Many Happy Returns
By Swami Vivekananda, Written on September 22, 1900, to Alberta Sturges for her twenty-third birthday. It was sent to her to Paris from Perros-Guirec in Brittany. The Poem “A Benediction” was also presented to Sister Nivedita on the same date. It is also significant that the first few lines of both the poems are identical. After presenting the poem to Alberta, Swamiji wrote below: “This little poem is for your birthday. It is not good, but it has all my love. I am sure, therefore, you will like it.” The poem is reproduced from CW 7:526.
The mother's heart, the hero's will,
The softest flower's sweetest feel;
The charm and force that ever sway
The altar fire's flaming play;
The strength that leads, in love obeys;
Far-reaching dreams, and patient ways,
Eternal faith in Self, in all
The sight Divine in great in small;
All these, and more than I could see
Today may "Mother" grant to thee.
Thursday, September 07, 2006
Ode to the Automan Empire
discovered this when deleting old backups, and put quick gauge. Don't even remember ever writing this . . .
All these blokes who drive an Auto
seem to be completely blotto.
They never drive you anywhere
without demanding excess fare.
And worst of all, they sometimes will
talk politics to you until
you find their views so unappealing
they give you a queasy feeling.
Wouldn’t life be so much better
if someone put them through a shredder?
Then they’d all be good and dead
and we could take the bus instead.
discovered this when deleting old backups, and put quick gauge. Don't even remember ever writing this . . .
All these blokes who drive an Auto
seem to be completely blotto.
They never drive you anywhere
without demanding excess fare.
And worst of all, they sometimes will
talk politics to you until
you find their views so unappealing
they give you a queasy feeling.
Wouldn’t life be so much better
if someone put them through a shredder?
Then they’d all be good and dead
and we could take the bus instead.
To My Own Soul
Written by Swami Vivekananda, Composed @ Ridgely Manor in upstate New York in November 1899 and it is reproduced from CW 8:170.
Hold yet a while, Strong Heart,
Not part a lifelong yoke
Though blighted looks the present, future gloom.
And age it seems since you and I began our
March up hill or down. Sailing smooth o'er
Seas that are so rare--
Thou nearer unto me, than oft-times I myself--
Proclaiming mental moves before they were!
Reflector true--Thy pulse so timed to mine,
Thou perfect note of thoughts, however fine--
Shall we now part, Recorder, say?
In thee is friendship, faith,
For thou didst warn when evil thoughts were brewing--
And though, alas, thy warning thrown away,
Went on the same as ever--good and true.
Written by Swami Vivekananda, Composed @ Ridgely Manor in upstate New York in November 1899 and it is reproduced from CW 8:170.
Hold yet a while, Strong Heart,
Not part a lifelong yoke
Though blighted looks the present, future gloom.
And age it seems since you and I began our
March up hill or down. Sailing smooth o'er
Seas that are so rare--
Thou nearer unto me, than oft-times I myself--
Proclaiming mental moves before they were!
Reflector true--Thy pulse so timed to mine,
Thou perfect note of thoughts, however fine--
Shall we now part, Recorder, say?
In thee is friendship, faith,
For thou didst warn when evil thoughts were brewing--
And though, alas, thy warning thrown away,
Went on the same as ever--good and true.
Dei Ambi, ketayo?
A rascal was recently heard plotting annihilation of the dreaded tam-bram cult and stop forever curd-rice warfare in social, economic and virtual circles. As he sat with his cronies (software engineers from Bristol, New Jersey, Toronto and Tidel Park) one night-shift, he revealed his plan.
"We are to hijack The Hindu paperboy in Mylapore tomorrow morning. The Hindu must not reach Iyer and Iyengar hands! If that doesn't ensure heart attacks to every single mama on Kutcheri street, at least it'll ensure constipation."
