Category: Philosophy

Don’t go searching for happiness outside….

♥Good morning friends,

He walked all over the earth,
Trying to find that golden treasure.
It would, he knew, fill him with mirth.
But to find it he lost all his leisure.

From town to town he went looking,
He crossed many rivers and hills.
At many a place he had his booking,
To obtain his desire he learnt many skills.

Finally, it became his strongest obsession,
He would somehow get it at any cost.
He would proudly display it as his possession,
So what if all else he would have lost.

Finally on a mountain he met a sage,
And said his desire to find Happiness was strong.
Imagine his own sense of outrage,
When the sage showed him he had it all along.

Don’t go searching for something outside,
That you already have within you.
It is lying there almost unidentified,
Simply because you don’t believe it’s true.

Happiness is not a bird in the sky,
That you’d capture and put in a cage,
It isn’t something that you can buy,
It is within, learn to feel it and gauge.

.…look within and you’d find it.

Yes, indeed, look after your body….

♥Good morning friends,

In one’s lifetime, curiously, an average person,
Does much more for the body than for the soul.
“Ah, my looks, health and physique shouldn’t worsen,
My soul, in any case, is not under my control.”

Such approach, pardon me, reeks of naivete,
For we are more soul than we are flesh and blood.
Soul goes on and shall never decay,
But body emerged from and shall go back to mud.

Nourishing Soul, indeed, requires more pains,
Than what we take for caring for the body.
Even though unclear appear to be its gains,
You just can’t do a job that is shoddy.

Body is for now, Soul is forever,
It continues to live even after your (body’s) death.
So, even if in your life you are half as clever,
You should look after your soul till your last breath.

….but don’t ever neglect your soul.

Your mind is a minefield….

Does the fear of failure keeps you from trying?
“I’ll land with a thud” keeps you from flying?
Just give it a thought,
It’s like a new Life you bought,
But you can’t start living ’cause of fear of dying.

‘Nothing ventured, nothing won’ is a good adage,
That we must remember at every age.
Don’t ever admit defeat,
Even before you compete,
Since that would be nothing short of outrage.

‘Fortune favours the bold’ should be your cue,
You’ve got a chance given only to a few.
First imagine success,
Before the task you address,
And see how elements conspire to make it come true.

Every battle is to be fought first in the mind,
Before in the battlefield you yourself find.
What you imagine you get,
You are your biggest threat or asset,
When you pass through a field that is mined.

….tread carefully.

There is no greater gift….

♥Good morning friends,

When you love someone a great deal,
And you want to gift something precious.
Nothing in a Mall would have greater appeal,
Nothing would ever appear so gracious.
The gift of time is by far the best,
Nothing even close to it anyone can suggest.

Human beings think only of themselves by design,
They can ill-afford time on others to waste.
To think of others is akin to being divine,
Not many are in that frame placed.
Therefore, such gift has great value,
For another person the best you can do.

Parents for their children keep waiting,
So that with them some time they can spend.
Many have said it gets very frustrating,
But the waiting doesn’t ever come to an end.
If only some time the kids would spare,
For those who think of them as answer to prayer.

So think of Time having leased to you,
Not just for yourself but also for others.
Spend it with friends both old and new,
And also with your fathers and mothers.
You would certainly realise it’s worth,
When your own children complain of its dearth.

….than the gift of Time.

Give….

♥Good morning friends,

When you suddenly want to become rich:
Give.
You don’t appear to be having a stitch?
Give.
You think you can’t spare anything?
Give.
Your poverty appears to sting?
Give.
Your own situation is really bad.
Give.
“How can I give? I am not mad.”
Give.

Suddenly you find God has provided.
Live.
Your good-luck you yourself decided.
Live.
By bringing smile to the face of the needy.
Live.
You proved that you can never be greedy.
Live.
Lo and behold you’re richer than before.
Live.
God rewards your kindness by giving you more.
Give and Live.

….and live.

God’s Creation is endless….

♥Good morning friends,

The Earth is more than four billion years old,
And still we are discovering things that are new.
If this is true of the Earth then behold,
The unknowns in the universe for me and you.
Please spare a thought for God’s Creation,
It is endless in space and duration.

