ABOUT GOD’S MERCIES

 

                   ABOUT GOD’S MERCIES

God’s origin is un-knowable. He is eternally mysterious. No saint, sage, scholar, philosopher, scientist can answer our queries about God, the creator of the world. That the whole creation is His gift is undeniable. So are the innumerable mercies which He showers upon humanity right from childhood till the last stage of life.

            What follows is a hymn-like poem  by the English poet, essayist and journalist Joseph Addison (1672-1719). The title of the poem  is : When all Thy Mercies, O My God. To put it briefly this poem praises God for all the physical, mental and  material mercies which He showers upon  us right from infancy to old age.

            The poems language is simple.  Its rhyming scheme creates a sense of sincerity and accessibility. Compared to Addison’s other poems like “Ode on St. Cecilia’s Day” this poem is less political and more religious.

            The poem reads as follows:

When all Thy mer­cies, O my God,
My ris­ing soul sur­veys,
Transported with the view, I’m lost
In won­der, love and praise.

O, how shall words with eq­ual warmth
The gra­ti­tude de­clare,
That glows with­in my ra­vished heart!
But Thou canst read it there.

Thy pro­vi­dence my life sus­tained,
And all my wants re­dressed,
While in the si­lent womb I lay,
And hung up­on the breast.

To all my weak comp­laints and cries
Thy mer­cy lent an ear,
Ere yet my fee­ble thoughts had learned
To form them­selves in pray­er.

Unnumbered com­forts to my soul
Thy ten­der care be­stowed,
Before my in­fant heart con­ceived
From whom those com­forts flowed.

When in the slip­pery paths of youth
With heed­less steps I ran,
Thine arm un­seen con­veyed me safe,
And led me up to man.

Through hid­den dan­gers, toils, and death,
It gent­ly cleared my way;
And through the pleas­ing snares of vice,
More to be feared than they.

When worn with sick­ness, oft hast Thou
With health re­newed my face;
And when in sins and sor­rows sunk,
Revived my soul with grace.

Thy boun­te­ous hand with world­ly bliss
Hath made my cup run o’er;
And, in a kind and faith­ful friend,
Hath dou­bled all my store.

Ten thou­sand, thou­sand pre­cious gifts
My dai­ly thanks em­ploy;
Nor is the least a cheer­ful heart
That tastes those gifts with joy.

Through ev­ery pe­ri­od of my life
Thy good­ness I’ll pur­sue
And af­ter death, in dist­ant worlds,
The glo­ri­ous theme renew.

When na­ture fails, and day and night
Divide Thy works no more,
My ever grate­ful heart, O Lord,
Thy mer­cy shall adore.

Through all eter­ni­ty to Thee
A joy­ful song I’ll raise;
For, oh, eter­ni­ty’s too short
To ut­ter all Thy praise!

         

 

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G.R.Kanwal

17^th October 2024

 

 

EVERYBODY NEEDS HELP

 

EVERYBODY NEEDS HELP

Help is a blessing. It divides your physical and mental labour. Sometimes it doubles your strength. There are cases where help is totally indispensible as in the upbringing of a child. This world runs with the help of all its inhabitants.  

Help is defined as : aid, assistance, guidance, support, contribution, benefit, advantage, co-operation, encouragement, ratification, confirmation, etc.  

Where human help is in accessible, it is divine help which comes through prayer to God. God helps everybody. His nature is to strengthen, invigorate and uplift you. However, it is also true that God helps those who help themselves.

The devotees of God are never helpless. God is an eternal friend and companion.

I have heard people say that nothing happens without the will of God.

Here are some thoughts on the theme of help:

*Help thyself and God will help thee. -----English divine and Poet George Herbert  (1593-1633).

**When a person is down in the world, an ounce of help is better than a pound of preaching. ---- Lytton Bulwar, English novelist, (1803-73).  

***Light is the task where many share the toil. (Homer, ancient Greek poet , born 8^th century BCE).

****God be praised, who, to believing souls, gives light in darkness, comfort in despair. “William Shakespeare, English poet-dramatist (1564-1616).

