ANGER

 

                ANGER

            “Anger” is loss of temperament. It is violent, offensive, and destructive. It can seldom be constructive or creative. It loses friends and gains foes and opponents.

            Some synonyms of anger are: rage, fury, indignation, wrath, vexation, ire, outrage, fret and vexation. .

            Religions forbid outburst of anger. In Hinduism it is one of the six internal enemies and a gateway to hell; in Buddhism it is known as one of the three “unwholesome roots” or poisons that cause suffering, hinder spiritual progress, and damage not only the one who entertains anger  but also others. Islam believes that  it is a temptation from Satan (Shaytan) and controlling it is a sign of gigantic strength and piety; in Sikhism anger destroys inner peace and separates the soul from God;  in Christianity although it is considered a natural human emotion, it becomes dangerous when it leads to sinful actions, bitterness, or revenge.

            Some remedies are: when angry, breathe deeply; count 1 to 10; respond calmly not impulsively; get away from the triggering situation; take a brisk walk; listen to some soothing music; use humour that lightens the mood.

            In his book The Path To Tranquility His Holiness The Dalai Lama says: I myself still occasionally become irritated and angry and use harsh words towards others. Then, a few moments later when the anger has subsided, I feel embarrassed; the negative words are already spoken, and there is no way to take them back. Although the words have been uttered and the sound of the voice has ceased to exist, their impact still lives on. Hence, the only thing I can do is to go to the person and apologize, isn’t that right.”

            The Chinese philosopher Confucius (died 479 BC) said: When anger rises, think of the consequences.

            According to the Roman statesman, stoic philosopher and dramatist (Died 65 in Rome, Italy): Anger, if not restrained , is frequently more hurtful to us than the injury that provokes it.

            Finally, these words of Plato the Greek philosopher (5^th century BCE) : He best keeps from anger who remembers that God is always looking upon him.

                                                            *******

G.R.Kanwal

28 February 2026   

 

              

SOME HOUGHTS ON BOOKS

 

          SOME HOUGHTS ON BOOKS

          Writing about types of books, the English writer and essayist Thomas de Quincey (1785-1859) distinguishes between the “literature of knowledge” and the “ literature of power.”

          According to him the former instructs by providing facts that quickly become obsolete when new facts emerge.

          The literature of power endures for a long time. It moves emotions and invigorates human sympathy. The books produced by it are almost immortal. They allow readers to ascend to new levels through exercises of the heart and spirit.

          Thomas de Quincey was an opium eater. His biography is known as Confessions of an English Opium Eater.

          The English essayist and philosopher Francis Bacon (1561-1626) said: Some books are to be tasted; others swallowed; and some few to be chewed and digested. The last category in this quotation belongs to the literature of power.

          Here are some interesting thoughts about books:

1. Books are the legacies that genius leaves to mankind, to be delivered down from generation to generation , as presents to those that are yet unborn.---The English poet and essayist Joseph Addison (1672-1719).
2. The English priest and teacher Richard de bury (1287-1345) said: Books are masters who instruct us without rods or ferules, without words or anger, without bread or money. If you approach them, they are not asleep; if you seek them, they do not hide;  if you blunder, they do not scold; if you are ignorant, they do not laugh at you.  
3. The American clergy Talbot Wilson Chambers (1819-96) said: Books are standing counselors and preachers, always at hand, and always disinterested; having this advantage over oral instructors, that they are ready to repeat their lesson as often as we please.

          Finally, this Italian proverb: There is no worse robber than a bad book.

                                                *******

G.R.Kanwal

26 February 2026            

 

SPEAKING ABOUT PRAISE

 

          SPEAKING ABOUT PRAISE

            “Praise” is appreciation. It is recognition of some good work done by a person. God is all praiseworthy for creating such a beautiful world with infinite contents.  

            Some synonyms of praise are: commendation, approbation, applause, acclaim, approval, compliments, congratulation, eulogy, ovation, extolment, adoration, thanks, etc.

            Praise   must not be denied to those who deserve it. Be liberal while praising. Don’t be miserly. When you praise somebody, he praises you for your kind -heartedness.

