धूप में एक फूल

सूर्य खिला है आसमान में 
धुप सुनहरी है लाया 
विश्व सारा दिख रहा है उजला
साफ़ साफ़ हर कण दिखलाया

उद्यम में लगा जग सारा
प्रकाश को गले लगाया
सुवासित श्वेत शतदल सुमन
कहीं कुञ्ज में था, दिख न पाया 

तप्त हुआ वातावरण
लौ का जैसे बादल लहराया 
पुष्प दल से नमी लगी उड़ने
रंग भी ज़रा सा कुम्हलाया 

पर वही गर्म हवा
कभी शीतल पवन थी, जब था साया
जो जाना था ह्रदय से 
उसे अनदेखा न कर पाया

तृषा कई दिनों की थी बुझी
जब पवन था वर्षा लाया 
उन्हीं पंखों पर आया था जल
बन ओस किरणों को था चमकाया

समय बदल गया है, देखो,
बात हमारी भी मानो 
संभल जाओ, जी जाओगे
पत्तों ने बहुत समझाया

दाह लगा हुआ था पर
शीतलता भूल न पाया
फूल कभी कंटक बन न पाया
क्या करे, मुरझा गया 

-BhairaviParag 

The Tale of a Tree

After reading "THE MANGO TREE'

First stanza (emphasized)  idea courtesy - friend Ashish Khandeparkar's poem ‘THE MANGO TREE’, which I rephrased here, summarizing it in 4 lines.
Inspired by that tale of letting go, I extended the thread as a story of change & growth. 

The gifts we receive – all our talents, wealth, knowledge become a burden if we fail to share them with the world around us. Any possessions are of no value if they bind us down. Letting go of ego, when we become light and open to the life around us, we in turn become a vehicle for goodness in life, an instrument of the divine. As one who gives, gets more and more, to be passed on in turn. And that makes a complete person, grown to his full potential, bright and beautiful, and loved by all.

A Mango Tree was with fruits weighed down,

Gave away sweet treasure it possessed

For comfort brought by sharing all you own

is precious than any wealth, it expressed.

In freedom new, tree sang and danced

with breeze and rains and birds that flew.

Flowers then blossomed, Gave a chance

to grow and gift again fresh fruits new.

As seasons changed the tree rejoiced

the letting go of wealth, be light.

For sweetest boons it became the choice

like flute hollow plays notes just right

As years passed by, tree grew to be

a shelter giving shade hope and rest

for the passersby who could well see

a life well-lived in times that test.

-BhairaviParag

Cynicism

There's a difference between Skepticism & Cynicism.

While skeptics may doubt, and do not accept an IDEA without understanding it fully through logic/experience, Cynics take a PERSON, or worse, Human beings in general to be flawed, by nature, and as driven by selfishness, greed, anger, lust, false ego. 

Doubts come and go. A cynic assumes beforehand the worse to be true. Not trusting the goodness of people around, often without a thorough examination. There is no margin for imperfections left before adjudging a person as untrustworthy. If a person is not seen as pure white, that has to be black, in a cynics book.

What is beyond a cynic’s grasp is, the thoughts, emotions or tendencies of the mind do not define a person. Neither are qualities - good or bad - permanent. Any thought or action is a product of a person’s state of mind at that moment, the situation, and past impressions – that is Karma. 

Judging a person by any of his past action or word, taking it to be a line on stone is not only unwise, it transforms healthy skepticism into hard cynicism, turns love into hatred, alienates a person from people around, brings loneliness and depression, and in turn, makes a person fiercely defensive of his views, going in a stonewall so as to be somehow guarded from pain. They begin to see sensitivity and innocence as fragility and vulnerability – a weakness. And take pride in smart cynicism as an ability to ‘see through’ people.

But pain is as much a beautiful part of life as joy is. One just cannot insulate oneself from pain. And neither should try. As anything one tries – So called ‘positive attitude’, defensiveness, sarcasm, escapism - will be superficial. Pain is there for a reason. It gives depth and new insights, brings loved ones closer to support you, and reminds you of impermanent nature of things.

Human beings do not come in Black or White. There are all shades of colours, different at any given moment. Thoughts change, emotions change, opinions change. Nothing is worth holding on to, except the realization that our true nature is pure consciousness, which gets hidden by imperfections, which are just distortions because of ego and past karma. This is an understanding that Indian mind sciences give, with its source in the Upanishads, and is best achieved through experience, not by intelligence alone. 

A cynic’s view that human beings are essentially flawed and have to be disciplined - or have to be fearful of God sitting somewhere in heaven - in order to behave is more reminiscent of desert religions.  And that gets reflected in psychological theories that originated in the west. That thoughts and actions are a product of deep-rooted fear or memory of some events of the past, and that makes up a personality. The same discipline of psychology does take different phobia or emotional disturbance or depression as issues that need help. 

