“Sweet is Thy Will”

A person once dreamt that he visited heaven. An angel showed him around. There was a big passage way with the most beautiful ever flowers on both sides. It lead to a huge hall named the administration block. The admin block had different sections, one for receipt of petitions, another for packing and mailing, and yet another section for receipt of acknowledgements.

There was hectic activity in the petitions section because lakhs and lakhs of human beings had prayed for various things. The prayers that were accepted were sent to the mailing section for packing and delivery of God’s grace and blessings. There was reasonable activity here too. Then there was this other section where record of acknowledgements was kept. The clerk there sat idle most of the day because very few people returned acknowledgements for the gifts delivered to them by God.

This story, quite common on the internet forwarded mails, points to the fact that while we strive for a lot of things and pray for them, when we do get them we get so lost in their enjoyment and ascribe the credit for obtaining them to our own efforts, that we forget to acknowledge God’s help in our getting those things. Simply said, we don’t say thanks to God for all the innumerable things that make our life possible and enjoyable.

Well what blessings should we acknowledge?

Let us see.

If you have food in your refrigerator, clothes on your body, a roof overhead and a place to sleep, you are richer than 75% of this world. If you have money in the bank and cash in your wallet, you are among the top 8% of the worlds wealthy.  

If you have your own computer, you are part of the 1% in the world who have this opportunity.

If you woke up this morning with more health than illness, you are more blessed than the many who will not even survive this day.   

If you have never experienced fear in battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... You are ahead of millions in the world.

If you can hold your head up, and smile, you are not the norm, you're unique and exceptional to all those in doubt and despair......."

If you are attending a session in Toastmaster, you are ahead of more than a billion illiterate people in the world and still more billions who do not have purpose of life, or think of self-development. 

Saints say that the kind of life we should lead is simple living and high thinking. Our desires should be minimal and they should be controlled. We should live a life of ‘Sweet is Thy Will’. Only when we show our gratitude to God that we would be content, happy and have peace of mind.

                If we can live a life of gratitude and contentment, what a good life we would lead – full of peace and tranquility. We will sleep in peace and 

Not just a regular day !

How does it feel when you wake up early in the morning but stay in bed (lethargic) till late and start your daily course activities an hour before noon. Doesn't it seem half day wasted? Then you catch hold unto yourself, get freshen up and your day starts an hour past noon. It feels like turmoil inside you, raising temperature and radiating heat out of body. You get restless, agitated, irritated and your mind cease. You feel feeble and debilitated, you push from inside but succumb to lethargy (procrastination).

Today was again the similar situation, which I have become used to now days, but controllable than before. After having an hour’s talk with dad, I was better, had a bath and kicked my day off with reading a wonderful book – Arrow of Blue skinned God, did a little office work, wrote, read, meditated, ran at evening and folded the day with a small smile.

I learnt something today.

                Life is full of events, which may seem as of utmost importance, attention and worthy effort. But is it really? Situations, events and circumstances, they all keep shuffling rapidly (unaware to us). Today we are involved with something, the next moment we might be in something else. We take birth, spend time as careless infants, grow up as students, then see world as teenagers, step into adulthood, shoulder responsibilities as life partner and then parents, put our maximum (to our understanding) to all the events (phases) of life and eventually start to realize we have been running to a dead end. We have earned nothing which we can relish. Memories fade, expire and can only gives a mental satisfaction. An orphan cannot be happy by the memories of his parents (alive), a doomed businessman with the memory of his successful running business or a handicapped with the memories of him being normal. “What is today might not be tomorrow and will not be forever.” Then why waste on it and not seek what might be same tomorrow and may remain forever.  With this understanding the first step – ‘to seek’ is taken.

                We get afflicted by life upheavals and waste more in analyzing and stabilizing them. It is like leaving footprints at the sea shore, how hard we try, and it will get washed off. Then why do it? Why not sit afar and let the approaching ferocious tides and retracting same feeble ones, amuse us, please us. Why not let the cool breeze brush our face and soothe us, why not relax to the rhythmic music the nature plays. Why expend time in leaving a footprint or making a sand palace and eventually let it washed off by the sea… why not understand the truth and invest in it. Why not utilize every single moment until we are capable of. Why not fold the day with a satisfactory smile of achievement of something which might last? With this understanding the second step – ‘to understand’ is taken.

                With these two steps only, we are able to protect ourselves from worldly afflictions, torments and can utilize every moment in the search and understanding, and hence the third step – ‘to implement’ will be taken which ultimately, will lead to ‘experience’. 

