DETERMINATION MAKES DIFFERENCE

DETERMINATION MAKES DIFFERENCE

 

                 Today I was immensely surprised on seeing the indomitable spirit of a small ant. It was carrying a piece of grain and trudging on relentlessly. The weight of grain seemingly was more than its own weight.  Every time the grain fell it picked it up and this continued for sometime till finally she was able to reach its destination. I was really surprised on seeing its determination. There were quite a number of grains collected at the destined place where it was collecting the grains for future use. May be it and its mates had kept for tiding over the coming winter.

           It gave me a very sweet  lesson. With strong will power / determination we can surmount any hurdle and transact even the most daunting  tasks imaginable.

 

            When we talk of self confidence; it is a balanced self confidence and not an exaggerated sense bordering on audaciousness. For infusion of self confidence our vision and mission and how these are to be attained is a must.Determination is byproduct of self confidence and for self confidence we have to have the following:-

 

• Self Worth. When we have chosen our goal with care and caution – taking into consideration all the relevant but legitimate points that we have to surmount on our  onward journey to attain our mission / goal. We have also to carefully chalk out   pluses and minuses.  Make honest efforts how to enhance credit account of our pluses and reduce the shortfall in debit account of our minuses. Overdraft has to be avoided. These pluses may be in the form of augmentation of personal skills and be in sync with the advancement / strides made in managerial and technological fields. By being on the same page as technological advances and other fields of significance, one can confront any challenge that may come on our forward journey for reaching our goal. In this we have to take into cognizance the following:-

 

• Solid Belief on our Lord. First and foremost thing that we have to have in sufficient measure is rock solid belief that we are working in 100% partnership with our Lord nothing less may be more. Possess forbearance like a tree and have inner peace weathering strong storms and sunny days. Never bending its head after weathering elements without subjecting itself into vanity!

 

• Self Belief. On our forward march to our journey, we ought to have self-belief that what we are doing is the only course and should not tarry by the way by ‘what others’ say’ about you.

 

• Staying Power. When goal is set / fixed, be ready to take calculated risks and sometimes just taking unexpected risks believing that He is there with us to bank on.

 

• Challenge the Challenges. If challenges are on the path to the destined destination just challenge these taking into consideration that your path is righteous one hence no hurdle can stop our march ahead.

 

• Hurry Results in worry Ultimately. It should never be forgotten that attaining goal set is a must. Having set the goal we should endeavour to make our strides with care and caution. Every stride should be a confident one that the step we take should not entangle us in quagmire of our own making. Hasty steps result in unpredictable results should never be forgotten.

 

• Self-esteem. On our march ahead, we have to acknowledge the appreciations of concerned people and also thank our Lord for removing all the hurdles without giving air to our EGO. It should never be forgotten that there is a very thin border line between SELF ESTEEM and EGO.

 

• Positive Attitude. While traversing our path to journey ahead, we have to adopt positive attitude only analyzing before hand everything and not groping in the dark. This positivity in attitude includes: kindness, pity, piety, righteousness, et al. If we are engulfed with negativity in any form like; corrupt practices, anger, covetousness et al we have to remove this dirt from our midst and move on with the notion that negativity leads to negative results. These are also enemies of our self belief and self confidence.

 

SELF IMPROVEMENT

 

Child is born with a cleanest slate

Knows not where the fate will take

Tender love of mother

Who shows us the light

And caressing of our father with care

Gives us the inkling that we are dearly cared.

 

Thence our Guru’s wisest sermons

Make us realize our own self justly

Organizes our inner instincts decisively.

 

Thus starts our efforts to follow the right direction

For realization of our true intentions

Without falling into the trap of unreasonable temptations

Apathy at work place

Laziness at house

Be very revengeful to these

Remove these enemies with thy efforts

Before these put brakes on thy further march

And further obliterate the feel of success

If pressure gives thee the backward pull

Motivation bestows thee forward push

And enthuses thee for march ahead

Just start it now and do the right

Procratinate and it’ll be thy undoing

The ones who start earnestly

They only make marry

The goal they set for themselves

Remember the ones who start now

Will face certain hurdles on the way

And not defeatists

Who never ventured at all

When thee start forward movement

These movements are watched by our Lord

He will pull us out of hurdles

If any thee face.

