Open up your mind and your potential reaches infinity…

Archive for the ‘Peace’ Category

Khoon baha, itna baha, ke behta chala gaya…


Khoon baha, itna baha, ke behta chala gaya…

Kyunke..

Mulk jhuka, itna jhuka, ke jhukta chala gaya…
Andhera hua, itna hua, ke hota chala gaya…

Zulm badha, itna badha, ke badhta chala gaya…
Insaaf mita, itna mita, ke mitta chala gaya…

Insaan soya, itna soya, ke sota chala gaya…
Aas miti, itni miti, ke mitti chali gayee…
~June 9, 2010

..

Dhyan hataye nahin hatta,
Aansoo thamey nahin thamte,
Dil sambhale nahin sambhalta
Karoon to aakhir kya ?

PS: Penned in a shaken state of mind after watching the video of the young boy, Sarfraz Shah, who was shot at close range, then left to bleed to death right there..

But will this stop at Sarfaraz Shah ?

Kabira Khada Bazaar Mein : A Film on Kabir by Shabnam Virmani


If I was a Concorde…


If I was a concorde, I would:

Fly with the turbojet of myriad aspirations,
And takeoff to the skies of fathomless imagination.
With supersonic pace, soaring in blissful thoughts,
Reaching to heights where no one could ever get caught,
Into  the tornadoes of bigotry, hate and intolerance,
To an altitude beyond darkness of misery, chaos, ignorance.
Supercruising over the clouds of dreams, desires and hope,
Beaming to have left behind the slow walk on life’s tight rope.
True to my name that spells nothing but ‘unity’ and ‘harmony’,
Vowing to not crashland on a strip metalled with woe and agony.
Hovering over the hills where kindness and love are nourished
Yearning to touchdown where everlasting PEACE is cherished.

PS: Concorde jet’s name, it’s meaning ( means harmony, unity), appearance, speed, and numerous other details have fascinated me since very young. Clearly remembering the first commercial flight in 1976 from Paris to Rio (in my preteens), the crash in 2000 at De Galle Airport, and finally it’s grounding, the fascination fails to wane.

Today I Visited my Home


Today I visited
My true home
A real place that is
My permanent address
The house that I shall
Reside sooner or later

A home that needs
No furniture, no crockery
A home where I shall crave
No wardrobe, no accessories
A home large enough
To give rest and comfort
Never felt in any castle.

A home ventilated
With peace and tranquility
A home proofed against
Greed and vanity.
A home where my companions
Shall be my deeds.

A home with it’s simplicity
That gets me humbled
A home whose modesty
Makes me see the truth
Of what’s life about.

A home that knows me
Neither rich nor poor
Neither young nor old
Neither healthy nor sick
But eagerly awaits me
Whoever I am

A home that is ever ready
To hold me within its lap
Today , tomorrow, any day.
Today I visited
My true abode,
Of my mortal remains
My grave -to-be.

Peace Not War, We Crave


Moms weep, “My son, my son.”
Hearts pierced with daggers of pain,
Embracing sons, blood soaked uniforms adorn

Dads moan,”My boy, my boy.”
Tears dried up within their eyes,
As they lay in graves their bundles of joy.

Wives wail, “My man, my man.”
Receiving hubbies in the caskets asleep,
To a final journey, departing forever from their women.

Friends sob, “My buddy, my buddy.”
With brains stunned in utter disbelief,
Knowing they embraced martyrdom standing sturdy.

We all cry, ” Our brave, our brave.”
Horrified how our land with its innocent, burns in terror
It’s for everlasting PEACE, and PEACE NOT WAR we crave.

PS: Penned down in memory of the brave men who laid their lives fighting against the terrorists in PAF Base Faisal, Karachi, and all others who have lost their lives while being front line in the fight against terrorism.

Fire of Love


Long time ago
Man discovered fire
The fire of vanity
With heat of conceit
Invented the wheel of avarice
Cultivated seeds of tyranny
Raising crops of injustice
Built house of apathy
Erected on pillars of prejudice
Mosques of bigotry
Raised by bricks of hatred.

The DAY man shall
Turn the wheel of generosity
Cultivate seedlings of compassion
Reap the crops of honesty
Make a home of empathy
Raised on pillars of justice
Temples of tolerance
On foundation of peace
That day,
He shall discover fire again,
The FIRE OF LOVE.

