Sensitive and thoughtful men

To find sensitive, intelligent, thoughtful men is something rare. Most of the men I see are consumed by cares of money and market; of buying, selling, saving. The rest are consumed by sports or hooked to gadgets. Rarely does anyone have a genuine passion, creativity or care for anything outside of themselves. We have to transcend space and time to meet men of depth and deeper insights. 

All through history it is men who have inspired us with the greatest in action, thought, philosophy, music and art; Viktor Frankl, Thoreau, Aldo Leopold, Tagore, Gandhi, Kuvempu, Emerson, Tolstoy, Oliver Sacks, Dag Hammarskjold, Morihei Ueshiba, Khalil Gibran, Lao Tzu, J. Krishnamurti, Thiruvalluvar and many more.

Joy animates the world ..

While watching Blue Planet the other day, the narrator Sir David Attenborough mentions that scientists have not been able to unravel the mystery of why the dolphins ride the waves.  He then concludes that they probably do simply for the joy of it.

Why do children play? Why do the birds sing? Why do we dance? Why the synchronized dance of a swarm of birds?  All for the joy of it ....

It is indeed joy that animates the world. When there is no joy in our hearts, we are crippled. All our activities dwindle down and we withdraw into ourselves.

The joy that permeates the universe is called Anandam in Sanskrit. The ancient seers saw into this truth and proclaimed in the Upanishads that "From joy are born all creatures, by joy they are sustained, towards joy they progress and unto joy they return" 

Homesickness and longing

Only one who has strayed far away from the motherland knows of homesickness and the angst and longing for home. From the frigid north, crossing continents and oceans I arrive home to mix and mingle in the heat, dust and sweat of the homeland; my body longs to be toasted like a coffee bean in the familiar heat. 

Payannur, Kerala, India

Time and again, I am awed by the living wealth of this land; the fertile red mud, the grand rivers, the pouring rain and intense heat, the spectacular variety and multitude of plants and animals that live and thrive here. Tagore's song "Sarthok janom amar" resonates with the sentiments of my heart.

Blessed am I that I am born to this land and that I had the luck to love her.
What care I if queenly treasures are not in her store but precious
Enough is for me the living wealth of her love.
The best gift of fragrance to my heart is from her own flowers
And I know not where else shines the moon that can flood my
Being with such loveliness.
The first light revealed to my eyes was from her own sky and let
The same light kiss them before they are closed for ever.
(Translation by Tagore)

Sarthok janom amar ami janmechi ai deshe
Sarthok janom ma go tomai bhalobese
Jani ne tor dhanraton ache ki na ranir maton
Sudhu jani amar ango jurai tomar chayai ase
Kon banete jani ne phul gandhe amon kare akul
Kon gagone othe re chad amon hasi hese
Aakhi mele tomar alo pratham amar chokh juralo
Oi alote nayon rekhe mudbo nayon seshe

Finding Tagore's treasure trove

All of my leisure over the last few years were spent in savoring Tagore's poems and songs, yet there is more to unearth from the exquisite treasure trove of Rabindra Sangeet.

What a blessing that such a sensitive, creative and noble human being lived and walked on this earth leaving behind these immortal songs! Every poem is a gift that contains the distilled essence of life, nature, love, joy, beauty, humanity, friendship and more.

How insipid my life would have been without these songs that enliven every aspect of living. Having found this wealth, I am rich!

Loving snow

The depths of a frigid winter intensifies in me the nostalgia for the tropical heat of home in India. But for my children born in Canada, the winter brings forth wondrous excitement. The powdery white stuff is a play field for any game the mind can conceive.

The things we love and long for are indeed subjective. 

Tagore : Welcome life in its entirety

Each day we meet life in all its variety.  From fragrances to sights, sounds, touches, feelings and perceptions, our daily destinies, actions and interactions. Life also comes to us in the form of tranquility, rest, peace, sleep and ultimately death. Tagore, the poet wholeheartedly welcomes life in its entirety.

Come into my life in new and varied forms 
Come as fragrances, colors and songs
Come to me as the thrill of touch on my body
Come to my consciousness as joy eternal 
Come to my closed eyes as fascination
Come as pure and radiant light
Come as beauty, tenderness and serenity
Come, come in the variety of destinies
Come to my being as sorrow and joy
Come day after day as all my actions
Come also as the end to all my activities 

Tumi nabo nabo rupe eso praane.
Eso gondhoborone, eso gaane.
Eso onge pulakomoy poroshe.
Eso chitte amritomoy horoshe,
Eso mugdho mudito du-noyaane.
Eso nirmol ujjwala kaanto,
Eso sundoro snigdho proshanto,
Eso eso hey bichitro bidhane.
Eso duhkhe sukhe eso morme,
Eso nityo nityo sob korme;
Eso sokolo-kormo-obosaane.

Tagore: Eternally New

A new dawn

The birth of a child brings an extraordinary feeling of joy and amazement. In these rare moments in our lives we give ourselves up completely to the wonder of seeing a new creation.

If we observe closely, new birth is happening around us all the time. We must tune ourselves to see everything afresh, the new dawn, the new hues in the evening sky, the new buds, the fresh snowflakes each with a new design. Attuned to the eternal renewal around us, we can drink deeply from the wellspring of joy to refresh ourselves.

Hey nutan ..
Dekha dik aar baar janmer pratham shubhakhan  |
Tomar prokash hok kuhelika kori udghaton 
Surjer moton ||
Riktataar bakkha bhedi aapanare karo unmochan  |
Byakta hok jeebaner joy,
Byakta hok tomaamaajhe asimera chirobismay  |
Udayadigante shankha baaje,mor chittamaajhe
Chiranutanere dilo daak
Pnochishe boishakh ||

Oh the new ..
Reveal yourself yet again this auspicious moment of birth,
May your light shine, unveiled from mist,
As does the glowing sun,
From the emptiness of the soul, reveal yourself,
May the joys of life be revealed again,
May your creation be a never ending wonder in me,
As you ascend up the horizon, conch shells resound in celebration within my soul,
Calling out for eternal renewal of the heart,
This twenty fifth day of Spring