Here’s to the believers
The trusters and the hopeful ones
For those who keep the hope alive in their hearts
They work to change the world for the better
Practicing their arts & live their passion in purposeful ways.
It is through them values are practiced passed on and sustained.
Power to the practitioners in knowing that there is always more…
To learn unlearn and relearn.
For everything interconnects
Keep the faith
For faith is all there is.
And without it nothing is.
Savvy
A very profound message. Felt like sharing this
Professor : You are a believer in God, aren’t you, son ?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor: So, you believe in GOD ?
Student : Absolutely, sir.
Professor : Is GOD good ?
Student : Sure.
Professor: Is GOD all powerful ?
Student : Yes.
Professor: My brother died of cancer even though he prayed to GOD to heal him. Most of us would attempt to help others who are ill. But GOD didn’t. How is this GOD good then? Hmm?
(Student was silent.)
Professor: You can’t answer, can you ? Let’s start again, young fella. Is GOD good?
Student : Yes.
Professor: Is satan good ?
Student : No.
Professor: Where does satan come from ?
Student : From … GOD …
Professor: That’s right. Tell me son, is there evil in this world?
Student : Yes.
Professor: Evil is everywhere, isn’t it ? And GOD did make everything. Correct?
Student : Yes.
Professor: So who created evil ?
(Student did not answer.)
Professor: Is there sickness? Immorality? Hatred? Ugliness? All these terrible things exist in the world, don’t they?
Student : Yes, sir.
Professor: So, who created them ?
(Student had no answer.)
Professor: Science says you have 5 Senses you use to identify and observe the world around you. Tell me, son, have you ever seen GOD?
Student : No, sir.
Professor: Tell us if you have ever heard your GOD?
Student : No , sir.
Professor: Have you ever felt your GOD, tasted your GOD, smelt your GOD? Have you ever had any sensory perception of GOD for that matter?
Student : No, sir. I’m afraid I haven’t.
Professor: Yet you still believe in Him?
Student : Yes.
Professor : According to Empirical, Testable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says your GOD doesn’t exist. What do you say to that, son?
Student : Nothing. I only have my faith.
Professor: Yes, faith. And that is the problem Science has.
Student : Professor, is there such a thing as heat?
Professor: Yes.
Student : And is there such a thing as cold?
Professor: Yes.
Student : No, sir. There isn’t.
(The lecture theater became very quiet with this turn of events.)
Student : Sir, you can have lots of heat, even more heat, superheat, mega heat, white heat, a little heat or no heat. But we don’t have anything called cold. We can hit 458 degrees below zero which is no heat, but we can’t go any further after that. There is no such thing as cold. Cold is only a word we use to describe the absence of heat. We cannot measure cold. Heat is energy. Cold is not the opposite of heat, sir, just the absence of it.
(There was pin-drop silence in the lecture theater.)
Student : What about darkness, Professor? Is there such a thing as darkness?
Professor: Yes. What is night if there isn’t darkness?
Student : You’re wrong again, sir. Darkness is the absence of something. You can have low light, normal light, bright light, flashing light. But if you have no light constantly, you have nothing and its called darkness, isn’t it? In reality, darkness isn’t. If it is, well you would be able to make darkness darker, wouldn’t you?
Professor: So what is the point you are making, young man ?
Student : Sir, my point is your philosophical premise is flawed.
Professor: Flawed ? Can you explain how?
Student : Sir, you are working on the premise of duality. You argue there is life and then there is death, a good GOD and a bad GOD. You are viewing the concept of GOD as something finite, something we can measure. Sir, Science can’t even explain a thought. It uses electricity and magnetism, but has never seen, much less fully understood either one. To view death as the opposite of life is to be ignorant of the fact that death cannot exist as a substantive thing.
Death is not the opposite of life: just the absence of it. Now tell me, Professor, do you teach your students that they evolved from a monkey?
Professor: If you are referring to the natural evolutionary process, yes, of course, I do.
Student : Have you ever observed evolution with your own eyes, sir?
(The Professor shook his head with a smile, beginning to realize where the argument was going.)
Student : Since no one has ever observed the process of evolution at work and cannot even prove that this process is an on-going endeavor. Are you not teaching your opinion, sir? Are you not a scientist but a preacher?
(The class was in uproar.)
Student : Is there anyone in the class who has ever seen the Professor’s brain?
