A little note...

Brother,

A year has gone by since you bade us your final “good bye”. You are gone but never has there been a day when you haven’t been fondly thought of. You weren’t family….you were a part of me and my life. 

I miss our fun moments, our games, the long walks, the plans that we used to make, those wishful thinkings...."someday", the evening tea, the cooking in the hostel, cycling around, laughing our heads off over silly things….Damn it! Brother, I miss our togetherness….

It had been raining the last few days.

I have discovered that a walk in the rain is cathartic. It washes away the grime, and soothes the ache. It lifts the spirits.

It also hides the tears.

Love

Bhaiya

Rumi

Last few days did some catching up with Rumi. Born Jalal - ad - Din Mohammed Balkhi, Rumi  was a Persian poet of repute. The mystic’s work is delightful and portrays an uncommon wisdom and an extraordinary penmanship. He paints a rich imagery and often uses mundane occurrences around us to convey his message. Remarkable! Truly remarkable!

Here, is an offering. Savour his words – 

Raise your words not voice. It is the rain that grows flowers, not thunder."

Where there is ruin, there is hope for treasure."

"The wound is the place where the Light enters you."

"Silence is the language of God, all else is poor translation."

"Very little grows on jagged rock. Be ground. Be crumbled, so wildflowers will come where you are."

Travellers,  it is late.

Life’s Sun is going to set.

During these brief days that you have strength,

Be quick and spare no effort of your wings.

“Two there are who are never satisfied – the lover of the world and the lover of knowledge.”

And finally my favourite –

'The moon stays bright when it doesn't avoid the night..."

The Mantra To Happiness

We indulge in a large number of activities that give us happiness.

Let's say - a nice leisurely stroll on the beach, admiring the play of the Sun on the sea waves, gazing at the starlit night, listening to nice music (a soulful gazal or Kolaveri D), a good book, a nice movie, a sumptuous dinner, good company and what have you. But stop and ponder - do these activities actually give us happiness ?

Activities that soothe the senses or at some level satiate a craving, give us a warm, complete feeling. The feeling is actually of pleasure. Not happiness.

Happiness is what we have when we realize a goal. Happiness is when we reach that milestone for which we toiled and toiled some more. Happiness is when we see a desire fulfilled. Happiness is when we see a dream come true. This is happiness.

This is also the mantra to happiness !

Arise, awake and stop not till the goal is achieved. - Swami Vivekananda

   

Forgiveness

Read this and loved it. Here have a dekko -

"Forgiveness is the fragrance the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it".    Mark Twain

Some Borrowed Words

The year's gone by.
A mixed year - it was. Fun, revelry, personal loss, grief, betrayal, hurt, tender love, happiness - I had it all. A few reflections in some borrowed words -

What does not destroy me, makes me stronger. - Nietzsche.

And forget not that that earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair. - Gibran.

If you are irritated by every rub, how will your mirror be polished. Rumi.

And then here is the resolution for the year that greets me. Again some borrowed words -

Meditae.

Live purely. Be quiet.

Do your work with mastery.

 Like the moon, come out from behind the

clouds! Shine.

     - Budhha

FUN DAYS AT ANDAMANS

DAY AND NIGHT

The mesmerising sea - a countless shades of blue, the white soft sand, clear skies with a few vagabond clouds drifting away lazily with the bright Sun smiling down. That is the magic of Andamans in the day !

The dark velvety night resplendent with a million twinkling stars, the gentle crash of the surf, the whispering coconut trees, the shimmer of the silvery moon and the soothing silence that lulls you to sleep. That is the magic of Andamans in the night !