The point that i look to arrive at in this write-up, essentially a reflection at the approach taken by many to make sense of the world, is that cynicism causes so much negativity that it is a sure-shot path to depression. (As emphasized in paragraph 5 above.) As such, it should also be viewed as a tendency that needs help to come out of. A vicious spiral not only harmful to the person involved, but also the people around who get pulled down by the negativity. 

Thanks for reading. Please do leave your comments, as i look forward to your views and a good discussion and new insights.

लोकः समस्त सुखिनो भवन्तु

-BhairaviParag

You Rise In Love

You rise in love.
So much, that you come
eye to eye
with the creator
And what else
but just marvel
at the creation
Your loved one is...

You rise in love.
So much, that any faults
of the loved one
seem like specs of dust
and are cleared away
Just with one breeze
of the breath
the loved one breathes...

You rise in love.
So much, that you
command the clouds
to reside in your eyes
dark and deep
any marks of hurt
Just a drop or two
wash away with ease...

You rise in love.
So much, that the sun
shines on your heart
and storms pass
but you are untouched
warm and bright
As you are loved too
your heart at peace...

You rise in love.
So much, you are now
tall as a mountain
So steadfast, unshakable,
if the whole earth of
past and present vibrates, 
you are a shelter
calm, safe. All worries cease.

No. You don't fall in Love...
You Rise in Love.

-BhairaviParag

चरणचिह्न

एक विनम्र प्रयास - 

कवि श्री 'सुन्दरम् ' द्वारा सन १९५८ में  रचित गुजराती कविता 'चरणचिह्न' का भावानुवाद

रूप का मैं रसिक तो रहा पर तृषा मेरी अरूप के लिए

भज रहा मैं अविरत मूर्त है जो कभी मिले अमूर्त इसलिए

शब्दों को पुकार पुकार मैं नित्य ढूंढ रहा अशब्द ही

सदा चलता रहता मिल जाये कदा मुझे स्थिरता कहीं

रे आओ आओ मुझ पास ऐ उस पार के निवासी

धन्य हो वो एक पल बस तेरी मिल जाए हे प्रवासी

सिमटी रहे भले सकल तेरी कला, मेरी बस याचना

एक दृष्टि तेरी मुझ ओर हो जाए, यही है प्रार्थना

यह जीवन-मृत्यु की इस जग में बनी सुन्दर फुलवारी

यहाँ पुष्प और कंटक के द्वंद्व की नित्य अद्भुत यारी

यहाँ पृथ्वी पर देवों का अमृत घट कभी दिखा ना

ना ही यहाँ देखी कभी स्वर्गपुष्प की चिरंजीव माला

मैं तो रात रात भर तारे अगिनत देखता जागूँ

बस इस बेला में चरणचिह्न ही तेरे मैं मांगूँ 

(मूल कविता 'सुन्दरम्' के काव्यसंग्रह प्रियंका से)

-BhairaviParag

 

कुछ पल साथ तेरे

मुस्कुरा उठेगी मेरे सामने एक रोज़
तेरी तस्वीर एक सितारा,
चाँद बन कर जगा हूँ...
कुछ पल साथ तेरे बीता पाऊं यारा,
हर दुआ में यही मैं मांगने लगा हूँ

तुझ से फिर मिलने की चाह दिल में है ऐसे
धड़कन के साथ ज़िन्दगी जुड़ी जैसे
हर साँस ऐसी, तेरी खुश्बू से महके
उस एक झलक के सहारे जीने लगा हूँ...

कुछ पल साथ तेरे...

बस एक बार मिल लो, फिर चाहे खो जाना
एक नज़र देख लोगे, संजो लूंगा खज़ाना
गर हाथ मेरा एक पल तुम थाम लोगे
जन्नत के बदले नसीब ऐसा चाहने लगा हूँ...

 कुछ पल साथ तेरे...

उस एक पल में मैं सारी उम्र जी लूँगा
हर गम से नज़ाद पाने तरकीब सीख लूँगा
रूह मेरी जिन आँखों में देखी है मैंने
उन से आँखे मिलाने तरसने लगा हूँ... 

कुछ पल साथ तेरे...

एक आवाज़ दे दो, या इस राह गुज़रो
या फिर भीड़ में ही सुकून बन के संवरो
थकने लगी आँखें, न होतीं अब नम ये
खुली पलकों से सपने मैं देखने लगा हूँ
हर चेहरे में अब तुम्हें ढूँढने लगा हूँ...