*****God has so ordered that men, being in need of each other, should learn to love each other, and bear each other’s burden. (George Augustus Sala, English journalist (1828-95).

            Finally, this famous quote: We are not put on this earth for ourselves, but are placed here for each other, if you are there always for others,  then in time of need, someone will be there for you.

                                                                        ******

G.R.KANWAL

16 October 2024

 

 

 

DON’T NEGLECT YOUR

 

          DON’T NEGLECT YOUR

Health is defined as the state of being physically and mentally healthy. It means fitness, well-being, good condition, sufficient strength and ability to perform all the activities which nature has prescribed for humans as well as non-humans.  

Maintenance of good health is a duty. One has to protect oneself from all those personal and environmental factors which cause illness. Besides taking preventive measures, proper nourishment is also essential. Enough amount of suitable food and pure water is an aid to maintaining good health.

Don’t depend upon medicines to recover from any physical and mental disorder. Spiritual health, too, needs continuous care. An un-healthy soul causes distress, anxiety, and physical torture.

It is better to remember this old saying: Prevention is better than cure.

Lack of appropriate activities, physical exercise, and mental work also create disease and disability.

Those who indulge in vicious activities like smoking and drinking, taking drugs and other intoxicants cannot maintain good health. They fall a prey to the diseases of the liver, lungs, kidney, heart and knees.

An Arabian proverb says: He who has health. Has hope; and he who has hope, has everything.

  A very simple proverb is: Health is wealth.

According to the French writer and philosopher M.D.Voltaire  (1694-1778) :”Regimen is better than physic. Everyone should be his own physician. We ought to assist, and not to force nature. Eat with moderation what agrees with our constitution. Nothing is good for the body but what we can digest. What medicine can procure digestion? Exercise. What will recruit strength? Sleep. What will alleviate incurable evils? Paience. “

Finally this short but relevant quote: Good health is not something we can buy.

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G. R.Kanwal

15 October 2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LIVE A GLORIOUS LIFE

 

          LIVE A GLORIOUS LIFE

Life is defined as “the ability to breathe, grow, reproduce, etc. which people, animals and plants have before they die and which objects do not have.”

We are concerned with human life and the best way it should be lived.

To eat, drink and be merry is not enough to make life glorious.

Speaking briefly, glorious life should be illustrious, noble, celebrated, famous, renowned, distinguished, honoured, magnificent, majestic, sublime, triumphant, victorious, etc. It should be full of great, useful and laudable deeds  which win admiration from all and sundry. These should be the product of our own personal efforts and activities.

 Such a life adds to the beauty and usefulness of worldly thoughts and objects.  It has no intervals. It is continuously active and creative. Its achievements are admirable both in the present and in the future.

The wonders of the world whether seven, eight, nine or more are glorious. In the sky above, the sun, the moon, and the stars are glorious. On the earth the Taj Mahal in India and several monuments in other parts of  the world are glorious. They are things of beauty and joy forever. Their loveliness increases with the passage of time.

Kashmir is called a paradise on earth because of its natural glory.

Finally, this quote: To be doing good deeds is man’s most glorious task.

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G.R.Kanwal

14 October 2024

 

  

           

REVENGE

 

          REVENGE

            Revenge is defined as something we do in order to make somebody suffer because he has made us suffer.

It is a policy of tit for tat, an eye for an eye. It is also known as wild justice. Law permits it through a fixed procedure but morality does not. Religion, too, is not in favour of retaliation.

One of the cardinal virtues in religion is forgiveness. A gentleman abstains from punishing his offender. He controls his anger and decides to return good for evil, kindness for cruelty.  

It is a simple piece of wisdom that fire does not extinguish fire. For this you need water. To return good for evil is to give evil a chance to become good. The evil-doer becomes conscious of his evil deed when he is tolerated generously. He realizes his folly and decides to get back the love and affection which he lost by causing suffering to any person whosoever.

