PITY PARROT !

 

A  pity parrot was seen languishing in the cage of one of our resident's apartment some years ago.  That crazy soul who put that parrot in the cage might be  trying to draw raw pleasure by locking up it in the cage.   He might have committed  this act mechanically like  planting   his choice sapling in his backyard.   His argument is agreeable if it is plant life.   But  it should not be the case with  birds.  Birds  look more beautiful when they fly.  When you put them in the cage they can't even flutter their wings freely and  it is against Nature's Law.   Like the way we want freedom, other species also want that prized freedom !

When I saw bird sellers during  one of my visits to Chandini Chowk  in Old Delhi , I was disturbed by the way people stood up in lines to purchase birds so as to beautify their living spaces. It is totally ludicrous.

 If you understand the scheme of Nature, including flora and fauna, you come to know that you can worship beauty in Nature by simply gazing and to hone this skill, you needs a little contemplation. !   

A BOOK REVIEW : LIGHT FROM MANY LAMPS

Great lives give great inspiration.

If wisdom of ages is properly archived, it would definitely help to the succeeding generations.

The book Light from many Lamps, edited by Lillian Eichler Watson' is a perfect blend of wisdom of East and West. It is a storehouse of inspiring quotes with caricature of world’s renowned personalities.

This book is a result of long labour by Watson in culling out the wisdom of past centuries. As the cover flap truly suggests, it is a book of infinite richness and abiding values.

This book is not meant for casual reading. It is a book which you have to come back and forth to endure your sufferings and lift your spirits.

Reading this prose will change the trajectory of your thoughts. The starting page itself is a minefield of timeless wisdom . "Who is a wise man ? In reply, Talmud says that ' He who learns of all men'. The contents of this book is broadly divided into interesting chapters like 'Happiness and Enjoyment of living' and "Faith and inner calm etc . The labour involved in writing a book is better explained by Samuel Johnson ' A man will turn over half a library to make one book'.

While reading this book, the reader gets an opportunity to know the lives of some of the greatest philosophers of past centuries. These immortal words of Charles Kingsley would inspire anybody : " Thank God every morning when you get up that you have something to do which must be done whether you like it or not. Being forced to work and forced to do your best, will breed in you temperance, self-control, diligence, strength of will, content and a hundred other virtues which the idle never know' and "Faith and inner calm etc.

The book also has chapters on Rome's best known philosopher Seneca. America's best known President Abraham Lincoln finds place twice in the book. It has chapters on Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Shakespeare, Hippocrates, ST. Paul, Confucius and many more epic personalities.

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam in his book "My Journey : Transforming Dreams into Actions" mentions this book as one of his three favourite books. Befitting to its tile "Light from many Lamps", truly gives you 'Inner Light' !

HERACLITUS - A RARE BREED OF GREEK PHILOSOPHERS

 

The life of philosopher always gives deep insights to tread a path of perfection. One such Greek philosopher whose profound wisdom inspires is Heraclitus ( c. 535 – c. 475 BCE), a pre-Socratic Greek philosopher and a native of the Greek city Ephesus. He is like Gautam Buddha or Lao Tzu, but the Greek soil was absolutely unkind for him.

He is one of the most highly penetrating souls.

His famous saying : "No man ever steps in the same river twice" He believed in the unity of opposites, stating that "the path up and down are one and the same"

He says that Good character is not formed in a week or a month. It is created little by little, day by day. Protracted and patient effort is needed to develop good character.

His immortal quote is “ Big results require big ambitions”