RING OUT THE OLD, RING IN THE NEW

 

RING OUT THE OLD, RING IN THE NEW

“Ring out the old, ring in the new” is a line taken from the poem “Ring Out, Wild Bells, written by the British poet laureate Alfred Lord Tennyson (6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892).

The poem itself is an extract from “In Memoriam, an elegy written on  the death of his friend Arthur Henry Hallam, his sister’s fiancé.

  Tennyson was a great poet of the Victorian age which took the view that poetry should teach a moral lesson. Surprisingly enough, Tennyson sacrificed his native creative impulse and yielding to the pressure of his age became a preacher as well as a poet.    

“Ring Out, Wild Bells” is an immortal poem.  Published in 1850, its contents have not dated even after 171 years. What it wants to ring out and ring in is the need of every country and will remain  so for decades, if not centuries, to come.   

The poem reads as follows:

 Ring out, wild bells, to  the wild sky,

The flying cloud, the frosty light:

The year is dying in  the night;

Ring out, wild bells, and let him die.

 

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring, happy bells, across the snow;

The year is going, let him go;

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

 

Ring out the grief that saps the mind,

For those that here we see no more;

Ring out the feud of rich and poor,

Rind in redress to all mankind.

 

Ring out the want, the care, the sin,

The faithless coldness of the time;

Ring out, ring out my mournful rhyme,

But ring the fuller minstrel in.

 

Ring out false pride in place of blood,

The civic slander and the spite;

Ring in the love of truth and right,

Ring in the common love of good.

 

Ring out old shapes of foul disease,

Ring out the narrowing lust of gold;

Ring out t he thousand wars of old,

Ring in the thousand years of peace.

 

Ring in  the valiant man and free,

The larger heart, the kindlier hand;

Ring out the darkness of the land,

Ring in  the Christ that is to be.

 

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31^st December 2021               G.R.Kanwal    

NO MEN ARE FOREIGN

 

 

NO  MEN ARE FOREIGN

‘‘No Men Are Foreign’’ is a most famous poem written by the prolific English poet, translator and travel writer James Harold Kirkup.  He was  born in England on 23 April 1918 and passed away at Andorra on 10 May 2009.

Kirkup is reckoned as an author of  over 45 books in various literary genres. English poet Stevie Smith (1902-1971) described him as “a poet in the English tradition, original without being freakish , contemporary without being fraudulent. “

Kirkup’s books include novels, plays, autobiographies, anthologies of poems  -----all of which he wrote under several pen-names such as James Falconer, Andrew James, Felix Liston, Edwards Raeburn and many others.

              “No Men Are Foreign” is a poem on universal brotherhood. Its message deserves to be conveyed to every child and every adult in the whole world.  It is a poem which people of all religions must read with an understanding heart.  Political leaders, social reformers and heads of defence forces ought to imbibe from its powerful lines  the spirit of unity of mankind and cherish the dream of a world without borders. 

To enjoy the power and beauty of  this poem is easy but to comprehend its core values and to practically work on  them is quite difficult.    

            The poem reads as follows:

REMEMBER no men are strange no countries foreign.

Beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes

Like ours ; the land of our brothers walk upon

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

 

They, too, are aware of sun and air and water,

Are fed by peaceful harvests, by war’s log winter starv’d.

 

Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read

A labour not different from our own.  

 

sleep and strength that can be won by love

Remember, they have eyes like ours that wake

Or sleep, and strength that can be won

By love. In every land is common life

That all can recognize and understand.

 

Let us remember, whenever e ae told

To hat our brothers, it is ourselves

That we shall dispossess, betray, condemn.

Remember, we who take arms against each other.

 

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.

 

            Read again and again: (a) Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read a labour not different from others. (b) Remember, they have eyes like ours that wake or sleep, and strength that can be won by love. In every land is common life that all can recognize and understand. (c) and most of all repeat day after day this contemporarily relevant stanza:

 

It is the human earth 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.           

 

In my humble view, this is one of the greatest and loveliest poems on universal brotherhood.

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30th December 2021                             G.R. Kanwal

                            

 

 

 

 

ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS

 

ALL MEN ARE BROTHERS

 Greek  philosopher Epictetus  (60?-120?) said the universe is but one great city, full of beloved ones, divine and human, by nature endured to each other.

