ASPIRATIONS OF YOUTH

 

 

                                                ASPIRATIONS OF YOUTH

            Here is an inspirational poem written by James Montgomery (1771-1854). He was a Scottish born poet, journalist, and hymnist.

            Orphaned at a young age, he spent most of his life in Sheffield England, where he became a prominent editor of Sheffield Iris .

            Montgomery was also a prolific writer of hymns. According to one estimate he authored 400 hymns.

            His most famous hymn is titled: Angels from the Realms of Glory.

            The poem quoted here expresses the continuously energetic and progressive aspirations of youth in any part of the world. They look forward, express their desire to climb higher and higher, toil deeper and deeper, perform their duty zealously, do their best win awards, , and please God and saints by their noblest character.

            The whole poem follows:

 

Higher , higher will we climb

Up the mount of glory,

That our names may live through time

In our country's story;

Happy, when her welfare calls,

He who conquers, he who falls.

 

Deeper, deeper let us toil

In the mines of knowledge;

Nature's wealth and learning's spoil

Win from school and college;

Delve we there for richer gems

Than the stars of diadems.

 

Onward, onward will we press

Through the path of duty;

Virtue is true happiness,

Excellence true beauty;

Minds are of supernal birth,

Let us make a heaven of earth.

 

Close and closer then we knit

Hearts and hands together,

Where our fire-side comforts sit

In the wildest weather;

Oh! they wander wide, who roam,

For the joys of life, from home.

 

Nearer, dearer bands of love

Draw our souls in union,

To our Father's house above,

To the saints communion;

Thither every hope ascend,

There may all our labours end.

                                                                        ******

G.R.Kanwal

4 July 2026

 

 

MYSTICAL LINES

 

MYSTICAL LINES

            Mystics are persons who try to become united with God through prayer and meditation. Due to this, almost spiritual way of  life, they attain knowledge of such important things as are beyond the reach of  normal human understanding.     

            What is mystical has spiritual qualities that are difficult to understand or to explain.

            A mystified person is one who is confused because he does not understand something.

            According to dictionary definitions mysticism is the belief that knowledge of God and of real truth can be found through prayer and meditation rather than through reason and the senses.             

            Some common synonyms of mystic and mystical are: spiritual, paranormal, transcendental, other-worldly, supernatural, and metaphysical.    

            Prominent mystical figures are:

            Adi Shankar (8^th Century), Kabir (15^th century), Mirabai (16^th century), Sri Ramakrishna (19 century).

            Among Sufi mystics may be included  Rumi (13h century) and Ibn Arabi (1165-1240).

            Osho (1931-1990) , born Chandra Mohan Jain, was also a great Hindu mystic.   

            Give below are some mystical quotes:

*Never surrender your hopes and dreams to the fateful limitations others have placed on their own lives

*Every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future.

*It always seems impossible until it’s done.

*To be or not to be, that is the question.

*Be the change that you wish to see.

*The notion that a cat has nine lives is based upon the belief that nine is a mystic number.

*Jump as high as you can. Dance as madly as you can.

*Sin is a technique of the pseudo-religions.

*Life is not going anywhere. It is just going for a morning walk.

*If it happens; it is good; if it does not happen, even better.

*We are all joined together with invisible threads. If I hurt you, I hurt myself, I am hurting you all.

*Man’s greatest need is to be needed.

*I laugh when I hear that the fish in the water is thirsty. I laugh when I hear that people go on pilgrimage to find God.---Kabir

*The heat of midnight tears will bring you to God.----Mirabai

                                                _____

PUNCHLINE  :Praise and blame, gain and loss, pleasure and sorrow come and go like the wind. To be happy, rest like a giant tree in the midst of them all.----LORD BUDDHA.

                                                *********

G. R. Kanwal

3^rd July 2026

 

OLD AGE

 

                                OLD AGE

            The English poet-dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616) ,finishes his poem Seven Ages of Man spoken by a cynical character Jaques in the play As You Like It with the following words about old age :

            The last scene of all,

            That ends this strange eventful history,

            Is second childishness, and mere oblivion (unconsciousness),

            Sans (without) teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

 

            It is a universal fact that nobody wants to die young. Old age, rather, extreme old age is prayed for. Elderly persons are respected just for their elderliness. Those who respect them are unconscious of their physical and mental health. They are even unaware of their loneliness. Most of the elderly persons are deserted by their kith and kin.  Some of them lack money for their daily food, a hired accommodation, and the medical bill.

 

            Look at the following popular quotes about old age.

1.     We hope to grow old, yet we fear old age; that is,---we are willing to live, and afraid to die.---French essayist and moralist Jean de la Bruyere (1645-1696).

