HAPPY GURUPURAB

May God, the ultimate Guru 

bless us all with the wisdom and enlightenment that 

'GOD IS ONE'. May we not 

fight in the name of God. He is the father of us all. He unites us as one family. It pains to the people fighting in the name of God. May we all live harmoniously and stay blessed!

                                                    - Poornima Singh

Can you trust?

           

  Trust

Wild wind blew harder

Knowing no direction,

Following no milestones,

Taking its own course;

Roaring in the valleys,

Rafting over the seas,

Soaring in the mountains,

Sweeping the wide plains,

Rustling with the leaves

Ringing with the streams,

Singing through the harps

playing with the sands,

I saw all the nature in unison

In harmony following the ONE.

There is a wild world

Running like the mad herd,

Confused in hue and cry,

Fleeing away far and wide,

Smiling in others’ woes,

Friends faking as foes

Crying over the loss,

Making high over the fuss,

Crying with crocodile tears,

Selling neighbour’s leftovers,

Clinging to the dead remains

Over using the smart brains,

Warming oneself over other's pyre

Or caressing with a fake smile.

HE saw them running wildly

In all directions blindly

HE called them and said,

“Why do you run away?

Where will you go?

Don’t you believe in me?

Do you have better option?

Come to me; I will protect you

You are my children; I, your father

Have faith in your worship.”

Man Said, “Everything you say is alright,

But I can’t take any chance.”

And ran in bewilderment

                                                             HE stood in amazement.                                                               

                                                                                                                   - Poornima Singh 

Five Stages of Education

Five Phases of Education

Children are like young saplings and pass through various stages when they need different sort of tending and pruning. They should be treated differently at all the stages. The process of getting education can be classified into five phases.  The first phase is for the ignorant kids (1-8 yrs.), second phase is for the impatient adolescents (9-16 yrs.), the third phase is for the energetic youths (17-22 yrs.) and the fourth phase is for the career building age (23-30 yrs). The last phase is for the mature and elderly people as education is a continuous process of evolution and unquenchable thirst for knowledge.

            The first phase is best suited for moral education. Innocent and ignorant child imitates everything and blindly follows his immediate society and his mother is closest to him for blind follow-up.  In this age we can easily instil the essential values in the child by just making him cram the values and habits along with alphabets, tables and other basic things. We can make him learn the ideal list of dos and don’ts.  This is the responsibility of everyone around him (parents, family, society, school and other influencing agents) to give him the right atmosphere, conditions and inspiration. He imitates what he perceives in his close world. The parents should customize their behaviour and regulate their habits so as to present a guideline before the child. A beautiful life is in your hands and you are to give it a beautiful heart and a worthy persona.

            Second phase needs the education of discipline and culture.  An adolescent comes across unwelcome turmoil of emotions and senses. Education of discipline may set the emotional turmoil to an end. We should encourage him to develop self-discipline and allow him to manage all his things himself. Education of culture is the second most needed thing in this age. Parents should have a healthy culture of their family and inspire the children to abide by it. The subjects like History, Civics, Sociology, Philosophy and Political Science help him cultivate a culture in the children. They should not only read about their culture but also have faith in it so that they may not get easily persuaded by the foreign influences which are spoiling them as they don’t suit the present Indian society and mind set-up. They should be encouraged to read Indian epics like Ramayana, Mahabharata, Gita etc. which help them choose the right way when caught in dilemma. Religious scriptures sound profoundly even the ethics of war while now we say that everything is fair in love and war, that’s why in today’s world everyone is caught in the adverse winds of deceit, dissatisfaction and desperation.

