DEATH... Memento Mori...

Something about DEATH!!!

It might be weird to talk about death, but it is a reality, which most ppl don't believe in..
I have taken excerpts from Mitch's ( Mitch Albom) and Khushwant's ( Khushwant Singh ) work that could summarize the whole thing..

Morrie says on one Tuesday: Everyone knows they're going to die, but nobody believes it...If we did, we would do things differently...

There is a better approach to it.. Do what the Buddhists do... Every day, have a little bird on your shoulder that asks, 'Is today the day? Am I ready? Am I doing all I need to do? Am I being the person I want to be?'

Then the words of wisdom comes: " Once you learn how to die, you learn how to live"...

This comes from the "On death and dying" part of Malicious gossips...

Yudhisthir was asked, " Of all the world's wonders, which is the most wonderful phenomenon?"

He replied: " No man, though he sees others dying all around him, believes that he himself will also die."

Death has got something to be said for it:

There's no need to get out of bed for it,
Wherever you my be,
They bring it to you, free.

One more set of lines that I liked a lot, which is written for "Yama"...

Alone of GODS, death has no love for gifts, Libation helps you not, nor sacrifice, He has no altar, and he hears no hymns, From him alone persuasion stands apart

When a highly spiritual lady pronounced in a tone of authority: " There is no death"...

Peter de Vries replied: " No, my dear lady, but there are funerals."

In the end all the contents were summed up in the motto:

Memento Mori- Remember you must die...

One of the shers that was written by Faiz Ahmed Faiz, just before his death goes like this:

Ajal ke haath koi aa raha hai parwaana... Na jaane aaj ke fehrist mein raqam kya hai ..

Death has some ordinance in its hand
I know not whose names are in its list today...

MEMENTO MORI...... :) :) :)

A visit to my School

A visit to my School

2nd May was the day, which was selected for the BSG( Bharat Soka Gakkai) meeting. It was such a pleasant thing to know that the meeting was being held at the auditorium of New Era Public School, where I studied for twelve years of my life, starting right from the begining. Thanks to harpreet, a friend of mine who introduced the practice of Nichiren Daishonin's Buddhism to me, which is a philosophy that helps one to “pass the barriers”.


I was excited about it and at the same time was feeling nostalgic deep down inside my heart. I drove to my school and felt so good by the warm welcome of the members of BSG, who were there all over to help the people, who came for the meeting. It was after a long time, I genuinely realized that there are good and humble people, who still exist in this world. They were all professional people, who were in different fields, practicing their interests. They all looked happy and peaceful to me. The whole aura of that place was delightful. That cheered me up.

There wasn’t a single bit that changed, except from the "50yrs" logo that showed my school has kicked in half century. The playground, the basketball net, the stage, the volleyball court, the place for parking cars, the reception, the classes, their desks, the green board... it was an amazing experience. We walked up to the auditorium. Even this did not change... Same twin split air conditioners, the stage, the tiles on the floor, the lightening system, side wings, the chairs, etc. I took a seat and was feeling bad, as the meeting had already begun and I missed a bit of it.

They had done a great setup, the way it used to happen when I was in school, at the time of “Spic Micay”, to which I did not pay much attention to, as it was another period of time, apart from the “Sports week” that made us miss our classes. The most beautiful part comes here, the people sharing their experiences about how their lives changed drastically after the practice; I was all ears.

The most inspiring story was that of a lady in her late twenties. She started her carrier few years back as an architect and started working at a very less salary. She explained how chanting improved her lifestyle in all areas of life, be it financially, or her relationship with her husband, with her in-laws etc,. It was so inspiring to hear her story as it was a real life event that happened. Now, she is in a healthy state of life in every manner ( GOD bless her and her family ).

