Cold

Cold is not the season, it is the condition of heart
Cold is not the temperature, it is life's path
When desires rule the heart and wants the mind
When ego is at its acme and love has gone away
Cold is not the air, it is the look in the eyes
Cold is not the metal, it is the touch of the hand
When those who matter turn away
When those who should care are far away
You feel cold inside, its not just outside
Nothing can give warmth when love has died

Lessons not learnt

One after the other, innocents are falling victim to those who care not about the basic human values. Those who forget that they are human when lust and desire consumes them are openly harassing and violating the basic human rights. Be it honor killing or rape or murder, be it battered baby or dowry death, be it cruelty or public shooting, be it arson or just economic shutdown. Peope are using their physical power to overpower those whom they feel are weak and alone. It is time that the lesson is learnt that all are equal as human beings otherwise just punishing a few and leaving others, cases of selective justice are not going to cure the rising cases of crime.
The lesson of love and equality needs to be learnt otherwise this world will not remain a place to live in. Unless and until, every single individual learns to treat the other as his equal irrespective of sex, caste, class, religion, place of birth or race, it is not possible to curb the crimes that are rampant in the society. It is useless to shout slogans unless one strives to change his own heart. It is a lesson to be learnt or else nothing will remain.

Lost patience

It is an irony that in a country that boasts of being a democracy and freedom of speech and movement are the basic rights of its citizens, where right to life and privacy is guaranteed to every individual, the society is interering in every aspect of another's life. What to wear, what not to wear, what to speak, what to write has become the concern of every self appointed guardian of society and culture. Girls are banned from wearing what they like, molested by their own family, fathers and other neighbours killed for trying to save a girl from molestation, people jailed for expressing their views, the world has really lost its patience. Instead of moving ahead and giving each person his due, everybody is interested in what the other is doing. Honour killings on rise are just another expression of the society's inability to accept change. In reality, they are creating a world of tyranny, of oppression. Allowing every person to live as per his or her choice is what the society should be based on. The false notions of honour and wealth and status should be given up. A free society is where the weak and the strong can co-exist happily. Millions are dying hungry worldwide, we need a little more love, a little less hate, and a lot more of patience. It is time to stop and ponder is this the world that we want to leave to our children. Certainly it is not. It is time to change ourselves. Let's love prevail and let us have some patience with our fellow brothers and sisters. Give others the freedom to do what they want, as long as they are not harming anyone else, it is their birth-right. Let's be more patient.

Why a veil?

A veil is a curtain that hides something from others. It can be a physical veil or a spiritual veil. A physical veil is what is manifest in the eye of the beholder; a spiritual veil is one which is not manifest but exists nevertheless. Veil hides or protects, it separates, and it brings about a discipline. Sometimes a veil is there because some things are so grand that they cannot be seen. Sometimes the veil is there to protect that which is delicate. Sometimes the veil is there to safeguard the onlooker, sometimes it protects that which it covers. It protects from evil. It stops not just the action but the very intention of doing wrong. While a physical veil may be used to shield from the gaze of the onlookers, a spiritual veil has a far greater importance. A spiritual veil protects a man from getting tempted towards wrong thoughts. And veil is better than the remembrance of God? This veil stops the whisperings of the satan. It purifies and heals. It cleans that what has been polluted. It preserves that which is delicate and needs protection. A veil is not to save others from getting tempted; it is to protect one’s own soul from getting tempted. It is the sword as well as the shield.

Religion and spirituality

What is religion? Religion is the way of life. It is a means of perfecting the life on earth as well as creating a perfection in the hereafter. Religion aims at purifying the soul, taking away the defects that occur in it and creating a being worth liking. Religion is not just a worship of God but it is something more. It is a spiritual awakening. A mere performance of rituals doesn’t make a man religious if his spirit is not awakened. The very foundation of religion lies in spirituality. Spirituality means looking beyond the physical body. It goes deep down in the very foundation of existence. It is the acceptance of God as the Supreme Power, the Creator and the Suatainer. It is the acknowledgement of the fact that the souls are bound to perform certain duties. The most important duty is to bow down before its Creator. But that alone is not spirituality. An equally important aspect of spirituality is love and humility. The prostration should come out of humility and love. The person prostrating should acknowledge that his position is a very humble one and is one amongst the many other souls. There cannot be pride in a true prostration. The prostration should come out of the love for his Lord. It should be a declaration of love. And love is the acme of all emotions that a human heart is capable of feeling. Love is the complete negation of the feeling of self. It is a complete surrender to the beloved. And who can be a better beloved than the One who is all knowing and all powerful. Love for the Lord alone can empower a man to follow religion and lead his life in a pious manner. And love for the Lord also means that he should love each and every creation of his Lord. For if he cannot love that is manifest, how can he love that which is beyond his imagination? How can he love his Lord, if he cannot love that which the Lord has created? Without love he cannot obey any command. Fear is not a sufficient incentive for the soul to surrender. Love alone can control it. Without love there cannot be spirituality and without spirituality there cannot be religion. Without spirituality there can only be misguided youth and chaos. To bring about peace, it is necessary that every instance of hate or pride be removed.