किसको दोष लगाएं

                          दो बूँदें सावन की  

इक सागर की सीप में टपके और मोती बन जाये
दूजी गंदे जल में गिरकर अपना आप गंवाये
             किसको मुजरिम समझे कोई, किसको दोष लगाए

                       दो कलियां गुलशन की
इक सेहरे के बीच गुँधे और मन ही मन इतराये

इक अर्थी की भेंट चढ़े और धूलि में  मिल जाये
           किसको मुजरिम समझे कोई, किसको दोष लगाए

                        दो सखियाँ बचपन की
एक सिंहासन पर बैठे और रूपमती कहलाये
दूजी अपने रूप के कारण गलियों मे बिक जाये
         किसको मुजरिम समझे कोई किसको दोष लगाए
                              

                    " साहिर लुध्यानवी "               
                      

Kis Ko Dosh Lagaayen - Whose Fault Is It ?

                      Do Boondein Saawan ki

Ik saagar ki seep me tapkay aur moti ban jaaye
Duji ganday jal me gir kar apnaa aap gavaaye
                 Kisko mujrim samjay Koi kis ko dosh lagaaye

                      Do Kaliyaan Gulshan ki
Ik sehray kay beech gundhay aur man hee man itraaye
Ik arthi ki bhaint chadhay aur dhooli mein mil jaaye

                 Kisko mujrim samjay Koi kis ko dosh lagaaye

                     Do Sakhiyaan Bachpan ki

Ek sihaasan par baithay aur Roomati kahlaaye
Duji apnay roop kay kaaran Galiyon me bik jaaye

                 Kisko mujrim samjay Koi kis ko dosh lagaaye

                                     " Sahir Ludhiaanvi "

Statue and the Flower

Once, a flower, which was offered to an idol on the altar in a temple angrily said to the priest:
" I do not like that you offer me as a sacrifice, while you worship this stone idol every day. You should worship me instead - because I am beautiful, tender and fragrant. The one you worship is only a lifeless stone.
 The priest laughed and replied... 
"O flower, you are indeed soft, beautiful and fragrant, but don't forget that God - the nature has made you this way. These qualities were bestowed upon you and you did not have to do any effort for them. However, getting a Divine status is a very difficult task.
You see -This statue was constructed with great difficulty. A hard stone must endure thousands of blows and strikes from chisels and hammers to become an idol - an image of God. If it breaks down due to the blows and assaults, it would never become an icon of God. Once the hard stone is turned into a statue, and it's established in the temple, only then it becomes an object of worship. 
It's the tolerance of the stone that has made it auspicious and venerable in the form of God". 

Hearing this, the flower smiled. 
It understood that the only one who goes through a hard and long process of refinement and purification, and successfully passes the test of patience and tolerance - attains Divinity.

पुष्प और पत्थर

एक मंदिर में स्थापित प्रस्तर प्रतिमा पर चढ़ाए गए पुष्प ने क्रोधित होकर पुजारी से कहा:
"तुम प्रतिदिन इस प्रस्तर प्रतिमा पर मुझे चढ़ाकर इस​ पत्थर ​की पूजा करते हो। यह मुझे कतई पसंद नहीं है। 
पूजा तो मेरी होनी चाहिये क्योंकि मैं सुंदर, कोमल और ​सुवासित​-​​सुगन्धित ​हूँ। यह तो मात्र एक पत्थर की​ निर्जीव ​मूर्ति है।
मंदिर के पुजारी ने हँसते हुए कहा​ .... ​
हे पुष्प, तुम कोमल, सुंदर​ तथा ​सुवासित अवश्य हो पर तुम्हें ईश्वर अथवा प्रकृति ने ​ही ​ऐसा बनाया है। ये गुण तुम्हें ​सहजता से प्राप्त हुए हैं। इनके लिये तुम्हें कोई श्रम नहीं करना पड़ा है। पर देवत्व प्राप्त करना बड़ा कठिन काम है। इस देव प्रतिमा का निर्माण बड़ी कठिनाई से किया जाता है। एक कठोर पत्थर को देव प्रतिमा बनने के लिये हजारों चोटें सहनी पड़ती है। चोट लगते ही अगर यह टूट कर बिखर जाता तो यह कभी देव प्रतिमा नहीं बन सकता था। एक बार कठोर पत्थर देव प्रतिमा में ढल जाए तो लोग उसे बड़े आदर भाव से मंदिर में स्थापित करके प्रतिदिन उसकी पूजा अर्चना करते हैं। इस प्रस्तर​ (पत्थर)​ की सहनशीलता ने ही इसे देव प्रतिमा के रूप में पूजनीय तथा वंदनीय बनाया है।
यह सुनकर पुष्प मुस्कुरा दिया। 
वह समझ गया कि शुद्धिकरण की प्रक्रिया, एवं सहनशीलता की कठिन परीक्षा को सफलता पूर्वक पार करनेवाला ही देवत्व प्राप्त करता है।

