DEVELOPMENT

 

DEVELOPMENT  

            Development  means growth, evolution, expansion, progress, headway, magnification, enlargement, elaboration,  un-folding, etc.

 

            History tells us that development is a continuous process. It started with the creation of the world and will continue till the end of the world.

 

            There is no definite proof about the time when the world was born; nor can there be any  prediction as to when the world cease to exist.

 

            One thing however seems to be certain. The evolution of the world  started as soon as the world came into existence and is still on.

 

            It is also true that many civilizations rose and fell.  They disappeared after attaining vast development. It was, one can believe, according to the laws of nature which are still in operation.

 

            As for modern times, there has been very fast and amazing developments since the industrial revolution. Not very long back, there were no modern telephones, mobiles, trains, aeroplanes,  automatic arms, nuclear weapons, underground metros, computers, internets, radios, televisions, etc.

 

            Now, not a day passes when something new or novel version of old things does not see the light of the day. Artificial intelligence is the latest example in the world of computers.

 

            To put it briefly, there is nothing permanent in the world. The English poet  Lord Alfred Tennyson (1809-1892) said in a poem:

 

            The old order changeth, yielding place to the new, and God fulfills Himself in many ways, lest one good custom should corrupt the world.

 

            In another poem on the eve of the new year he says:

 

Ring out the old, ring in the new,

Ring happy bells across the snow:

The year is going, let him go:

Ring out the false, ring in the true.

 

            Continuous development means : ceaseless change, innovation, replacement, reconstruction, realization of the unrealized potential, replacement of wrong beliefs by the true laws of nature, etc.

 

            To conclude, final development is impossible till the end of this evolutionary world.

                                                                        *********

G.R.Kanwal

29 September 2025

SOME FACTS ABOUT MAN

 

          SOME FACTS ABOUT MAN

            The two shortest definitions of man are: An adult male human being,  and a human being of either sex. Its two common synonyms are person,  and individual.

            To describe all the qualities of man, one has to refer to all the books and other writings which have been created so far. They also have to be combined with oral literature of every kind.

            To cut short, here are a few quotes from various sources.

1.Man is an animal that cooks his victuals. 2. There are but three classes of men, the retrograde, the stationary, and the progressive. 3. Man is an animal; but he is an animal plus something else. He is a mythic earth-tree, whose roots are in the ground, but whose top-most branches may blossom in the heavens. 4. The way of a superior man is three-fold; virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold,  he is free from fear. 5. One cannot always be a hero, but one can always be a man. 6. Every man is a volume, if you know how to read him. 5. The test of every religious, political, or educational system is the man which it forms. 6. They that deny a  God, destroy man’s nobility, for man is of kin to the beasts of his body, and if he is not of kin to God by his spirit he is an ignoble creature. ----The English essayist and philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626). 7. Half dust, half deity, alike unfit to sink or soar. ---The English poet Lord Byron (1788-1824). 8. What a chimera is man! what a confused chaos! what a subject of contradiction! a professed judge of all things, and yet a feeble worm of the earth ! the great depository and guardian of truth, and yet a mere huddle of uncertainty ! the glory and the scandal of the universe!—French Mathematician and philosopher Blaise Pascal  (623-62). 9.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. 10. This quote from An Essay on Man: Epistle II, written by the English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744):

Know then thyself, presume not God to scan;

The proper study of mankind is man.            

Plac’d on this isthmus of a middle state,

A being darkly wise, and rudely great:

With too much knowledge for the sceptic side,

With too much weakness for the stoic’s pride,

He hangs between; in doubt to act, or rest;

In doubt to deem himself a god, or beast;

In doubt his mind or body to prefer;

Born but to die, and reasoning but to err;

Whether he thinks too little, or too much:

Chaos of thought and passion, all confused;

Still by himself abused, or disabused;

Created half to rise, and half to fall;

Great lord of truth, yet a prey to all;

Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurled:

The glory, jest, and riddle of the world!

