Guest guest Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 Madathil wrote: However, I don't understand why you drag the name of Tennyson down to the fustian. I love Tennyson and he is not given to bombast. Congrats and praNAms. Madathil Nair |||||||||||||||||||| Namaste Madathilji, I agree with you, he is a very great poet and a great soul. What I wrote was 'sub-Tennysonian'. The Tennysonians are 'after' Tennyson with their aping of the Master's quirks of archaicisms and the poetical diction without his penetrating imagery. Sub that in the sense of inferior or minor importance or size and you get .. (In Memoriam extract): I envy not in any moods The captive void of noble rage, The linnet born within the cage, That never knew the summer woods; Best Wishes, Michael. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 Om-ji ! i kind of resonated with these words in your post ! ( Dr. Johnson remarked 'Patriotism is the last refuge of the scoundrel'.. Many are prepared to die for their country who wouldn't live for it.- IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII In today's world, more and more people are ready to die in the name of 'Religion' than live for it ! Believe me, they come in all sizes and shapes- Fundamentalists, Extremists , Fanatics and above all 'Jehadis' .... The Prophet Mohammed has said that we should turn from the Lesser Jehad towards the Greater One. Jehad in general means `struggle'. In a specific sense it signifies holy war. When the Prophet returned from the battlefield he told his followers that he ``had already finished the Lesser Jehad but the Greater Jehad is still there. Jalaluddin Rumi in his invaluable masterwork Mathnavi gives us a profound interpretation of this narration. He argues that the very nature of is Greater Jehad is very complicated. Greater Jehad, in Rumi's view, implies the continuous struggle with the elements that contaminate the ``Self''. He indicates that the ``Lesser Jehad'' is a temporary struggle with external elements whereas the ``Greater Jehad'' is a permanent struggle with internal elements. He further says: ``O Elders! We have crushed the enemies outside (poverty, disease, illiteracy and so on) but the hurdle of deadly enemies inside (lust, anger, greed, ego, envy, doubt) remain unscathed! ``These enemies cannot be crushed by our intellect and consciousness. They are like a lion whose subjugation cannot be planned by a rabbit (intellect). This enemy is like a deadly python whose thirst cannot be quenched even by entire rivers of water.'' Human beings are like a bow, and these internal elements are like crooked arrows. They cannot be shot from the bow. For achieving an easy passage to God, we should try to take help from a ``perfect man'', a ``spiritual master'', a ``guru'' and a ``Prophet'', who could show us the way. Otherwise we will be helpless and powerless. Rumi says further: ``If we do so, even if we are (as insignificant as) a needle, but with direct access to Almighty, we will be able to blow the Qaaf (symbolising a huge, invincible mountain) into smithereens. And that is why to gain sight of our own `Self' is so important. The call for self-consciousness in order to know the Lord is the epitome of all religious teachings.'' As Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian nation, says in his book My Religion: ``There is one reality in the whole world and that is the knowledge of the self. Whoever knows his own self knows God and his creatures. Whoever is devoid of such knowledge is devoid of any knowledge.'' In the world, there is only one force, one type of freedom and one form of justice and that is the power of ruling over one's own self. Whoever has domination over his self has domination over the world. ``There is only one sort of goodness in the world, and that is loving others as one loves himself; in other words, we should regard other people as we regard ourselves. What remains is illusion and nullity.'' It is obvious that the self-consciousness that we are discussing is not that which appears on one's ID card (name, father's and mother's names, birth place and place of residence). It is not a biological self-consciousness (that man ranks one degree higher than bears, monkeys, and other beasts) To shed light on this obscure area, Shaikh Mahmud Shabistari (1267-1320) in his mystical poem Gulshan-I-Raz (the mystic rose garden) explains the nature of ``Self'' as follows; Who am I? Make me well aware of ``self''. What does it mean, within your self, ``travel?'' Then you inquired about, what is it ``self''? Make me aware of ``Self''. Who is this ``Self''? Acquiring knowledge of this Self, which is God, is Greater Jehad. http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/20001228/editorials.htm IS THIS NOT WHAT ADVAITA TEACHES US DAY IN AND DAY OUT? i know you said - sub Tennyson ! however, we are the product of the British raj- as such, in all my scholl years all i learned was Tennyson, Byron, Keats, Shakespeare, Wordsworth , Longfellow , Shelley, and Milton! my favorite Tennyson quote is Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. love and regards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted December 5, 2005 Report Share Posted December 5, 2005 respected aadi maa, alexander had won the battle against purushottham [porus] that day, and had retired for the night.the morning-after dawned. alexander's courtiers woke up to a wonderous sight greeting them that morning. they woke up alexander and led him to the balcony overlooking the main courtyard of the palace----- and behold ....!!! outside,on the streets were lined up a long line of the new " subjects" of his just-conquered land, holding in their hands gifts of varying kinds... flowers, fruits, agricultural produce,artifacts..... and what not, to be placed before their new king! they were observing the dictum, " rajanam deivatam rikta paanir na pashyet" [ do not see/visit the king or god with empty hands ]. with one battle won, the conqueror had won an entire war! the people had proclaimed their allegiance without any resistance! these people belonged to a highly evolved, enlightened ,sophisticated culture, and they were responding to the developments in the manner they had imbibed. but alas! the recepient was a mere tribal. he did not know how to respond. with this one battle, the floodgates of conquests across the invincible himalyas had been thrown open. ------------------------------ now look at another scenario some three thousand years later, in 2001/2002 A.D.: a religious head is received with the highest honours india can bestow on a visiting foreign dignitary , treating him as a head of state.... and he declares openly before a huge congregation of his followers gathered in delhi, " this land here is the next