Category: Philosophy

“The emotional cost of failing to attain our goals is great, I won’t deny that. But what is the psychic cost of failing against the psychic cost of not setting goals beyond our abilities out of fear and lack of confidence in ourselves? That is, what is the value in not trying because we fear,…

“All good thoughts” in spite of righteousness is the kind of thoughts in spite of greatness. Often now the State is advocation. If we form a power of recognition. Forget loss and perfect advocation. If it drops or stays in convocation. All we praise is all we want in commerce All we praise is parties,…

The fragility of love: “Human relationships are too frail, those who build their world around it , those who consider their lovelife as the center of their life, were among those deeply hurt by it. Even the most beautiful and most affluent people are not exempted from the heartaches brought by an earthly romance.” –…

“…what one seeks in reading autobiography is not a date, a name, or a place, but a characteristic way of perceiving, of organizing, and of understanding, an individual way of feeling and expressing that one can somehow relate to oneself.” James Olney, quoted in ‘The Value of Worthless Lives’ by Ilaria Serra On the deaths…

A long gap since I last wrote to this list. A unique set of personal circumstances caused the hiatus as I struggled to find reason to write, to share, to expand. But suffice it is to say that I have found a light source at the end of another tunnel. So today’s couplet and thought…

Reading, knowledge and wisdom:   He had read much, if one considers his long life; but his contemplation was much more than his reading. He was wont to say that if he had read as much as other men he should have known no more than other men. – John Aubrey   Kabir Day 43:…

Today’s thought :   “We are sinful not merely because we have eaten of the tree of knowledge, but also because we have not eaten of the tree of life.” – Franz Kafka   ..and now Kabir Day 42:   The couplet transliterated: Hariya jaane kaavada, ras paani ka neh | Sookha kaat na jaanayi,…

Today’s thought (from this web link): “Love is what’s in the room with you at Christmas if you stop opening presents and listen.” Bobby – age 7 An author and lecturer once talked about a contest he was asked to judge. The purpose of the contest was to find the most caring child. The winner…

Today’s thought – “The man who acquires the ability to take full possession of his own mind may take possession of anything else to which he is justly entitled.” Andrew Carnegie   Kabir Day 40   The couplet transliterated: Baazaigar ka bandara, jeeva man ke saath | Nana naach nachaya kari, raakhe apna haath ||…

Today’s thought – on giving..   “One of the great movements in my lifetime among educated people is the need to commit themselves to action. Most people are not satisfied with giving money; we also feel we need to work.” Peter Drucker   “Is the rich world aware of how four billion of the six…

Talking of teachers, for without teachers, how would we ever learn?   “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.” – Henry B. Adams   “A master can tell you what he expects of you. A teacher, though, awakens your own expectations.” Patricia Neal   ..and now, fun but deep –…

Today’s thoughts (two but working as one 😉 )   “Just in case you believe that great social problems are beyond your scope, consider this story: God said to me: Your task is to build a better world. I answered: How can I do that? The world is such a large, vast place, so complicated…

Today’s thought –   “There must be more to life than having everything.” -Maurice Sendak   …and now, Kabir day 36:   The couplet transliterated: Man diya kahin aur hi, tan saadhan ke sangh | Kah Kabir kori gaji, kaise laage rang      ||   Translation: While the mind roams its myriad paths, the body exercises…

Today’s quote: “In Jeremiah 23:24 God declares, “Do I not fill heaven and earth?” What does this mean? Is this limited to just one attribute of God, say for example, His knowledge, or just His power, or may be just His authority? God is present in all places; however, our conception of Him must not…

“When the student is ready, the teacher will appear” – An old saying.   Kabir Day 34:   The couplet transliterated: Guru bichara kya kare, sabad na laage ang | Kahe Kabir maili gaji, kaise jaage rang  ||   Translation: What can the teacher do if the student is not ready to learn? Says Kabir,…

Today’s quote: “Meditation is not a way of making your mind quiet. It is a way of entering into the quiet that is already there – buried under the 50,000 thoughts the average person thinks every day.” – Deepak Chopra   And now, Kabir Day 33:   The couplet, transliterated: Bin vaasilai chakiri, bin buddhi…

Today’s quote :   “There are four gate-keepers at the entrance to the Realm of Freedom [moksha]. – Self control – Spirit of Inquiry – Contentment – Good Company With a pure heart and a receptive mind, and without the veil of doubt and  restlessness of the mind, listen to the exposition of the nature…

Today’s thought –  “Our most basic human goal outside of survival, is happiness. Everything we do is an attempt to enjoy our lives. A big part of happiness I think, is contentment. I’m not talking about complacency or apathy; rather, I am talking about being able to get through the day and feel peaceful about…

  Quotes that I crossed paths with: It would little avail to ask how we know. That would be like asking how we know that Beethoven’s “Hymn to Joy” is joyous. If a man were to say, “It is not joyous to me,” he would not condemn the music; he would tell only his morbidness….