Some of the great thoughts on avoiding revenge are :

“The best manner of avenging ourselves is by not resembling him who has injured us. ----Jane Porter, English novelist (1776-1850).

“He that studieth revenge keepeth his own wounds green, which otherwise would heal and do well. ----Francis Bacon, English essayist, scientist and philosopher (1561-1626).

According to the American theologian J. M. Mason ( 1770-1829) “A spirit of revenge is the very spirit of the devil; than which nothing makes a man more like him, and nothing can be more opposite to the temper Christianity was designed to promote. If your revenge be not satisfied, it will give you torment now; if it be, it will give you greater hereafter. None is a greater self-tormentor than a malicious and revengeful man, who turns the poison of his own temper in upon himself. “

Finally, this quote: The best revenge is to be unlike him who performed the injury.

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G.R.Kanwal

13^th October 2024                          

 

FRIENDSHIP

 

FRIENDSHIP

Friendship is a necessity. Its absence means intolerable loneliness. It is mostly defined as companionship , close relationship, mutual love, affection, attachment, harmony, understanding, fellowship, alliance, comradeship and cordial relationships.

You don’t hesitate to share with friends all your weaknesses and strengths. You rely on them more than any other person in your personal and social circle.

A friend is your second self. He doubles your strength and all other assets that you have. In illness, he is your private physician who accelerates your recovery.

Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BC-322 BC) said: “In poverty and other misfortunes of life, true friends are a sure refuge.---The young they keep out of mischief; to the old they are a comfort and aid in their weakness, and those in the prime of life they incite to noble deeds. “

According to Joseph Addison, the English essayist and poet (1672-1719) : Friendship improves happiness, and abates misery, by doubling our joy, and dividing our grief.

Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667) who was a cleric in the Church of England and received fame as an author during the Protectorate of Oliver Cromwell had this to say: By friendship you mean the greatest love, the greatest usefulness, the most open communication, the noblest sufferings, the severest truth, the heartiest counsel, and the greatest union of minds of which brave men and women are capable.

There is also one warning about choosing friends: “Purchase not friends by gifts; when thou ceasest to give, such will cease to love.----Thomas Fuller , English divine (1608-61).

Finally, this short but most relevant quote: A fiend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.

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G.R.Kanwal

!2th October 2024

 

 

THERE IS NO ESCAPE FROM PAIN

 

          THERE IS NO ESCAPE FROM PAIN

Pain is a universal human phenomenon. Nobody has ever been able to escape from it.

It is defined as aching, throbbing, smarting, , pang, discomfort, irritation, spasm, cramp, agony, affliction, torture, torment, unhappiness, distress, anguish, misery, wretchedness, etc.

The antonyms of pain are happiness, pleasure, joy, rapture, comfort, consolation, delight, solace, elation, bliss, glee, felicity, euphoria, exuberance, etc.

Whereas pain is common, pleasure is occasional and rare.

The English poet and novelist Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)  said in his novel The Mayor of Casterbridge  : Happiness is the occasional episode in a general drama of pain. It happens when what you think, what you say and what you do are in harmony.

According to Lord Buddha pain is the outcome of sin. Suffering, he says, has a cause, and this cause can be eliminated by adopting the rightful eightfold path comprising, right intention, right view, right action, right speech, right effort, right mindfulness and right concentration. 

The practices of the above-mentioned  path lead to the liberation of human beings from the painful cycle of rebirth.

The English bishop Thomas Bentham (1513-1579) said: Nature has placed mankind under the government of two sovereign masters, pain and pleasure. It is for them to point out what we ought to do, as well as to determine what we shall do. On the one hand, the standard of right and wrong; on the other, the chain of causes and effects, are fastened to their throne.      

There are no permanent pleasures. They are temporary and lay the foundations of new pains. Pleasure is one of the causes of pain.

Finally, this quote by Helen Keller: Although the world is full of suffering. It is also full of the overcoming of it.

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G.R.Kanwal

11 October 2024