Saturday 29 May 2010

Love is Alpha and Omega


Totally unconditional, for all, without any rhyme and reason, available not on demand but as a way of life, this is love for me. I have not to see who is who while I love; I have just to see that I do that. I have a very simple idea about love, it is something which does not need reciprocity, and it has nothing to do with sympathy, forgiveness and possessiveness. It is something without motives, without any measure of incentives or gratification. There is no give and take in love; it is just pure form of bliss.

Just visualize the mother and Infant, the love of mother is so translucent that without love we see nothing else, her caring, her nurturing, her dedication, her every effort and gesture in comforting the child are the prime example of love that we see without much notice. Then the other most unnoticed love is the love that God shows towards us. He loves us like our mothers or even more, totally unconditional, without any sort of incentive and motives. He loves all those who respond to his love and He also loves all those who are antagonist.

Everything in universe shows this unconditional love for everything (*). Just look at the trees they just share their riches with us without incentives, the sun, the moon, the beautiful twinkling stars, the cool morning breeze, the colorful spring, the warm winter afternoons, the roaring lakes in the beautiful valleys and the lush green landscapes, oh what a sight, they all give us so much without any demand. This all is just to remind us that nature shows us the way of love.

There is a legend that Cranes, the large and graceful long-legged birds, frequently carried small birds on their backs during the long migratory flights, especially when crossing over water while traveling between Northern Europe and Africa. This is another example of nature showing us the way of love.

So what is love: to me it is Alpha and Omega!


(*)Line inspired from Urooj Malik's post on Universality and Human Beings at http://unityinuniverse.blogspot.com

Saturday 22 May 2010

A Pearl


A mist rises somewhere from the heart and travels upstream, reaches to the windows of self and recollect itself, shines and gleams with the multitude colors of love, desire, bravery, pathos, longing, waiting, distress, melancholy, joy, excitement and hope. The mist now incubates and turns into a pearl in the shell of an eye. When any one from these colors reaches its optimum fullness the incubation ends and the pearl slides down from the lids and become a tear.

Some tears are shed when we are overpowered with agony, some when we are longing for loved ones, some are shed with grief, and there are some which are tears of joy and ecstasy. Some tears are termed as crocodile tears, though the term is vague as no such evidence is available on maligning these creatures with tear bashing.



There is an opinion that the greatest tears are those which are shed due to fear of God. I feel uncomfortable with this term as well. In fear everything dries up even the life giving blood, what to say of tears! God is all love and why fear him, do we fear our mother and father or do we love and respect them? When in times of deep love and remembrance of God tears come out, but these are not due to fear but due to unequivocal love and acute state of bliss.

Tear is the most precious liquid known to man but has a two prong effect; it can make or break a person. This treasure is needed for self insemination hence it is so much different than other precious treasures that one can impart to others. This fluid is for self watering and nourishment and should be preserved and used sparingly for cultivating the personality

Thursday 20 May 2010

Rashid Minhas- a biography


The book is the most moving biographical account of pilot officer Rashid Minhas Shaheed (1951-1971) Nishan-e-Haider. This is the first full biography of Rashid Minhas, written by the most stylist modern day writer of Pakistan, Khurram Ali Shafique and is a first publication of Al-Fattah Academy.

The book beautifully captures the formative years of Rashid Minhas , which are so important in understanding his personality and his ultimate decision that has made him the eternal hero, and then progresses like dramatic movie with lively characterization, beautiful narratives of places and exciting cadet life. This all builds up into one of the most sad climaxes with crashing of flight 166.

I personally loved the letters Rashid Minhas wrote to his younger brothers during his training days. These letters show genuineness and maturity of his ideas. He was an idealist but thoroughly practical person as well. The book sizes him on all aspects of his personality, his likes and dislikes, his favorite personalities, heroes, films, books and food.

The book is a great tribute to the sacrifice of this hero and his ideals and at the same time a lesson that life is not the name of mere surviving but life is living according to one’s ideals and if not possible then dying for these.

Tuesday 18 May 2010

Myth of a Tree


Watch for a good few seconds and you will realize that tree is more than an object of serenity. It's a man, a complete and ideal man.

For me tree has been a symbol of genuineness and completeness of a man. I have always tried to look those qualities in human beings.