2.     A comfortable old age is the reward of well-spent youth; instead of its introducing  dismal and melancholy prospects of decay, it should give us hopes of eternal youth in a better world.----American clergy and poet, Ray Palmer (1808-1887).

3.     As I approve of a youth that has something of the old man in him, so I am no less pleased with an old man that has something of the youth. He

 that follows this rule, may be old in body, but can never be so in mind.-------Roman orator Marcus Tullius (106-143 B.C.) .

4.     Some men are born old, and some never seem so. If we keep well and cheerful we are always young, and at last die in youth, even when years would count us old.----American theologian and editor Edwards Tryon (1809-1894).

5.     To know how to grow old is the master-work of wisdom, and one of the most difficult chapters in the great art of living.---Swiss philosopher Henri Frederic  Amiel (l821-1881).

 

To conclude  here is a most  famous quote by the Irish playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950):

 

            “Youth is wasted on the young.”                                                                                  ************

 G.R.Kanwal

2^nd July 2026

SOME EPIGRAMS

 

                SOME EPIGRAMS

            An epigram is defined as a short poem or phrase that express an idea in a clever or amusing way.

            It is a literary device.

            According to another definition: An epigram is “ a brief, clever, and witty statement that expresses a single idea in a surprising or satirical way. Often featuring irony or paradox, these memorable quotes are designed to make the reader stop and think.”

            Look at the following epigrammatic statements.

1.     To err is human, to forgive, divine.----Alexander Pope

2.     Brevity is the soul of wit. ---William Shakespeare

3.     It is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.---Eleanor Roosevelt

4.     A church membership does not make a Christian any more than owning a piano makes a musician.----Douglas Meador

5.     A short poem by Samuel Taylor Coleridge as an example of epigram:  

Sir, I admit your general rule,

That every poet is a fool,

But you yourself may serve to show it,

That every fool is not a poet.

 

Among epigram writers in English literature, the name of Oscar Wilde (1854-1900)  is at the top. He has to his credit a whole book of epigrams comprising about 250 pages. What follows is a short collection of his epigrams on various subjects.

 

(i)                   I can resist everything but temptation.

(ii)                  Men become old, but they never become good.

(iii)            When a man acts he is a puppet. When he describes he is a poet.

(iv)            The only way to behave to a woman is to make love to her, if she is pretty, and to some one else, if she is plain.

(v)                    Nowadays people know the price of everything and the value of nothing.

(vi)            The true artist is a man who believes absolutely in himself because he is absolutely himself.

(vii)          To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.

(viii)        Misfortunes one can endure ---they come from outside, they are accidents, but to suffer for one’s own faults ----ah! ---there is the sting of life.

(ix)                  Ambition is the last refuge of the failure.

(x)                    The world is a stage, but the play is badly cast.

(xi)                  A mother’s love is very touching, of course, but is often curiously selfish.

(xii)          No man should have a secret from his wife ---she invariably finds it out.

(xiii)        There is so much else to do in the world but love.

(xiv)        I don’t like principles….I prefer prejudices.

(xv)          A mask tells us more than a face.

                                          ------------

PUNCHLINE: Zeal is fit only for wise men but is found mostly in fools.----Ancient Proverb

 

                                  *******

G. R. Kanwal

1^st July 2026  

 

SOME VALUABLE QUOTES

 

           

                                    SOME VALUABLE QUOTES

            Under this heading there are given below a number of short sentences with a good deal of wisdom. You need them for leading a joyous, peaceful, and faultless life. They are the essence of great men’s practical lives.  A single sentence may be the gist of many valuable books.

            Here is a very modest selection.

1.     A new broom sweeps well, but an old one is best for the corners.---An old saying.

2.     Everybody wants to live longer but nobody wants to grow old. JULES ROSTAND

3.     A danger foreseen is half avoided.---Ancient Proverb.

4.     Men who are smart enough to destroy the world shouldn’t be dumb enough to do it.---DAN KIDNEY

5.     An excess of courtesy is discourtesy.---Japanese Proverb

6.     I would be true, for there are those who trust me;

I would be pure, for there are those who care;

I would be strong, for there is much to suffer;

I would be brave, for there is much to dare.

I would be friend of all ---the poor, the friendless;

I would be giving and forget the gift;

I would be humble, for I know my weakness;

I would look up  ---and laugh ---and love ---and lift.----HOWARD ARNOLD WALTER (1883-1918). American author and hymn writer.

 

7.     It is common for the younger sort to lack discretion. ----William Shakespeare, English poet and dramatist (1564-1616).

 

NOTE: All the remaining quotes in this list are by William Shakespeare.

