DON’T BE AN EGOTIST

 

DON’T BE AN EGOTIST

Ego is one’s self. It also means self-love, self-confidence, self-esteem and self- importance. 

To love oneself is good rather desirable provided  it does not lead to  selfishness, vanity or arrogance.

An egoist loses appreciation when he/she  becomes a self-seeker.

Egoists are better than egotists who are egocentric, vain, boasters, and braggers.

According to Swiss Physicist Johann Georg  Zimmerman (1728-95}  egotism is more like an offence than a crime, though it is allowable to speak of yourself provided nothing is advanced in your own favour;  but I cannot help suspecting that those who abuse themselves are in reality, angling for approbation. 

            To conclude, it is true  to say that an egotist will always speak of himself, either in praise or censure; but a modest man ever shuns making himself the subject of his conversation.

            It is also true that an egotist considers himself or herself to be better or more important than others.   

G.R.Kanwal

21^st April 2024

TRUTH ABOUT PREDICTIONS

 

                TRUTH ABOUT PREDICTIONS

To predict is to foretell what will happen in future. It may be based on astrology or science or any other method of prophesying.

Among present, past and future times only present is in hand. Past is gone and future is uncertain.

The proverb: Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can do today is significant.

As for predictability, science is more reliable than astrology. It is based on the theory of cause and effect and the laws of nature.

            What follows are a few couplets by the English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) on the book of fate, i.e. destiny, God’s will, future, and astral influence on one’s life.

“Heaven from all creatures hides the book of Fate,

All but the page prescribed, the present state;

From brutes what men, from men what spirits know:

Or who could suffer Being below?

 

To conclude, had it been possible to predict all sorts of coming events, much loss of life and property which has occurred  in the world so far would have been avoided.                                                 ********

 

G.R.Kanwal

20^th April 2024

SOME SHORT QUOTES ON MAN

 

SOME SHORT QUOTES ON MAN

A great many thinkers, poets, writers, philosophers, saints and scientists have expressed their views about what man is. Here are some very short quotes.

1.     To me man looks like God’s wonderful feat of artistic and biological engineering.

2.     Man is a rational animal.

3.      Man is God’s deputy on earth. 4. Half dust, half deity, alike unfit to sink or soar. ---English romantic poet Lord Byron (1788-1824 ).

4.     Limited in his nature, infinite in his desires. –French poet Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869).

5.      When man is a brute, he is the most sensual and loathsome of all brutes. ---American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864).

6.      Man is a wealth grabber, man is a pleasure seeker; man is a power wielder; man is a thinker, and man is a creative lover. ---American inventor Graham Bell (1847-1922).

7.      Man is a reasoning rather than a reasonable animal. ---Alexander Hamilton, American statesman (1757-1804).

      And finally what the English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744)  said : The proper study of mankind is man.

                                    ********    

G. R. Kanwal

19^th April 2024

 

A SHORT NOTE ON ANGER

 

          A SHORT NOTE ON ANGER

Anger is fury. It is steady or sudden loss of temper. Normally, it is the result of some old or new provocation. It is similar to retaliation.

Some of its synonyms are  annoyance, rage, indignation , wrath, ire, vexation, outrage, etc.

It is concerned with a person’s negative emotions. It shows intolerance and results in physical or mental outburst. It can become destructive both to him who expresses anger and to him who becomes its victim.

            Some common ways of anger management are : taking deep breaths, drinking water, walking, talking to some delightful friend, reciting some mantra, writing down the cause of your anger on a piece of paper, reciting a relevant song or poem, forgetting the incident and forgiving the provocateur.

            Anger is not a virtue. It is a vice. Calmness is a positive quality. It is your strength. Impatience and intolerance are weaknesses.

            Greek philosopher Pythagoras (570-490 BCE) said anger begins in folly, and ends in repentance.

            According to a Chinese proverb the fire you kindle for your enemy often burns yourself more than him.

            To conclude, a statement by English dramatist  John Webster (1602-84) : There is not in nature a thing that makes man so deformed, so beastly, as doth intemperate anger.