            Third phase is the age of career building. It is divided in two stages. In the first half the youth should be given an insight before deciding his future. The youth should know himself and his pursuits. The children should study subjects of their interests and take up the courses of their inclination not the subjects according to their career options. They should choose the subjects of their interests and then decide their career, not the vice versa. If they choose the subjects and courses of their interests and then pursue the careers accordingly, they will certainly do good whatever they become in life. We should give at least twenty years of our age to education only.  In the second half of this stage the students should start pursuing their career after finding out their interests rather than first deciding their career option and then choosing the courses and disciplines according to that career option. Here is suggested that the parents should not force their children to pursue career of their interest and ambition. Youth means energy and energy should be guided into right direction and for the noble purpose. Youth should be persuaded by the teachers to read good literature which can bring emotional stability, sensual purgation and even the answers to the most difficult puzzles of young age.  Healthy education works as a firm foundation for building a sound career. Now, he should set priorities in his life and right education enables the children to know what they want in their life and thus choose their career. 

            In fourth phase one should realize his responsibilities towards his family, society, nation and the world. Education of KARMA helps a man to realize the dignity of work and applying the knowledge in his life.  The principles of Karma help us find the answers to the dilemmas of life – family vs. career, love vs. family, values vs. money, duty vs. temptations, love vs. ambition  etc.
         In fifth phase we should learn to accommodate with the new generation and bridge the gap to remove the differences and reduce the distance. We should give them the book of our experiences to read and let them write their own book. We should give the children our spectacles of experience but should not try to lend our viewpoint as some wise man says, “Teach your children how to think and not what to think.” They should see the beautiful world with their eyes only and have their own perspective so that one day THEY MIGHT PAINT THE WORLD IN THEIR OWN COLOURS.         

                                                                                                                    -          Poornima Singh

Life

Life

Sometimes, I wonder what life is …………

Life was a paper boat

That would float,

That would sink

Just in a wink.

Running in the water channels,

Babbling with the bubbles,

Dancing in the currents

Dangling in the torrents,

Taking the wows inside

Leaving the reminiscences beside,

Splashing with the innocence

would vanish in a glance.

Life is a flying kite

Scaling new height

Soaring into heavens

Teaching new lessons,

Kissing the skyscrapers

Amazing the kite lovers

Even when tied with a string

Demanding to have a wing

Battling with the mighty winds

And challenging even the gods

Snapping with a flutter

Fighting until it is a winner.

Life is a book of ours

With smiles and scars,

With stories unwritten

And songs unsung,

Timid or bold

with tales untold,

Recording our own actions

Reflecting our own emotions

Gets our destiny written

making us our own god

and, if once written,

cannot be changed.

 - Poornima Singh

A Longing

A Longing

The life is short

And the road is long,

The directions fail

And the signs depress,

I linger here;

I hang on there,

I wanna walk with you,

I wanna live with you.

When the night is dark

And the shadow is long,

When the light wavers

And the wind shivers,

When the beat is high

And the heart goes low,

I wanna speak with you,

I wanna live with you.

When the rumours hammer

And the feet stammer,

When the mirror doesn’t reflect

Nor the conscience detect,

When doubt is in the air

And no shoulder is there,

I wanna cry with you,

I wanna live with you.

-          Poornima Singh

Teaching is a blessing

A blessing

Life is a vast sky

Filled with patches of dark clouds,

And I always strive

To get away with these clouds –

Clouds of doubts, clouds of fear,

Clouds of pain, clouds of failure.

They roam over me

They all surround me,

Their thunder scares

Their lightening fears,

They apprehend my soul

They rain upon my goal.

But, then there is lightening for a while

And I can see a rainbow of smile;

I heard a thunder of voice

I heard a roar of noise,

All the clouds burst with a whim wham

I am welcome with ‘Good Morning ma’am’.

My lips expand

Instantly I respond,

I switched on myself

To the world of giggles,

I promised to myself

To laugh with the babbles

And again become a child

And roam like a cloud wild.

When my class became boring

And some started snoring,

I laughed at myself

And went on ignoring,

Listening their silliest hows

Answering their strangest whos,

Playing in their games

Dancing to their themes,

All questions flew with the clouds.

But I have my doubts:

‘Am I worth it?

Am I really worth it?’

