Category: Philosophy

Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye….

Good Morning Friends,

I have been giving you these poems since the First of June 2018.

From 4th Jan 19, I started doing something different. In addition to my own inspirational poems everyday, I started giving you, on every Friday, a song or poem that has inspired me. Today is the fifth and it is a hymn in Gujarati that was made very popular by Mahatma Gandhi since he took it as his favourite hymn: ‘Vaishnav jan to tene kahiye…. ‘.

Lately, the Indian Navy’s Symphonic Orchestra has been delighting us with the rendition of this hymn and I get goose pimples listening to it. It has been my favourite too for a long time.

To know more about the hymn, please access ‘Songs That Tug At Your Emotions – Song #21’.

This bhajan was penned in the 15th century by Narsinh Mehta or Narsi Bhagat in Gujarati. The bhajan brings out how a Vaishnav Jan (Vishnu’s follower) must tailor his/her life. It was sung by Amirbai Karnataki, popularly known as Kannada Kokila.

Before I give you the hymn, here is my small introduction:

If never have we felt anyone else’s pain,
Our life has been completely in vain.
The Maker of everyone is the same God,
Whose Creation all of us applaud,
How can to our own aloof we can remain?

And here is the hymn and its translation:

ષ્ણવ જન તો તેને કહિયે
જે પીડ પરાયી જાણે રે
પર દુ:ખે ઉપકાર કરે તો યે
મન અભિમાન ન આણે રે. ॥ધૃ॥

वैष्णव जन तो तेने कहिये
जे पीड परायी जाणे रे ।
पर दुःखे उपकार करे तो ये
मन अभिमान न आणे रे ॥

vaiṣṇava jana to tene kahiye
je pīḍa parāyī jāṇe re,
para duḥkhe upakāra kare to ye
mana abhimāna na āṇe re

Call those people Vaishnavas who
Feel the pain of others,
Help those who are in misery,
But never let self-conceit enter their mind.

સકળ લોકમાં સહુને વંદે,
નિંદા ન કરે કેની રે
વાચ કાછ મન નિશ્છળ રાખે
ધન ધન જનની તેની રે. ॥૧॥

सकळ लोकमां सहुने वंदे,
निंदा न करे केनी रे ।
वाच काछ मन निश्चळ राखे,
धन धन जननी तेनी रे ॥

sakaḷa loka māṁ sahune vande,
nindā na kare kenī re,
vāca kācha mana niścala rākhe,
dhana dhana jananī tenī re

They respect the entire world,
Do not disparage anyone,
Keep their words, actions and thoughts pure,
The mother of such a soul is blessed.

સમદૃષ્ટિ ને તૃષ્ણા ત્યાગી
પરસ્ત્રી જેને માત રે
જિહ્વા થકી અસત્ય ન બોલે
પરધન નવ ઝાલે હાથ રે. ॥૨॥

समदृष्टि ने तृष्णा त्यागी,
परस्त्री जेने मात रे ।
जिह्वा थकी असत्य न बोले,
परधन नव झाले हाथ रे ॥

sama-dṛṣṭi ne tṛṣṇā tyāgī,
para-strī jene māta re,
jihvā thakī asatya na bole,
para-dhana nava jhāle hātha re

They see all equally, renounce craving,
Respect other women as their own mother,
Their tongue never utters false words,
Their hands never touch the wealth of others.

મોહ માયા વ્યાપે નહિ જેને,
દૃઢ વૈરાગ્ય જેના મનમાં રે
રામ નામ શુ તાળી રે લાગી
સકળ તીરથ તેના તનમાં રે. ॥૩॥

मोह माया व्यापे नहि जेने,
दृढ़ वैराग्य जेना मनमां रे ।
रामनाम शुं ताळी रे लागी,
सकळ तीरथ तेना तनमां रे ॥

moha māyā vyāpe nahi jene,
dṛḍha-vairāgya jenā manamāṁ re,
rāma-nāma śuṁ tāḷī re lāgī,
sakaḷa tīratha tenā tanamāṁ re

They do not succumb to worldly attachments,
They are firmly detached from the mundane,
They are enticed by the name of God (Rama),
All places of pilgrimage are embodied in them.