 

HARBANS KHAJURIA

 

 

 

DRUG ABUSE ITS CONSEQUENCES

INTOXICANTS – A DRAG ON HEALTH WELLBEING

Imagine a person who is enslaved by the habit of intoxicants; consequently becomes a huge drag on the resources and physical condition. An activity repeated a number of times becomes a habit and when this habit is drinking or drug abuse without which an individual cannot live being his obsession – it is indeed alarming.

It is observed that habits are easily formed / acquired but hard to be eradicated. It is like a unwanted guest (but anyhow not uninvited) which you want to dispense with but it will not just go away. One has to make concerted and determined efforts in getting rid of this disgusting guest. Unfortunately it has been a common experience that when one falls prey to these habits; one is really ensnared. A way out is a little difficult. Mere sight of these intoxicants is enough to distract us from our actual path and envelop us lock stock a barrel into it. Man falls from one abbess to another without any redemption in sight. Though redemption may be there for those who want to sincerely leave this obsession for that to happen determined effort is needed.

How this habit is formed? It starts with just for the sake of fun. It may be in some innocuous parties / get together that a person gets a feel of it. Or some fair weather friend may lure us into the trap by initially spending money and thenceforth becoming a continuous habit; so much so that the friend who initiated the person concerned may also take advantage of this addiction to the hilt.

The other causes of addiction are:-

• Frustration in resolving the intricacies with regard to love and relationship.
• Sudden failure or persistent losses incurred in business deals.
• Financial stringency.
• Not getting employment despite requisite qualifications.
• Offspring not able to come to the expectations despite best efforts.
• Incompatibility between the spouses.

A time comes when this prisoner of bad habits just is not having anything left – not merely monetarily but also physically. The result of this is body afflictions with disastrous consequences.

• Drug Use in Children / Adolescents. Drug abuse starts in the early stage itself. It starts on experimental basis and then becomes a solid habit. It is sad that the use of drug like heroin and amphetamine-type stimulants (ATS) is resorted by below the age group of 25! Even alcohol; tobacco consumption; amongst this age group is on the ascendancy. Then the high use of intravenous drugs and needle sharing is the result of debilitating diseases like HIV/AIDS. This age group is most impressionable. In this age group the child has to make a solid foundation / base for his future life – acquiring education; pursuing some vocation or avocation and finally having a life partner for a happy married life. But as the individual has got nothing to bank on; he resorts to crimes for quelling his habit.

• Withering of Family Fabric. Family is the sacred institution where husband and wife pool their personal resources and make concerted efforts that this institution runs and runs purposefully for the welfare of the whole family. While one member of the family sweats and the other one fritters away the hard earned resources in alcohol or drug abuse then there are fissures in the family unity. There may be constant bickering between spouses and family development as a unit is just shattered. How long this family fabric could work in unison?

• Suicidal Tendencies. The sad part of the consequence of drug abuse is that it acts as a depressant – divesting the person concerned of fighting spirit. A time comes when that person loses will to live and that is the sad end of the commentary of life for that individual.

• Enemy of Spirituality. Those who are afflicted with the abhorrent habit of drug abuse just are seen to be repulsed from the spiritual way of life.
• With this intention in mind, I have penned a poem entitled: ‘DRUG ABUSE & ITS CONSEQUENCES’ kindly give your comments so that more of these topics could be penned down for optimum benefit.

DRUG ABUSE – ITS CONSEQUENCES

Bad habits form inroads
In us just easily
But hard to get out
Having made a dent.
Robs the innocence off
In the tender age itself
With its ill affects.

It is mother of bitterness
In the families
At times
Breaking the fabrics
Which binds them together.

