SOME VIEWS ON MAN

 

                    SOME VIEWS ON MAN

               The statesman and former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom William Gladstone (1809-1898) said :  Man himself is the crowning wonder of creation; the study of his nature  the noblest study the world affords.

               According to the English romantic poet Lord Byron (17881824) : Man is half dust, half deity, alike unfit to sink or soar.

               The writer and former Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom  Edmund Burke (1729-1797) had this to say: How little man is; yet, in his own mind how great ! He is lord and master of all things, yet scarce can command anything. He is given a freedom of his will, but wherefore? Was it but to torment and perplex him the more? How little avails this freedom, if the objects he is to act upon be not so much disposed to obey as he is to command!

               The English poet and playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) said in his play Hamlet, Ac 1, Sc.4:

               What a piece of work is man ! How noble in reason! How infinite in faculty ! In form and moving how express and admirable ! In action how like an angel! In apprehension how like a god! The beauty of the world! The paragon of animals!

               The last view is by the English poet and translator Alexander Pope (1688-1744). It is extracted from his poem  An Essay on Man: Epistle II:

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;

The proper study of mankind is man.

Placed on this isthmus of a middle state,

A being darkly wise, and rudely great:

With too much knowledge for the sceptic side,

With too much weakness for the stoic’s pride,

He hangs between; in doubt to act or rest,

In doubt to deem himself a god or beast,

In doubt his mind or body to prefer,

Born but to die, and reasoning but to err;

Alike in ignorance, his reason such,

Whether he thinks too little or too much:

Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;

Still by himself abused or disabused;

Created half to rise and half to fall,

Great lord of all things, but a prey to all;

Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled:

The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!

 

                                                            *********

G.R.Kanwal

11 September 2026

 

WHAT, IF YOU ARE GREAT?

 

                WHAT,  IF YOU ARE GREAT?

            What, if you are great and you are looked upon by lots of people as : mighty, powerful, invincible, unparallel, god-like, authoritative,  terrible in the use of your powers, resources, arms, and  all that?

                You may be a great king, emperor, ruler, governor, leader, conqueror, etc.         

                  You may be having many followers, helpers, subordinates, hirelings, slaves, servants, coordinators, partners, etc.  

                        Your material resources may be unlimited. Your arms and weapons may be deadliest.  Your fighters and soldiers may be uncountable.

                        In spite of every asset mentioned above you are not immortal. You will die one day. Your empire will come to an end. Your friends and followers and the people at large who were just like your slaves will forget you.

                        Here is a sonnet titled Ozymandias written by the famous English poet Percy Bysshe Shelly (1792-1822). Its moral is that all human power, greatness, and pride are transitory,

                        “No matter how mighty a ruler is or how vast their empire becomes ,time and nature will inevitably destroy their legacy and reduce it to dust.”

                           The full text of the sonnet follows:

                                                OZYMANDIAS

I met a traveller from an antique land

Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone

Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,

Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,

And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command,

Tell that its sculptor well those passions read

Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,

The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed:

And on the pedestal these words appear:

"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:

Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"

Nothing beside remains. Round the decay

Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare

The lone and level sands stretch far away.

 

G. R. Kanwal

10 th September 2026

 

TWO VIEWS ABOU EAST AND WEST

 

                TWO VIEWS ABOU EAST AND WEST

            It was Rudyard Kipling ,the English poet, journalist and novelist (1865-1936)  who wrote in his  1889 poem  ‘The Ballad of East and West’, that ----

            Oh, East is East and West is West,  and  never the twain shall meet,

             The Earth and Sky stand presently at God’s great Judgment Seat;-----

           

            But there is neither East nor  West, Border, nor Breed, nor Birth,

            When two strong men stand Face to face, though they

            Come from the ends of the Earth!”

 

            According to Kipling Eastern and Western cultures are so fundamentally different that they can never truly understand each other or come together.     

 

            Now look at the views of the Indian academic, philosopher and statesman who served as the President of India.

 

            Whereas  Rudyard Kipling won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1907 , Dr. S, Radhakrishnan was honoured with The Bharat Ratna , the highest civilian  award  of the Republic of India in 1954.

            Disagreeing with Mr. Kipling  Dr. S. Radhakrishnan  said there was no reason to believe that there are fundamental differences between the East and the West.

            Human beings are  everywhere human and hold the same deepest values. The differences which are, no doubt, significant, are related to external, temporary social conditions and are alterable with them.

