SOME UNUSUAL QUOTATIONS

 

 

 

SOME UNUSUAL QUOTATIONS

A quotation is defined as a group of words or a short piece of writing taken from a book, play, speech, etc. and repeated because it is interesting or useful. For example: Work Is Worship’ was said by Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) and has become a quotation both in religion and secular literature.

‘A Book of Quotations’ provides a number of interesting thoughts on various subjects. It is very useful for students, teachers, writers, speakers, orators, etc.  Most of the reputed publishers having a large number of clients publish such books.

The source of the unusual quotations given below is a pretty old book edited by Rudolf Flesch and published by the  British Publishing House  Cassell , founded in 1848.

1.     Pride may be allowed to this or that degree, else a man cannot keep up his dignity. In gluttony there must be eating, in drunkenness there must be drinking; ‘tis not the eating, nor ‘tis not the drinking that is to be blamed, but the excess. So with pride .---John Selden.

2.     The difference between a well-bred and ill-bred man is this: One immediately attracts your liking, and the other aversion. You love the one till you find reason to hate him; you hate the other till you find reason to love him.---Samuel Johnson.

3.     It takes a kind of genius to make a fortune, and especially a large fortune. It is neither goodness, nor wit, nor talent, nor strength, nor delicacy. I don’t know precisely what it is: I am waiting for someone to tell me. ---Jean De La Bruyere.

4.     Man is not  born wicked : he becomes so, as he becomes sick, ---Voltaire

5.     People are so wicked that their life would be miserable without the consolation of religion. ---George Bernard Shaw

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G.R.Kanwal

31 May 2024

THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM

 

THE TWENTY-THIRD PSALM

A psalm is a song, poem or prayer that praises God, especially one in the Bible. The psalm which is cited below presents God as a shepherd and man as a grateful sheep.

The symbolic man in the psalm says that the Lord is his shepherd. He will not be in want because God restores his soul. He is guided by God in the paths of righteousness.  Even though he walks through the valley of the shadow of death, he will not be afraid of any harm, for God will be with him and His rod and His staff will protect him from his enemies.

 

The word rod’ in the Bible means power, authority, discipline and defence, and the word ‘staff’ a long, slender stick, with a hook or crook. These meanings are appropriate with the symbol of God as ‘shepherd.’      

 

The text of the Psalm reads as follows:

 

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 leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Yea, 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 my 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.

 

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G.R.Kanwal

30 May 2024

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A QUATRAIN OF OMAR KHAYYAM

 

                A QUATRAIN OF OMAR KHAYYAM

Omar Khayyam was a Persian poet. He was born in Nishapur, Khorasan,  on 18 May 1048 and passed away in the same city on 4 December 1131.

 Poetry was one of his many  intellectual fields including mathematics, astronomy, philosophy and metaphysics.

As a poet he is famous for his Persian Rubaiyats (quatrains) which have been translated into many languages of the world. The English translation  made by the British  poet and writer Edward Fitzgerald (1809-1883)  was published in 1859.

A highly romantic quatrain which is given below reveals his philosophy of hedonisn i.e. Laugh, drink and be merry.

A Book of Verses underneath the Bough,

A jug of Wine, a Loaf of Bread ---and thou

Beside me singing of Wilderness---

Oh, wilderness were Paradise enow !  

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G.R.Kanwal

29^th May 2024

SOME VIEWS ABOUT OLD AGE

 

SOME VIEWS ABOUT OLD AGE

There are contrasting views about old age. The modern views are also different from those of past ages. English poet-dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616) ends his poem “The Seven Ages of Man” with these words: Last scene of all, /‘That ends this strange eventful history,/ Is second childishness, and mere oblivion,/ Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans every thing. “This is not a bright view of old age.   

            Ulysses the hero of  the poem by Alfred Lord Tennyson  (1809-1892} says: “Free hearts, free foreheads---you and I are old;/Old age hath yet his honour and his toil;/Death closes all : but something ere the end,/Some work of noble note, may yet be done,/ not unbecoming men that strove with Gods.”

            British poet Robert Browning  (1812-1869) who was most famous for his dramatic monologues says in ‘Rabbi Ben Ezra’ :

            Grow old along with me! / The best is yet to be,/ The last of life, for which the first was made:/ Our times are in His hand/Who saith “A whole I planned,/Youth shows but half; trust God: see all, nor be afraid.”

