Khalil Gibran's "The Prophet"

I really loved reading Gibran's Prophet. Here are some of my favourites. If any of you want quotes from the whole book, just mail me and i will send the whole list.

On Love
When love beckons to you follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden.
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth.
Like sheaves of corn he gathers you unto himself.
He threshes you to make you naked.
He sifts you to free you from your husks.
He grinds you to whiteness.
He kneads you until you are pliant;
And then he assigns you to his sacred fire, that you may become sacred bread for God's sacred feast.
All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of Life's heart.
But if in your fear you would seek only love's peace and love's pleasure,
Then it is better for you that you cover your nakedness and pass out of love's threshing-floor,
Into the seasonless world where you shall laugh, but not all of your laughter, and weep, but not all of your tears.
Love gives naught but itself and takes naught but from itself.
Love possesses not nor would it be possessed;
For love is sufficient unto love.
When you love you should not say, "God is in my heart," but rather, I am in the heart of God."
And think not you can direct the course of love, for love, if it finds you worthy, directs your course.

Love has no other desire but to fulfil itself.
But if you love and must needs have desires, let these be your desires:
To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love's ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
On Marriage
You were born together, and together you shall be forevermore.
You shall be together when white wings of death scatter your days.
Aye, you shall be together even in the silent memory of God.
But let there be spaces in your togetherness,
And let the winds of the heavens dance between you.
Love one another but make not a bond of love:
Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.
Fill each other's cup but drink not from one cup.
Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.
Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,
Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.
Give your hearts, but not into each other's keeping.
For only the hand of Life can contain your hearts.
And stand together, yet not too near together:
For the pillars of the temple stand apart,
And the oak tree and the cypress grow not in each other's shadow.

What would you do if you weren't afraid?

I would go out and leave this job. I would try and write that book i want to, about dad. I would be myself no caring if people liked me or not.

I would actually be happier. So maybe i can try and not be afraid...

Article from worldjournal.com

Uncle Sam's Watching
By Chhandita Chakravarty, TheWorldJournal.com
E-MAIL THE AUTHOR PRINT VERSION


Arrogant, Overbearing, Selfish... These are few of the adjectives used by the general population of India to describe The United States of America. It must be difficult for a US citizen to understand these sentiments. And maybe most of them just 'couldn't care less'. So this article is an honest endeavor to put forward the other side of the story.It is a unipolar world today. There is only one superpower, economically, militarily or culturally, and that is The USA. The American leadership is hardly apologetic about it and there is hardly any reason for them to be. But to really understand the American psyche, it is imperative that we try to understand their past and present.

