UNTO THIS LAST

 

UNTO THIS LAST

            “Unto This Last” is a parable in the Bible about payment of wages to the workers by a trader who engaged them in his vineyard.   

            All the workers did not start working at the same time. Some came late and the last one did  much less work than others. However, the trader did  not follow the common theory of each one according to the quantum of his work. He acted on a  different concept of the phrase “unto this last”,  according to which the “last will be first and the first will be last.” He brushed aside the objection of the workmen who had worked from the beginning to the ending of the working day. He justified his approach by telling them that no injustice had been done to them because they had been paid their full wages as was agreed.     

 

            According to some commentators “ this parable highlights that God’s grace and reward are not always measured by outward effort or merit but can be bestowed on those who might be considered less deserving.”

 

             The English writer and polymath  John Ruskin (1819-1900) wrote a book on the above-mentioned parable. The title of his book  is “Unto This Last”. It was published chapterwise between August and December 1860.

 

            Ruskin regards  personal gain as secondary to the disinterested service of one’s fellows . He recommends that the wages of the workers should be sufficient enough to fulfil their basic needs.

           

            Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) admired John Ruskin’s economic and philosophical ideas. He considered “Unto This Last” a great book and used its ideas in his own philosophy of Sarvodaya, which pleads for the “well-being of all”.

            As a critic puts it: Ruskin’s writings highlighted the value of manual labour and the life of the tiller and handicraftsman, an idea that resonated with Gandhiji’s philosophy.

 

            To conclude, here is a famous quote by John Ruskin: It’s unwise to pay too much, but it’s worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money – that’s all.

                                                **********

G. R.Kanwal

7^th June 2025

 

SOME THOUGHTS ON BEAUTY

 

SOME THOUGHTS ON BEAUTY                       

            Beauty is defined as the quality of being pleasing to the senses or to the mind.

            Some synonyms of beauty are: loveliness, attractiveness, prettiness, handsomeness, allurement, charm, grace and glamour.  

             Accordingly, flowers are beautiful, thorns are not; truth is beautiful, falsehood is not; love is beautiful, hatred is not; justice is beautiful, injustice is not; sweetness is beautiful, bitterness is not; kindness is beautiful, cruelty is not; nectar is beautiful, poison is not;  and to conclude this list impressively life is beautiful, death is not. In passing, recall the words of the English playwright  Ben Jonson (1572-1837) : Death be not proud, because those whom you think you kill die not.

 

            Beauty is the natural attraction for all human beings. It provides unique pleasure to their senses. Be its colour, symmetry, overall attractiveness or an indefinable feast for the eyes or the ears, the heart or the mind, the body or the soul, it is as the English poet John Keats (1795-1821) says an eternal source of joy.

           

            Greek philosophical writers like Plato(428/427Bc—348/347 Bc)  called beauty a privilege of nature; Aristotle (384-322 BCE) better than all the letters of recommendation in the world; Homer (lived around the 8t century BCE) a glorious gift of nature, and Ovid (died 20 March 43 BC) a favour bestowed by gods.  

           

                In Book 1 of his poem Endymion,  the English poet John Keats (1795-1821) wrote the following evergreen  lines about beauty:

 

“A thing of beauty is a joy for ever:

Its loveliness increases; it will never

Pass into nothingness; but still will keep

A bower quiet for us, and a sleep

Full of  sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.

Therefore, on every morrow, we are wreathing

A flowery band to bind us to the earth,

Spite of despondence, of the inhuman dearth

Of noble nature, of the gloomy days,

Of all the unhealthy and o’er-darkened ways

Made for our searching; yes, in spite of all,

Some shape of beauty moves away the pall

From our dark spirits. Such the sun, the moon,

Trees old and young, sprouting a shady boon

For simple sheep; and such are daffodils

With the green world they live in; and clear rills

That for themselves a cooling covert make

Gainst the hot season; the mid-forest brake,

Rich with a sprinkling of fair musk-rose blooms;

And such too is the grandeur of the dooms

We have imagined for the mighty dead;

All lovely tales that we have heard or read:

An endless fountain of immortal drink

Pouring unto us from the heaven’s brink.

 

            Finally, the following French saying:

Beauty, unaccompanied by virtue, is as a flower without perfume.

                                                            *********

G.R.Kanwal

6^th June 2025

WHAT IS POETRY?

 

WHAT IS POETRY?