             To conclude, an irrefutable fact of life : Age does not depend upon years, but upon temperament and health. Some men are born old, and some never grow so.  

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G.R.Kanwal

28^{th May 2024}      

 

SAY NO TO ANXIETY

 

                                SAY NO TO ANXIETY

‘Anxiety’ is defined both as a worry and a desire. As worry it is undesirable. It makes you uneasy, fearful, idle, pessimistic, unhealthy, sleepless, lonely and self-absorbed. So, say ‘no’ to it.

Those who are morally sound and always do what is right and trust in God do not fall a prey to anxiety.

There is no denying the fact that intolerable socio-political situations like poverty, unemployment,  violence, mutual hatred, religious antagonism, and unfulfilment of even basic needs of life  causes anxiety to a number of people.  But remember that personal anxiety is no remedy for these socio=political problems.

According to the American theologian Tryon Edwards (1809-94 )“Anxiety is the rust of life, destroying its brightness and weakening its power. A childlike and abiding trust in Providence is its best preventive and remedy.

As a Scottish divine Hugh Blair (1718-1800 ) ays anxiety is the poison of human life; the parent of many sins and of more miseries. In a world where we may be disappointed, and be blessed in disappointment, why this restless stir and commotion of mind? Can it alter the cause, or unravel the mystery of human events?

Finally, this simple truth that nothing can bring peace to you except  yourself .

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G.R.Kanwal

27^th May 2024       

 

PT. NEHRU ON SECULARISM

 

                PT. NEHRU ON SECULARISM

Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru was born on 14^th November 1889 and passed away on 27 May 1964.  His biographers have described him as “an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, statesman, secular humanist, social democrat, and author.”

He served as the first Prime Minister of independent India for 16 years and 286 days.

What follows is his viewpoint on secularism extracted from “Foreword to Dharam Nirpeksh Raj by Raghunath Singh (1961).

 “Some people think that it (secularism) means something opposed to religion. That obviously is not correct. What it means is that it is a state which honours all faiths equally and gives them equal opportunities; that, as a state, it does not allow itself to be attached to one faith or religion, which then becomes the state religion.’’

“In a sense, this is a more or less modern conception. India has a long history of religious tolerance. That is one aspect of a secular state, but it is not the whole of it. In a country like India, which has many faiths and religions, no real nationalism can be built up except on the basis of secularity. Any narrower approach must necessarily exclude a section of the population, and then nationalism itself will have a much more restricted meaning than it should possess. “

To conclude  one of his most famous quotes:Time is s not measured by the passing of years but by what one does, what one feels, and what one achieves.”

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G.R.Kanwal

26^th May 2024

 

 

CONSEQUENCES OF AVARICE

 

CONSEQUENCES OF AVARICE

“Avarice’ is defined as excessive desire for wealth or gain. Some of its  synonyms are: greed, covetousness, avidity and acquisitiveness.

Avaricious persons are selfish and miserly. They believe in hoarding wealth.  

Avarice is not a virtue. It is a vice and needs to be avoided.

Given below are some everlasting quotes  about avarice.

1.     Poverty wants some things, luxury, many, avarice all things.—English poet and essayist, Abraham  Cowley (1618-1667).

2.     Avarice increases with the increasing pile of gold. ---Roman poet Juvenal(55 AD---?).

 3. The lust of gold, unfeeling and remorseless, the last corruption of degenerate man. -- English author Samuel Johnson (1709-84).

4. All the good things of the world are no further good to us than as they are of use; and of all we may heap up we enjoy only as much as we can use, and no more. –English writer Daniel Defoe (1661-1731}.

5. Avarice, in old age, is foolish; for what can be more absurd than to increase our provisions for the road the nearer we approach to our journey’s end. –Roman orator Marcus  Cicero  (106-43 B.C.).

 

      Finally , we are all born brave, trusting and greedy, and most of us remain greedy.

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G.R.Kanwal

24^th May 2024             

A NOTE ON BOASTING?

 

          A NOTE ON BOASTING?

Boasting is a personal quality. One who boasts is excessively proud and self-satisfied about his achievements.

The synonyms of boasting are bragging,  exaggerating, talking big and  blowing one’s own trumpet.

Boasting is also like self-praise, self-pride and egotism.

In this world of chops and changes one should abstain from boasting.   Here, nothing is stable. Nothing is in the total control of man. God is the supreme controller of everything. Nothing happens without His blessings.  

