Of all the Times of Life

(I wrote this poem for my younger brother on his 29th birthday during October 2001)

Of all the times of life, on this very good day

Which I would fondly celebrate as your own birthday;

As a brother who loves you so much

Would ask you to lend your ears as such.

To listen to a few things not so unfamiliar,

For, it is good to repeat good to my near and dear;

Every hour, every day and every year after year,

Understand – good things engrained in psyche would tear your fear.

Today is the day you have turned twenty-nine,

Blossoming into a young man, handsome and fine.

Remember my brother; it is only a matter of time,

For age to turn skin's texture to wrinkle from fresh lime.

Even as you are young, so healthy and sane,

Isn't it the right time to differentiate the good from profane?

Therefore, here I am, repeating as a broken gramophone record,

Trying to tell a few good things – all on my own accord.

To help you remain collected and composed,

For, without virtues, we all get quickly decomposed,

"Let us begin at the beginning," as Alice said,

En route to wonderland where your mind is fed,

With all sorts of goodies in a capsule called wisdom -

Now let us analyze where they all come from!

Not through emotions, not by mere good deeds,

And not through friends and not by women who would heed.

Not by degrees and not by power

Not owning castle with the highest tower,

Not by physique and not by money

Can peace be achieved, my dear honey!

But it comes only through patient contemplation,

Where the mind rises high above daily temptation.

Contemplation comes not by sitting idle,

Where the mind wanders and plays the same old fiddle.

The process where you submit yourself,

For the sole search of your very own self;

Relentlessly questioning to understand the truth

And gently submitting to Him alone, as you go forth

In the long journey, what we call as life,

Where ignorance is rampantly rife,

Filled with materials and fashions we call as trend,

Remember, for your realization, you alone are your best friend.

By finding meaning of acts as you proceed

And firm character from. which you would never recede.

By picking and choosing ‘friends’, as you would call,

No doubt you would stand tall and never fall.

By grasping the good and understanding the bad

Realizing that knowledge alone, if at all, is worth a tad.

By finding happiness in simple things,

Such as the high-flying birds with beautiful wings,

The sun and the moon so lofty and eternal,

Unperturbed witnesses to ephemeral things terrestrial –

Compared to these we are even less significant than a housefly,

Yet, how high does our ego fly!

Life, my brother, is to be enjoyed at the fullest,

Regardless of tribulations, which come as test,

By taking lessons from our age-old scriptures,

Tapping the wealth of knowledge from our great teachers.

Understanding bad along with good,

But relishing only the good as delicious food.

Knowing that even bad should be known

To make cheaters with sinister plans frown,

That your ‘being good’ means not you are a fool,

And mock at their tricks, blunt than a broken tool.

My dearest brother on this very good day;

For your happiness I would always pray.