(3 of 5)
There is more than one key to this door. First, a man should clearly recognize the source of his trouble; secondly, he must have faith. Faith means that a man should regard any disaster simply as a fate-determined blow which should be endured. From this follows a deliberate effort to fight away its consequences. No problem should ever be regarded as insuperable. There are always solutions to everything. What makes us think in this way is our belief that God created men to play the roles assigned to them. The God who has created us cannot be evil in any sense: He is good and beneficent (contrary to God's image that a Sheikh in our village Quranic teaching school had drawn up—a mighty and frightening Being).
Ideally the relationship between man and God should be based not on fear (or punishment and reward) but on a much loftier value (the highest)—friendship. The Creator is merciful, just and loving: He is all-powerful because he created everything. If you have him for a friend, you will always have peace of mind under whichever circumstances.
The analysis contributed by that psychologist opened infinite horizons of love before me: my relations with the entire universe began to be reshaped and love became the fountainhead of all my actions and feelings. Armed with faith and perfect peace of mind, I have never been shaken by the turbulent events, both private and public, through which I have lived.
In fact, I cannot bring myself to hate anybody, as I am by nature committed to love. This became quite clear to me through suffering and pain, in Cell 54. Suffering crystallizes a soul's intrinsic strength; for it is through suffering that a man of mettle can come into his own, and fathom his own depths. It was through suffering that I discovered how I was by nature inclined to do good, that love was the real motive behind my actions. Without love I really could not work at all. Love provided me with faith, full confidence in myself and in everything around me. My love for the universe is derived from my love for God. The Creator being my friend, I couldn't possibly be afraid of men...it is he who controls their life and the entire universe.
Through that feeling which came to be an indivisible part of my very being (and which, though unconsciously, remained with me all my life) I was able to transcend the confines of time and place. Spatially, I did not live in a four-walled cell but in the entire universe. Time ceased to exist once my heart was taken over by the love of the Lord of all Creation: I came to feel very close to him wherever I was.
One of the things Cell 54 taught me was the value of inward success, which alone maintains inward equilibrium and helps a man to be true to himself. I do not care for socially recognizable success: I only value that success which I can feel within me, which satisfies me, and which basically stems from self-knowledge. A true believer should, if he has to call anybody to book, start with himself. What should matter to him is not material gain but his recognition of his own self-image and the extent to which his actions reflect it. Inward success is a source of permanent and absolute power, independent of external factors; outward success fluctuates in response to changing circumstances.