Site Title Poetry of the Soul

On this festival of lights—

On this festival of lights, spread light all around,

Why shouldn’t you with positivity yourself surround?

Let the light of righteousness the whole world illuminate

Where no one does another humiliate,

Where the light of truth and reason beckons all,

Where none between one person and another does erect a wall,

Where right invariably prevails over wrong,

And the jarring cacophony of life is transfigured into a melodious song,

Where above all differences humanity prevails,

Where we can put an end to other people’s needless travails,

Where the religion of goodness holds sway

Which has the power to turn all darkness into a bright invigorating day!

Let this festival of lights usher in a new dawn

Where goodness triumphs over vileness and brain over brawn,

Where the soul within lights up our life path

So that we can eschew all wrong doing and escape the gods’ wrath!

With best wishes dedicated to you all on the auspicious occasion of Deepavali

Arun Bhagat

#arunbhagatwrites #poetry #poeticoutpourings #outpouringsofmyheart #writer #indianwriter #englishpoetry #poetryofthesoul

अनंत नभ को नाप ले

तूँ चला चल अपनी राह,

जीवन की तूँ पा ले थाह,

कोई साथ दे तो ले अपने संग,

नहीं तो देख अकेले ज़िंदगी के रंग,

दुनिया को देख न बदल अपने ढंग,

न अपनी सोच को बना तूँ तंग,

जीवन सागर की तरह तूँ बन विशाल,

फिर देख तूँ कुदरत के कमाल!

जीवन सिंधु के तल से तूँ चुन ला मोती,

फिर देख जागते हुए तेरी क़िस्मत जो सोती,

बढ़ जा आगे अपनी धुन में मस्त,

न पड़ शिथिल, न होने से अपने हौंसले को पस्त,

जीवित है तूँ, रख सदैव स्वयं को जीवंत,

न जकड़ किसी बेड़ी में खुद को,न होने दे खुद को परतंत्र,

आगे की जाने कौन, इसी जीवन में ही हो मुक्त,

ज्ञान का प्रसार हो, अज्ञानता हो तेरी लुप्त,

सरल और स्वच्छंद भाव से जीवन तूँ जी,

अनंत नभ को नाप ले, मुक्ति बोध का अमूल्य रस तूँ पी!

अरुण भगत

An Ode to Love

Love is a heart-warming light in a dense dark forest,

It is the soothing balm for our inner wounds sorest,

Love is of our DNA the unwritten code,

It is for us the greatest blessing of God!

The language of love every creature understands,

It is a glue like no other that together us bands,

It is the manna that falls from the heavens,

It can sort out every life that is at sixes and sevens!

It is the heavenly notes of Lord Krishna’s flute,

It is the perfect antidote to any force brute,

Only love can put out the raging fires of hate,

It is of kindness and compassion the inseparable mate!

There is nothing like love that our life enhances,

It is the most beautiful emotion that in the recesses of our heart dances,

Love is in an alcove the winter fire,

It saves the day for us in situations most dire!

Love is the soul of every worthwhile relation,

It is of all negativity the most powerful negation,

Life without love will be land barren and fallow,

It will turn even the most rosy complexion pale and sallow!

Love is what adds life to years,

It is the sure dispeller of our countless fears,

Let us cross our fingers and to the Lord pray

That in every nook and cranny love holds sway

To push back the relentless waves of violence and hate

And of peace and happiness for us open the floodgate!

Let love be our most precious gift to each other,

Why not imbibe this lesson from every selflessly loving mother?

Instead of macho aggressive men,

if loving mothers this world run,

Universal peace and well-being should be a deal closed and done!

Arun Bhagat

धीरे धीरे

धीरे धीरे, रे मना, धीरे सब कुछ होए,

क्यों रहता है जल्दी में, क्यों आपा है खोए?

धीरे पढ़िए, धीरे गुनिये, धीरे मन में उतारिए,

धीरे धीरे हौले हौले अपने जीवन को संवारिए,

धीरे धीरे होती हैं खोजें, धीरे धीरे आविष्कार,

धीरे धीरे ही होते मानव निर्माण के सपने साकार,

धीरे धीरे ही पक कर मिश्री जैसा मीठा होता है फल,

धीरे धीरे ही सीधा होता रस्सी में पड़ गया जो बल,

धीरे धीरे होता विचार और होता है दिमाग़ रौशन,

धीरे धीरे जिज्ञासाएँ होती शांत और होता उनका भरण पोषण!

धीरे धीरे ऋतुएँ बदलें अपने सुंदर रंग,

धीरे धीरे ही जीवन दर्शाए अपने अनूठे ढंग,

धीरे धीरे ही होता है मानव का मोह भंग,

धीरे धीरे ही तो भाता है अपने प्रभु का संग!

धीरे धीरे चिंतन होता, धीरे आत्म-विकास,

धीरे धीरे आत्मा आनंदित होती, होता अलौकिक प्रकाश!

अरुण भगत

रिश्ता वही जो दे रूह को सकूँ

रिश्ते कहने से नहीं बनते,

वे बनते हैं उन्हें जीने से,

कहने से ही अगर रिश्ते बन जाते प्रगाढ़,

तो फिर तो उम्दा रिश्तों की आ जाती बाढ़!

आज अगर रिश्ते रह गये हैं सिर्फ़ नाम के,

तो हैं वे फिर किस काम के?

