Tag Archives: soul
DP Daily Prompts: By Heart
You’re asked to recite a poem(or song lyrics) What’s the first one that comes to mind? Does it have a special meaning, or is there another reason it stayed, intact,in your mind?
The poem that immediately comes to my mind is one by : “A psalm of life by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow”
Here is the first verse:
Tell me not in mournful numbers.
Life is but an empty dream!—
For the soul is dead that slumbers.
And things are not what they seem.
It has a special meaning to me because I learned this when I was seven, my memory was really good, which is what I was told by the Nun my teacher.
I liked it also because it rhymed beautifully. Today when I think of it I like it even more because it is such a meaningful poem.
The next verse is even better:
Life is real, Life is earnest
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
It’s truly a wonderful poem, this one will always remain intact in my mind.
k: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/11/05/dp-daily-prompts-by-heart/
DP Daily Prompt: Curve Balls
When was the last time you were completely stumped by a question, a request, or a situation you found yourself in? How did you handle it?
Last week we were given a paragraph in our online course which we had to read and quote one brief passage from Iqbal’s prose or poetry which may be connected with this thought— and explain briefly why we think so. And also make an effort to be brief, keeping in mind that my comment needs to be read by others. I am writing it here so that my readers know what the passage is.
Every Muslim believes in the Unseen, and understands the term to include all the invisible realities mentioned elsewhere in the Quran,e.g. angels, heaven, hell, and so on Iqbal wants us to expand that the signs of God in our soul which are mentioned by the Quran itself are to be included in the Unseen in which we believe.
We were expected to quote one brief passage from Iqbal’s prose or poetry which may be connected with this thought–and explain briefly why you think so.
This is where I was stumped I could find the poetry and prose without any problem,but they didn’t seem to be brief. Eventually I found two, which were very brief, here it is: The actual words with translation, ” Hai tujhe wasta bazahir se,
Aur Batin Se Ashna Hun Main.”
Translation : You deal with the outward aspects of things
I know what lies within.
I took the word briefly seriously and wrote my answer accordingly, then found out I didn’t have to be so brief.
So as they say in the phrase,”You live and learn.”
I certainly learned something very valuable.
: https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/09/14/dp-daily-prompt-curve-balls/
DP Daily Prompt: Seat Guru
You get to plan a dinner party for 4 –8 favorite writers/artists/musicians/other notable figures, whether dead or alive. Who do you seat next to whom in order to inspire the most fun evening?
This will be an interesting prompt for me to do. My guests are :Allama Iqbal,Jalal ud-din Rumi, Rabindranath Tagore, William Wordsworth, Hemant Kumar, Waheed Murad, Mohammad Rafi and Roger and Hammerstein.
Now the seating arrangement has to be special for my honorable guests. I’ll put Allama Iqbal beside Rumi; Tagore and William Wordsworth would be comfortable beside each other; Waheed Murad and Mohammad Rafi at his side will be awesome; Hemant Kumar the musician will fare well with Rodgers and Hammerstein the duo. Since all these are celebrities, I have decided to have catering service.
There is going to be some restrictions about food. I’ll ask for chicken and fish to be served, for beverage water is the best, it’ll keep everyone happy, for dessert I’ll order a few e.g cheese balls in syrup for Tagore and Hemant Kumar; Cheesecake for Wordsworth,Rodgers and Hammerstein; I’m hoping Waheed Murad,Rafi Iqbal and Rumi would love Persian dessert.
Dinner was a success, all the guests enjoyed the food served. It’s time for tea or coffee, during this time the guests will be energized to speak to each other. There in the corner I can hear Rumi and Iqbal having a deep conversation,I quietly walked over, this is what Iqbal asked Rumi, “How could one make his journey towards immortality?”
This is what Rumi said, “It is like a rebirth. Just as you arrive in this world through a birth, another birth takes you out of this world. However, this rebirth comes through the inner strength of Love. Remember, the essence of humanity is the power to see God: The body cannot hinder your flight once the power of true Love takes over the soul.”
I wanted to stay and continue to listen, but I am the host I must walk around and treat all my guests equally well. I went over to see if Tagore or Wordsworth needed anything, they didn’t even notice I was there, Wordsworth was explaining to Tagore what influenced him to write the poem “Daffodils”.
Suddenly I heard a heated dialogue between Waheed Murad and Rafi, they were discussing the song in Waheed Murad’s movie Armaan, Rafi was asking what exactly was the meaning of the song, my ears were ready to grasp the lyrics, Waheed explained it was not meant to be an ordinary love song, it talks about Love but in a different sense, between two states that were united once and split, but are trying to settle their difference spiritually. I couldn’t hear all of it.
Rodgers and Hammerstein called me, they were planning to play the music of “Edelweiss,” I was delighted I told them to go ahead, to my surprise the cast of the movie, ‘The Sound Of Music’, appeared and were ready to sing the song.
The dinner went well, they all enjoyed listening to the song. I had a great time!
https://sabethville.wordpress.com/2014/07/13/dp-daily-prompt-seat-guru/
Tagore song: tumi shondhar o megh o mala,singer Srikanto,Translated by Ranu
You are evenings ray of clouds
You I worship
My boundless sky
I gathered the sweetness from my heart
And created you
You are mine,you are mine
My boundless sky
You are evenings ray of clouds
You I worship
I have painted your feet
Crimson red with my blood
Oh evenings dreamy sky
I have drawn your lips
with the mixture of sweetness and
bitterness of my life
you are mine
My solitary soul
You are evenings ray of clouds
My incomprehensible dream
I have dressed your charming eyes
I have wrapped my music
in every part of your body
You are mine, you are mine
Oh my boundless sky
You I worship!!