 

8.     Things may serve long, but not serve ever.

9.     O! how bitter a thing it is to look into happiness through another man’s eyes!

10.                          Be guided by others’ experience.

11.                        The purest spring is not so free from mud.

12.                        True nobility is exempt from fear.

13.                         Be not afraid of shadows.

14.                        It is sin to flatter.

15.                         Better a witty fool than a foolish wit.(A wit is mentally sharp , full of humour,  clever, and intelligent.)

16.                        Most friendship is feigning, most loving mere folly.

17.                        A friend should bear his friend’s infirmities.

18.                        Lord! We know what we are but know not what we may be.

19.                         We cannot but obey the powers above us.

20.                        Great men should drink with harness on their throats.

                                                ******

G.R.Kanwal

30 June 2026

           

 

 

 

THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN

 

                THE SEVEN AGES OF MAN

          “The Seven Ages of Man” is a monologue included by the English poet-playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) in his play As You Like It.

          The speaker of the monologue is a cynical lord called Jaques.

          Man in this monologue is an actor. The world is a stage where man plays seven roles of life from entrance (birth) to final exit (old age) preceding death).  

          The seven stages are : (i). Infancy as a helpless baby crying in the nurse’s arms. (ii). Schoolboy, having a shining face, but dragging himself to school reluctantly. (iii). The lover sighing like a furnace with a woeful ballad addressed to his ladylove. (iv).The soldier representing boldness, quick temper, and the desire to seek reputation of bravery even at the risk of his life. (v). This is the stage of  justice, displaying maturity equipped with a formal beard and wise maxims . (vi). The Pantaloon. This stage is also symbolic of old age depicting overall frailty.  Man has now become weak and his voice is unclear. (ii). The seventh stage depicts second childishness. This is the last stage. Shakespeare describes it as:

          “Last scene of all,

          That ends this strange eventful history,

          Is second childishness, and mere oblivion,

          Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing.

         

          It is noteworthy that no stage of life in the whole monologue is justifiably void of a sneering comment.

          What follows is the full text of the poem:

         

                   All the world’s a stage,

And all the men and women merely players;

They have their exits and their entrances;

And one man in his time plays many parts,

His acts being seven ages. At first the infant,

Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms;

And then the whining school-boy, with his satchel

And shining morning face, creeping like snail

Unwillingly to school. And then the lover,

Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad

Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier,

Full of strange oaths, and bearded like the pard,

Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,

Seeking the bubble reputation

Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,

In fair round belly with good capon lin’d,

With eyes severe and beard of formal cut,

Full of wise saws and modern instances;

And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts

Into the lean and slipper’d pantaloon,

With spectacles on nose and pouch on side;

His youthful hose, well sav’d, a world too wide

For his shrunk shank; and his big manly voice,

Turning again toward childish treble, pipes

And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all,

That ends this strange eventful history,

Is second childishness and mere oblivion;

Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.

         

G.R.Kanwal

29 June 2026                                   *****

SOME VIEWS ABOUT LAW

 

          SOME VIEWS ABOUT LAW

            “Law’’ is defined as a system of rules created and enforced by government or social institutions to regulate behaviour.  Its purpose is  “ to maintain order, protect individual rights, resolve disputes, and ensure justice.”

            “Unlike moral codes, laws are backed by the coercive power of the state.” As such, “violations carry enforceable penalties like  fines or imprisonment or both.

            It is strange that whereas humanity is one, governed by one universal god, the laws framed by the states are not the same or similar. An offence in a particular state is no offence in many other states. Even in the same country, there are different laws in different states. There may be prohibition (ban on the manufacturing and sale of alcoholic beverages) in one state but not so in many other states.

            Main sources of law are customs, traditions, cardinal virtues, deadly sins, religious tenets, rights and duties fixed by the state constitution, the rules made by the political party in power, and also some past judicial decisions.

            Some synonyms of law are: code, rule, principle, precept, criterion, doctrine, canon, and statute.

            Here are some famous quotes:

·        “Law is blind.” It means that the legal system is impartial, treating everyone equally regardless of wealth, power, or status. The underlying suggestion is that law should not ignore socio-economic realities.

·        A countryman between two lawyers is like a fish between two cats.

·        Law is a bottomless pit.

·        In law nothing is certain but the expense.

·        Law is a mouse-trap: easy to enter but not easy to get out.

·        Laws are like cobwebs, which may catch small flies, but let wasps and hornets break through.

·        Good laws make it easier to do right and harder to do wrong.

·        Society cannot exist without law and order, and cannot advance except through vigorous innovations.

·        Laws are always unstable unless they are founded in the manners of a nation; and manners are the only durable  and resisting power in a people.

·        Laws are silent in the midst of arms.

·        The people’s safety is the law of God.

                                    _______

PUNCHLINE: Love has its own laws. It means that love depends upon mutual respect, balance, and patience to survive.  It cannot be forced.  

                                                ******

 

G,R.Kanwal

28 June 2026