THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM

 

          THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM

            A psalm is a song, a poem or prayer that praises God, especially one in the Bible.

            The 23^rd psalm is the most beloved of the 150 psalms, and as a commentator believes, it is the best known passage in the entire Bible.

            According to Kyle Yates, the  American pickleball player, “More griefs have been put to rest by the sweet assurance of this psalm. . “ He further says: More sadness has been driven away and more confidence has been instilled than tongue can tell or pen can record. This psalm, says he, pictures God in love with His people, with rest in His bosom, with grace for all of their needs.

            The 23d Psalm , which Kyle Yates liked a lot, was written by David, who was a shepherd boy and who became the King of Israel

            Most of the 150 psalms are written by the Shepherd boy mentioned above, God had anointed him king, because he was a man after his own heart.

            The full text of the psalm which follows shows the singer’s unwavering trust in God’s provision and protection. God is regarded here as a devoted shepherd guiding his flock. On the whole the psalm conveys God’s unending comfort in dark times.

 

“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures:

He leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul:

He leadth me in the paths of righteousness

            for his name’s sake.

Yes, though I walk through the valley of the

            shadow of death, I will fear no evil:

For thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff

            they comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence

             of mine enemies: :

Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup

            runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all

            the days of my life:

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord

            for ever.”

                                                *******

G.R.Kanwal

1^st June2026           

HATE NONE IN THE WORLD

 

HATE NONE IN THE WORLD

          We are not born as devils, villains, enemies, fighters, haters, criminals, strangers, adversaries, opponents, antagonists, and  combatants.

            The English poet James Kirkup (1918-2009) writes:

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.  

 

            If it is so, then why should we hate anybody in the world?

           

            Complexions differ, dresses differ, languages differ, faiths differ, religions differ, beliefs differ, foods differ, but not our relationship with God the creator of the world.

 

            The God who sent us into this world gave us similar bodies.

 

            When we were just babies our smiles were angelic; our eyes were full of love; our hands were tender; and we  were non-violent in every respect.

             

            As adults some of us do become combative and violent. They turn wicked, disdainful, aggressive, destructive and what not as vicious. Hatred and repulsion take the place of love and affection. It is because of such persons that  the world becomes ugly and hellish.

 

            Look at the following poem titled ABOU BEN ADHEM written by the English poet, critic and essayist Leigh Hunt (1784 - 1859) to know how much important it is in the eyes of God to be a person who loves his fellowmen.

 

                        Here is the full poem:

 

“Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase!)

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace,

And saw, within the moonlight in his room,

Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,

An angel writing in a book of gold:—

Exceeding peace had made Ben Adhem bold,

And to the presence in the room he said,

"What writest thou?"—The vision raised its head,

And with a look made of all sweet accord,

Answered, "The names of those who love the Lord."

"And is mine one?" said Abou. "Nay, not so,"

Replied the angel. Abou spoke more low,

But cheerly still; and said, "I pray thee, then,

Write me as one that loves his fellow men."

 

The angel wrote, and vanished. The next night

It came again with a great wakening light,

And showed the names whom love of God had blest,

And lo! Ben Adhem's name led all the rest.”

 

                                                *******

G.R.Kanwal

31 May 2026

 

 

AN ANONYMOUS POEM ON SUCCESS

 

AN ANONYMOUS POEM ON SUCCESS

          Success which is defined as the achievement of a desired outcome, goal, or purpose is not a providential gift but the well-deserved fruit of one’s perfect knowledge, skill, hard work, application of effective methods, selecting the most productive time, committing no glaring errors, and sticking to the fruitful efforts till the intended result is achieved.

            To put it simply, a person succeeds when he accomplishes what he attempts, or attains a desired object or result; and an enterprise or undertaking succeeds that has a prosperous result.

            Some synonyms of success are: achievement, accomplishment, victory, triumph, attainment, and acquirement.