Today’s quote –  “A dog has no use for fancy cars or big homes or designer clothes. Status symbol means nothing to him. A waterlogged stick will do just fine. A dog judges others not by their color or creed or class but by who they are inside. A dog doesn’t care if you are…

“It means bondage when the mind desires something or grieves at something, rejects or accepts anything, feels happy or angry with anything.” – Ashtavakra Gita – Chapter 8 Verse 1 ..and now, Kabir Day 28: The couplet transliterated: Bhoop dukhi avadhoot dukhi, dukhi runk bipreet| Kahe Kabir Yeh sub dukhi, sukhi sant man jeet ||…

Today’s quote: It’s a fascinating phenomenon if you stop and think about it. People are willing to damage their current and future financial situation in order to keep up with the Joneses. – Brian Kim (http://briankim.net/blog/2008/03/how-to-stop-keeping-up-with-the-joneses/ ) ..and now, Kabir, day 27 The couplet – transliterated: Aisi gati sansar ki, jyon gaarad ko that |…

Today’s quote ..from the SciFi TV series “Babylon 5” – a conversation between the characters Dr. Stephen Franklin and Lt. Commander Susan Ivanova: SF – “It’s all so brief, isn’t it? Typical human lifespan is almost a hundred years, but it’s barely a second compared to what’s out there. It wouldn’t be so bad if…

On tools and weapons..   Wandering around the web in an absolutely aimless search, I came across a blog post with a photo of a hammer under the caption..” Thoughts on thoughts…. tools and weapons” [ http://bearbicycle.blogspot.com/2008/12/thoughts-on-thoughts-tools-and-weapons.html ] – and a respondent made a telling comment – Actually a tool is just a tool. IT’S…

Today’s quotes:  Money sometimes makes fools of important persons, but it may also make important persons of fools. – Walter Winchell To fulfill a dream, to be allowed to sweat over lonely labor, to be given a chance to create, is the meat and potatoes of life. The money is the gravy. – Bette Davis…

Today’s quote: Pride is seldom delicate, it will please itself with very mean advantages; and envy feels not its own happiness, but when it may be compared with the misery of others. – Samuel Johnson ..and now, Kabir on pride (day 23) Couplet, transliterated: Kabira soi surma, mansun maon jujha | Punch payada pahilai, door…

Today’s thought: Ridiculous yachts and private planes and big limousines won’t make people enjoy life more, and it sends out terrible messages to the people who work for them. It would be so much better if that money was spent in Africa – and it’s about getting a balance. –Richard Branson  Kabir Day 22:  The…

  Today’s thought: The world is not moved only by the mighty shoves of the heroes, but also by the aggregate of the tiny pushes of each honest worker. –Helen Keller  And now, Kabir, day 21: The couplet, transliterated:  Kabira jogi manhi ke, tan jogi kou aur,  | Man ke jog lagawat, dasa bhai kachoo…

Today’s thought – “Each morning the alarm goes off, and a new day begins.” – Carl D. Windsor Kabir, day 20: The couplet, transliterated: Ghar rakhwara bahera chidiya khai khet | Adha pardha ubarai, chet sake to chet  || Translation: The house guard is hard of hearing, so birds are damaging the crop | Prevent…

Thought for today –  Acknowledge Your Creativity and Genius The qualities of creativity and genius are within you, awaiting your decision to match up with the power of intention. Genius is a characteristic of the creative force that allows all of material creation to come into form. It is an expression of the divine. -Dr…

On this windy, sunny morning, all I can think of is : “Remember that life’s most treasured moments often come unannounced.” -unknown ..and now, Kabir Day 17: The couplet, transliterated: Nau man dudh batori kai, tipaka diya binas | Dudh fati kanji bhaya, hua dhiyu ka naas|| Translation: Nine maunds (a measure) of pure milk,…

