LEARNING FROM SHAKEAPEARE

 

                    LEARNING FROM SHAKEAPEARE

            The writings of the British poet-playwright William Shakespeare (1564-1616) are full of innumerable quotable thoughts. Given below are a few of them the reading of which will make you not only learned but also smart and sagacious.

1. As flies to wanton boys, are we to the gods. They kill us for their sports.----King Lear, Act 4, Sc,1.

2. Smooth runs the water where the brook is deep. ----Henry VI (2^nd part), Act 3, Sc.1.

 3. A dream itself is but a shadow.---Hamlet, Act 2, Sc.2.

4. Ill deeds are doubled with an evil word.---Comedy of Errors, Act 4, Sc.2.

5. What is written shall be executed.---Titus Andronicus, Act 5,  Sc.2.

6. A friend should bear his friend’s infirmities. ---Julius Caesar, Act 4, Sc.3.

7. Lord! We know what we are, but know not what we may be. –Hamlet, Act 4, Sc.5.

8.  We cannot but obey the powers above us. ---Pericles, Act 3, Sc.3.

9.  To weep is to make less the depth of grief.---Henry VI (part 3),  Act 2, Sc1.

10. The miserable have no other medicine, but only hope.----Measure for Measure, Act 3, Sc.1.

11. Jesters do oft prove prophets.---King Lear, Act 5, Sc.3.

12. Be just and fear not.---Henry VIII, Act 3, Sc.2.

13. Kindness, nobler ever than revenge! ----As You Like It, Act 3, Sc.4.

14. The web of our life is of a mingled yarn, good and evil together: our virtues would be proud if our faults whipped them not; and our crimes would despair if they were not cherished by our virtues. ---All’s Well That Ends Well, Act 4, Sc.3.

15. Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage, and then is heard no more; it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing.---Macbeth, Act 5, Sc.3.

16. We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep. ----Tempest, Act 4, Sc1.    

17. Love is 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. ----Sonnet CXVI.

18. Love sought is good, but given unsought is better. ----Twelfth Night, Act 3, Sc.1

19. Horses are tied by the head, dogs and bears by the neck, monkeys by the loins, and men by the legs: when a man  ’s over-lusty at legs, then he wears nether-stocks. ---King Lear, Act 2, Sc.4.

20. What a piece of work is a man! how noble in reason! How infinite in faculty ! in form and moving how express and admirable! In action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! The paragon of animals!

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G.R.Kanwal

14 September 2025

 

 

HATRED

 

                                                   HATRED

            Hatred is poisonous. It embitters relationships.

            Some of its synonyms are dislike, ill-will , hostility, aversion, animosity, antagonism, revulsion, rancor, grudge, odium, and abhorrence.

                A few of  its antonyms are love, liking, affection, sympathy, kindness,  amity, fondness, affinity, admiration, compassion, attachment, and benevolence.

            Whereas hatred spoils relationships, love promotes them.  The former is a killer; the latter is a saviour.

            To hate people is to turn them into enemies. It is not enough to love God and some selected people. Love everybody, every creature, and love everything that you find in this world.

             The French novelist and playwright Balzac (1799-1850) said: Hatred is the vice of narrow souls; they feed it with all their littleness, and make it the pretext of base tyrannies.

            The English poet Lord Byron (1788-1824)  considered  hatred as the madness of the heart.

            According to Lord Buddha (Born around the 6^th century BCE) : Hatred does not cease by hatred, but only by love; this is the eternal rule.

            Many thinkers have advised: Hate no one, hate their vices, not themselves.

             The English clergy Caleb C. Colton (1780-1832)  thought : We hate some persons because we do not know them; and we will not know them because we hate them.      

                Plutarch  the 1^st century Greek  politician, priest , historian and philosopher warned : If you hate your enemies, you will contract such a vicious habit of mind as by degrees will break out upon those who are your friends, or those who are indifferent to you.  

            Finally, this fact:  hatred is associated with intense feelings of anger, contempt, and disgust.                                                 

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G.R.Kanwal

12 September 2025

 

 

 

SAY NOT THE STRUGGLE NAUGHT AVAILETH

 

                SAY NOT THE STRUGGLE NAUGHT AVAILETH               

            “Say Not The Struggle Naught  Availeth” is an inspirational poem written by the English poet Arthur Hugh Clough (1819-61).

 

            It assures the readers that ultimately every struggle achieves its desired results. In the beginning, the degree of success attained by it may be invisible. However, it is there, though currently invisible. So one should not feel disappointed and stop struggling.  This initial phenomenon of invisible success is also in many other fields of life.

 

            Clough’s poem begins with a reference to the results in a battlefield. It is said that the British Prime Minister Winston Churchill made it famous by quoting its final two stanzas in a 1941 radio broadcast to inspire the British public during a dark period of World War II, “emphasizing that continued efforts will ultimately lead to success.”

 

            Here is the full text of the poem:

“Say not the struggle naught availeth,

The labour and the wounds are vain,

The enemy faints not, nor faileth,

And as things have been they remain.

 

If hopes were dupes, fears may be liars;

It may be, in yon, smoke conceal’d,

Your comrades chase e’en now the fliers,

And, but for you, possess the field.

 

For while the tired waves, vainly breaking,

Seem here no painful inch to gain,

Far back, through creeks and inlets making,

Comes silent, flooding in, the main.

 

  And not by eastern windows only,

When daylight comes, comes in the light;

In front the sun climbs slow, how slowly!

But westward look, the land is bright!  

 

            Finally, according to a critic the poet’s message about the deceptive nature of apparent failure has found resonance in various historical moments of social struggle.

