Regarding the Imam's school of thought, the honorable Iranian nation is fully aware that the respect and love of the Iranian people for our honorable Imam is not just an ordinary emotion. Although hearts are overflowing with the love for the Imam as far as emotions are concerned, the issue is not limited to these emotions. Rather, the respect that our people have for our magnanimous Imam means that they have accepted his school of thought as the bright path for the entire Iranian nation. The Imam's school of thought is theoretical and practical guidance that will help our country achieve dignity, progress and justice. That is to say, whenever we had the opportunity to practice the recommendations of the Imam and whenever we could follow the path shown by the Imam, we benefitted a lot. This is how the people consider the path of the Imam and his timeless legacy. Our nation has managed to stand up against the most complex plots. The Iranian nation was faced with military, security, propaganda, political and economic plots. On the economic front, the Iranian nation has been faced with different kinds of sanctions. As far as negative propaganda is concerned, the huge media and propaganda empire has been working hard against the Iranian nation. Thanks to the Imam's path and his school of thought, the Iranian nation has managed to stand up against these plots.
Rationality, spirituality and justice are the three main dimensions of Imam Khomeini's school of thought
The Imam's school of thought is a complete package with different dimensions. It is necessary to consider all these dimensions together. Two of the main dimensions of the Imam's school of thought were the spiritual and the rational dimensions. As far as the spiritual dimension is concerned, our magnanimous Imam did not just rely on material factors and manifestations to continue his path. His hope in Allah the Exalted was inexhaustible. Regarding the rational dimension, using wisdom and rational calculations are important in the Imam's school of thought. I will briefly discuss each of these dimensions.
There is also a third dimension - namely, justice - which is the result of Islam, just like the other two dimensions. The Imam's rationality originated from Islam, and his spirituality were Islamic and Quranic. Similarly the third dimension originated from Islam and the Holy Quran. It is necessary to consider these dimensions together. Stressing one of these dimensions at the cost of ignoring other dimensions would derail our society. These dimensions and this complete package are the intellectual and spiritual legacy of the Imam. Our magnanimous Imam used to pay attention to both the rational dimension and the spiritual dimension. He also used to pay careful attention to the dimension of justice.
Manifestations of rationality in Imam Khomeini's school of thought:
1. Choosing democracy for the country's political system
I would like to discuss a few manifestations of the Imam's rationality. The first manifestation was that he chose democracy as the political system of the country. That is to say, he chose to rely on the votes of the people. Choosing democracy was one of the clear manifestations of rationality in the Imam's inspirational and revitalizing school of thought. Dictatorial governments had ruled our country for many years. Even during the time of the Constitutional movement when the law seemed to have been institutionalized in the country, in practice the autocracy of the Pahlavi era was more severe and more oppressive than the previous dictatorships. In a country with such a historical background, our magnanimous Imam found the opportunity to turn voting and the presence of the people into an institutionalized reality. Our people had not experienced free elections except in a short period of time during the early years of the Constitutional movement. In such a country and in such an atmosphere, our magnanimous Imam took the first step and institutionalized elections in the country. This is the most outstanding manifestation of the Imam's rationality.
2. Being firm and uncompromising in confronting invading enemies
The Imam's firmness and lack of flexibility against the aggressive enemy was another manifestation of his rationality and his reliance on wisdom. The Imam did not trust the enemy. After he got to know the enemies of the Iranian nation and the Revolution well, he stood up against them like a mountain. Certain people think that rationality requires backing down against the enemy on occasion, but the Imam had the opposite idea and he moved in the opposite direction. The rationality and wisdom of this divine man helped him conclude that even the slightest flexibility and compromise against the enemy would result in the enemy's further transgression. In a battlefield, your enemy does not feel sorry when you retreat. Every small retreat against the enemies means that the enemy will take a step forward and spread his domination. This was one of the manifestations of the Imam's rationality.
3. Injecting a spirit of self-confidence and self-reliance into the nation
Another manifestation of the Imam's rationality was that he infused the spirit of self-confidence and self-sufficiency into the Iranian nation. Since the beginning of the domination of westerners over our country - that is to say, since the early 19th century when westerners came to Iran - they used to constantly humiliate the Iranian nation over many years by presenting different analyses with the help of their agents. They used to make the Iranian nation believe that it was incapable of scientific endeavor and scientific progress. They used to convince the Iranian people that they were incapable of standing on their own feet. The heads of the Pahlavi regime and the regimes that preceded it used to constantly humiliate the Iranian nation. They used to pretend that if there was any possibility of progress and great achievements, westerners had to step in. They used to pretend that the Iranian nation did not have the potential to do these things. Our magnanimous Imam infused the spirit of self-confidence into such a nation, and this became a turning point for the Iranian nation. Today our youth, our industrialists, our scientists, our politicians and our clergy feel that they can do whatever they want. "We can" was the slogan that our magnanimous Imam instilled into the heart of our nation. This was one of the important manifestations of the Imam's rationality.
