LET ME ENJOY

 

          LET ME ENJOY

My Lord: I don’t like to be mortal. I want to stay in your beautiful world eternally. I have a small house with an equally small lawn where there are a couple of trees on the leaves of which birds stay or fly away for some time.

They, love each other, quarrel, jump, fly and eat whatever I offer them. They chirp now and then, sit on trees, hide themselves among leaves,  and enjoy the beauty of trees and  flowers.

All the time they enchant my eyes, delight my heart, make my mind reflective. 

I like their occasional flights and retun to their respective places from wherever they go. They come a with a message, the message of being up and doing.

They have become my family, I count each one of them, no one should be missing, no one should be late because that causes concern and makes me anguish.

These birds and my small house make my cosy world . I don’t want to lose either of these two. My des is to remain in your  infinite world of infinite things forever, despite all types of changes along with other forms of existence.

Friends, our praise should be for God. We should offer grateful prayers to Him. We are His children, under His care and protection. He is our Father and Guardian. What you and I demand from Him is immortality.  

Remember, birds are not only our companions and our family mates, but also our inspirational models with their wonderful flights.  How dynamic they lives are!  If their silence is mysterious , their singing is enchanting.

Finally, this fact:  English romantic poets like Samuel Taylor  Coleridge, Shelley and John Keats love birds. Coleridge (1772-1834) concludes his poem “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner” with these lines:

 

Farewell, farewell ! but this I tell

To thee, thou Wedding Guest!

He prayeth well, who loveth well,

Both men and bird and beast

He prayeth best,who loveth best

All things both great and small;

For the dear God who loveth us,

He made and loveth all.                               

G.R.Kanwaj

8^th December 2024

THE WORLD

 

THE WORLD

The briefest definition of the world is ---- the earth, with all its countries, peoples and natural features.

Everything that exists anywhere is part of the world. Some common synonyms of world are -----earth, globe, earthly sphere, planet, cosmos, universe and nature.

At the time of our birth we don’t know anything about this world. As we start growing up, we start thinking about what life and death are and what was the origin of this world. We start thinking about God the creator and preserver of this world. . So many other puzzling questions arise in our mind, but we find no answers to them and the world appears to be a riddle, a mystery, an enigma and conundrum.

It is undeniable that the world with all its sufferings remains attractive. We don’t want to leave it. We try to survive as long as we can but as we are mortal have to become non-existent.

   Some religious authorities like Lord Krishna differentiate between man’s body and his soul. The former ceases to be at some stage but the latter being eternal reappears in some other form of existence.

    Given below are some interesting quotes:

(i). The world is God’s epistle to mankind---his thoughts are  flashing upon us from every direction. ---Greek philosopher Plato (427 Bc-347 BC).

(ii). The world is seldom what it seems; to man who dimly sees, realities appear as dreams, and dreams realities.---Irish writer and poet Thomas Moore (1779-1832).

(iii). The world is a looking glass, and gives back to every man the reflection of his own face. Fown at it, and it will in turn look sourly upon you; laugh at it and with it, and it is a jolly, kind companion; and so all  young persons take their choice.----English novelist William Makepeace Thackeray (1811-1863)

 (iv). This world is a dream within a dream; and as we grow older, each step is an awakening. The youth awakes, as he thinks, from childhood; the full-grown man despises the pursuits of youth as visionary; and the old man looks on manhood as a feverish dream. Death the last sleep? No ! it is the last and final awakening ! ---Scottish poet and novelist Sir Walter Scott (1771-1832).

(v). Trust not the world, for it never payeth what it promiseth. ----Roman monk St. Augustine (died 604).

                        Finally, this quote by the American clergy Talbot Wilson Chambers (1819-96) :

“It is a beautiful and a blessed world we live in, and while life lasts, to lose the enjoyment of it is a sin.”

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G.R.Kanwal

6^th December 2024

 

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G.R.Kanwal

6^th December 2024

MANNERS

 

          MANNERS

‘Manners’ is the plural of ‘manner’ which means method, system, approach, technique, procedure, style, habit, custom. ‘Manners’ conveys more than all that. They mean : social behavior, conduct, etiquette, protocol, decorum, propriety, formalities, politeness, etc..

