just like you are very surprised now. When that happens, you will know once more that it is God's job -- not yours -- and wonder how something huge like this happens. We should remember we are not capable of doing it so that God will not cease His blessing. If we express our gratitude to the Gracious, He will not stop blessing us.
"If you ponder over your probable action when the time arrives, God will not let you go astray. Leading a life of pain, devotion and dedication is the path of Prophets and God's beloveds. This path has become the path of actual heirs of the Prophet. They have changed the fate of humanity many times. If such a change is to happen again, they will do it. The devoted community that expressed its commitment to the Prophet Mohammed, the pride of all humanity, and is determined to take action for the good of the entire world will lead the change."
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