                                                                        ********

G.R.Kanwal

28 September 2025  

A LOVE POEM

 

                A LOVE POEM

            Love is life and life is love. Nobody can survive in this world without some sort of love. The best thing is not only to love a living being, a relative, a mistress, a  friend, a companion, a partner, a pet but also the whole existence of this world.

            Love is the food of the heart, the mind ant the soul. Lovelessness is starvation.

            There are people who love not only the earth but also the sky with its sun, moon and stars.

            Love is light. There are lovers who see everything with the eyes of their beloved.

             Your lady love is not confined only to the appetites of your heart. She  is the breath of your total self.

            A lover whose love is partial or limited or short-lived is not a lover worth the name. He is more a stranger than an intimate alter ego.  

            The English poet William Shakespeare (1564-1616) said:

Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds. He also said it is not time’s fool. On the contrary it is an eternal affair which continues even beyond death.  

            It is surprising that almost all persons in whatever field of life they may be temporarily or permanently engaged claim t be whole-hearted lovers. Their claim is more false than true. Faithful lovers in this selfish world are few and far between. That is why we find many poets whose poems talk about the dearth of perfect love.

            Given below is a beautiful love poem entitled The Garland. Despite some efforts, I could not find the name of the poet. The full text reads as:

“Here is a garland; I made it for you.

Lean, Love, to my circle of fragrance and dew.

 

I mingled the flowers with my secret dreams,

Wove the leaves with a wistful heart,

Laced the stems with magical schemes,

And fastened the chain with sorceress’ art.

I twined it in wishes , foolish and wise;

The wreath by my passionate hopes is blessed.

Each cool petal my longing eyes

Have dewily kissed and glance-caressed.

 

Here, then, is my garland created for you.

More than a token of glory or wealth,

I wove it for you. Love, out of myself.

 

                                                ********

G. R. Kanwal

27 September 2025  

 

 

              

SOME THOUGHTS FOR NOBLE LIFE

 

SOME THOUGHTS FOR NOBLE LIFE

            Noble life is virtuous. It has no vicious traits. It follows divine laws.  It is morally sound, spiritualistic, selfless , generous, charitable, philanthropic, socialistic, and lover of humanity as a whole.

             A noble person does knows that:

*Actions are judged according to their motives.

*Adherence to divine qualities is obligatory.

* Honest living is not optional but mandatory.

*It is necessary earn his living by the sweat of his brow.

*Concealed charity is more acceptable to God than the open one.

*Humility and courtesy are acts of piety.

*A true, pure and merciful heart wins God’s blessings.

*It is essential to be true in word, deed and thought.

*Purity of speech is an essential quality.  

*Over-eating, over-sleeping and over-talking are undesirable.

*It is sinful to speak ill of dead persons.

*Life-long thirst for knowledge is important.  

*God-given poverty is not ignoble.

*Opponents should be admonished with kindness.

*Modesty is praiseworthy.

*Only righteous persons  are nobly remembered.

*Innocence is the first title of nobility.  

*Nobility must be self-earned, not hereditary.

                                    ********

G.R.Kanwal

25 September 2025  

 

 

 

 

 

NO MEN ARE FOREIGN

 

             

NO MEN ARE FOREIGN       

          It is painful to see that the people of the world do not meet as one family and as the children of the one heavenly father. They live in separate lands, follow different faiths, speak different languages, and have different manners and styles in a number of life’s activities. But their bodies have the same universal structure. They are subject to almost the same diseases and the medicines which are used to treat them are identical in the whole world.  They walk upon the same earth which God created and their sky, the sun, the moon, the stars, the seasons, the span of life and the law of mortality are absolutely similar to those which are meant for all the nations of the world. In a Shakespearian play The Merchant of Venice, Shylock who is a Jew asks his Christian listeners:

 

          “Hath not a Jew eyes? Hath not a Jew hands, organs, dimensions, senses, affections, passions? Fed with the same food, hurt with the same weapons, subject to the same diseases, heated by the same means, warmed and cooled by the same winter and summer, as a Christian is? If you prick us, do we not bleed?