Don’t just go through it

Don’t let the same things continue to hold you back. 
If you’re going to become what you want to be, then you’ve got to be willing to change.
We all have unfair situations and things we don’t like. 
You can get bitter, discouraged and sour - or you can see it as fertilizer and say:
"This problem is not going to defeat me - it’s going to promote me" 
"It’s not going to hinder me - it’s going to help me."
                     Don’t just go through it, GROW through it.!!

देता रहेगा ये अंधेरों को रौशनी Detaa Rahegaa ye Andheron ko Raushani

दिल से दे दुआ तो भिखारी अमीर है
मोती न दे सके तो समंदर फ़क़ीर है 
देता रहेगा ये अंधेरों को रौशनी
जब तक तेरे वजूद में रौशन ज़मीर है

Dil say day duaa to bhikhaari ameer hai 
Moti na day sakay to samandar faqeer hai 
Detaa rahegaa ye andheron ko Raushani 
Jab tak teray vajood me raushan zameer hai

दर्पण की शिक्षा

पुराने जमाने की बात है। एक गुरुकुल के आचार्य अपने शिष्य की सेवा भावना से बहुत प्रभावित हुए। विद्या पूरी होने के बाद शिष्य को विदा करते समय उन्होंने आशीर्वाद के रूप में उसे एक ऐसा दिव्य, चमत्कारिक दर्पण भेंट किया, जिसमें व्यक्ति के मन के आन्तरिक भावों को दर्शाने की क्षमता थी। शिष्य उस दिव्य दर्पण को पाकर प्रसन्न हो उठा। उसने परीक्षा लेने की जल्दबाजी में दर्पण का मुंह सबसे पहले गुरुजी से छुपा कर उन्हीं के सामने कर दिया। वह यह देखकर आश्चर्यचकित हो गया कि गुरुजी के हृदय में मोह, अहंकार, क्रोध आदि कई दुर्गुण परिलक्षित हो रहे थे। इससे उसे बड़ा दुख हुआ। वह तो अपने गुरुजी को समस्त दुर्गुणों से रहित सत्पुरुष समझता था।
दर्पण लेकर वह गुरुकुल  से रवाना हो गया। उसने अपने कई मित्रों तथा अन्य परिचितों के सामने दर्पण रखकर परीक्षा ली। सब के हृदय में कोई न कोई दुर्गुण अवश्य दिखाई दिया। और तो और अपने माता व पिता की भी वह दर्पण से परीक्षा करने से नहीं चूका। उनके हृदय में भी कोई न कोई दुर्गुण देखा, तो वह हतप्रभ हो उठा। 
एक दिन वह दर्पण लेकर फिर वापिस गुरुकुल पहुंचा। उसने गुरुजी से विनम्रतापूर्वक कहा, ‘गुरुदेव, मैंने आपके दिए दर्पण की मदद से देखा कि सबके दिलों में नाना प्रकार के दोष हैं।’ 
तब गुरु जी ने दर्पण का रुख शिष्य की ओर कर दिया।
शिष्य दंग रह गया। क्योंकि उसके मन के प्रत्येक कोने में राग, द्वेष, अहंकार, क्रोध जैसे असंख्य दुर्गुण अत्यंत भारी मात्रा में विद्यमान थे। गुरुजी बोले, ‘वत्स ! यह दर्पण मैंने तुम्हें अपने दुर्गुण देखकर अपने ही जीवन में सुधार लाने के लिए दिया था - दूसरों के दुर्गुण देखने के लिए नहीं। जितना समय तुमने दूसरों के दुर्गुण देखने में लगाया उतना समय यदि तुमने स्वयं को सुधारने में लगाया होता तो अब तक तुम्हारा अपना व्यक्तित्व बदल चुका होता। मनुष्य की सबसे बड़ी कमजोरी यही है कि वह दूसरों के दुर्गुण जानने में ज्यादा रुचि रखता है। वह स्वयं को सुधारने के बारे में नहीं सोचता। इस दर्पण की यही शिक्षा थी जो तुम नहीं समझ सके।’

