The silences in us
Tag: philosophical
My city at night
Have you ever
Heard your city at night?
She will talk to you
Of what she saw in the light.
Talk of the lovers who kissed
for the first time on the bridge and
the homeless man below it,
weakened more today,
closer to death a little bit.
Politicians talking of welfare
in front of a crowd,
and plotting warfare
as soon as the masks come down.
I see it all,
I hear it all
and I bear it all.
Still, if ever
you need a listening ear
and a friend near,
you will find me here.
Just come over
at night, when everyone sleeps.
Stand on a bridge
Feel the wind in your hair
Stare into the dark waters below.
Or go to a park
Feel the air in your lungs
Rest your hand on a tree
Dig your heels in the soil.
I am here, with you
Through it all
Tell me your story
And I will tell you mine.
You and I,
We shall be fine.
Search
I look for you when I am alone
The only one who felt like home
.
Frantically, my panic has grown
Then I realize –
In everything,
In my very being,
you are shown
.
You are me and I am you
I am not alone
Peace
Come lie next to me
And let me speak
Speak to your heart
what my heart feels.
.
It feels no pain
And no joy
No worry, excitement or fear
All that remains is peace
.
I am happy here
Finally my restless soul is at peace
God is the master artist
You create
I can only imitate.
You are the only one
Creating a masterpiece
every moment.
How is it possible
That your glory be denied?
How can someone
Be so far from the truth?
One sunset, one sunrise
Can change a life.
Here’s hoping
You continue being the artist
And I keep getting inspired
To imitate you.
When the mask slips…
For how long
Do you plan to pretend?
For sooner or later
The mask always slips
The thousand masks
That you wear
Do not help hide
The ugliness from the Creator
For He always sees you
Completely naked
Like the day He created you
A perfect song to go with this poem (please turn on captions to understand the lyrics) :
Image source : https://discover.hubpages.com/health/Tactics-of-a-Narcissistic-Mother
Rumi poem interpretation – Unnamed Poem
Here is my interpretation of Rumi’s unnamed poem:
Which is worth more, a crowd of thousands,
or your own genuine solitude?
Freedom, or power over an entire nation?
A little while alone in your room
will prove to be more valuable than anything else
that could ever be given to you.
In this poem Rumi is trying to explain how important he thinks being alone with oneself is. It is only when we quiet the mouth as well as the mind’s chatter that revelations happen. These aha-moments which happen in a meditative state are priceless according to him.
He compares an extroverted leader who might have power – maybe over an entire nation to a mystic who has freedom and who is completely satisfied in his own solitude, and asks the reader which one they think is worth more? There is no right or wrong here, obviously. Leaders are just as important to the society as mystics. A person who is a good balance of extroversion and introversion, leadership and mysticism would indeed be like a dream come true.
Taken from The Essential Rumi
translated by Coleman Barks
Image credit : me
Ganapati Bappa Morya!
My father chopped off my head
I died. He attached an Elephant head instead
And resurrected me – for he was the God Shiva.
I saw his regret and forgave him in a heartbeat
Adored, loved and respected him ever since.
This is how Lord Ganesha, came into being.
Do you think, you will be able to do that?
Forgive the one who chops off your head?
Can you forgive the car that cuts off in front of you in the city traffic?
The boss who makes you feel worthless?
The spouse who has no time to hear your heartfelt thoughts?
The parents who did not understand their sensitive child?
All those who make these tiny cuts in your soul – day in and day out?
Can you forgive them?
That is why Ganesha is God and we are mere mortals.
Let us pray, that God Shiva chop off our ego-heads
and replaces it with one full of wisdom and knowledge,
just like Ganesha’s and all our obstacles shall begone.
Ganapati Bappa Morya! Happy Ganesh Chaturthi!
Image credit : me 🙂
Marathi poem with translation – मनाचा आरसा (Mind’s mirror)
मनाचा आरसा
आपल्या सर्वांमधे असतो एक आरसा
हा कधी दिसत नाही
पण आपल्या असण्याची
जाणीव नेहमी करून देतो
ज्या भावना आपण स्वतःशी लपवतो
त्यांचं प्रतिबिंब हा दाखवतो
कधी स्वप्नांमधे,
कधी ह्या जीवनाच्या स्वप्नात
हा सगळं शोधून काढतो
आणि मग ह्या मोह-माये मधे
त्या भावनांना व्यक्त करतो
चांगल्या-वाईट परिस्थितीनमध्ये झोकतो
हे सगळं हा आपल्यासाठीच करतो
आपण आपल्या भावनांचे मान करावे
त्यांना शुद्रांसारखे दूर न ढकलता
त्यांच्यामधे पूर्णपणे एकरूप होऊन
त्यानां आपलाच भाग बनवावे
हीच या आरश्याची इच्छा
आरसा म्हणतो,
आरे माणसा, ज्या दिवशी
माझ्यामध्ये मला काहीच दिसणार नाही
त्या दिवशी मी फुटणार आणि
माझ्यासोबत तू ही मुक्त
राधिका
Here is a rough translation of the poem in English :
Inside all of us, there is a mirror – mind’s mirrorWe cannot see it, but it makes it’s presence felt.Whichever feelings we suppress,This mirror shows us it’s reflectionEither in dreams or in this illusionary world that we live in.The mirror pushes us into worldly situationsWhere we are made to feel these suppressed emotions againIt does this so that we see this feeling, acknowledge it and make it a part of our own being instead of disowning it.The mirror tells us ‘Human, the day I see no reflection in myself – I will get destroyed and along with me, you will be free from this cycle of Samsara (life, death and rebirth)’
Image credit : https://teejaw.com/self-reflection-can-be-good-for-you/
Life breaks us all
Life breaks us all
In a million different ways
We all walk around
With holes in our soul
Try to look at others
Through these holes
In some you will find
Disease, decay and death
Some will have a light so pure
Like one you have never seen before
Image credit : http://www.soultraveller.net/authors/book-reviews/every-day-lightworker/