MOTHER

If God has a face it would have kindness of you

If God has grace his smile would have warmth of you

If God has compassion his hands would be gentle as yours

If God has reflection it would be serene as yours

Oh Mother ! if God had form He would have looked like you

You were the shade of Banyan Tree in scorching summer

You were the warmth of sun in cold winter

You were the Messiah of destitute for who non-one cared

You were an Angel for those whose grief no one shared

You were a hope for many a downtrodden

You were a respite for those whom others had forgotten

You taught us the greatest service that Man could ever do

Oh Mother ! if God had form He would have looked like you

In a time when Man treads on Man

You worked unflinchingly where others ran

You taught us human values are supreme

You told us to love fellow human beings

You made us realise that blood is thicker than water

You showed us that He is the Greatest Creator

With faith and determination there is nothing which Man can not do

Oh Mother ! if God had form He would have looked like you.

Angry Goddess

 From my childhood I have been observing Goddess Durga being portrayed in an angry form. Off course, when She is engaged in a cosmic battle with the Demon King Mahisashur, anger is the most appropriate emotion that can be depicted. But at least I for one find it difficult to relate to a Goddess who is ever angry.

            The scriptures stipulate that God is beyond space, time or form. But for the purpose of our perception we have to identify God with one or the other form that appeals to us. Being Mother of all creations I feel benevolence should be a more durable feature of Ma Durga. I find it easier to accept an image of the Goddess that radiates kindness.

            We believe in Gods and Goddesses as it gives us a sense of security. We can depend upon them in difficult times. We ask for their blessings for fulfilling our unending desires. Such prayer can only be made to a Mother who listens to her children and takes care of them. An angry God or Goddess will be worshipped more out of  fear than love lest She vents Her ire on the erring subjects. Such attitudes are feudalistic.

            I remember my grandfather was an ardent devotee of Goddess Kali. Whenever he would buy fruits or sweets he would first offer them to Her with much fondness. Perhaps he shared a similar feeling that there was kindness behind the angry façade of the Goddess. Great saints are revered for their acts of kindness. How can the Supreme Creator, therefore, be an epitome of anger ?

            On my last visit to Kali Ghat in Kolkatta I searched for an image of Goddess Kali that would portray her kindness. After looking in different shops for sometime my efforts were fruitful. I was happy not only on finding such an iage but on discovering the fact that there are others who share a similar feeling as mine.

            Anger makes us irrational and do things which we may repent later. It is an emotion which at best may only be exhibited and not felt. Kindness on the other hand helps us to overcome our ego. It helps us to think beyond ourselves. It teaches us to care and share. It prepares us to sacrifice for others. It keeps us in touch with Nature. It takes us closer to the Ultimate Truth.

            Let the kindness in us prevail over our anger.

Life

Life is short

Is it not ?

Then why those lines on the forehead?

Why do the eyes tears so much shed?

If this life were a bit more long

I wonder what I would have done!

Still I wish I have a long life!

May be I like the present strife

If you ask me the reason why

I’ll say Mans’ like that and that’s I

In Search of Peace

   There are no two opinions that all of us want a peaceful life. But peace eludes us. We, the urban population, can be considered to be better placed than our rural brethren as materialistically we are better off. However, it is a known fact that the urbanites are caught in the fast life of the cities which ultimately tell upon their health and social relations. In more developed countries pace of life is still faster, so much so that those who are not able to keep pace with this life style suffer from cultural shock.

            On the other hand the rural folk are shackled to out-dated social norms. In many villages in our Country child marriages is still common and inter caste marriages is unthinkable. Proper medical and educational systems are found wanting. For them cities are considered greener pastures. Many of them migrate to the urban areas in search of a better life, increasing the pressure on already congested cities. When their dreams still remain unfulfilled some of them resort to theft and other crimes or take to begging. Thus we can safely conclude that peace is not a matter of logistics.

            According to Maslow’s theory of Hierarchy of needs Man first tries to fulfil his basic needs like food, shelter and clothing. Next priority is given to fulfillment of social needs like family, friendship. Then be tries to fulfil his desire for associating with a group which gives rise to feeling of Nationality, belonging to a particular community. Once these needs are fulfilled he tries to fulfil his need for recognition in society which motivates him for competition with others. The last stage indicated by Maslow when all other needs are fulfilled is need for self-Esteem i.e. striving for safe guarding what he has achieved so far. Thus Man is constantly striving at every stage and never at peace.

            This gives rise to the basic question as to what is peace ? Like happiness, it is a state of mind. The Bhagvad Gita says “Be a Karmayogi. Do your duty and don’t bother about the fruits of your work”. While this is easier said than done, there is good logic in the quotation. If we choose one day in a week to help others it helps us in forgetting our needs. The more we practice, the greater control we can achieve over our ego. Working for others gives more meaning to our existence. A person who devotes his life for others is respected the most in society. The more we forget our own needs the more peaceful we can be with ourselves.