વણ લોભી ને કપટ રહિત છે,
કામ ક્રોધ નિવાર્યાં રે
ભણે નરસૈયો તેનું દર્શન કરતાં
કુળ એકોતેર તાર્યાં રે. ॥૪॥

वणलोभी ने कपटरहित छे,
काम क्रोध निवार्या रे ।
भणे नरसैयॊ तेनुं दरसन करतां,
कुळ एकोतेर तार्या रे ॥

vaṇa-lobhī ne kapaṭa-rahita che,
kāma krodha nivāryā re,
bhaṇe narasaiyo tenuṁ darasana karatāṁ,
kuḷa ekotera tāryā re

They have forsaken greed and deceit,
They stay afar from lust and anger,
Narsi says: I’d be grateful to meet such a soul,
Whose virtue liberates their entire lineage.

….jo peed parayi jaane re.

This one is in lighter vein*….

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #216‘.

Good Morning Friends,

Do you remember the days before the Internet,
Only from a close circle of people advice you’d get?
Your privacy, by others, was always respected,
Your habits, wants and beliefs were never dissected.

Nowadays everyone offers you unsolicited advice,
Where to go, what to eat and buy, at what price?
Any time you feel you are unobserved and alone,
Some suggestions or messages pop up from unknown.

As it is Whats App has made most people puppets,
Now they give you advice with blowing of trumpets,
Buy this, buy that, see this, see that, do this, do that,
You don’t do, you’re doomed; you do and you’re copy cat.

The result:
Individuality vanishes, people behave like clones,
People are controlled by their own smartphones.
Studying and analysing things have become rare,
Instant advice like fast food is here and everywhere.

Any suggestions or advice as to how to get over this crisis?

*Can’t be serious all the while!

Is it necessary to belong to some Religion?

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #214‘.

Good Morning Friends,

All Religion is an attempt to live in the past,
Because, unless you are an iconoclast,
You assume that some sage before,
Really knew and understood more,
Than all those in the present era, by contrast.

I don’t think Religion is to be blindly followed,
Like a miracle drug to be dutifully swallowed;
Like all knowledge from one era to next,
It should be true in both time and text,
However much it was to be held as hallowed.

The guardians of Religion want people to be blind,
And to the thinking of another to be totally aligned,
There is no room for any doubt,
As they increase their own clout,
And to just one isolated approach one is confined.

What if you are one to one with your Maker and God,
Without any past theory and practice to be overawed;
You make your own ethics and rules,
You take assistance from your own tools,
Would you say such a concept is completely flawed?*

I would say Humanity is a religion by itself.

*Let me hear some views about it in the comments. Lets not make these daily messages totally one sided.

What would you like to be born as?

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #213‘.

Good Morning Friends,

If God were to give you a choice,
What would you like to be at birth?
Would being very strong make you rejoice?
Or being very intelligent fill you with mirth?

Or would you like to be born as a Lion,
The recognised king of the forest?
Or would you rather be born as a scion,
To a family that is seen as the richest?

A great singer, painter or actor,
What would give you the greatest joy?
Would it be to be seen as a benefactor,
Or to change over to being a girl if born as a boy?

There are hundreds and thousands of choices,
It is hard to think of as what you want to be born.
There are in your head many competing voices,
Between various options you are torn.

You are a very happy person indeed,
If you’d like to be born as who you are.
“God, I have neither any remorse nor greed,
You have already made me a bright star. “

“I am lucky you made me who I am,
I don’t want to change a thing.
To becoming someone I don’t give a damn,
Even if it were to be a queen or a king. “

You are happy if you’d like to be born as yourself.

Aye malik tere bande ham….

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #211‘.

Good Morning Friends,

From 4th Jan 19, I started doing something different. In addition to my own inspirational poems everyday, I started giving you, on every Friday, a song or poem that has inspired me. Today is the fourth one and it is a hymn in Hindi called ‘Aye malik tere bande ham‘.

This bhajan or hymn made lasting impact on me. I saw the 1957 V Shantaram movie ‘Do Aankhen Barah Haath’ (A pair of eyes and twelve hands) when I was barely six years old. It was screened in our colony in the Himachal town of Mandi on a portable screen and projector. This movie is a classic in human psychology about good begetting good even in hardcore prisoners. Indeed, as far as I know, the movie depicted the jail-warden Adinath’s resolve to have an open prison based on trust and thereby reforming even hardened prisoners.