Look how it is Standing up tall and with roots firmly grounded showing the attachment with the realities and fundamentals and standing up in face of all odds and diversity facing and confronting without running away as there is no place to run from self.

Even when it is standing alone it does not show loneliness as the branches are like extended arms waiting to welcome the world, without any measure of discrimination on any count. This posture is lively and adamant that it offers unlimited friendship to the world for peaceful coexistence.

High flying birds sits and enjoy their nestling on high branches and at the same time the crawling creatures also crawl and climb at top, that shows tree's companionship can elevate those also to the heights who on their own could have never reached there.

Tree's leaves provide shade in the simmering heat like protecting all those who look forward to their friends and guardians and moments of distress.

Flowers are like beautiful thoughts and speech engaging others with pleasantries and good company.

Fruits are those meaningful acts that benefits others and the only benefit that tree derives from its fruits is the satisfaction that people know and remember tree by its fruit. So are our righteous or otherwise acts with which we are known at large.

The nature has so miraculously designed it that it contains all blue-prints of a complete person that gives everything that it has without seeking any reward and taking back as little as possible.

Wednesday 12 May 2010

A Perpetual Love Affair


I am greatly fascinated by her; I simply love her sight and all places and abodes where ever she resides is like a sacred sanctuary to me. My love affair started with her at my adolescence, she was so young and beautiful than, she has maintained her youth and majesty and grown even prettier. To her overwhelming and startling beauty, grace has been added. Her acquaintance is like a treasure to me an insurmountable treasure that she fosters.

Her feel, her contours, the scent of her smell all combined makes her the most ravishing, most exotic and highly desirable. Her beauty is not just skin deep she has added other dimensions to her serenity , her exalted beauty transcends all known barriers of time and space. She coexists with me despite various differences of opinions and sometimes with even divergent and opposite views.

What ever I hide from myself I see in her and whatever others hide from me I discover all in her, she is like a mirror to me, a mirror that see's within and also without, I call her my BOOK.

Book talks to me and I frequently indulge in conversation with her. During reading, I often, start reading into her which makes me the co-author of the Book. I have always maintained that Book is written by three writers, one who pen's the script, second the character which is being scripted, third is the reader who is not a passive but an active author of book, as book evolves with the participation of reader, it grows outside and also inside the reader, a most astonishing and rare phenomenon something incomparable with other things but only equal to that miraculous human spirit.

Saturday 8 May 2010

Dichotomy


It was early morning, and I am an early riser, I rise with the sun, when the first rays of sun light knocks at my window.

The window of my bedroom overlooks the lawn and as I glanced at the lawn, the grass was shinning with the morning dew and it looked as if the twinkling stars after waking for whole night were lying at grass blinking their eyes.

There was someone in the lawn. His back was at me and he was holding small garden scissor and was busy in trimming the withered leaves. He was fully immersed in this activity and was completely oblivious of the surroundings. His mannerisms were very cultivated and civilized and he was handling plants very professionally. His each gesture looked in complete harmony with his wholeness. He was breathing and inhaling the freshness of the morning aroma and was looking relaxed.

Then he started talking to the plants, he was whispering something to Ixoras and I felt they responded by swinging the beautiful orange/yellow flowers, at that moment morning breeze was not strong enough to have made them sway. I felt the plants were over vehemently responding to him.

Then he sat on his hunches and very delicately touched the leaves, on a closer look I found he was cleaning them. I Gleaned very intensely from my window on to the leaves and was amazed to find that the leaves were rapidly changing their color, I could not believe my eyes but the sepia of leaves were turning from emerald to viridian. What he was telling to the plants, which made them blush and filled there veins with energy? It must be something very interesting and uplifting as there visual appearance was transcribing the illuminated self of being, vibrant, fulfilled, self sufficient and joyous.

This was the time when he turned and our eyes met and I was starring at myself, there was nobody in the lawn and Ixoras were silent and still. That moment in time it dawned on me that it was a message for me, what I have been neglecting lately.
In the so called busyness of life owing to work and other self centered activities, I was ignoring and compromising on my relationships. Having no time for family, friends and close relatives, who so much look forward to have quality time with me! The relationships need watering, cleaning, preparations and nurturing like plants. If we do not care than this beautiful garden can very quickly convert into a field of weeds.

I pondered for a while a sat down to write my reflections!