When as a pampered kid in a rich household,
I had every kind of toys eyes could behold,
Richness meant having all toys money could afford.
As I grew up to be one of the school-going boys,
Devouring every bit of info from available technical toys,
Richness meant more info as these passed for knowledge.
As a teen I fell in love with every girl known in town,
Wanted to make love to all as if they were all my own,
Soon I prided myself that I was rich in love and passion.
Then came the realization that I will need more and more,
Of not just honey, but plenty of money to pour & pour,
So as to be secure, and safe, with richness in wealth score.
I slogged 24X7 to get more and more of this wealth,
Till one day the doctor suggested an attention to my health,
And I went crazy to the path of richness in terms of health.
Along with wealth and health, I also wanted to leave a legacy,
The strict regimen giving me repeated successes in ecstasy,
I started looking for richness in marriage and good progeny.
When everything seemed to be perfect in richness,
Came the sudden news of arrival of some sickness,
And the first signs of stirring of mind in keenness.
As I sought for meanings of terms like sadness and happiness,
I realized that both are but by-products of my pursuit to richness.
These meanderings reminded me of my life-long continuous chasing,
Akin to that “Top” going round and round to remain steady by terrific spinning.
While I lost balance with illness, the spinning “Top” did with loss- in- speed.
What then is the purpose of this endless pursuit of richness?
When apparently the end product desired is happiness?
Sadness can result while chasing for more in attachment,
Happiness is the result when desiring less in contentment.
Desire for richness in materials is the path for the secular,
Comfort with richness in contentment is the path of the spiritual.
The path one chooses to follow however depends on God’s Grace.
Ekalavya alias Vichu
We often say "you have to see it to believe".What happens when seeing throws you into disbelief?Your poem has left me in a state of disbelief that a profound understanding of happiness can first be comprehended with clarity and then communicated with such unaffected elegance.
ReplyDeleteLike the spinning top we get into a state of illusory balance through an endless process of acquisition.Making us "lose" this balance through any setback such as illness or any adversity is then perhaps an act of God's grace to deliver us out of this illusion into everlasting balance or rest.Well the despair is,to get back into illusion seems to be the SELF's irrepressible nature for ever and ever making the state of "ineffable peace" not lasting either.The spinning top will be thrilled and "happy" to spin again until it again loses speed out of exhaustion and regains its
"everlasting peace",all thru "His Grace".Grace indeed,this never ending cycle!!!
May God shower His Grace on His creation.
Gulpa
That one is blessed is a realization that comes when startling responses are received to some of the observations one makes, without adequate understanding of its full import to start with.
ReplyDeleteThe poem itself was a spontaneous response to our younger brother's - who goes with the pseudonym "kshetrangya"- instructions to drop everything I was doing and read an article about scientific ways to get "rich" or something similar to which he had given me a link.
The initial reaction after the poem was written was mixed; but since it more than passed muster, I blogged it. Your insights take this to a level which I am able to savor only now. Thanks indeed. God's blessing is not easy to fathom..... Hum dhanya hue as they say in Hindi. Love Vichu