SILENCE

 

                                SILENCE

          Silence has many meanings, Simple ones are complete absence of sound , noise, or speech.

          It is also defined as a refusal, failure, or choice not to speak or communicate.

          One more definition says: It is an act of keeping information back or hidden or withheld.

          I believe that silence is a form of wordless speech. It conveyance its meaning through facial expression.  

          Some synonyms of silence are : stillness, muteness, voicelessness, inarticulateness, and reticence.

          If you are silent you are quiet and calm or you are unwilling to communicate vocally.

          Greek-Roman philosopher Plutarch (C.46 -after 119/125 AD) said: He can never speak well, who knows not how to hold his peace.

          Some more important quotes are:

*True silence is the rest of the mind, and is to the spirit what sleep is to the body, nourishment and refinement. It is a great virtue; it covers folly, keeps secrets, avoids disputes, and prevents sin.---English Quaker William Penn (1644-1718).

*Speech is great, but silence is greater. ---Scottish essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881).

 *Silence in times of suffering is the best.---English poet and literary critic John Dryden (1631-1700).

*The unspoken word never does harm. ---Louis Kossuth Hungarian patriot (1802-94).

          Finally, the following words of Indian saint and anti- colonial leader Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948):

“I find that silence avoids irritation. There is a perceptible drop in blood pressure when I observe silence. After every silence I feel recuperated and have greater energy for work. The output of work during silence is much greater than when I am not silent. The mind enjoys a peace during silence which it does not without it. The decision to be silent itself produces a soothing effect on me. It lifts a burden off my mind. My experience tells me that silence soothes the nerves in a manner no drug can.

                                                ******

G.R.Kanwal

29 August 2026

FLASH FLOOD IN NEPAL

 

 FLASH FLOOD IN NEPAL

                        The current flash flood in Nepal is a natural calamity. The number of deaths of local inhabitants as well as  of the people of other states is horrifyingly large .

                        The mysterious question is why did God permit this disastrous calamity to happen.

                        The answer is in the Gita where Lord Krishna says that perishability of the body is insignificant. The real self of humans is their soul which is immortal.

                        Look at the following lines from chapter 2.22 of The Bhagavad  Gita –A  Revelation by Dilip Kumar Roy (1974):   

Even as a man discards his worn-out robe

For a new one, so a worn-out body is

Left by the Soul for a new one after death.

Weapons can never cleave nor fire burn

Water drench nor wind desiccate the Soul.

 

 

                                Another relevant quote here is the holy sonnet of the English poet John Donne (1572-1631). The title of the poem is Death Be Not Proud. It was originally published in1633.

 

The full text of this sonnet is as under:

 

Death, be not proud, though some have called thee

Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so;

For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow

Die not, poor Death, nor yet canst thou kill me.

From rest and sleep, which but thy pictures be,

Much pleasure; then from thee much more must flow,

And soonest our best men with thee do go,

Rest of their bones, and soul's delivery.

Thou art slave to fate, chance, kings, and desperate men,

And dost with poison, war, and sickness dwell,

And poppy or charms can make us sleep as well

And better than thy stroke; why swell'st thou then?

One short sleep past, we wake eternally

And death shall be no more; Death, thou shalt die.

 

 

                                                          **********

G.R.Kanwal

28 August 2026

 

NATURAL DISASTERS

 

                NATURAL DISASTERS

            The world is defined as the earth, with all the countries, peoples and natural  features.

            Everything that exists on the earth is part of the world. It is isolated but not unrelated. Humans and non-humans are born in different parts of the world but they are not foreign.  They are the inhabitants of not only of a particular country but of the whole world. Thus they are neighbours, not aliens. When Jesus said love thy neighbor as thyself, he did not mean only the next door person but  also every other person who lives in this world.

            Natural disasters are known as catastrophic events by natural forces that result in major damage and loss of life. They are listed as earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, volcanic eruptions, tsunamis, wildfires, droughts, landslides, and avalanches. They occur at a particular place but have their impact on several areas far and wide. Their management needs the help of neighbouring as also of distant countries.

