SACRIFICE- Rabindranath Tagore

SACRIFICE –By Rabindranath Tagore-
 Book Review

Throughout his stories I find his love for humanity, reasoning and his firm stand against orthodoxy. In these days of spreading of religious bigotry, I think his writings are more relevant. I read it second time recently & thought to share with you all.

First Play: SANYASI

-        On seeing people busy on roads – They seem always afraid of missing something, _ the something that never comes to their hands

-        The ants, when they begin to grow wings, perish

-        Difference between subtle & gross: Which is original subtle or the gross?

The origin is the end, and the end is the origin. It is a circle, _ The distinction between the subtle and the gross is your ignorance.

-      About people discussing on unnecessary things: These birds are word-peckers. When they pick up some wriggling nonsense, which can fill their mouth, they are happy.

-        When the garlands are ready, the necks will not be wanting.

-      When Vasanti is called a pollution due to her caste: “They roll in the dust of existence. Only he is pure who has washed away the world from his mind”.

-        About shelter: Shelter there is nowhere, my son, but in the depth of one’s self, - Seek that: hold to it fast, if you would be saved.

-      For they have been brought up in illusions, and they must have illusions to console them

-        To me, things that are beautiful are the keys to all that I have not seen and known.

The bird flies in the sky, not to fly away into the emptiness, but to come back again to this great earth.

Second Play: MALINI

When Brahmins insist for banishment of Malini for opposing their faith, king & Queen says

-        You think that, by the force of numbers, you will determine truth, and drown reason by your united shouts?

-       The insolence is not mine but theirs who shape their scripture to fit their own narrow hearts.

-        I never admit that truth sides with the shrillest voice.

-        Of all things the blind certitude of stupidity is the hardest to bear

-        Truth and love are the body and soul of religion.

-         

     The God, who belongs to the multitude, and the God of the books are not my own God. These never answered my questions and never consoled me. But at last, I have found the divine breathing and alive in the living world of men

.

-        Those countless stars of the sky, do they fight for the mastery of the One? Cannot faiths hold their separate lights in peace for the separate worlds of minds that need them?

-      Words, mere words. To let falsehood and truth live side by side in amity, the infinite world is not wide enough. That the corn ripening for the food of man should make room for thorny weeds, love is not so hatefully all-loving.

Third Play: SACRIFICE

-        Does pity only belong to weak mortals, and not to gods?

-        Help must come from man, when it is denied from gods.

-     God’s words are ever ringing in the world, and he who is willfully deaf cannot hear them.

-        The force of arms only reveals man’s weakness.

-        Deeds are better, however cruel they may be, than the hell of thinking and doubting.

-     Who says that the world’s ways are difficult? Anyhow we reach the end – the end where all laws and rules are no more, where the errors and hurts of life are forgotten, where is rest, eternal rest.

-        For a man loses his humanity when it concerns his gods.

-       Those who are weak in this world are helpless, and those who are strong are so cruel. Greed is pitiless, ignorance blind, and pride takes no heed when it crushes the small under its foot.

-        Is there any need of God in this little world of ours? Let us be fearlessly godless and come closer to each other.

-        Words do not flow when the heart is full.

-      So long as the purpose remains in the mind, it looms large and fearful. In action it becomes small.

-      The earthen lamp can be replenished and lighted again and again, but the star once extinguished is lost forever.

Fourth Play: THE KING AND THE QUEEN

-        Love me truly; by not making your love extravagant; for truth can afford to be simple.

-        Respite from duty is a part of duty.

-     Those who are too feeble to protect themselves are the most thoughtless in causing disasters to others.

-        Bravery ceases to be bravery at a certain point, and becomes mere foolhardiness.

-      You undermined the river banks, and now, when the water overflows, you piously pray that it might irrigate your fields, and then tamely go back.

-        Love and death are not too careful in their choice of victims. They are impartial.

What is life and What is death - How I perceive it.

 What is life and What is death - How I perceive it.

The single truth we all wish to ignore is the destined death that will remove us from the earth permanently. Whatever we may think we are discussing so intelligently, life after death is not perceivable to anybody. Lot of discourses by so many people (so called saints, gurus, pseudo-scientists etc.) could not give me a satisfying reply. Ultimately what I conceived life is;

-        Life is simply living till death like any other creatures on the earth

-        It is quite natural to die after birth. Timing & nature of death differs from person to person.

-     There is no super natural power in the universe. Whatever is happening is natural as it is happening to other creatures.

-        Human beings by virtue of their abilities, making the life comfortable or miserable using science & technology in a right or wrong way and many times creating problems to themselves & other creatures in nature.