            Praise for God is equivalent to worship. All prayers are full of praise for the mercies bestowed by Him. The English poet Joseph Addison (1672-1719)  says in the beginning of a poem : “ When all thy mercies, O my God, my rising soul surveys, transported with the view, I’m lost in wonder, love and praise. Unburdened comforts to my soul thy tender care bestowed, before my infant heart conceived from whom hose comforts flowed.”

            Self-praise is expressing commendation for oneself. According to a proverb it is no commendation. However, according to another view it is a healthy way of affirming our value and achievements without diminishing the worth of others.

            The English writer Sydney Smith (1771-1845) said: Among the smaller duties of life, I hardly know any one more important than that of not praising where praise is not due. Reputation is one of the prizes for which men contend: It produces more labour and more talent than twice the wealth of a country could ever rear up. It is the coin of genius , and it is the imperious duty of every man to bestow it with the most scrupulous justice and the wisest economy.

               Praise should be fulsome, not half-hearted. The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) said: Damn with faint praise.

                                                            *********

G.R.Kanwal

25 Febuary 2026

 

                                                           

 

HOLD FAST YOUR DREAMS

 

HOLD FAST YOUR DREAMS

            “Hold Fast Your Dreams” is a poem written by the American poet and librarian Louise Driscoll. She was born in 1875 and died in 1957. She is known for contributing poems and stories to Poetry magazine from 1913 to 1929. One of her poems “The Metal Checks” was awarded the highest prize in Poetry magazine’s contest in 1914.

                     There are many people including poets who do not hold dreams in high esteem. According to them dreams are products of unrealistic thinking and wastage of time. Louise Driscoll holds the opposite view. In her ideology, dreams are worth holding fast within our hearts. They should be kept in a secret spot where they may be allowed to thrive and grow without any doubt and fear. She suggests that “we should think still of lovely things that are not true, and let wish and magic work at will in us.“

                        The whole poem is inspirational. It makes the readers bold, optimistic and visionary.               

                        Here is the full text:

 Hold fast your dreams!

Within your heart

Keep one still, secret spot

Where dreams may go,

And, sheltered so,

May thrive and grow

Where doubt and fear are not.

O keep a place apart,

Within your heart,

For little dreams to go!

 

Think still of lovely things that are not true.

Let wish and magic work at will in you.

Be sometimes blind to sorrow. Make believe!

Forget the calm that lies

In disillusioned eyes.

Though we all know that we must die,

Yes you and I

May walk like gods and be

Even now at home in immortality.

 

We see so many ugly things—

Deceits and wrongs and quarrelings;

We know, alast we know

How quickly fade

The color in the west,

The bloom upon the flower,

The bloom upon the breast

And youth's blind hour.

Yet keep within your heart

A place apart

Where little dreams may go,

May thrive and grow.

Hold fast—hold fast your dreams!

                                                                        *********

G. R. Kanwal

24 February 2026

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

LET ME TELL YOU

 

LET ME TELL YOU

1.     Two wrongs do not make one right.

2.     To return good for evil is a virtue.

3.     Ill deeds are doubled with an evil word.

4.     Sorrow clarifies the mind, steadies it, and forces it to weigh things correctly.

5.     It is a rare and difficult attainment to grow old gracefully and happily.

6.     Greed is a curse.

7.     Never judge a work of art by its defects.

8.     The best part of beauty is that which no picture can express.

9.     The fewer the words, the better the prayer.

10.                        Be charitable and indulgent to everyone but thyself.

11.                        While you live, keep a good tongue in your  head.

12.                         The foundation of true joy is in the conscience.

13.                        Without consistency there is no moral strength.

14.                        Want of desire is the greatest riches.

15.                         A rich dress adds but little to the beauty of a person.

16.                        Beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

17.                        Thought is deeper than all speech; feeling  deeper than all thought .

18.                         Habits are good servants but bad masters.

19.                        Ideas control the world.

20.                        A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.                                         

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G.R.Kanwal

22^nd February 2026

 

CARDINAL VIRTUES AND DEADLY SINS

 

          CARDINAL VIRTUES AND DEADLY SINS

            Virtue is defined as uprightness, goodness, morality, chastity, rectitude, merit , efficacy, excellence , and integrity. A virtuous person is good, morally sound, righteous, honest, blameless, and exemplary.

