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.
*******
2nd December 2021 G.R.KANWAL
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