After this event of people sharing their experiences, came the dance performance by pretty girls and handsome boys. They were all members of BSG and they all danced so well to the tune of the song which was playing in the background. I was enjoying the dance and seeing me doing that, my friend teased me, asking me if I was enjoying the dance or the pretty girls ;)… I felt a bit embarrassed on this as I was enjoying the dance, the happiness on each face, the enthusiasm and the flamboyantly adventurous zeal of their souls… not just the pretty girls…

After this we had a group photograph of all the members and then I met few members of the BSG, whom I found to be very humble and encouraging. Well that was a bit of what happened on 2nd May 2010 and it will always be in my memory, as it made me feel good in a tough time.

Word of wisdom, power and faith by Dr.Daisaku Ikeda:

“No matter how difficult our circumstances, pray with supreme confidence and an invincible spirit that refuses to be defeated. “



Its my Life.. Its my way...

Just to give it a thought.. What is actually good and what is actually bad ??? After a deep rooted observation, I found that it is just the way one thinks... Something which is so dear to us, or which we like doing, might be offensive to others and vice versa... But nothing much can be done about it.. I wont change, neither would you.. So, here acceptance plays a very important role..

I was listening to a very wise ghazal by Jagjit Singh ( mind you.. ghazals are not just emotional.. they could teach you a lot of wise things as well )... It goes like this:

Apna apna raasta hai ... kuch nhi
Kya bhala hai .. kya bura hai.. kuch nhi

( It is one's way, nothing else...
Nothing is either good or bad... )

Mohar mere naam ki har sheh pe hai
Mere ghar mein .. mera kya hai.. kuch nhi

(My name is stamped on everything...
but in reality there is nothing in my home, which is mine)

I think, here the word "home" is a metaphorical expression; it actually denotes the "world".. So as to say, everything that I have achieved is mine.. everything in my home is "mine", but it is just apparent.. not absolute.. As I would leave evrything here, when I exit..

Juust-u-ju hai .. ek mu-sal-sal just-u-ju..
Kya kahin kuch kho gya hai .. kuch nhi

Just-u-ju means desire and mu-sal-sal means continous,
so here the shayar says that there is a continous desire, which does not end
Have I lost something ? Nothing ...

So here is a big confusion as of what exactly is missing ... What is the desire I crave for ? ? ?

Koi darwaaze pe hai .. to kya hua
Aapse kuch maangta hai .. kuch nhi

What if someone is at your door..
Does he asks you for something ? No.. nothing...

I feel that the lines say: What is wrong if someone admires you .. or like being with you.. is he asking for something??? No.. he just wants you to be around.. just wants to see your face.. jus wants to appreciate your virtues.. he is not asking you for something...

Baba Bulleh Shah... A wise man to look upto

I have been reading wise poetry of Bulleh Shah and found them very interesting. There is such a wisdom in the poetry that if we make sure to read one of it, each week, it could bring a good change in our lives. Even if, not a change, it could inculcate wisdom to a great extent. One of my favourite is written below:

Parrh parrh "Alim" fazil hoya Kade apne aap nu Parrheya hi nahin

Alim means the man of learning wise or a learned man and Fazil means Superior
So, bulleh shah says: One keeps on reading books to become superior and wise, but never reads "Himself". I think it is more important to understand oneself first and then read other things.


Jaa jaa warda mandir maseetaan Kade mun apne vich tun wadeya ee nayin

Mandir means the temple and maseetan means the Mosque. So, bulleh shah says, we keep on going to temples, mosques ( and other religious places), but never enter the inner self, where the GOD actually resides.

Ainwayn roz shaitaan de naal larda Kade Nafs apne naal lardeya ee nayin

Here Bulleh Shah says, we keep on fighting with the evil, the outside world, but never fight with our ego, or our shortcomings

"Bulleh Shah" Aasmaanin Udiyaan Phardaa Jaidha ghar baitha ohnun phardeya ee Nayin

Here he mentions that we keep on following the one who is out of our reach, but never bother to sit with the one who is there with us. So, in a sense, this means that we do not value the things we have and keep on craving for the ones we don't. I think its good to be competitive, but at the same time, it is important to value and respect the things we already have.

And then come the golden words:

Main Kinnu Kinnu dassa ae raaz diyaan gallan

To who all should I tell these secrets ?? ?