SOME PERMENT QUOTES ON WOMEN

 

          SOME PERMENT QUOTES ON WOMEN

On this day of International Women’s Day 2025, what follows are some significant views about their existential importance, qualities of head and heart, and the role they play in men’s life.  

The theme this year is ‘Gender Parity .For All Women and Girls : Rights. Equality. Empowerment.  Such synonymous themes will continue to be suggested  for years to come  without their substantial  fulfillment.  Only a little further progress may be achieved.

The quotes that follow are evergreen. They will never become stale and irrelevant.

1.A beautiful and chaste woman is the perfect workmanship of God, the true glory of angels, the rare miracle of earth, and the sole wonder of earth. --- German theologian George Hermes  (1775-1831).

2. A handsome woman is a jewel; a good woman is a treasure. ---Persian poet Saadi Shirazi (1210-1292).

3. It is only the nature of their education that puts a woman at such disadvantage, and keeps up the nation that they are our inferiors in ability. The best sources of knowledge are shut off from them, and the surprise is that they manage to keep so abreast of us as they do.  ----American Justice Joseph Story (1772-1845).

4. Women are the books, the arts, the academies, that show, contain, and nourish all the world.-----English poet-playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

5. O woman, you are not merely the handiwork of God, but also of men; these are ever endowing you with beauty from their own hearts….You are one-half woman and one half dream----Indian poet, writer and statesman Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941).

6. Women govern us; let us try to render them more perfect. The more they are enlightened so much the more we shall be. On the cultivation of the minds of women depends the wisdom of man. ----English dramatist Richard Sheridan (1751-1816).

To conclude, this short  anonymous quote : She is love, she is strength, she is everything the world needs.

                                                ******

G.R.Kanwal

8t March 2025

 

TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH

 

          TAKE CARE OF YOUR HEALTH

Health is defined as a state of physical, mental and social well-being not just the absence of disease or infirmity.

To enjoy good health, you have to eat good food, inhale fresh air,  take suitable exercise, avoid intoxicants, use your body and mind for harmless activities, have kith and kin, maintain a friendly circle, be dynamic, enjoy good sleep, keep your environment neat and clean, be virtuous, commit no wrong, make honesty your best policy, practice friendless, think positively, love the whole mankind, pray to God for immunity, don’t harm any living being including birds and beasts.

There may be so many other ways to use to maintain good health and recoup from any kind of illness because of your own fault or because of the unhealthy environment .  

Avoid cares, worries and anxieties. Remember this old  dictum : Care kills the cat.

According a poem written by the English poet-playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616)  there are seven ages of man all of which are not healthy and the last one is horrible : “ second childishness, and mere oblivion, sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything. “

Health is natural fitness, well-being, strength, vigour and robustness. Its dependence upon medicines and artificial tonics is not only expensive but also unreliable.

The French writer and philosopher Voltaire (1694-1778) said : Regimen is better than physic. Every one should be his own physician. We ought to assist, and not to force nature. Eat with moderation what agrees with your constitution. Nothing is good for the body but what we can digest. What medicine can procure digestion? Exercise. What will recruit strength? Sleep. What will alleviate incurable evils? Patience.

The English writer Izaak Walton (1593=1683) advised: Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God and value it next to a blessing that we mortals are capable of – a blessing that money cannot buy; therefore value it, and be thankful for it.

To conclude, here is a relevant quote: He who has health, has hope, and he who has hope, has everything.

                                                ********

G.R.Kanwal

7^th March 2025                                                            

 

THE ADVANTAGES OFWALKING

 

                   THE ADVANTAGES OFWALKING

Walking is indispensible. You have to walk in your home, in your street, in your office, in your work place, to a shopping centre and to so many other places where you cannot make use of vehicles. However, these are short walks. They are not long ones  which have many health advantages. Llong walks are also medically beneficent. They are preventive as well as  curative.

There is an anonymous quote which reads as follows: I love roads. I love lanes and streets: I love to walk, walk, walk, for it is an opportunity for thought developing into a clear process, often leading to self-illumination and discovery, thanks to the sound of one’s own footfalls.

Walking is not merely physical exercise keeping the body fit; it is a spiritual training leading to the preservation of the being itself.

The English novelist Charles Dickens (1812-1870)  said : The sum of the whole is this: walk and be happy; walk and be healthy. The best way to lengthen out our days is to walk steadily and with a purpose.  The wandering man knows of certain ancients, far gone in years, who have staved off infirmities and dissolution by earnest walking –hale fellows, close upon ninety, but brisk as boys.

The physical benefits of walking are : good digestion, heart health, bone health, muscle strength and weight management. The mental and emotional benefits include stress reduction, improved mood and improved sleep.