Valkyries Novel by Paulo Coelho (Book Report) (4) Post by Ranu
I didn’t realize how much time and effort one needs to give to write a book report.This one I am doing right now is a bit more complex than any other I’ve done.
I’ve come to the part where Paulo’s master J., has given him a task.He is supposed to break the curse.To do this he has to meet with another master,who lives in the Mohave desert.He is Gene. Although no more than twenty Gene is a very smart person.
Gene was not quite thrilled to see Paulo’s wife .Later on he realizes,he cannot teach Paulo directly.There is an unwritten tradition a master cannot teach another master’s disciple. With this in mind ,he shifts his attention to Chris the wife. He makes her aware of the second mind. Second mind is at work whether the person wants it or not. For an instance one could be busy at work,the second mind would remind the person about a song or something else which has nothing to do with the work this person is doing.Next he tells her to look at the horizon. Gene leaves and tells them he will be back in a couple of days. In the meantime Paulo explains a few things to his wife to increase her knowledge and make sure she is interested. Paulo helps her to expand her vision and see how much change takes place. Chris started to pay attention to things in the distance,she began to notice a lot of things which she normally wouldn’t .
Chris was excited about meeting Gene again. She looked at the horizon and kept her eyes fixed on it whenever possible.It was simple to do this,there was a strange feeling , she felt better,freer,as if her internal energy had increased.Chris regretted not taking a more intense interest in her husband’s conspiracy. Rituals were meant for those who were disciplined.She began to feel her soul has grown. Also knew how to look in the distance and not things close to her only.Even without wanting to could feel her soul had grown.She felt relaxed and free.
Gene knew Paulo had come in search of his angel. He said everyone can make contact with four different entities in the invisible world: the elementals,the disembodied spirits,the saints and the angels.He described the elementals such as fire,water and air_ we contact them as rituals.The disembodied spirits ,we make contact with them by means of a medium. What they teach us can be learned on earth.By looking at the horizon and take the same wisdom as they did.
Gene’s guardian angel told him in his dream to initiate the woman into the path of magic and let the husband do the rest. After the disembodied spirits come the saints.They are the true masters he said.They lived among us and now they are closer to the lights. All we can do is to initiate them. He said we can invoke them through prayer.Finally he said there are the angels.Angels are made of love.
Paulo realized ,Gene left out the fourth process. The fourth process Paulo said is communicating with the invisible world which is channeling.
To be able to see his angel, Paulo needed help from the Valkyries. He met them at the gas station. One of them was a red-haired haughty woman,she made her presence known by her loud voice.She at once noticed Paulo’s ring and wanted to know where he bought it. Paulo told her the same place where she bought her brooch. Paulo told her ,he wanted to speak to his angel and something else. Valkyrie told him he didn’t know how to speak with angels, through channeling was the reply.She said that is all he needs to speak with his angel. Paulo told her he needed to see his angel,because he needed help.There are important things he won , but feels they have lost their meaning. It is not true and if he destroys them he will be destroyed. His master wanted him to break the curse in order to keep his love alive. Paulo needed three things to see the angel; “Break a pact,Accept forgiveness,and Make a bet’.
To be continued!
Book Report ,( A Novel) “The Valkyries” Posted by Ranu
Paulo Coelho (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Valkyries ( pronounced val’ki:ri) : It is a Scandinavian myth.Valkyries are twelve maidens who hover over battlefields and conduct the fallen warriors to Valhalla.Valhalla is a hall in which the souls of those who died in battle feast with Odin, the supreme god for eternity. The author of the book is Paulo Coelho,who is a famous writer from Brazil. The publisher of the book is Harper Collins.The first edition was published in 1996. There are 209 pages in this book. This particular book is not among the best sellers.
There are several blurbs written for this book.I will only quote one: “Coelho is a pilgrim of a literature that soothes the soul,and of a philosophy that rediscovers the spirituality in people,our personal quest and reunion with the forgotten,everyday beauty of the world in which we live and paths we weave.His books are a mirror: Refreshing,intense,messengers of love and man’s most essential path.His magic irradiates when,after reading his books,one feels happy.”__El Espectador, Colombia
I started reading his books,partly because of his Philosophy and spiritualism, and also some of the things he writes about in a way resembles ,”The great poet and philosopher, Allama Iqbal.” I started studying about Iqbal since late 2011 and am continuing to do so, even today.
Valkyries is the fourth book of Paulo Coelho I have read so far.
The main characters are: J., Paulo,his wife Chris, Gene a man in his twenties,and the Valkyries. These are the primary characters.There are others without whom ,it will be challenging to proceed.
My intention is to give the introduction,I will give a gist of the story in parts. For now, this is all,I will write.
To be continued!
The clock of Life by Robert H.Smith Posted by Ranu
English: An analogue clock face without hands. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The clock of life is wound but once,
And no man has the power
To tell just when the hands will stop
At late or early hour.
To lose one’s wealth is sad indeed,
To lose one’s health is more,
To lose one’s soul is such a loss
That no man can restore.
The present only is our own,
So Live,Love,toil with a will
Place no faith in”Tomorrow”
For the clock may then be still.
Sabethville 