Poem : A Spiritual Conspiracy - by Celia Hales

Spotted this amazing poem in "Bloom Nagpur", a local by-the-people
newspaper in Nagpur, August 2015 issue. I feel like it's speaking my
heart.
Contact: http://www.facebook.com/bloomnagpur

A Spiritual Conspiracy
- Celia Hales

On the surface of the world right now there is,
war and violence and things seem dark.
But calmly and quietly , at the same time,
something else is happening underground.
An inner revolution is taking place,
and certain individuals are being called to a higher light.
It is a silent revolution.

From the inside out. From the ground up.
This is a Global operation.
A Spiritual Conspiracy .
There are sleeper cells in every nation on the planet.
You won't see us on the T . V .
You won't read about us in the newspaper ,
You won't hear about us on the radio,
We don't seek any glory ,
We don't wear any uniform,
We come in all shapes and sizes, colors and styles.
Most of us work anonymously .
We are quietly working behind the scenes,
in every country and culture of the world.
Cities big and small, mountains and valleys,
in farms and villages, tribes and remote islands.
You could pass by one of us on the street,
and not even notice.
We go undercover ,
We remain behind the scenes,
It is of no concern to us who takes the final credit,
But simply that the work gets done.
Occasionally we spot each other in the street,
We give a quiet nod and continue on our way .
During the day many of us pretend we have normal jobs,
But behind the false storefront at night,
is where the real work takes a place.
Some call us the Conscious Army ,
We are slowly creating a new world,
with the power of our minds and hearts,
We follow , with passion and joy .
Our orders come from the Central Spiritual Intelligence,
We are dropping soft, secret love bombs when no one is looking,
Poems ~ Hugs ~ Music ~ Photography ~ Movies ~ Kind words ~
Smiles ~ Meditation and prayer ~ Dance ~ Social activism ~
Websites
Blogs ~ Random acts of kindness...
We each express ourselves in our own unique ways,
with our own unique gifts and talents.
Be the change you want to see in the world,
That is the motto that fills our hearts.
We know it is the only way real transformation takes place,
We know that quietly and humbly we have the power of all the
oceans combined.
Our work is slow and meticulous,
Like the formation of mountains,
It is not even visible at first glance,
And yet with it, entire tectonic plates,
shall be moved in the centuries to come.
Love is the new religion of the 21st century ,
You don't have to be a highly educated person,
Or have any exceptional knowledge to understand it,
It comes from the intelligence of the heart.
Embedded in the timeless evolutionary pulse of all human beings,
Be the change you want to see in the world,
Nobody else can do it for you,
We are now recruiting,
Perhaps you will join us,
Or already have.
All are welcome,
The door is open~

From "Bloom Nagpur", a local by-the-people newspaper in Nagpur, August
2015 issue.
Contact: http://www.facebook.com/bloomnagpur

Poem by Dushyant Kumar

Sharing an email, forwarded by friends to mark the completion of AAP's two years of honest politics:

आज यह दिवार , परदो की तरह हिलने लगी ,

शर्त लेकिन थी कि ये बुनियाद हिलनी चाहिये । 

हर सडक पर ,हर गली मे , हर नगर ,हर गांव मे 

हाथ लहराते हुए, हर लाश चलनी चाहिये । 

सिर्फ हंगामा खडा करना मेरा मकसद नही ,

सारी कोशिश है कि ये सुरत बदलनी चाहिये । 

मेरे सीने मे नही तो तेरे सीने में सही ,

हो कही भी आग ,लेकिन आग जलनी चाहिये । 

-दुष्यंत कुमार 

Poem: The Onus is on us

A nice poem I got on a whatsapp group:

(Fwd) The Onus is On Us -

And so here we are on the brink of d-day
This week we will know how our future will sway
The duffer, the bluffer, the man with the muffler
Which one of these men will we have to suffer

If you voted for Modi go jump in the sea
If you voted for Rahul you're dumber than he
If you voted for Kejri then that should be fine
Because sooner or later the man will resign

Democracy demands we give them a chance
But this time I think we should join in the dance
Coz whoever they are, the men at the helm
The country still belongs to us, not to them

We gave them their seats, the two-seventy-two
We voted them to power between me and you
But whether they prove to be wise men or fools
This nation is ours so let's play by the rules

Let's not break the law, can we please stand in line
Let's not pull those strings to avoid paying a fine
Let's finally get that a red light means stop
Let's not stoop to bribing the poor traffic cop

Let's be part of the reason our country is great
Let's be good citizens before it's too late
Let's serve our great country without hesitation
Let's all work together to build a strong nation

Enough of the trolling, the barbs and the fights
Now let's stick together, stand up for our rights
Enough of debates on religion and caste
Now let's be united, secular at last

They might have the seats, the two-seventy-two
But the country belongs to me and to you
And we're a billion people, a billion and plus
At the end of the day, the onus is on us

Poem: Bik raha hai sab kuch | everything is for sale

This poem was shared on facebook recently:

बिक गयी है धरती, गगन बिक न जाए !
बिक रहा है पानी, पवन बिक न जाए !

