Altaf Hossain Uzzal:
A story is not merely a narrative; it is the mental map of time.
Across the ages, the form of stories, human thought, values and perspectives change.
Just as society blossoms, so the story becomes the mirror of its soul.
Human thinking and consciousness differ across regions, and with the flow of time, their shape changes as well.
Perhaps when the protagonist’s profession changes, their mode of thought also shifts.
For a profession is not just a livelihood—it moulds the structure of the mind, it defines one’s philosophy of life.
- A King and a Sage Face to Face
Nearly two thousand three hundred years ago, a deep drama of history unfolded.
The Macedonian emperor Alexander the Great, returning from his conquest of Persia, halted on the banks of the Indus River.
There he encountered a strange man—a naked ascetic whom the Greeks called a Gymnosophist.
The sage sat on a stone, his eyes fixed on the heavens, as though recognising the infinite within himself.
Alexander, curious, asked:
“What are you doing here?”
The sage answered with a calm voice:
“I am experiencing emptiness. But what are you doing?”
Alexander proudly replied:
“I am conquering the world.”
Then both smiled.
But within that smile lay the clash of two opposing world-views.
Alexander thought: this naked man is a fool, for he strives for no worldly ‘success’.
The sage thought: this king is a fool, consumed by the frenzy of ‘achievement’, losing himself in the process.
In that brief dialogue lies the twin path of human civilisation—
One of accomplishment, the other of inner-knowing.
One says: “Seize the outer world,”
The other says: “Know yourself.”
One path of power, the other of peace.
One’s gaze centres on dominion, the other on consciousness.
Renowned mythologist Devdutt Pattanaik uses this very incident to illustrate the difference between Western and Indian philosophies:
The West says, “Conquer the world,”
India says, “Know thyself.”
One runs outwards, the other dives within.
Both paths are indispensable to the advance of civilisation—yet when their balance is lost, humanity loses itself.
- Two Women of Civilisation: Nakedness and Allure
Even today, that philosophical conflict plays out before our eyes.
Imagine a scene—
On the side of a road, beneath the burning sun, lies a naked woman asleep.
Her body frail, her eyes weary—but she is honest before nature.
And on the other side of the road walks a modern, affluent woman—
Half-dressed, scented, petals of flowers scattered through her hair.
Their external attire differs as much as sky and earth, yet in truth, both embody the two faces of human civilisation.
One is naked in poverty; the other naked in exhibition.
One is without cloth, yet free from greed;
The other was draped in ornaments, yet unsafe within.
One battles with life, the other battles with her soul.
Between them hovers a question unspoken—
“What is civilisation?”
We think that progress is external ornamentation—
But perhaps true advancement lies in the beauty of the mind.
Where not the body’s nakedness, but the soul’s clarity, matters.
Modern civilisation fails to grasp this distinction—
That is why we have entered an age of strange “advanced inhumanity”.
- Teaching: From Vocation to Commerce
Once, teaching was a sacred pursuit of character-building.
A teacher was the torchbearer of society,
Who kindled lamps in the temple of humanity with his thought, his reflection and his moral light.
Then teaching meant self-sacrifice,
A higher vow, a humanist pledge.
But today?
Today, in many places, teaching has become a wage transaction.
In place of education comes coaching.
In place of inspiration, competition.
And in place of self-development, accounts of indulgence.
Students no longer thirst for knowledge—they crave job security,
Money, women, houses, cars.
For them, knowledge is now merely a ladder;
And humanity seems an outdated currency.
Once, students were the radiant beams of civilisation’s future;
Toda,y many are lost in darkness—
Drowned in pride, lust for pleasure, self-forgetfulness.
This is an era of mental poverty—
Where there is no knowledge, only information;
No thought, only memorising;
And no education, only certificates.
- At the Moment of Time’s Twilight
We now stand at a twilight moment of history.
Once our goal was to create “wise parrots”—
Those who would think, ask questions, spread light.
But today we are creating “porcupines”—
Who curl up for their own benefit,
If frightened, they raise their quills,
And remain indifferent to others.
In this age, utility has come to mean “instant gain”,
The value of long-term wisdom or ethics has diminished.
We are learning not what is right, but what is convenient.
This mindset is turning society cold like a machine—
Where the work is machine-like, but the feelings are not human.
Yet, not all is lost.
Because whenever a human being changes the way they think,
A new era of history begins.
The renewal of thought is the rebirth of civilisation.
Thus, our first task must be—
Right understanding,
The,n conscious application.
Just as the Gymnosophist sought to know himself,
We too must ask—
Whom do we resemble? Alexander, or the naked sage?
- Our Society and the Crisis of Self-Identity
In the context of Bangladesh, this question becomes all the more profound.
We gained independence, yet many times we remain slaves in thought.
We speak of development, yet lag in culture.
We are devout in religion, yet weak in ethics.
We are industrious in education, yet empty in wisdom.
This contradictory mindset has drawn our society into a state of bewilderment.
On one side, we are like Alexander—immersed in wealth, power and competition;
On the other side, like the sage—yearning for peace—
Yet we do not know which path will take us there.
In our schools, families, and media—
We are losing that inner awareness which once lay at the heart of our nation.
It is a crisis of self-identity—
Where externally there are tales of victory,
But inwardly we carry histories of defeat.
- The Call of the Future
Nevertheless, within each darkness lies the possibility of light.
We need to seek out that light—
The light of thought, of spirit, of humanity.
Now is the time to turn inwards once more,
To look anew upon our education, society, culture, and humanity.
Our generation must learn not to recognise objects, but to understand people.
Our education system must be brought back to the union of intellect and conscience.
And teachers and students, society and state—all must ponder—
Which path are we walking?
That of Alexander, or that of the naked sage?
- In Conclusion
Stories, time and thought—this triad builds the soul of human civilisation.
The laughter of Alexander and the Gymnosophist still echoes in our ears,
As a silent question—
“What are you conquering—the world, or yourself?”
He who conquers himself is the true emperor.
And he who conquers the world while losing himself—
His empire, too, will one day dissolve into nothingness.
Hence, today, what the world does not need is another Alexander,
But thousands of naked sages—
Who knows how to think, who knows how to feel,
And who view the world through the eyes of the soul.
The rebirth of thought is the liberation of civilisation.
Let this belief be the mantra of our new human journey.
“When a person discovers the void within themselves, then there is nothing left outside for them to conquer.”
Altaf Hossain Uzzal is a teacher, poet, and columnist