            It is sad to see that helping countries are not unselfish. They extend help with some return for their own countries. For them only selected counties deserve their help. There may be political, commercial, or other advantages.

            The saying : fishing in troubled waters is true in many cases.  

            You are selective, not universal. You first weigh the resultant benefits for yourself before you extend your help any country  in a natural or man-made calamity like war. . You help a particular country which is inimical to another country with which you are also inimical.

              Natural disasters are destructive in several ways. They cause death and destruction in a large scale.  They are merciless.

            Ancient monuments, sacred places like temples, mosques, and churches are all destroyed.  They don’t discriminate between the sacred and secular. . Whatever comes in their way is hit harshly, not softly. Even natural objects like trees and gardens are destroyed. Birds and beasts, too, are killed. Nothing is spared. There is nothing sacred for natural disasters. Exceptions are not within their rules. They are blind forces. Why does God allow their onslaught is a mystery.

                                                            ----------             

      PUNCHLINE: We may despise the word having natural disasters, but we cannot live without it.

                                                            ****

G.R.Kanwal

27 August 2026                       

 

 

SACRED THOUGHTS

 

                             SACRED THOUGHTS

1.     First of all some sayings of Prophet Muhammad translated by Kabir Helminski.

*You will not enter paradise until you believe, and you will not believe until you love one another.

* Give greeting to everyone among you.

* I was delegated as a prophet to perfect moral virtues.

*Good character is half of faith.

*God is merciful to those who show mercy to others.

*Power consists not in being able to strike another but in being able to control oneself when anger arises.

The three best things are: to be humble amidst vicissitudes of fortune; to pardon when powerful; and to be generous with no strings attached.

2.     Love God , and he will dwell with you. Obey God, and he will reveal to you the truth of his deepest teachings.

3.     Take away God and religion, and men live to no purpose, without proposing any worthy and considerable end of life to themselves.

4.     True religion and virtue give a cheerful and happy turn to the mind; admit of all true pleasures, and even procure for us  the highest.  

5.     If you are not right toward God, you can never be so toward man; and this is forever true.

6.     The moral virtues, without religion, are but cold, lifeless, and insipid.

7.     Religion is the tie that connects man with his Creator, and holds him to his throne. If that tie is sundered or broken, he floats away a worthless atom in the universe, its proper attractions all gone.

8.     Religion is the best armour in the world, but the worst cloak.

9.     Spiritual anarchy is not likely to work either for the happiness of the individual or for the welfare of the society.

10.             There is only one religion, though there are a hundred versions of it.

                              --------

PUNCHLINE: If men are so wicked with religion, what would they be without it!

                                                      *******   

 G. R. Kanwal

26 August 2026

                       

 

LEGISLATORS

 

                                LEGISLATORS

                        The briefest definition of a legislator is : a member of a group of  people that has the power to make laws.  

                         A bit longer definition says: A person who has the power to write, change, and pass laws. This person is typically a member of a law-making group, such as a parliament, congress, or city council.

                        Monarchy is one man’s rule, so is dictatorship. It is democracy which has as many elected legislators as it needs to make all sorts of new laws and amend old ones.

                        An ideal democracy makes appropriate laws to protect the rights of all the communities.  It is known liberal democracy. It fulfills the expectations all the citizens irrespective of their religion.

            A secular democracy is non-religious. It is humanistic. In its eyes all the religions have the same freedom as that of a ruling party.

                        The qualities of a good legislator comprise : analytical skill with high ethical standards. He listens to the public, understands their expectations, solves their problems, makes their lives optimally comfortable;  is unselfish, non-greedy, does not work for self-elevation, has the least interest in making himself wealthy; is non-communal, non-sectarian; men and women for him are the children of the same God. To put it briefly, he is a public servant, not their master.