            There are both good manners and bad manners.

 Good manners are defined as ‘a way of behaving in a respectful and polite manner towards others.’

A man of good manners ought to be respectful, considerate, appreciative, grateful, co-operative, responsive, courteous, helpful, friendly, cordial, thankful, etc.                 

Some examples of bad manners are: rudeness, shouting, using of foul language, unwanted criticism, belittling others, being offensive, thankless, defiant, irresponsible, unfaithful, indifferent, etc.

 Here are some ideas about manners in general:

(i). Manners are  minor morals.

(ii). Cultured and fine manners are everywhere a passport to regard.

(iii). Pride, ill nature, and want of sense are the three great sources of ill   manners. 

(iv). Good breeding consists in having no particular mark of any profession, but a general elegance of manners.—English writer Samuel Johnson (1709-84).

(v). Civility costs nothing, and buys everything. ---Lady M.W.Montague, English letter-writer (1689-1762).

(vi). What a rare gift is that of manners ! How difficult to define; how much more difficult to impart ! ---Better for a man to possess them, than to have wealth, beauty, or talent; they will more than supply all. ----  Edward George  Bulwer-Lytton, English novelist (803-73).  

Finally, this is what the Anglo-Irish statesman and philosopher (1729-1797) who spent most of his time in Great Britain said: Manners are of more importance than laws. Upon them, in a great measure, the laws depend. The law can touch us here and there, now and then. Manners are what vex or soothe , corrupt or purify, exalt or debase, barbarize or refine, by a constant, steady, uniform, insensible operation, like that of the air we breathe in. They give their whole form and colour to our lives. According to their quality, they aid morals, they supply them, or they totally destroy them.

G.R.Kanwal

5^th December 2024

 

WHAT IS MAN? SOME FAMOUS QUOTES

 

            WHAT IS MAN? SOME FAMOUS QUOTES

There are too many quotes on man. All are meaningful. Literally man is an adult male human. The plural of human is humans.

Humans are also animals but with a difference. They can think and are motivated not only by instincts but also by intellect and logic. Animals are motivated  only by instincts. Moreover, unlike humans, they lack moral sense.

Given below are a few famous quotes about man/men.

(i).Man is an animal; but he is an animal plus something else. He is a mystic earth-tree, whose roots are in the ground, but whose top-most branches may blossom in the heavens. ---Henry George, American political economist (1839-1897).

(ii). Man is a reasoning rather than a reasonable animal. ----Alexander Hamilton, American statesman, died 12 July 1802.

(iii). Every man is a volume, if you know how to read him. ---Channing, W.E. American clergy (1780-1842).

(iv). An honest man is the noblest work of God.---Alexander Pope, English poet (1688-1744).  

(v). The test of every religious, political, or educational system is the man which it forms. ---Amiel, Henry Frederic,  Swiss philosopher (1821-81).

(vi). One cannot be a hero, but one can always be a man. ---Goethe, American poet and philosopher (1749-1832).

(vii). Man perfected by society is the best of all animals; he is the most terrible of all when he lives without law, and without justice. ---Aristotle, Greek philosopher (384 BC-322BC).

(viii). There are but three classes of men, the retrograde, the stationary, and the progressive. ---John Caspar Lavater, Swiss theologian (1741-1801).

(ix). The way of a superior man is threefold: virtuous, he is free from anxieties; wise, he is free from perplexities; bold, he is free from fear.---Confucius, Chinese philosopher (551BCE-479 BCE).

 Finally, this is what The English poet-dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616) said in his play Hamlet through Prince Hamlet:

            “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 !

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G.R.Kanwal

4^th December 2024

 

ALEXANDER POPE’S ESSAY ON MAN

 

          ALEXANDER POPE’S ESSAY ON MAN

To write on man is a hard nut to crack. There is no action which man does not perform in this world. He has been both praised and condemned by poets.

The Urdu-Persian poet Dr. Sir Mohammad Iqbal (1877-1938) believed that man is God’s assistant in the creation, refinement and perfection of  universe.

There are many other poets who have expressed their views about the status and qualities of man.

