Poets From India

"Vande Mataram (Salutations to the Mother!) In the name of God, In the name of Bharat Mata, In the name of all the martyrs that have shed their blood for Bharat Mata, By the love innate in all men and women, that I bear to the land of my birth, Wherein lie the sacred ashes of my forefathers, and which is the cradle of my children. By the tears of the countless mothers for their children whom the foreigner has enslaved, imprisoned, tortured and killed, Convinced that without Absolute Political Independence or Swarajya my country can never rise to the exalted position among the nations of the earth which is Her due, And convinced also that that Swarajya can never be attained except by the waging of a bloody and relentless war against the Foreigner, solemnly and sincerely swear that I shall from this moment do everything in my power to fight for Independence and place the Lotus Crown of Swaraj on the head of my Mother; And with this object, I join the Abhinav Bharat, the Revolutionary Society of all Hindustan, and swear that I shall ever be true and faithful to this, my solemn Oath, and that I shall obey the orders of this organization (body); If I betray the whole or any part of this solemn Oath, or if I betray this organization (body) or any other working with a similar object, May I be doomed to the fate of a perjurer!"

"(Victory to you, Oh! Ever Auspicious, munificent and holy Mother! Oh! Glorious Goddess of Freedom! I seek your blessings for success. You are the embodiment of our national spirit, morality and accomplishments You are the Queen of Righteousness, Oh! Goddess of Freedom! In these dark skies of enslavement, you are the bright beacon and star of hope. The flowery cheeks of people and the fields of blossoms, You are that blush of confidence, Oh! Goddess of Freedom! You are the radiance of the Sun, the solemnity of the oceans! Oh! Goddess of Freedom! But for you, the sun of freedom is eclipsed. Oh! Goddess of Freedom! You are the face of eternal happiness and liberation, This is why sages hail you as the supreme consciousness, in our scriptures. Oh! Goddess of Freedom! All that is ideal and lofty, magnificent and sweet! Is associated only with you. Stained with the blood of the evildoers whom you destroy, nurturing the righteous! Life is to die for you! Death is to live without you! The entire creation surrenders unto you, Oh! Goddess of Freedom!)"

"(Oh Shivaji! This land of the Aryans has been repeatedly attacked by the Mlechchha s (non-Indians). Please wake up! This land is calling for your help. Are you unable to hear that pleading tone of this motherland? Is it not piercing your heart?)"

"Till now we Maharashtrians kept saying that Shivaji Utsav is only a historical commemoration and it has no political colour. But the festival that we have organized here in Nashik is both historical and political. Only those people, who have the capability to struggle for the freedom of their country just like Shivaji Maharaj, have the real right to organize and celebrate a festival commemorating his memory. Our main objective must therefore be to strive towards breaking the shackles of colonial rule. If our only aims are finding solace in foreign rule, earning fat salaries, be peaceful negotiators with the government on inconsequential issues such as lowering taxes, diluting some laws here and there, and secure ourselves enough to eat, lead comfortable lives, earn pensions and privileges—then this Utsav is not for you or for Shivaji, but that of the last Peshwa Baji Rao who capitulated to British might! Here we are invoking the god of revolution, Shivaji Maharaj, so that he may inspire and instil that energy in all of us. Depending on circumstances our means might change, but the end is non-negotiable and that end is total and complete freedom for our motherland."

"‘By annihilating the wicked I lightened the great weight on the globe. I delivered the country by establishing Swarajya and by saving religion. I betook myself to shake off the great exhaustion which had come upon me. I was asleep, why then, did you my darlings awaken me?’"

"While it is nice to describe a beautiful rose in full bloom, it would be incomplete without a description of everything—right from its roots, the stem, the manure and nutrients that have sustained it, the fresh and dried leaves as also the thorns, in order to conceptualize the beauty of that rose in all its dimensions. Likewise, for a human being’s biography, he needs to be presented ‘as is’ and not ‘as should be’—from head to toe, nothing more, nothing less, as transparent and true to reality as one can be. Everything that can be said or unsaid, that is embarrassing or praiseworthy has to be documented without inhibitions and fears. ... Still, I hold a promise that I have revealed all that needs to be revealed, with the least of colours and bias from my side."

"The folly of disallowing reconversions to Hinduism is a self-destructive one. How easily Hindus converting to Islam or Christianity merge in their new milieu. Yet the same facility is not available to a non-Hindu who might earnestly wish to return to his or her fold or adopt Hinduism as a matter of faith. This shackle seriously depletes our numbers and makes the Hindu community a ready preying ground for the conversion factories that are always looking at swelling their numbers, many times by stealth or inducements. I have nothing against those who convert to another faith by sheer conviction. But such examples are rare. Why should we not allow the enhancement of our numbers due to some antiquated idea that does not even have any scriptural sanction that we cannot convert to Hinduism?"

"The practice of untouchability is a sin, a blot on humanity, and nothing can justify it. Consider only that untouchable which is injurious to one’s health, not fellow human beings. Unshackling this one foolish fetter would bring crores of our Hindu brethren into the mainstream. They would serve the country in various capacities and defend her honour."