         

          Given below are some lines from the poem No Men Are Foreign written by the  English poet and translator James Kirkup (1918-2009):

 

          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.

They, too, aware of sun and air water,

Are led by peaceful harvests, by war’s long winter starv’d.

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

By love……………………………………………….

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.       

                                      ********

G.R.Kanwal

24 September 2025

 

 

                     

 

 

WHAT SHOULD EDUCATION DO?

 

WHAT SHOULD EDUCATION DO?

            To put it in a few words  - education should make each individual an ideal citizen of the world. There should be no imperfection, no-narrow-mindedness, no alienation, no enmity, no inclination towards conquest of land and people, no desire to become imperialists, no unfair attempt to claim superiority, no greed for more wealth and material advancement, no trust in superior weapons to defeat others, no love for being masters rather than colleagues, no attempt to treat people of other countries as strangers, and finally no assertion that might is right, and only your truth is the best truth.    

            Some good quotes on education say:

            *The great end of education is, to discipline rather than to furnish the mind ; to train it to the use of its own powers, rather than fill it with the accumulations of others. ---Tryon Edwards, American theologian (1809-94).

      *Education does not mean teaching people to know what they do not know; it means teaching them to behave as they do not behave.—John Ruskin, English critic, essayist and social reformer (1819-1900)

      *Knowledge does not comprise all which is contained in large term of education. The feelings are to be disciplined; the passions are to be restrained;  true and worthy motives are to be inspired; a profound religious feeling is to be instilled, and pure morality inculcated under all  circumstances . All this is comprised in education. --- Daniel Webster, American orator and statesman (1782-1852).

      Finally, these words of Albert Einstein, a German-born theoretical physicist, (1879-1955) best known for his theory of relativity:

      It is not enough to teach man a specialty. Through it he may become a kind of useful machine but not a harmoniously developed personality. It is essential that the student acquire an understanding of and a lively feeling of values. He must acquire a vivid sense of the beautiful and of the morally good. Otherwise he ---with his specialized knowledge ---more closely resembles a well-trained dog than a harmoniously developed person. He must learn to understand the motives of human beings, their illusions, and their sufferings in order to acquie a proper relationship to individual fellow-men and to the community.

                                                      *******

G.R.Kanwal

23 September 2025  

  

A BUNCH OF VALUABLE THOUGHTS

 

A BUNCH OF VALUABLE  THOUGHTS           

  

1.He  that sleeps feels not the tooth ache.

2. He that dies pays all debts.

3. Youth changes its tastes by the warmth of its blood; age retains its tastes by habit.

4. You will find poetry nowhere unless you bring some with you.

5. The best teachers of humanity are the lives of great men.

6. Whoever blushes seems to be good.

7. Except a living man there is nothing more wonderful than a book!

8. A torn jacket is soon mended, but hard words bruise the heart of a child.

9. If you would know and not be known live in a city.

10. The dew of compassion is a tear.

11. The secret of success is constancy of purpose.

12. Want of desire is the greatest riches.

13. Custom is the law of fools.

14. Poverty is hard, but debt is horrible.

15. The acts of this life are the destiny of the next.

16. Taking medicine is often only making a new disease to cure the old one.

17. To choose time is to save time.

18. Education begins with life.

19. Occupation is one great source of enjoyment.

20. Envy always implies conscious inferiority wherever it resides.

21. The eye is the pulse of the soul.

22.  A beautiful face is a silent commendation.

23. None but cowards lie.

24. Man is a poetical animal and delights in fiction.

25. Glory, built on selfish principles, is shame and guilt.  

                                                                ********

G. R. Kanwal                      

22 September 2025.

 

 

SPEAK GENTLY

 

 

                                                SPEAK GENTLY     

          Speak gently to everybody; as parents to children, as teachers to students, as bosses to subordinates; as colleagues to co-workers, as masters to servants, as hosts to guests, as leaders to followers; as citizens to other citizens, as natives to foreigners, as men of property to those who are poor, as employers to employees, and as locals to strangers, etc.     

