Poets From India

"Paradheen sapanehun such naheen."

"Faith is that which dispels desire, Devotion is that which generates knowledge. And Vedas say that knowledge is that which fashions freedom."

"[I] begged for crumbs and morsels door to door...Plodding and dawdling around lanes."

"Mine is no caste or cult, what care I for one or the other... No one is of any use to me, nor am I of any use to anyone. Don’t have a son to need, someone’s daughter to wed. Tulsi is the slave of Rama, whoever may say whatever he likes. Begged for food, slept in a mosque, have nothing to take and nothing to give, call me a swindler or a saint, call me a Rajput or a Julaha."

"What did I not do, where did I not go, to whom did I not bow."

"Am a servant of Rama, Accredited to His Court, What for should I Be a Courier of man?"

"Mother and father abandoned me at birth and the author of my life also did not write any worth or merit on the page of destiny."

"The story of Ramachandra, as narrated in the Valmiki Ramayan and the Adhyatma Ramayan, after reinforcing and revitalizing it with the essence of whatever the Puranas, the Vedas, and other scriptures could give, I, Tulsidas, am writing for the delight of my own soul."

"In dependence, there is no happiness, even in a dream."

"The world knows that to quell the belly-fire, I ate crumbs and morsels given by men of caste, high-caste, low-caste or no cast."

"For your sake, I gave up all pleasures, Now why are you making me long for you? You create the pang of separation inside the bosom So that you can come and quench it? O! Lord! Now I will not leave you Smilingly, call me soon! Meera is your servant in birth after birth Unite me with you in every limb."

"Faith in the Creator, who is mainly in his Godness and Godly in his man-ness, is like a human-self and can take him along."

"Love is something absolutely unselfish, that which has no thought beyond the glorification and adoration of the object upon which our affections are bestowed. It is a quality which bows down and worships and asks nothing in return. Merely to love is the sole request that true love has to ask. It is said of a Hindu saint (Mirabai) that when she was married, she said to her husband, the king, that she was already married. To whom?" asked the king. To God," was the reply."

"There is nothing highly wrought bout Mira's style, and no erotic element in her poetry whatsoever. But with her they are instruments used to express a deep and personally felt emotion. She may use the marriage-bed as a symbol of mystical union with God in the manner of Saint -- poets, or as a symbol of the devotee's readiness to give the Lord all that is in his power. But in Mira's poetry there is no tendency to luxuriate in devotional feelings tinged with eroticism."

"Mira sang of her love for Krishna with such simplicity and directness that in her songs millions have found a voice and echo of their own God-yearning."

"I have felt the swaying of the elephant's shoulders; and now you want me to climb on a jackass? Try to be serious."

"Her [Mira;s] childlike simplicity, deep devotion to God, intense spiritual yearning and soulful poetry make the God-intoxicated songs of Meera a national heritage of India, which have transcended regional, lingual, and time barriers and are sung all over India."

"Mira's Bhajans! How can they be not beautiful? I am very familiar with many bhajans of Mirabai. In my Sabarmati Ashram these bhajans are sung repeatedly and with love and devotion to Her. Such rare joy is experienced from her bhajans."

"O my companion, worldly comfort is illusion, As soon you get it, it goes. I have chosen the indestructible for my refuge, Him whom the snake of death will not devour. My beloved dwells in my heart all day, I have actually seen that abode of joy. Meera's lord is Hari, the indestructible. My lord, I have taken refuge with you, your maidservant."

"My lover's gone off to some foreign country, sopping wet at our doorway I watch the clouds rupture. Mira says, nothing can harm him. This passion has yet to be slaked."

"That dark dweller in Btaj Is my only refuge. O, my companion, Worldly comfort is an illusion, As soon as you get it, it goes I have chosen the Indestructible for my refuge Whom the snake of death Will not devour. My Beloved dwells in my heart, I have actually seen that Abode of Joy. Mir’s Lord is Hari, the Indestructible My Lord, I have taken refuge with Thee Thy slave."

"The saint Mirabai is the most famous of the women saints of India and can be ranked among the foremost of the mystics of the world."

"Mother, I have bargained and bought Govinda! Let some say:Cheap!Let some say:Costly! I have weighed in the balance. Let some say:He is in the house, some say!In the woods! Sporting in the company of Radha! When Meera’s Lord Giridhar Krishna comes, love."

"I want you to have this, all the beauty in my eyes, and the grace of my mouth, all the splendor of my strength, all the wonder of the musk parts of my body, for are we not talking about real love, real love?”"

"Don't forget love; it will bring all the madness you need to unfurl yourself across the universe."

"One night as I walked in the desert the mountains rode on my shoulders and the sky became my heart, and the earth - my own body, I explored. Every object began to wink at me, and Mira wisely calculated thinking, My charms must be at their height now would be a good time to rush into his arms, maybe He won't drop me so quick."

"The Great Dancer is my husband," Mira says, "rain washes off all the other colors.”"

