The Author started life as a university teacher in 1961. In 1964, he joined the Indian Foreign Service and
served as an Indian diplomat in Iraq, Morocco, Lebanon, United States (Consul General in San Francisco)
and as Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Brazil, and Tunisia. This gave him plenty
of opportunity to observe different people in different countries. He realized that despite superficial
outer differences, human nature everywhere is the same – same aspirations, same hopes, and same
fears. He found that all societies face a very basic problem: how can many diverse people live together
in one society accommodating each other’s legitimate interests and concerns? His lifelong endeavor to
find the answer to this question is what has developed his thinking. An intellectual journey is like trying
to reach the horizon, which keeps shifting as we move towards it. We never reach it, but we see and
learn many things as we pursue the elusive target. Each answer raises a new question and the answer to
the question raises yet another question. This question-answer chain is endless. We never reach the
final answer - the answer to all questions. But in the process, our understanding of issues deepens. The
author’s odyssey led to a holistic study of the Quran and Sunnah for deeper understanding of their
message, with people’s welfare as the goal, and human nature and prevailing reality as the context. This
book is an attempt to share some of what the Author has learned from that never-ending voyage.