             Religiously there are seven cardinal virtues. They are: prudence, justice, fortitude. temperance, faith, hope, and charity.              

            In another version, humility, charity, chastity, kindness, patience , temperance and diligence are seven heavenly virtues.

            According to a famous quote every virtue gives a man a degree of advantage in some kind; honesty gives a man a good report; justice, estimation; prudence, respect; courtesy and liberality, affection; temperance gives health; fortitude, a quiet mind, not to be moved by any adversity.

            The English divine Sydney Smith (1771-1845) said: Virtue is so delightful, whenever it is perceived that men have found it their interest to cultivate manners, which are, in fact, the appearances of certain virtues, and now we are come to love the sign better than the thing signified , and to prefer manners with virtue, to virtue without manners.

            The French mathematician and physicist Pascal  (1623-1662) insisted  that the virtue of a man ought to be measured not by his extraordinary exertions, but by his everyday conduct.

            The antonyms of cardinal  virtues are seven  deadly sins. They are: Pride, greed, lust, envy, gluttony, wrath, and sloth.

            Pride stands for vanity and arrogance; greed for avarice and covetousness; lust for intense desire; envy for jealousy; gluttony for excessive consumption; wrath for anger and rage; and sloth for laziness and spiritual apathy.

            To conclude : The Roman poet Juvenal (Born 55 . in Aquino, Italy) believed that bad men hate sin through fear of punishment; good men hate sin through their love of virtue.

                                                ********

·        G.R.Kaanwal

·        21 February 2026

 

A MISCELLANY OF THOUGHTS

 

A MISCELLANY OF THOUGHTS

1.     Miscellany here means a mixture of various thoughts on various subjects.

2.     In the end, thought rules the world. There may however be times when impulses and passions are more powerful.

3.     Thought means life, since those who do not think do not live in any high or real sense.

4.     Thought is deeper than speech; feeling deeper than thought.

5.     It is a miserable thing to live in suspense: it is the life of a spider.---Irish writer and essayist Jonathan Swift (1667-1745).

6.     Sins are like circles in the water when a stone is thrown into it; one produces another.

7.     Riches are not an end of life, but an instrument of life.

8.     Blessings ever wait on virtuous deeds.

9.      Books and proverbs receive their chief value from the stamp and esteem of ages through which they have passed.

10.                         The wisdom of nations lies in their proverbs, which are brief and pithy.

11.                        Justice without power is inefficient; power without justice is tyranny.

12.                        Patience and time do more than strength or passion.

13.                        There is no virtue like necessity. ----English poet and playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

14.                        Modesty and humility are the sobriety of the mind.

15.                        To love is to place our happiness in the happiness of another.

16.                        Law is the embodiment of the moral sentiment of the people.

17.                         Jealousy sees things always with magnifying glasses which make little things large, of dwarfs giants, of suspicions truth. ---(Spanish writer Miguel de Cervantes 1547-1616)

18.                        Sorrow’s best antidote is employment.

19.                        Fashion is the science of appearances, and it inspires one with the desire to seem rather than to be.

20.                        It is not so hard to earn money, as to spend it well.

                                    *********

G.R.Kanwal

20 February 2026

 

SOME THOUGHTS ON DREAMS

 

                                SOME THOUGHTS ON DREAMS

            Dreams are defined as involuntary successions of images, emotions, and sensations which occur during sleep.

            They are also called nightmares, visions, fantasies, and hallucinations. They are also desires, expectations, wishes, longings, hopes, yearnings, reveries , castles in the air and states of unreality.

             It is not undesirable to dream.

            Dreamers are visionaries, idealists, theorizers, and romancers.

            What are dreams today can be realities tomorrow. They are fore-runners of future events. They please all sorts of thinkers because they fill their mind with hopes and inspire them to work for a better future.

            Day-dreamers are different from all-time dreamers. They indulge in idle, pleasant or absentminded fantasies. However, they are also described as creative.

            According to the American divine Frederick Henry Hedge (1805-90)  Dreaming is an act of pure imagination, attesting in all men a creative power, which, if it were available in waking, would make every man a Dante (Italian poet and writer(1265-1321)or a Shakespeare (British poet-playwright 1564-1616).