                        He has no ego. His chief aim is the maximum happiness of the maximum number of people.  

                        According to a popular view: That state is best ordered where the wicked have no command, and the good have.

                        There is a substantial difference between an average legislator and a statesman.

                        An American clergy William R. Alger (1822-1905) says: True statesmanship is the art of changing  a nation from what it is into what it ought to be.

                        The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) said:  A genuine  statesman is a friend to truth ! of soul sincere, in action faithful, and in honour clear;  he breaks no promise, serves no private end, gains no title, loses no friend; is ennobled by himself; and is approved, praised, and honoured by all.       

                                                *******

G.R. Kanwal

24 August 2026

 

QUALITIES OF UN-OFFENSIVE SPEECH

 

                QUALITIES OF UN-OFFENSIVE SPEECH

            Speech is communication, expression, delivery, address, oration, discourse, lecture. sermon, parlance, and utterance. It conveys thoughts, feelings, ideas, emotions, feelings, information, news,etc.    

            What matters more than the purpose of a speech is the style of the speaker. He should be gentle, sweet, appreciative, positive, pleasing, humorous, gratifying, and admirable.

            It will be dangerous if he is bitter, critical, harsh, fault-finder, and offensive.

            His speech should be persuasive, not provocative; easy to understand;  appropriately brief; and, as far as possible,  according to the expectations of his listeners.

            According to a famous quote : Non-offensive speech respects the dignity, feelings, and background of others. It relies on respectful, precise, and inclusive language that avoids demeaning groups, attacking personal identities, or using unnecessary hostility.”

            A good speech is appreciated, not condemned. It does not start an unpleasant discussion.

            If you are talking about the dead, be gentle and courteous. According to a proverb : nothing but good should be talked about the dead.

            Don’t be communal or sectarian in your speech. An English professor of English literature James Kirkup (1918-2009) says:

             Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign,

             Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes

            Like ours; the land our brothers walk upon

            Is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.

The title of the poem is: No Men Are Foreign and the last stanza carries the following words:

            It is the human earth that we defile,

            Our hells of fire and dust outrage the innocence

            Of air that is everywhere our own.

            Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange.

                                                --------

PUNCHLINE:  Speech is silvern, silence is golden; speech is human, silence is divine.----German Proverb.

                                                            *******

G.R.Kanwal

23 August 2026

 

SELECTED THOUGHTS

 

SELECTED THOUGHTS

            In this small group of Selected Thoughts readers will find some important ideas to be stored in their memory for off and on use in daily life.

1.     Few men are admired by their servants.

2.     Prosperity is a great teacher; adversity is a greater.

3.     The flower that follows the sun does so even in cloudy days.

4.     He that has no cross will have no crown.

5.     The worst men often give the best advice.

6.     Let us respect gray hairs, especially our own.

7.     Not failure, but low aim, is crime.

8.     In great attempts it is glorious even to fail/

9.     Ambition is rhe avarice ofpower.

10.                         Great souls, by nature half divine, soar to the stars, and hold a near acquaintance with the gods.

11.                         Birth is nothing where virtue is not.

12.                         The greatest remedy for anger is delay.

13.                         Those we call ancients were really new in everything.

14.                         Good cheer is no hindrance to a good life.

15.                         Architecture is frozen music.

16.                         The mission of art is to represent nature; not to imitate her.

17.                         No bird soars too high if he soars with his own wings.

18.                         Talkers are no good doers. We go to use our hands  and not our tongues.

19.                         Heard melodies are sweet  but those unheard are sweeter.

20.                        A thing of beauty is a joy for ever.

21.                        Early to bed, and early to rise. Makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.

22.                         Behaviour is a mirror to which every one displays his image.

23.                         The child is father of the man.

24.                         Childhood shows the man, as morning shows the day.

25.                        Confidence is a plant of slow growth; especially in an aged bosom.

                                                *******

G. R. Kanwal

22 August 2026