            Before you read the anonymous poem which will follow, look at these quotes:

*He who would succeed must arm himself with three vital and most necessary weapons, First, he must have ceaseless industry; second, he must have limitless ambition of purpose: third he must possess unquenchable enthusiasm, coupled with a determination to succeed. ---American Illustrator and painter  Howard Pyle (1853-1911).

  **If you wish success in life, make perseverance your bosom friend, experience your wise counsellor, caution your elder brother, and hope your guardian genius.-----British writer and politician Joseph Addison (1672-1719).  

                        Here is the Anonymous Poem mentioned above:                                                               

 

                                                WHAT IS SUCCESS?

Success is speaking words of praise,

In cheering other people's ways.

In doing just the best you can,

With every task and every plan.

 

 

It's silence when your speech would hurt,

Politeness when your neighbor's curt.

It's deafness when the scandal flows,

And sympathy with others' woes.

 

It's loyalty when duty calls,

It's courage when disaster falls.

It's patience when the hours are long,

It's found in laughter and in song.

 

It's in the silent time of prayer,

In happiness and in despair.

In all of life and nothing less,

We find the thing we call success.

 

                                                            ********

G.R.Kanwal

30 May 2026

 

 

           

An ANONYMOUS POEM

 

 An ANONYMOUS POEM

            The theme of the poem is laughter which is defined as “ an involuntary, rhythmic contraction of the respiratory system ---such as the diaphragm ---typically serving as an outward auditory expression of positive emotions like joy, amusement, mirth or relief.”

             Before you read the poem look at the following famous quotes:  

            (a). The young  man who has not wept is a savage, and the old man who will not laugh is a fool.

            b). The reason man is the only animal that laughs and weeps is that he is immediately struck with the difference between what things are and what they ought to be.

            (c). A good laugh heals a lot of hurts.

            (d). Laughter is the best medicine.

            (e). A day without laughter is a day wasted.

 

            Here is the poem:

A laugh is just like sunshine,

It freshens all the day.

It fills the peak of life with light

And drives the clouds away:      

The soul grows glad that hears it

And feels its courage strong;

A laugh is just like sunshine,

For cheering folks along.

A laugh is just like music,

It lingers in the heart,

And where its melody is heard,

The ills of life depart;

And happy thoughts come crowding

Its joyful notes to greet;

A laugh is just like music

For making living sweet.

G.R. Kanwal

29 May 2026

 

SHAKEAPEARE’S THREE QUOTES ON LIFE

 

 SHAKEAPEARE’S THREE QUOTES ON LIFE

            The three quotes on life which are given below are taken from the plays of the English poet-dramatist William Shakespeare (23 April 1564---23 April 1616).

            All of them are extraordinary in world literature and are therefore usefully memorable.

            To define life is not easy. It requires God Himself to sum it up in a few words.

            Every person’s life is a unique tale.  It is a meaningful biography which deals with some personalized events.

*Look at the first quote.  It is a most famous soliloquy from the play Macbeth spoken by Macbeth the hero of the play upon learning of his wife’s death. 

            As a critic says: it reflects Macbeth’s profound nihilism,  conveying the realization that life is entirely meaningless and ultimately devoid of purpose.

            Here is the first full quote:

Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,

Creeps on this petty pace from day to day

To the last syllable of recorded time;

And all our yesterdays have lighted fools

The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

 

** The second quote which follows is taken from the play All’s Well That Ends Well.

            The web of our life is full of a mingled yarn, good and ill together: our virtues would be proud if our faults whipped them not; and our crimes would despair if they were not cherished by our virtues

***The third quote which follows is from the play King John.

 

There’s nothing in this world can make me joy:

Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale

Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man;

And bitter shame hath spoil’d  the sweet world’s taste,

That it yields nought but shame and bitterness.

                                                *****

G.R.Kanwal

28 May 2026                                 

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU SAID

 

                JAWAHARLAL NEHRU SAID

            Jawaharlal Nehru was free India’s first Prime Minister. He was born on 14 November 1889 at Allahabad and died in New Delhi on 27 May 1964.

            He is known not only as an anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, an idealist, a visionary statesman of international stature but also an outstanding writer.