This bhajam penned by Bharat Vyas, composed by Vasant Desai and sung by Lata Mangeshkar is not just the most popular bhajan in Hindi movies but depicts the advantages of having God on your side, the righteous side.

It takes great courage to stand against cruelty, evil and chicanery. Many a times we find ourselves alone and feeble to stand against these. We wish we would get miraculous powers and strength to take on everything we are pitted against.

The fact is that such miraculous powers are within our reach. India’s most celebrated mounyaineer, the Indian Navy Captain MS Kohli wrote a book called ‘The Miracles Of Ardaas (Prayer)’ and has shared actual incidents wherein when everything was lost for him, God actually provided him with the miraculous power to come out of it unscathed.

Captain Kohli, a living legend, is the recipient of Padma Bhushan and Arjuna Award besides a host of other awards and honours.

Here is my own introductory poem before we take on the hymn that has provided me with enormous solace and abundant courage all these years. My dad was killed in a jeep accident when I was thirty years old. I had to fight endemic corruption, administrative and judicial inefficiency, and poverty to make secure life for my widowed mother and my family. I had and have Ardaas and Waheguru: 

The sensible way to fight evil is with goodness,
And not to pay back evil in the same coin.
You can’t pit rudeness against rudeness,
And then in humility your hands to join.

God and you is the strongest combine,
To take on the fiercest oppressors.
God’s Power can make you outshine,
All the cruelties unleashed by your aggressors.

Have trust in Him to lead you out,
From the pit of darkness you appear to be in;
Don’t let yourself be assailed by doubt,
God on your side shall always make you win.

And now the hymn:

ऐ मालिक तेरे बंदे हम
ऐसे हो हमारे करम
नेकी पर चलें
और बदी से टलें
ताकि हंसते हुये निकले दम

जब ज़ुल्मों का हो सामना
तब तू ही हमें थामना
वो बुराई करें
हम भलाई भरें
नहीं बदले की हो कामना
बढ़ उठे प्यार का हर कदम
और मिटे बैर का ये भरम
नेकी पर चलें …

ये अंधेरा घना छा रहा
तेरा इनसान घबरा रहा
हो रहा बेखबर
कुछ न आता नज़र
सुख का सूरज छिपा जा रहा
है तेरी रोशनी में वो दम
जो अमावस को कर दे पूनम
नेकी पर चलें …

बड़ा कमज़ोर है आदमी
अभी लाखों हैं इसमें कमीं
पर तू जो खड़ा
है दयालू बड़ा
तेरी कृपा से धरती थमी
दिया तूने जो हमको जनम
तू ही झेलेगा हम सबके ग़म
नेकी पर चलें …

And my translation….

O Owner, we are your children,
Our deeds should be such,
We walk on goodness’s path,
And shun the evil,
So that we depart from the world happy.

When we have to face cruelties,
You should be there to hold us,
They indulge in evil,
We should continue with kindness,
And we should not be filled with vengeful feelings.
Every step we take should be in love,
There shouldn’t be a whisper of animosity.

Deep darkness descends,
Your people are afraid,
They appear lost,
They can’t see anything,
The sun of happiness appears to be setting.
Your light has such power,
As to convert moonless night into full moon light.

Man is very frail,
Still he has lots of deficiencies,
But You stand there,
Like huge (pillar of) Kindness,
The Earth rests on your blessings.
Since you created us,
You would bear all our sorrows.

….take’ hanste huye nikle dam…*

*(So that we leave the world happily). I used to have my doubt about this: to lead the whole life righteously so that one can die smilingly; what a waste, I thought. But then, on the 9th Aug 2017 when my mother was dying in my arms and she had that divine smile on her face, I understood the full meaning of it that had eluded me all these years.

What knowledge and rituals are required to get to God?

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #209‘.

Good Morning Friends,

The world’s knowledge increases as the world ages,
That means when mankind evolved we had least wordly knowledge.
So, let’s get back, in history book, to the first few pages,
And get to the nursery from now being in college.
So when to God the first time man prayed,
Little or no knowledge such a man displayed.