 

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G. R. Kanwal

11 September 2025

THE TEACHINGS OF LORD KRISHNA

 

            THE TEACHINGS OF LORD KRISHNA

            Lord Krishna is universally famous for his teachings in the Bhagavad  Gita. This Hindu scripture is worth reading by the people of all religions. It is part of the epic poem Mahabharata composed in the first or second century BCE.  Most of its teachings are useful for every  person.

 

             It is not a book for any specific period of time because it is eternally relevant. It is as important today as it was  when it saw the light of the day.  Its teachings are not temporal ; they are everlasting.

           

            Have a look at some of its  teachings.

 

*The body dies but not the soul. The former is perishable; the latter is eternal. It transmigrates from one body to another. In this sense, there is no death for living beings.  Existence  continues in different forms. This teaching of the great Lord  generates fearlessness about death. It offers eternal peace.         

 

*Everyone has to perform his duty with full dedication but without any attachment to its fruit, result or reward. This is known as selfless action. The right to action is mandatory, but the right to its fruit is not.

 

*Don’t become attached to material possessions. Let there be no desires with expectations of their profitable fulfillments.  All aspirations should be unselfish. Attachment to gratification of desires can cause pain and discouragement. ,

 

*Learn to keep your mind free from all disturbances. Let there be no brooding over the past and no contemplation of the future. Have a carefree mind that believes in the joyous performance of your current obligations.

 

*Be humble and compassionate. Co-exist with all creatures kindly and helpfully.

 

* Keep yourself virtuous. Abstain from deadly sins like anger, greed, lust, and

revenge.

 

*Face all challenges boldly and fearlessly. Your actions should be according to your respective talents,

 

*Finally, remain devoted to God every moment of your life. You are his child and all your possessions and qualities are due to him.    

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G.R.Kanwal

10 September 2025

WALT WHITMAN SAID

 

WALT WHITMAN SAID

            Walt Whitman (1819-1892) was an American poet and essayist. He also worked as a journalist and a teacher. His most famous collection of poems is Leaves of Grass. One of the longest poems in this book is “Song of Myself”.   He is known as a revolutionary poet. His literary style is original. Free verse is his   poetic hall mark. He is bold, fearless, frank, and broad-minded. He is a great poet of the common man. He does not believe in taboos and is as much a lover of the body as of the soul.             

            An overview says: Walt Whitman’s philosophy is a form of American transcendentalism, celebrating the individual and nature as divine, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all things, and promoting a democratic, sensual, and spiritual life lived in harmony with the body and the physical world.

            In his famous poem on animals, he says

I think I could turn and live with animals, they are

so placid and self-contain’d,

I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition.

They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins;

They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God.

 

            The Indian mystic and philosopher Acharya Rajneesh popularly known as Osho (1931-1990) had this to say after reading these lines:

If you look at the animals it is natural to be tempted by their silence, by their acceptance, by the peace that surrounds their being, by the non-tense, non-neurotic state of their minds. It’s very natural to be tempted by the animals. It means man has fallen. It seems there has not been an evolution, man has not progressed----just the contrary. For three hundred years the scientists have been telling there has been a great evolution, man has come far above animals. This is a false claim.

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G.R.Kanwal

O9 September 2025

 

WARRIORS! GIVE UP WARS

 

          WARRIORS! GIVE UP WARS               

In this beautiful world of -----

Roses and daffodils;

Apples and apricots;

Fruits and vegetables;

Mountains and hills;

Valleys and lakes;

Rivers and streams;

The sun and the moon;

Stars and glowworms;

Nightingales and cuckoos,

Songs and dances;

Pretty girls and handsome boys;

Lovers and beloveds;

Temples and mosques;

Churches and gurdwaras;

Holy books and sacred places;

Saints and sages;

Gurus and devotees;

Great poets and artists;

Don’t wage wars;

Promote peace and prosperity.

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G. R. Kanwal

8^th September 2025       

LEARNING FROM LOVE QUOTES

 

LEARNING FROM LOVE QUOTES

            “Love” is life. It is the sacred food of body,  mind , and soul. It is the key to peace and prosperity not only of individuals but also of nations. When love declines and hatred fills the resultant void, wars small or big erupt.

            Hatred is a curse. It believes in disunion, discord and destruction. It is unfortunate that nowadays there is more hatred than love. So we see a lot of separatism among people, communities and states.           

              Peace is declining. Its components are decreasing.  Cruelest weapons of death and destruction are being manufactured. If an atomic war breaks out, the world will face a most horrible holocaust.

            Undoubtedly, more than any other human class, it is poets, writers, artists, saints, seers and sages who oppose  hatred and encourage love.

                To conclude: hHere are three vital love quotes;

The sea of Faith,

Was once, too, at the full and round earth’s shore

Lay like the folds of a bright girdle furl’d.     

But now I only hear

Its melancholy, long, withdrawing roar,

Retreating, to the breath

Of the night-wind, down the vast edges drear

And naked shingles of the world.

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, nor pains;

And we are here as on a darkling plain

Swept with confused alarm of struggle and fight,

Where ignorant armies clash by night. --------English poet and critic Matthew Arnold (1822-88)

 

2.Love is the purification of the heart from self; it strengthens and ennobles the character, gives a higher motive and a nobler aim to every action of life, and makes both man and woman strong, noble, and courageous; and the power to love truly and devotedly is the noblest gift with which a human being can be endowed; but it is a sacred fire that must not be burned to idols.---English author Miss Jewsbury (1800-1833).

 

3. The cure for all the ills and wrongs, the cares, the sorrows, and the crimes of humanity, all lie in that one word “love.” It is the divine vitality that everywhere produces and restores life. To each and every one of us, it gives the power of working miracles if we will. ----American author Mrs. Lydia M. Child (1802-80).

 

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G.R.Kanwal

7^th September 2025