चाँद पर भी बिकने लगी है जमीं,
डर है की सूरज की तपन बिक न जाए !

हर जगह बिकने लगी है स्वार्थ नीति,
डर है की कहीं धर्म बिक न जाए !

देकर दहॆज ख़रीदा गया है अब दुल्हे को,
कही उसी के हाथों दुल्हन बिक न जाए !

हर काम की रिश्वत ले रहे अब ये नेता,
कही इन्ही के हाथों वतन बिक न जाए !

सरे आम बिकने लगे अब तोह सांसद,
डर है की कहीं संसद भवन बिक न जाए !

आदमी मरा तोह भी आँखें खुली हुई हैं,
डरता है मुर्दा, कहीं कफ़न बिक न जाए !

Link: https://www.facebook.com/AAPGujarat/photos/a.342970919147876.1073741830.290496821061953/512194448892188/?type=1

night and day

Sharing this coz I'm feeling like this right now... (with genders suitably interpolated, note)

"The Look" by Sara Teasdale
 

Strephon kissed me in the spring,

 Robin in the fall, 

But Colin only looked at me 

And never kissed at all. 

Strephon's kiss was lost in jest, 

Robin's lost in play, 

But the kiss in Colin's eyes 

Haunts me night and day.

- From: http://www.poets.org/viewmedia.php/prmMID/19419

Poem: Swaraj Milan 2012 invite

आयें हम सब अलग जहां से

दिल में अनेक ख्वाइशें लिए

कुछ नया करने की चाह से

खुद को और जानने के लिए

Aayein hum sab alag jahaan se

Dil mein anek khwaishein liye

Kuch naya karne ki chaah se

Khud ko aur jaanne ke liye

स्व -जीवन और सह -जीवन

इन दोनों को एक साथ लाया

तपोवन की खुली वादियों में

जीने का नया नजरिया पाया

Swa-jeevan aur sah-jeevan

In dono ko ek saath laaya

Tapovan ki khuli vaadiyon mein

Jeene ka naya nazariya paaya

एक दूसरे का साथ देते

किये कितने नये खोज

नए उठे सवालों पर

किये कितने नए प्रयोग

Ek doosre ka saath dete

Kiye kitne naye khoj

Naye uthe sawaalon par

Kiye kitne naye prayog

 





चलो एक बार फिर एक हो जाते हैं

वहीँ जहां हमने की थी शुरुवात

पुराने और नए यार सब मिलके

आगे बधातें हैं बात !

Chalo ek baar phir ek ho jaate hain

Wahin jahaan humne ki the shuruwaat

Puraane aur naye yaar sab milke

Aagey badhaate hain baat

बहुत सारा SHARING, बहुत सारा FUN

शुरू करते हैं खोजियों का...

मिलन !

Bahut sara sharing, bahut sara fun

Shuru karte hain khojiyon ka...

MILAN!

This is a poem I wrote in an invitation to all the batches of Swaraj University (me being in the 3rd batch) for a one-week get-together that we've named "Milan" which means "get-together". Not related to the football club ;)
Learn more about Swaraj over here.

Poem: Thoughts from a secular humanist

Re-posting this image and a transcript of the poem in it.

Thoughts from a secular humanist

I have no invisible authority
I am not mentally enslaved,
I am not an unworthy sinner
Who is waiting to be saved.
My actions are my own
Responsibility for which I take,
Credit for the good and penalty for the bad
The payment for my deeds only I can make.

I'm not the innocent, confused child
'Humble' messengers try to find,
I'm a skeptic with adult reasoning
Who has left Faith behind.
The answers gifted by logic and reason
Are far more appealing to me,
I keep searching for the still unknown
No fitting baseless assumptions dishonestly.

Morality for me is not dreived from an ancient book
With tiring tales of brutality and occasional verses of love,
To be good and to care for my fellow beings
I don't need promises of gifts from above.
The knowledge and wisdom accumulated by science
Sincere and provable, without disguise,
Is what I find more comforting and reality revealing
Than ones given by power-hungry cults fighting over lies.

