THREE TYPES OF MAN

 

THREE TYPES OF MAN         

            It is Lord Krishna who mentions three types of man in his sacred book The Bhagwad Gita, a Hindu scripture, probably composed in the second or first century BCE.  

            This world-famous scripture forms part of the epic poem Mahabharata. It is not a small book with only limited details about man, life and death.

            Its translated versions are available in innumerable languages of the world. It is a holy poetic song that mentally and spiritually uplifts every reader .

            Defining man as a combination of body and soul, it describes the body as perishable and the soul as immortal. The body dies but not for ever. It assumes a new form and continues to exist. It is an example of transmigration.

            According to Lord Krishna there are three types of men ---Sattvic, Rjasic and Tamasic. Those with Sattvic disposition are worshippers of God. The bearers of Rajasik temperament  worship demons, and persons of Tamasik nature are devotees of spirits and ghosts. Food also of these three types  of men is according to their respective natures.   

            Sattvic men perform their duties unselfishly. They don’e aspire for the  fruit or the reward of their actions. They also avoid every type of ostentation.

            The worshippers of God possess the following qualities: Fearless acceptance of truth; purity of intention; steadfast in research of knowledge; study of scriptures; total austerity; constant uprightness; everlasting non-violence; tranquility of mind; absence of abuse; perfect compassion; non-greediness; gentleness, modesty; forgiveness; fortitude; humility; and absence of pride.

            Finally, the three major  qualities to avoid the gates of darkness (hell) are: 1. Lust; 2. Wrath; e. Greed.

                                                ********

G.R.Kanwal

27 January 2026

QUALITIES OF SUPERMAN

 

          QUALITIES OF SUPERMAN 

            The term “man” has many dimensions. There are a number of books on all of them.  The word “superman” is defined as a man who is unusually strong or intelligent or who can do something extremely well.

            One who is superhuman is supernatural ,  herculean, phenomenal, prodigious, stupendous, heroic, extraordinary, divine, god-like, etc.

            A superman is defined by a combination of immense powers and deeply principled, compassionate, and humble personality shaped by his upbringing. He is often viewed as a “paragon of virtue; a symbol of hope, and a modern-day mythological hero” who strives to bring out the best in humanity. His core moral and personality traits are : compassion, kindness, goodness, selflessness, sacrifice, non-violence, restraint, humility, dedication to truth, justice, super strength, flight, energy, extraordinary sense,loving, trustworthy, etc.

            He is the product of life’s evolutionary process walking on the road leading to divinity. He has such characteristics as may be called : bravery, courage, conviction, determination, helpfulness, honesty, inspirational force, and moral integrity.

            According to the Irish playwright and critic George Bernard Shaw ( 1856-1950) a superman is a product of evolutionary Life Force that posits a universal, evolutionary drive for perfection, embodied in women who , driven by instinct seek men to create a higher humanity, through “creative evolution”, seeking greater intelligence, power, and spiritual heights, eventually towards a “Godhead”.

            Women, according to evolutionary life force , uses humans as instruments to evolve beyond current limitations, “better humans” .      

            Finally, a different view by the Indian mystic and philosopher OSHO (Acharya Rajneesh 11 December 1931- 19 January 1990} : “Be human; don’t try to become superhuman. Just be human and accept the limitations of a human being.

                                                ******

G.R.Kanwal

26 January 2026

 

 

 

ONE OF My FAVOURITE POEMS

 

               

 

                                ONE OF My FAVOURITE POEMS

          The poem given below bears the title :NO MEN ARE FOREIGN’. It is one of my favourite poems and is written by the English poet and translator James Kirkup (1918-2009).  

            Kirkup was a prolific writer. He authored more than 45 books, including autobiographies , novels and plays. He had many pseudonyms including James Falconer, Andrew James, Edward Raeburn and Ivy B. Summerforest. He was also made a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature in 1962.           

              “No Men Are Foreign” is not a war poem, although it has a strong anti-war message and advocates universal brotherhood.

            After reading the poem you may feel that you are a world citizen and all the people existing on earth are thoroughly  like you and every country is just like your own country.   

                The poem begins with the shortest four- lines sanza with its overall message.

          Here is the full text:     

No Men Are Foreign Poem

 

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.

Remember they have eyes like ours that wake

Or sleep, and strength that can be won

By love. In every land is common life

That all can recognise and understand.

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,

Remember, no men are foreign, and no countries strange.

 

           

                                                         ******

G.R.Kanwal

25 January 2026

 

 

 

 

 

LOVE AND LOYALTY

 

LOVE AND LOYALTY

            Loyalty is the primary attribute of love. It is not confined only to human love but to universal love including families, friends, pets, places, groups , occupations, hobbies, tastes, styles, etc.

            The English poet S.T.Coleridge ‘s poem “Love” begins with the lines: All thoughts, all passions, all delights,/Whatever stirs this mortal frame,/All are but ministers of Love,/And feed his sacred flame.

             Loyalty keeps love alive. But it is not always there. There are disloyal friends and unfaithful companions in every age and very field of life. The absence of loyalty in love is painful.