Such endless universe can only be created,
By one who is Himself endless in scope.
This fact by millions can be debated,
But is still a fact that fills us with hope.
There is someone who owns this vast universe,
He is our Keeper for better or for worse.

Even in this infinite Time and Space,
He is still, with us, one to one.
Without Him in the universe there is no place,
We are safe under His sky and sun.
“God, even I don’t understand your entire Creation,
The fact of your being everywhere fills me with elation.”

….and He is the Keeper of all that He’s created.

Everything and every being around us….

♥Good morning friends,

As in God’s world you look around,
Many examples about life can be found.
In birds, animals, rivers and trees,
And even in the whisper of a breeze,
Suggestions about how to live abound.

One can be a hawk or a dove,
Have an offensive stance or be full of love.
One can be immovable like a mountain,
Or gush out in emotions like a fountain,
Or be to a close friend hand in glove.

One can be faithful and loyal like a dog,
Or see your life enthusiastically leapfrog.
One can be carefree as a lark,
Or have a busy bee’s trademark,
Or have an unclear mind like the dense fog.

One can stand strong like a rock,
Or be punctual like the clock.
It really fills us with surprise,
That all similes about our lives,
Are around us and make us dance like a peacock.

….teaches us how to live life. We need to follow the right example.

Only the great say Sorry….

♥Good morning friends,

Saying Sorry when you are in the wrong,
Is a sign of strength not weakness.
It ends pointless discussions that are long.
It recognises need for harmony and isn’t meekness.

When you feel you ain’t even in the wrong,
And you still have the courage to apologise.
Everybody recognises you ain’t being headstrong,
But becoming a gentleman (or lady) and wise.

The great and humble always do so,
They don’t let Ego stand in the way.
If you take the first step and before you know,
Your opponent too is compelled to say.

Apology is thus a great gift of God,
That he chooses a few to be blessed.
They are the ones who even if the other is flawed,
Say sorry than live in atmosphere that is stressed.

Let’s all work towards a peaceful society,
And take the first steps to put things right.
Let’s look at things not with belligerence but sobriety.
And try to live in humility and not in might.

Good luck to those who still won’t need this advice,
Pity them for they missed God’s blessing.
Remember that everything comes with a price,
They’ll ensure the future is always depressing.

….the others want to be proved right.

God has given you such rich treasure….

♥Good morning friends,

When a valuable thing you possess,
You are afraid somebody would rob or steal.
But there are things that don’t cause this stress.
And absolutely rich they make you feel.

Your knowledge, smiles and love can’t be stolen,
But, you can freely give them away.
Your assets to the brim can be swollen,
And yet these never fritter or decay.

The best part is you don’t have to guard these,
The more you give the more you get,
Everyone you know you can please,
And no body, with these, needs to be upset.

Happiness and joys too are for sharing,
You don’t have to keep these locked in a chest.
These ultimately reflect your caring.
As if by God Himself you are blessed.

When you look at these most precious things,
You can’t fail to applaud His Creation.
All these, to fly, lend you wings,
And freely sharing fills you with elation.

Let’s all reflect on this heavenly miracle,
That God gave to us as most valuable asset.
It is so enchanting, it is so magical:
The more you give, the more you get.

….to give it away fills you with pleasure.

When everything else fails….

♥Good morning friends,

There is something God has given us,
In every situation to cope,
When everything else fails to cheer,
He has given us the instrument of Hope.

Hope is nothing but a small prayer,
So that our situation can be changed.
It gives us courage to fight,
With forces that against us are ranged.

Even if we don’t pray at all,
There is always the rainbow of Hope,
This is so that when we live our life,
It won’t be like walking a tightrope.

Those who often blame God,
That an imperfect world He has made;
Should think of how He helped to get over,
Situations without getting dismayed.

It is just that we often take,
All these things for granted;
When our Hopes and Prayers come true,
We never say those are what we wanted.

So let Prayer and Hope help,
To put song on your lips today;
“Dear God, you know what I need,
But you still gave me to hope and pray.”

….there is still Hope.

Love and Ego….

♥Good morning friends,

If your ego comes in the way,
Of your good sense today.
Think of it as your loss.
Don’t let it somehow convey,
What you don’t want to say,
That you allow it to be your boss.