No languages would have evolved at that time,
Nor would people have known rituals and hymns.
No practices could have been called sublime,
People won’t have yet learnt to use fancies and whims.
And yet His children would have been to Him as dear,
As those now who to strict religious practices adhere.

Can we then easily and safely conclude,
That knowledge and rituals are not compulsory to get God;
With today’s standards those people praying must have looked crude,
Something that we would now hold as flawed.
I think there would have been only one demand of God above,
That you turn towards Him with heart full of love.

I think after eons it is still the same,
God doesn’t require for us to pray in complex ways,
All that we need to know is to call Him by His name,
And He’d respond to our loving devotion always.
God is not a reward for passing some skill test,
Those who love Him are to Him the nearest.

I don’t suppose any since nil are required for a child to get to his/her mother.

What’s the main function of our Mind or Brain?

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #207‘.

Good Morning Friends,

The main function of our Mind is to record,
And when asked for or otherwise to recall;
Most often it does it of its own accord,
And it does for all things rare or banal.
The fact is that although it is much maligned,
It supports the progression of the mankind.

Its functioning ensures our very survival,
With its ability to reproduce data that’s stored;
All other artificial means to it are no rival,
Its suggestions shouldn’t normally be ignored.
It never sleeps even when we sleep,
It generally looks after its own upkeep.

Then, what are the things that make it go wrong?
One is that it has to be kept from wandering,
The other is that our heart makes it less strong,
And many times don’t listen to mind’s pondering.
Wandering Mind is really out of control,
It can go at great speed but miss the goal.

Being ruled by heart is not such a bad thing,
Our Mind doesn’t mind when it is ignored;
But we have to somehow keep it from wandering,
Its wantonly roaming we can really ill afford.
The moment we learn to control our Mind,
Life’s true pleasures we can easily find.

It is to record and recall and be under our control.

Yes or No?

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #206‘.

Good Morning Friends,

Yes and No are the smallest replies,
But pack the world between them;
Their correct use makes one wise,
Incorrectly they can cause mayhem.
Both can spell hope and positivity,
Both can spell gloom and negativity.

Say Yes to Love, Mercy, and Life,
And you usher in rays of sunshine;
Say No to Lies, Violence and Strife;
And you extend someone lifeline.
The trick is in the manner of their use,
Both can be praise, both can be abuse.

Sometimes, we are not too sure,
A better response perhaps is ‘Maybe’;
For ‘Yes’ or ‘No’ it may be premature,
‘Maybe’ is for some time to ‘let it be’.
‘Maybe’ secretly asks for His intervention,
Before you can decide own intention.

Life gives you many an occasion,
When you can’t decide ‘No’ or ‘Yes’;
It is not an exercise in evasion,
When you ask God decision to bless.
Given time, He’d show a clear way,
And then you can have your final say.

Maybe God would show the way.

What if we were born very rich….

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #205‘.

Good Morning Friends,

What if you were born very rich,
Would all your wishes have come true?
Would your lifestyle you’d switch,
To one more suited to the wealthy you?
God made each one of us rich at birth,
Many of us don’t realise our true worth.

God gave us richness we were to find within,
But, we kept looking for it outside and beyond;
Many of us even thought one day we’d win,
If only He’d be kind to wield a magic wand.
God made each one of us rich at birth,
Many of us don’t realise our true worth.

We fritter away our diamond life, said poet Kabir,
And exchange it for a kaudi, worthless and cheap;
From being amir we are then cursed to die a fakir,
Because we let richness at birth decay and sleep.
God made each one of us rich at birth,
Many of us don’t realise our true worth.

….the reality is that each one of us was!

I have doubts too….

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #203‘.

Good Morning Friends,

Only God knows all the truth and all the facts,
We don’t know whys and hows of all our acts;
We’re all ignorant in various degrees,
We simply don’t have the expertise,
To gauge our partial truths and their impacts.

That makes every person untrue at some stage,
That includes many a saint and many a sage;
So can anyone honestly claim,
Without doubt and shame,
That he or she never told a lie at any age?

Is this one of the sins that Christ asked God to forgive,
For men not knowing what they do as long as they live?
Did he talk about all the mankind,
Or had only his persecutors in mind?
I wish someone’d give me evidence that is corroborative.

