A Return Gift From The Birthday Baby

Dear Sri
Since you have said

"And to honour my dear GFs who gave me precious gifts, I mean kind wishes and blessings coming from the depths of their hearts, I am giving a return gift, a gift that a mofussil accountant like me can afford, a gift as simple and as mundane as the plastic whistle or a tennis ball, the same gift for all the loving hearts, a poem, once again."

I am not sure if I can participate in the discussion on the beautiful subject of your poem. I am resisting my temptation with great difficulty!
Sri

Oh my dear Sri,
I am skipping the other responses to give priority to the basic doubt you have raised. I am actually longing for your participation.
Now we have made clear well in advance that GF does not mean a "girl friend" but a "good friend". And you were kind enough to bless me on my b'day. So do we need an Albeert Einstein to conclude that 2 +2 equals...
Yes, sri being my best friend and my brother, and having blessed me on my b'day, you have not only a right but also a moral duty to take part in the discussion.
love,
sridhar
PS: Evidence Adduced in support of the above argument:
Please click this link and read the last three lines of post #2.
Will You Be My GF?

Originally Posted by cheeniya

Dear Sri
Since you have said

"And to honour my dear GFs who gave me precious gifts, I mean kind wishes and blessings coming from the depths of their hearts, I am giving a return gift, a gift that a mofussil accountant like me can afford, a gift as simple and as mundane as the plastic whistle or a tennis ball, the same gift for all the loving hearts, a poem, once again."

I am not sure if I can participate in the discussion on the beautiful subject of your poem. I am resisting my temptation with great difficulty!
Sri

Dear Geeth,
I am very happy to have given a gift that has fascinated a person with a good heart like you. As somebody said here it is impossible to write about death in this manner with pessimism in one's heart.

but i donot find any pessimism or depression r negativism in it because of the carefully chosen words.

Thanks for the compliments, geeth. But the truth of the matter is that the words choose me as a medium to come out into this world.

love,

Dear Lalitha,
I am thrilled to see that you like the return gift I made to you. I liked the way you talked about my age and my enlightenment, Lalitha. There is one fact about enlightenment and it is this. Each one us are already enlightened. We need only to "remember" that and "realise" that. Since enlightenment is hidden deep inside us, we need to look into ourselves for enlightenment. External gurus, or other agents might help us in the remembering process. But nobody from outside can "give" us enlightenment, simply because it is already there.
What Tagore wrote on death is distilled wisdom. That's a vast compared to which mine is a drop of water.

These lines confirmed the same. Hats off to you dear.

Thanks a lot, Lalitha.

“Where we go, it’s not a place
Nor is there the idea of ‘space’
Time and space are mental props
To make you grasp this mortal world
The props are only for the forms
Not for the substance; not for the One!
Not for God and not for Love”

I am happy to know that you enjoyed these lines.

Dear Sridhar, I need to quote the whole poem, but it is simply divine. I agree with you people are afraid of death but I do wonder why? when we look forward for a birth then why not death? these are my

Your two cents are worth two millions, Lalitha. If death does not happen how can birth happen?
thanks for the fb.
love,

Dear Sridhar,
Nice pensive poem. Please allow me to share my thoughts on

The Ultimate Silent Truth
Quest begins with
The how and why of Existence
As Love matures
Reason drops
Like sepals off a blooming rose
As reason drops
Truth dawns
In Silence.

Love,
Chithra.

Originally Posted by varalotti

Oh my dear Sri,
I am skipping the other responses to give priority to the basic doubt you have raised. I am actually longing for your participation.
Now we have made clear well in advance that GF does not mean a "girl friend" but a "good friend". And you were kind enough to bless me on my b'day. So do we need an Albeert Einstein to conclude that 2 +2 equals...
Yes, sri being my best friend and my brother, and having blessed me on my b'day, you have not only a right but also a moral duty to take part in the discussion.
love,
sridhar
PS: Evidence Adduced in support of the above argument:
Please click this link and read the last three lines of post #2.
Will You Be My GF?

My dear Sri
Some may think that I have a one track mind in thinking of a GF as only a girl friend and not a good friend. Some may even think that I have not followed your earlier thread explaining your take on GF. But the point is this. Like any other senile character I am also a bit obstinate that a GF could mean only a GF! Like Avvaiyar, I too believe in 'Jaathi irodizhiya verillai' as far as friends are concerned. They are girl friends and boy friends. When we talk of a good friend, it necessarily follows that there can be bad friends too and my mind refuses to accept that there can be bad friends. The moment any one turns out to be bad, he ceases to be a friend. If a friend leads us to smoking 'pot', how can he qualify to be called a friend? But if you have used the adjective 'good' to indicate the closeness of the relationship, it is acceptable to me but again the question will arise how do you classify your friends as good, better, best etc. All of us here in IL assume that we are your best friends and would, therefore, hate to be called just 'good'! Thanks for putting up with a bit of my Senile Rambling in your forum!

Coming to your poem, the poetic conversation is as profound as the conversation between Nachiketas and Lord Yama. Being aware that you are my Brother on the Square, I know that your take on death will be as similar to my own but in giving poetic expression to it, you have really excelled yourself. Expressions such as what you have used in this poem will surely remove the uncalled for fear of our exit.