            Shakespeare said: Let not our babbling dreams affright our souls.

In Act 2, Sc.2 of his play Hamlet he said : Dreams indeed are ambition, for the very substance of the ambitious is merely the shadow of a dream. In another play, Romeo and Juliet, Act 5, Sc.1. he said: If I may trust the flattering truth of sleep, my dreams presage some joyful news at hand.

            To conclude, here are some famous quotes on dreams:

*Dare to dream big, then do something about it.

*At least once a day, allow yourself the freedom to dream.

*Don’t make your dreams smaller to fit into your current reality.

*Everything starts with a dream.

*Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.

                                                *******      

G.R.Kanwal

19 February 2026

 

 

 

 

 

THE MODERN MAN

 

THE MODERN MAN

The modern man does not want to walk; he does not want to run. He wants to drive; he wants to fly.

He wants his country to have broadest and longest roads; fastest trains; biggest airports.

He does not want simple homes; his craving is now for the tallest buildings.

The offices in his country should be most beautiful and ultra modern.

He prefers machines to men even for household work.

He is making all possible efforts to depend upon artificial intelligence for all the mathematical, mechanical, logical, psychological, medical,  and other activities which form the curriculum  of his worldly life.

He now prefers deadliest weapons to peaceful negotiations for solving inter-national disputes.

Walk and water are no longer his choice for a healthy life.

            The English poet Ben Jonson (1572-1637) says in a poem titled The Perfect Life that perfection does not consist in bulk. The highest beauty in nature is not seen in the tall oak tree, standing for three hundred years, but in a lily which blooms and dies in a day.   

             The Indian colonial nationalist and political thinker Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (1869-1948) popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi preached for non-violence as also for simple living and high thinking.

            Here is the full text of Ben Jonson’s poem The Perfect Life:

            “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

18 February 2026.

SOME SAYINGS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD

 

 

 

          SOME SAYINGS OF PROPHET MUHAMMAD  

1.Actions will be judged according to intentions.

2. No man is a true believer unless he desires for his brother that which he desires for himself.

3. He dies not who gives life to learning.

4. Those who earn an honest living are the beloved of God.

5.  Humility and courtesy are acts of piety.

6.  The Garden of Bliss is meant for those who have a true, pure and merciful heart.

7.  A true person is one who is true in word, in action , and in thought,

8.  Feed the hungry, help the afflicted, lighten the sorrow of the sorrowful, and remove the wrongs of the injured.

9.  Learn to know yourself.

10. Prayers lighten the heart.

11. Kill not your hearts with excess of eating and drinking.

12. Do not speak ill of the dead.

13. Seek knowledge from the cradle to the grave.

14. God’s kindness towards His creatures is more than a mother’s towards her babe.

15. Do a good deed after every bad deed so that it may blot out the latter.

16. Forgive your servants seventy times a day.

17. It is not worthy of a speaker of truth to curse people.

18. Avoid telling lies.

19. Say what is true, although it may be bitter and displeasing to listeners.

20. God is not merciful to him who is not so to mankind.

                                                **********

G.R.Kanwal

17^th February 2026

 

UNFORGETTABLE LINES

 

                UNFORGETTABLE LINES           

Some written or spoken lines are unforgettable. They make our expression weighty and more meaningful. Here are some of them.

1. A bird in hand is worth two in the bush.
2. Love begets love.
3. Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds.
4. The early bird catches the worm.
5.  Practice makes perfect.
6. Actions speak louder than words.
7. Better late than never.
8.  Late is better than not at all.
9. Fall seven times, stand up eight. (Japanese Proverb).
10.  Turn your face to the sun and the shadows will fall behind you.
11.  A stitch in time saves nine.
12.  What you do is more important than what you say.
13.  Not gold,  but only men can make a people great and strong.
14.  In short proportions we just beauties see and in short measures life may perfect be.
15.  God doth need either man’s work or His own gifts: Who best bear His mild yoke, they serve Him best.
16.  They also serve who only stad and wait.
17.  Remember, no men are strange, no countries foreign, beneath all uniforms, a single body breathes like this; the land our brothers walk upon is earth like this, in which we all shall lie.
18.  Obstinate are the trammels, but my heart aches when I try to break them.(Indian poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore in Gitanjali : Song Offerings).
19.  The superman believes nore readily in Destiny, feels more vitally conscious of God than the average human mind.(Sri Aurobindo – Indian Yogi 1872-1950).
20.  Learn to listen to your body. It has its own language.