                                                ***********   

G.R.Kanwal

!8^th April 2024

 

GOD IS EVERYWHERE

 

          GOD IS EVERYWHERE

            God has many attributes. One of them is that He present everywhere. Scottish writer Alexander Cruden (701-1770 ) says this is one of the names which we give to that eternal infinite and incomprehensible being the creator of all things, who preserves and governs everything by his almighty power and wisdom, and who is the only object of our worship.

            To worship is to be grateful to God for granting us  life and providing us with the wherewith all that preserves  ourlife.

            Most of the people visit fixed places of worship and perform rituals. There are however others who think God is everywhere. He is even in their heart, so there is no need to go to a particular place of worship .   

Among Indian saints it Is the poet Kabir (1398 -1518) who believed in the formless God. Here is one of his songs translated into English by Bhagwan Rajnish briefly known as Osho (1931-1990).

“He is the real Master who can reveal the form

Of the formless to the vision of these eyes:

Who teaches the simple way of attaining Him,

That is other than rites and ceremonies:

Who does not make you close the doors, and hold the breath,

And renounce the world:

Who makes you perceive the Supreme Spirit

wherever the mind attaches itself:

Who teaches you to be still in the midst of all your activities.

Ever immersed in bliss, having no fear in his mind,

He keeps the spirit of union in the midst of enjoyments.

The infinite dwelling of the Infinite Being is everywhere.:

In earth, water, sky, and air:

Firm as the thunderbolt, the seat of the seeker

Is established above the void.

He who is within is without: I see Him and none else.

 

In another song Kabir says:

I do not ring the temple bell:

I do not set the idol on its throne:

I do not worship the image with flowers.

It is not the austerities that mortify the flesh

Which are pleasing to the Lord.

            To conclude, let everybody has the right to follow his own beliefs and religious practices as he wants.

                           *********

G.R.Kanwal

17t April 2024

 

 

 

 

HEROISM

 

          HEROISM

A hero is a gifted person. He has extraordinary qualities in his specific field. He out-performs others and becomes a leader. He is looked upon for solution to all the problems of his followers. He achieves this status both by birth and experience. His popularity continues to rise and he starts demanding hero-worship. A time comes when he cannot do without being admired, exalted and glorified. This makes him proud. He starts looking down upon some of his rival.  It is also possible that his hidden weaknesses may start showing themselves  and his esteem mat start declining.

 A great fact is that no hero is perfect. He does have some tragic flaw in his character.  

It is a popular saying that there are heroes in evil as well as good.

A sensible piece of advice is that worship your heroes from afar; contact withers them.

German poet Goethe said : No body is a hero to his valet.

Finally, what a French author Laurent Beaumelle (1726-73) said: Of two heroes , he is the greatest who esteems his rivals most.

                                                ******

G.R.Kanwal

15 April 2024

 

 

 

 

  

SOME WISDOM QUOTES

 

          SOME WISDOM QUOTES

Wisdom is knowledge, learning, intelligence, reason, insight, sagacity, enlightenment, philosophy, experience, perception, etc., and a wise person is one who is  learned, sensible, prudent, astute, reasonable, rational, logical, sane, enlightened, knowledgeable, experienced, etc.

What follows are famous quotes on wisdom:

1.Common-sense in an uncommon degree is what the world calls wisdom. 2. A nod to the wise, a rod to the foolish. 3. He is wise who knows sources of knowledge. 4. There is one person that is wiser than anybody and that is everybody. 5. Much wisdom often goes with fewest words. 6. Wisdom is to the mind what health is to the body. 7. Our chief wisdom consists in knowing our follies and faults, that we may correct them. 8. God gives men wisdom as he gives them gold; his treasure house is not mint, but the mine. 9. Among mortals second thoughts are wise. 10. The wisest man is generally he who thinks himself the least so.

            Finally, what the Persian poet Sheikh Saadi Shirazi  (1210- ?) said : He who learns the rules of wisdom without conforming to them in his life is like a man who ploughs in his field but does not sow.

                                                *******

G.R.Kanwal

12thApril 2024