            Poetry is the language of the heart, the mind and the soul. It expresses feelings, thoughts, dreams and realities in a metrical composition.  

            It is an expression of beauty and truth. It is mostly emotional but also occasionally reflective and philosophical. It deals with universal values.

            Poetry does not teach like a school teacher or a moralist. It suggests its meaning so impressively that the mind of the listener or the reader accepts its  like a religious believer.   

            There is no place in the world where poetry does not exist; and there is no being anywhere who does not take interest in poetry.

            Poetry has always been and will always be in this mysterious universe of God.

            God Himself seems to be a great poet.  Everything created by him is a fit subject for poetry.

            Flowers, thorns, trees, rivers, valleys, winds, rain drops, birds, beasts, children, men, women, dust particles, stars, the sun, the moon, the gentle breeze, the stormy weather, the innocent babe and the criminal adult , the smiles of beautiful women and the laughter of handsome grooms --- in short  whatever exists in the world from tiny insects to gigantic and ferocious animals can be a suitable subject for poetry.

            Poets are concerned with every aspect of life and death, nature and civilization.

            In short, the whole existence is a subject for poetry. It outpours various comic and tragic thoughts, feelings and ideas eternally.

            Look at the following lines by some poets:    

1.Beauty is but a vain and doubtful good,

A  shining glass that vadeth suddenly:

A flower that dies when first it ‘gins to bud;

A brittle glass that is broken presently:

A doubtful good, a gloss, a glass, a flower,

Lost, vaded, broken, dead within an hour.----William Shakespeare (1564-1616).

 

2. 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. -------Ben Jonson (1572-1637).

                                     

3. The world is too much with us; late and soon;

Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers;

Little we see in Nature that is ours;

We have given our hearts away, a sordid boon! ---William Wordsworth (1770-1850).

 

4.What is this life if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare?

 

No time to stand beneath the boughs

And stare as long as sheep or cows:

 

No time to see, when woods we pass,

Where squirrels hide their nuts in grass.

 

No time to see, in broad daylight,

Streams full of stars, like skies at night:

No time to turn at Beauty’s glance,

And watch her feet, how they can dance:

 

No time to wait to wait till her mouth can

Enrich that smile her eyes began?

 

A poor life this if, full of care,

We have no time to stand and stare.----W.H.Davies  (1871-1940).

 

5. 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 and water,

Are fed 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. ---James Kirkup (1918-2009).

 

       Finally, this quote by the American journalist Gamaliel  Bailey (1807-59 ): Poetry is itself a thing of God. He made his prophet poets; and the moe we feel of poesie do we become like God.

                                                            ******

G. R. Kanwal

5 June 2025

ABIDE WITH ME

 

ABIDE WITH ME

          “Abide With Me” is a very famous Christian hymn.

          India’s great leader, Mahatma Gandhi (1868-1948), who fought for the country’s liberation from the British rule by non-violent means loved it and included it in the collection of his favourite hymns and songs.

          “Abide with me” means remain or stay with me.  It is a prayer addressed to God to help his devotee, i.e. the poet, at all critical times in life and in death.

          The writer  believes that there is no eternal guide and helper like God who abides with man through “cloud and sunshine”. Other guides and helpers change, but God does not. He stays with man “when other helpers fail, and comforts flee”.

           This hymn was written by a Scottish Anglican divine, hymnodist and poet Henry F. Lyte  (1 June 1793 –20 November 1847). He was ordained in 1815 and served in many parishes before becoming the pastor of All Saints Church in Lower Brixham,  Devonshire, England.

          Lyte was a patient of tuberculosis, then an incurable disease. According his biography he wrote his most famous hymn “Abide with Me” at the time when he was dying.  

          The hymn describes God as “Help of the helpless”, which is as true in other religions as in Christianity.

          The full hymn reads as follows:

          Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.

Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

                                                            *******

G.R.Kanwal

4 June 2025

 

 

REVENGE

 

          REVENGE

            Revenge is defined as the action of hurting or harming someone in return for an injury or wrong suffered at his hands.

            Some common synonyms of revenge  are : vengeance, retribution, retaliation, and reprisal.

            The policy of retaliation is not approved by many religions. Eye for an eye and tit for tat are more admirable traits in a great man.

            In many cases, revenge is unnecessary. Forgiveness may prove to be much better and quite harmless to the person who does not resort to revenge.

            A significant quote says: While seeking revenge, dig two graves – one for yourself.