कुछ पल साथ तेरे बीता पाऊं यारा

हर दुआ में यही मैं मांगने लगा हूँ। 

 -BhairaviParag

It's beautiful, feeling blue

Every experience adds meaning to our life,though we may not realize it then. The beauty lies in discovering it. Feeling Blue then turns to feeling the depth that sensitivity brings, once the pain melts away

It's beautiful, feeling the sky

of vast understanding
of infinite possibilities, yes, to fly

of wet heavy raindrops
blending with a ray of light
that splits to reveal a bow
its glorious colours true

of hiding million stars
in the light of the day
of letting them shine
only when it's dark

It's beautiful, felling blue, 
like the sky

It's beautiful, feeling the ocean

of deep meanings,
of million waves, yes, even turbulent

of nestling many islands
lush green with sweetest water
where to play in the sands
and basking in sun new

of hiding million pearls
in the closed oyster shells
of letting them reveal
themselves to true seeker

It's beautiful, feeling blue,
like the ocean 

It's beautiful, feeling The Blue

 

when the mind is in the refuge 
of the melodious flute 
of the sunny robes
of feather light many-hued
with heart soft as butter.
Yes, It's beautiful then,
feeling, even blue.

 - BhairaviParag

होली है :-)

होली की अनेक बधाइयाँ 

उड़ाए गुलाल केसुड़ा  उमंग से 
हर ओर नवरंग की बदली बुनी झीनी
ढोल तांसा बजे धकतिनछिनछिन
नाच गा होली की बधईयाँ दिनी
जल के कुण्ड कई हर कोने में
मन भर सब ने डुबकियाँ लीनी
होली है...पुकार गूंजी बुलंद और 
सारी धरती आज हुई जल भीनी
छोटे छोटे बालक सब आँगन उमड़े 
टोली जैसे बंदरो की साथ हो लीनी
लाल पीले हरे नीले जामुनी श्यामल
केसरी रंग की पोटलियाँ कई कीनी
छपछपाक पानी में कूदे, दौड़ आ 
नन्ही सी सखी से पिचकारी छीनी
हंसी किलकारी मीठी सी छलकी
जब जल की सर में हुई बाला भीनी
फिर छुप कर रंग दिया अचानक
चपलता से लौट कैसी चौंका दीनी
समय का भान न रहा किसी को
फिर उदर ने भोजनकी याद कीनी
गुजिया ठंडाई हरेभरे चने पतासे
माँ ने मीठे पुरण से पूरियां भर दीनी
 हर साल यह एक दिन रंग खेलन
इसकी मौज छबियों में भर लीनी

Some quiet

The cacophony of noises
the words flung around
just let me be in a space
warm, cool, without sound

let silence surround me
let just the hearts speak
let the music come back
soothing that nerves seek

threads of sentences no end
all tangled, ruffled, to solve
just let me have some quiet
let all the dryness dissolve

Then let some words flow
the words that create silence
a flame will golden glow
it's light bridging the distance

 -BhairaviParag

HEALTHY AMLA PICKLE

 

So, our own wonder-fruit Amlas are back in season since long now. Light green and glowing, tightly packed with immunity-boosting vitamin C.

 

 

Here's my recipe for making a sweet-n-sour-n-spicy pickle, that's just perfect on the side of just about any food.

 

Ingredients are typed in BOLD.

HEALTHY AMLA PICKLE  

Take 250grams fresh AMLA. Wash, dry, remove seed and slice them in wedges.

 Clean and finely chop -

100grams fresh tender GINGER, 
100 grams fresh HALDI ( Both Haldar and Amba Haldar) 
6 to 8 GREEN CHILLIES.

Add a handful of RAISINS and chopped KHAREKS ( DRIED DATES). 

 

 

Add WHOLE SPICES -
Black pepper (Kali mirch) -2 spoons, 
Saunf (Fennel seeds)- 2 spoons, 
Methi (Fenugreek seeds)- 1 spoon.

Add POWDERED MASALA : 

For that, heat two spoons of oil, add 4 spoonfuls of Rai (Mustard seeds), 4 spoons Methi(Fenugreek seeds), 2 spoon dhania (coriander seeds), 4 or 5 whole red chillies - Roast them a bit, till it gives out a nice warm aroma. Turn off the heat, add 2 spoons salt, 1 spoon turmeric powder, 1/2 tea-spoon hing. Let it cool. Grind the mixture to a fine powder.

Add Juice of 5to6 LEMONS.

Add half a cup of Gud.(JAGGERY)

Finally, Heat half a cup of Til Oil or Groundnut oil , but do not let it smoke. Then cool it. Mix in.

 

Mix everything quite well.

Cover and keep in a stainless steel vessel for 3-4 days, stir twice a day, till gud melts & everything soaks & spices blend nicely in a sweet and sour sauce. 

 

When ready, the pickle becomes juicy and looks lovely & smells yummy.
Store in a sterilized glass jar and refrigerate. It keeps good for 4-6 months, tastes great.

 ENJOY