NON-VIOLENCE

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                             NON-VIOLENCE

It was on 30^th January 1948 that the Indian apostle of non-violence Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was assassinated. He is physically no more, but ideologically immortal. His idea of non-violence is not going to become irrelevant for innumerable centuries to come.  No doubt that in-between non-violence will be given short or long holidays and wars will be fought.  This will push the worship of life into cold storage and death will be glorified. Those who defeat the enemy, through mightier military power,  will be honoured with many adulations and awards. Yet,  the ideology of non-violence will continue to shine because every war ends  not only in peace, but also with some kind of regret and repentance. It is in this context that non-violence as preached and practiced by Gandhiji remains and will remain perpetually relevant.

            Given below are a few thoughts on non-violence in Gandhiji’s own words.

“It is no non-violence if we merely love those that love us.  It is non-violence only when we love those that hate us.  I know how difficult it is to follow this general love of love.  Ut are not all great and good thing difficult to do? Love of the hater Is the most difficult of all.  But by the grace of God even this most difficult thing becomes easy to accomplish if we want to do it.”

“I have found that life persists in the midst of destruction and there must be a higher law than that of destruction.  Only under that law would a well-ordered society be intelligible and life worth living.  And if that is the law of life, we have to work it out in daily life.  Whenever there are jars, whenever you are confronted with an opponent conquer him with love.  In this crude manner I have worked it out in my life.  That does not  mean that all my difficulties ae solved.  Only I have found that this law of love ha answer as the law of destruction has never done.”

“I saw that nations like individuals could only be made through the agony of the Cross and in no other way. Joy comes not out of infliction of pain on others out of pain voluntarily borne by oneself.”                                                

(Refence: All Men Are Brothers, UNESCO 1958).

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  30^th January 2022                                                                 G.R.Kanwal

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L I F E ‘S M I R R O R

 

                                                L I F E ‘S   M I R R O R

Given below is a short poem written by the American poet “Madeline Bridges” (MARY AINGE DE VERE - 1844-1920). The title of the poem is “Life’s Mirror”. It reads as follows:

 

“THERE ARE LOYAL HEARTS, there are spirits brave,

There are souls that are pure and true  

Then give to the world the bet you have,

And the best will come back to you.

 

Give love, and love to your life will flow,

A strength in your utmost need;

Have faith, and a score of hearts will show

Their faith,  in your word and deed.

 

Give truth, and your gift will be paid in kind,

And honor will honor meet;

And a smile that is sweet will surely find

A smile that is just and sweet.

 

Give sorrow and pity to those who mourn;

You will gather in flower again

The scattered seeds of your thought outborne,

Though the sowing seemed but vain.

 

For life is the mirror of king and slave –

‘Tis just what we are and do;

Then give to the world the best you have,

And the bet will come back to you.”

 

            This beautiful poem compares life to a mirror which  gives a true reflection of what it sees. In the words of the poet: Life is the mirror of king and slave----i.e. all sorts of people,  great and small. As a rule, the mirror makes no distinction among them. Moreover, it is perfectly just and true ---- it does not change the original , the image which it returns is the true copy of the actual.  So, the poet says, if you give to the world ‘the best you have , the best will come back to you.’

 

            Quite obviously ,the poem is based on the principle of reciprocity and reminds one of popular sayings like : Love begets love; as you sow, so shall you reap; do good and have good. Religiously, it is a plea for good moral behaviour with the aim of maintaining social harmony.

   

            The principal virtues which the poet wants to be reflected in individuals’ conduct are: love, faith, truth and honour.  The reciprocity  of these virtues is by and large dependable, though there may be exceptions returning evil for good . But there may also be some noble souls returning  good for evil, the mirror of their life will be worth emulating.

 

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28^th January 2022                                                                G.R.Kanwal    

G H A Z A L 25TH January 2022

 

 

G H A Z A L

25^TH January 2022

Mian ! mahshar mein jana hi parhe ga

Hisab apna dikhana hi parhe ga

Bujha daale hein  jo deepak wafa ke

Unhein phir se jalana hi parhey ga

 

Giray gi jab kabhi dastar sar se

Use jhuk kar uthana hi parhey ga

 

Jo dilbar barson se rutha hua hai

Use aakhir manana hi parhey ga

 

Kanwal aankhon pay hai jo bojh meri

Wo parda ab hatana hi parhe ga

 

GLOSSARY

 

1.      (a) Mahshar: the final destination of human beings where they will be punished or rewarded according to their lifetime deeds.(b). Hisab apna: full account of one’s worldly deeds.

2.      Deepak wafa ke: lamps of sincerity; loyalty or faithfulness which maintain the light of mutual happiness.

3.      Dastar : turban – a symbol of one’s sacred dignity and respect.

4.      (a) Dilbar: Sweetheart; beloved friend. (a) Rutha hua hai : is annoyed and separated due to some misunderstanding .

5.      Parda: screen; curtain;  or veil  which cuts off the view of reality.

 

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                                                G. R. KANWAL

                                                25^th January 2022

G H A Z A L

 

                              G  H  A Z  A  L                                                    

                                    Saharon par na kar takiya, sahare  chhut jaate hain

                                    Zara si der main sab chaand taare chhut jaate hain   

                                   

                                    Andheron ke musafir chand jugnoo saath rakh apne

                                    Sitaron ka bharosa kya sitare chhut jaate hain

                                   

                                    Nazaron ki kashish par marne wale ko khabar kyat thi

                                    Nazare aarizi hain sab nazare chhut jaate hain

 

                                    Ishare bam-o-dar ke khwab ki manind hote hain

                                    Nahin tikte nigahon mein ishare chhut jaate hain

 

                                    Kanwal darya mein rehna hai to rakh rishta talatum se

                                    Kinaron ka bharosa kya kinare chhut jaate hain

                                     

                   GLOSSARY

                   Takiya karna: to depend upon.