हैं भी और नहीं भी,

इसी ऊहापोह में ज़िंदगी हो जाती है बसर,

और ऐसे रिश्तों का रह न जाता है कोई असर!वह रिश्ता भी क्या रिश्ता जो फ़ायदा देख निभाया जाए,

ऐसे रिश्तों से भला क्या पाया जाए ?

रिश्ता वह है जिससे बंधी हो मन की डोर,

जो न डगमगाए चाहे आ जाएँ आंधियाँ घोर,

रिश्ता वह है जो दे एक दूसरे की रूह को सकूँ,

जिसमें एक दूजे के लिए कुछ कर मिटने का हो जनूँ,

रिश्ता वही जिस से मन गुल की तरह खिल जाए,

जैसे किसी को खोई हुई कोई जन्नत मिल जाए!

अच्छे रिश्ते ही फूंक सकते हैं रूह में जान,

उन्हीं पर हम कर सकते हैं नाज़ और मान!

कारगर रिश्तों को सीने से लगाए रखिए,

उन्हें हम-निवाला और हम-प्याला बनाए रखिए,

वही करेंगे हमारे अंतर्मन का भरण पोषण,

वही करेंगे हमारे जिंदगियों को रौशन,

वही चमकेंगे आसमाँ में बन कर सितारे,

वही होंगे हमारी आन बान और शान जो होंगे हमें जान से भी प्यारे!

अरुण भगत

Heart is a Multi-Layered Thing

Your heart is a vast ocean,

With so many feelings and passions in motion!

Those passions hold you by of your neck the scruff,

They can even drive you to conduct wild and gruff,

They can lead to great works of art or innovations,

They can also land you in messy situations!

Heart is a multi-layered thing,

Its notes can have a true or false ring!

It can lead you to alleys treacherously seductive,

It can also make your life fruitful and productive!

It can turn you into of love a life-sustaining fountain,

It can also turn a mole of animus into a monstrous mountain!

Your heart can make you a messiah of the masses,

But it can also make you a charlatan who for an honest gentleman passes!

Its vile passions can your life wreck,

Or the pearls retrieved from its bottom can your existence beautifully deck!

Why not learn to weather your heart’s storms and its tides ride,

Why not learn to by its blessings and bounties abide?

Arun Bhagat

A Benumbed Conscience is A Dangerous Thing

The dumbing down of our conscience,

Where will it us lead?

It will only lead us to commit black deed upon black deed!

A benumbed conscience is a dangerous thing,

It lets our devilish tendencies take wing!

It makes us fall and fall from grace,

It leaves of our humanity not even the slightest trace!

Everyday it makes us of degradation new depths plumb,

It leaves us morally dumb and our sensibility numb!

When we grow oblivious to all distinctions of wrong and right,

And our good sense all but takes flight,

Take it as the beginning of the end,

And prayers to the Almighty above send

To give us the good sense to step back from the brink

And deep from the fountain of truth drink

To enable us to nail our own miserable wretched lies,

And resuscitate our conscience which before us bit by bit dies!

Only therein lies our redemption as a race,

And our slow return to a life of righteousness and grace!

Arun Bhagat

Let There Be A Spring in Your Step

Do not be down and out,

There is victory waiting at the end of every rout!

Be up and doing,

And you will be good fortune wooing!

Let there be a spring in your step,

For the onslaughts of life let there be ongoing prep!

Pick up the gauntlet that life throws down,

Do not at the ever new challenges of life frown!

For running the marathon of life you need spirit and guts,

Marshal your resources to get out of life’s ruts!

Can’t you see at the end of the tunnel the light?

Setting sights on it will get you there alright!

Fortune indeed favours the dignified and the brave,

It loves those who success with honour crave!

Keeping your honour intact, the turbulence of life negotiate,

There is no better way to invoke the gods’ grace and them propitiate!

Arun Bhagat

On the Far Away Horizons Fix Your Unwavering Gaze

Those who throw stones in your path,

Do not subject them to your wrath!

Don’t be riled by their excess,

Let those stones be your stepping stones to success!

Life has a way of throwing challenges at you,

To prove your mettle is all that you have to do!

Let all impediments in your way bring out in you the best,

You have to pass with flying colours this litmus test!

Be unstoppable in your onward march,

Let your redoubtable will perk you up and charge!

In the battle of life, have the courage to be on the top,

Why just throw up your hands in despair and mop?

Never say die and never give up,

If need be, have the stomach even with the devil to sup!

On the far away horizons fix your unwavering gaze,

Let nothing stop you whether it is the densest fog or disorienting haze!

Arun Bhagat

Learn to Leave Everything with Grace

When everything we have to leave,

Why intricate webs of attachment do we weave?

Why to anything try to cling

When everything has to go and take wing?

Why try to hold on to any belongings

And invite needless heartaches and longings?

Empty-handed we come and we go empty-handed,

Has anyone in the other world with worldly possessions landed?

As for of the filthy lucre the lure,

Only wisdom and right thinking can you of it cure!

With nothing really at stake,

why not travel through life light

By shedding all false notions of power and might?

Walk light in body and mind and in soul light,

Why the bullet of fiendish temptations bite

When they are not to anything going to lead?

Why can’t we open our inner eye and the writing on the wall read?

Learn to leave everything with grace,

Why get into to nowhere a race?

Arun Bhagat