Today’s thought – as 2008 winds down: “We spend January 1 walking through our lives, room by room, drawing up a list of work to be done, cracks to be patched. Maybe this year, to balance the list, we ought to walk through the rooms of our lives… not looking for flaws, but for potential.”…

First, today’s thoughts : Words Of Wisdom  “The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen, nor touched…but are felt in the heart.” – Helen Keller “Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson “The most important thing to do in solving a problem…

Today’s thought “Love is often nothing but a favorable exchange between two people who get the most of what they can expect, considering their value on the personality market.” – Erich Fromm Kabir Day 14 ..the couplet transliterated: Dukh Mein Sumiran Sab Kare, Sukh Mein Kare Na Koye | Jo Sukh Mein Sumiran Kare, To…

  Today’s thought – A poem of prayer and wishes on this Christmas day: Understanding the world – bit by bit!  The year is gone, another cycle of seasons done Snow on the ground, and another lot of bills undone Do we look forward to the coming year, another glorious unknown, Or cower – driven…

Another break in the flow happened yesterday – schedules meant I had absolutely no time to think – is that really possible? My apologies anyways.   So , first, today’s thought – and a lesson for myself –   “Anything you’re good at contributes to happiness.” – Betrand Russell   Russell , despite the description…

“Joy can be real only if people look on their life as a service, and have a definite object in life outside themselves and their personal happiness.” – Leo Tolstoy   ..and now Kabir day 11   First, the couplet transliterated:   Kabira Khara Bazaar Mein, Mange Sabki Khair   Na Kahu Se Dosti, Na…

Today’s Quote   “When people talk, listen completely. Most people never listen.” -Ernest Hemingway   Some responses to reactions from yesterday’s couplet, first (and yes, please feel free to correct me when I miss steps – it is these missed steps that tell me I am human, and am but a student, thirsting for more…

Today’s thought – as I look out at a snow-covered vista from my window…   “ I can’t pray beside my little peace tree without thinking about the prayer of St. Francis of Assisi: Lord, make me an instrument of your peace . . .   I can’t pray beside my little peace tree without…

“The power of accurate observation is commonly called cynicism by those who have not got it.” – George Bernard Shaw   “Humor is emotional chaos remembered in tranquility.” – James Thurber     ..and now, Kabir day 8:   First, the couplet, transliterated:   Jaise Til Mein Tel Hai, Jyon Chakmak Mein Aag Tera Sayeen…

First – today’s thought :   “The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them; that’s the essence of inhumanity.” – George Bernard Shaw     ..and now, Kabir – day 7:   The couplet, transliterated:   Bada Hua To Kya Hua, Jaise Ped Khajoor Panthi…

Today’s thought – Everything you have   There is so very much available to you. In reaching for your dreams, make use of everything you have. Don’t be dismayed or embarrassed by what you have to work with. Instead, work with whatever you have and it will grow more useful and effective with each effort….

Time is the substance from which I am made. Time is a river which carries me along, but I am the river; it is a tiger that devours me, but I am the tiger; it is a fire that consumes me, but I am the fire. – Jorge Luis Borges   Kabir – Day 5…

First – an apology – but my weekends have become so crowded that I am not finding the time to think – hence the hiatus in this 45-day journey.   Now, for today’s thoughts (and I have to confess – my time crunch over the weekend prompted my search for these…) –   1) It’s…

An intriguing thought – “The speed of anything depends on the flow of everything.”   Kabir – day 3:   Transliteration: Kaal Kare So Aaj Kar, Aaj Kare So Ub Pal Mein Pralaya Hoyegi, Bahuri Karoge Kub   Translation Tomorrows work do today, today’s work now if the moment is lost, the work be done…

Today’s quote:   I gain strength, courage and confidence by every experience in which I must stop and look fear in the face…I say to myself, I’ve lived through this and can take the next thing that comes along. -Eleanor Roosevelt     Day 2 from Sant Kabir:   Bura Jo Dekhan Main Chala, Bura…

First, today’s thought:   “The world steps aside to let any man pass if he knows where he is going.” -David S. Jordan   Sant Kabir – day 1:   original couplet, transliterated – “Chalti Chakki Dekh Kar, Diya Kabira Roye Dui Paatan Ke Beech Mein,Sabut Bacha Na Koye”   Translation   Looking at the…