-  Poornima Singh

Our world is the beautiful manifestation of God’s love to us

Dear All,

Our world is the beautiful manifestation of God’s love to us

This world is a troubled place. It has always been so. It has been torn apart by the evil forces of selfishness, pride, greed, power and materialism. It is a place where God has been forgotten, and our true nature has been forgotten. It is a place of competition and conflict, where we constantly solve the problems of our daily existence. It is a place where people seem foreign to one another, and foreign to themselves. It is wonderful but dangerous, beautiful but confusing. Still, there is a ray of hope among the dark clouds of despair and disappointment and that is God’s love, and that’s why we have come to the world.  

Everyone has been sent in this world, for a purpose. This purpose remains undiscovered, but we must find it, for that is the great pursuit in life. Beyond meeting our basic requirements to exist in this reality, we must find this purpose, for this is how God speaks to us, and this is how we will find our way in this confusing world.

God speaks to the world through a deeper Knowledge within the individual and through the power of our relationship with the universe. God’s love transcends the understanding of the people. We have to have a greater perspective in life and be much higher to see the revelation of God’s love and importance of our birth on this earth. ‘God designed human beings to reflect His very character—to be like Him. In the day that God created man, He made him in the likeness of Himself..., God created man in His own image having supreme power of loving, giving and forgiving’. “We love Him because He first loved us,” explains the apostle John in the Bible. God loved us and sent his Son on the earth. Clearly, it was God’s desire and plan to establish a relationship between human beings and Himself.

Our world is the beautiful manifestation of God’s love to us. When a flower blooms, the river flows or a bird sings, we must realise and experience that every entity of this universe loves us. Today if man is suffering in isolation, loneliness and depravity, it is because we fail to experience this manifestation of love in our lives. If we want to experience the bounties of love, we must keep in mind that love is not to be claimed; it is to be given away. Every entity of nature behaves this way. The river flows to give life, the trees grow to remove hunger, flowers bloom to spread happiness and so on. Love is a miracle which spreads after being shared. Spread this magic potion of love in this universe and make the mankind a true image of God. 

- Poornima Singh

Thirst Brings Satiety

Thirst Brings Forth Satiety

Why do we feel thirsty? Isn’t it possible to store all the water we need for all our life? There, no such provision is possible. If it had been possible, we would have been deprived of the satisfaction, the pleasure we get every time we quench our thirst. 

What does it mean? It means every thirst is source of immense pleasure, despite the fact, every thirst maddens us so furiously that we forget every time that it is ultimate source of our pleasure. On the contrary, we consider our thirst as something responsible for our distress and agitation. Why does it happen? Are we too ignorant to recognise the true source of our happiness? Why do we consider the source of happiness as the cause of our melancholy?  When the thirst provides us with extreme satisfaction, why do we fear it and why do we call it the source of our distress and agitation? Why do we fail to understand what is what?

Man is the most ignorant creature God has ever made. Every other creature knows what it wants and enjoys fully when it gets the thing. Man, out of his ignorance makes the source of pleasure, a source of woe for him. As P. B. Shelly means, “ we look before and after, and pine for what is not”.

In my childhood, I heard about mirage which is also known as ‘optical delusion’. In the land of sand stretching far and wide very often we notice sparkling water at a distance and we keep moving in same direction to find water. But, after reaching the spot we fail to find the slightest sign of water, there. That was just an illusion. Whole life we are driven madly by many of such illusions which bring disappointment, despair and dissatisfaction.

If we drink water without being thirsty, it won’t satisfy our soul. If we are blessed with pleasure and mere pleasure, even pleasure will not please us. Sameness is the biggest boredom, whether it is the sameness of pleasure. When our heart is not parched up in the heat of harsh realities of life, it will not feel the cool breeze of ecstasy. Accept the adverse as well as favourable circumstances as a part of your life.