(The class broke out into laughter. )
Student : Is there anyone here who has ever heard the Professor’s brain, felt it, touched or smelt it? No one appears to have done so. So, according to the established Rules of Empirical, Stable, Demonstrable Protocol, Science says that you have no brain, sir. With all due respect, sir, how do we then trust your lectures, sir?
(The room was silent. The Professor stared at the student, his face unfathomable.)
Professor: I guess you’ll have to take them on faith, son.
Student : That is it sir … Exactly ! The link between man & GOD is FAITH. That is all that keeps things alive and moving.
P.S.
I believe you have enjoyed the conversation.
By the way, that student was EINSTEIN.
When what you say
And what you do
Are congruent
The effect of your words & deeds
Radiates all around you in resonance.
It’s no wonder then that
In a world that seems so dissonant
Words and deeds need to synch.
In harmony of such synchrony
Faith and trust meet belief
And that’s what makes all the difference.
Savvy
The stunning capture of the Cherry blossom Tree on Mount Fuji in Japan
Image credits:
Birds fly higher and higher
As if they are as light as a feather
They take themselves lightly!
Full of faith trust & self belief .
To be able to soar high
Onwards & upwards
Choose to let go of burdens
That create density
In thoughts words & deeds
Unfold the wings of freedom
Unfurl in the lightness of being
There is joy in sensing freedom
Thats who you truly are!
Savvy
Faith speaks from within
When Faith affirms itself
Everything is surrmountable
Every problem finds a solution
Every challenge finds a way
Nurture faith
Savvy
Today’s post is a compilation in collaboration, My reader and good friend for many years now Ashok Subbarao and I share our views in a collaborative way. He suggested if we could do a post together. And sent me his article. And I added my contemplations. So his prose and my poetry interweave in these words ahead.
Are we the cause of all the suffering
We are not only the cause
We are the reason
For the ‘State of Earth’ today.
We have breached all laws of nature
We have plundered and massacred
Not only our own
But innocent voiceless sentient beings.
Our crimes are heinous
Our ways unethical
Morality or humanity
It is completely missing.
The Plundering Humans
The continuous growth of consumerism and the insatiable hunger for more and more utilities and luxuries to fulfill the simple necessities of life have made countries plunder nature’s precious resources. So much so that humans have grown so selfish to uproot green cover of forests and waste life-giving water that nature started showing signs of decay in the form of various natural calamities. This was not an act of revenge but as an intrinsic part, nature to balance and sustain itself.
Yes, life can be lived with simple food, basic needs, and uncluttered living as the rest was provided by nature itself and that too, totally free.
However, man’s greed knows no bounds. With focussed developments in the era of industrialization and in the present age, the technological advancements to boot, man’s demands kept increasing, and these
are what a human being thinks are his basic needs.
Across the world today.
Our acts are turning violent
Our actions correlate
To the price, we all must pay!
We speak without kindness
We act without empathy
We are ruthless and hopeless.
Without integrity and trust.
Tilting natures precious balance
By our callous and self-serving ways.
Our earth has taken a toll
Bearing patiently in witness mode.
The rising temperatures across the world is a result of felling forests for newer colonies, roads, factories, offices, multiplex and what have you; thereby increasing the need for air conditioners which provide relief inside a house, but the amount of energy and power that is sucked out and throwing of heat in the atmosphere is creating more heat.
I would not be surprised when the day is not far when there would be so much heat that the AC compressors too would burst. What will we do then? But humans are so naive and adamant without care.
Man has broken every law of nature
Now nature needs to self-repair
Humankind must change their ways
Seek ways to maintain and sustain the earth.
Centuries of abuse and neglect
Nature has no time to be silent
It’s truly now or never.
Nature must begin to equalize.
Just being human is not enough
We must practice our humanity
Else the wrath of nature
Can no longer be contained
Our ways had got out of hand
Life was getting unbearable
And so beyond control
And way beyond hope.
The only solution is for countries worldwide to totally ban the destruction of forests in the name of development, introduce more public transport so that people stop buying more and more cars which emit gases in the air and encourage people to plant more trees and reverse materialism. This could be a small beginning in restoring balance, for nature will remedy itself.
Today the earth is revolting in its own sweet way and proving to humankind that if they do not amend their ways to sustain, the planet will render us humans as not just powerless, and perhaps the entire existence of humans can be erased. Nature along with is splendor accompanied by other sentient beings will reclaim their space. It is a simple way of nature saying “Hello Mankind I am alive too!.”