Often it keeps you from enjoying,
Those moments that turn annoying;
You allow head to rule your heart.
The other can be very trying,
And you can be at the verge of crying,
But ego is never good on your part.

So, let’s say no to our ego,
And tell it better we know,
Than to allow it to become our master.
It appears high but it is actually low,
And doesn’t allow relations to grow,
And it often spells disaster.

….can never go hand in hand.

When we feel our prayer is not granted….

♥Good morning friends,

Many times we feel our prayer is not granted,
God didn’t properly hear what we’d wanted.
If only we’d know,
That it is not really a ‘no’.
There is no reason for us to be disenchanted.

He doesn’t know us only through our prayer,
We are, at all times, in His care,
He listens to our request,
And decides what is, for us, the best,
And gives us, what He thinks, is more than fair.

Being unhappy with His blessing is mistrust,
There should never be a reason for disgust.
He always means well,
Many times we can’t tell,
What’s good for us for which pray we must.

….we should think twice before losing faith.

How can we understand God….

♥Good morning friends,

A thought on my dad’s 35th death anniversary:

Dad, years after your death,
I understood you and understood God.
And hence now before my last breath,
I salute thee, appreciate and applaud.
Good sense has visited me rather late,
But, still I feel it was worth the wait.

I still remember the day I got the shocking news,
Lyn was about to deliver and we lost you.
Suddenly I was asked to step into your shoes.
I asked myself what, in that situation, you’d do.
I simply did everything the way you would.
On my own there was nothing that I could.

Gradually I realised how hard it was to fight,
Against those seeped in parochialism and corruption.
You had taught me how to weigh what’s wrong and right,
And you showed me how to deal with life’s disruption.
And everytime I realised how you fought alone,
Against all the dangers known and unknown.

If we take so much time to understand dad,
How much time is needed to know God?
We are only a few children who find our dad mad,
There are billions who find God’s universe flawed.
Dad, thank you for teaching me even after you’re gone,
And now, because of you, to God I am drawn.

….when we take so much time to understand dad?

Anything is possible….

♥Good morning friends,

Can a fish, on earth, walk?
Can an elephant actually fly?
Can you make a dumb talk?
Can a blind see with his eye?

Can a cripple be made to run,
Can a pauper become a king?
Can storm give way to sun?
Can a sad man suddenly sing?

Anything is possible through God,
He can change, in a jiffy, your situation.
None of this can look odd,
He has for these things a reputation.

Have faith and don’t ever give up,
If you’re passing through a tough patch.
Look cheerful and prepare to live up,
You can restart from a scratch.

For God nothing is ever impossible*,
It should be the same with you.
Just say: “Yes, it is possible,
There is nothing that He can’t do.”

….if God wants.

*In Sri Guru Granth Sahib ji this passage about the powers of God (eg “Prabh bhaave tanh….) occurs repeatedly. We ought to believe in it.

Will God make distinction of my colour, caste or creed….

♥Good morning friends,

Should I be a Christian, Muslim, Sikh or Hindu,
O God, so as to be nearest to you?
What should be my colour, caste or creed,
So that in being your best devotee I can succeed?

Each faith and religion believes in just one God,
Which is its own whilst that of others is flawed.
In such a scenario ’tis difficult for me to make a choice,
Hence, so as to choose right, can you lend me your voice?

And lo and behold, this voice actually spoke.
And cleared all my doubts in just one stroke:
“All I want from you is to believe in me and love,
No faith or religion is below nor one is above.”

“Even those are close to me who have no religion at all,
But when they speak to me from their heart, I do hear their call.
I made people and they divided themselves in sects,
To me all are same in all ways and respects.”

“I loved my children even before Religion was born,
Fot those who divide people I only have scorn.
You were meant to love one another without bias of any kind,
No one should feel greater, no one should feel maligned.”

Thank you, God, for clearing one more of my doubts,
I would never be taken in by the priests and their clouts.
They like to add to their numbers as if it is a race,
The way they go about doing it is nothing less than disgrace.

Thank you, God, for letting me know, I am one to one with you,
I don’t require those who divide people with tricks old and new.
In the end I belong to just one religion that you gave me:
I love you and I love, without bias, all humanity.

….or will He just love me as I am?