People suffering from diabetes are advised to have a brisk walk f0r 30 t0 45 minutes. Those who are suffering from high blood pressure are also advised to walk.

Walking also results in discovery of new places and imagining of new themes for creative activities.

I have composed most of my poems while walking in a garden.

You can walk alone or with a friend. Walking alone can be more comfortable. A Bengali slogan says: Walk alone.

To conclude, here is a vital quote: Walking is the best medicine. Walking is the best possible exercise. Habituate yourself to walk very far. All truly great thoughts are conceived by walking.

                                                ********

G.R.Kanwal

6^th March 2025  

 

 

   

                       

 

DEALING WITH THE PAST

 

          DEALING WITH THE PAST

It is worthwhile to read history for enlightenment. It has many lessons to teach. It is a story of  battles and wars, discoveries and inventions, rise and fall of civilizations, lives of great men, styles of living and so many other facts.

Reading history is both pleasant and unpleasant because there were all sorts of kings and queens, rulers and their subjects.

History is also a tale of freedom and slavery, dictatorship and democracy, imperialism and aristocracy.

Histories are both long and short. If there is a history of the world, there are many which deal with small territories, towns, villages, even streets and bazaars.

The characters in history have made both good and bad contributions. They have been constructive as also destructive.

To spend a lot of time in reading history is undesirable. Your main concern should be with the present, not the past.

To read occasionally the sacred books like the Bible, the Holy Quran, the Gita and other ancient scriptures which deal with eternal matters of life and death is not wastage of time.

The Scottish essayist and historian Thomas Carlyle (1795-1881} said: True past departs not; no truth or goodness realized by man ever dies, or can die; but all is still here, and, recognized or not, lives and works through endless changes.

To refer to the past without altering its contents is always necessary.  Unfortunately, quite a few people either distort history or use it as a tool to serve their selfish ends.

The ideal view about the past is that nothing but good should be talked about the dead.

The English poet-playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616)  believed : What’s gone and past help, should be past grief.

  The best approach in life is neither to cling to the past, nor to dream about the future.

   In his poem A Psalm of Life, the American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) says:

Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!

 Let the dead Past bury its dead!

Act,— act in the living Present!

 Heart within, and God o’erhead!

 

To conclude, here is a great quote: The past is behind, learn from it. The future is ahead, prepare for it. The present is here, live it.

                                                ********

G.R.Kanwal

5th March 2025

GET RID OF ANXIETY

 

GET RID OF ANXIETY

Anxiety is defined as persistent worry and fear about physical or mental situations. It has always been there and will remain there forever.

Nobody is completely  free from anxiety.  There was a time when diseases like tuberculosis, malaria and cholera had no medicines as cure.

Today, cancer with all the progress made by the medical science is not yet completely curable.

Bad health is the main cause of anxiety. And good heath is out of reach in the present day polluted world.

Hundreds of social problems including, poverty, unemployment, family splits , loneliness, natural calamities, international conflicts, uneven distribution of life-supporting resources are also responsible human anxiety.

Sleep is now a problem. Most of the diseases and day-to- day problems make people sleepless, whereas sleep is the chief remedy for anxiety.

Immorality, too, has become a major cause of sleeplessness and all sorts of anxiety.

The best approach to get rid of anxiety is to treat it as the common fate of  humanity. Don’t allow it to frighten you. Let it be there as a natural  phenomenon.

Who is not suffering from anxiety these days?. Even innocent children are its victims.

Live as joyfully as you can on the day before you. No clinging to the past, no apprehensions about the future. Laugh, drink and be merry. Try to consider yourself innocent, not guilty. Be contented with whatever you have. Your desires may be unlimited, but their fulfillment is limited.

 Trust in God for relief from anxiety through meditation and prayer.

Lord Buddha’s eightfold path comprising : right view, right thinking, right action, right effort, right livelihood, right speech, right concentration and right mindfulness are a panacea for all sorts of anxieties.

To conclude, here are two helpful quotes:

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

2. It is not the cares of today, but the cares of tomorrow that weigh a man down. For the needs of today we have corresponding strength given. For the morrow we are told to trust. It is not ours yet.----Scottish novelist, George Macdonald (18241905) .

                                                *******

G.R.Kanwal

4^th March 2025

 

         

 

GRIEF

 

          GRIEF

In this world of ups and downs and lots of dualities, grief is inescapable. Light and death, joy and sorrow, loss and gain, success and failure, light and darkness, day and night, love and hatred, profit and loss, companionship and loneliness, have their eternal presence.