             In all situations, prefer request to command. Use the sweet words like please and thank you. Remain patient and tolerant in provocative situations. Keep your anger under control.  Part as friends, never as foes. Believe that today’s enemies can be tomorrow’s friends. Return blessings for curses. Don’t threaten as a speaker; rather appreciate your listener’s difference of opinions. Humility, not arrogance, makes you a powerful speaker.  Be affectionate, not hostile, in your voice and vocabulary.  

 

            The English poet laureate Robert Southey (1774-1843) said: There are three things that ought to be considered before some things are spoken. ---the manner,  the place, and the time.

 

            The Chinese philosopher Kong Qiu Confucius (died 479 BC) said: A superior man is modest in his speech, but exceeds in his actions.

           

            To conclude, here is an anonymous poem. Its title is “Speak Gently”.

 

Speak gently; it is better far

To rule by love than fear.

Speak gently ‘ let no harsh word mar

The good we may do here.   

 

Speak gently to the little child;

Its love be sure to gain;

Teach it in accents soft and mild,

It may not long remain.

 

 

Speak gently to the aged one;

Grieve not the care-worn heart,

Whose sands of life are nearly run;

Let such in peace depart.  

 

Speak gently; ‘tis a little thing

Dropped in the heart’s deep well;

The good, the joy that it may bring

Eternity shall tell.

                                                            ********

G.R.Kanwal

21 September 2025                                 

SOME VIEWS ON HAPPINESS

 

                SOME VIEWS ON HAPPINESS

            “Happiness” is defined as a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy.

            Lord Buddha (born around 563 BCE) suggested the following Eight-fold Path (Path to the end of suffering) and attainment of happiness. It consists of: Right Views, Aspiration, Speech, Action, Effort, Mindfulness and Concentration.       

            Christianity believes that the seven deadly sins which cause unhappiness are: pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, and sloth. One should abstain from them.

 

            Normally, an average man is happy if he is maintaining good health; his wants are being satisfied and his legitimate desires are being fulfilled.

 

            Some common synonyms of happiness are: cheerfulness, gladness, care-freeness, and delight.

            The English poet S. T. Coleridge (1772-1834) said: Happiness can be built only on virtue, and must of necessity have truth for its foundation.

 

              According to some thinkers : Happiness consists in being perfectly satisfied with what we have got and with what we have not got.

 

            Here is another view : It is not how much we have, but how much  we enjoy, that makes happiness.

 

            The Roman saint Augustine (died 604) said: Happiness consists in the attainment of our desires, and in our having only right desires.

 

            To conclude, here is a short anonymous poem:

 

Just to be tender, just to be true ;

Just to be glad the whole day through :

Just to be merciful, just to be mild :

Just to be trustful as a child :

Just to be gentle and kind and sweet :

Just to be helpful with willing feet :

Just to be cheery when things go wrong :

Just to drive sadness away with a song :

Whether the hour is dark or bright,

Just to be loyal to God and right !

 

                                                *******

G.R.Kanwal

20^th September 2025

 

 

MIGHT IS RIGHT

 

MIGHT IS RIGHT

            Might is right is a proverb. But it is not morally just and fair. As an aphorism it asserts that those who hold power enjoy the liberty to decide what is wrong and what is right. In such a situation, morality and truth become insignificant.  

            In olden days, not only rulers but also parents and teachers, friends and colleagues used this proverb in their favour even when they were not ethically entitled to do so.

            “Might” has a number of synonyms like: force, power, strength, vigour,                                                                                                                                                           potency, capability, capacity, authority and resourcefulness.

