SECRETS OF THE SOUL 11 - EXISTENTIAL DILEMMA

SECRETS OF THE SOUL 11 - EXISTENTIAL DILEMMA

Existential Dilemma - 11

I seek the secrets of the soul,

From the fragrance of the jasmine,

That I smelt in the tresses on her head,

And as the cool wind blew caressing,

The strands of hair flew, obscuring my face,

She slowly slid away, leaving me cold and stiff,

And as I stood at the edge of the cliff,

Looking down at the chasm below,

“To be or not to be” as Hamlet strode,

Up and down in existential dilemma,

I retraced my steps and walked away,

May be there shall come another day.

SECRETS OF THE SOUL 10 - CLASH OF THE TITANS

SECRETS OF THE SOUL 10 - CLASH OF THE TITANS

Clash of the Titans - 10

I seek the secrets of the soul,

As the Titans clash in their wars above,

Casting their thunderbolts, streaking,

Ominously across the battle ground,

Neptune lashes as he foams and frets.

The grey clouds gather and shroud

The turbulences in my mind, waiting

To burst forth in torrential downpours,

To sweep me away on its fiery journey,

In relentless pursuit of an unknown land.

Whilst I settle, a pebble on the ocean floor,

The ghost rides on the waves.

SECRETS OF THE SOUL - 9 THE MIST AND THE BROOK

SECRETS OF THE SOUL - 9 

The Mist and The Brook - 9

I seek the secrets of the soul,

Whilst the mist passes me on the way,

Obscuring the secrets that lie beyond,

In the depths of the ravines, on the cliffs,

I stumble and fall into wayside pits,

On my search for those distant dreams,

Of the brook that had once sung,

As it wove its way round my dangling legs,

Caressing, the ripples vanish with the flow,

Of the hand that had felt my face,

A smile that embraced me in its folds,

The ghost no longer a spectator.

SECRETS OF THE SOUL - 8 VESUVIUS

SECRETS OF THE SOUL - 8

VESUVIUS 

I seek the secrets of the soul,

As I feel the throbbing in my head,

The pressure builds, ready to burst,

The serpent uncoils and spews its venom

Whilst Vesuvius erupts angered, woken

From his deep slumber, smouldering,

Pours his wrath down the sides,

To engulf and burn away,

The remnants of my decadence,

As he simmers and settles down,

The rumblings deep inside subsides,

Only the dullness of the ache remains.

BEARD RAMBLINGS - CONVERSATIONS WITH MY BEARD RESUMED

BEARD RAMBLINGS

CONVERSATIONS WITH MY BEARD RESUMED

“You have aged and so have I. Though it seems I last talked with you yesterday, three years have since passed by. You have grown older and I have become whiter. While I am sure that white is a sign of wisdom (as in my case), I am not sure about you. The passing years have only made you more forgetful and most of the time you keep staring vacantly even when someone talks to you. I am not too sad about that for in the process I have been allowed my freedom to grow wiser (that should be longer and whiter).

Well, this morning it happened at last. I saw the look in your eyes when you peered into the mirror, not that you had not done so earlier. You do that every day, but that narcissistic look which had been absent for the last three years had returned. I knew it had to happen. Though your wife does not say anything as she had given up trying to get through that head of yours, I did overhear her friend who had come visiting, say to her ‘What’s wrong with your husband I say. Don’t you think that it’s time he trimmed his beard?’ Your wife said ‘Well I did try once or twice but he mutters philosophically – live and let grow. I have given up after all it is his beard, why should I object!’ I am sure you also overheard them.

I was worried then for that vacant look in your eyes was often mistaken for a heightened level of spiritual awareness, while I knew that more often than not where that spirit had come from. Whoever gave you the idea that once I have grown long enough and turned white on your face, you have the freedom to say whatever you want?

All sages and holy men have flowing white beards though the corollary that all men with flowing white beards are sages. Of course there are those with black flowing beards and as aged as the white bearded ones (though I do not know how they manage that) but they look sinister, don’t you agree. Sorry I am not trying to bringing in any racial prejudices here. Of course I will accept that there are sinister looking white flowing ones too. They are dangerous, so keep away. I am not suggesting that you are one of them for after all I adorn your face.

Take for instance that 92 year old man with extra-long white flowing beard. People say he is a sage. I do not disbelieve it for who else could have discovered the reason for the occurrences of earthquakes. Wow! He said that the reason for the landslides and earthquakes are on account of honeymooning couples. See what happened to Kedarnath. I still wonder as to how many honeymooning couples on the hills it would take to generate that level of seismic levels to bring about the level of destruction witnessed. Well I think the Government will be well advised to take this seriously and restrict the number of couples (by way of visa if possible) visiting the hill stations. They should of course rope in this 92 year old sage with the extra-long white flowing beard as a consultant.

Well, what is this ruckus about certain male Gods not allowing women to worship them? The wise man (once again with the extra-long white flowing beard) says that they will be punished if there is any breach in this regard, and the women dare. I say let it go, there are already more than enough number of Gods craving to be worshipped, leaving out a few of them will not hurt, in fact it will lessen the burden. Don’t you agree?