                        Kashish: attraction; allurement.

                        Aarizi: temporary; accidental; not real.        

                        Bam: Upper storey; o: and; dar: gate

                        Talatum: Dashing waves

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                        G. R. Kanwal ----- 15^th January 2022

                  

 

S O L I T U D E

 

 

                             S O L I T U D E

                            (A poem by Alexander Pope)

Dictionaries define solitude as the state of being alone especially, when one finds it pleasant and enjoyable. Its synonymous words are: isolation, retirement and privacy.   

            Before dealing with Alexander Pope’s poem , let us have a look at some interesting quotations on the benefits of solitude. According to American author Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1888) it is easy, in the world to live after the world’s opinion; it  is easy, in solitude, to live after your own; but the great man is he who, in the midst of the crowd, keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude.

           

            Another American author, Bruce Barton (1886-1967) says “ It would do the world good if every man in it would compel himself occasionally to be absolutely alone. Most of the world’s progress has come out of such loneliness.”.

 

            English divine, Sydney Smith (1771-1845) thinks that solitude cherishes great virtues and destroys little ones.

           

            In a slightly different vein, American writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-64) asks what would a man do if he were compelled to live in  the sultry heat of society , and could never better himself in cool solitude.

           

            William Mathews (1818-1909), who, too, is an American author,  holds this view “In the world, a man lives in his own age; in solitude in all ages.”

 

            Alexander Pope was  born on 21^st May 1688. He died on 30 May 1744. His whole life was one long struggle of an active, keen intellect with physical weakness and pain. He was a small, sickly, deformed child, with an irritable, sensitive temperament, which often led him into an uncontrollable bitterness of feelings. These traits played a major role in making  him a great satirist.

 

He wrote copiously and authored some permanent quotations like :

 

            A little learning is a dang’ous thing;

            Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring.

           

            True wit is nature to advantage dressed,

            What oft was  thought, but ne’er so well expressed.

 

            For forms of government let fools contest:

            Whate’er is best administered is best.

Pope was a born poet. He says of himself :

            “As yet a chid, not  yet a fool to fame,

            I lisped in numbers, for the numbers came.”

Pope lived by poetry.  His satirical poetry was  the only source of his income. He is perhaps the first English poet to introduce closed-couplets.  His language is easy but very powerful for its intended effects. Some of his famous works are a mock-heroic epic The Rape of the Lock; Essay on Man and Essay On Criticism.

 

            SOLITUDE is one of those poems which have preserved their relevance and  popularity till today. It was written when the poet was barely twelve years old. Its theme is not original but it is  certainly eternal.Like Pope another contemporary poet James Thomson (1700-1748) wrote Hymn on Solitude(1729) with the notion that there is virtue, as well as contentment, to be found in solitude.        

     

                           Hail, mildly pleasing solitude,

                           Companion of the wise and good.

Pope’s poem, too, is centred around contentment, a religious virtue which is lacking in the present-day affluent society. How unhappy is the modern man living in congested cities where he has no time to stand  and stare.  His lust for more land, more wealth,  more luxuries has robbed him of the blessings of solitude. He is cut off from the delightful beauty of nature, is entangled in crowds of sickly, unhappy men and women who do not know what sound sleep is. Their life does not depend upon home-made wholesome food  but on junk food which makes them a prey to many diseases. Their sedentary life-style is another curse from which non-urban people quite safe.  It is in this context that  Pope’ poem is relevant even today.

                        Here is the text of the poem:

            Happy is the man, whose wish and care

            A  few paternal acres bound,

            Content to breathe his native air

            In his own ground.

 

            Whose herds with milk, whose fields with  bread,

            Whose flock supply him with attire;

            Whose trees in summer yield him shade,

            In winter, fire.

 

            Blest, who can unconcern’dly find

            Hours, days and years slide soft away

            In heath of body, peace of mind,

            Quiet by day,

           

            Sound sleep by night; study and ease

            Together mixt , sweet recreation,

            And innocence, which most does please

            With meditation.

 

            Thus let me live, unseen, unknown;

Thus unlamented let me die;

Steal from the world, and not a stone

Tell where I lie.

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14^th January 2022                                   G.R.Kanwal  

 

MEN AND WOMEN

 

MEN AND WOMEN

 

 

Husband and Wife

 

The wise husband and wife know that even the deepest love must have its intervals of non-active expression.  The do not fall into a panic because they are not the object of each other’s ceaseless preoccupation.  On the contrary, they realize that a person who makes constant demands for “proofs” of love is like an insecure child who clamours endlessly for his mother’s attention.  Those who are confident of their basic love will see to it, instead, that provision is made for release of the tensions and hostilities inevitable in every intimate association. ---- Smiley Blanton, M.D.

 

This is Marriage

 

The mutual sense of ownership felt by the normal husband and the normal wife is something unique, something the like of which cannot be obtained without marriage.

 

I saw a man and a woman at a sale the other day; I was too far to hear them, but I could perceive they were having a most lively argument---perhaps it was only about pillow-cases; but they were absorbed in themselves; the world did not exist for them.

 

I thought: “What miraculous exquisite force is it that brings together that strange, somber, laconic organism in a loose, black overcoat, and that strange, vivacious, querulous, irrational organism in fur?”

 

And when they moved away the most interesting phenomenon in the universe moved away.----Arnold Bennett