तीन लघु कविताएं : नजरिया, बाहरी आदमी, चिंता

                                                                                         - मिलन सिन्हा

 नजरिया

मैं जो था 

कमोबेश वही हूँ 

समय के साथ 

अगर 

कहीं कुछ  बदला है 

तो वह है 

मेरे प्रति 

लोगों का नजरिया !

बाहरी  आदमी

मैं 

परेशान हो उठता हूँ 

जब खुद को 

बाहरी आदमी बनकर 

देखने लगता हूँ !

 चिंता 
मेरे 
इस दुनिया में रहने 
या न रहने से 
उनका 
कुछ नहीं बिगड़ता है .
उन्हें तो 
केवल चिंता है 
चारों तरफ हवा में तैरते 
मेरे नाम की !

                           will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

LOHIA AND LOKNAYAK : TWO GREAT LEADERS OF INDIA

                                                                                         -  MILAN K SINHA

The millions of common man of this country is highly agitated on issues like  unprecedented rise in price rise of all essential commodities  and issues related to rampant corruption mainly due to fast deteriorating standard of Indian politics. Politics of power has almost overtaken politics of service for the toiling masses of the country. High standards of morality and high principles have very little place in Indian politics now. Corruption, caste ism  favoritism  nepotism, regionalism together with money power, muscle power and manipulative power are recognized as basic requirements for a person wishing to go up the political ladder. No means are too debased, no methods too degrading and no tricks too mean. Actually, the end justifies the means today. Obviously, common people are astonished to see all these changes. Their hardships have been mounting and mushrooming over the years. The impact of this worsening political situation is noticeable in every sphere of our public life.  
         
 Naturally, at this critical stage the name of two great leaders of India, Ram Manohar Lohia and Loknayak  Jai Prakash Narayan comes to our mind. Today is JP's Birth Anniversary and tomorrow is Lohia's Death Anniversary.

  Both of them always laid emphasis on moral values in all our affairs, private as well as public, on means and on ends,also on democratic institutions and individual freedom. They left memorable impression on the Indian political scene because of their fighting spirit, moral stature, rugged personal integrity, tremendous sacrifices and their remarkable honesty. They were  great revolutionary both in thought as well as  action who worked tirelessly for the country without any lust for power or fame.

 During the course of Total Revolution Movement  JP said, " Since Independence there has been a steady decline in political, public and business morality. If we take social and economic development, the picture is frightful. Population growth goes racing forward. Poverty is also growing: more than 40 per cent of the people are below the poverty line. The barest necessities such as drinking water, man-worthy and not cattle-worthy housing, medical care, apart from food and clothing, are not available. Schools are few and the teaching is bad. The papers say today that Bihar is the richest State in the country in minerals. Bihar also has good land and perennial rivers. Why then is Bihar the poorest State in India? Well, one could go on adding to that list..."

 Indeed  both JP and Lohia were persons who during their life time continuously and indefatigably fought for the well being of the poorest of the poor.  They gave a clarion call  to the people to rise in protest against all sorts of tyranny and dictatorship.Time and again they  voiced the demands of the poor to make the rulers realize their duties towards the nation. 

  In this context, speaking on a resolution in Lok Sabha on 4th August,1967 Lohia said," Today if we do not share the hardships of the people arising out of scarcity of essential commodities in the country whether it is due to drought or flood or famine or to any other cause, then how can we ask the people to build and make the country strong. Those who are rulers and in whom people reposed confidence of building the country, live in comfort and luxury, then it is beyond their moral capacity to ask the people to sacrifice their life for the nation." Continuing his speech he furnished the details of the expenditure incurred on privileges and facilities MPs, Ministers and  the President were enjoying , he said ," My pay is only Rs. 500/= per month but if the cost  involved in providing me all the privileges and facilities be taken into consideration then it will come to Rs.2500/- per month. Using the same yardstick in the case of ministers, it comes to  about Rs. 8 lacs annually. And to say the least, this figure for the Prime Minister and President goes up to Rs.100 lacs per year. Therefore, I say that first search out the sources of expenditure and then devise the methods to stop all the unnecessary expenditure."

   Before signing off,one small request to all. Please evaluate our present leaders  who claim & proclaim themselves to be the true  disciples &  followers  of Lohia and Loknayak, on the basis of  what they have done and are actually doing for the millions of poor and disadvantaged people vis-a-vis the principles & philosophy of these two great leaders of India.  

                       will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

KNOW WELL WHAT LEADS YOU FORWARD

                                                                            - By Milan K Sinha

           Day in and day out , we  are in a rivalry race trying to out smart others to achieve success in life, may be, at times without knowing what that success means to us in terms of a sense of fulfillment or a feeling of happiness. Competition has been the buzz word these days wherever you go. Many a times, it is so cut throat that you find it very difficult to cope up with the situation. In our eagerness and compulsion to succeed by hook or by crook, we fail to understand  and appreciate that each individual has his own weaknesses and strengths, potential and capacity to perform. When no two persons are biologically similar, how can they be same & similar in delivering the same result, particularly when he is going through some test or other  in his daily life. Every individual is an unique entity having diverse levels of knowledge and skills. There are thousands of examples of great and successful personalities from different fields of activities, who proved by their own making that self improvement is a sure way to achieve both success & happiness in life. Pl. enjoy and emulate what great thinkers are to suggest herein below:    