Human beings are only instruments of creation. Their qualities, assets, merits, skills, abilities, etc. are the gifts of God.

Moreover, no man on earth is self-sufficient. He is dependent upon a number of fellow human beings for not only his personal needs but also the social achievements sought  by him.

Humility rather than pride is an admirable human quality. Remember, ‘‘pride defeats its own end, by bringing the man who seeks esteem and reverence into contempt.” (English statesman Lord Bolingbroke 1678-1751.}

Finally, what the Athenian orator Aeschines (389-314 B.C. ) said: Men of real merit, whose noble and glorious deeds we are ready to acknowledge are not yet to be endured when they vaunt their own actions.

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G.R.Kanwal

23^rd May 2024  

 

 

LORD BUDDHA SAID

 

LORD BUDDHA SAID

According to historical estimate Lord Buddha was born a prince and lived from 563 to 483 BC. He was married and had a son when he saw,  outside his palace,  human beings suffering from disease ,old age and death. This scenario  inspired him to find the permanent way of escape from such sufferings.  He  abandoned his princely comforts  and after spending about six years of ascetic life discovered how humans could eternally escape from the cycle of births and deaths.

His enlightenment consists of  four noble truths, eightfold path and the middle way .  

The four noble truths are: the truth of suffering, the truth of the cause of suffering, the truth of the end of suffering, and the truth of the path that leads to the end of suffering.

The eightfold  path comprises: “ Right view, right resolve, right speech,  right action,  right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and  right concentration. “   

The middle way implies staying away from the extremes of sensual indulgence and self-mortification.

Finally, Lord Buddha’s concept of enlightenment or Nirvana. It consists of understanding the natural  world  and  humankind’s place in it  through the use of reason.

   Buddha Purnima which means Buddha’s Birthday celebrates the life and teachings of Lord Buddha. This year it occurs on 23 May, the day of full moon.    

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G.R.Kanwal

22 May 2024

 

LIFE IS ETERNAL

 

                LIFE IS ETERNAL

Life should be eternal is the ambition of every human being. It is so because people die every day.  The span of their lives is short. They disappear.  Where do they go nobody knows. But there are books like the Gita and  poems by some religious poets who assure humans that their life is endless. This is what  Lord  Krishna says in the  Bhagavad -Gita which is a part of the holy book The Mahabharata.

            “There never was a time when I was not, nor you, nor these rulers  of men. Nor will there ever be a time when all of us cease to be. As the dweller in this body passes into childhood, youth and age, so also does he pass into another body. This does not bewilder the wise.”

            And to conclude, here is an anonymous poem titled: THERE IS NO DEATH.

“There is a plan far greater than the plan you know;

There is a landscape broader than the one you see.

There is a haven where storm-tossed souls may go---

You call it death ----we, immortality.

 

 You call it death ---this seeming endless sleep;

 We call it birth –the soul at last set free.

‘Tis hampered not by time or space –you weep

Why weep at death? ‘Tis immortality.

 

Farewell, dear voyagers---‘twill not be long.

Your work is done—now may peace rest with thee.

Your kindly thoughts and deeds ---they will live on.

This is not death –‘tis immortality.

 

Farewell, dear voyagers ---the river winds and turns;

The cadence of your song wafts near to me,

And now you know the thing that all men learn :

There is no death ---there’s immortality.

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G.R. Kanwal

21^st May 2024

           

           

 

                              

SOME QUOTES ON MAN

 

SOME  QUOTES  ON MAN

Dictionaries don’t say much about man; poets, writers, dramatists and philosophers do. Here are some famous quotes today.  More will follow  some other day.   

1.     Indisputably a great, good, handsome man is the first of created things. ---English novelist and poet Charles Bronte.----1816-1855.

2.     Half dust, half deity, alike unfit to sink or soar.--- British poet Lord Byron -- 1788-1824.

3.     Limited in his nature, infinite in his desires. ----French poet Alphonse de Lamartine ---1790-1869.

4.      Man himself is the crowning wonder of creation; the study of his nature the noblest study world affords.---- English statesman William  Gladstone---1809-98.

5.     What a piece of work is man ! How noble in reason ! How infinite in faculties ! In form and moving , how express and admirable ! In action, how like an angel ! In apprehension, how like a god. –English poet-dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

G.R.Kanwal

20^th May 2024

 

WHAT IS LIFE?

