Indefatigable.......

In the last five years of blogging, today's post is  a huge milestone of sorts . Three quick things before  I share some thoughts . First, a heartfelt Thanks to all those who read my blog , your messages in person , through Facebook/twitter or email , keep me motivated. I will try and  keep this travelogue of life alive , as much as  practically possible . 

Second, This week marks the end of a 21 year  pursuit of some extremely critical  answers . I not only stumbled upon the inseparable part of my soul, just at the place where I left it last , but also realized  that some emotions were literally frozen in time  Sometimes what you want to beat is your alter ego , sometimes who you want to look down upon is the one who you look up-to. 

Third, Yes the Ghazals are difficult to comprehend, i somehow prefer poets who have a knack for deeper philosophical expression.  Going forward,  I will pick a masterpiece  and explain the poet's perspective in English  and compliment the Hindi text with meanings . 

So to begin today's post , revelations of destiny never stop surprising me .  Sometimes the questions that haunt you  for years, decades, day in and day out, have answers right next to you .  Mid of 2015, will mark beginning of yet another key milestone in my life. 

Conviction Matters  : Someone asked me a question a few weeks back, as to what was my single most reliable measure of a human being . I answered in Hindi "Insaan Bada Nahin, Gehra Hona Chahiye". Bada (Big) refers to being successful , having an elite educational background or someone with extremely attractive physical features , Gehra (deep) refers to his/her intellectual depth. The Intellectual depth isn't arrived by reading philosophical books or by forwarding whats-app messages with quotes . I measure the depth of the person by his strength of conviction .  If one has experienced highs and lows , if one has an unbiased non critical view of facts and beliefs and understands human emotions , one starts to become deeper. I see that people who often claim to be intellectually evolved end up tweeting about how Iphone 6 Plus is the best thing for mankind after aspirin. Such  people will  broadcast others peoples thoughts (most of what they have to say will be a re-tweet) or finding solace in Political re-validation. In the noise around you, look for people, who have had a learning  journey , a strong value system and above all a stellar conviction. An anecdote on Conviction often inspires me . In a jungle lived a majestic lion and he was out seeking his daily prey. he chanced upon a young deer , who had got left behind from his herd . The lion decided to give it a  run and make deer the meal for the day . He chased him fast and the deer also ran as fast he could. While running, the deer ran out of ground and reached the banks of a river. Being the rainy season,  the river was overflowing, the deer had a split of  a second to decide if he could jump or pause to be preyed upon by the lion. He jumped and made it safe . The lion halted at river and turned back. As he was turning back, a monkey on the tree laughed at him and said "What happened Lion King, You lost to a young deer" The lion asked the monkey to come down and understand this in-detail . The lion explained , it is not the speed between me and the deer which differed , it is the strength of conviction which differed . He was running for life , I was running for  a meal. He wont get another life but I will survive without a kill . Our battles and our convictions differed . 21 years , I waited with conviction to express my point of view . My conviction was indefatigable . The emotions however just the same, frozen in time. I didn't win anything yet  I lost 21 years. 

How does God Matter ? 

I often read Bhagvad Geeta on a website and the website has a  discussion group as well. An interesting question was asked a few days back . If Shri Krishna was to guide the path the righteousness to Pandavs in Mahabharata, why did he not it before when the Pandavas were gambling. It could have been so much easier . The answer which was given , clarified so many doubts for me . I often used to think, if Righteousness and love have to eventually win, why do they loose in the first place . The answer was simple and spot on. God is  a navigation guide  and not a chauffeur . The path of Karma is your own, whether you seek navigation assistance is totally Up to you . We often discuss why this happened and why that happened and seek reasons, do we reason where we lacked strength and conviction?

Intent Matters : There is a hardly any Punjabi literature or Music collection which doesn't refer to the legendary tragic love stories of Punjab . Heer Ranjha is one of them . I have personally never read love stories as I always found them far from reality . What stands out in all such stories however is the purity of intent . Heer Ranjha is an interesting one. Heer is believed to be an exceptionally beautiful woman, born into a wealthy Jat Family in the Sial tribe in Jhang . Ranjha is a also a Jat from Takht Hazara however given his malang (carefree) nature, he is fooled by his 3 elder brothers. Ranjha lands at Heer's village in search of Job and falls in love with her . Eventually Heer and Ranjha , given their diverse backgrounds, fall in traps of the conspiracies by their respective families and are killed.  I used to often wonder, why do people read such stories, what do they take away? I guess the only key take away is understand the purity of their respective intent and strength of conviction. Like all mythology , such tales are for the purposes of illustration . These stories keep happening . There could be a Heer around you , accepting everything in the name of family . The intent will always be the differentiating factor between an average love tale and an exemplary one .

इश्क इक 'मीर' भारी पत्थर है, ये बोझ कब नातावां से उठता है ........Natava means weak .

Today a Ghazal which has helped me stay sane for these 21 years. 

हज़ारों ख्वाहिशें ऐसी की हर ख्वाहिश पे दम निकले, बहुत निकले मेरे अरमान लेकिन फिर भी कम निकले ।

निकलना खुल्द से आदम का सुनते आये हैं लेकिन, बहुत बेआबरू हो कर तेरे कूचे से हम निकले ।

मुहब्बत में नही है फर्क जीने और मरने का, उसी को देख कर जीते हैं जिस काफिर पे दम निकले ।

ख़ुदा के वास्ते पर्दा ना काबे से उठा ज़ालिम, कहीं ऐसा ना हो यां भी वही काफिर सनम निकले ।

क़हाँ मैखाने का दरवाज़ा 'ग़ालिब' और कहाँ वाइज़, पर इतना जानते हैं कल वो जाता था के हम निकले।