            The implications of the proverb might is right are: strength prevails, dominance rules,  power dictates, authority is just, and resourcefulness is more successful.   

            A society where might is right morality is easily subdued. There is no fear of God. Due punishment can be made impossible. Foul can be treated as fair, and fair can be treated as foul.

               Look at the phrase: Money makes the mare grow. Likewise, money power is stronger than any kind of moral power.

               In reality, all human beings are born equally mighty. It is other factors which make them weak or strong. A wealthy person is stronger than a poor person even when the latter is more righteous, more truthful, more just and fair.

               Some nations are  just stronger than others on the basis of having not only a larger number of weapons but also the more destructive ones.

               Look at this famous quote: Sagacious spirits doubt all things, and hold fast only to that which is demonstrably true. Human rights and wrongs are not determined by Justice, but by Might. Disguise it as you may, the naked sword is still king-maker and king-breaker, as of yore. All other theories are lies and lures.

             Finally, we often see that wrong majority defeats the right minority because the proverb might is right prevails.      

                                                            *******

G.R.Kanwal

19 September 2025

 

 

HOW TO DEAL WITH YOUR ENEMY?

 

                                HOW TO DEAL WITH YOUR ENEMY?

            An enemy is a person who hates you, acts against you, and harms you in one way or the other. He is jealous or has some grudge against you. Most of the enemies keep away and do not attack you physically but they do stand in the way of your progress and prosperity. They speak against you whenever they safely can. They also curse you and pray to God that some misfortune should befall you.

            Some synonyms of the word enemy are: foe, opponent, adversary, antagonist, rival and contestant.

            It is better not to have enemies but in this world of rivalries it is impossible to have all friends and no enemy.

            A strange phenomenon is that a friend today may become an enemy tomorrow. Likewise, an enemy handled wisely and gracefully may become a friend.

            Love makes friends;  hatred , enemies. Revenge also promotes enmity; whereas forgiveness terminates it or dilutes it considerably.    

            Our enemies or opponents are not always wrong. Their hostility is based on some solid cause. If we diagnose them, and remove them, they may give up their antagonism.

            The French author Francois de La Rochefoucauld (1613-1680) said: Our enemies come nearer the truth in the opinions they form of us than we do in our opinion of ourselves.

            It is also rightly said that if you want enemies, excel others; if friends, let others excel you.

            Here are some useful quotes on dealing with enemies:  (1). Control your reactions by staying calm and professional, and disengage by avoiding or minimizing contact with them. (2). If you know why they hate you, be mature and apologize if it was your fault. (3). Show them respect as you show to your friends; when they need help, help them. (4). Love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to get anything back.

            Finally, what the English poet-playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) said: Heat not a furnace for your foe so hot that it may singe yourself.

                                                ******

G.R.Kanwal

18 September 2025

 

 

  

BENEFITS OF REPENTANCE

 

BENEFITS OF REPENTANCE

            To repent is to express sincere regret for one’ wrong-doing.

            A repentant person blames himself not others for his aberrations. He realizes that he has violated some rule which was punishable and promises not to repeat it.  He seeks forgiveness as a regretful person.  

            The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744)  said: To err is human; to forgive, divine.

            According another famous quote: True repentance is a deep, heartfelt conviction of wrongdoing that involves a change of mind and heart, leading to a fundamental transformation of one’ life and action. It entails sorrow for sin, takes responsibility for one’s actions, a hatred for a sin,  and a commitment to turn away from sinful behaviour towards a God-honouring or righteous way of life.

            To deny forgiveness to a truly remorseful person and to think of  revengeful action is not an admirable choice. The Roman poet Juvenal (born around AD 55) said: Revenge is the abject pleasure of an abject mind.

            The American lawyer and politician James  Murray Mason (1708-1871)said : A spirit of revenge is the very spirit of the devil; than which nothing makes a man more like him, and nothing can be more opposite to the temper Christianity was designed to promote. If your revenge is not satisfied , it will give you torment now; if it be, it will give you greater hereafter, None is a greater self-tormentor than a malicious and revengeful man, who turns the poison of his own temper in upon himself.