4. Drafting the constitution
Another manifestation of the Imam's rationality was his emphasis on preparing the Constitution. The Imam ordered Iranian experts to prepare the Constitution. Those who prepared the Constitution had been elected by the people. The Imam did not choose a group of people to draw up the Constitution. It was the Iranian people who chose them. The people relied on their own judgment to elect certain experts, and those experts drew up the Constitution. Later on, the Imam decided to put the Constitution to the vote again. He arranged a referendum so that the people could vote for or against the Constitution. This was one of the manifestations of the Imam's rationality. This was how the Imam strengthened the foundations of the Islamic system. In terms of legal aspects, in terms of politics, in terms of social activities and in terms of scientific progress, our magnanimous Imam established a firm foundation which could form the basis of a great Islamic civilization.
5. Helping people to understand the fact that those who own the country are the people themselves
Another manifestation of the Imam's rationality was that he convinced the people that the country belongs to them. He convinced the people that the country has an owner. During the time of autocratic governments, they used to promote the idea that the country had an owner and the dictators ruling the country were what they meant by the "owner". The Imam convinced the people that the country has an owner and that the people are the owners.
Manifestations of spirituality in Imam Khomeini's school of thought
The primary manifestation of the Imam's spirituality was his religious devotion. The Imam used to do everything for the sake of God. Since the beginning, he used to do whatever he thought was his divine responsibility. He did not spare any sacrifices on this path. This was how he acted since the beginning of the revolutionary activities in the year 1341. He used to move forward with the aim of carrying out his religious obligations. He repeatedly told our people and government officials that what is important is to carry out one's religious responsibilities. We only do our obligations: it is God who determines the outcome of our efforts. Therefore, the Imam's devotion was the manifestation of spirituality in his behavior. He never said or did anything in order to be praised. Allah the Exalted blessed whatever he did for the sake of God, and the effect of his actions became permanent. This is the characteristic of religious devotion. The Imam used to repeat the same recommendation in his meetings with government officials of the country.
He used to advise us to trust God and to make effort for the sake of God. He himself used to rely on God. He used to engage in supplication and worship. He used to ask God for assistance. One could clearly feel the spirituality emanating from the Imam after the month of Ramadan had ended. He used to make use of every opportunity to get closer to Allah the Exalted and to purify his immaculate heart and soul. He used to advise others to do the same thing. He used to say, "We are present before God." The world is being watched by Allah the Exalted. The world is full of divine manifestations. The Imam used to advise everybody to keep this point in mind
He himself used to observe moral principles, and he used to advise other people to do the same thing. An important part of spirituality in Islam consists of morality, avoidance of sins, avoidance of slander, avoidance of suspicion, avoidance of backbiting, avoidance of spite and avoidance of separating hearts from one another. Our magnanimous Imam used to observe these things, and he used to advise the people and government officials to do the same thing.
The Imam used to advise us against becoming arrogant. He used to advise us against considering ourselves superior to the people. He used to advise us against considering ourselves flawless and above criticism. All high-ranking officials of the country had heard the Imam telling them to be ready and to welcome criticism. All high-ranking government officials had heard him advising them to avoid considering themselves flawless and above criticism. The Imam himself used to act like this. In his writings and his statements, especially at the end of his holy life, His Eminence admitted on several occasions that he had made a mistake in certain cases. He admitted that he was wrong in certain cases. This requires a great character. One needs a great soul to be able to say such things and to admit that one has made a mistake. This was a manifestation of the Imam's spirituality and ethical principles. This is one of the important dimensions of the lesson that the Imam taught us.
Manifestations of justice in Imam Khomeini's school of thought
The dimension of justice is also very important in the Imam's school of thought. Although in a sense justice originates from rationality and spirituality, the prominence of justice from the Imam's perspective makes justice especially outstanding. Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution, the Imam used to emphasize the needs of underprivileged social classes in his statements. He used to emphatically advise our government officials to cater to the needs of underprivileged social classes. He used to emphatically advise our government officials to avoid aristocratic lifestyles. This was one of the most important recommendations of our magnanimous Imam. We must not forget these things. In a government which relies on the votes and religious faith of the people, a serious problem will occur if the officials start to think about their own welfare, if they start to think of accumulating wealth for themselves, if they do everything to satisfy their aristocratic passions. This is a very serious problem for such a government. The Imam completely avoided this problem, and he used to repeatedly advise our government officials to avoid developing a tendency towards aristocratic lifestyles and accumulating wealth. He used to advise our government officials to develop a close relationship with the people. The Imam wanted government officials like myself to have a close relationship with the people.
The Imam used to stress that facilities and services had to be available in every part of the country. He used to stress that services had to be made available to the people living in remote places. These things point to the justice of our magnanimous Imam. He used to stress that government officials had to be elected from among the people. He used to stress that government officials had to be from among the people and that being well-connected was not a good criterion for appointing people to different positions. The prevalent favoritism during the time of Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties had made the Imam sensitive to this issue. Sometimes he used to praise certain government officials by saying, "He is from among the people." This was the standard for the Imam. He believed that taking wealth and power into consideration when appointing people to different positions was one of the greatest threats to the country and to the Revolution. These are the dimensions of the path of the Imam.
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