Living is not necessarily being alive,

Can you some meaning from the above statement derive?

Those merely living put themselves to shame,

Being alive is an entirely different ball game!

Being alive is embracing life with open eyes,

It is not deluding yourself with inaction and lies!

You are alive when you live it up,

And with the wise and the enlightened sup!

You are alive when you to the cosmic rhythms dance,

And in a moment can at eternity glance!

You are alive when of life’s endless possibilities you are aware,

And to tread upon uncharted paths you can dare!

You are alive when you are attuned to others’ suffering and pain,

And spend your life in an empathetic vein!

You are alive when all this is done,

And with the vast interplay of cosmic forces you feel one!

Arun Bhagat

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Get out of your comfort zone,

The mantle of a courageous person don!

Sticking to that zone will you nowhere get,

So for the new and the different your appetite whet!

Get out of the familiar and the comfortable where you are cocooned,

Otherwise in stagnation you will remain marooned!

Get out and grapple with the unfamiliar and the new,

And the rewards will be many, not a few!

Shed your sloth and timidity and explore vistas new,

There is so much to be done which is due!

The world belongs to those who venture out of the known and the old,

They are the ones who will hit the pot of gold!

Explore in the road of life every new bend,

And more wisdom to yourself lend!

To those who stepped out of their comfort zones we owe a lot

Because from them a wealth of precious new knowledge we have got!

From comfort zones come no great things,

So take it upon yourself to give your quest ever new wings!

Arun Bhagat

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When you are grateful, you feel fine

Because in gratitude you stand with the divine!

Be grateful for every blessing,

Let it be a spiritual obligation pressing!

If every blessing of yours you count,

All gloom and despondency you can surmount!

We are very fortunate as such,

We have been endowed with so much

That to grumble and despair there is no reason

As we are getting so much in and out of season!

Grateful people are so dear to God

That to every project of theirs they get the heavenly nod!

Divinity ensures through life their smooth sailing

As the Almighty offers Himself to them as a firm railing!

Grateful people are happy and without any rancour,

They always find the Almighty as their firm and steady anchor!

Arun Bhagat

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Most people will always be strangers,

So why not be a lone ranger?

They will never be your own,

Whichever garb they don!

They will always maintain a distance strange,

They will not allow you to come within their range!

They will always be somewhere aloof,

Whatever of your love and affection you offer proof!

They will be like a shadow you futilely chase,

You will never be able to fathom their ways!

So why even try to persuade them to stay,

Let them go their own way

While you go your own

Which is the path of detachment the wise have to us shown!

Arun Bhagat

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Bring your love into action,

That is how it will gain traction!

Let your love transcend all factions,

Let it flow freely through all sections!

Lived love is the best,

That will put all speculation about its existence to rest!

If you trust someone, offer some proof

Lest your trust be considered a mere spoof!

Let that trust sparkle in your eyes,

Doing that will surely be something wise!

What is regret without corresponding change?

Just a hollow vessel strange!

Let love, trust and regret manifest themselves in your behaviour,

And,believe me, they will prove to be your saviour!

Arun Bhagat

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Your heart is the moon,

Hope you realise it soon!

Let no thoughts cloud over it,

They with your heart ill-fit!

Let the moon shine forth in all its glory,

Let it tell its own wonderful story!

Let it spread of love the warm glow,

Let it through every vein and pore of your being flow!

Let no dark thoughts overwhelm your heart,

Let not them pierce it like a dart,

Lest it should lose its bearing

By cringing from every morbid thought and it fearing!

Let the stream of thoughts flitting across your heart go their way

Lest they it overpower and sway.

Do not engage with them and they will fade away

Barring here and there a thought stray,

And then the moon of your heart will be out with all its magic

As it will have averted a fate most tragic!

Arun Bhagat

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Time to hold your head high

And never say die!

Time to take stock,

May all good things to you flock!

Time to live well,

May all things in your life beautifully jell!

Time to soar into the sky like a kite

Where there will be abundant sunshine and light.