 

WHAT IS LIFE?

There are innumerable thoughts about life, but not definitions. . Let me begin with a definition : The ability to breathe, grow, reproduce, etc, which people, animals and plants have before they die and which objects do not have.

Now what follows is a bunch of thoughts:  (1) Life is a short journey in this mysterious world. (2) Everybody’s life is full of sufferings (Lord Buddha and Guru Nanak Dev.)  (3) As dreams are made on, and our little life/Is rounded with sleep. (4) Out, out brief candle ! Life is 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.—English poet-dramatist William Shakespeare ,1564-1616 , in Macbeth.) (5) What is this life if, full of care,/We have no time to stand and stare.--English poet W. H. Davies, 1871-1940.

6. A little work, a little sleep, a little love and it is all over --.American author, Mary Roberts Rinehart, 1876-1958. 7.

 Let your life lightly dance on the edges of time like dew on the tip of  a leaf. (Indian writer-philosopher Rabindranath Tagore 1861-1941 .

8. The idea shared by many  that life is a vale of tears is  just as false as the idea shared by the great majority, the idea to which youth and health and riches incline you, that life is a place of entertainment.  ---Russian author Leo Tolstoy , 1828=1910.

And finally, what American author Augusta Evans Wilson – 1835-1909 said: Life does not count by years;, some suffer a lifetime in a day, and so grow old between the rising and the setting of the sun.

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G.R.Kanwal

19^th May 2024

 

TRUTH ABOUT FALSEHOOD

 

TRUTH ABOUT FALSEHOOD

Truth is real; falsehood is artificial.  The one is factual; the other is fictitious. One is based on ethics; the other on immorality. Both truth and falsehood have always been there. Falsehood may defeat truth for any length of time but not forever. Russian writer Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) said in one of his stories : “God sees the truth but waits.”

Falsehood in all its forms is widely prevalent in the world today. It has been rightly said by somebody: “Truth is so obscure in these times, and falsehood so established, that, unless we love the truth, we cannot know it.”

            Falsehood is both a crime and a sin. If it escapes punishment in this world; it gets penalised  in the next world.

            Never think of telling a lie or indulging in falsehood. Your conscience cannot bear its harmful burden  for a long time.

            Be true whatever be the consequences . None but cowards lie.   A man of truth is a man of courage.

            Truth is fearless. If it ever gets mixed with falsehood, it starts repenting. It intends to become clean as fast as possible. Some people shed tears to wash their sin of having told a lie or having indulged in any falsehood.  To harbour falsehood in your heart for a long time is dangerous for your physical, mental and emotional health.  

            To conclude, two short but vital quotes: (1) Half a truth is often a great lie. (2) A lie can answer any question, but only the truth brings healing.  

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G.R.Kanwal

17^th May 2024

 

 

A POEM ON PATRIOTISM

 

A POEM ON PATRIOTISM

‘Patriotism’ is defined as love of one’s country and willingness to defend it. According to the American orator and statesman DANIEL WEBSTER(1782-1852) : “Let our whole object be our country, our whole country, and nothing but our country. And by the blessing of God, may that country itself become a vast and splendid monument, not of oppression and terror, but of wisdom, of peace, and of liberty, upon which the world may gaze with admiration forever.”

            The poem given below is by the English poet-novelist Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832). Its title is “Breathes There The Man”. Its theme is that an un-patriotic  person  however great he may be in other respects is worthless and ignoble because his heart never cries out, ‘‘This is my own, my native land”.

“Breathes there the man with soul so dead,

Who never to himself hath said,

‘This is my own, my native land!’   

Whose heart hath ne’er within him burn’d

As home his footsteps he hath turn’d

From wandering on a foreign strand ?

If such there breathe, go, mark him well;

For him no Minstrel raptures swell ;

High though his titles, proud his name,

Boundless his wealth as wish can claim ;

Despite those titles, power, and pelf,

The wretch, concentred all in self,

Living, shall forfeit fair renown,

And, doubly dying, shall go down

To the vile dust from whence he sprung,

Unwept, unhonour’d  and unsung.”

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G.R.Kanwal

16 May 2024

SOME THOUGHTS ON POLITICS

 

SOME THOUGHTS ON POLITICS

‘ Politics’ is briefly defined as ‘the activities involved in getting and using power in public life, and being able to influence decisions that affect a country or society.’And a politician is defined as a person whose job is concerned with politics, especially as an elected member of a law- making body.

