WORK IS WORSHIP

 

                WORK IS WORSHIP

“Work Is Worship” is a proverb which is mostly  attributed to Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)  who wanted to instill the importance of hard work in the people of India for getting great results.

Many other spiritual leaders like Swami Vivekananda (1863-1902) believed that God wants man’s creative work not mere rituals  as his duty towards Him.  

The Urdu poet Dr. Sir Mohammad  Iqbal (1877-1938)  thinks action, not contemplation, is the real approach to life.  

Given below is an extract from a song by the Indian poet-philosopher  Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) . Its theme is  the same as ‘ Work is Worship.’  It is taken from his anthology Gitanjali for which he was awarded  Nobel Prize for literature in 1913.

“Leave this chanting and singing and telling of beads! Whom dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut? Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee!

He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground and where the path-maker is breaking stones. He is with them in sun and in shower, and his garment is covered with dust. Put off thy holy mantle and even like him come down on the dusty soil!

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G.R.Kanwal

5^th April 2024

 

LET ME SAY

 

          LET ME SAY

      1.  A lie has no legs to stand upon. 2. Truth is ever green.  3. The face is an index of the mind. 4. He that blows in the dust fills his own eyes.5 Work is worship.  6. The life a mosquito is short but active. 7. Love is not love that alters when it alteration finds. 8. A blind man is no judge of colours. 9. Charity begins at home. 9. Great boast small roast. 10. Better alone than in bad company. 11. A closed mouth catches no flies. 12. From a bad pay master get what you can. 12. Make hay while the sun shines. 13. Empty vessels make much noise. 14. No rose without a thorn. 15. A guilty conscience needs no accuser. 16. He that has been bitten by a snake dreads a rope. 17. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. 18. A good name is better than riches. 19. Time blunts the edge of grief. 20. Ill got , ill spent. 21. Excess of everything is bad. 22. Be just and fear not.23.Kindness is better than revenge. 24. Light and lust are deadly enemies. 25. Hasty marriage seldom proveth well.

G.R.Kanwal

4^th May 2024

 

DUALITY

 

                                DUALITY

As an English word ‘‘duality” expresses the quality or condition of being dual. It also stands for opposition and contrast or two aspects of something such as life / death, good/bad, high/ low, sweet/bitter, strange/ familiar.

Given below is a short poem on freedom from duality by a Kashmiri metaphysical poet Lal Ded. She was born in 1320 and died in 1392. She was originally named Lalleshwari and was a mystic of the Shaivism school of Hindu philosophy. Her poems are still loved by all sorts of readers and are included in modern Kashmiri poetry.

The title of her poem  is : A MIND FREE FROM DUALITY

“He who hath deemed another and himself as the same,

He who hath deemed the day (of joy) and the night (of sorrow} to be alike,

He whose mind hath become free from duality,

He, and he alone, hath seen the Lord of the chiefest of the gods.

 

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G.R.Kanwal

3^rd May 2024

A QUOTATION EACH ON POETS AND POETRY

 

          A QUOTATION EACH ON POETS AND POETRY             

The best quotation on poets comes from the English poet-dramatist William Shakespeare (1564-1616). It reads as follows:

The lunatic, the lover, and the poet, are of imagination all compact. One sees more devils than vast hell can hold, that is the madman; the lover, all as lunatic, sees Helen’s beauty in a brow of Egypt; the poet’s eye in a fine frenzy rolling doeth glance from heaven to earth, from earth to heaven; and, as imagination bodies forth the forms of things unknown, the poet’s pen turns them to shapes, and gives to airy nothing a local habitation and a name. ---- Midsummer Night’s Dream, Act 5, Sc,1.

On poetry one of the best quotations is by the American clergy William Ellery Channing  (1780-1842}.  According to him : Poetry reveals to us the loveliness of nature, brings back the freshness of youthful feeling, revives the relish of simple pleasures, keeps unquenched the enthusiasm which warmed the springtime of our being, refines youthful love, strengthens our interest in human nature by vivid delineations of its tenderest and softest feelings, and through the brightness of its prophetic visions, helps faith to lay hold on the future life.     

