Meaning of it all?

       

 

        On the sea shore, lit by the moonlight of the night, sat the old man with his grand son. They were exhausted, it had been a hectic day's work on the boat. Battling the waves, they had ventured deep only to be humbled by the vastness of her majesty, the ocean. As if the serenity of the seemingly infinite vastness had sneaked into them, they both sat muted as though being personifications of silence.

      Breaking away from the spell of silence that had engulfed them, the grandson asked his grandfather - "I am mesmerized by the harmony with which you lead your life. How is it possible? Have you deciphered the meaning of it all?"

"The meaning of what all?"

"This entire existence? The highly intricate and entangled lives that we lead? The sophisticated global civilization that we are part of? The seemingly infinite tasks that we everyday engulf ourselves with?"

"I do not know what you are talking about!"

"To me, your life looks so fulfilled. It is like a divine melody flowing uninterrupted."

"It is the way you look at it."

"But still, to be able to live such a happy life, you should have understood life?"

"To live a happy life, you should live your life happily. What has understanding got to do with it?"

सवाल का जवाब

Pic Courtesy: Myself!!

चाहते तो हम चाँद को ज़रूर हैं,
लेकिन हर चाहत पूरी भी नहीं होती।
मुस्कराते तो ये फूल ज़रूर हैं,
लेकिन हर मुसकराहट ख़ुशी की नहीं होती।

अब आप चाँद हैं या फूल, 

दिल में ये सवाल ज़रूर हैं।

लेकिन माफ़ करना दिलरूबा, 

हर सवाल का जवाब भी नहीं होता।

(Certain is that I desire the moon,
But not every desire is fulfilled.
Certain is that these flowers smile,
But not every smile is of happiness.

Now, are thou the moon or the flower, 

Certainly the question does persist.

But do pardon me, the love of my heart, 

Not every question always has an answer.)

The promise of Democracy

"Democracy is a device that ensures we shall be governed no better than we deserve."

- George Bernard Shaw

I am twenty-five.

High on hopes and dreams.

Yet never spared of

My share in pains and rains.

I now wish not for wings,

As I used to in the past.

I now wish,

At least someday in the future

We shall be capable to nurture

Our hard earned Democracy

And the true spirit it enshrines.

To be able to listen,

To be able to reason,

To be able to pardon,

To be able to condemn -

All this with deserved precaution

In the interest of the nation.

Unprejudiced, Never partisan.

To be able to think,

To be able to appreciate,

To be able to criticize,

To be able to exercise

Our own judgment & discretion,

Guided by reason & information.

To stay strong despite loud propaganda,

In favor of the nation's welfare agenda.

Because like the old Zen adage

That the master appears only

When the student is ready,

Maybe the promise of democracy

Is awaiting to be fulfilled only

By conscious participation of

                "a deserving citizenry"!

(Published in 'The Hindu', here)

Blind or Crazy?

 

Street art in Berlin (Pic Credit: http://www.irishberliner.com/2010/04/street-art-berlin.html)

"In a world that would offer me only two choices - either being blind or going crazy, I would prefer to go crazy."

ಕಾರಣಕ್ಷಾಮದಿ ನಿಂತಿಹನು ಬಾಹುಬಲಿ?

ಮೂಲ ಚಿತ್ರ ಕೃಪೆ: www.pixelshooter.net

ಸರ್ವದಿಗ್ವಿಜಯಿ ಅಗ್ರಜ ಭರತ
ವಿಶ್ವಮಾನ್ಯನೂ, ಕೀರ್ತಿವಂತನೂ.
ಜಗವೆಲ್ಲ ಪಾದದಡಿ ತಲೆಬಾಗಲು
ಪಾದಕ್ಕೆರಗುವ ಔಚಿತ್ಯ ಪ್ರಶ್ನಿಸಿದ
ಕಾರಣಕರಣಿ ಬಾಹುಬಲಿ!

ಮಲ್ಲಯುದ್ಧ, ದೃಷ್ಟಿಯುದ್ಧ
ಹೆಸರಿಸಿದೆಲ್ಲ ಯುದ್ಧಗಳಲ್ಲೂ
ಪರಾಕ್ರಮಿ, ವಿಜಯ ವಿಕ್ರಮ
ವಿಜಯದ ಪರಿಭಾಷೆ ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಿಸಿದ
ಸ್ವಾನುಭವಿ ಬಾಹುಬಲಿ!

ರಾಜಾಧಿರಾಜ ಮಹಾರಾಜರೊಳು
ವಿರಾಜಿಸದೆ ತನ್ನೆಡೆಗೆ ಸನ್ನದ್ದ
'ಭಟಖಡ್ಗಮಂಡಲೋತ್ಫಲ ಭ್ರಮರಿ
ರಾಜ್ಯಲಕ್ಷ್ಮಿ'ಯ ನಶ್ವರತೆ ವ್ಯಾಖ್ಯಾನಿಸಿದ
ಧೀಯೋಗಿ ಬಾಹುಬಲಿ!

ತನ್ನದೇ ಇಹುದೆಲ್ಲ ಎಂಬಂತಿರಲು
ಇಹುದೆಲ್ಲವನ್ನೂ ತನ್ನದಲ್ಲವೇ ಅಲ್ಲ
ಎಂದು ಅಚಲ ಸ್ಥಿತಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆಯಿಂದ
ನಿರಾಕರಿಸಿ ಹೊರಟ ಸರ್ವಪರಿತ್ಯಾಗಿ
ಬೈರಾಗಿ ಬಾಹುಬಲಿ!

ತ್ಯಾಗ, ವಿವೇಚನ-ವಿಶ್ಲೇಷಣ ದುರ್ಲಭ, 

ಅಂಧಾನುಕರಣ - ಭೋಗಧಿಕ ಆಚರಣ, 

ನಿತ್ಯ ಅಭ್ಯಂಜನ, ಸಹಿಸಿ ಮೂಕ ವೇದನ,

ಇಂದಿನ ಕಾರಣಕ್ಷಾಮದಿ ನಿಂತಿಹನೇನೋ
ಕಲ್ಲಾಗಿ ಬಾಹುಬಲಿ?

ಹೃದಯದ ವಿಕ್ರಯ!

ಮೊದಲಲಿ ಪರಿಚಯ,

ಸಹಚರ, ಸಂಗಡ -

ಸ್ನೇಹದ ಅಂಕುರ!

ಅಭಿರುಚಿ ಸಂಚಯ,

ಭಾವ ಸಮನ್ವಯ,

ಅಭಿಮಾನದ ಉದಯ!

ಸಾತತ್ಯ ಸಮಯ;

ಆದರೂ ಗೆಳೆಯ

ಅರಿಯನು ಎಂದಾಗಿತ್ತೋ

ಹೃದಯದ ವಿಕ್ರಯ!!

To be free is to be bound?

"To be free is to be bound.

Bound not by force,

But bound by choice!"

The angel and the devil were pitted in a duel.
"I am bound, chained. I yearn for freedom."
"I doubt if we are free only when we are bound?"
"I am bound to this daily work. No sight of freedom."
"I sense freedom, financial and social, only when I secure a job."
"I am bound to relationships. Fell in love and lost freedom."
"I sense freedom and a serene joy as I flow through love."
"I am overcrowded with information. Learn, learn, learn, when do I think for myself?"
"I sense freedom when I submerge myself in the world of thoughts. The more I learn, the better I think."
"So, what do you mean? I don't sense freedom?"
"Do you actually sense being bound?"