THE
BODY AND THE SOUL
Lord Krishna, born about 3,000 years ago, said in the Gita,
the sacred book of the Hindus, the bodies are known to have an end, the dweller
in the body is the soul which is eternal, imperishable, infinite.
The Greek philosopher Socrates (died
Feb 399 BC) said: All men’s souls are immortal, but the souls of the righteous
are both immortal and divine.
The English essayist, poet,
playwright and politician Joseph Addison (1672-1719) believed that it is the divinity that stirs
within us; it is heaven itself that points out an hereafter and intimates
eternity to man.
The American geologist James Dwight
Dana (1813-95) said: A voice within us speaks that startling word, “Man thou
shalt never die! Celestial voices hymn to our souls; according harps by angel
fingers touched, do sound forth still the song of great immortality.
Immortality is the spiritual desire
of man. He does not want to die even when he is not happy in this world of
worries and cares. He loves his
existence and prays for his endless survival. The idea that his physical death
will not be his total extermination appeals to him. He is assured by a number
of saints, seers and spiritual
philosophers that he is immortal.
To conclude, here is a holy sonnet
by the English metaphysical poet John Donne (1573-1631).
Death
Be Not Proud
Death be not proud, though some have
called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not
so;
For those whom thou think’st thou
dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death; nor yet canst thou
kill me.
From Rest and Sleep, which but thy
picture be,
Much pleasure; then from thee much
more must flow;
And soonest our best men with thee do
go ---
Rest of their bones and souls’
delivery!
Thou ‘rt slave to Fate, chance,
kings, and desperate men,
And dost with poison, war, and
sickness dwell;
And poppy or charms can make us sleep
as well
And better than thy stroke. Why swell’st
thou then?
One short sleep past, we wake
eternally,
And Death shall be no more; Death,
thou shalt die!
*******
Poppy means : opium. Swellest, that
is, with pride.
__________
G.R.Kanwal
12 March 2025
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