I'm not someone who thinks women
Compared to their men, are any less,
When her right to say 'No' is violated
I don't blame it on her dress.
Her body is her own, her character not just her face
Rather than a world of fear and suppression,
They deserve a better place.

Things that others do without harming anyone or you
Are reason enough to make some disgusted or depressed
But when I come to know he loves another 'he',
I find myself hardly distressed.
It is better to judge people based on their actions
Not for 'what' they are,
Whether your genes played well or decided to change the rules
All of us are equal humans, who've managed to come this far.

I don't believe that the Universe was 'designed'
With a specific purpose, keeping and of us in mind,
A creator-free Universe is not uninteresting or colourless
But a lot more spectacular with added wonders to find.
Meaning is what we derive from the things that we strive
To achieve during our brief stay on this dot,
Knowing that none is bestowed with any special privileges
How many less battles would have been fought.

My love for this world and concern for its inhabitants
Is not restricted by any boundary line,
Whether you're from the West and I'm from the East
We're still on the same beautiful planet
So ought we not to get along fine?

I respect your right to believe what you want
I respect your right to choose,
But at times when what you believe and choose has a bearing on me
Don't expect me to keep shut or not refuse.
As you read these words, if you find yourself offended
And feel that you need to complain,
I hope you'll first pause for a second and try not to forget
How not being allowed to say it had once led our species
Into the Dark Ages of suffering and pain.


Disclaimer: I didn't write this, but I love it! If you know the author, please connect us!

Parody : Bomb Iraq

[This was in the 'letters to the editor' section in Arab News, back in 2003 when the Iraq invsion was just beginning. Back then I'd found it hilarious and noted it down - and even now, after all this time, it's got a truism to it that's hard to dismiss!
Sung to the tune of "If You're Happy And You Know It, Clap Your Hands"]

If we cannot find Osama, bomb Iraq.
If the markets hurt your Mama, bomb Iraq.
If the terrorists are Saudi
And the bank takes back your Audi
And the TV shows are bawdy,
Bomb Iraq.

If the corporate scandals growin', bomb Iraq.
And your ties to them are showin', bomb Iraq..

Poem : Give Peace a Chance

Blast from the past! Just came across this poem I'd submitted for our yearly magazine when in Final year of engineering!

Give Peace a Chance
“Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.” - George Santayana

Let's make clear everyone realizes the price we pay for war
The way humanity takes a back seat as tempers soar
The way we forget what's really important in this life
It's the love of loved ones, not a land in strife.

There are more bullets today than the world’s population
Yet for a fraction of the cost we could rid it of malnutrition
We’ve made nukes as a deterrent to wars
But yet our defense budget soars.

While we spend billions guarding our so-called borders
The people, stuffed with xenophobia, are dying from inside
What we need is more friendship, openness and respect
Not ‘enemies’ getting fried.

You say we’ll beat terror with the force of bullets
But tell me, when was the last time you fought fire with fire?

You judge too soon...

When others commit a blunder, it's a mistake. When I commit one, it's a crime.
When others think for themselves, it's being independent. When I do so, I'm being selfish.
When others act irrationally, they must have their reasons. When I do so, I must be insane.
When others follow their feelings, they're being romantic. When I try to, I'm called a pervert.

People, please start treating others as you would treat yourself.
Please try to understand more than you judge.
Please learn to discern the mountain from the molehill.
And, most important of all, Please grow up.

Poem about thin people

Friends, Healthy Dames, Lend me your fat,
For I am too thin and that's a fact!

My body disposes of every nutrition thrown at it
I've been called Skeletor and sometimes I really look like it

All those great-looking body-hugging tees, they melt my heart
Though if I put one on, I certainly won't look the part!

I can't feel my hands and feet in winters cold
While upon me many times my shirt will fold

When I stuff in more food to balance my BMI,
The signs aren't good, like floating interest on an EMI

My system suddenly reacts, disposes of the excess mass.
In forms of solids, liquids and, well, even Gas!

While most humans can stay afloat in water high enough to gulp air,
My Low-Vol, HD physique makes me sink like a wreck in the seas of despair.

My bones are always knocking about in the auto, bus or on the bike,
And don't make me go horseback or I shall jab the creature like a spike!

And coming back to clothes, O, you don't know the agony..
With all the cool clothes on, I'd look just like an exhibit of anatomy..
Not a jeans will fit well, either too baggy or not going under the knee.
Even a shirt with the right length of sleeves has a torso wide enough for two of me

What to do, 't was God's wish for me to be alag from the rest,
While the rest pray to shed it, I pray for just a little more, then I'd look my best!

We're all screwed one way or the other, do you get the gist
Heck, at least you don't have to see a child's fingers encircle your wrist!