Gives fillip to corrupt practices
Gives lip services
To best practices
Of happy living.
O Creator of ours
Be generous
In providing antidote
To intoxicants
So that those slave to these
Are freed off its influence
For making the society
A crime free in true sense.

HARBANS KHAJURIA

INTERNAL & EXTERNAL CLEANSING

INTERNAL & EXTERNAL CLEANSING

For inviting the Goddess Lakshmi – the giver of wealth and prosperity people spruce up their houses; remove every bit of refuge/dirt. Though they may throw dirt from their houses outside the precincts of houses as such proving the point that filth lying inside their houses has to be cleaned but outside it is not their concern!
Do you think those who clean the outside their houses are appreciated? My experience tells otherwise. I got a rude shock one day. While I was cleaning the litter adjoining my home off lying there after having cleaned the inside of the house; my neighbor interjected; “why I was doing it” and continued: “Cleaning staff will come and clean it all up”! I felt dumbfounded to answer his query – somebody else will clean the smut outside our houses surprisingly spread by us? I too see people throwing their household filth in the streets as if the streets are the dumping grounds. Really thoughtless. We clean our inside of our houses but do not care to clean outside of homes! A house cannot be a home till such time it is clean from inside and outside.
Would not all knowing Maan Lakshmi observe the filth thrown outside our houses by us? Therefore it is imperative both inside and outside our houses should be kept clean for welcoming the Goddess of Wealth to our houses. Additionally it should not only be done on some festivals but ever day so as to keep the germs away from our midst; ensuring our good health and happiness. It would also be in keeping with the maxim: Cleanliness is next to godliness.

Similar is the case with keeping the cleanliness of our body – both inside and outside. Habitually we tend to clean the outside our body. We spend unlimited amount of money to keep outside of body in fine fettle; a demonstrative effect to – just to impress others. But does this outer outlook helps in establishing our credentials as a total individuality – the one who can influence others?
Bapu Gandhiji had a magnetic personality which not only influenced people nationally but also commanded utmost respect internationally with his simplest attire! His inside and outside were cleansed.
To remove the impurities from gold and make it 24 caret; it has to go through different processes. Similar is the case with our internal cleansing to remove:-
• Anger. When we are in angry mood we are not able to utilize our innate mental faculties to the hilt and many a times dehumanized tendencies are shown under its influence. Anger dissipates the energies which otherwise could have been used for body and spiritual upliftment. It is enemy number one of humanity. In anger we do things which disgraces us in the eyes of our love ones.
• Greed. Greed is one of the worst form of negative traits. Greed for more material possessions forces us resorting to ulterior means to acquire more in order to satiate our greed. Sometimes we follow immoral ways and means for appeasing our appetite for ‘Ye Dil Mange More’. There being no limit to it; it reduces our karmic credit. This negative trait taints our character black.
• Dishonesty / Insincerity. It should never be forgotten that the fruits of dishonesty / insincerity are sweet but ultimately its results are unimaginable.
• Ego. Care ought to be taken that we should never forget that ego is our enemy number one. Too much of its appeasement may lead to disproportionate repercussions. There is a border line that demarcates the ego and self esteem beyond we have to be cautious about.

• Worry. Worry about the result of our action or worry about the future which is unpredictable are the two impediments which come in our way in our lives. These become roadblocks in our further further development in any field of activity. Irrational worries are still more harmful. If we resort to worries on even small things in life then our further advancement in life is retarded. There are the people who are habitual worriers.

• Falsehood. One bogus step impels us to take more steps. It may be for getting easy money; or easy publicity. It should never be forgotten whatever is earned easily with falsehood just is dissipate just easily. It does not stay for long and leaves a black spot on our character.
• Ill-will. Even having ill-will is immoral. In our lives we tend to have ill intention. This ill intention pushes us further in the quagmire of darkness and taints of character. Mere have it is a sin keep aside implementing it in life.
• Dishonesty / Insincerity. It has been said that half the bread earned with the sweet of our brows is than a full one earned with dishonesty or insincerely. Shache ka bol bala joothe ka hoga mun kala (Truth wins in the end untruth tarnishes the image). Honesty and truthfulness coupled with sincerity are important constituents of our character and make us sublime.
• Falsehood. Anything earned with falsehood may boomerang on us finally. If we resort to falsehood in enhancing our status; it would be short-lived. It is lusterless.

