The Arrow and the Song

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator whose works include "Paul Revere's Ride", The Song of Hiawatha, and Evangeline. He was also the first American to translate Dante Alighieri's Divine Comedy, and was one of the five Fireside Poets from New England.

The Arrow and the Song

BY HENRY WADSWORTH LONGFELLOW

I shot an arrow into the air, 

It fell to earth, I knew not where; 

For, so swiftly it flew, the sight 

Could not follow it in its flight. 

I breathed a song into the air, 

It fell to earth, I knew not where; 

For who has sight so keen and strong, 

That it can follow the flight of song? 

Long, long afterward, in an oak 

I found the arrow, still unbroke; 

And the song, from beginning to end, 

I found again in the heart of a friend. 

John Milton

John Milton (9 December 1608 – 8 November 1674) was an English poet, polemicist, man of letters, and civil servant for the Commonwealth of England under Oliver Cromwell. He wrote at a time of religious flux and political upheaval, and is best known for his epic poem Paradise Lost (1667), written in blank verse.

When I consider how my light is spent,

Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,

And that one Talent which is death to hide

Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent

To serve therewith my Maker, and present

My true account, lest he returning chide;

"Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?"

I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent

That murmur, soon replies, "God doth not need

Either man's work or his own gifts; who best

Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best. His state

Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed

And post o'er Land and Ocean without rest:

They also serve who only stand and wait."

"When I think of how I have lost my vision even before middle age, and how I am unable to use my best talent to serve God, I want to ask if God requires his servants to work for him even if they don't have vision."

But before he can speak up, a figure called Patience answers his question. Patience is like, "You think God needs your work? No, man. His best servants are the ones who bear life's burden the best. He already has thousands of people running around across land and sea to serve him. You can just stand right there and wait on him, and that's enough."

The Solitary Reaper

The Solitary Reaper

William Wordsworth

1770–1850

Behold her, single in the field, 

Yon solitary Highland Lass! 

Reaping and singing by herself; 

Stop here, or gently pass! 

Alone she cuts and binds the grain, 

And sings a melancholy strain; 

O listen! for the Vale profound 

Is overflowing with the sound. 

No Nightingale did ever chaunt 

More welcome notes to weary bands 

Of travellers in some shady haunt, 

Among Arabian sands: 

A voice so thrilling ne'er was heard 

In spring-time from the Cuckoo-bird, 

Breaking the silence of the seas 

Among the farthest Hebrides. 

Will no one tell me what she sings?— 

Perhaps the plaintive numbers flow 

For old, unhappy, far-off things, 

And battles long ago: 

Or is it some more humble lay, 

Familiar matter of to-day? 

Some natural sorrow, loss, or pain, 

That has been, and may be again? 

Whate'er the theme, the Maiden sang 

As if her song could have no ending; 

I saw her singing at her work, 

And o'er the sickle bending;— 

I listened, motionless and still; 

And, as I mounted up the hill, 

The music in my heart I bore, 

Long after it was heard no more. 

    

The quality of mercy

"The quality of mercy" refers to a quote by Portia in William Shakespeare's The Merchant of Venice; it occurs during Act IV, Scene 1, set in a Venetian Court of Justice. It is the speech in which Portia begs Shylock for mercy. Some sources set apart the first four lines of the speech or refer only to the first four lines as the subject of "The quality of mercy". Other sources refer to a longer portion of the speech but not the full 22 lines.

The quality of mercy is not strain'd,

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest;

It blesseth him that gives and him that takes:

'Tis mightiest in the mightiest: it becomes

The throned monarch better than his crown;

His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,

The attribute to awe and majesty,

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings;

But mercy is above this sceptred sway;

It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,

It is an attribute to God himself;

And earthly power doth then show likest God's

When mercy seasons justice. Therefore, Jew,

Though justice be thy plea, consider this,

That, in the course of justice, none of us

Should see salvation: we do pray for mercy;

And that same prayer doth teach us all to render

The deeds of mercy. I have spoke thus much

To mitigate the justice of thy plea;

Which if thou follow, this strict court of Venice

Must needs give sentence 'gainst the merchant there.

