(no subject)
From my Susar/Father in Law:
"
Dear Children,
I found an English poem that I must share with you. There is a profound reason.
I am exteremely thankful to life because it has always been very kind on my family. Sometimes, when your mother complain about life, I try to communicate this feeling.
Your mother is sometimes annoyed with me because, in any given situation, I always think of the worst first. This may be part of my nature which is a mysterious component of mind. But it is also probably becuase, my life was different. I faced many extreme situations from my early life.
It occurs to me that I should share the lessons learned from these experiences with you. I thank Almighty that my children had a relatively good life, up to now. But it also leaves me anxious because, I do not know how you will fare in a great crisis. All experiences are resources, both good and bad. They make us rich internally. So, I learned that one should always be ready for worst in any given situation, and yet hope for the best.
This is particularly important because we are all going through a very good time in our life. Human life is wonderful. But is never a continous bed of roses. It is simply like the geography of the planet to which we belong. There are Oceans and Mountains and Deserts and Forests to cross. If you understand this, you will always remain a survivor. Because, you will never give up in times of crisis. And crisis is a very normal part of life. I thank them; of course, when it is over; because of the experience it provides me.
There is an old American saying " when the going gets tough, the tough gets going".
I used to be a long distance runner. Ask any long distance runner and they will corroborate this: for a new trainee, it is the end when he/she is only halfway through. He/She must give up now or die. But the determined trainee will also fight for one more stride after every succeeding stride. They always get through. I read a poem in my early school days, that made a lasting impression on me. It simply says that 'the our life on Earth is just a battle, and one must fight it out'.
(Bolo na kator shorey, Britha jonmo e shongsharey, E jibon nishar shopon. Dara-putro-poribar, Tumi kaar, ke tomar, Boley jeeb koro na krondon. Shongshar shomorangoney, juddho koro dridho poney, voye vito hoyo na manob;........).
Here is the poem by William Ernest Henley:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell cluch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
my head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Tagore says some of the same things in a different way in his 'Religion of Man'. He says, "Man is a part of creator, and Man is a creator". Implying that Man is the captain of his soul, and master of his fate. Tagore also speaks about our unconquerable soul in a different way when he says," Oh Lord, it is not my prayer that You save me in Danger; But I pray that You give me only the courage to fight the Danger". I think it also shows some of the philosophical differences between east & west in approaching a problem. The intensely individualistic Man in the west will proudly take the fight alone; in the East, the deep social/family bonding of the Man will force him to consult his peers before the fight.
Love,
Abbu."
"
Dear Children,
I found an English poem that I must share with you. There is a profound reason.
I am exteremely thankful to life because it has always been very kind on my family. Sometimes, when your mother complain about life, I try to communicate this feeling.
Your mother is sometimes annoyed with me because, in any given situation, I always think of the worst first. This may be part of my nature which is a mysterious component of mind. But it is also probably becuase, my life was different. I faced many extreme situations from my early life.
It occurs to me that I should share the lessons learned from these experiences with you. I thank Almighty that my children had a relatively good life, up to now. But it also leaves me anxious because, I do not know how you will fare in a great crisis. All experiences are resources, both good and bad. They make us rich internally. So, I learned that one should always be ready for worst in any given situation, and yet hope for the best.
This is particularly important because we are all going through a very good time in our life. Human life is wonderful. But is never a continous bed of roses. It is simply like the geography of the planet to which we belong. There are Oceans and Mountains and Deserts and Forests to cross. If you understand this, you will always remain a survivor. Because, you will never give up in times of crisis. And crisis is a very normal part of life. I thank them; of course, when it is over; because of the experience it provides me.
There is an old American saying " when the going gets tough, the tough gets going".
I used to be a long distance runner. Ask any long distance runner and they will corroborate this: for a new trainee, it is the end when he/she is only halfway through. He/She must give up now or die. But the determined trainee will also fight for one more stride after every succeeding stride. They always get through. I read a poem in my early school days, that made a lasting impression on me. It simply says that 'the our life on Earth is just a battle, and one must fight it out'.
(Bolo na kator shorey, Britha jonmo e shongsharey, E jibon nishar shopon. Dara-putro-poribar, Tumi kaar, ke tomar, Boley jeeb koro na krondon. Shongshar shomorangoney, juddho koro dridho poney, voye vito hoyo na manob;........).
Here is the poem by William Ernest Henley:
Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell cluch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
my head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.
Tagore says some of the same things in a different way in his 'Religion of Man'. He says, "Man is a part of creator, and Man is a creator". Implying that Man is the captain of his soul, and master of his fate. Tagore also speaks about our unconquerable soul in a different way when he says," Oh Lord, it is not my prayer that You save me in Danger; But I pray that You give me only the courage to fight the Danger". I think it also shows some of the philosophical differences between east & west in approaching a problem. The intensely individualistic Man in the west will proudly take the fight alone; in the East, the deep social/family bonding of the Man will force him to consult his peers before the fight.
Love,
Abbu."