Teachings of the Mirror

In ancient times, The Guru of a Gurukulam was very impressed with the talent and services of one disciple. 
One day, in form of his blessings, the Guru presented him with a divine miraculous mirror which had the ability to show the inner nature and character of a person. The disciple was excited to receive this divine mirror, and in a hurry to test it, he secretly turned the mirror towards the Guru - without his knowledge. 
He held the highest regards for his Guru and used to think that he was a highly virtuous man, but was shocked and saddened to see that many evils were being reflected in the heart of his Guru – attachment, ego, anger etc. 
Confused and saddened, the disciple left the Gurukul with the mirror and over time, tested many of his friends and other acquaintances by placing the mirror in front of them and saw vices in hearts of everyone. He did not even hesitate to test his parents with the mirror. He was dumbfounded to find faults even in their hearts. 
One day he came back to the Gurukul with the mirror and said to his Guru politely:
'Gurudev, with the help of the mirror given by you, I have seen that there are various kinds of vices in the hearts of all - no one was pure.'
Without saying a word, the Guru turned the mirror towards the disciple. 
The disciple got stunned - because innumerable vices like anger, hatred, arrogance, and anger were present in very large quantities in every corner of his mind. 
The Guru said, “Son! I had given you this mirror to see your own faults and improve your own life - not to see others' evils. All the time you spent looking at faults of others, if you had used it to improve yourself, then your own attitude would have changed by now. The biggest weakness of man is that he is more interested in knowing the faults of others but he never thinks about improving himself. 
This was the real message of this mirror that you failed to comprehend". 

                               ' Translated from Hindi by Andy Sapra '

Qualities of God and Purpose of Life

                                           Qualities of God

In the Hindu philosophy, there are three major characteristics attributed to Brahm (God):- 
Namely: Sat, Chit, and Aanand. 
By putting these three Sanskrit words together, God is known as Sachidaanand Bhagvaan. 

1. SAT - means Eternal Truth. 
         Truth, that never changes or vanishes - That which always was and always will be. 
        Guru Nanak also preached the same concept by saying:
       "Aadi Such, Jugaadi Such, Hai bhi Such, Nanak hosi bhi Such"

2. CHIT - Means Consciousness or Knowledge. 
          That, which knows all and is the master of all the knowledge.

3.  AANAND - Means Happiness or Bliss. 
          The bliss that is undisturbed - never changing. 

Obviously, these qualities cannot be attributed to any physical existence - any living being or a non-living object. 
Therefore, All major Indian philosophies such as Hinduism, Sikhism, and Nirankaris etc. describe God as Niraakar (Formless).   