Oh God! I Know you I Met with you Once Upon a Dream


One day in my dream, I went into a garden whose beauty and magnificence my eyes hath never ever seen or imagined. To give a poor description—there were streams of sparkling crystal water, lined with camps of pearls over the soil of musk. The grass blades were laced with emeralds and inflorescence of rubies hanging from the trees. I wondered where was I ?

A voice came from behind—“Don’t be wonderstruck, you are in Heaven”.

I turned back and a flash of image beyond description smiled back: Hi I am God. Welcome to the future abode of mankind.”

Though in absolute awe, I gathered courage to ask: “God can you spare some time to talk ?”
( wondering if I could ask Him some questions which puzzle my mind.)
“My time is eternity and enough to do anything. Do not worry and ask all those questions that boggle your mind.” Pat came the reply.

I knew as He could read my mind—for sure he was God.

With courage I began: “I know when Gabriel first saw the Heavens, he had wondered ‘the road to the heaven is littered with hardships, and By your Dignity, I am afraid if anyone would be able to enter it.?”(Tirmizi).

God replied: “There is only one path to Heaven. On Earth, you call it Love.
‘Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.’ “(Dalai Lama)

“By your Dignity, God there is hardly any compassion in this world now. All we see is misery and hatred. Will there be anyway mankind can enter this magnificient Heaven?” I asked.

God: “ Yeah I wonder that too. ‘My first wish is to see this plague of mankind, WAR, banished from the earth.” (George Washington )
“Not just heavens, Mankind is not likely to salvage civilization (on Earth) unless he can evolve a system of good and evil which is independent of heaven and hell.’ “(George Orwell ). He explained.

“Sir, did you make mankind with the way he is behaving, in mind?”

God answered in a disappointed voice: “No, not at all. I really wonder at mankind on how:
*He lives as if he will never die and dies as if he has never lived.
*He spends his health to gain money and then all his money to regain the lost health.
*He whines for the past, worries for the future and as a result spoils his present.
*And worst of all in this race to live, the mankind has lost compassion for each other.”

“What is compassion, God?”, I asked.

“Compassion is the capacity for feeling what it is like to live inside somebody else’s skin. It is the knowledge that there can never really be any peace and joy for me until there is peace and joy finally for you too. If you cannot be compassionate through actions, be compassionate through words.”

“Words?”, I wondered.

He replied: “A careless word may kindle strife.
A cruel word may wreck a life.
A timely word may level stress.
But a loving word may heal and bless.”

He gave a long gloomy pause after saying that, and as I placed my hands over His to comfort Him, He held them tight, speaking nothing.

To cheer Him up and to break the melancholic silence I asked: Okay but what is the thing in your creation that hasn’t really disappointed you?

Without a pause he replied: “The Mother, yes she hasn’t disappointed me. I could not be everywhere, so I created mother.” ( Jewsih Proverb)

“Why does she make you so proud?”

 “‘Mother is another word for selflessness and sacrifice. ‘Mother is the name for God on the lips and hearts of little children.’ (William Makepeace Thackeray)
‘A mother gives a child, first, roots to grow strong and attaches herself to the existence of her child, and then lets him learn to grow wings to fly away with success.’ “

‘And what else would you advice Mothers to teach their kids?’,I asked.

He answered;
“The kids should be taught not to value what you have in your life, but who you have.
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion. (Dalai Lama)
Compassion, in which all ethics must take root, can only attain its full breadth and depth if it embraces all living creatures and does not limit itself to mankind. “(Albert Schweitzer )

“Out of all the blessings that you have bestowed upon Mankind, what do you think should he value the most?”

“Friends.” he said.
“If out of all mankind one finds a single friend, he has found something more precious than any treasure, since there is nothing in the world so valuable that it can be compared to a real friend.”(Andreas Capellanus)
He elaborated further: “The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you’ve ever had.”

“And what virtue should we value the least?”

“Wealth, ”  came without a pause.
“Can wealth give happiness? Look around and see, what gay distress! what splendid misery! Whatever fortunes lavishly can pour, the mind annihilates and calls for more. “(Andrew Young).
“Money is the worst currency that ever grew among mankind. This sacks cities, this drives men from their homes, this teaches and corrupts the worthiest minds to turn base deeds.” (Sophocles)

“Do you have any regrets for having created the Mankind?” I dared to ask, fearfully and  slowly.