CLEANSING OF INSIDE AND OUTSIDE

We apply cleansing agents
Of varied varieties
To clean the dirt
Off our body
Sometimes we remove the dead skin
The part of being
Which stood by us
Through thick and thin.
But woefully we do not
Cleanse the stinking dirt

Like ego; anger; ill-will; greed; et al
Falsehood and other negatives
And cultivate kindness
Forgiveness & Compassion et al
With the cleansing agents
Of different varieties
Like prayer & meditation.

Not only inside of home
But outside of it
Ought be cleaned off dirt
To say good bye to germs
And prevent their entry
Into system of ours
And ruin our immunity
Giving us varieties of diseases.

HARBANS KHAJURIA

GURUPURB – A DAY TO REMINISCE

GURUPURB – A DAY TO REMINISCE

 

.

Guru changes our lives to perfection

And Purb / Parva – a Sanskrit word meaning celebration

Life is a festival (Purb) of highest order

It may be on the eve of some festivals

Or on the anniversary of supreme sacrifices

To uphold commoners’ causes

Or Prakash Divas

A Day of Enlightenment held high in esteem by us.

 

On the most auspicious full moon day – Pooranmashi

At a village named Rai-Bhoi-Di-Talwandi

Now known as Nanakana Sahib

In the month of Kartik

15th day of April in the year 1469

When our most revered Nanak was born

To father Baba Kalu & Mother Tripta

No one but our beloved

Akalpurakh (Lord) knew with sureness

His observable agenda for this Special Messenger

To spread ‘IK NAAM’S’  Message

And that such a person will make huge difference

For causes most dear to society in general

Indeed a Shining Star on the horizon!

 

Observance and celebration of anniversaries

Linkage of which is an important feature

Of the Sikhs & the ones who believe in (Khalas) purity

Way of living now or in future with certainty 

Gurupurb lasts for three days

A pious Akhand Path in Gurudwaras

With organization of Nagarkirtans

Procession (Kirtni Jatha) is led by Pious Fives (Panj Piyaras)

With Holiest Shri Guru Granth Sahib on the Palanquin

Hymns from It purifies the environ

Spreading Its  Message – the most fragrant

Far and wide making the gentry mesmerized

Gatka Parties displaying their artistry

With their traditional weapons. 

On the Gurupurb Day Diwan

Starts early in the morn

With Asa-di-var

And hymns from Guru Granth Sahib are sung

Followed by discourses and Ardas

And finally Prashadha in Pangat (line)

Called langar served to all alike

People share it with great reverence

And make this day; a day to reminisce.

 

O! our Babaji – the most benevolent of all

Our earnest prayer to Thee my Lord

Let the spirit of this day

Remain etched in our memory

Spreading Thy Universal Message

Of Uniting the Humans without bias

For wellbeing of all.

 

HARBANS KHAJURIA

BIDDING ADEIU IS A PAINFUL EXPERIENCE

BIDDING ADEIU IS A PAINFUL EXPERIENCE

BUT CANNOT BE WISHED AWAY

 

Emotion is the important traits of living beings. Even animals; plants and birds exhibit their emotions if we care to find out. Will to interpret these emotions is the only factor in this respect. But humans’ emotions can be deciphered easily because they can express verbally or through other cues which cannot go undetected. When a person feels disappointed we can read it on his / her face or when that person is in happy mood it could easily be read on his her face easily.

 

Whenever we depart from our love ones we certainly get emotional – sometimes miss one or two heart beats and on other times shed a few drops of tears

Bidding audio is way of this world. This may be:-

• When we go to the work place for eking out a living.
• A girl leaves her home after marriage to her in-law’s home. This is the way of the world and important to keep the world ticking.