• There is nothing noble about being superior to some other person. The true nobility is in being superior to your previous self. -  Famous Proverb.
• Everyday ask yourself, "what would I do today if I were a better person?"- Robert Brault
• Know well what leads you forward and what holds you back and choose the path that leads to wisdom. - Buddha
• The finest thing in the world is knowing how to belong to oneself. - Michel de Montaigne
• Your competition is self , compete against yourself, become better and always win.- Unknown.

             There is no denying the fact that every improvement starts with 'I' and to ensure that to happen, the first step to embark up on  is to undertake an objective  self SWOT analysis. Here, as you  might know, 'S' stands for STRENGTH, 'W' for Weakness, 'O' for OPPORTUNITY  and 'T' for THREAT. One must  jot down on a piece of paper his or her position in respect of all the four parameters. Then, make reasonable assessment of his or her capacity to perform to the optimum level for consolidating and then improving the positives and  for diminishing the negatives with a well formulated  strategy & action plan to move towards the  goal of life. Learing for improving one's on performance should be a continuous process, that is to say, competing  on regular basis with your own old self for definite value addition. As Kabir says," Just throw away all thoughts of imaginary things, and stand firm in that which you are.' 

                                                        Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

* Do visit my site : http://www.milanksinha.com/

लघु कविताएं : प्रतिफल, नयी फसल, बदलाव

                                                                                               - मिलन सिन्हा  

प्रतिफल 

एक बार 

अंधेरे में 

रात खो गई 

रोने लगी 

रोती रही ,

पर 

कोई रास्ता

 दिखानेवाला 

नहीं मिला।

नयी फसल 
उसके दिल में 
बिजली चमकी 
आखों से 
पानी बरसने लगा 
दिमाग की जमीन
 ठीक से सींच गई 
और अब 
नयी फसल के आसार 
अच्छे लगने लगे। 

बदलाव 
अंधेरा 
आदमी में 
खो गया 
और आदमी 
सूरज बनकर 
चमकने लगा। 

       will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

LET GO OF EGO TO WELCOME WELLNESS

                                                                                   - By Milan K Sinha

The national as well as international events of public importance keep on providing us the chance to have glimpses of ‘Ego’ tussle among renowned public figures on some issue or the other which is followed by accusation and counter accusation from parties in position and opposition.

We also know, due to this simple looking three letter word EGO, many wars have been fought, many countries disintegrated, many negotiations failed, many friends fell apart, many homes turned into houses of disharmony, numerous divorce took place, many sleepless nights spent, many talents spoiled and what not.

The famous author Adrian Cooper writes, "The ego is responsible for many negative human traits, including but certainly not limited to being critical and judgemental of others, being rigid and inflexible, being manipulative, need to feel superior, feeling anxious and fearful, mood swings, taking everything too personally, taking everything too seriously, constant need for approval and praise, feeling hurried and driven to do things, competing rather than cooperating, feeling resentful and guilty, unable to live in the present moment, addictions to alcohol, tobacco and other Mind altering substances, overly concerned with personal appearance, overly concerned with success, feeling insecure, constant worry over trivialities, clinging to the past, feelings of despair and hopelessness, feeling life is meaningless, and the need for power over others. All of these are seriously negative human traits and ones that can easily make a person’s life a misery".

The list is endless, yet we continue to be the slave of this most unique virtue (?) of mankind which, of course, Sigmund Freud says in these words, "Where id was, there shall ego be." Interestingly, however, the conflict between 'ego' and 'our true self' too goes on ceaselessly till the end of our last breath in this world.

Before dwelling further on this deliberation, let us enjoy the following three quotes of these well-known personalities on the subject:

• Whenever I climb, I am followed by a dog called, Ego. - Friedrich Nietzsche
• The foundation of Buddha's teachings lies in compassion and the reason for practicing the teachings is to wipe out the persistence of Ego, the number one enemy of compassion. -- Tenzin Gyatso.
• Ego has a voracious appetite, the more you feed it, the hungrier it gets. -- Nathaniel Bronner Jr.

It is very interesting as well as intriguing that despite knowing fully well that Ego is the number one enemy of mankind, we fail to shed what is unwarranted. Yes, it continues to happen because we are obsessed with the famous, 'I' Thought which Sri Ramana Maharshi described when inquired about the nature of our mind, as:

"The mind is nothing other than the 'I' thought. The mind and the ego are one and the same. 'I' (that is the 'I'-thought) am doing this, 'I' am thinking this; 'I' am feeling happy, etc. Thus, the 'I' thought is the all-important thought, since each idea or thought arises only as someone's thought and it is not known to exist independently of the ego. From where does this 'I' arise? Seek for it within; it then vanishes. This is the pursuit of wisdom. When the mind unceasingly investigates its own nature, it transpires that there is no such thing as a mind. Get rid of the 'I' thought. When 'I' ceases to exist, there is no grief and there is peace". So, he suggested that yoga and self-enquiry are two methods of controlling the mind, which he compared to an agitated bull. Yoga attempts to drive the bull with a stick, while self-enquiry coaxes it with green grass".