Often, we make a wrong judgement that our heart is the root cause of our agonies and sufferings just like we think that thirst is the root cause of agitation. It is not so. If our heart is pure and sublime, it can bless us with divine rapture. It is our heart only that facilitates us to experience the unfathomable joy of love. But, Love can fill you with divine pleasure, if it is not selfish. Just as the real sweetness of water can be relished only if your throat is parched up with utter thirst, in the same way if you make a sacrifice for the sake of others' happiness, you experience the divine joy. 

Thank you. 

- Poornima Singh

Happy Women's Day

HAPPY WOMEN'S DAY
to all the lovely and wonderful women of this world

Politics of hate speeches

Politics of Hate Speeches

Dear all,
This is the season of elections, and unlike spring season there is a foul smell of hatred, allegations, defamation and arrogance, in the environment.  Every political leader is bent upon spoiling the image of the leaders of other political parties. I am confused whether I should call them ‘leaders’. I am forced to coin another noun for such political leaders – Black Tongue.

Now the mission of every political leader to put others down. They don’t have the capability of enlarging their political stature so they are left only with the option of dwarfing others, no matter how unethical or illogical it is. They don’t see any problem in behaving like crabs to get their selfish ends meet. I am scared to think that our country’s politicians are stooping so low.

I am pained to see that now a days the people are also supporting this abominable game of defamation and spreading the negativity through social media. I think, people have lost their reason and started behaving like a mob who follow words just like a herd. 

Through this blog, I would like to appeal to the people to behave like sensible and responsible citizens of India and differentiate between what is right and what is wrong. Before circulating or sharing any message we should think, and if it is going to create any ill will and spread negative vibes, we should refrain ourselves from sharing it. 

Let’s start, today onward by sharing this message.

Thank you

                                                                                                       - Poornima Singh

Education : The Road To Civilization

Dear all,

 Dreams expand our lips into a wide and innocent smile and stretch our expressions into a cute angle. Everyone has a dream in his life and he flutters like a scroll of paper to be straightened until that dream becomes a reality. As a teacher I have a dream; a dream of Ravindranath Tagore ‘Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high’. I have dreamt of a world of pride, happiness and contentment for the children. To reach out to this world is not impossible. I proudly shoulder the responsibility of illuminating this ignorant world and immersing this world into the aroma of self-revelation. Being successful in one’s profession is easier but being successful in his personal and social life is really a task.

            I have dreamt to enable the students to acquire worth (Patratam) which is attained through education. In Hindi we say, “Vidya dadati vinayam, vinayam dadati patratam.” A humble man always becomes worthier. An educated man should be judged through his behaviour and his ways of living. Having good academic record doesn’t certify that one is educated in real sense. A good training makes a man an efficient engineer, physician, architect etc. but right education is what makes man a good human being to rely upon and a good citizen to be lived with. Education is not about clearing exams, it’s the essential character of a man as ‘Knowledge is the peculiarly human prerogative.’ Education elevates man from the state of being an animal that cannot be trained to the extent of civilization and virtuousness. 

            Being among the children for most of the time I’ve been watchful and thoughtful about the children’s behavior, their expectations and their problems.  Every day we face a kind of struggle in the family – virtual or real. Parents accuse the kids and the kids blame their parents for everything. Parents think that children don’t respect their elders and don’t listen to them while children say that the elders don’t understand them. Parents want control and children expect freedom. Diverse expectations and misunderstanding from both the sides lie deep in the root of woes. Right education is the answer to all the conflicts of life.

            To get education simple and straight course is to go to school with pure intention and the honest desire to get education only, to know oneself and this world, and not to become an engineer or a doctor. Knowledge should be a man’s unquenchable thirst as Persian poet Sadi says, “Like a taper one should melt in the pursuit of learning.” Right education is the only key to unlock the mysteries of real happiness. Moral upliftment, social upgradation and spiritual elevation are the higher goals of education. These words seem to look weighty but they are easy ways to find true happiness and live a contended life. Education can make these seemingly impossible goals happen in reality. Such a world I have dreamt for the children where they shall always live a happy, successful and noble life. I have laid emphasis on psychological and philosophical education and given preference to education of humanities. I sustain the opinion, ‘First understand the self, then follow the fashion of human life; conquer yourself and this world will be yours.’ Then only we can tell this universe that Homo sapiens are the noblest and the ablest creation by the Omnipresent.   

