Daily Archives: April 22, 2011

“The whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”
– Aristotle

Kabir – The couplet
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transliterated:
Kala nala heen jal, so phir paani hoye|
Jo paani moti bane, so phir neer na hoye||

Translation:
Even the dark waters of a dirty drain, filtered by nature, become the clear waters of a river |
But that water which has been absorbed to become a pearl, does not go back to being water ever again||

My thoughts:
Life is the filter, cleanser, and the mirror, which helps us wash of the grime of each day to emerge as a new person at each dawn. Having been put through the furnace of my experiences yesterday, I have emerged today as a little less carbon and a little more diamond. Each day, while I am still human, I need to use this furnace to cleanse myself of deadweight and better expose the light inside me that is bursting to see daylight.

Experience is the process that makes us a pearl – and once made, we cannot go back to being the inexperienced person we were before!

“Patience is power.
Patience is not an absence of action;
rather it is “timing”
it waits on the right time to act,
for the right principles
and in the right way.”
– Fulton J. Sheen

Kabir – The couplet
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??? ??? ?????? ????, ??? ??? ?? ??? ||

transliterated:
Sheel, kshama jab upaje, alag dhristi tab hoye|
Bin sheel pahoonche nahi, lakh kahe jo koye||

Translation:
When patience, forgiveness and determination surface, one’s vision and perception becomes true |
Without patience and determination, the truth will never become visible||

My thoughts:
Nature is our best teacher of the virtue of patience. Look all around you. Tempests, hurricanes, drought, blinding sunlight and long frosts all beat up and even destroy all of man’s creations. Nature, however, always comes back with a smile and a bright new green to welcome the new dawn. It is implacable in its pursuit of the morn, despite all obstacles in its path.

Patience, of necessity, fosters the company of forgiveness and determination. We need determination to wait out the storms of life, and forgiveness to give up temporary losses, for the morning will surely always come, and it will surely bring new bounties!

This, then, is our true strength – to be patient, and do the right thing at the right time!

“He that lies down with dogs shall rise up with fleas.”
– Benjamin Franklin

Kabir – The couplet
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transliterated:
Kabira man pancchi bhaye, bhaave taha te aajaye |
Jo jaisa sangat kare, to taisa phal paaye ||

Translation:
The bird, free in flight, alights where it’s fancy leads it|
Our choice of company, defines who we are and become||

My thoughts:
I have often misread this and related quotes. As parents, as teachers, as guides, we look to present the “correct” and “proper” environment for our wards to grow and foster in. However, the mind, unbound by the body, but a slave to the vagaries of desire (maya), picks that which best suits its fancy.

We can but guide, teach and hope the right choices are made. Even if the right ones are made, there is no guarantee that they will be the ones that are kept. As the world changes, choice needs to change to adapt – and the change needs to be picked with great caution – for all that glitters is not gold ?

So our duty is to show the right path – by speech, thought and living example. Each individual is free to make their own choice – even if we disagree. Our responsibility ends at the completion of the example – and theirs begins after the choice is made. Each of us have to carry the burden of our choices by our own selves – and that is what the world will judge us by.