The English poet Alexander Pope (1688-1744) was a great satirist. His Essay on Man was written in 1734. Though there are lots of significant ideas which he has expressed in this poem, his attempt at philosophical level has not been sufficiently appreciated.

In his A PRIMER OF ENGLISH LITERATURE (1925) Arthur Compton Rickett says that Pope’s work is rich in aphorisms and there is no poet, Shakespeare excepted, whose sayings have so freely enriched the English language. He has the virtue of a singular power to transform an ordinary idea, a commonplace morality, into a neat and pungent phrase.

Given below is an extract from Pope’s Essay on Man:

“Know then thyself, presume not God to scan,

The proper study of mankind is Man,

Placed 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 reas’ning but to err;

Alike in ignorance, his reason such,

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 all things, yet a prey to all;

Sole judge of truth, in endless error hurl’d:

The glory, jest and riddle of the world!

                        Finally, these three quotes fom An Essay on Man. (1). An honest man’s the noblest work of God. (2). Whatever is, is right. (3). Order is heaven’s first law.

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G.R.Kanwal

3^rd December 2024

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

 

 

MEN AND THEIR QUALITIES

 

          MEN AND THEIR QUALITIES

‘Men’ is plural of an adult male human being. Its synonyms  are: males, gents,  chaps, guys , personages, fellows and individuals.

The opposite of men is females, women and ladies. 

Men and women together make mankind, the human race, the human species and the people.

The qualities of men are : manliness, bravery, courage, heroism, boldness, mettle, valour, fortitude, etc.

One can put an adjective before men and form compounds like : gentlemen,  great men. brave men, industrious men, sluggish men, religious men, wicked men, godly men, etc.

A nation’s strength depends more upon its men than upon its material resources. The American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-82 ) says:

Not gold, but only men can make

A people great and strong  

Men who, for truth and honour’s sake,

Stand fast and suffer long.

Brave men who work while others sleep,

Who dare while others fly,

They build a nation’s pillars deep,

And lift them to the sky.

 

Another American poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1807-1882) says:

 

Lives of great men all remind us

We can make our lives sublime,

And, departing, leave behind us

Footprints, on the sands of time;

Footprints , that perhaps another,

Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, shall take heart again.

                       

            Finally, this quote: One man with courage makes a majority.

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G.R.Kanwal

2^nd December 2024

 

             

    

 

 

SOME THOUGHTS ON HATRED

 

 

SOME THOUGHTS ON HATRED

‘Hatred’ is defined as dislike, ill-will, aversion, hostility, revulsion, odium; antagonism; antipathy; enmity; loathing; detestation; etc. It also means strong dislike.

Some of Its antonyms are : love; liking; affection; fondness; regard; respect; admiration; attachment; attraction; passion; adulation; esteem; etc.

            In this world of dualities, hatred and love co-exist like light and darkness, life and death, dry and wet.

            If there are cardinal virtues like : kindness; patience; humility; chastity; charity; temperance and humility; there are also some deadly sins like: pride; greed; gluttony; envy; lust; adultery and blasphemy.

            According to the Bible, God can both love and hate. He hates “haughty eyes, a lying tongue, hands that kill the innocent, a heart that plots evil, feet that race to do wrong, a false witness who pours out lies, a person who sows discord in a family.”

            Hinduism detests: lust for sensual pleasure, anger, greed, desire, ego, envy or jealousy.

            The general principle about hatred is that one should hate the sin, not the sinner; or hate no one; hate their vices, not themselves. The English divine F. B. Robertson (1816-53) said: I will tell you what to hate. Hate hypocrisy; hate cant; hate intolerance; oppression, injustice, Pharisaism; hate them as Christ hated them --- with a deep abiding, God-like hatred.  

            It is not wrong to say that we hate some persons because we do not know them; and we will not know them because we hate them.

            According to the Greek philosopher Plutarch who was born around 46 AD and died after 119 AD : if we hate our enemies , we shall contract such a vicious habit of mind as by degrees will break out upon those who are our friends, or those who are indifferent to us.

            Finally, this quote: Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love: this is the eternal rule.

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G.R.Kanwal

1^st December 2024