           

            East and West are relative terms. They are geographical expressions and  not cultural types. The differences among countries like China, Japan and India are quite as significant as those among European or American countries.

 

            Specific cultural patterns with distinctive beliefs and habits developed in different regions in relative isolation from one another.

            The world has now reached a stage of inter-communication. All societies are fast becoming industrialized and new sets of values are springing up. We are called upon to participate in the painful birth of new civilization. If we are to live together in peace we must develop international co-operation and understanding.

                                                ********

G.R.Kanwal

9 September 2026     

 

LEAD KINDLY LIGHT

 

          LEAD KINDLY LIGHT

            Lead Kindly Light is a poem written by Cardinal John Henry Newman. He was an English poet, theologian and academic. Born on February 21, 1801. In the city of London, England ,  he died in Edgbaston, Birmingham, England, on August 11, 1890.

            His poem mentioned above is a spiritual lyric. It is loved and appreciated by every reader who knows human pride which ultimately ends in humility.

            Initially, man regards himself self-reliant in the difficult journey of life. His pride enables him to lead a life of enjoyments with no thought of God. But not long after he faces difficulties. Darkness envelopes his path and he feels the need of step by step light,  which means divine help and guidance. His pride vanishes giving enough room to humility. He then bursts into a hymn addressed to God and prays : Lead Kindly Light. The word ‘Light’ symbolizes God who is kind to humans when they surrender themselves before Him.

                 The poet believes that the end of earthly life and suffering will result in meeting his loved ones who died in the past and are presently in heaven with peaceful angelic faces.

                        The full text of the poem which was written in 1833 was the result of an unfortunate event that caused fever to the poet, making him not only physically sick but also emotionally distressed.

                                    LEAD KINDLY LIGHT

Lead, Kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,

Lead Thou me on;

The night is dark, and I am far from home,

Lead Thou me on.

Keep Thou my feet;

I do not ask to see the distant scene;

one step enough for me.

 

I was not ever thus, nor prayed that

Thou shouldst lead me on;

I loved to choose and see my path; but now

Lead Thou me on.

I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears, pride ruled my will; Remember not past years.

 

So long Thy power hath blessed me, sure it still

Will  lead me on.

O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till

The night is gone;

And with the morn those angel faces smile,

Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

                                                *******

G. R. Kanwal

8 September 2026

                                                            ---------

 

 

READ THIS TO BECOME WISER

 

                READ THIS TO BECOME WISER

            Wisdom is defined as the ability to make sensible decisions and give good advice because of the experience and knowledge that you have.

            Some common synonyms of wisdom are:  intelligence, knowledge, enlightenment, reason, philosophy, insight, prudence, and sagacity.

            The sources of wisdom are: observation, reflection, insight, philosophical view, moral discipline, practical experience, vast knowledge, infinite learning, failures, and successes.

            Here are some familiar quotes the mere reading of which will make you wiser.

*The best armour is to keep out of gun shot.

*Poverty wants some things , luxury many, avarice all things.

*A bachelor’s life is a splendid breakfast; a tolerably flat dinner; and a most miserable supper.

*The beauty seen, is partly in him who sees it.

*Benevolence is allied to few vices; selfishness to fewer virtues.

*Give; and it will be given unto you.

*God loveth a cheerful giver.

*Character is the result of two things; mental attitude and the way we spend our time.

*Loving kindness is greater than laws; and the charities of life are more than ceremonies.

*A man is what the winds and tides have made him.   

*The dew of compassion is a tear.

*Without consistency there is no moral strength.

* Good deeds ring clear through heaven like a bell.

*A life spent worthily should be measured by deeds, not years.

*A noble deed is a step toward God.

*Doubt is brother devil to despair.

*There is a long and wearisome step between admiration and imitation.

*Nothing is so infectious as example.

*None but cowards lie.

*A mask of gold hides all deformities.

*All history is a lie.

*The men who make history , have not time to write it.

*Much of the wisdom of one age, is the folly of the next.

                                                            ********

G.R.Kanwal

7 September 2026

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DR. SARVEPALLI RADHAKRISHNAN

 

                DR. SARVEPALLI RADHAKRISHNAN

          Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, an Indian academic, philosopher and statesman was born at Tiruttani(Madras Presidency, now Tamil Nadu) on 5 September 1888 and he passed away on 17 April 1975, in Chennai.

