The Holy Name

Far away I saw someone meditating, Oh! He was a sage,

I at once went closer, thinking he might have a nice adage.

Now I could see him closely,

He was all skeletons and wore his clothes loosely,

Oh! How fiercely was the Maharaja chanting

It seemed as if there were 100 lions roaring.

Trembling in ecstasy and sweating

The great sage was chanting.

Now, I am an illiterate person,

Bringing my ears to his mouth I tried to get the chanting’s darshan,

As the ears got closer, the words got clearer.

And finally I heard what he was chanting.

The great Sage was chanting,

The great Sage was chanting the name of a movie star

Oh! He was no sage, no cool

He was just an ordinary fool,

This movie buff read a spiritual book

And only one teaching, he took.

Chant the name and you feel the transcendental

And he thinks he will experience this movie star

As he keeps on chanting

Oh! What ignorance!,

He does not know what is transcendental,

Nothing of this material world, even the movie star can give the higher taste

It is indeed not so easy to find the sat-chit-ananda or the eternal blissful consciousness

But there is one name which can give the spiritual rasa,

There is one and only one nama which is not of this material world

But is definitely present in this material world.

That name is not a mundane syllable constitution,

One cannot take it as a humdrum sound vibration.

The Holy Nama reflects the omnipotence of our Krishna.

So, when we chant “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,

Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare”

The Holy Nama gives us the experience,

The experience of the potency of the supreme personality of Godhead.

The spiritual nama is thus a gift for us - the fallen souls,

In this material world where everyone is envious,

We have the power of the Holy Name.

The Holy Name which is as powerful as Krishna Himself

That Holy Name which chanted daily with a pure heart

Gives us the bhakti and the Shakti for the whole day.

It is the Holy Name which protected the great Bhakt Prahlad from his vicious father,

It is the very same Holy Name which didn’t let the poison harm the great devotee MiraBai,

Such is the power of the Holy Name

Because Krishna’s Name and He are not different,

The Holy Name will save you from your greatest misery, sorrow, pain and dangers.

And so chant the Holy Name with full devotion,

because as stated in the Srimad Bhagvatam:

āpannaḥ saḿsṛtiḿ ghorāḿ

yan-nāma vivaśo gṛṇan

tataḥ sadyo vimucyeta

yad bibheti svayaḿ bhayam

Living beings who are entangled in the complicated meshes of birth and death can be freed immediately by even unconsciously chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, which is feared by fear personified.

The Mahabharat continues...

Several years ago, Mahabharata had shaken Mother Earth.

When the tree of Dharma shook

And the demon of Adharma grew enormous

The Mahabharata occurred

And it still continues.

The end of Duryodhana, Dushasana and Shakuni was not the end of Mahabharata

It was just the message, the light for the continuing Mahabharata.

Till this date it continues,

We see it everywhere,

Be it corrupt people exploiting others

Or nations at war, the Mahabharata continues.

Causes are several for this eternal clash between Dharma and Adharma

But there is one vital cause: the presence of Anarthas in our hearts

The anarthas of pride, lust, greed, anger are the pillars for this waging Mahabharata in our society.

And to add fuel to the fire,

We have meat-eating, lewd thoughts in our minds, intoxication like drinking and smoking, gambling and lot more.

O!Krishna! You personally guided Arjuna,

In today’s conditions also, we need Your guidance to end the Mahabharat both inside us and surrounding us,

We need Your mercy to end the Anarthas dwelling in our hearts.

And for this reason You spoke the Bhagavada Gita,

Bhagavada Gita – the message of peace,

Bhagavada Gita – the message which settles the waves of anarthas in our hearts

The Bhagavada Gita emanating from Your Lotus mouth stands as a weapon

To protect ourselves from today’s Duryodhana, Dushasana and Shakunis.

It stands as an impetus to make us stand faithfully on the side of Dharma

And not be dragged down by Adharma like the great warrior Karana.

We see it infront of our eyes,

What can be the most potent protection of all, other than Krishna’s instructions?

The song sung by the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself.