"We must endeavour to bring about a correlationship and complementarity between the spiritual and secular. Let there be whatever changes in our style of living or in the conditions of society. The recognition of the soul and conscience, the acknowledgement of the supremacy of Divine, faith and devotion to Dharma, and the limitation of selfishness and greed - if these four are kept alive, we can boldly assert that the teaching of the Gita will remain alive."

"The work of samskriti or culture is the work of scrubbing, washing and cleansing the mind...the road of culture is one without a trace of stubbornness or crudeness; instead it is the road of humility and respect, for what is the difference between a life without humility and respect and the life of a dog that lunges for."

"When the mind was disgusted with the ways of the world, when obstructions were feared in the path of duty, when people became excited and lost their reason, when friends lost their spirit and suffered inner disquiet on any account, [Sastry used to recollect these Slokas. Tulya nindastuti] – equal and unmoved by praise or insult - is an injunction which ought to guide our public men..."

"D.V.G.’s exposition of the Bhagavad Gita is unique in the vast literature on the “Song Celestial”. It is the record of talks before an audience seeking guidance in the real concerns of living. It is not a deliberate work of philosophical discussion or dry, intellectual analysis. Even where philosophical problems are taken up, academic interest is subordinated to practical concern. Material for explanation and illustration is taken up from everyday life. It is an easy, informal and clear stream of discourse without the ponderousness of a formal composition."

"It is my intention to represent the world of Shakespeare as far as possible as it really is and not merely to tell the story. It is my effort to retain the names used by him, the atmosphere he created, his descriptions...on the whole. His representation of the world as it is. I believe that this is necessary for the enhancement of Kannada literature and the sensibilities of the Kannada people and for the broadening of their vision of the world. If human civilization and peace are to last, it is of foremost importance that the different races of the earth attain a world vision. In order to achieve this the people of the West should read our epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata sympathetically as we must acquaint ourselves with their poetic tradition."

"Linguistic equivalence and cultural communication are thus complimentary to each other as language is culture generative and culture bound."

"To D.V.G., the problem of problems today is confusion and perplexity about one’s duty to self and society."

"As the author describes it, it is the conversation of a “common man” with other common men. Intricate, distant and sacred questions of Religion, Reality, Dharma and Divinity are not for me. .... such has been my belief from the outset. It was not my good fortune to have had transcendental experiences, concentration on religious austerities, or the philosophical knowledge to qualify me for the exposition of abstruse problems."

"New shoots, old roots make a tree look beautiful New approaches and old principles give us true Dharma Sayings of sages and findings of scientists come together Human life is then truly splendid –Mankuthimma."

"Seeking Brahman in world transactions, Seeking Brahman in all JIva forms, Feeling Brahman in body and sense experiences, This is the secret of salvation – Mankuthimma."

"Be like that grass on the foot of the hill, Or like that jasmine plant behind the house, Be like hard rock when the fate rains difficulties upon you; Be like jaggery & sugar bringing happiness to the poor & needy, Be one among all mingling and mixing –Mankuthimma"

"Once in garden then in friends’ company, Once in music and then in philosophy, Once with family and then in silence, Experience Brahman- Mankuthimma"

"Best of feasts is the essence of the Supreme Brahman, Nothing to beg when you have tasted it. Vanishes the distinction of renouncer, renunciation and renounced. And you become the monarch of the universe - Mankuthimma."

"D.V.G’s exposition of the concept of duty is not just academic and theoretical. It covers the entire range of duties that are woven into the social structure."

"But a nationalist shall not merely have control over these weakness but would cultivate the qualities of politeness and cordiality."

"Power without the fear of enquiry is like pickles without salt that would degenerate into a pit of worms. The fear of enquiry is the body guard of power administration."

"For some people belligerency and divisiveness are inbuilt qualities and if they come to power, unity becomes a far cry. Belligerent and divisive attitude are but natural in power politics."

"Be relaxed, not to bother yourself, let it happen whatever that happens."

"Any journalist worth his salt, should have to study literature to some extent."

"The higher we go, the ups and downs at the lower level would gradually fade. If what we do is to be worth while and if we are to get job satisfaction, we have to study more and work hard. The more we work, the stronger the profession would become and grow."

"Reading biographies of great men would shape the life of the youth."

"The craze for power among elected representatives is the deathtrap of democracy. Once they get in to the positions of power, they become gluttons, like the hungry at the dining table."

"The rights that we upheld can be termed Theoretical Rights. They weren’t directly related to the common citizens’ daily life...what we demanded was democracy; what we’ve got party-cracy. [...] But the questions that some folks had asked me back then continue to remain intact. Mahatma Gandhi himself led this haste. The day after the riots at Vidurashwatha, he sent a telegram to Diwan Mirza [Ismail] thus: “Give the Responsible Government immediately. People have registered their qualification for it.” What’s the import of this? That mob enthusiasm is a proof of qualification, right? [...] Why has what appeared as an attractive political system become so abhorrent in practical experience? To state the truth, we cheated ourselves...back then, we didn’t have an estimate of how wretched human nature will become when confronted with the treasure called power. Our activist zeal concealed basic, natural human weaknesses from us."