In the madness of being modern
The malady of our times
Values and ethics were trashed
Respect and regard were binned.
Stress and tension
Anxiety and panicking
Sleeplessness and fatigue
Plaguing the world over.
Materialism and indulgence
Hitting an all-time high
In greed apathy and indifference.
We took our world for granted.
And vis-à-vis the present pandemic called Covid-19, I cannot but remember the three monkeys as depicted in the picture. See No Evil, Hear No Evil and Speak No Evil a message given by Mahatma Gandhi the apostle of peace.
And it is so ironic that today, we have to cover all the three with a mask. Can we shed the artificial mask that we have been wearing for so long and promise mother earth to behave more sensibly and wisely? Probably we might be pardoned and some semblance of sanity may return to our lives.
Now nature has put humans in cages
Animals and birds roam free
Roads are empty, rivers are cleaner
Pollution has given way to purer air.
While mankind is locked down
Nature is restoring to sustain herself
Truth is its the only way left to survive!
There is perhaps no other way!
Verses by Savvy Raj & Prose by Ashok Subbarao
The virtue of patience is trust
The virtue of trust is faith
The virtue of faith is a belief
The virtue of belief is knowing
The virtue of knowing is awareness
The virtue of awareness is awakening
The virtue of awakening is consciousness
The virtue of consciousness is wisdom
The virtue of wisdom is life
The virtue of life is in being
The virtue of being is in living
The virtue of living is in experiencing
The virtue of experiencing is in sensing
The virtue of sensing is in feeling
The virtue of feeling is in learning
The virtue of learning is in letting go
The virtue of letting go is in giving
The virtue of giving is in sharing
The virtue of sharing is in abundance
The virtue of abundance is in love
Love is unconditional, & all-pervading
Where love is, virtue is
And so is all.
Savvy
Today having reached a tiny milestone of writing and publishing 250 continuous posts I share the joys of the journey in passion, perseverance and most of all in love and patience.
Contemplating on the virtue of patience set me thinking of all the interweaving of virtues. Everything connects and has a reason to be.💙🙏💙
Artwork by Savvy Raj
In the bowing is a prayer answered
In the kneeling to the cosmic connects
Acknowledge the grace that’s revered
And the blessing that protects…
Sense the touch of the angels around
Feel the flow of divinity in the haloed healing light abound…
Embrace the moments in silence and serenity.
Savvy
Our body & mind knows what we need, if only we slow down and take the time to listen in. Moving in conscious connectedness increases mind-body awareness. As a spiritual or healing practice…there is great potential in it to play a vital role in health and well-being. which is a result of moving as one unit; body and mind.
It’s also quite possible to heal ones aches away. A headache, muscle soreness, joint pain often melts away in oblivion by bringing one’s attention and focus on that particular body part and moving mindfully with the awareness of our breath and channelling the energy of the breath.
Likewise, it’s also possible to become aware of actions which aggravate your conditions and back off and instead work on movements which make you feel better.
The same is also true for emotional pain. By bringing one’s attention to what is emotionally hurting and moving slowly through space, allowing the body to lead the way, one often finds emotional pain reduces to a considerable extent. Layers of emotional blockages and disconnects can be peeled away with this awareness about one’s movements in the moments. Centring oneself consciously involves understanding one’s place in space and being comfortable enough where one is and stable enough to be aware of one’s edges and the surroundings.
Healing happens as a consequence of certain specific actions in time. At the same breath a word of cautionary suggestion Taking an example here …, just as it’s very challenging to overcome an unwanted habit but quite easy to succumb to it again. Once you have moved in space and healed yourself off your problems do give a little thought to actions done without reflection as you wouldn’t want to be in the same tight spot which you have wrangled yourself out of with so much effort… right?
So leave a mark of poised, beautiful actions in the monument of time in thoughts words and deeds and you will be consistently feeling twice blessed for sure.
Savvy Raj
Faith is all there is
For without faith nothing is!
Savvy
A few more reflections…
When faith speaks it helps to listen
For faith conveys the depth of knowing
In simplest of ways.
Call it a belief in trust
Call it a feeling in the gut!
Call it a sense of intuition.
All a certain knowing in the sensing!
Savvy Raj
#micropoetry #life&living #inspirational
Flow in faith
Time evolves one and all,come what may
Yesterday’s mountains have become paths today
Love of life will show the way
As you keep building bridges not walls I say!