            His birthday is celebrated as Teachers Day in India.

            He served as the Vice President of India from 1952 to 1962, and President of India from 1962 to 1967.

            His main interest was in religions. However, his learning was very vast and covered many philosophical, literary, and scientific domains.

            He was a prolific writer with deep thoughts and personal interpretations.

            Some of his  books are known as:

             Indian Philosophy. The Philosophy of Upanishads, An Idealist View of Life, Eastern Religions and Western Thought, East and West : Some Reflections, The Hindu View of Life, The Bhagavadgita, Philosophy of  Rabindranath Tagore, Living With A Purpose, The World Treasury of Modern Religious Thought, Religion in a Changing World, etc.

             Given below are some extracts from his writings:

*The dogmatic religions and the totalitarian schemes foster the mind and develop the closed mechanistic society.

*Philosophy is a wide term including logic, ethics, aesthetics, social philosophy and metaphysics. The last is concerned with the ultimate nature of things.

*Confucius writes:

            The great mountain must crumble.

            The strong beam must break.

            And the wise man wither away like a plant.

           

            *Lead me from the unreal to the real

Lead me from darkness to light

Lead me from death to eternal life.---(Words from the Upanishad).

 

*Recent developments have given rise to the erroneous impression that while the West is scientific in outlook, the East is spiritually minded. The one is rational while the other is religious. The one is dynamic and perpetually changing while the other is static and unchanging.

 

            If we take a long view we will find that China and India made fundamental contributions to science and technology till three and four hundred years ago that there have been illustrious examples of religious idealism and sanctity in the west. The more we understand each other the more we feel we are like one another. East and West do not represent two different types of consciousness or modes of thought.

                                                *******

G.R.Kanwal

5^th September 2026    

 

 

LORD KRISHNA’S TWO IMPORTANT TEACHINGS

 

 

                                LORD KRISHNA’S TWO IMPORTANT TEACHINGS     

            Lord Krishna’s birthday is called Janmashtami. It is being celebrated today in India as well as in some other parts of the world as piously as possible.

            In the literary and religious history, Lord Krishna  is famous as the author of Bhagavad Gita ---The Song of God  which  is divided into eighteen chapters titled as :

            The Sorrow of Arjuna, The Yoga of Knowledge, Karma Yoga, Renunciation Through Knowledge, The Yoga of Renunciation, The Yoga of Meditation, Knowledge And Experience, The Way To Eternal Brahman, The Yoga of Mysticism, Divine Glory, The Vision of God In His Universal Form, The Yoga of Devotion, The Field And Its Knower, The Three Gunas,  Devotion To The Supreme Spirit, Divine And Demonic Tendencies, Three Kinds of Faith, and The Yoga of Renunciation.

            This write-up is concerned with only two most important chapters --- The Yoga of Knowledge and The Yoga of Renunciation.

            In The Yoga of Knowledge Lord Krishna acts as a teacher , the remover of ignorance,  because Arjuna who was to fight against his rivals firmly refuses to perform this duty since  who will die in the war were either his relatives or superior elderly persons.

            According to Lord Krishna Arjuna is ignorant about the reality of death, He regards the death of the body as the total death of an individual who is composed of not only of the body also of the soul.

            The body, Lord Krishna tells Arjuna , is perishable , but not the soul. The soul is birthless, deathless, endless, changeless, etc. It does not die but assumes a new form. The body when it becomes old is like a worn-out garment,  thrown away to don a new one. Thus whom Arjuna will be killing will not die; they will be reborn in a different form. So fighting is not really murderous. This enlightenment by Lord Krishna is eternally inspirational for all humans.

            In The Yoga of Renunciation, the great Lord asserts that our actions should not be motivated by desire. They should be done with non-attachment i.e. without expectation of their fruits.  However, this teaching of the great Lord should not lead to inaction. Humans are selfish. They are desirous for an attractive fruit for their actions. They work for some return, not fruitlessness. That is why they are advised to adopt the sacred attitude of renunciation. Act you must but without love for its reward. Thus, you have mandatory right to work but not for its reward.

                        The ultimate moral of the Bhagavad-Gita is dedication of all actions to God with no ego, no attachment, no desire for reward, and no claim for self-advancement.

            True renunciation is the soul of The Song of God.

                                                *****

G.R.Kanwal

4^th September 2026