A few days ago I overheard one of your friends (a clean-shaven one) say ‘I always wondered how do bearded men kiss their wives/lovers without causing them a discomfiture..’ Well you know better, but you did not really express yourself properly. Of course, even I have wondered what women prefer. I am sure your wife does not mind for I have been on your face for such a long time. Your friend must be plain jealous, just ask him to grow one and find out for himself instead of asking you. You know my limitations, I cannot ask a women’s beard that is not the done thing. So why don’t you find out?”

It was after a long time that my beard had resumed his conversations, once again with only the night lamp on and I staring vacantly with my laptop open in front me. I had to quiet him down somehow for otherwise he would go on with his ramblings and keep me awake for the rest of the night. So I said –

“Sorry, but the bitter truth as told to me by a woman was that a beard is not the man, it is just that, a beard. It will never put food on your table or take care of your children. The physical appearance of a man is not very important even though it cannot be entirely ignored. Women will prefer men who have beards or not but up to a certain extent. Life decisions cannot be made based on the growth of facial hair or lack of it, it has to be more than just that. So you see that you do not matter where life decisions are involved.”

There was a small purring sound only in this case it was not a cat but my beard. I knew that I had hurt his vanity.

“Can you promise one thing?” he said.

“What?” I asked.

“You will stick to your ‘Live and let me grow’” he pleaded.

“I will think it over,” I said, but I knew that I really had no choice for I could at least fondle him like a pet cat and de-stress.

SECRETS OF THE SOUL - 7 THE FALL

The Fall

I seek the secrets of the soul,

As I gaze at the colours of the fall,

Resplendent before they wither away,

From green, orange, yellow to brown,

Leaving the apparitions standing alone,

On the spreading white shroud,

And I move through my Fall,

As twilight sets in, the fading light,

Forebodings of the coming night,

The darkness and the beyond,

Makes me shiver, numbs my mind,

With the ghost nowhere in sight.

BOOK REVIEW - COLOURS OF LIFE by Inderjit Kaur

BOOK REVIEW - COLOURS OF LIFE by Inderjit Kaur

Inderjit Kaur is no preacher though all her three books under her ‘A Living Series’ stress on encountering all the trials, tribulations and vicissitudes that life throws at us on our journey. The focal point of all her writings is that one has to face life with a positive attitude; a belief in one’s own inner strength and that life is valuable and has to be lived to realize one’s full potential. In this context I liked her quote from my favorite author and influencer Albert Camus’ – ‘In the midst of winter, I found there was within me an invincible summer. And that makes me happy. For it says that no matter how hard the world pushes against me, there’s something stronger – something better pushing it right back’; that about sums up her life also.

In her own words in Part B Section 8 of her book, ‘Colours of Life’ she says, ‘I experienced high and ebb tides in my life. The legal cases accompanied by a broken marriage and the divorce that ensued had driven me towards unending episodes of severe migraines that would not leave me until I injected painkillers.” She had come to a point where she felt that ‘All life is meaningless.’ She continues “During those struggling days of more than two and a half years of the legal fight (domestic violence), I engaged myself in writing during the early mornings. I drenched myself in music even while performing my household chores, making sure not to leave myself alone in desolation, loneliness and sufferings.”

Inderjit has been a traveller, this book like her previous ones exudes a positivism that is infectious and by the time one comes to the end you feel that there is after all hope and we need not be overtaken by the disappointments and the miseries that we subject ourselves to in the process of living our life.

‘Colours of Life’ is organized in two sections – Part A consisting of seven sections corresponding to the seven colors of the rainbow, each color being attributed to a positive characteristic that should see us through our darkest hours. Whether it is Violet which ‘inspires positivity, culminating in achieving the pinnacle of spiritual enlightenment’, or Orange the color of compassion or Red ‘exuding a strong and a very powerful energy and associating will to stand courageously to survive’, she traces the entire gamut of emotions and qualities required to make our living authentic and thus meaningful. While the method of reaching out with her message through anecdotal stories/encounters is interesting, the chapter on Red appealed to me most as it is autobiographical and traces the roots of her courage to come through the struggles she faced in her life, to her father who inspired her with his message – ‘Adjust, adapt and keep moving with a smile” Inderjit says that it is the smile that she received as a gift from her father who had stood strong in all adversities in is life.

Part B forms a major portion of the book consisting of multiple sections where she underscores the importance of commitment and responsibility in achieving our dreams of leading a wonderful life. She says that life can be looked upon as a series of choices, a beautiful challenge and a collage. Drawing largely from her own understanding of life’s experiences, she shares what she feels would contribute to a fulfilled life.

In summing up I shall quote from her last page in the book – “We can’t live in illusions, we have to focus on and give our hundred percent doing justice to whatever we are doing no matter how much difficult or mundane it may appear we must make sure that we remain disciplined and determined.”

While I marvel at the stream of positive thoughts in this book, I pause to wonder whether this unending positivity is possible in our lives. Frankly no, but this is precisely why this book becomes relevant, for beyond the darkness that seems to envelop us there is the hope of light with the dawn of a new morrow.

This is a book that falls under the self-help category and helpful it will definitely be to have it with you to browse through and reassure yourself.