All that is gold does not glitter

“All that is gold does not glitter,

Not all those who wander are lost;

The old that is strong does not wither,

Deep roots are not reached by the frost.

From the ashes, a fire shall be woken,

A light from the shadows shall spring;

Renewed shall be the blade that was broken,

The crownless again shall be king.”"

                                 - J.R.R. Tolkien -

We usually hear that all that shines is not gold. 

However, it is also true that all that is gold - does not shine either.

The raw gold does not shine until it is polished by an expert.

And those who seem to be wandering around are not necessarily lost.

We are usually too quick to pass judgment on others.

We think that those who are famous - those who are surrounded by crowds of people must be great in their field - may it be art, music, philosophy, or politics. However, it is not always true.

Quite often, I have seen this in the field of Indian classical music. 

There are many - who are not that good but still can pull the crowds and make tons of money. 

On the other hand, some highly accomplished artists are hardly acknowledged or acclaimed - no one even knows about them.

And this is true in every field of life - including social, spiritual, and political.   

We might think that those, who have a huge number of followers - who can draw more attendees to their political rallies or spiritual seminars, must be genuine and great political and spiritual leaders. But that may not be true all the time. 

In fact, those who are genuinely great do not care about their name or fame. 

Those who are strong inside - and true to themselves and their work - do not wither. 

They do not shake or deviate from their path. 

Their deep roots can not be shaken by outside pressure. 

Regardless of the hurdles, they continue their journey without hesitation to achieve their goal. 

They know that even from the ashes, a fire can be lit. 

And even in the darkest night, a ray of light can spring out from nowhere.

The point is that one should never get disheartened and quit. 

As it is said... there is always light at the end of the tunnel. 

One should always hold on to their ideals and principles and continue to strive to achieve their desired goal.

                                  " Rajan Sachdeva "