The love song

A poet once wrote a love song and it was beautiful. And he made many copies of it, and sent them to his friends and his acquaintances, both men and women, and even to a young woman whom he had met but once, who lived beyond the mountains.

And in a day or two a messenger came from the young woman bringing a letter. And in the letter she said, “Let me assure you, I am deeply touched by the love song that you have written to me. Come now, and see my father and my mother, and we shall make arrangements for the betrothal.”

And the poet answered the letter, and he said to her, “My friend, it was but a song of love out of a poet's heart, sung by every man to every woman.”

And she wrote again to him saying, “Hypocrite and liar in words! From this day unto my coffin-day I shall hate all poets for your sake.”

Excerpted from 'The Wanderer' by Kahlil Gibran

At the fair

There came to the Fair a girl from the country-side, most comely. There was a lily and a rose in her face. There was a sunset in her hair, and dawn smiled upon her lips.
No sooner did the lovely stranger appear in their sight than the young men sought her and surrounded her. One would dance with her, and another would cut a cake in her honor. And they all desired to kiss her cheek. For after all, was it not the Fair?
But the girl was shocked and started, and she thought ill of the young men. She rebuked them, and she even struck one or two of them in the face. Then she ran away from them.
And on her way home that evening she was saying in her heart, “I am disgusted. How unmannerly and ill bred are these men. It is beyond all patience.”

A year passed during which that very comely girl thought much of Fairs and men. Then she came again to the Fair with the lily and the rose in her face, the sunset in her hair and the smile of dawn upon her lips.
But now the young men, seeing her, turned from her. And all the day long she was unsought and alone.
And at eventide as she walked the road toward her home she cried in her heart, “I am disgusted. How unmannerly and ill bred are these youths. It is beyond all patience.”

Excerpted from 'The Wanderer' by Kahlil Gibran

Awake if you can

“Jaise Til Mein Tel Hai, Jyon Chakmak Mein Aag
Tera Sayeen Tujh Mein Hai, Tu Jaag Sake To Jaag”

Just as seed contains the oil, fire's in flint stone
Your temple seats the Divine, realize if you can

Crossroads

"Man is born as a seed; he can become a flower, he may not. It all depends on you, what you do with yourself; it all depends on you whether you grow or you don´t. It is your choice — and each moment the choice has to be faced; each moment you are on the crossroads." ~ Osho

What is right?

‎"What is my definition of right? That which is harmonious with existence is right, and that which is disharmonious with existence is wrong. You will have to be very alert each moment, because it has to be decided each moment afresh. You cannot depend on readymade answers for what is right and what is wrong." ~ Osho

Reason for happiness

"No one can be a reason of your happiness except you yourself."

Suffering

Truth of life:
There is suffering in the world
Suffering arises from craving and attachment
Suffering can be eliminated
Right views and the middle way are the key to eliminate suffering

Contentment

"The mind is incomprehensible and exceedingly subtle; it wanders where ever it desires. Therefore, let the wise watch over their minds. A well guarded mind brings contentment." ~ Buddhist quote

Gold and rock are same

"Even if a person accumulates a pile of gold as higher as Mt. Everest, he would not be satisfied. That is why the sage views gold and rock as the same." ~ Buddhist Quote

The palace and the hut

Part One: As night fell and the light glittered in the great house, the servants stood at the massive door awaiting the coming of the guests; and upon their velvet garments shown golden buttons. The magnificent carriages drew into the palace park and the nobles entered, dressed in gorgeous raiment and decorated with jewels. The instruments filled the air with pleasant melodies while the dignitaries danced to the soothing music. At midnight the finest and most palatable foods were served on a beautiful table embellished with all kinds of the rarest flowers. The feasters dined and drank abundantly, until the sequence of the wine began to play its part. At dawn the throng dispersed boisterously, after spending a long night of intoxication and gluttony which hurried their worn bodies into their deep beds with unnatural sleep. Part Two: At eventide, a man attired in the dress of heavy work stood before the door of his small house and knocked at the door. As it opened, he entered and greeted the occupants in a cheerful manner, and then sat between his children who were playing at the fireplace. In a short time, his wife had the meal prepared and they sat at a wooden table consuming their food. After eating they gathered around the oil lamp and talked of the day's events. When the early night had lapsed, all stood silently and surrendered themselves to the King of Slumber with a song of praise and a prayer of gratitude on their lips.

Cause and effect

How long can the lava retain its heat after leaving the volcano?
If you remove sun from the sunrays,
there are no more sunrays.
If you remove gold from the necklace,
there is no more a necklace.
Where is the question of an effect without the cause?
If you remove cause from the effect, then nothing remains.

Excerpted from 'Frozen Thoughts' Vol. 10: Issue 8 (February, 2011)

Novel or Life

"The chapters of the life need to unfold them on themselves. The more you try to flip the pages to unfold the mystery of life, more mysterious it becomes.....Treat life like a Mystery Novel read it only when the turn of the... page comes, don't flip pages to unfold the mystery, lest you might have to revisit the pages you flipped but didn't read.... " ~ Mayank

No one owns anyone

“No one loses anyone, because no one owns anyone. That is the true experience of freedom: having the most important thing in the world without owning it.” ~ Alchemist Paulo Coelho

Love and freedom

“Freedom only exists when love is present. The person, who gives him or herself wholly, the person who feels freest, is the person who loves the most.” ~ Alchemist Paulo Coelho

Are we listening?

Whether it is teaching, learning, building relationship, or selling – a good listener will always have an edge over others. A good listener will not listen to the words, but he will also listen and understand the emotions behind those words. He will not only listen to what is being spoken, but he will also catch the unspoken messages, and that’s complete listening.
Excerpted from 'Frozen Thoughts' Vol. 10: Issue 7 (January, 2011)

Allow the unexpected

“You have to take risks. We will only understand the miracle of life fully when we allow the unexpected to happen.” ~ Alchemist Paulo Coelho

Kindness

"There is no need for temples, no need for complicated philosophies. My brain and my heart are my temples; my philosophy is kindness" ~ Dalai Lama

Life and death

"For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one" ~ Kahlil Gibran

Neither friendship, nor enmity

"Kabira Khara Bazaar Mein, Mange Sabki Khair
Na Kahu Se Dosti, Na Kahu Se Bair"

Kabira in the market place, wishes welfare of all
Neither friendship nor enmity with anyone at all

Eminence is vain

"Bada Hua To Kya Hua, Jaise Ped Khajoor
Panthi Ko Chaya Nahin, Phal Laage Atidoor"

In vain is the eminence, just like a date tree
No shade for travelers, fruit is hard to reach