Explore the Immense Power of Possibilities!
At times we find our road has got rough
Many times we give up when the going gets tough
At such times if we muster the strength to persevere
The very perseverance leads us to new paths
Paths we may have never accessed in the fear of trying.
To try to forge ahead in spite of hopelessness
To try to discover the power of possibilities
To try to seek the connecting dots that may have faded in time
To try to find new pathways in the making
Such is the power of life in the living.
There is always a way
To make it happen
Often enshrouded in
All we need is to see beyond the looking
Envision the potential that rests within
Trust the options we have at hand,
And lo and behold!
There is so much more than what we thought was possible.
Come let us dare to explore the power of the possibilities!
Savvy
Nurturing Hope & Care
Hope is here to stay!’
Nurturing is a life affirming process ….rooted in bettering care and creating hope for a better life. There are many experiments conducted to support how even an exposure to nature like being amidst trees and tranquil places, hearing birdsongs and watching the sky , the sea and the sand can be extremely nurturing for ones health and wellbeing. The healing element associated with nature, is in the nurture it provides to replenish the soul.
The very nature of nurturing is both very inclusive and expansive in the same breath.The scope of positive outcomes of good nurturing is deeply significant to humanity at large . For that is what is truly important to sustain our planet . Every being’s effort in nurturing the world in and around him to thrive.
At the root of Creativity is a nurtured thought process. To nurture is to nourish the being with appropriate care.
Speaking of care giving, it is often a part of nurturing which can be rather challenging to say the least. In case of elders there can be a lot of unexplained resentment the care giver has to deal with for many seniors may take a while to come to terms with the many aspects of growing old.
Patience can have its limits too and with growing intolerance in a world which is more about the sense of self importance, the need to achieve much can stifle any thoughts of pursuing time consuming and almost never ending aspects of nurturing .
It is true the world is getting a little too self centered . However the realization of the impacts of an uncaring and indifferent citizens of the world is also hitting home and that too right from the modern changes of family systems in place.
The concern for global warming and carbon imprints is touching an all time high for the world now is slowly realizing how much it needs to nurture its own living spaces to ensure it has a world left to live at all. And thus thankfully hope is here to stay!
Contd
In a world of kneejerk reactions
And sense gratifications
It is no wonder that most of us are lost
In finding our sense of being.
In fact this very cluelessness
Is what the media manipulates
As we grapple with trust, faith
And a whole lot of values and emotions
That seem to get all juggled around
As per the conveniences of the moment.
We are living in the crosswinds of time
Where we are unable to flow in trust
As the winds of change blow hot and cold.
Life takes on a different meaning
Sometimes in path u cant identify your being.
In such moments of chaos and confusions
Put Your inner compass to test in trust
It will never lead you astray!
Savvy
The highest motivation that can change the way we behave for the better is always intrinsic than external factors. There have been many research studies conducted to find out if we are influenced to perform better consistently through a system of rewards and punishments. Humans, are found to decrease performance in tasks where there is only materialistic gain as a reward,but fare consistently better where there is autonomy & encouragement towards a purpose. A purpose which aligns with their innate sensibilities.
This throws the conventional and traditional approach to getting work done, up for a toss. As it is exactly opposite to the viewpoint that humans can be manipulated to a large extent to achieve better results by the so-called carrot and stick methods .
In choosing to work harder at a task or a job with passion instead of needing to comply to it lets the being feels free enough to go beyond the box . As there is free will within a wider net of required structure the creative potentialities are given a free play and thus the individual moves closer to his authentic self . The joy of self-expression results in a need to share it with others out of sheer happiness .
Highest levels of happiness are in giving a larger meaning to life whether it is in involving oneself in activities helping another, in learning and growing with another , it could be in learning a new art form ,or even simply in dancing socially with a group of people , are all wonderful for your well-being& a healthy life. Even in the simple act of volunteering towards a good deed from the heart, can make one realize the true joys of sharing….and find meaning in one’s own lives .
What is that makes us love ourselves better when we give? Is it the satisfaction in the appreciation of that which we willingly share or is it on the innate need for doing a deed with a larger good in mind. or is it in the happiness of the other that results through the actions. Whatever it may be, just remember we are truly blessed and are our most authentic self in every expansive action that we choose to do!
Savvy Raj 