            Matthew Arnold , the English  poet, essayist and critic (1822-1888) tells his beloved in the poem Dover Beach :

            Ah, love. Let us be true

            To one another for the world,  which seems

            To lie before us like a land of dreams,

            So various, so beautiful, so new,

            Hath really neither joy, nor love, nor light,

            Nor certitude, nor peace, nor help for pain;

            And we are here on a darkling plain

            Swept with confused alarms of struggle and flight,

            Where ignorant armies clash by night.

 

And to conclude, here is a love sonnet by the English poet and playwright Willliam Shakespeare (1564-1616):

           

                 "Love is not love / Which alters when it alteration finds, / Or bends with the remover to remove: . O no! it is an ever-fixed mark / That looks on tempests and is never shaken; . "It is the star to every wandering bark, / Whose worth's unknown, although his height be taken."  

 "Love's not Time's fool, though rosy lips and cheeks / Within his bending sickle's compass come:"  "Love alters not with his brief hours and weeks, / But bears it out even to the edge of doom."

 "If this be error and upon me proved, / I never writ, nor no man ever loved."

 

                                                *********

G. R. Kanwal

24 January 2026

SOME ETERNAL IDEAS

 

                                SOME ETERNAL IDEAS

1.     To compare is not to prove. ---French Proverb

2.     Each loss has its compensation/There is healing for every pain/But the bird with a broken pinion/Never so high again.

3.     Credit is like a looking glass, which when once sullied by a breath, may be wiped clear again; but if once cracked can never be repaired.   

4.      Law is not law, if it violates the principles of eternal justice.

5.     A river becomes crooked by following the line of least resistance. So does man.

6.     Marriage is not a word but a sentence.

7.     True obedience is true liberty.

8.     We cannot eat the fruit while the tree is in blossom.

9.     If success comes too late in life, it causes more regrets than comforts.

10.                        What Is Success?

Success is speaking words of praise

In cheering other people’s ways,

In doing just the best you can

With every task and every plan.

 

It’s silence when your speech would hurt,

Politeness when your neighbor’s curt.

It’s deafness when the scandal flows,

And sympathy with others’ woes.

 

It’s loyalty when duty calls;

It’s courage when disaster falls.

It’s patience when the hours are long;

It’s found in laughter and in song.

 

It’s in the silent time of prayer.

In happiness and in despair.

In all of life and nothing less,

We find the thing we call success.

                                    *******

G.R.Kanwal

23 January 2026

 

BE STRONG

 

          BE STRONG

          “Be Strong” is an inspirational poem given below. Its author is a famous American clergyman and writer Maltbie Davenport Babcock Who was born in Syracuse, New York, United States on 3 August 1858 and passed away in Naples, Italy on 18 May 1901. He is widely known for the hymn “This is My Father’s World.” He also authored more hymns which became popular. Two of them are : Rest in the Lord, my soul and Shining sun, shining sun.

           To be strong is the duty of all human beings. They are here, says the poet, not to play, to dream, to drift; but to do hard work   and lift loads. Life is a struggle. We must face it, not shun it which we cannot do, if we are not strong. Strength is not merely physical stamina but virtuous boldness which is indispensable to accomplish noble deeds assigned by God. We are here to right the wrong, and  to

                   Stand up, speak out, bravely in God’s name.

Here is the full text of the poem:

BE STRONG !

Be strong !

We are not here to play, to dream, to drift;

We have hard work to do and loads to lift;

Shun not the struggle –face it; ‘tis God’s gift.

 

Be strong !         

Say not, “The days are evil. Who’s to blame?”

And fold the hands and acquiesce --- Oh, shame !

Stand up, speak out, and bravely, in God’s name.

 

Be Strong!

It matters not how deep intrenched the wrong,

How hard the battle goes, the day how long;

Faint not ----fight, on! Tomorrow comes the song.

                                      *******

G.R.Kanwal

22 January 2026

 

 

 

                 

FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

 

FORMS OF GOVERNMENT

          It is correct to say that forms of government vary widely, generally categorized by who holds power—one, few, or many –and how they rule.

            Major types are known as democracy (Abraham Lincoln called it government of the people, by the people, for the people.) Other forms are Monarchy (rule by a single hereditary person), Oligarchy (rule by a small group), Totalitarian (absolute power by a dictator or single party), Theocracy (rule by religious leaders), and  Communism (rule based on economic ideology).

             All these types have their merits and demerits. Only their number varies.

            The English poet, translator and satirist  Alexander pope (1688-1744) said: “For forms of government, let fools contest; That which is best administered is best”.

              Democracy is considered  to be the most popular form of government. But it, too, has number of arguments against it. Some of them are:

(1) It is prone to indecision, feebleness, instability, and stupidity because of the volatility, irrationality and inaptitude of the masses.

(2) It exalts mediocrity and inferiority, the masses being resentful of persons above their level of intelligence and ability and preferring leaders of their own kind.

(3) It easily falls prey to demagogism, bossism, and vicious pressure politics, the shortsightedness and narrow selfishness of the people themselves being the cause of these things.

(4) Majority rule tends always to become majority tyranny, since the intolerance and bigotry of the multitude can be subject to no effective restraint.

(5) And finally, democratic government cannot be carried on without political parties, and that this invariably results in government by an invisible oligarchy.

                                                *******

G.R.Kanwal

21 January 2025.