            We should agree with the English divine Robert South (1634-1716) who said: Repentance hath a purifying power, and every tear is of a cleansing virtue; but these potential clouds must be still kept reappearing; one shower will not suffice; for repentance is not one single action, but a course.

                                                            *******

G.R.Kanwal

17 September 2025                     

A MEMORABLE POEM

 

A MEMORABLE POEM               

            Poetry not only gratifies our feelings and emotions but also makes memorable additions to our thoughts. Some poems delight and enrich our souls.  They bring us nearer to God. Their purpose is to relieve us from cheap enjoyments and provide instead a strong belief in sublime spiritual values.

 

            We forget insignificant poems because they are for short-lived enjoyments. But we eternally store in our memory those which continue to purify our minds and ceaselessly attempt to make us wiser than ever before.   

 

            The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) said: Truth shines the brighter clad in verse. And another poet S.T. Coleridge (1772-1834) said: Poetry has been to me its own exceeding great reward: it has given me the habit of wishing to discover the good and beautiful in all that meets and surrounds me.

 

            Finally, given below is an unforgettable  poem which I first read about sixty years ago. Its title is Abou Ben Adhem written by the English poet Leigh Hunt (1784-1859).  

 

“Abou Ben Adhem (may his tribe increase)

Awoke one night from a deep dream of peace

And saw within the moonlight in his room,

Making it rich, and like a lily in bloom,

An angel writing in a book of gold;

Exceeding peace and had made Ben Adhem bold.

 

And to the Presence in the room he said,

“What writest thou?” The vision raised its head,

And with a look made of all sweet accord

Answered, “The names of those who love the Lord.”

 

“And is mine one? Said Abou, “Nay, not so,”

Replied the Angel.  Abou spoke more low,

But cheerly still, and said, “I pray thee then,

Write me as one that loves his fellowmen.”

 

The Angel wrote and vanished. The next night

It came again with a great wakening light,

And showed the names whom love of God had blessed,

And  lo !  Ben Adhem’s name led all the rest.

                                                            *****

G.R.Kanwal

16 September 2025

 

 

LOVE YOUR COUNTRY

 

          LOVE YOUR COUNTRY

            “Love your country” however less wealthy, less modern, less progressive, less developed, less beautiful, and less rewarding  than other countries it may be.

            Your health and happiness depend upon love, not on the luxuries which are becoming available in several advanced countries. Your simple and contented mother is more affectionate and self-sacrificing than those whom you may  meet in other countries .

 

            The sun, the moon, the seas, the hills, the valleys, the gardens and forests, the roads and streets of your own country are more satisfactory for your emotions  than those you may find in other countries.

 

            Learn, play, sing, dance, walk, work, form friendships, relationships, visit places of worship and do social service in your own country.

 

            Always remain a native; never  become a foreigner.

            Luxuries are superfluous. Necessaries are indispensible. And necessaries like food and other articles are adequately available in your own country.     

            Specific countries have specific comforts. Don’t abandon your homeland for foreign pleasures.

            Remember, that walking is better than sitting in a moving car. The former is exercise; the latter is sickening sedentariness.  

 

            Love for one’s own motherland is known as patriotism. The United States lawyer and former Secretary of State Daniel Webster (1782-1852) said: Let our 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 and peace, and of liberty, upon which the world may gaze with admiration forever.

 

            The English poet-playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) declared: Had I a dozen sons, ---each in my love alike,---I had rather have eleven die nobly for their country, than one voluptuously surfeit out of action.

            Finally, the following words of the Greek philosopher Plato (born in Athens around 426/427 BCE and died in 348/347 BCE) :

 

            “There can be no affinity nearer than our country.”

                                                            ********

G.R.Kanwal

15 September 2025