We can see physical things. We can even see psychological things. By God's mercy, one can even see the mysteries of the divine and mystical realm. However, there are things which we cannot see, be it physical, psychological or spiritual. These leads us to 'the Seen & the Unseen', 'the Visible & the Invisible'.
Dr Ilias Said was in charge of the lecture. We were shown the drawings of 'the poor little boy', 'the rich little boy' and 'the little girls'.
The lecture started off in a way which caused us (maybe it's just me) to recall of the things that happened before we come to USM, Penang. The joy, the celebration, the support, the sacrifice and the hope that our families, relatives and friends, especially our parents had devoted on us, were all there, flashed before our eyes.
It actually reminded me of all the support, financial help, precious lessons and advices, the love, the care and the time as well as the prayer that had ended me up here in Penang, all the way from Miri, Sarawak. Not a coincidence, nor a self-achievement. It is the result of the hope of my Father and the intercession of my elder Brother, together with all the timely help of my family, my brothers and sisters, my fellow companions and not to forget my teachers that had brought me this far. Therefore, I realized how crucial it is for me to do well in my years here in USM.
Dr Ilias pointed out how some of the seniors had become in terms of their attitude, lifestyle, clothing, etc. after studying for somewhile in HBP. They seem to lower down the standard of their goal, achievements and at the same time, veered off from their main responsibility, following their friends and the trend, forgetting all the hope that have been put on them.
He goes on to point out how some HBP students in the past, had 'acted' their years in USM, came in with great hope from everyone who had supported him, studied the happy-go-lucky way, passed examinations the 'under-table-money' way, and graduated with the 'valuable yet meaningless' certificate and enjoyed the convocation day being a graduate of no graduate value. All his supporters, ie. family members were on the convocation day, witnessing the 'glorious' moments of their flesh-and-blood filled with pride and joy and thankfulness, but little do they know that it was a mere show, and those 'puppeted' were their ownselves.
Dr Ilias then turns questions which sounded a little like these to us: 'do you want to be like them? do you want to be like your seniors? do you want to follow their steps?'
In short, what I had learned from this lecture was that things that are seen, visible things that we had seen, may be unseen, invisible to us. We see the crowd, the happy faces, the joy of those who had hope and trust in us, yet we may not see the support behind the crowd, the intention, the dreams, the hopes which are behind the faces. We saw how much money our parents had spent on us, but we may not see the effort, the expectation and the sacrifice behind it. One may seem to have graduated, but the values and the stories which lie behind the certificate may be invisible and not be knowned. This is the privacy which lies beneath matters.
What are the unseen things that one can see from the seen things? Are there any invisible things which could be visualized through the visible things? Do I see the unseen and invisible things from the seen and visible things which I see? How am I to see and visualize the unseen and invisible things?...
Well, it's my privacy. I have let you see the invisible things, now it is your turn to see the invisible things by the
infolding unfolding of the invisible things made visible to you by me.
Salam
Seen - Unseen, Visible - Invisible -- Privacy
Lecture by Dr Ilias Said, Assignment by Mr Wan Burhanuddin
-Hii