And according to the Roman philosopher Lucius Annaeus (54 BC-39AD) however degraded or wretched a fellow may be, he is still a member of our common species.

Calvin Coolidge, the 30^th President of the United States from 1923-1929 believed “Our doctrine of equality and liberty and humanity comes from our belief in the brotherhood of man through the fatherhood of God.”

In a similar vein  American theologian (1809-1894) said: “Whoever in prayer can say “Our Father,” acknowledges and should feel the brotherhood of the whole race of mankind.“

            In the political, social and religious of literature of the world there is no dearth of such quotations as lay emphasis on the unity of God and mankind, yet we find that the brotherhood they talk about so reverentially is seldom practised  anywhere.  Mutual hatred and violence are rampant throughout the world.

 A 1958 UNESCO publication carrying the life and thoughts of Mahatma Gandhi (1889-1948) ‘as told in his own words ‘ bears the title “All Men Are Brothers”. The purpose of the book is to “describe the main features of the Mahatma’s philosophy and his influence in furthering friendship and understanding between peoples.

The book starts with these words of Gandhiji:

“I have nothing new to teach the world, Truth and non-violence are as old as the hills.”

            As regards his belief in the unity of mankind, Gandhiji says:

“All my actions have their rise in my inalienable love of mankind. I have known no distinction between relatives and strangers , countrymen and foreigners, white and coloured, Hindus and Indians of other faiths whether Mussulmans, Parsees, Christians or Jews. I may say that my heart has been incapable of making any such distinctions.  By a long process of prayerful discipline, I have ceased for over forty years to hate anybody. All men are bothers and no human being should be a stranger to another. The welfare of all, Sarvodaya, should be our aim. God is the common bond that unites all human beings. To break this bond even with our greatest enemy is to tear God to pieces. There is humanity even in the most wicked. “

            It is regrettable that most of the followers of Gandhiji  hardly believe like him that “All Men Are Brothers.”       

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14^th December 2021                                                      G. R. Kanwal

 

                  

TO THE VIRGINS (A Poem by Robert Herrick)

 

     TO THE VIRGINS

                                (A Poem by Robert Herrick)

Robert Herrick  (1591-1674) was an English clergyman and poet. He graduated from the University of Cambridge in 1617, took his M.A. in 1620 and was ordained in 1623. He was one of the cavalier poets who were mostly light-hearted, gay, trivial and licentious and were unlike George Herbert (1593-1633) , Henry Vaughan (1622-1695) and others who sang of sacred things.

Herrick wrote during the time of political polarisation between those who were  the supporters of the king, Charles I, and those who stood by Oliver Cromwell the supporter of puritan Parliament. The former were called Royalists and Cavaliers; the latter, Roundheads and Parliamentarians.

 

            Though Herrick also wrote some divine poems, he is better known for his pagan poetry in which he draws attention to the brevity of life and the necessity to enjoy the current moment as deeply and as fast possible.

 

His cult is:

 

            Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

            Old time  still a-flying:

            And this same flower that flies today

            Tomorrow will be dying.

In another famous poem Corrina’s going a-Maying, he says:

           

            Come, let us go, while we are in our prime,

And take the harmless folly of the time!

We shall grow old apace, and die

Before we know our liberty.

Our life is short, and our days run

As fast away as does the sun.

And as a vapour or a drop of rain,

Once lost, can ne’er be found again.

So when you or I are made

A fable, song, or fleeting  shade,

All love, all liking, all delight

Lies drown’d with us in endless night.

Then, while time serves, and we are but decaying,

Come, my Corinna, Come, let’s go a-Maying.

 

Let’s go ‘a-Maying’ is the earliest reflection of modern times ‘existentialism.’

 

            In ‘To The Virgins’, Herrick repeats the same message .  Life is short. The vigorous period of youth, too, is short.  It should be enjoyed as it is available right now. In this world of mortal world of men and material, postponement is mere stupidity.  Delay ,too, is unwise. Both these attitudes lead to decay.  Put your trust in the powerful “Today” , not  decayed ‘Tomorrow”. Moreover, the strong ‘Today’ is reliable, reachable and trustworthy, the enfeebled  ‘Tomorrow ’ is both uncertain and undependable.  