Some common synonyms of grief are sorrow, sadness, agony, suffering, woe, mourning, bereavement, lamentation, dejection, agony, pain and anxiety.

Loss of loved ones which results in loneliness is the main cause of grief in many homes and social circles.

There is no escape from grief for anybody in his life time. All religions regard grief as inevitable. They also call this world a place of suffering due to our present or past wrong actions. The Bible says “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” Hindus believe that death is not the end of life but a transition to the next stage in soul’s journey. According to Muslims death is part of Allah’s plan.

  Grief causes emotional disturbance, physical ailments, mental distress and spiritual upheaval.

Every grief must be shared with others. Unfortunately, it makes you lonely. There is a popular saying: “ When you laugh, you laugh together; when you weep, you weep alone. “

Grief can compel you to share it with others. In a short story, a coachman tried to communicate the grief caused by his son’s death to several familiar and unfamiliar people, but all turned a deaf ear. Ultimately, it was his horse who listened to him most sympathetically.

Grief can become less painful, if you become creative. Writing, painting, singing, gardening, helping others, serving the needy selflessly, using your talents as social service can help you overcome grief.

   Meditation, too,  is one of the best ways to deal with with grief.

To conclude, almost every grief fades away with the passage of time.

                                                *******

G.R.Kanwal

3^rd March 2025

 

 

 

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF GIFTS

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF GIFTS

Gifts are tokens of love, care, affection, appreciation, mutual respect, family relationships, cultural bonds, etc.

Briefly speaking, they help improve relationships.

The forms of gifts are uncountable. From cash to utility items or sweets and bouquets, many other types may be included.  

It is true to say: Giving gifts allows us to communicate our feelings in a tangible and meaningful way, strengthening bonds and fostering deeper connections with loved ones.

Gifts should always be given with the holiness of the heart’s affections.

To give a gift with the purpose of any selfish gain will be unholy. The manner of giving shows the character of the giver, more than the gift itself.

The ancient Greek lyric poet Pindar said: Every gift, though it  be small, is in reality great if given with affection.

According to the great British biologist Francis Maitland Balfour (10 Nov 1851-19 Jul 1882) : The best thing to give to your enemy is forgiveness; to an opponent, tolerance; to a friend, your heart; to your child, a good example; to a father deference; to your mother, conduct that will make her proud of you; to yourself, respect; to all men, charity.

Balfour was a genius. He lost his life while attempting the ascent of Mont Blanc. According to his colleagues : “ He was one of the greatest biologists of his day and Charles Darwin’s successor.”

Finally, these words of the Swiss theologian John Caspar Lavater (1741-1801): A gift, its kind, its value, and appearance; the silence or the pomp that attends it; the style in which it reaches you, may decide the dignity or vulgarity of the giver.

A piece of advice: Never let your gift become a sort of bribery.

                                                ********

G.R.Kanwal

2^nd March 2025

 

 

                                                 

 

WHO IS A GENTLEMAN?

 

         

                    WHO IS A GENTLEMAN? 

A gentleman has a number of qualities. He is well-mannered, polite,  cultured, civilized, respectful, affectionate, sympathetic, empathetic, courteous, helpful, virtuous, God-fearing, honest, morally sound, hospitable, kind-hearted, patient listener, creative, generous, etc.

            He helps, not harms; heals, not hurts.

He attracts, not repels. He is grateful, not thankless. He is humble, not proud. He is dynamic, not inactive. He loves goodness, beauty and truth.

He is unselfish, greedless and contented. It is not material wealth which makes him great, but the admirable qualities of head and heart.

He possesses a lot of warmth for others. He is always friendly, never hostile. He loves even his enemies and salutes his opponents. He is free from jealousy and envy.

In short, he is gentle from top to toe.

             The English scientist Thomas H. Huxley (1825-95) said: Thoughtfulness for others, generosity, modesty, and self-respect are the qualities which make a real gentleman or lady, as distinguished from the veneered article which commonly goes by that name.

            The American essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882 thinks: Whoever is open, loyal, true; honorable himself, and in his judgment of others; faithful to his word as to law, and faithful alike to God and man ---such a man is true gentleman.

            The British writer Samuel Smiles (1812-1904), the famous author of Self-Help, Character and Thrift said that the qualities of a gentleman did not depend upon fashion or manners, but upon moral worth; not on personal possessions, but on personal qualities.

            To conclude, the following words of the English novelist William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-63), the author of the great novel Vanity Fair :

To be a gentleman is to be honest, to be gentle, to be generous, to be brave, to be wise, and possessing all those qualities to exercise them in the most graceful outward manner.

                                                *******

G.R.Kanwal

1st MARCH   2025