Ideally, a politician should be a qualified person. He/she should be thoroughly patriotic and should not indulge in unfair means, His/her party loyalty, too, should be firm and safe from anti-party temptations.

It is sad that some modern politicians indulge in unprincipled acts.  Somebody rightly said “To be a chemist you must study chemistry; to be a lawyer or a physician you must study law or medicine; but to be a politician you need only to study your own interests.”

“ According to English author Jonathan Swift (1667-1745) :“The man who can make two ears of corn, or two blades of grass, grow on the spot where only one grew before , would deserve better of mankind, and render more essential service to the country , than the whole race of politicians put together.”

Great politicians who do not think of the next election but of the next generation become statesmen. They do not suffer from selfishness, egotism, lust for power, hatred towards other parties and the use of unethical  means.

Finally, it is not desirable if every political question becomes a social question, and every social question becomes a religious question.

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G.R.Kanwal

15 May 2024

 

A NOTE ON PRAYER

 

          A NOTE ON PRAYER

“Prayer” is a sacred word. It means an entreaty to God. Most of the people pray for some personal benefit. Such a prayer is not admirable. The  English poet S. T. Coleridge (1772-1834) says in the last stanza of his poem “The Ancient Mariner” :

                        He prayeth well who loveth well

                        Both man and bird and beast

                        He prayeth best who loveth best

                        All things, both great and small:

                        For the dear God who loveth us,

                        He made and loveth all.

            An ideal devotee of God will pray for the health and happiness, peace and prosperity of even his enemy.

According to the English  poet James Kirkup (1918-2009):

           

                        No men are strange, no countries foreign,…

                        Their hands are ours, and in their lines we read

                        A labour not different from our own….

                        Remember they have eyes like ours that wake

                        Or sleep, and strength that can be won

                        Bt love.

           

The best part of our  prayer to God should be that in which we express our heartfelt gratitude to Him for all His gifts and mercies.

 

            Finally, a few words by the English poet  Alfred Lord Tennyson (!809-1892) : “More things are wrought by prayer than the world dreams of. What are men better than sheep or goats, that nourish a blind life within the brain, if, knowing God, they lift no hands of prayer both for themselves and those who call them friends !”

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G.R.Kanwal

14 May 2024                                      

 

A POEM ON WILL

 

A POEM ON WILL

‘WILL’ is the title of a best loved poem written by the American poet Ella Wheeler  Wilcox (1850-1919) . She is also famous for her poem titled ‘Solitude’ which opens with the lines “Laugh and the world laughs with you; Weep and you weep alone.”

Some inspirational quotes on will are: (1) Where there is a will, there is way. (2) Will opens the door to success, both brilliant and happy. (3) We cannot be held to what is beyond our strength and means; for at times the accomplishment and execution may not be in our power, and indeed there is nothing really in our own power except the will: on this are necessarily based and founded all the principles that regulate the duty of man. (4) Work usually follows will. (5) The will is the strong blind man who carries on his shoulders the lame man who can see.

The quote   ‘Where there ‘s a will, there is a way’ means if you really want to do something, you will find a way to do it, even if there are circumstances that make hard to do it.      According to a part of Wilcox’s poem:  

There is no chance, no destiny, no fate,

Can circumvent or hinder or control

The firm resolve of a determined soul.

Gifts count for nothing; will alone is great;

All things give way before it, soon or late.

What obstacle can stay the mighty force

Of the sea-seeking river in its course,

Or cause the ascending orb of day to wait?

                        *********

G.R.Kanwal

12^th May 2024

                       

SOME THOUGHTS ON VIOLENCE

 

SOME THOUGHTS ON VIOLENCE

Violence is uncivilized behavior. It is destructive, injurious and murderous. It implies the use of brute force. Its ferocity, roughness, savagery and wildness lead to undesirable and dangerous results.  

British poet-dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616) was more than right when he said “Violent delights have violent ends.”

            According to the  English essayist William Hazlitt (1778-1830) : Violence ever defeats its own ends. Where you cannot drive you can always persuade. A gentle word, a kind look, a good-natured smile can work wonders and accomplish miracles. There is a secret pride in every human heart that revolts at tyranny. You may order and drive an individual, but you cannot make him respect you.”