Let us develop the will to earn our peace.

Transience

The rose unclosed its green bud,

And Smiled at the morning Sun.

When people saw it they cried

Oh! What a lovely one

How sweet! How charming!

How enchanting! They sighed

And closer and closer to it they bend,

They let their eyes feast on it,

And filled their nostrils with its scent

The bees sipped its Nectar

Which tasted like sweet wine,

They rested on the satin petals,

And wished if only these were mine!

As time flowed along

The petals shed one by one,

Soon no eyes looked twice at it

It had its admirers none,

They trampled on the same petals.

Which fell to the ground,

These petals are worthless now!

They cried.

Which now the wind knocked around.

Raghu

Raghu lay in the cool shade of the banyan tree. The multi-storeyed building was at last complete. There had been the usual distribution of sweets by the contractor. But Raghu’s heart was filled with sadness. For the past about two years the structure had become a home for him and his family and many other labourers like him. He did not have to bother about the rain, the cold winter winds and heat of the summer season. In the evening after a hard day’s work he and his wife would watch their two children playing in the foreground. All this will have to change now.

            From where he lay the building loomed large and seemed to kiss the sky. Raghu wondered at the Irony of fate. From tomorrow he would not be allowed to come anywhere near the building which he and hundreds like him had constructed. He had become a non-entity for them. The building would house people whose wealth was beyond his comprehension.

            Raghu decided that there was no point in wasting any more time. Life must go on. He had to find a new job. But first a new shelter. Before his assignment on the multi-storeyed building he was staying in a juggi colony near the railway tracks. He decided to shift there for the time-being. As the place was in the suburbs of the city he asked his wife to hurry up with their few belongings so that they could reach the place before sunset. After trudging the long distance on foot, they could reach the place at last. But at first sight he could not recognize the place, No juggi was visible in the area. He could locate someone familiar and asked him about the juggis. He was told that the juggis had been cleared as a new multi-storeyed building was to come up there. Raghu sat down with a heavy heart. Why was fate so cruel to him and people like him who helped in providing shelter for others. His brother who worked as a farm-labourer in his native place led a similar hand to mouth life. Perhaps God who was the provider for all mankind had chosen him and people like him to carry out His work on this Earth of providing food and shelter for other and sacrifice their own life for this divine task.

Laughing At Myself

   It is true that laughter is the best medicine but you must have a reason to laugh. You can either laugh at others or your own self. I assure you that laughing at yourself is much safer than laughing at another. That way you neither hurt the other’s feelings  nor run the risk of getting hurt yourself if the object of your laughter is in no mood to humour you and is stronger than you. The only risk in laughing at yourself is that an observer may thinks that you are either in love or mentally imbalanced.

            Each one of us would have at one time or the other experienced some humorous moments in life whose memory evokes a smile on our face. I have experienced many such incidents two of which I narrate now.

            A couple of years back in winters many a times I used to travel to office by local train to avoid the traffic on the road and pollution. I covered the distance from my resident to the railway station by my two-wheeler. On one such foggy morning I got late. As I parked my two-wheeler at the stand I saw my train entering the station. I rushed to the platform after crossing the over-bridge and was just in time to board the train. I was fortunate to get a seat. After a few moments of attaining normalcy from my breathless condition I found that number of eyes were staring at me. Impulsively I looked at my clothes. I found everything in order. I concluded that as I was an occasional traveler I was an object of curiosity for them. Station after station passed by. At one of the stations, may be it was Nizamuddin, I recall now that a small boy about five years of age was pointing a finger at me and laughing. I was too engrossed in planning the day’s routine to pay any attention. On reaching Tilak Bridge I readied myself for disembark at the next station. As I put my hand to my head to take off my woolen cap, to my horror I found that all along I had my helmet on the head which I had forgotten to take off  before boarding the train. Even today recalling the incidence makes me wonder at my absentmindness.

            The next incidence I narrate after obtaining due permission of my better half. Once we were invited to the house of a Bengali family in the vicinity in connection with finding a suitable match for my unmarried cousin. Before entering the sitting room we took off our shoes, as is customary. After exchanging pleasantries and consuming the refreshments offered it was now time for us to depart. On coming out, while putting on my black shoes my eyes fell on a lone brown shoe that looked familiar. Suddenly it struck me that the shoe was mine. But what was a single shoe of mine doing in the house of a stranger when I had never visited that house before? To my shock I found that my wife who had adorned a beautiful silk sari, perfect makeup had made one mistake in her attire. In hurry she had put on one of her shoe and one of mine. It was a Herculean task to control our laughter lest our host may take it otherwise. Nowadays whenever we go out she is extra cautious to ensure that she has put on the correct pair of shoes and also asks me to confirm this.

            Try laughing at yourself. It is more enjoyable than laughing at others.