THE MODERN MAN

 

THE MODERN MAN

The modern man does not want to walk; he does not want to run. He wants to drive; he wants to fly.

He wants his country to have broadest and longest roads; fastest trains; biggest airports.

He does not want simple homes; his craving is now for the tallest buildings.

The offices in his country should be most beautiful and ultra modern.

He prefers machines to men even for household work.

He is making all possible efforts to depend upon artificial intelligence for all the mathematical, mechanical, logical, psychological, medical,  and other activities which form the curriculum  of his worldly life.

He now prefers deadliest weapons to peaceful negotiations for solving inter-national disputes.

Walk and water are no longer his choice for a healthy life.

            The English poet Ben Jonson (1572-1637) says in a poem titled The Perfect Life that perfection does not consist in bulk. The highest beauty in nature is not seen in the tall oak tree, standing for three hundred years, but in a lily which blooms and dies in a day.   

             The Indian colonial nationalist and political thinker Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi preached for non-violence as also for simple living and high thinking.

            Here is the full text of Ben Jonson’s poem The Perfect Life:

            “It is not growing like a tree

            In bulk, doth make Man better be;

            Or standing long an oak. Three hundred year,

            To fall a log at last, dry, bald, and sere.

                                    A lily of a day

                                    Is fairer far in May,

            Although it fall and die that night---

            It was the plant and flower of Light.

            In small proportions we just beauties see;

            And in short measures life may perfect be. “          

                                       

                                    ********

 

G.R.Kanwal

18 February 2026.

SOME SAYINGS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD

 

 

 

          SOME SAYINGS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD  

1.Actions will be judged according to intentions.

2. No man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.

3. He dies not who gives life to learning.

4. Those who earn an honest living are the beloved of God.

5.  Humility and courtesy are acts of piety.

6.  The Garden of Bliss is meant for those who have a true, pure and merciful heart.

7.  A true person is one who is true in word, in action , and in thought,

8.  Feed the hungry, help the afflicted, lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and remove the wrongs of the injured.

9.  Learn to know yourself.

10. Prayers lighten the heart.

11. Kill not your hearts with excess of eating and drinking.

12. Do not speak ill of the dead.

13. Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.

14. God’s kindness towards His creatures is more than a mother’s towards her babe.

15. Do a good deed after every bad deed so that it may blot out the latter.

16. Forgive your servants seventy times a day.

17. It is not worthy of a speaker of truth to curse people.

18. Avoid telling lies.

19. Say what is true, although it may be bitter and displeasing to listeners.

20. God is not merciful to him who is not so to mankind.

                                                **********

G.R.Kanwal

17^th February 2026

 

UNFORGETTABLE LINES

 

                UNFORGETTABLE LINES           

Some written or spoken lines are unforgettable. They make our expression weighty and more meaningful. Here are some of them.

1. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.
2. Love begets love.
3. Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds.
4. The early bird catches the worm.
5.  Practice makes perfect.
6. Actions speak louder than words.
7. Better late than never.
8.  Late is better than not at all.
9. Fall seven times, stand up eight. (Japanese Proverb).
10.  Turn your face to the sun and the shadows will fall behind you.
11.  A stitch in time saves nine.
12.  What you do is more important than what you say.
13.  Not gold,  but only men can make a people great and strong.
14.  In short proportions we just beauties see and in short measures life may perfect be.
15.  God doth need either man’s work or His own gifts: Who best bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best.
16.  They also serve who only stad and wait.
17.  Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign, beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes like this; the land our brothers walk upon is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.
18.  Obstinate are the trammels, but my heart aches when I try to break them.(Indian poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore in Gitanjali : Song Offerings).
19.  The superman believes nore readily in Destiny, feels more vitally conscious of God than the average human mind.(Sri Aurobindo – Indian Yogi 1872-1950).
20.  Learn to listen to your body. It has its own language.

                                    **********

G. R. Kanwal

16 Feb 2026

 

 

 

 

ASPIRATIONS OF YOUTH

 

          ASPIRATIONS OF YOUTH  

            ‘Youth’ is a nation’s strength and stamina. It is its physical and mental might to make all sorts of big achievements, discoveries and inventions, conquests and advancements. By contrast, middle-aged and old persons are not so capable. They cannot keep pace with them or surpass them in making bold and brave achievements.

            Given below is a poem titled ‘Aspirations Of Youth’.  It was written by James Montgomery, a Scottish-born hymn writer, poet and editor . His life period was (4 November 1771-30 April 1854). He eventually settled in Sheffield, United Kingdom.

            James Montgomery is better known for writing more than 400 hymns many of which are still sung.  Here is the full text of the aforesaid poem:

 “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 may we press

Through the path of duty;

Virtue is true happiness,

Excellence true beauty.

Minds are celestial birth,

Make we then a heaven of earth.

 

Closer, closer let us knit

Hearts and hands together,

Where ourfire-side- comforts sit

In the wildest weather;---

O, they wander wide who roam

For the joys of life from home?