theatre of our HARVEST"... , meaning that india is planned to be the theatre of the largest conversion effort in the forthcoming decades, gathering into its folds the largest number of converts away from hinduism. the state of india did not protest because we are a "secular" country. there were no protests of any seriousness from any other organisation either. from alexander to the moghuls to the europeans to the macaulays and max muellers..... and to the economic " golbalisations" of today..... have we changed in any manner? have we learnT any lessons from our history? we continue to observe the culture of the most evolved civilisation, and our " visitors" continue to be mere tribals in their response!. ------ in the seven sisters of the north east, hindus are already in a hopeless minority. according to the 1999 census, kerala, the birth place of aadi shankara was already tottering on a 50:50 majority: minority status. tamil nadu has been under rabid athiests for the last 40 years and more.chhattisgarh is a state lost to the hindus. at the time of partition, minorities in india constituted 8% of the population. hindus in the newly created thelogical state constituted 20 % of their population. 50 years hence, minorities in india account for nearly 25%, and minority population in our neighbouring contries constitues a mere 1%. in 20 to 30 years at this rate, hindus will become a minority in their own land. also, 70% of the national wealth is already in the hands of our minorities. -- arjuna fell at the feet of krishna and pleaded his inability to wage war against his own kith and kin, and implored the lord to take over the war and finish the war as HE pleased [ krishna had just then demonstrated his ability to do so]. krishna refused, however, and replied, " arjuna, you have to fight, i can only assist you". HE will assist. but will we fight?. ----------- with best regards, sadly yours, a.v.krshnan. --- adi_shakthi16 <adi_shakthi16 wrote: > Om-ji ! > > i kind of resonated with these words in your post ! > > ( Dr. Johnson remarked 'Patriotism is the last > refuge of the scoundrel'.. Many are prepared to > die for their > country who wouldn't live for it.- > > IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII > > In today's world, more and more people are ready to > die in the name > of 'Religion' than live for it ! Believe me, they > come in all sizes > and shapes- Fundamentalists, Extremists , Fanatics > and above > all 'Jehadis' .... > > The Prophet Mohammed has said that we should turn > from the Lesser > Jehad towards the Greater One. Jehad in general > means `struggle'. In > a specific sense it signifies holy war. When the > Prophet returned > from the battlefield he told his followers that he > ``had already > finished the Lesser Jehad but the Greater Jehad is > still there. > > Jalaluddin Rumi in his invaluable masterwork > Mathnavi gives us a > profound interpretation of this narration. He argues > that the very > nature of is Greater Jehad is very complicated. > > Greater Jehad, in Rumi's view, implies the > continuous struggle with > the elements that contaminate the ``Self''. He > indicates that the > ``Lesser Jehad'' is a temporary struggle with > external elements > whereas the ``Greater Jehad'' is a permanent > struggle with internal > elements. > > He further says: > > ``O Elders! We have crushed the enemies outside > (poverty, disease, > illiteracy and so on) but the hurdle of deadly > enemies inside (lust, > anger, greed, ego, envy, doubt) remain unscathed! > > ``These enemies cannot be crushed by our intellect > and consciousness. > They are like a lion whose subjugation cannot be > planned by a rabbit > (intellect). This enemy is like a deadly python > whose thirst cannot > be quenched even by entire rivers of water.'' > > Human beings are like a bow, and these internal > elements are like > crooked arrows. They cannot be shot from the bow. > For achieving an > easy passage to God, we should try to take help from > a ``perfect > man'', a ``spiritual master'', a ``guru'' and a > ``Prophet'', who > could show us the way. Otherwise we will be helpless > and powerless. > > Rumi says further: > > ``If we do so, even if we are (as insignificant as) > a needle, but > with direct access to Almighty, we will be able to > blow the Qaaf > (symbolising a huge, invincible mountain) into > smithereens. And that > is why to gain sight of our own `Self' is so > important. The call for > self-consciousness in order to know the Lord is the > epitome of all > religious teachings.'' > > As Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian nation, > says in his book > My Religion: ``There is one reality in the whole > world and that is > the knowledge of the self. Whoever knows his own > self knows God and > his creatures. Whoever is devoid of such knowledge > is devoid of any > knowledge.'' > > In the world, there is only one force, one type of > freedom and one > form of justice and that is the power of ruling over > one's own self. > Whoever has domination over his self has domination > over the world. > > ``There is only one sort of goodness in the world, > and that is loving > others as one loves himself; in other words, we > should regard other > people as we regard ourselves. What remains is > illusion and nullity.'' > > It is obvious that the self-consciousness that we > are discussing is > not that which appears on one's ID card (name, > father's and mother's > names, birth place and place of residence). It is > not a biological > self-consciousness (that man ranks one degree higher > than bears, > monkeys, and other beasts) To shed light on this > obscure area, Shaikh > Mahmud Shabistari (1267-1320) in his mystical poem > Gulshan-I-Raz (the > mystic rose garden) explains the nature of ``Self'' > as follows; > > Who am I? Make me well aware of ``self''. > > What does it mean, within your self, ``travel?'' > > Then you inquired about, what is it ``self''? > > Make me aware of ``Self''. Who is this ``Self''? > > Acquiring knowledge of this Self, which is God, is > Greater Jehad. > > http://www.expressindia.com/ie/daily/20001228/editorials.htm > > > IS THIS NOT WHAT ADVAITA TEACHES US DAY IN AND DAY > OUT? > > i know you said - sub Tennyson ! > > however, we are the product of the British raj- as > such, in all my > scholl years all i learned was Tennyson, Byron, > Keats, Shakespeare, > Wordsworth , Longfellow , Shelley, and Milton! > > my favorite Tennyson quote is > > Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers. > > love and regards > > > > > > > > > _________ Messenger - NEW crystal clear PC to PC calling worldwide with voicemail http://uk.messenger. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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