So, bow down in humility and accept the Bhagavada Gita with all reverence

Until then the Mahabharata continues…

Take Care, Mon Ami

(This is for my friend in India who is very sad right now. For those who dont know what Mon Ami means, it means "My friend" in French)

Stay calm Mon Ami, for what is gone is now the past,

Stay calm Mon Ami, for what happened is now the past,

Stay calm Mon Ami, for the one who does not have you

Has lost a lot;

 

I remember our friendship days Mon Ami,

How you would cheer me up in the darkest of skies,

How you used to help the bird of hope fly in the

Strongest of winds,

How you helped me always see the silver lining amongst the dark clouds,

Now that you are sour, it is my turn, my duty

To see to it that no one pains you again,

Now that you are gloomy, it is my duty

To bring that beautifool smile back on that face

 

Shed no tears Mon Ami, for tears worth zillions

Shouldn’t be wasted on something as down as that,

Alas! But this is life,

A plate of pizza with some rather many rotten mushroom toppings,

But what lesson does it teach you?

Do not get the pizza from the same place, for you will be betrayed again.

See the hope, learn from what has happened

 

Alas! But this is life,

Look into the past just once and for all,

And see what not others but what you did wrong,

Learn from it; implement it in your life Mon Ami

And so one by one when you have removed all the rotten mushrooms,

You can enjoy the pizza of life,

See the sorrow not as a loss,

It is a gain since you have learnt not to trust that easily,

For you have learnt the right thing to do, at the right time

And I hope you are learning to choose friends who won’t abandon you in dismay

 

Oh Mon Ami, we all are with you,

We will help you remove all those rotten mushrooms,

But it is you not me who actually has to remove the mushrooms.

I know it is difficult, sometimes even rotten mushroom tastes good,

But as the word says it is indeed “rotten”, so remove it.

 

So, do not be sad,

For when you shed tears,

I can feel the flood here,

For when you are upset, I can feel the sadness around me.

So, at least not for your pizza but for my pizza

Keep smiling, Mon Ami

Keep smiling Mon Ami,

For you should have the faith that whenever again you find a rotten mushroom,

We, your old friends, shall always help you make your pizza, your life happier;

Take care, Mon Ami!

 

The Honour Tarnished with Blood

26th November 2008
Tonight I see the honour tarnished with blood
There are many innocents, who have been tarnished,
But I see only the honour tarnished with blood
Tonight, in this gathering, we stare that tarnished honour,
Tonight darkness is so potent that we seem helpless
Just burning candles and hoping it will end this darkness
And in this hope we just stare the tarnished honour.

My conscience questions me every time,
For what am I doing apart from just staring the tarnished honour in silence?
Why isn’t my blood boiling to compel me to do something?
Why don’t I feel the strength in my arms to establish that honour again?

O Mother India! I stare you dishonoured,
It is not only your wound,
It is also my wound whose pain I can feel
It is a wound which every Indian feels.
But I, a coward, do nothing and just stare you in the dim light of these candles.
I do nothing but cry for you in the dim light of these candles.

I think about the potent Indian soil,
That Indian soil where Lord Krishna established Dharma (Justice)
That soil where the Rani (queen) of Jhansi shed her blood for independence,
That soil which gave rise to valiant men like Shaheed Bhagat Singh
and Subhash Chandra Bose,
That soil where Mahatma Gandhi led us to independence.
Am I, the son of such potent Indian soil, a coward?
No, No, No! And I shall prove this.

Today I take a vow,
That I will restore the splendour of the honour, which has been tarnished,
And so radiant will be that honour
that no one, dead or alive, will attempt to tarnish that honour.
In the name of that Indian soil which is tonight soaked with blood
I, the son of Mother India, vow to establish Nav-Bharat (New India)
Tonight the honour that I see tarnished,
I will restore the splendour of that honour for eternity,
I will restore the splendour of that honour for eternity.

आज एक सिर झुक गया !