Medical research did prove the fact that many brain and heart diseases are ego related. Stress has been the natural outcome of this ego driven thinking, be it your work place or your home. The human history testifies this fact that no good can ever be achieved by carrying it in your head. Then, why not keep the ego away and experience the beautiful change in our life?
      
# Published in Patna Daily.com
   

                                  Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

कविता : जवान और किसान*

                                                                                                               -मिलन  सिन्हा

हरा भरा खेत खलिहान 

फिर भी 

निर्धन क्यों हमारे किसान .

देश में नहीं 

पानी की कमी 

फिर भी 

क्यों रहती है  सूखी 

यहाँ - वहाँ की जमीं .

जिसे देखना है वो देखें 

किसान जो उपजाता है 

उसका वह क्या पता है ?

देश को खिलानेवाला 

खुद क्यों भूखा रह जाता है ?

कर्ज के बोझ तले 

क्यों खुदकुशी कर लेता है ? 

देश में लाखों नौजवान 

साहसी,शिक्षित और उर्जावान 

छोड़कर अपना घर-वार 

बनते हैं सीमा के पहरेदार 

गर्मी हो या सर्दी 

आंधी हो या हो तूफान 

करते हैं देश की सेवा 

देकर आपनी जान .

युद्ध हो या हो कोई आपदा 

रहते हैं तैयार 

हमारे जवान सदा सर्वदा 

पर क्या इन जवानों का भविष्य 

सुरक्षित रह पाता है?

देश इनको 

पूरा सम्मान दे पाता  है?

कहाँ हैं वे देश के लाल 

जो लाल बहादुर कहलाएं,

जय जवान, जय किसान का 

वह गौरव फिर से लौटाएं .

*(शास्त्रीजी के जन्म दिन के अवसर पर)   

                        will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.

REMEMBERING MAHATMA GANDHI

                                                                                        - By Milan K Sinha                  Today is national holiday -2nd October, Mahatma Gandhi's Birthday; the celebration time basically for the haves of the country. Variety of events takes place in good numbers in many cities and in some villages.  The political class in general look for this day to deliver their hackneyed speech and to shed lots of crocodile tears- saved in their "Tear Bank" for such occasions. Ironically, the million of toiling masses sustaining their life on an income which according to planning commission qualify them to be in APL (Above Poverty Line) category will be destined to earn even today's bread & salt on this special occasion of birthday of their true leader of all times. Might be for them only,  these lines were written:

जिन आंसुओं का सीधा ताल्लुक  था पेट से 

उन आंसुओं  के साथ तेरा नाम जुड़ गया . 

या 

एक बूढ़ा आदमी है मुल्क में या यों कहो 

इस  अँधेरी कोठारी में एक रौशनदान है .  

                                                                              -- दुष्यन्त  कुमार 

 It is also inspiring to know what  the Nobel Prize Winner Great Physicist, Albert Einstein have said about Mahatma Gandhi:            

• Generations to come, it may be, will scarcely believe that such a one as this ever in flesh and blood walked upon this earth. 

 Amid plethora of acts of omission & commission by the affluent sections of society in the recent past and at a time when there is so much of protests  against of FDI entry in retail in the country, the relevance of Gandhi must be understood and his opinion, teachings & preachings must be revisited for the real good of the nation and its disadvantaged masses.
       

 It is well known that Mahatma Gandhi accepted,followed & preached the following ideals all through his life : 

                        TRUTH, AHIMSA, SATYAGRAHA & SWARAJ. 

   All these are not simple words, but the powerful weapons to solve all the problems of human race at large. Then, is not today (that too a holiday)  the opportune time for the educated & comparatively well off sections of our society to take a sincere look on what our beloved Bapu preached & practised and what the ruling political class & its machinery across the country have been actually doing so shamelessly and at times so boldly directly or indirectly.

  We shall take up briefly the concept of SWARAJ in the light of FDI controversy  & other issues of governance in the country to know the gap between Gandhiji's thinking and our actual doing: 

• In Gandhiji's concept of Swaraj, self-reliance, self-regulation & self -restraints are very important. He says," Real Swaraj will come not by the acquisition of authority by a few but the acquisition of the capacity by all to resist authority when it is abused.In other words, Swaraj is to be obtained by educating the masses to a sense of their capacity to regulate and control authority." He further says,"Swaraj means government by many. Where the many are immoral or selfish, their government can spell anarchy and nothing else."

 Gandhiji's life and thoughts have been & will continue to be very relevant & inspiring  for all generations and hence must be discussed & emulated accordingly.

              
          Will meet again with Open Mind. All the Best.