He did not feel offended, instead replied with a sad tone : “Well I regret having given mankind the mind to think, because he has abused his mind more than putting it to use. He has abused the intelligence to make weapons, warfare to destroy mankind, and has used his knowledge to misuse the resources of the mother Earth—leaving it a miserable place for the future generations.” 

“So you must be hating Mankind now for how he has betrayed himself and the earth—both being your creations?”

“No dear, how can I hate something I created with my own free wil l? Yes I do despise a word called God.” 

“Lord, but isn’t that your own name you despise so much?” I could not hide my shock.

“Unfortunately yes. And all for the hatred that the mankind spreads in My Name, the suicide bombings, the killings, the discrimination that people are subjected to because they use my different names. I never asked anyone to use My Name to seek war for their personal agendas. I feel hurt and broken by all this bloodshed. I feel betrayed in My Name.”

My head hung in shame for how much have we hurt our own creator and continue to do so. And then think that we are doing a great service for HIM. I did not have the courage to ask him anything more. I did not even have the face to look towards him to Thank HIM and say a Bye.

Alas! I had no strength to ask him anymore.

Being God, He knew what else I wanted to ask and had reserved  for the last. As I turned away, he answered my unasked question:

My advice to mankind would be:
“To dream anything that you want to dream. That’s the beauty of the human mind. To do anything that you want to do. That is the strength of the human will. To trust yourself to test your limits. That is the courage to succeed.”(Bernard Edmonds)

And Finally to convey to the fellow beings on Earth from my behalf :
“Mankind must remember that peace is not God’s gift to his creatures, peace is your gift to each other.” (Elie Wiesel )

While walking away, I thought, ” I have saddened Him so much.  Will I ever be able to face Him again ?”

I heard again, a voice coming from the back:

“Anytime, I’m always near you . All you have to do is ask for me. And I shall answer.”

And I woke up, wishing that the whole Humanity woke up too.

Obama, You’re born Lucky !


With the operation accomplished to nab Osama Bin Laden, it isn’t unusual at all that no soon the news was out, conspiracy theories started cropping up. Every Tom Dick and Harry becomes Sherlock Holmes with describing flaws into the details of the operation, about the photograph not being his (the hair being darker than his,), his face not resembling, that he was brought here and declared dead to enter Pakistan( as if they haven’t already), or that Pakistani intelligence did it all and then Americans took the credit. As many mouths, as many stories…
Being an anti conspiracy theorist and a true fan of a lucky man called Obama, I believed every word of what Obama said in his address. I know Obama must be as desperate as anyone in this position to increase his popularity ratings for the next term. But just to say that he will stage a false drama and tell such a huge lie to achieve those, I doubt.
Yes, luck has failed him in his fiscal policies or in getting his health plan implemented but he just hit a huge luck home run as Commander-in-Chief.
I may be unrealistic in taking his words for truth, because I continue to be as fascinated by this brilliant man as I was when I first noticed him during the Presidential campaign.
With Bush’s doubtful mental abilities, who wasn’t even sure of who was the current Prime Minister of India during his election, Obama’s brilliance and thorough knowledge about the world was such a striking contrast. He definitely was a presidential material. And then to be a lucky first man of color to become an American president—it was not just me but the whole world found him mesmerizing. Lucky was he to be a blue eyed of the entire globe.
Knowing the details of his parentage—being multiracial—Dad from Kenya, Mom a white American, step Dad an Indonesian, Grandmom a practicing Muslim, he sure was born lucky—to have lived in various cultures.. A man exposed to so many cultures, religions and travelled widely in childhood ( including Pakistan)—had to be a man with wide horizons and huge luck.
And after all, to have gone to Harvard for the graduate studies, being president of the Harvard Law Review and tenure as a constitutional law professor were no small luck to be so brilliant.
On hearing his live Presidential address – extempore, flawless, no stuttering, no forgetting, no written paper and the substance that he spoke for almost 45 minutes, I was all head over heals for his oratory.
Obama got a Nobel Peace Prize with no substantial achievements. In his thank you speech, in a very matter of fact way, he mentioned his surprise on being chosen for it and remarked that there were others who deserved to get this prize more than him. Yes he was less deserving but got it for he was luckier.
His occasional acknowledgement of having ‘Muslim relatives’ is too an act no less brave considering how he was maligned for having a Muslim name or Muslim roots during the campaign. Not just lucky, he’s brave too.
Just a couple of days ago he cornered Donald Trump with humour. The president poked fun at his birther theory and his background on the celebrity apprentice at the White House Correspondent’s Dinner. The humour rolled the audience into fits of laughter.