Thank you        

 - Poornima Singh

Education with emancipation

Education with Emancipation

 Education should be coupled with a vision to render academics a motive: the motive to achieve excellence with culture, success with humility, and education with emancipation. I dream to facilitate the environment to our children, “Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high”

 Education is just like a big tree branching off far and wide to provide Humanity with the fruits of knowledge. Its soothing effects bless the people burnt with scorching heat of miseries. Without the tree of education this world is a desert of burning sand sans any streak of relief. Its roots stretch out within the ground and enable it stand tall and proud against despair and degradation. Housed with millions of creatures it’s an ultimate abode where parched souls get new wings of hopes and soar into new horizons. Even after the tree is cut, its roots remain there sprouting with new hopes of renaissance, awakening and revolution.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                         Real education brings forth emancipation – emancipation from ignorance and whims, fear and frailty. Education with emancipation would create a new world where all the birds will have wings to pursue any course they wish to. Young lambs will have a clear vision about their destination. They won’t follow the herd and the word. The innocent doves will hear the strains of their heart clearly. Ducklings will wade to their own tunes. There won’t be any restriction on the flight of pigeons. Fancy will have its way and ingenuity will soar high in the vast sky of success. Fright, retreat and deceit will be known to none. All will be guided by one vision – Vision of Education with Emancipation; Emancipation from all the miseries, vices and ignorance.                                                                          

Such dream I dare to have and pray the Almighty to impart us the strength. I seek His grace and blessings to bring this dream into reality and the posterity shall soar higher and higher in the firmament of education.

 - Poornima Singh

There is a monster

Monster of Procrastination

Through this blog I would like to address the monster of escapism. I would address the people, especially the children who are constantly chased by the monster when they escape or postpone their works, studies or assignments. They keep doing things that they wish to – playing, reading books, watching TV, hanging around or whatever they come across. They think there is enough time to study or prepare for their Assignments. Here, I am talking about the monster of procrastination or delaying the tasks. 

We feel, and sometimes the people too, mistake to think that they are having a good time while escaping their duties and delaying their jobs. But trust me, they aren’t. While they play with their friends, the monster follows them and taps on their shoulder saying, “You have got S. St. project to do.” They try to avoid the monster saying, “I will do it tomorrow.” This monster is nothing but their own constant thought or fear of pending works or avoiding assignments. 

The only way to shoo away the monster is to stop, turn around, look into the frightening eyes of monster and face it bravely. In most of the cases children don’t do it. They choose the easy way of running away. Time is equally wicked monster; it attacks you when you are not prepared. They never realize how and when the last day of project submission has arrived. It is S. St. period and the teacher enters smilingly but they could see the monster sneering in her face. She starts demanding projects and they are left praying to God either to bring a Tsunami or make the teacher disappear from the scene. But, the time for them to do anything has slipped away. Now, it’s the time when the teacher has got to do whatever she decides…..... and it depends……. 

Often, the children face such situations. Not only children but all those who are diseased with the habit of avoiding duties or shifting their work onto the future dates. The monster of pending works always haunts them. What is desired is to gather courage, stop running away and face it. We should start doing ‘first things, first’. After completing the tasks, we can discover a new beautiful world where everything is meant for us to enjoy. Some would say that the tasks are never done. I agree, while doing our works regularly also we can enjoy ourselves but with pending works we can’t, ….. certainly not.

We all appreciate the children who have got a great sense of responsibility and who have always been a big helping hand to their parents, teachers and peers. Such children are bestowed with all the praises and blessings, they have many friends, too. They are ever ready to take up new tasks and challenges, as they don't have a pile of pending tasks. And you may ask them how beautiful the world is for them where there is no monster. 

                                                                                                                       -  Poornima Singh