                                    **********

G. R. Kanwal

16 Feb 2026

 

 

 

 

ASPIRATIONS OF YOUTH

 

          ASPIRATIONS OF YOUTH  

            ‘Youth’ is a nation’s strength and stamina. It is its physical and mental might to make all sorts of big achievements, discoveries and inventions, conquests and advancements. By contrast, middle-aged and old persons are not so capable. They cannot keep pace with them or surpass them in making bold and brave achievements.

            Given below is a poem titled ‘Aspirations Of Youth’.  It was written by James Montgomery, a Scottish-born hymn writer, poet and editor . His life period was (4 November 1771-30 April 1854). He eventually settled in Sheffield, United Kingdom.

            James Montgomery is better known for writing more than 400 hymns many of which are still sung.  Here is the full text of the aforesaid poem:

 “Higher, higher will we climb

Up the mount of glory,

That our names may live through time

In our country’s story;

Happy, when her welfare calls,

He who conquers, he who falls.

 

Deeper, deeper let us toil

In the mines of knowledge;

Nature’s wealth and Learning’s spoil

Win from school and college;

Delve we there for richer gems

Than the stars of diadems.

 

Onward, onward may we press

Through the path of duty;

Virtue is true happiness,

Excellence true beauty.

Minds are celestial birth,

Make we then a heaven of earth.

 

Closer, closer let us knit

Hearts and hands together,

Where ourfire-side- comforts sit

In the wildest weather;---

O, they wander wide who roam

For the joys of life from home?

                                                            *****

G. R. Kanwal

15^th March 2026

A LETTER TO SON’S TEACHER

 

A  LETTER TO  SON’S TEACHER

            This is a condensed heading of Abraham Lincoln’s  Letter to His Son’s Teacher.

            Abraham Lincoln (1809-1865)  was the 16th  President of the United States from 1861 until his death by assassination in 1865. He became famous for  leading his country through the Civil War, preserving the union, and abolishing slavery. He is also known all over world for his faith in democracy and providing its exact definition as“ a government of the people, by the people, for the people.”

            It is rare for great men like Abraham Lincoln to take a deep interest in their son’s education and tell their teacher through a letter how to deal with the innocent child to make him a perfect gentleman.

            Whereas Lincoln is famous for several quotes like :”A house divided against itself cannot stand”, the contents of his letter to the son’s teacher have eternal guidelines for educationists at the elementary stage.

            Given below is the full text of the letter:-   

    My son starts school today. It is all going to be strange and new to him for a while and I wish you would treat him gently. It is an adventure that might take him across continents. All adventures that probably include wars, tragedy and sorrow. To live this life will require faith, love and courage.

 

So dear Teacher, will you please take him by his hand and teach him things he will have to know, teaching him – but gently, if you can.

 

Teach him that for every enemy, there is a friend. He will have to know that all men are not just, that all men are not true. But teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero, that for every crooked politician, there is a dedicated leader.

 

Teach him if you can that 10 cents earned is of far more value than a dollar found. In school, teacher, it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat.

 

Teach him to learn how to gracefully lose, and enjoy winning when he does win.

 

Teach him to be gentle with people, tough with tough people.

 

Steer him away from envy if you can and teach him the secret of quiet laughter.

 

Teach him if you can – how to laugh when he is sad, teach him there is no shame in tears. Teach him there can be glory in failure and despair in success. Teach him to scoff at cynics.

 

Teach him if you can the wonders of books, but also give time to ponder the extreme mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hill.

 

Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tells him they are wrong.

 

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone else is doing it.

 

Teach him to listen to every one, but teach him also to filter all that he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

 

Teach him to sell his talents and brains to the highest bidder but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul.

 

Let him have the courage to be impatient, let him have the patient to be brave. Teach him to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind, in God.

 

This is the order, teacher but see what best you can do. He is such a nice little boy and he is my son.

 

                                                            *******

G.R.Kanwal

11 February 2026