Sunday, October 18, 2020

I want to live in a world

 








I can debate on whether
capital punishment is at all
justified, but I will nevertheless
let the law decide who'd be
hanged to death, who will not;
I don’t want to be beheaded
by a faceless, misguided, student
of a preacher; I want to live in
a world where my freedom
of speech is not regarded as an
offence by a stranger who would
severe me from my life.

I have the right to have my own
set of beliefs, even if it sounded
irreverent for some, I have the
right to exist despite my colour,
creed, language, if I see goddess
durga killing asura, I have the
right to think of her as unkind
and cruel until I am explained
that the killing is internal, not
external, that it’s a metaphor
for killing all the evils I hold
inside me, like a delinquent
fanatic; we need to kill the
cruelty that’s lurking inside
us, not slay people who have
different opinions of prophets
and preachers; the world is sadly
concerned with the teachers alone,
not with their teachings, if it were,
killings would hang the head of
believers in shame; it’s high time
scriptures that endorse killings
need to change; it is not a virtue,
it’s a crime, a poisonous vice;
for all fundamentalists, it’s wrong.

I want to live in a world where
men, women, children are not
murdered under any circumstances
by the iniquitous, the vicious, and
the wicked, all have the right to
live with their families and kin, in
their world where they truly belong;
I want to live in a world where
there’s breathing space for everyone –
theists, atheists, agnostics, liberals,
radicals, rich, poor, black, white,
and the weak and the strong.

 

Note:

Durga is identified as the principal Hindu goddess of war. The mythology centers around combating evils and demonic forces that threaten peace, prosperity, and Dharma the power of good over evil. Durga is also a fierce form of the protective mother goddess, who unleashes her divine wrath against the wicked for the liberation of the oppressed, and entails destruction to empower creation. The metaphoric aspect negates any external war that is shown between the goddess and the asura; the war is rather internal where the evil forces need to be killed by the divine intervention, personified as Durga.

Asura is the intolerant evil force that kills the innocent.


Voici la traduction française pour mes copains français. J'avoue que la traduction n'est pas parfaite.

Je peux débattre, pendant des heures,
pour savoir si la peine capitale
est du tout justifiée, mais je vais
quand même laisser la loi
décider qui serait pendu jusqu’à la mort,
et qui ne le fera pas ; je ne veux pas
être décapité par un étudiant sans visage,
malavisé par un prédicateur ; je veux
demeurer dans un monde où ma liberté
du discours ne serait pas considérée
comme une entorse par un étranger
qui prendrait le pouvoir à la main
afin de me tuer.
 

J'ai le droit d'apercevoir le monde
de ma propre façon, d’voir mes croyances
qui me sont chers, même si cela sonnait
irrévérencieux pour certains, j'ai le droit
d'exister malgré ma couleur, ma langue, ma foi ;
si je vois la déesse Durga qui tue l’Asura,
j'ai le droit d’interpréter la déesse comme
méchante et cruelle jusqu'à ce que la signification
de l’histoire ne sois pas m’expliquer - que le
meurtre est plutôt interne, pas externe, que
c'est une métaphore pour tuer tous les maux
que je détiens en moi, comme un délinquant
fanatique; nous devons tous tuer le la cruauté
qui se cache à l'intérieur nous, pas tuer les gens
qui ont des avis différents des prophètes et
les prédicateurs; c’est dommage que le monde
est tristement soucieux des enseignants, pas
de leurs enseignements, si c'était le cas, les
tètes des pratiquants seraient pendues de
la honte; il est grand temps que les Écritures
qui approuvent les meurtres soient changées;
ce n'est pas une vertu, c’est un crime, un
vice empoisonné, une intempérance absolue;
pour tous les fondamentalistes, c’est prétendu.

Je veux vivre dans un monde où
les hommes, les femmes, et les enfants
ne sont pas assassinés en toutes circonstances
par les iniques, les vicieux et les malins, tous
ont le droit d’habiter avec leurs familles et
avec leurs proches, leur royaume auquel ils
appartiennent ; je veux vivre dans un monde
où il y a un répit pour tout le monde – y compris
des théistes et des athées, des agnostiques,
des libéraux, et radicaux,  des riches, et des
pauvres, des noirs, des blancs, et des colorés,
des faibles et des forts.

Remarque:

La Durga est identifiée comme la principale déesse hindoue de la guerre. La mythologie est centrée sur la lutte contre les maux et les forces démoniaques qui menacent la paix, la prospérité et le Dharma le pouvoir du bien sur le mal. Durga est aussi une forme féroce de la déesse mère protectrice, qui déchaîne sa colère divine contre les méchants pour la libération des opprimés, et implique la destruction pour renforcer la création. L'aspect métaphorique nie toute guerre extérieure qui se manifeste entre la déesse et l’Asura ; la guerre est plutôt interne où les forces perverses doivent être tuées par l'intervention divine, personnifiée comme la Durga.

L’Asura est la force maléfique intolérante qui tue les innocents. 