Time to trail a blaze,

May you live up to the phrase!

Time to be kind

So that all the peace in the world may you find.

Time to revel in others’ glory

So that your own life becomes a

fascinating story!

Time to sit quiet

So that you can wake up to the inner light.

Time to say what is right

And not give up without a fight.

Time to go the whole hog

And dispel any mental fog.

Time to converse with your soul

So that you can know the truth whole.

Time for all these things and much more

So that you can bring your best to the fore!

Arun Bhagat

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It is a wonderful land, the land of the living skies,

Aptly described and proudly proclaimed even from car number plates!

It is a land where skies are alive from early morn till late eve,

Beckoning you with a seductive blue- It is surely a blue to die for!-

Or with translucent snow-white clouds floating by

Or with dark ominous ones rushing in from their mysterious abode every now and then!

Whether the rain clouds bring rain or hail or just gusts of cold winds

Depends on their mood or whim.

But what is certain is that clouds will mostly be around,

Engrossed in their play in the skies,

Weaving intricate patterns and their magic web all the time, Scattering ineffable beauty and amazing colours at dawn and dusk as they come and go.

Their unrelenting roller-coaster ride up in the skies

Speaks of the ceaseless crests and troughs and highs and lows of our ives

With daubs of heart-warming beauty thrown in for good measure!

And so the living skies that have been around for millennia

Become a part of the cosmic drama

That unfolded itself eons ago

And continues its enigmatic journey to this day!

Dedicated to Saskatchewan, Canada, which is also called The Land Of The Living Skies and which we were fortunate enough to visit some years ago

Arun Bhagat

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उमदा और ख़ूबसूरत रिश्तों की बात ही कुछ और होती है!

वे होते हैं सर्दी की पीली धूप में खिले ख़ुशनुमा फूलों की तरह,

वे होते हैं ताज़ी मीठी हवाओं के लहराते झोंकों की तरह,

वे चमकते हैं जाढ़े की नम ओस के मोतियों की तरह,

वे होते हैं एक मासूम बच्चे की बेबाक़ खिखिलाती हँसी की तरह,

वे होते हैं नर्म गुदगुदाते एहसासों की मानिंद,

वे होते हैं सुंदर सावन में पंख फैला नाचते मोर की तरह,

वे पुलकित करते हैं सुबह के एक रोमांचक सपने की तरह,

वे होते हैं बेशक़ीमती अनमोल हीरों सरीखे,

वे होते हैं दिल में उठने वाली एक मीठी हूक की तरह।

वे होते हैं हमें अपनी जाँ से भी ज़्यादा प्यारे,

वे सच में होतें हैं इस दुनिया में सबसे न्यारे,

और बेशक उनसे ही होते हैं हमारे वारे न्यारे।

वही करते सही मायनों में हमें मालामाल,

वही रखते सच में हमें ज़िंदा सालों साल!

वो ही देते हैं हमारी ज़िंदगी को मायने,

उनके सिवा दिखाए कौन हमें आइने?

वही देते हैं हमारी ज़िंदगी को नए आयाम,

बस यही है हमारा उनके लिए प्यार भरा पैग़ाम!

अरुण भगत

If one day you don’t feel like talking to anyone,

Call me.

We will be silent.

Silently together we will navigate the mysteries of life,

Silently will we try to solve its riddles.

Silently will we bond together

And bask together in the warm glow of that bond.

Silently will we listen to each other’s pain

And silently reach out to each other for succour.

Silently will we hold each other’s hands

With the full-blooded consciousness

That only such hand-holding will take us all through life’s choppy waters.

Silently will we cherish that moment

Knowing that the sacredness of that moment is all.

Silently will we traverse the universe within

Knowing full well that what we see outside is

Just a reflection of what resides inside ,

And thus together will we embark on

A silent journey to know ourselves.

Arun Bhagat

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( with the acknowledgement that the first four lines have been borrowed from Gabriel Garcia Marquez whose amazing observation triggered my own thought process and flow of feelings)