            His three most important and widely books are : The Discovery of India (1946),  An Autobiography (1936) and Glimpses of World History (1934).

            His birth day (14 November) is celebrated as Children’s Day and because of his “affectionate bond with the younger generation, he is widely remembered by the endearing title “Chacha Nehru” (Uncle Nehru).

            Given below are some of his memorable quotes.

*A culture that cannot understand modern times is an incomplete culture.

*A person should have the capacity to think, to act, and to decide.

*No democracy can exist for long in the midst of want and poverty and inequality.

*It is the children of science who have made the world of today.

*Peace cannot be purchased by compromise with evil or by surrender to it. Nor can peace be maintained by methods that themselves are the negation of peace.

*A nation’s work never ends. Men may come and go, generations may pass but the life of a nation goes on. We must remember the basic fact that we can achieve little unless there is peace in the country, no matter what policy we pursue.      

*Communalism is the badge of a backward nation, not of the modern age. People have their religion and they have a right to hold firmly to it, but to import religion into politics and to break up the country is something which was done in Europe 300 or 400 years back. We in India have to get rid of it.

                                                ********

G.R.Kanwal

27 May 2026

 

 

SHAKESPEARE SAID (PART 2)

 

                SHAKESPEARE SAID (PART 2)

1.    The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and ill together.

2.    Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing.

3.    Who ever loved that loved not at first sight?

4.    When love speaks, the voice of all the gods make heaven drowsy with the harmony.

5.    Love is not love which alters when it alteration finds.

6.    Love is not Time’s fool, though rosy lips and cheeks within his bending sickle’s compass come; love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, but bears it out even to the edge of doom.

7.    Love’s fire heats water, water cools not love.

8.    Love sought is good, but given unsought is better.

9.    Love is not blind; it has twenty pairs of eyes.

10.Love  can comment upon every woe.

11.Lovers are given to poetry, and what they swear in poetry may        be said as lovers they do feign.

12.Every subject’s duty is the king’s, but every subject’s soul is his        own.

  13. Horses are tied by the head, dogs and bears by the neck,                    monkeys by the loins, and men by the legs: when a man is                  over- lusty at legs, then he wears nether-stocks.

14.    Fie on sinful fantasy! Fie on lust and luxury! Lust is but a                    bloody fire, kindled with unchaste desire.

15.    Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.

16.     Men are April when they woo, December when they wed:       maids are May when they are maids, but the sky changes                when they are wives.

17.      Memory is the warder of the brain!

18.      What a piece of work is a 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!          

19.         The quality of mercy is not strained, it droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven, upon the place beneath: it is twice blessed; it blesseth him that gives and him that takes. It is mightiest in the mightiest. It becomes the throned monarch better than his crown. His sceptre shows the force of temporal power; the attribute to awe and majesty, wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings; but mercy is above this sceptred sway.  It is enthroned in the hearts of kings.  It is an attribute to God himself. An earthly power doth then show likest God’s when mercy seasons justice.

 

20. To be, or not to be. That is the question: whether it is nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them. To die ---to sleep, no more; and by a sleep to say we end the heart-ache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to. It is a consummation devoutly to be wished. To die, to sleep; to sleep, perchance to dream –ay, there is the rub: for in that sleep of death what dreams may come, when we have of this mortal coil. Must give us pause –there is the respect that makes calamity of so long life. For who would bear the whips and scorns of time, the oppressor’s wrong, the proud man’s contumely, the pangs of disprized love, the law’s delay, the insolence of office, and the spurns that patient merit of the unworthy takes, when he himself might his quietus make with a bare bodkin? Who would fardels bear, to grunt and sweat under a weary life, but the dread of something after death, the undiscovered country , from whose bourn no traveller returns, puzzles the will, and makes us rather bear those ills we have than fly to others that we know not of? Thus conscience doth make cowards of us all, and thus the native hue of resolution is sicklied over with pale cast of thought, and enterprises of great pith and moment with this regard their currents turn awry and lose the name of action.

                                 

                                  (Concluded)                                                                                     

                                   *********

                                 

G.R.Kanwal

26 May 2026