A Brief History

The history of United States of America is a paradox. It can be considered both new and old. If we consider the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 12th October 1492, as the beginning of the country's history, then its history is very new. But if we travel back in time we'll discover that humans inhabited America as early as 10,000 BC!But the history of America before the arrival of the Europeans is rarely acknowledged or known. Native American's (or Red Indian's as they are popularly known) lived on the land of opportunities for centuries. They had a simple existence based on the principle of 'respect for nature'. But Europeans soon made their way into these virgin lands and became the residents of this place. The early 1600s saw the surge of emigration from Europe to North America. More often than not, emigration from England was not directly sponsored by the government but by private groups of individuals whose chief motive was profit. Political oppression was one of the primary causes for many of the emigrants to seek an escape route to this new land. Many of them left their homelands to seek the freedom to practice their religion, or for adventure and opportunities denied them at home. People from England formed the largest chunk of emigration population. But there were people from other European countries as well, like the Dutch, Swedes, Germans, a few French Huguenots and a scattering of Spaniards, Italians and Portuguese.Since then millions of people from diverse countries have made the country their new home.America TodayAfter the American Revolution, the USA took giant strides and became one of the leading world powers at par with the French and Germans. This fact was reconfirmed after the 1st world war and became crystal clear after 2nd world war.Now, after the fall of the Soviet Union, America has become the sole world power. Other countries too have their own place but when compared to the USA, appear to be, well to put it mildly, inadequate.So why do most of the people of many of the countries outside the western block have this negative image about the world power?Lets face it, the primary reason for this mentality is a sense of our own failures when seen in comparison with America. Let's take the example of my own country-India. India's history is ancient. It dates back to an era before 2600 BC! But today we stand nowhere economically, militarily or politically on the world map. However much we might deny this fact, in our heart of hearts we know its true. This knowledge of what we have not achieved and what 'they' have achieved has created a deep-seated resentment in our minds. More so when we think of the fact England ruled over our country for almost 200 years and a lot of their wealth was derived from colonies like India.Having accepted our part of the blame, its time to understand some other major reasons for this resentment.The US foreign policy should take the blame for the increasing worldwide resentment against it.From the very beginning America's foreign policy has been inward looking. Undoubtedly, the ideals of 'democracy and liberty are noble and should be propagated, but isn't the American leadership assuming a bit too much when they decide that their way is the only 'good' way for all of humanity? What is ok with you need not be ok with others. Maybe people do not want American style liberty!And over that the hypocrisy of various US foreign policies can inflame anybody.America decides to attack a country because it poses a threat to their interests. Perfectly understandable. But why arm them in the first place? The case of the Taliban is there for everybody to see. Over that they expect restrain from every other country but can never be advised to exercise restrain. So what is the message they are sending out? That the life of an American citizen is costlier than human life in other countries? At least that's the message people are getting.Now an American might suggest that the other countries do they please, why do they have to listen to US and crib about it? Well, countries have to listen to USA because it is the most powerful country in the world and nobody in their right mind would want be in US's bad book! This fact notwithstanding, people don't like US attitude, their cultural invasion.Nothings going to change. People will keep hating US for its lopsided policies; give birth to a few fanatics and US will attack in order to rid the world of these anti-humanity people, which in turn will give birth to a few more fanatics. It's vicious circle really.I am sure India would have done the same thing if it were in the same position as the United State of America.

© February 1, 2004

Ode to the night....

I love the beautiful dawn, with its freshness. The rising sun reminds me of the blushing new bride – innocent and alive. Dawn feels me with a new hope, a new dream for a new day. I am full of energy, ready to face all the challenges that might come my way…..

But as the day progresses and finally as I see the setting sun, I feel all my dreams shattering down around me…I look back at the day – lost and tired…All my hopes lie broken and I stand alone, defeated…

Then night descends, and like a child, after having spent all day playing out in the sun, crawls back into the lap of his mother, I too crawl into the bosom of mother night, hurt and bruised….O lose my6self in the darkness of the night. Her silence and calm soothes my bruised spirit, her starts fill me with wonder….I go to sleep, lying secure in the arms of mother night, whiles she heals my soul and fills my heart with a million new dreams…

Tomorrow, when I open my eyes, I’ll thank the new day for all my new dreams. night will stand back, patiently waiting to comfort her child, asking for nothing in return….

Respect!

Well today is one of those days when i am disturbed with what i see around me...the road i take to my office is lined with meat shops.. i literally have to close my eyes to avoid the disturbing sights. It is really disturbing to see chicken cramped in cages which are so small that they cannot even stand. well! Sometimes i see people carrying chicken in their two wheelers. their legs are tied together and the hang upside down from to the back seat! imagine 5-10 chickens tied together like this.. isn't that cruel? i close my ears to avoid hearing their screeches....

I have seen pigs being caught in the roads, i have seen cattles being herded into trucks, sometimes their limbs are broken to make room for a few more of them!

I know people love their meat, I understand. I myself was an avid meat eater. But the least they can do is show some respect for their food! At least treat the birds with a little respect till they die..Is that too hard to do?

I am tired of seeing dead dogs and cows lying on the roads. I know of incidents where people have run over dogs intentionally! We are supposed to worship the cow, yet there are people who dont think twice before hitting them. na dwhat about their owners? they want the milk the animals produce, but refuce to feed them..so all the animals are left with are garbage to eat. So many cows have died after ingesting plastic. I am even afraid to drink milk (http://getactive.peta.org/campaign/india_dairy)

and if I react people say i am over reacting...maybe i am..

i mean this is one country where people forget all about 200 people dying in a bomb blast within a time frame of 5 minutes..! so wot can i expect...

But I am going to keep on hoping..things HAVE to improve..Please let me know that there are people like me around...