"One of the most important components of such injunctions of the past that we have blindly carried on and which deserves to be thrown in the dustbins of history is the rigid caste system. This system has vivisected our Hindu society into so many micro-fragments, forever at war with one another. From temples, streets, houses, jobs, village councils, to institutions of law and legislature, it has only injected a spectre of eternal conflict between two Hindus; weakened our unity and resolve to stand united against any external threats. It is one of the biggest impediments in the conception of a Hindu Rashtra."

"Let it be known that our country can never be liberated until and unless England is involved in a world war and it's military power is shaken."

"The world was peopled by robber nations, and there was nothing to choose between one robber and another, except when India stood to gain by such choice. In such a world it was foolish to talk of moral force and force of world public opinion."

"When no food is given to the ear, Then let a little be given to the stomach."

"The ignorant are like useless, brackish soil; They exist and that is all."

"Even the ignorant may appear very worthy, If they keep silent before the learned."

"The learned are said to have seeing eyes; The unlearned have only two sores on their faces."

"Whatever things a man gives up, By those he cannot suffer pain."

"Those who give way to great anger are like the dead: Those who are free from anger are free from death."

"Just as the hand that strikes the ground cannot fail, So is the ruin certain of him who cherishes anger."

"Anger kills both laughter and joy; What greater foe is there than anger?"

"Not every light is a true light; To the wise the light of truth is light itself."

"How can kindliness rule that man Who eateth other flesh to increase his own?"

"When you are about to badger the weak, Then imagine yourself before a more powerful man."

"Real kindness seeks no return; What return can the world make to rain clouds?"

"To turn away a guest is poorest poverty; To bear with fools is mightiest might."

"The wound that’s made by fire will heal, But the wound that’s made by tongue will never heal."

"To use bitter words, when kind words are at hand, Is like picking unripe fruit when the ripe fruit is there."

"The gruel that children’s little hands have stirred Is sweeter than nectar."

"The worth of a wife is a man’s good fortune; His jewels are his good children."

"There is no greater wealth than Virtue, And no greater loss than to forget it."

"All life will press palms together in prayerful adoration"

"How can he practice true compassion"

"If men must beg to live, May the Creator also go wandering and perish."

"Reasoning with a drunkard is like Going under water with a torch to seek for a drowning man."

"To get wealth and security by guile Is like one who pours water into a pot of unbaked clay."

"They who in trouble untroubled are Will trouble trouble itself."

"The lotus’ stem is as long as the depth of water, So men’s height is just as great as their inner strength."

"The crow does not hide its prey, but calls for others to share it; So wealth will be with those of a like disposition."

"As the quality of water changes with the nature of the soil; So will a man’s reason vary with the quality of his friends."

"Kriya Yoga, the scientific technique of God-realization, will ultimately spread in all lands, and aid in harmonizing the nations through man's personal, transcendental perception of the Infinite Father."

"If anyone observed the unpretentious master and myself as we walked away from the crowded pavement, the onlooker surely suspected us of intoxication. I felt that the falling shades of evening were sympathetically drunk with God. When darkness recovered from its nightly swoon, I faced the new morning bereft of my ecstatic mood, but ever enshrined in memory is the seraphic son of Divine Mother—Master Mahasaya!"

"I remained alone with the yogi until his disciples arrived in the evening. Bhaduri Mahasaya entered one of his inimitable discourses. Like a peaceful flood, he swept away the mental debris of his listeners, floating them Godward."

"In wrath I strike, and set the dark ablaze With the immortal spark of thought, By friction-process brought Of concentration And distraction. The darkness burns With a million tongues; And now I spy All past, all distant things, as nigh."

"Nor doomsday’s thunderous roar, Dismantling earth and stars — The cosmic beauties all to mar — Not Nature’s murderous mutiny, Nor man’s exploding destiny Can touch me here."

"Away, the partial love That ‘boldens Nature to sit above Her Maker!"

"Love is the Heaven Toward which the flowers, rivers, nations, atoms, creatures — you and I Are rushing by the straight path of action right, Or winding laboriously on error’s path, All to reach haven there at last."

"It is the call of the beauty — robed ones To worship the great Beauty. It is the call of God Through silent intelligences And starburst of feelings."

"To gaze with looks of wonderment, And to serve all that lives, still or moving. This is to know what love is. He knows who lives it."

"Love is the song of the soul, singing to God."

"Grosser light vanishes into eternal rays Of all-pervading Cosmic Joy. From Joy we come, For Joy we live, In the sacred Joy we melt."

"I, the ocean of mind, drink all creation’s waves. The four veils of solid, liquid, vapor, light, Lift aright. Myself, in everything, Enters the Great Myself. Gone forever, The fitful, flickering shadows of a mortal memory. Spotless is my mental sky, Below, ahead, and high above. Eternity and I, one united ray. I, a tiny bubble of laughter, Have become the Sea of Mirth Itself."