Thanks, Meera, for this. A fantastic sociological finding:
A survey has revealed that 'Ambi Mama' is the leading relative among Tamil Brahmin families worldwide, with six in ten families having one of their own (a 60% repsesentation. Apparently, Ambi Mama held off stiff competition from Mani Mama (with 55% representation) and Baby Chitti (39%) for a well-deserved win.
"It's a great day for all Ambi Mamas. All the years of hard work-- drinking coffee, criticizing the Indian team selection and complaining about blood-pressure-- have finally paid off. Yay!", said Ambi Mama, a spokesman for the Ambi Mamas Association of Dear Old Rascals (AMBASSADOR), a division of the Hardcore Brahmin Organisation (HBO).
Yes, Vaidhi periappa did say, "Naangal ippo llaam broad-minded aakum." (These days we are all broad-minded). But...
Not all are happy with progress, however. "These youngsters are ruining everything by naming their children Archish, Dhruv and Plaha.", thundered Badri Athimber. "Can you imagine how it will sound? Dhruv Mama, Anamika Athai, Archish Chittappa-- Ugh! Phooey! That is so not cool!!", he growled, using expressions of disgust picked up from his states-based co-brother. When asked for their response, several Brahmins living in Adyar merely arched their eyebrows, pursed their lips, and continued waiting for the December music season.
Update: Further research of the same. I think it's the vibhoothi overdose that's at fault.
A rascal was recently heard plotting annihilation of the dreaded tam-bram cult and stop forever curd-rice warfare in social, economic and virtual circles. As he sat with his cronies (software engineers from Bristol, New Jersey, Toronto and Tidel Park) one night-shift, he revealed his plan.
"We are to hijack The Hindu paperboy in Mylapore tomorrow morning. The Hindu must not reach Iyer and Iyengar hands! If that doesn't ensure heart attacks to every single mama on Kutcheri street, at least it'll ensure constipation."
Thanks, Meera, for this. A fantastic sociological finding:
A survey has revealed that 'Ambi Mama' is the leading relative among Tamil Brahmin families worldwide, with six in ten families having one of their own (a 60% repsesentation. Apparently, Ambi Mama held off stiff competition from Mani Mama (with 55% representation) and Baby Chitti (39%) for a well-deserved win.
"It's a great day for all Ambi Mamas. All the years of hard work-- drinking coffee, criticizing the Indian team selection and complaining about blood-pressure-- have finally paid off. Yay!", said Ambi Mama, a spokesman for the Ambi Mamas Association of Dear Old Rascals (AMBASSADOR), a division of the Hardcore Brahmin Organisation (HBO).
Yes, Vaidhi periappa did say, "Naangal ippo llaam broad-minded aakum." (These days we are all broad-minded). But...
Not all are happy with progress, however. "These youngsters are ruining everything by naming their children Archish, Dhruv and Plaha.", thundered Badri Athimber. "Can you imagine how it will sound? Dhruv Mama, Anamika Athai, Archish Chittappa-- Ugh! Phooey! That is so not cool!!", he growled, using expressions of disgust picked up from his states-based co-brother. When asked for their response, several Brahmins living in Adyar merely arched their eyebrows, pursed their lips, and continued waiting for the December music season.
Update: Further research of the same. I think it's the vibhoothi overdose that's at fault.
Secret to Success
A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water.
The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air.
Socrates asked, 'What did you want the most when you were there?" The boy replied, "Air." Socrates said, "That is the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it." There is no other secret.
A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results.
A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning. They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water.
The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue. Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air.
Socrates asked, 'What did you want the most when you were there?" The boy replied, "Air." Socrates said, "That is the secret to success. When you want success as badly as you wanted the air, then you will get it." There is no other secret.
A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results.
Lets reach & Teach a child......Remember the magic of your first book? Perhaps you were nestled in the arms of a parent, or sharing a giggle with a friend. Whatever your first memory of a book, books are a powerful tool; they stir the senses, inspire the imagination and spark a love of reading that can last a lifetime.
But what of children who have no books?
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