Supreme Leader’s Speech to Cultural and Political Figures

Supreme Leader’s Speech to Cultural and Political Figures
12/04/2011

The following is the full text of the speech delivered on April 12, 2011 by Ayatollah Khamenei the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution in a meeting with cultural and political figures of Iran.
In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

May God make the new year auspicious for the friends, brothers and sisters [who have attended this meeting] and their family and relatives. I hope the new year will be auspicious and enjoyable for all of you and the entire Iranian nation. Of course we are partially responsible for this. We are the ones who make our lives auspicious or inauspicious through our behavior and our orientations. That is to say, the destiny of people is determined by the choices they make. Allah the Exalted has given us the capability to make choices. "And guide him to the parting of the mountain ways?" [The Holy Quran, 90: 10] Allah the Exalted presents us with choices. Of course sometimes the conditions make it easy for people to make a choice. Other times the conditions make the choices difficult. However, one should always make a choice.

Every day we repeatedly ask God to "guide us to the straight path" [the Holy Quran, 1: 6], and this shows that every minute a path branches off from the straight path we are treading - assuming that we have identified the straight path and that we are following this path. That is to say, the straight path is not like a tunnel that leads to the end once you enter it. It is not like a railroad with no junctions. There are many junctions on the straight path, and it is necessary to identify these junctions and to choose the right direction. When we say "show us the straight path", we are asking God to show us the right path every day and in the case of all issues.

I do not want to say that this is very difficult or impossible. No, Allah the Exalted has placed clear signs in front of everybody's eyes. "This is because your Lord would not destroy towns unjustly while their people were unwarned." [The Holy Quran, 6: 131] Allah the Exalted will not admonish or punish us for doing the wrong thing if we do not have any means of guidance. No, Allah the Exalted provides His servant with the necessary means of guidance. Of course there are certain exceptions to this general rule, but Allah the Exalted generally provides people with guidance.

Norouz is an appropriate name for the beginning of a new year, but we may call this beginning whatever we like. Norouz is a very good opportunity. It is very good if we divide our life into certain stages. If life continues with monotonous regularity and new stages never start, one would not think of innovation and new beginnings. One of the advantages of dividing life into stages is that one would be able to think, "Well, this year is over, and a new year has started." And the new year will definitely bring about new actions, new ideas, new resolutions and new motives. According to the traditions we and other nations of the world observe, when the new year starts, people put on new clothes and make their houses look new. For example, our people traditionally practice spring cleaning and other such things. Apparently other nations have similar traditions. Therefore, Norouz is a new stage.

The beginning of a new stage is useful in that people get the opportunity to think about their past and future actions. That is to say, they get the opportunity to say, "Well, I had these flaws in the year that went by, so I will start eliminating these flaws in the new year." This affects all aspects of life.

I believe the most important thing that people should think about is their relationship with God. At the beginning of each new year, people should tell themselves, "Last year and the previous years are gone, and there is nothing I can do about them, but now a new stage has started." We should define a new relationship with Allah the Exalted, proactively and retroactively. The proactive aspect is related to committing sins. People get used to committing certain sins, and they do not realize the importance of those sins. If they stop to think about these sins, they will notice them in their behavior and their actions. Of course people give themselves the benefit of the doubt. People do not usually suspect themselves. Unfortunately human beings justify their actions, but it is not impossible to critically evaluate one's actions. Allah the Exalted has provided us with the ultimate proof. If we look carefully, we can identify our flaws. Human beings have an inner voice which is honest with them. If they refer to their inner voice, their flaws will be revealed to them.

Well, human beings get used to certain sins. They underestimate the significance of certain sins. This is one of the things that can be done in the new year. One can think of a way to reduce the number of the sins one commits by writing them down.

If I remember correctly, I read the biography of Shahid Afshordi last year or the year before. It was mentioned in the biography that Shahid Afshordi used to write down his mistakes every day. Ulama of ethics and certain traditions recommend that we write down our mistakes. We are advised to evaluate ourselves every night. Shahid Afshordi used to write down these things. People like us cannot do so: our self-esteem cannot take this although nobody else is supposed to see what we write down. For example, he used to write in his notes, "I committed these sins today."

Self-evaluation is a very good thing. It is necessary to evaluate oneself and then reduce one's sins one by one. We are used to committing certain sins. Sometimes one may be used to committing 5, 6, 10 sins. We should try to eliminate these sins one by one. We should try to reduce the weak points one by one.

The same is true about the retroactive aspect. I believe if we start with daily prayers, many of the problems will be automatically solved. This is because daily prayers are very important. One should perform daily prayers in an appropriate and attentive manner. Being attentive during daily prayers means paying careful attention to what one says and thinks about. One should not perform one's daily prayers without paying attention to the meaning of what one says. For example, I am speaking to you, and you are listening. I am aware that my audience is listening to my speech. The same thing should be true about praying: we must believe that God is listening to us. I believe that a person can get closer to God even if he does not at all understand the meaning of what he says during praying - he should just be aware that he is speaking to God. The Commander of the Faithful (a.s.) said, "Daily prayers are a means for every pious man to get closer to God." People like us may know the meaning and interpretation of everything said during daily prayers, and we may have read several books about daily prayers, but we may still fail to pay attention to the meaning of what we say during daily prayers. As the poet Saeb says, during praying some people think about anything except God, and sometimes they remember what they have misplaced.

Performing daily prayers in an attentive manner - that is to say, paying attention to the fact that we are speaking to God - is a good start. The same is true about performing one's daily prayers on time. The same is true about congregational prayers and nawafil [prayers which are not obligatory]. This way one can gradually change one's life. Each new year can bring about such auspicious things if we try to make the best of it.

Beyond these things, we can use our job to get closer to God. Each of us has a responsibility to fulfill. Each of us has a job. The more carefully we do our job and the more we try to make our job serve a divine cause, the more the benefits will be.

May God bestow His blessings and assistance on all of you. I hope He will make the new year auspicious for all of us and the entire Iranian nation in the sense that I explained.

Greetings be upon you and Allah's mercy and blessings

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