             The great prophet of peace and non-violence  Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) who liberated  India from the British rule without using arms and weapons says: To use violence for securing rights may seem an easy path, but it proves to be thorny in the long run. Those who live by the sword, die also by the sword. The swimmer often dies by drowning. ----Young India, June 8, 1921.

            To conclude, a line by   Martin Luther , the German priest and theologian (1483-1546) : Nothing Good ever comes of violence.

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G.R.Kanwal

10^th May 2024  

 

LET US BE WORLD CITIZENS

 

                                LET US BE WORLD CITIZENS

The whole world is one. It is divided into many countries but all the people are alike. They have similar bodies, eat similar diets, fall prey to similar diseases, get similar medicines, are warmed by the same sun, receive rain from the same sky, rivers flow from one country to another, boys and girls  have similar educational systems, love and hate in the same way, dress themselves almost similarly, have identical views about crime and punishment, sin and its punitive consequences and  worship the same creator by different names.

By definition a world citizen accepts the dynamic fact that the planetary human community is interdependent and the whole humankind is essentially one.

Given below are extracts from a poem titled “No Men Are Foreign” written by a professor of English literature James Kirkup (1918 -2009). He says:

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.

…………………………

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.

 

And to conclude :

Let us remember, whenever we are told

To hate 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.

 

G.R.Kanwal

9^th May 2024

 

  

 

 

HATRED

 

HATRED

The word ‘hatred’ has many synonyms. Some of them are dislike; ill-ill; enmity; hostility; grudge; malice; bitterness and antagonism.

            And some of the antonyms of hatred are love; affection; acceptance; praise;  admiration and fondness.

            Hatred is vicious. It is wicked not only in respect of people but also such ideas, theories and philosophies with which you do not agree. It is harmful for your health because it produces anger which is hurtful  for your heart.

            According to French novelist Balzac (1799-1850 ) hatred is the vice of narrow souls; they feed it with all their littleness, and make it the pretext of base tyrannies.

            This is what Frederick William Robertson  (1816-1853) says: I will tell you what to hate: Hate hypocrisy; hate cant; hate intolerance; oppression; injustice; Pharisaism; hate them as Christ hated them---with a deep abiding, God-like hatred,

            British  poet Lord Byron (1788-1824) believes that hatred is the madness of the heart.

            To conclude, the following words of Lord Buddha: “ Hatred does not cease to be hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.”

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G.R.Kanwal

8^th May 2024

 

WHAT IS DESTINY?

 

WHAT IS DESTINY?

            Destiny is religiously defined as fate, luck, fortune, kismet, karma, divine decree, etc.

There are professionals who offer themselves to  write your horoscope with full details of your destiny if you tell them your date of birth and some other details.

There are also palmists who read the lines of your hand to predict your future.

Some others claim that your destiny is written on your forehead and they can read it correctly.  

            Religiously,  fate is the result of your actions performed by you  n your pervious birth or births.  Good actions then make good fortune in the present birth.

            The beliefs of science are different from those of religion. A scientist may tell you that you are the architect of your fate. God has nothing to do with it.  

            English novelist Edward George Lytton Bulwer (1703-73) says destiny is but a phase of the weak human heart --- the dark analogy for every error--The strong and virtuous admit no destiny,---On earth conscience guides; in heaven God watches.---And destiny is what the phantom we invoke to silence the one and dethrone the other.

            Here is another logical quotation by American theologian Tyron Edwards (1809-94): Thoughts lead on to purposes; purposes go forth in action; actions form habits; habits decide character; and character fixes our destiny.

            To conclude, it is true that we have reap what we sow, and it is our character which is the main basis of our fate.

                                                ********

G.R.Kanwal

7^th May 2024

 

THE PERFECT LIFE

 

THE PERFECT LIFE

‘The Perfect Life’ is the title of a short poem written by the English poet-

playwright Ben Jonson. He was born in June 1572 and died in August 1937 and

was , in a way, a contemporary of Shakespeare.

 

              In the poem which is given below, he says that to be perfect life does not need long years. As an example, he compares the short  but perfect life of a lily flower with that of the imperfect long life of an oak tree. A lily blooms only for one day and exhibits all its   beauty. An oak stands on earth for three hundred years but ultimately falls like a mere log ‘dry, bald, and sere.’

 

Here is the complete poem:

 

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

6^TH May 2024