            Abstention from revenge is not cowardice. It is a better form of courage and the best way to make your enemy realize his act violence.

            The American theologian John M. Mason (1770-1829) said that 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.

                 He adds: If your revenge be not satisfied, it will give you torment now; if it be, it will give you greater hereafter.

                  According to him: none is a greater self-tormentor than a malicious and revengeful man, who turns the poison of his own temper in upon himself.             

              Revenge is rightly compared to a boomerang. Although for a time it flies in the direction in which it is hurried, it takes a sudden curve, and, returning, hits your own head the heaviest blow of all.

              To conclude, look at  this quote: Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948 ) strongly advocated for non-violence (ahimsa) and forgiveness over revenge. He believed that revenge was a destructive act that perpetuated violence and did not lead to lasting peace, Instead, he championed the power of non-violent resistance and the ability of truth to ultimately prevail.

                                                ********

G.R.Kanwal

3^rd June 2025

           

 

 

TEN MISCELLANEOUS QUOTES

 

                   TEN MISCELLANEOUS  QUOTES

I.                         All tremble on violence; all fear death. Putting oneself in the place of another, one should not kill nor cause another to kill. –Lord Gautam Buddha (563 BCE -  583 BCE).

II.                       An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind.---Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948).

III.                   A man should wander about treating all creatures as he himself be treated,. Hence, putting himself in the the place of the other, let him not kill or cause others to kill. ----Lord Mahavira (599 BC-527 BC).  

IV.                    For one who has conquered his mind, a mind is best of friends, but for one who has failed to do so a mind is the greatest enemy. ---Bhagavad  Gita ( Written Between 5^th century BCE and the 2^nd century BCE)

V.                      Truth controls rhis world and dharma is rooted in truth,----The Ramayana (Generally dated between the 8^th and 4^th centuries BCE). .

VI.                    Praise  be to Allah, the Lord of the entire universe. ---The Quran,

VII.           Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is admirable --- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy ---think about such things. -----A Biblical teaching.

VIII.         May Lord Ganesha bring an end to suffering and bring peace to all. ------A prayer

IX.                    Certainly, this is a duty ---not a sin. --- Cleanliness is, indeed, next to Godliness. ----John Wesley --- English theologian (1703-1791).

X.                       Faith is a certain image of eternity. All things are present to it ---things past, and things to come; it converses with angels, and antedates the hymns of glory. Every man that hath this grace is as certain there are glories for him, if he perseveres in duty, as if he had heard and sung the thanksgiving song for the blessed sentence of doomsday,---Jeremy Taylor (1613-1667), a cleric in the Church of England.

                                          *********

 G.R.Kanwal

 2 June 2025

DIRGE FOR A SOLDIER

 

DIRGE FOR A SOLDIER

            “Dirge For A Soldier” is a poem by the American poet, playwright and diplomat George Henry Boker (1823-1890).

            A dirge is a song sung at a funeral or for a dead person.

            The poem which is reproduced  below is mournful and gloomy. Its aim is to reflect not only the futility of war but also the transient nature of life.

            It was written to commemorate the memory of General Philip Kearny and is included in the “ Poems of the War”  published in 1864.

            The poem is both and heart-touching and  tragic.

            Look at the first stanza :

Close his eyes; his work is done!

What to him is friend or foeman,

Rise of moon, or set of sun.

Hand  of man, or kiss of woman?

Lay him low, lay him low,

In the clover or the snow!

What cares he? He cannot know:

Lay him low!

 

The remaining three stanzas are equally pathetic and soul stirring.

                   

As man may, he fought his fight,

Proved his truth by his endeavor;

Let him sleep in solemn night,

Sleep forever and forever.

Lay him low, lay him low,

In the clover or the snow!

What cares he? He cannot know:

Lay him low!

 

 

Fold him in the country’s stars,

Roll the drum and fire the volley!

What to him are all our wars.

What but death bemocking folly?

Lay him low, lay him low,

In the clover or the snow!

What cares he? He cannot know:

Lay him low.

 

Leave him to God’s watching eye,

 Trust him to the hand that made him;

Mortal love weeps idly by:

God alone has power to aid him.

Lay him low, lay him low,

In the clover or the snow!

What cares he? He cannot know:

Lay him low.

                                                **********

**Clover is a small wild  plant . Its four leaves represent hope, faith, love and luck.

 

G.R.Kanwal

1^st June 2025