That stanza about pain and pleasure is both fascinating and intriguing. Anatomists tell us that the brain which is the seat of all pain and pleasure itself does not feel pain. That is the profundity of creation. That which makes us aware is itself beyond all awareness.

Thank you for a brilliant poem, my Brother
Sri

Dear Aruna,

Hmmmmmmmm...........that was a wonderful return gift for all of us. Thank you so much.

Thanks. While the sentence was an unmixed appreciation the Hmmmmmmm (I could not count the ms; by the way how long did it take you to utter that word?) told a lot about your reservations on the poem.

Why after 50 people start thinking of death??? This is the 2nd post in IL in this same week and both the writers in 50's............ok about the poem..........

I have been thinking about death ever since I was 30. It took some 20 years of raw, varied, rich experience (read beating) to give a poetical expression to my take on death.


And if a person does not think about death at least when he touches 50, then when will he think of death? Aruna, I have given a deep thought to this question. My prescription is like this. Don't think about death till you are well settled in life. Let's say by 30 every one is reasonably settled, married, in a good job, and looking forward to a great life. At 30 people should start thinking about death. And should go on thinking for 30 years. That would give a matured outlook to life. Once a person touches 60 then he should never think about death. Then only life after 60 will be wonderful.
And we do the reverse and land ourselves into trouble.

wonderful wordings. It is so true we stay in this world which does not belong to us. it is not our home but just a carriage which we travel, with all the up and downs, with so many bumps and softness in it. Apearing as a star in the sky ........last 4 lines superb

thanks.

Originally Posted by roopadadia

A very good Poem...well written with profundness. A great return gift.

We as followers of BK are always taught to be ever ready. So age is immaterial. Each day is a bonus.

Thank you roopa for those kind words. I am very happy that you liked the simple return gift of a mofussil accountant.
You are right, each day is a bonus. Each morsel of food is a gift. Why each drop of water, each breath of air is Her gift.
BTW, who is BK? Can you give some details?
love,

Dear Sudha,
I am very happy to know that you liked the poem. Both Indhu and Preethi loved the poem, but did not want it to be posted on my b'day. Indhu even refused to read the poem on 29th. She finally read only on 30th morning, minutes before I posted.
I want to use this reply to convey one more thought to you. You know when someone is serioulsy ill, according to Hindu tradition a maha mrithyunjaya homam will be performed in the house. The word mrithyunjaya, literally means winning over death. But is that possible? Has anybody won over death completely? No. Death is the most certain thing. We are not actually insuring our lives; we are only insuring our death. It should actually be the Death Insurance Corporation of India, as a Swamiji said in a meeting.
Then why is that homam performed? To win over the fear of death. Once you win over the fear then you are free. Once the fear is not there, there is no difference between life and death. The rahasyaartham of that mrithyunjaya mantra explains this. More about it some time later.

This poem touched my heart..
Not a bit depressing, it is actually more on the positive side..if we can understand it in a mature way!........but fear of death is something we are either born with or we learn it very young! So what to do? But good one....really!

thanks again.
regards,

Originally Posted by sudhavnarasimhan

Dear Sridhar,
A great piece of poetry......i can emphatise completely with each and every verse, and every word. After my father's demise last year, all of us went thru all these and came to alot of such conclusions. I absolutely believe your verse on Love being In the Heart and we can feel it!
You will always feel their love
As they always feel yours,
Till the end of Time and further more!
For time has a beginning and an end
But Love was there before time
And will be there after it too.

This poem touched my heart.....but of course how Indhu and others in family took it.....that too u had to post it now!
Not a bit depressing, it is actually more on the positive side..if we can understand it in a mature way!........but fear of death is something we are either born with or we learn it very young! So what to do? But good one....really!

Dear Brinda,
You really melted me by your love.

Very Beautifully written..... It was a wonderful gift to all your Gf's..

thanks.

Poem nala iruku sir athe samayam... ellarum ungaluku vazhlthukkal sonnom.. ippadioru poem return gifta kekdaikumnu ethirparkulla sir ..
b'day giftku return gifta yen ippadi oru poem eluthineenga kashtama thaan iruku....

பிறந்த நாளன்னிக்காவது நம்ம் மரணத்தப் பத்தி நெனக்கலேன்னா வேற என்னிக்குத்தான் நெனக்கப் போறோம்?
கவலப்படாதீங்க பிருந்தா, உங்க வாழ்த்துக்களோட நான் நூறு வருஷம் வாழப்போறேன்.
என்றும் உங்கள் அன்புக்குத் தலை வணங்கும்,
வரலொட்டி

Originally Posted by brindhak

Dear Sir..
Very Beautifully written..... It was a wonderful gift to all your Gf's..

Poem nala iruku sir athe samayam... ellarum ungaluku vazhlthukkal sonnom.. ippadioru poem return gifta kekdaikumnu ethirparkulla sir ..
b'day giftku return gifta yen ippadi oru poem eluthineenga kashtama thaan iruku....

The lines... really melted myheart....

The stars are shining in the night
As we pass them in our flight
I leave a mark in the Northern Star
Which I am sure, you’ll see
When you do, think of me

Long Live Siridhar Sir......
Endrum anbudan
brindha.....