 

BIDDING ADIEU IS A PAINFUL EXPERIENCE

 

Bidding adieu to the one ye love the most

 Is indeed poignant,

It may be for a limited period of time

Period known or for good.

 

A lass after conclusion of marriage rituals,

Departing from her parental residence,

For in-laws dwellings,

Leaving the home and hearth she cherished most,

From her birth till completion of marriage bows

With eyes brimming with tears

Like unstopping torrential rains

Striking deep into the hearts

Of one and all.

 

A woman or a man  perforce,

Departing for good from the spouse,

With whom had everything shared,

Unluckily  disharmony resulted

Due to not understanding each other’s needs

Or may be unreasonable expectations

And consequent final parting ways.

 

A young man or woman parting from his nears and dears,

Here no one wants to show tears,

Such that the parting ways may be easier

For this parting is to eke out a living

For himself / herself and all other dependents

And thus traversing to places unknown.

Yet heart aching with hurt

Emotions soaring sky high

But outwardly all exhibiting poise,

But with muted unease

Yet interiors of all are troubled hugely.

 

Then final parting is the most poignant of all

When we part ways for good with relations of ours

Who for years looked after us so dearly

Felt pained when thee felt pain

Prided hugely at every step forward in thy life span. 

Oh! Our Creator, make every departure of ours,

Not hurting but comforting,

So that departure of every kind becomes a pleasant exercise.

 

 

 

We leave this earth for good after we complete our life span on this planet / after finishing the journey of our life. This final parting is heartrending. We remember every moment spent with the person concerned.

 

 

• This ‘ETERNAL SLEEP’ cannot be wished away which can be shown with the poem below:-

 

Eternal sleep

 

After our earthy sojourn,

We mortals traverse to a world unknown,

Where to – guesswork abounds,

Some think, few are welcomed to enchanting Heaven,

And the others to burning ‘ghats’ of hell are thrown,

Depending solely on earthy deeds or misdeeds,

Ledger of which are assiduously maintained and screened.

Death is inevitable, then why gets afraid?

Death  is a stark-reality, then why get sad?

When parting with our kin so dear, finally,

During life too, we experience death in small ways routinely,

The one who has seen the dawn of the day,

Will surely see the dusk of the day.

A mistaken sense of pride,

Egged on by mistaken sense of permanence of life,

Spurs us to cling to this life so tight,

That sometimes, we forget the imminence of our end.

Which is so near but seemingly so far away from sight.

Earthy inning is quite alluring,

Parting with worldly possessions so paining,

Yet, in life, we ought to adopt righteous course,

Why fear, accept the change of garb with courage and without remorse,

A life filled with inner freedom is helpful,

Engrave this idea, eternal sleep is sacred and peaceful

Welcome the eternal sleep when it comes naturally with

open hands,

For this end is not the end of cycle of life and earth,

But a continuity of a play played by earthlings,

And supervised from His Heavenly abode by Supreme-being;

the one and the only one by whatever name you mention him.

 

Harbans Khajuria

OUR LORD BE PRAISED

OUR LORD BE PRAISED

 

Our Creator gifts us sagacity

Of how to find Him easily!

 

Sometimes we go berserk

Unreasonably we ask!

Unpleasant answers we seek?

Answers of which are indeed difficult

By our limited mindset

Here too He comes to our rescue

And helps us with several easy cues

Of His presence

Just near us!!

Removes doubt that prevails

By crossing our ways

Surprise of surprises!

Can we recognise Him?

When He pays a surprise visit

When we expect Him not in the least.

 

Not merely our finger tip

But He becomes on our finger tips

And turns impossible to possible

With a soothing touch of His Hand Supreme

Bestows peace and bliss to the optimum

That is His Grace without doubt

Our Lord be praised day in and day out.

 

HARBANS KHAJURIA