२६ नवम्बर २००८
आज रात एक सिर झुक गया
आज रात कई सिर कट गए,
मगर मैं देखता हूँ सिर्फ़ उस एक झुके हुए सिर को ,
आज हम इस महफिल में उस झुके हुए सिर को सिर्फ़ निहारते हैं।
आज इतना अन्धकार हैं की हम मोमबत्ती लेकर चले हैं,
हम उस एक झुके हुए सिर को निहारते हैं।

लालत हैं मुझपर के मैं इस झुके हुए सिर को चुप-चाप निहारता हूँ
क्या मेरे लहू में इतनी तम्ताहाहत नही हैं,
के मैं कुछ करुँ ?
के मैं उस सीर को उठाऊ?
हे भारत माता ! आज जो यह सिर तेरा झुका हैं,
यह सिर्फ़ तेरा अपमान नही हैं,
यह मेरा भी अपमान हैं,
यह तुम्हारा भी आपमान हैं।
लेकिन मैं नपुंसक सिर्फ़ इस मोमबत्ती के सहारे तुम्हे निहारता हूँ,
इस मोमबत्ती के सहारे दूर से ही देखता हूँ ।

क्या भारत माँ की मिट्टी जहाँ कभी
कुरुक्षेत्र के महाभारत में श्री कृष्ण ने न्याय किया था,
जिस मिट्टी पर झाँसी की रानी ने आजादी केलिए अपना खून बहाया था,
जिस मिट्टी पर जलीयावाला बाघ का बदला शहीद भगत सिंघ ने लिया था,
जिस मिट्टी पर सुभाष चंद्र बसु जैसे सूर्माओ ने जन्म लिया था,
जिस मिट्टी पर महात्मा गाँधी ने हमे स्वतंत्रता दिलवाई थी,
उस मिट्टी का उपज - मैं एक नपुंसक हूँ?

नही कतय नही!!
आज मैं शपथ लेता हूँ,
के जिस भारत माँ का सिर झुका हैं,
उसे मैं फिर एक बार ऊचा करूंगा,
और इस कदर ऊचा करूंगा
के फिर उस पर कोई वार न कर सके।
भारत माँ की जिस मिटटी पर लहू बहा हैं,
मुझे उस मिटटी की सौगंद,
मैं भारत माँ का बेटा,
नवभारत का निर्माण करूंगा,
नवभारत का निर्माण करूंगा,
आज रात जो एक सिर झुक गया हैं,
उसे सदैव ऊचा रखूंगा,
उसे सदैव ऊचा रखूंगा।

जय हिंद!

Wings of Freedom

He was a phoenix!

Ouch! Was he hurt?

No, he wasn’t hurt; he was just too fragile,

But his eyes glistened and his keel was strong,

He had the muscle to fly and gleam,

But alas he was too fragile!!

He shied away many times,

Sometimes driven away and blatantly given the reason-

“You are too fragile”;

But the phoenix’s eyes always glistened;

Was he nuts? He was crazy enough to challenge others

He was too fragile to make a space for himself!!

But wait, his keel was strong enough.

He wished to fly across the seven seas,

He desired the wings of freedom,

Others laughed at him but

he thanked God that he had two ears and a strong keel!!

Soon his castle gave him the path,

Others still laughed but

he still thanked God.

Swish! He flew away with all his might,

Ouch! It did hurt a bit,

But he had his wings today,

He flew across the seven seas,

with his wings of freedom

sparkling in the Western sun!!

कारीगर
बड़ी हीं फुर्सत से उपरवाला बनाता हैं एक कारीगर,
हाथो में होती हैं जादू और बनाते हैं वे ताज-महल जैसे कमाल।
शाह-जहान ने तोह उमर भर में एक मटका भी न बनाया होगा,
उसे रंगा भी न होगा।
लेकिन देखो इस गजब दुनिया को,
कहते है ये लोग ताज-महल हैं शाह-जहान का कमाल ।
रात-दिन करते ये दीन कारीगरी लेकिन लूट-पाट लेते हैं
बनवाने वाले यह कामचोर,
एक गरीब कारीगर की महत्ता न जानते हैं यह लोग
एक गरीब कारीगर की एहमियत न जानते हैं यह लोग तो नजाने
कैसे पूजते हैं दुनिया को बनाने वाले उस कारीगर को,
उस इशवर को ?