Meanwhile I can stick to only that truth I know,
Until a better one you can tell me or show.
We can only be partially honest,
Yes, all those who are modest,
There is no way of the untruths we can let go.

….can you provide me the clue?

God made all of us unique and different….

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #201‘.

Good Morning Friends,

Imagine if God made all of us alike,
And gave each of us similar thoughts;
Do you know what the world’d feel like,
With people moving around as robots?

Then why do we envy another’s situation,
Knowing his pluses and minuses are unique;
His having more is no cause for frustration,
His having less is also totally his streak.

Similar is the case with our own fate,
We too have unique positives and negatives;
Let’s be satisfied with what’s on our own plate,
Rather than envy those of friends and relatives.

We may not be responsible for our situation,
We are always responsible for our reaction to it;
Our destiny may not be our own creation,
But how we respond, I believe, hasn’t been writ.

Don’t compare but make your response better,
And see what is that unique plus God gave you;
Rather than copying you can be a trendsetter,
Standing at the very head of your own queue.

….when He gave us less of something, He also gave us more of something else.

If only we could hold time….

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #200‘.

Good morning Friends,

It appears to be running down faster in old age,
The grains of sand in our life’s hourglass;
At one stage when we were in our teenage,
It didn’t look like it’d come to this impasse.
Wasted hours were as important then as now,
But we thought these won’t matter somehow.

How nice it’d be if we could go through life,
With the wisdom of today and energy of the past;
We could have avoided all the unwanted strife,
And could have loads of satisfaction in contrast.
Wasted hours were as important then as now,
But we thought these won’t matter somehow.

Wisdom doesn’t have to visit us when we are old,
We can call it our friend even when we are young;
But most of us don’t like ourselves to be controlled,
And remain in our youth reckless and highly strung.
Wasted hours were as important then as now,
But we thought these won’t matter somehow.

Wisdom lies in not relearning those things,
That have been passed on by those before;
The wasp of wasted time actually stings,
When there is not much time left in store.
Wasted hours were as important then as now,
But we thought these won’t matter somehow.

….but we can’t and must learn to make use of it.

A double century today….

A double century today and still batting,
Since we took up crease on the first of June;
I have enjoyed, with you, my daily chatting,
I hope you’ll, from this station, never untune.
Thank you for your encouraging reception,
That brought me to this stage since inception.

From light ditties to God and philosophy,
It was a journey we enjoyed together;
Forgive me if inadvertently or consciously,
I made you pass through some heavy weather.
I assure you we have a long way to go,
Before the final bugle I decide to blow.

I thank God for making me write about,
So many diverse subjects under the sun;
Of new ideas there has been no drought,
Hence, we’ve had, together, lots of fun.
Each one would’ve had varied gain,
I hope the exercise wan’t totally in vain.

For future, if you want some specific subjects,
Please don’t hesitate to write in the comments;
I shall try my best to make these less complex,
We shall collectively make of these some sense.
Let me hear from you once in a while,
I assure you that would make me smile.

….You and I are still at the crease!

If God is indeed infinite….

From the first of June, 2018, I started writing Good Morning messages in the form of poems (Please read: ‘Good Morning Message #1‘).

The last such message was:’Good Morning Message #198‘.

Good Morning Friends,

You and I together for the last few days,
Are looking at various attributes of God;
We know we haven’t explored all the ways,
All or some of our theories may be flawed.

All we know is that all of us put together,
Can’t imagine how large is the divinity;
And that’s the time we start thinking whether,
We should actually imagine God as Infinity.

Now lets give our imagination wings to fly,
And think of Infinite in infinite dimensions;
Oh, now we have already reached sky high,
And still not gone far in all possible directions.

Now imagine Him with infinite virtues and powers,
Lets just take two (since we are finite): mercy and love;
And now lets imagine Him beyond years, days and hours,
We shall probably get to a minuscule part of God above.

How often we deal with Infinity in our routine?
I would say the answer is “close to never”;
It is, truly, not even the realm of the foreseen,
To imagine someone who goes on forever.

Hence, each one of us only ends up defining,
What we can imagine with our finite mind;
In our own constraints we end up confining,
Him and us and remain to both almost blind.

….we need to go beyond our finite thinking to see Him.