                                        Purpose/ Objectives of Life

There are three basic fundamental aims or objectives that more or less every living creature wants to achieve. However, these desires or objectives are most prominent in the life of human beings. The three objectives of our life are the same as above: Sat, Chit and Aanand 
1. Sat:             Survival - Desire to live
2. Chit: To gain knowledge
3. Aanand: To achieve happiness

                                          1. Survival – No one wants to die
 To survive is the first and foremost yearning, which every creature on the earth has. It’s a natural instinct. All big or small creatures, when faced with a life-threatening situation - either run, hide or fight with their opponents in order to survive. However, humans - possessing the faculty of higher knowledge can apply many more strategies to ensure their survival. From early on, like some other species of animals, humans lived and moved in groups to keep themselves safe from the predators. They learned how to do farming, to make sure there will be enough food for everyone. From making tools for hunting to making weapons of mass destruction of the enemies – from finding medicines to fight diseases to developing surgical skills to improve health etc. - are all part of the ‘survival’. 
Not only to prolong life but to find immortality has been a major desire of human beings since the dawn of civilization.
Finding or discovering the ways to achieve ‘immortality’ is the first and foremost common goal of both; science and the religion or spiritual philosophies. Whereas Science looks for the ways to achieve physical immortality – Religion and Spirituality are concerned about the immortality of the Soul.
But nevertheless – 'Immortality' is the primary goal.

                                     2.  To Gain Knowledge
Humans are curious by nature. As soon as their motor skills improve, newly born babies start exploring and curiously observing everything around them – by rapidly moving their eyes or continually turning their necks to all sides - or by staring at a certain object for long. Since everything they see around is new to them – every sound, smell and touch is also something new to them - they try to grasp and understand as much as they can according to their limited capabilities at that age. The only experience they have so far – right from the time of birth - is of Taste through the mouth. Therefore, they put everything they can get hold of into their mouth – in order to know and experience it with the only way they have known so far. 
As soon as they start speaking, toddlers have never-ending questions to satisfy their curiosity. They constantly keep asking the parents or older siblings about everything they see. “What is this, what is that, what is that?" 
"What, Why and How" … seem to be their most favorite dialogues at that age. Almost all parents face this kind of frustrating situations when the children keep asking the same question over and over– sometimes even to the point of their annoyance. But nevertheless, children will keep on asking until they understand it completely, or at least - partially. 
Later, the level of man’s curiosity expands to much wider surroundings. All fields of education, scientific or spiritual - from simple inquiries to the deeper meaning of life - are the extensions of this basic desire - the desire to know more. All technologies and scientific discoveries – from simple things to exploration of the universe are the results of this basic human nature – ‘To gain more knowledge’.

                                    3. To achieve happiness

The third basic thing everyone wants - is to find happiness. We try to get more education, achieve more skills and work harder to be able to make more money to ensure security and happiness in the future – discover new technologies and invent new gadgets in order to live more comfortably and happily. Traveling, tourism, sports and all kinds of entertainments and modes of pleasure are for the sake of happiness. If possible, we even want to consume our food - though it’s a basic requirement for survival - in different forms and varieties to derive more pleasure out of it. 
In other words, everything we do after ensuring our survival is to gain knowledge and to achieve happiness. 

Now, as we can see, these three objectives mentioned above are exactly the same as the three major qualities of the Almighty God; the source of all life. In other words - the purpose or objective of our life - directly or indirectly - is to achieve the qualities of God and ultimately become like God or to merge into God.
                                      'Rajan Sachdeva'

Be Humble - But Not Weak

Be Strong     -      But not Rude 
Be Firm        -      But not Discourteous 

Be Kind        -      But not Wily 
Be Bold         -     But not Bully
Be Proud      -     But not Arrogant
Be Humble   -    But not Weak
Be Wise         -    But not Big-headed
Be Virtuous  -    But not Self-centered
Be a Believer -   But not Blind 
Be a Gyani    -   But not Egotistic