Meteor Friend...

Sloshed with smirnoff, surfing on clouds,

Few inches away, quietly she lay,

Smiling, failing to utter her emotions,

Speaking with her eyes…

Dark eyes, fringed with black lashes,

Honest and transparent as a mirror,

Lustrous hair curled over shoulders,

She had the face of an angel…

Whole night lay ahead

And we could be better friends

She started to let go

With stories of her adventures,

Crazy and daring (burning butts)

She started to awe me...

Amid the smoke of strawberry Hukka,

Stealing glances and dabbling into topics,

Keeping her awake, tuned and involved

Entrapped by the aura, I lay surrendered

Appearing audacious but fragile,

Extrovert but sensibly silent,

With creative but concealed expression,

Pragmatic and responsible she seemed.

Intent on night long engagement

We promised to stay awake

We bantered and guffawed,

Exchanged numbers and spun yarns

But before long

I slipped into sleep

Yawning next morning   

Before I get to my senses,

I am enthralled by her presence.

Already up and washed,

Water dripping down her curls

Turquoise blue top slightly off shouldered,

Dark jeans, bright glowing face

Her fragrance filled the room.

We wished and greeted

Night’s magic was there in the smile

But it was time to leave

So with promises to stay in touch, she departed

Now she is long gone. De-part-ed

And till she returns

With my art, acutely describing into weaved expressions,

I re-part my meteoric friend.

Few minutes be4...

P.S.: Wrote this during my first mid semester exams, started on first day and finalized on the last day of the exam.

Few mins left, anxiety blending with nervousness, hunches in stomach and I am sitting in front of my lappy.

First mid semester exam, the hype of which was palpable since quite a long time, has finally come.

With lots of things circling our minds, technical terms, diagrams, definitions, examples and all mixing together.

The period of 'no rest' has started, making us work at our 100% or more for few and making some follow "prepare the worst, hope for best".

Wonder if we ever were able to attain 50% of this state at the regular course time, we could finish up the course well before the time with ‘n’ no. of revisions, BUT then what meaning or importance will remain for the deadlines or say the last moment work.

With exams our perception varies with ego states. We become good listeners when someone teaching a topic, and public speakers when it comes to discuss the paper.

Finding time surplus, diminishing utility of studying more and more, probabilistic approaches to numerical, assigning "Pygmalion" effect of high self efficacy to ourselves to do well in exams… dwindling losses.... matching balance sheets... forming ledger's… it was all as simple as an commerce student solving numerical on ‘Laws of Motion’.

Hence the whole week has passed, using nights as haven, studying, mugging, cramming or whateva we can and has approached the end.

Again its 9:15, I fully dressed, waiting for the roomies to get ready to leave for the coll. Today is the D-day, the last exam, and one of the toughest (as if others were easy).

The mind is trying to balance onto the thin line of anxiety, nervousness being on one side and exhilaration on the other. Mugging and revising what we mugged up, same time making plans for the eve after the exam.

I believe this day as the only day when you won’t remain wistful for the whole day after taking the exam (obviously if paper doesn’t go well).

With this week I get to know that,

"Writing Exams are as easy as playing basketball with tied hands."

Kabhi woh aaye...

कभी वो आये ...

Kabhi woh zindagi main aaye,

Jiska chehra, har taraf nazar aaye,

Jo zindagi main roshni laye,

Andhera aur dhundlapan hatae

Jeene ka salikha sikhaye

Kabhi to aaye, kabhi to aaye

Jab bhi woh aaye,

Aankhon main chamak,

Hontho pe muskaan,

Chehrein par masumiyat

Prem bikhrati – Lehrati woh aaye,

kabhi to woh aaye

Andhera chant jaye

Chuphi dhoop khil aaye

Meethi aur thandi si hawa

Chehra sehlati, bal udati

Uski saanse banker

Uska swagat karti jae,

Jab bhi woh aaye, Jab bhi woh aaye

Phoolon jaise komal

Najuk Ghulab jaise

Ada se bharpoor

Ek aisa hai wo noor

Jaldi aaye, jaldi aaye

Khayalon main dekha hai jise

Ek aisi pari hai woh

Chune ki chah hai use

Hasin chavi hai woh

Saanso ko thame, dil ko roke

Aankho main lie pyar

Ho rahe bekarar…

Jaldi se aa jae,

Ab aur nahi hota intezar…

P.S.: This is my first experiment with writing in Hindi... Poem in Hindi