-       Society will go on even after our death & at one point of time human beings also may get extinct like other creatures as it was evident from evolution.

-        There is no creation by anybody & whatever is happening is due to the evolution and is based on cause & effect principle.

-       As life after death is a mirage that nobody can chase, life on earth has to be made comfortable & worth living.

-        First, one has to learn to live a happy life & allow other to live happily. We cannot get happiness if all people around us are unhappy. Here comes the necessity to help others to achieve happiness. Of course, happiness means different to different persons which itself is a vast subject which I don’t want to dwell upon now. Here I am speaking of socially acceptable happiness one can get. 

      As Lincoln says “your freedom ends at my nose”, our happiness should not make others unhappy.

-        I don’t want to go into the jargon of things in which I never got any soothing reply w.r.t. the basic questions of life & life after death. I am very simple person with simple thoughts about life, i.e. leading a meaningful life to me & to the people who are with me (Friends or relatives close to me). 

-      I had undergone the melancholy of losing my life partner in a horrible way & I am still trying to overcome that grief. I know pretty well that I lost her forever & I can’t meet her again by no means. But this knowledge never helped me to overcome the grief I am undergoing.

I AM ANOTHER YOU- By Priya Kumar - The lines that inspired me most in this Book

 I AM ANOTHER YOU- By Priya Kumar - The lines that inspired me most in this Book 

-        *The place where Wrong is rightened is Within

-        *Take that path you always knew but never had the courage to follow

-     *Life sometimes becomes too familiar & too predictable. Today seems like yesterday & tomorrow holds the certainty of the past

-         

*   *Take a step towards the thrill of not knowing what will happen next.

-        A step forward into the unknown has more power than a stationary existence

-        There is no YOU separate from ME

-        I  can forgive but I can’t compromise on what my heart knows is right

-        We don’t understand that the only right time is always Right NOW

-        Knowledge, Guidance & sheer presence of mind helps in unwanted heart breaks & mishaps.

-      We should realize that by taking creative responsibility for the bad, we can ensure the occurrence of GOOD

-        We all judge our own words & then assume that others judge us in the same way

-        All my life I had escaped from the reality. I had allowed myself to flee to avoid looking at what I was really here for. I had ample opportunity to look within but I would always sneak out from the back door.

-        Acceptance & Tolerance frees you from the burden of Pain even if it is Physical

-      

     When you experience life with grace & dignity, pain withdraws immdtly. If you are ready to face it, it can’t be painful. It is painful when you avoid it.

-        What You Resist Persists --- like the phoenix from the ashes.

-        Growth is in the Journey & NOT in the Destination

    *An apology is a declaration of your understanding and not an escape from facing up to your mistakes

Ø  Love is what is remaining after beauty has passed

Ø  Writing brings out in perspective what looms in your head. When you can see thoughts on paper, there is peace.

v  Rather than bad person’s behavior, Good person’s silence is more Tragedy

v  Love is the spirit of giving without expecting anything.

_____________________________________________________

Face Book User name: priya kumar

Blogger: http//iamanotheryouthebook.blogspot.com

Web site: www.priyakumar.com

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My Grief & My decision

June-2018

On 21.2.18 , when I came to my room to take lunch, my phone rang & I was informed that my wife met with an accident & sustained some injuries. I was unaware at that time that she is no more & the accident was fatal. When I came to know it while waiting for the flight, my mind became blank & tears started rolling from my eyes. This is perhaps the first severe blow in my life as our association is for 30 years & we have many sweet memories till date. I was totally not accepting her death till around three weeks & was still in trauma thinking that all that I heard/experiencing is a dream. No consolation of any kind could give me comfort except weeping loudly which I was unable to do. My son & daughter did worry a lot but tried to be balanced in my presence. I wondered to note their maturity. They know very well how I & their mother lived together with lot of affection & separation is one thing which is unbearable to any of us. We ourselves decided to live together & ours is a love marriage unlike in many of the cases of our times.

Till now, I relied only on my wisdom & guided many people w.r.t. their personal/professional problems. Now I was forced to console myself. Leading life without your loved partner is really a challenging task as in every moment of life her memories haunts & her missing is irrevocable.

Fortunately, for me her memory is her smiling face & her teasing words treating me like a child which I enjoyed most of the time. She is well remembered by all about her perfection in work, hard working nature, creativity in doing work etc. She always used to say that she enjoyed her life fully & happy to have me as a life partner & wished to have me as her life partner in next life also! Even though I don’t believe life after death, I wish it to happen in our case.