Saturday, October 17, 2020

কথায় কথায়


স্তব্ধ রও, চুপ করে যাও

চুপিসারে 'চৈতন্য হও'। 

কথা হলো কলহ সমান

শুধু রেষারেষি, হলাহল পান

শব্দের ওপরে জ্ঞানের অধিষ্ঠান

ব্রহ্মের অমূল্য, অপরূপ স্হান, 

ভয়, দ্বন্দ্ব, ঈর্ষা হবে নিশ্চিহ্ন, ম্লান

শান্তি নিশ্চিত, পাবে আলোর সন্ধান, 

নিশ্চিন্ত হবে দেহ, মন, প্রাণ, 

নিত্য কর পবিত্র নিঃশব্দ স্নান। 


স্তব্ধ রও, চুপ করে যাও

ঠাকুরের কথামৃতের ধারায়

থাকো রসে বশে, উন্মত্ত নেশায়। 

জর্জরিত কথার আবর্জনার বোঝায়

ক্ষতবিক্ষত তুমি কথায় কথায়, 

তাকে তাই দিয়ে চিরবিদায়, 

চির বিসর্জন, চুপিচুপি 'চৈতন্য হও'। 

Thursday, October 15, 2020

Wander in wonder

 

As you wander in wonder, 

through the roads

rough, tough, smooth, 

their sudden turns,

you come to terms

with the fact that

they're all mapped within

the journey, as milestones;

you sense that nothing is yours, 

there's nothing you own;

yet, experiences you gather

as a passing traveller

connect you with the

imperishable star,

forthwith you discover

your untouched happiness, 

intact, in witness consciousness, 

you unearth who you truly are, 

in wonder when you wander

through the tracks and the ways

in the moving time and space. 

Saturday, October 10, 2020

My hearse

I don’t know where I am
sailing, am I swimming in the 
various parts of my body, or in 
the parts of speech I read, write, 
or say, am I in my successes, or
in my 
failures, am I drowned in
the role 
I play; is it in the position
I find 
myself, or in the palace, or in
the hut I 
call my own, I do not know
where I 
stand; with my mask on, I am 
rehearsing the same script over and 
over again, I am navigating with the 
same props which I know will let me 
settle down, I may not be able to move
up, I remain in the dark, waiting, without
knowing, what pleasures await me on the 
other side of the night; for now, I dread 
the arrival of my hearse.

Wednesday, September 30, 2020

Hate nothing


With a hand on your heart, 

hate nothing; neither the

sinner, nor the sin;

for if you do, you will

own the hurtful art, 

sooner than you can imagine. 


Example: racism, war, etc. 

Transformation


One may or may not agree, 

But every being is as free

As a bird, sitting on a tree.


Thought is the only bondage

That's locking it in a false cage, 

Its movement on the stage

Is blocked for ever and again, 

It cannot behold the invisible chain

Weighing it down, causing disdain.


The day it experiences the bliss of light, 

It will feel liberated, truly light, 

Will merge in delight, with the Infinite. 

Monday, September 28, 2020

The sailing ship

The world is bruised
with wars, actions, words;
divides of numerous
frozen, hidden icebergs
devastate the ark with
dents and scars, they 
destroy the moving universe.


I wonder if I could ever
alter our affectionate nest,
without putting to rest
my own ruminations
that ruin my inner being
with poisonous pests! 

To resurrect, I have only me
to correct; if I could take
a close look at the brainwork
that crack or break me
every single day, like an
automated monster placed
at the unsuspecting altar,
killing without a brake
the living heart of the self 
craving for position, pelf,

power, I could perhaps address
the meaningless hindrances,

they could perchance melt,
wither, or get blurred
in the
warm, forgiving, enamored

light of endless exuberance.

Unkind words that murdered,
butchered my pure being
more than anything, anyone else,
will leave my system; the world
around will be bestowed with
the chirps of birds singing

on branches of the same root;
calming words, like flowers and fruits
will adorn my garden, comfort
the ears of the listeners as those

chants in the places of worship;
let me prepare my world first
heal the holes, blisters, and the marks
of my only living, loving, sailing ship. 

Sunday, September 27, 2020

Consumed

A course that takes
Hours to prepare, with
Utmost love and care;
Attention to taste, health,
Elegance, flavor,
To be devoured in minutes.

Story of a struggle
That takes years
To experience with
Successes, failures,
Pain, passion, pleasure,
Written off in a few pages;
Read, heard, narrated in
Fewer moments.

When the mind lives
Through the phases,
It loses awareness that
Illusion withers
In impermanence.


True or false,
Right or wrong,
The curtain never falls;
Life goes on
Living, loving,
Winning, losing,
Filling, emptying,
Falling, failing,
Feeling, getting along.

An unending song,
Indomitable folklore,
Redone, retold,
Rewritten, reborn,
Absorbed in the course.

Friday, September 25, 2020

Ceaseless light

The sun and the moon,
Madly in love with
Each other; but the
Suspicious onlookers
Are anxious, jealous;
Taking sides, raging
Endless wars. 

The enlightened stars,
The innocuous benefactors,
In their avatars, set,
Rise, shine;
Their celestial union
Nurture the ground,
Nourish the air,
Help life flourish
With vim and vigor.

All sentient beings
Dance, rejoice, smile;
Only those with
The boon of
Consciousness, are
Doomed in perpetual
Darkness, despite
The ceaseless light. 

Being in love

Being madly in touch,
Does it mean being
Madly in love?
Oftentimes, no. 

Being madly in love
With someone, or
With something can
Touch you beyond
Comprehension,
Beyond imagination;
Though, you may not
Be in proximity to
That someone, or to
That something.