— The Merchant of Venice, Act 4, Scene 1

RN Tagore

*So beautiful! It's so true*. 

Go not to the temple ~ 

by RN Tagore

Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God,

First fill your own house with the Fragrance of love and kindness. 

Go not to the temple to light candles before the altar of God,

First remove the darkness of sin , pride and ego, 

from your heart...

Go not to the temple to bow down your head in prayer,

First learn to bow in humility before your fellowmen.

And apologise to those you have wronged. 

Go not to the temple to pray on bended knees,

First bend down to lift someone who is down-trodden.

And strengthen the young ones.  

Not crush them.

Go not to the temple to ask for forgiveness for your sins,

First forgive from your heart those who have hurt  you!

*Very Very Beautiful*.

Innocence - "The clever man and the Tiger"

Innocence

Old grandmother said a story....On the dangers of being innocent...

"The Noble man and the Tiger"

Once upon a time, there was a noble man who was as pure as the sky....He was a wandering mendicant...who collected the pebbles in the sea shore, looked at the colors of nature, listened to the songs of birds, travelled through the forests....

In one such day, as he was travelling in a dense jungle, he saw a tiger inside a cage. The tiger was very attractive and it spoke to him nicely but deceitfully.

Unaware, the noble man, was quite attracted by the beauty and majesty of the tiger....

The tiger said, "Good man...its a divine blessing to have happenned to come across you. May you take mercy on me and relieve me from this torment of hell of a containment in this cage, when my likes, are enjoying freedom. He took pity on the poor tiger, but was hesitant and afraid of letting the tiger out. The tiger promised not to hurt him. The man picked up some courage and opened the latch of the metal cage and let the tiger out. Now, the soft spoken tiger came out and menacingly growled at the noble man. The man was frightened. The man pleaded with the tiger by reminding it of his noble deed and that it is bound by promise, not to hurt him. It said, it had no other food to eat and therefore had to eat the noble man. The man was pained beyond measure by the tigers lack of gratitude. He cried and pleaded to god to help him. 

"The Noble man and Chanakiya"

As a divine intervention, there came to his rescue a fair, tall, thin, vigorous looking tonsured man who sported a small turf of hair, over and behind his head, that was knotted at the end. He had sharp nose and peering eyes with a raised forehead and strong countenance.  He said, his name was Chanakiya and had taken strong vows of celibacy for religious reasons and that he comes from a far off strange region to fulfill the wish of god. Our friend, the noble man, lamented to the stranger his story with the tiger and said the tiger is going to devour him too. 

"Chanakiya and the Tiger"

Chanakiya was quick enough to sense what had happenned and he simply told the tiger that he can't believe so big a tiger to have been in so small a cage. The tiger reacted angrily that it was so. When Chanakiya seriously asked the tiger to get back into the cage and prove him, the tiger did so. He immediately asked the noble man to latch the cage, which he quickly did. 

Looking at the noble man Chanakiya said, 'Never do that mistake again. That it was his forefathers who had put that tiger in the cage. You may be able to feel love and you may have wanted the tiger to enjoy freedom as well, but the tiger did not reciprocate your  love as you  had just witnessed.' 

Now, the old grandmother said, "the noble man was the sage Buddha, the tiger was the then society, the cage was the rules and regulations, and Chanakiya was a sage too but an intellectual genius who thought more than just love."

Now, we say yes but the rules and regulations are the old same but under the pressure of a modern world in its mad running to its dooms day as some sensitives say pollution itself is going to be a major killer if left unchecked. So, Beware!

Commentaries on Quotations

Commentaries on Quotations

- Dr V Anand

There are lots of beautiful and meaningful quotes by famous personalities from the various domains of life, available in the web pages, which I attempt to highlight, by adding my own thoughts to them.
Most quotes seem to be authentic...
but some may not...
Kindly forgive me for any mistakes...

"The calmer we are
The less disturbed our nerves
The more shall we love
And the better will our work be"
- Swami Vivekananda

Albert Einstein

Rabindranath Tagore