Even though I decided to live with my children, at the age of 55 yrs, I feel that I am left alone. My daughter who was very deeply bonded with her mother is the only inspiration for me to learn how to cope up such tragic incident in life. Her assurance to be with me forever, may be emotionally, consoles me to a large extent. My son & daughter-in-law also gave me lot of support & assured me of their continued assistance in whatever form I require. Ultimately I decided as below;

As I cannot change the past,

Concentrate on what to do next to help other family members to come out of the grief.

Convert my grief to compassion towards others &

Develop a passion to live lively for the rest of my life.

But is it possible ??????

Coelho Paulo – The Winner Stands Alone- The one liners I liked most

Coelho Paulo – The Winner Stands Alone

Date: 26.8.19

Are we thinking like this? If so, we may need to change our mind set as per the author to become winner in life.

11. Spending years studying at university only to find at the end of it all that you’re unemployable.

22.Working from nine till five every day at something that gives you no pleasure at all just so that, after thirty years, you can retire.

33. Retiring and discovering that you no longer have enough energy to enjoy life and dying a few years later of sheer boredom.

44. Believing that power is much more important than money and that money is much more important than happiness.

55. Making fun of anyone who seeks happiness rather than money and accusing them of “lacking ambition.”

66. Comparing objects like cars, houses, clothes, and defining life according to those comparisons, instead of trying to discover the real reason for being alive.

77. Never talking to strangers. Saying nasty things about the neighbors.

88. Believing that your parents are always right.

99. Getting married, having children, and staying together long after all love has died, saying that it’s for the good of the children (who are, apparently, deaf to the constant rows).

110. Criticizing anyone who tries to be different.

111.  Waking up each morning to a hysterical alarm clock on the bedside table. 15. Believing absolutely everything that appears in print.

112. Wearing a scrap of colored cloth around your neck, even though it serves no useful purpose, but which answers to the name of “tie.”

113.   Never asking a direct question, even though the other person can guess what it is you want to know. 18. Keeping a smile on your lips even when you’re on the verge of tears. Feeling sorry for those who show their feelings.

114.   Believing that art is either worth a fortune or worth nothing at all.

115.   Despising anything that was easy to achieve because if no sacrifice was involved, it obviously isn’t worth having.

116.   Following fashion trends, however ridiculous or uncomfortable.

117.   Believing that all famous people have tons of money saved up.

118.   Investing a lot of time and money in external beauty and caring little about inner beauty.

119.   Using every means possible to show that, although you’re just an ordinary human being, you’re far above other mortals.

220.   Never looking anyone in the eye when you’re traveling on public transport, in case it’s interpreted as a sign you’re trying to get off with them.

221.   Standing facing the door in an elevator and pretending you’re the only person there, regardless of how crowded it is.

222.   Never laughing too loudly in a restaurant however good the joke.

223.   In the northern hemisphere, always dressing according to the season: bare arms in spring (however cold it is) and woolen jacket in autumn (however hot it is).

224.   In the southern hemisphere, covering the Christmas tree with fake snow even though winter has nothing to do with the birth of Christ.

225.   Assuming, as you grow older, that you’re the guardian of the world’s wisdom, even if you haven’t necessarily lived enough to know what’s right and wrong.

226.   Going to a charity tea party and thinking that you’ve done your bit toward putting an end to social inequality in the world.

227.   Eating three times a day even if you’re not hungry.

228.   Believing that other people are always better than you— better-looking, more capable, richer, more intelligent—and that it’s very dangerous to step outside your own limits, so it’s best to do nothing.

229.   Using your car as a weapon and as impenetrable armor.

330.   Believing that everything your child does wrong is entirely down to the company he or she keeps.

331.   Marrying the first person who offers you a decent position in society. Love can wait.

332.   Always saying, “I tried” when you didn’t really try at all.

333.   Postponing doing the really interesting things in life for later, when you won’t have the energy.

334.   Avoiding depression with large daily doses of television.

335.   Believing that you can be sure of everything you’ve achieved.

336.   Assuming that women don’t like football and that men aren’t interested in home decoration and cooking.

337.   Thinking that being a good, decent, respectable person will mean that others will see you as weak, vulnerable, and easy to manipulate.

438.   Being equally convinced that aggression and rudeness are synonymous with having a “powerful personality.”

439.   Being afraid of having an endoscopy (if you’re a man) and giving birth (if you’re a woman).

P* Power doesn’t negotiate with anyone, only with itself. However, all is not lost. In the world of fiction and in the real world, there is always a hero.

** Normal is anything that makes us forget who we are and what we want; that way we can work in order to produce, reproduce, and earn money.