                                                            *****

G. R. Kanwal

15^th March 2026

A LETTER TO SON’S TEACHER

 

A  LETTER TO  SON’S TEACHER

            This is a condensed heading of Abraham Lincoln’s  Letter to His Son’s Teacher.

            Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)  was the 16th  President of the United States from 1861 until his death by assassination in 1865. He became famous for  leading his country through the Civil War, preserving the union, and abolishing slavery. He is also known all over world for his faith in democracy and providing its exact definition as“ a government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

            It is rare for great men like Abraham Lincoln to take a deep interest in their son’s education and tell their teacher through a letter how to deal with the innocent child to make him a perfect gentleman.

            Whereas Lincoln is famous for several quotes like :”A house divided against itself cannot stand”, the contents of his letter to the son’s teacher have eternal guidelines for educationists at the elementary stage.

            Given below is the full text of the letter:-   

    My son starts school today. It is all going to be strange and new to him for a while and I wish you would treat him gently. It is an adventure that might take him across continents. All adventures that probably include wars, tragedy and sorrow. To live this life will require faith, love and courage.

 

So dear Teacher, will you please take him by his hand and teach him things he will have to know, teaching him – but gently, if you can.

 

Teach him that for every enemy, there is a friend. He will have to know that all men are not just, that all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero, that for every crooked politician, there is a dedicated leader.

 

Teach him if you can that 10 cents earned is of far more value than a dollar found. In school, teacher, it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat.

 

Teach him to learn how to gracefully lose, and enjoy winning when he does win.

 

Teach him to be gentle with people, tough with tough people.

 

Steer him away from envy if you can and teach him the secret of quiet laughter.

 

Teach him if you can – how to laugh when he is sad, teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him there can be glory in failure and despair in success. Teach him to scoff at cynics.

 

Teach him if you can the wonders of books, but also give time to ponder the extreme mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hill.

 

Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tells him they are wrong.

 

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone else is doing it.

 

Teach him to listen to every one, but teach him also to filter all that he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

 

Teach him to sell his talents and brains to the highest bidder but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul.

 

Let him have the courage to be impatient, let him have the patient to be brave. Teach him to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind, in God.

 

This is the order, teacher but see what best you can do. He is such a nice little boy and he is my son.

 

                                                            *******

G.R.Kanwal

11 February 2026

 

PROMINENT QUALITIES OF A GOOD FRIEND

 

                                PROMINENT QUALITIES OF A GOOD FRIEND

            A friend is a person with whom you have a bond of mutual affection. An expanded definition will include someone whom you know well, like whole-heatedly, share with him  your inns and outs, rely on him in difficult days, spend with him your precious time and offer him your companionship , material and moral support day in and day out.

            A good friend possesses a large number of key qualities.  Some of these are:

*Deep liking, fondness, affection, reliance, trust, support, companionship, co-operation, helpfulness; acceptance of each other’s flaws, weaknesses and shortcomings; appreciation of each other’s good qualities, strong points, and beneficial  traits;  understanding areas of mutual co-operativeness; willingness to share each other’s secrets, aims, objectives and destinations; appreciating each other’s likes and dislikes; helping each other in hard times and encouraging each other in requisite situations.

**Good friends are sincere, loyal and faithful. They are unselfish. They are not unnecessarily critical. They are most dependable advisors and counsellors. They are always ready to do their best for their friends even at a heavy cost to themselves.

***Good friends know the true meanings of love, affection, faithfulness, self-sacrifice, forget and forgiveness, co-operation, kindness, sincerity,  and genuine gratitude.

            Finally, these views on the subject:

 *A good friend is the masterpiece of nature.

**A good friend is someone who knows all about you and still loves you.    

*** The greatest sweetener of one’s life is good friendship.

****Anything is possible when you have a good friend to stand by you.

*****A good friend can make you a new, better, and more successful  person.

                                                *******

G.R.Kanwal

9 February 2026

 

TWENTY LIFETIME THOUGHTS

 

                TWENTY LIFETIME THOUGHTS  

1.     You have to believe in yourself when no one else does.

2.     Spread love wherever you go,

3.     Live life to the fullest while focusing on the positive ideas.

4.     You will face many defeats in life, but should never let yourself feel defeated.

5.     Make every moment count.

6.     Life is a dynamic, personal experience, a journey of growth.

7.     Always be prompt----The early bird catches the worm.  

8.     Appearances are deceptive.

9.     Actions speak louder than words.

10.                        Be yourself, master your mind, create your destiny.

11.                        Anger is like an oven, heat without light.

12.                        Surround yourself with uplifting people.

13.                        Be the change you want to see in the world.

14.                         Happiness is not by chance, but by choice.

15.                        Iy you can’t do great things, you can do small things in a great way.

16.                        To thine own self, be true.

17.                         Your greatest glory is not in never falling, but in rising every time you fall.

18.                        Be the sunshine on the cloudy day.

19.                        Time is long but life is short.

20.                        Courage does not roar.

                                                            *******

G. R. Kanwal

8^th February 2026