In a fundraiser dinner in New York looked more like a stand up comedian than a President of USA
“My name is Barack Obama.I was born in Hawaii,” he continued, which elicited cheers and applause from the audience of supporters, “the 50th state of the United States of America.”
“No one checked my ID on the way in,” he said. “But just in case …” Obama added and reached into his breast pocket before pulling his empty hand out and chuckling.
The lady luck gave him an excellent sense of humour too..
And now the credit of nabbing the world’s most wanted criminal. Bush tried his best, lied about weapons of mass destruction in a desperate attempt to prove his credibility, got shoed, but still failed to catch Osama.
And this brilliant and lucky man—got him quietly in a small operation with minimal collateral damage, and personally supervised it through camera. And no matter what anyone may claim, he got it done with such neatness deep inside Pakistan, leaving the Pakistani officials speechless, faceless and spineless.
Lucky you are Obama. History will go down with you getting the Osama Credit. And probably you will win the second term too.
What else is mother luck bringing for him in future? A fan in me awaits.
I know I may be unduly fascinated by this lucky man, whom many find an unsuccessful president.
And of course, lastly, you are lucky to have me as your ardent fan, you lucky Obama !

Vaishnav Jana ~ Bhajan


Vaishnav Jan To Tene Kahiye (Hindi)

Vaishnav Jan to tene kahiye
Jay peerh paraaye janneyray
Par dukkhey upkar karey teeyey, man abhiman na anney ray
Sakal lokma Sahuney bandhey,
Ninda Na karye kainee ray
Baach kaachh, Man nischal Raakhey, dhan-dhan jananee tainee ray
Samdrishi nay trishna tyagee, par-stree jaynay mat ray
Vivihva thaki asatya na bolay, par-dhan nav jhaley haath ray
Moh maaya vyaayey nahin Jeynay, dridth vairagya jana manma ray
Ram-nam-shoom taalee laagee,
Sakal teerth seyna tanma ray
Vanloohee nay kapat rahit chhay,
Kaam, Krodh nivarya ray
Bhane Narsinhyo tainoo darshan karta kul ekotair taarya re.

English Translation:
Speak only as godlike of the man who feels another’s pain
Who shares another’s sorrow and pride does disdain
Who regards himself lowliest of the low
Speaks not a word of evil against anyone
Blessed is the mother who gave birth to such a son
Who looks upon everyone as his equal,
Lust he has renounced
Who honours women like he honours his mother
Whose tongue knows not the taste of falsehood
Nor covets another’s worldly goods
Who longs not for worldly wealth (or fame)
For he treads the path of renunciation
Ever on his lips is Ram’s holy name
All places of pilgrimage are within him
He has conquered greed, is free of deceit, lust and anger
Through him Narsinh has godly vision
And his generation to come will attain salvation.

Workers Song~ Dropkick Murphys


Yeh, this one’s for the workers who toil night and day
By hand and by brain to earn your pay
Who for centuries long past for no more than your bread
Have bled for your countries and counted your dead

In the factories and mills, in the shipyards and mines
We’ve often been told to keep up with the times
For our skills are not needed, they’ve streamlined the job
And with sliderule and stopwatch our pride they have robbed

CHORUS:
We’re the first ones to starve the first ones to die
The first ones in line for that pie-in-the-sky
And always the last when the cream is shared out
For the worker is working when the fat cat’s about

And when the sky darkens and the prospect is war
Who’s given a gun and then pushed to the fore
And expected to die for the land of our birth
Though we’ve never owned one lousy handful of earth?

CHORUS

All of these things the worker has done
From tilling the fields to carrying the gun
We’ve been yoked to the plough since time first began
And always expected to carry the can