   To conclude, eminent  poets utter great and wise things and the best poetry is universal.

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G.R.Kanwal

2^nd May 2024

 

WHO IS A GENTLEMAN?

 

          WHO IS A GENTLEMAN?

            A gentleman is gentle in his behavior, manners, etiquette, speech, writings, arguments, opinions, views, thoughts, ideas, questions, answers, counter-arguments, etc.

            He is learned, intelligent, wise, courageous, far-sighted, affectionate, sweet-tempered, loving, helpful and inspiring.

            He is confident but not over-bearing; competes with his rivals but does insult or disgrace them. He thanks others; shows his gratitude for any service rendered to him; and lends a helping hand whoever needs it.

            He never hurts anybody’s feelings. He always acts as a balmy person to the injured.

            The words ‘hate’ and ‘discouragement’ are not found in his dictionary. He is friendly and generous to everybody. His personality is attractive and his dictums are sweet, polite and charming.

            He is kind, tender-hearted, humane, tranquil, sympathetic, empathetic, compassionate, forgiving and merciful.

            Finally, a few relevant words of the American writer Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882) ---“We sometimes meet an original gentleman, who, if manners had not existed, would have invented them.”

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G. R. Kanwal

1^st MAY 2024

 

    

WHAT IS RIGHT?

 

WHAT IS RIGHT?

The word ‘right’ in the sense of just, fair, correct, legal, lawful, impartial, valid, etc., is a relative term. The logic of the saying “Nothing is good or bad , but thinking makes it so” can also be applied  to ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. What is right in the eyes of one man, may be wrong in the eyes of another. Moreover, what may be legally right today may become legally wrong tomorrow by any amendment in the law of an orgaisation. So, there can be no changeless view about what is right.

The definition of right also changes from one country to another. Dictatorship may be right in one country but may be wrong in another democratic country. The proverb “ Tenets differ but all is well and wisely put” is universally valid.

Look at this proverb: ”Might is right”. This may be valid in authoritarianism but not in a democracy or a religious setup where morality is the chief basis of rightness’.

Here is another proverb: Two wrongs do not make one right.

To conclude,  a different quote by the English divine August W. Hare (1792-1834) which says “ Right is might, and ever was, and ever shall be so. Holiness, meekness, patience, humility, self-denial, and self-sacrifice, faith, love, ----each is might, and every gift of the spirit is might.”

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G.R.Kanwal

30 April 2024   

 

    

ANXIETY

 

                ANXIETY

Anxiety is defined as fear, worry, stress, uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension, concern, etc.

There was a time when the number of anxious people in any part of the world was limited.  Today it is very large. In fact we are living in the age of anxiety.

Its major symbol is loneliness due to disappearance of joint families and the emergence of nuclear families. Children after they become adults and self-dependent move out of their paternal homes. In the past, we had tribes, now we have very  small families. The result is lack of connectivity with one’s kith and kin.

Even active neighbourhood is missing.  Don’d feel shocked if you are told that  even husband and wife live like strangers under the same roof.

 Loyal friends can share each other’s anxieties. But in this age of extreme selfishness they, too, are rare or non-existent.

What is the true current situation?  The answer is :widespread anxiety. Large numbers of overstressed people, visiting doctors for anti-stress medicines, feeling the need for yoga or some form of meditation or fall to depression.

The best approach to one’s anxiety is not to let it overpower you. Keep it at bay. Trust in God. Be strong. Anxieties come and go. Adopt a healthy life style. Learn to acquire the art of self-dependence. Read some good book on living a fearless, healthy and happy life. Don’t anticipate evils, and if they come face them boldly. Control your mind which is the main source of trouble.  Love your heart; be guided by this innocent central organ for remedial action.     

Finally, here is a piece of advice by the American theologian Edwards Tyron (1809-94) . He says that Anxiety is the rust of life, destroying its brightness and weakening its power. A childlike and abiding trust in Providence is its best preventive and remedy.

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G.R.Kanwal

28 April 2024