 

            The text of the poem under reference is as follows:

 

To The Virgins

 

Gather ye rosebuds while ye may,

Old Time is still a-flying

And this same flower that smiles today

Tomorrow will be dying.

 

The glorious lamp of Heaven, the sun,

The higher he’s a-getting,

The sooner will his race be run,

And nearer he’s to setting.

 

The age is best which is the first,

When youth and blood are warmer;

But being spent, the worse and worst

Times still succeed the former.

 

Then be not coy, but use your time,

And, while ye may, go marry;

For having lost but once your prime,

You may forever tarry.

   

            Herrick‘s language is sweet and melodious.  He is deservedly called the sweet singer of his time.

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5^th December 2021                                                           G.R.Kanwal

 

 

           

 

 

 

                              SOME WORDS OF WISDOM

Life is a difficult journey.  It has many pitfalls and a lot of ups and down.  It is both bitter and sweet, beautiful and clumsy. Everybody loves it, holds it passionately, does not want to lose his grip upon it even in most trying circumstances. 

Life is also a constant learning.  From rawness to ripeness, it has many stages of foolishness and maturity.

Everybody grows wiser from his personal experience.  But that alone is not enough.  To benefit from the experiences of others is also worthwhile.

 Given below is a bunch extracts from The Qabus Nama by Kai- Kaus Ibn Iskandar, Prince of Gurgan, Greater Iran (1291-1300 AD). If not acceptable, they are ae deeply illuminating.

1.The world is ploughland; as you sow, be it good or ill, you reap. Yet no man enjoys on his own ground what he has reaped there. It is in the place of Delight that he enjoys it, and that is the Everlasting Abode. Now in this present world virtuous men are imbued with the spirit of lions, whereas wicked men have the spirit of dogs, for while the dog consumes his prey where he seizes it the lion takes it elsewhere.

1.      You cannot praise God in terms worthy of him.  If you cannot even praise him worthily, how can you know him ?

2.      Do not permit the thought to enter your head that any neglect in your devotions is permissible, for whether you regard it from the point of view of religion or of philosophy there are several advantages to be derived from worship. The first is that he who performs the obligatory ritual of worship has body and garments clean, and cleanliness ever preferable to defilement. Secondly, the worshipper is free from vainglory, for the reason that the principle of worship is based upon self-abasement.

3.      A man may be compared to the fruit and his parents to the tree; the greater the care you give to the tree, the better will be the fruit. If you hold your parents in great honour, their prayers for your well-being will be swiftly answered and you will be brought near to God’s favour. Guard against wishing for your father’s death merely for the sake of the inheritance; your allotted portion will come to you irrespective of your parents’ death Each man’s allotted portion is pre-ordained and to each there comes that which in past eternity was decreed to be his fate. Do not, therefore,  burden yourself with overmuch anxiety; your fortune is daily bread depends on your earning, not on your fretting.

4.      Though it may be the case that old men sigh for youth, yet doubtless also young men hunger after old age, to which they may or may not attain; and, if you observe carefully, each is envious of the other, despite the fact that the young believe themselves the wisest of all beings. Have a care; do not range yourself with that kind of youth. Treat old men with respect and do not address them frivolously, because their retort, like that of clever persons, may be sharp. It is said that a very old man was going along with bowed back and leaning on  a stick when a youth mockingly aid to him, “Grandfather, what did you pay for that bow ? I should like to buy one, too”. He replied, “If you live long enough and exercise patience, you will be given one free, even though you do not deserve one.  

5.      Nobody, indeed, knows the troubles of old age better than one who has reached it.

6.      Do not let the way in which you spend your life be devoid of method.

7.      In truth, everything consumed, whether it be food or drink, becomes poison if taken in excess. That is what the poet meant when he said:

Your antidote for thirst is none the less

A poison when you use it to excess

8.A good name, once acquired, should be cherished; it becomes even better if one’s behaviour remains impeccable.

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2^nd December 2021                                                  G.R.KANWAL