The rationalist in me

I had never believed that I was a quintessential rationalist. But I always had a thirst for knowledge, especially knowledge of the unexplained. I remember questioning every religious ritual (from something small like visiting temples to more challenging ones like avoiding non vegetarian food during months of fasting) I was put through. Some other features of our religion (and largely a part of the Indian culture) like the disregard shown to our feet (the prayer one says before one puts his feet on the ground, asking mother earth for forgiveness, for touching her with our feet exemplifying this) have not got an advocate in me. It was this rationalist in me that pondered on this issue – the issue of life after death – or can we say life before birth!

I believe a very simple principle – of good begetting good. I believe that life throws at you what you have thrown at it – both the bad and the good done For a staunch believer of these statements, the question of whether there is life after death (or more precisely life before birth) would give an indubitable answer – YES! I have only one argument as a vindication. Take a newspaper and read the accounts of little children dying or being inflicted with injuries, or of them being exploited, due to various causes and for different reason like war, disease, or simply ill-luck. Had these tiny tots done such grave mistakes in the few years they graced the lives of the people around, that they have been reprimanded thus?

One thought lingers in my mind – in what sense am I a rationalist?

The Breeze

I took up a seat near the window,
hoping to catch some light,
to do some reading.

The open window,
allowed a light breeze in,
which brought something along.

It carried with it,
the fragrance of the wild flowers
on the trees outside.

Distance made the
flowers look modest.
Their beauty and scent
augmenting their smallness.

It wasn’t a very strong scent.
But it succeeded in initiating
a desire in me.

A desire to refashion the whiff to
a continuous feeling.
That was not to be.

It is said that all good things in life
come in tiny packets.
It was true in this case.
If I had my longing satisfied,
maybe I would never have taken
pleasure in the scent
as much as I do today.

A small dose of the good,
with a discontentment -
a want for more,
is the most beautiful feeling,
second to none.

The Yellow Trees

The yellow trees along the street;
charming they were,
forming a delicate arch over the path –
Attracting birds;
Squirrels playing hide and seek
on their branches.
How many had noticed these?

A few birds – elegant, sweet,
but tiny,
perch on the stalk holding the flowers.
A subtle movement of their neck,
and they sip the nectar
from the yellow flowers.
How many had noticed these?

Open up your senses, look around;
in people, in animals, in birds,
and in these yellow trees.
When beauty is all around,
How can people complain of seeing none?
The ‘beholder’ is different,
and so are the people.

The other me

You stand at the shore,
trying to get a glimpse
of what lies on the other side.
It’s all water that you see.

You seem to give up so easily.
Or maybe you never really tried
to sail across the waters
to the real person I call me.

Once on the other side,
you would never feel the impulse
to return to where you stand now.
That’s a guarantee.

Love III

There are people for whom
we are much more than what
we actually are.
These are the people to whom
you normally turn a blind eye.

Life takes us through paths
where we keep yearning for
love from people –
not noticing the ones ready to love,
but lamenting on the ones lost.

Those who have loved us
have never expected anything in return.
But we’ve given them a piece of
our mind very often.
We’ve taken them for granted.

If life takes a bad turn today,
we mustn’t be left with guilt -
guilt of not recognizing true love;
guilt of being after love
when actually love was all around.

The inner you

I have seen you in deep thoughts.
I have wondered to where you travel.
It is the only time I see you without that smile,
reinvigorating the others on whom its grace falls.

You’ve built a fence around these thoughts;
kept them under lock and key.
A very few privileged or maybe none have taken a peek,
at this world so unlike the outer being.

I would like this privilege extended to me.
I do not know how many have asked for this.
I would like to delve into this world of yours.
Whether my guesses have been right, I could then see.

If it is a flowering garden,
let us both be captivated by it.
If there are somber, dark clouds,
maybe I could point out to their silver lining.

This is one thing I ask from you.
Let this world of yours be shared.
Let me love the inner you.

Gamble

I would have preferred the toss of a coin
as a deciding factor of my destiny.
At least here the probabilities equally divided.

I am unable to ease the ruffling of my mind,
trying to foretell my chance in this tale
which I began writing lately.

If the sun decides to shine on me,
it would be the graceful hand that leads me
out of my world that had turned grey.

If the forces decide against me,
I would end up loosing more than what
I would have gained otherwise.
It is a gamble – a risk maybe worth taking.
Would this turn out to be brighter days in the making?

Unsaid

Things still remain unsaid.
Be ready for the unexpected, the unseen.
Unsaid if it remains for good,
would be for my bad.
Look within me, maybe you’ll discover.
But let it remain unsaid.