Why Thanatophobia?
Arjuna became
weak and restless--
He saw his
relatives in the battlefield,
Lord Buddha also
became depressed
Seeing a corpse
and a man diseased.
Then Buddha
tried to unveil deeper truths--
In his long
search for self realization:
The Karma and
the eightfold path
As he attained
enlightenment and elevation.
With eyes
tearful and downcast,
Overwhelmed with
compassion and despair,
Arjuna was
distressed with a heavy heart--
Why kill one's
own family and conquer?
Krishna assured
Arjuna in words crystal:
Death is simply
an illusion not reality,
We all have to
pass through this portal,
But it remains a
perpetual mystery!
We are not body
but immortal souls
That forever
remains indestructible--
The unborn,
imperishable soul continues
From one body to
another all powerful.
A human being
puts on new garments,
The old ones he
leaves and discards,
The soul
similarly accepts new bodies
It's a truth
ineffable beyond words.
Storm clouds do
not affect the sky,
The vast
firmament remains unruffled,
We gape and
wonder to ask why,
The cosmic cycle
moves undisturbed.
Who grieves to
see the autumnal leaves
When they become
yellow on the branches,
And ultimately
fall off from the trees--
After the abscission
a new life begins.
I try to connect
the threads of philosophy,
This mysterious
cycle of birth and death,
The impermanence
of the material body--
The
transitoriness of human breath!
Amid the span of
material consciousness--
It's not easy to
withdraw the mind
From
ostentations and pompousness
And focus
constantly on God!
I aspire to
cultivate consciously
Rich spiritual
emotions for Krishna,
I wish to etch
into my mind keenly,
His eternal
words to Parth, Arjuna:
"Those who
remember me at the time of Death
Will always come
to me" --
I take His name
with faith
In the midst of
a surging sea!
Perhaps I become
Valmiki's incarnation
Repeating the
syllables in quick succession--
Ma- Ra, Ma- Ra, Ma, Ra, Ma- Ra
Ma,- Ra-Ma, Rama, Rama...
Death Under A Canopy Of Stars
How often
I have tried to
know
the truth behind
the outer frame
of things:
The boat of
thoughts
float in the
lake of my mind--
The visible
world--
An illusion?
Between many
pervious
and impervious
layers
I try to penetrate!
Death-- the
ultimate truth
seems to be
lurking somewhere,
But I pay no
heed to it--
The candles of
your love -- incandescent--
glisten and
burn!
Let us live
forever, you and I,
somewhere under
a canopy of
stars
and a luminous
moon--
Moments frozen
into eternity!
The Grey Horizon
1.
I come to
Banaras
On the bank of the Ganges,
With an urn in
my hands
Containing your mortal remains:
My siblings and
I, with tear-stained faces,
Stand motionless in a sea of sorrow!
2.
O my father, my
dear father!
You're no more, no more with us!
High in the sky
reach lamentations,
The boatman's song is sad,
The river
remains ready for sessions,
The oar touches the water cool.
The kingfisher
with its blue and orange
Plumage and stubby tail,
The long- legged
heron with its pointed bill,
Fail to invite my attention.
3.
I look at the
timeless holy river:
Silver, vast and deep.
The boat moves
slowly through the water,
Soon the ash is immersed, oh!
The sky remains
in her fast sleep!
For hours together I sit on the bank
Looking at the
vast expanse of sand,
As the day slips into a sad evening!
The truth lies
naked in semi-darkness---
Mortals with feeble powers!
Hollow world
crammed with emptiness!
4.
Daylight
approaches--
The darkened sky turns salmon- pink
The colour seeps
into the horizon
Summoning the sun.
But it doesn't
dispel the darkness
Enveloping my mind and heart--
I feel sad and
forlorn in the magic city!
Cargoes of memories surround me:
And I'm plunged
into the years
Morphed into past!
5.
With you my
visits to Banaras
Basking in the glory of childhood!
Holding your
hand I enjoyed
So many places mesmerized:
A splurge of
traditional charms
In the crowded Vishwanath lane--
Clay idols,
brasswares, bright beads and shells!
Enamoured with the sight
I feasted my
eyes on them, and
The very next day those sweet nothings
Became surprise
gifts from you!
6.
Walking on the
streets of Banaras,
I listened to you spellbound--
The mystery of
the city with a glorious past:
When Athens was growing in strength,
Before Rome had
become known to the world,
Or Greece had contended with Persia,
Kashi had risen
to greatness on earth!
7.
The home of Lord
Shiva-- the great Vishwanath
Adorned with flowers and holy bilva
leaves,
Ganga--
reminiscent of king Bhagirath!
The pious beauty of the river
Quite early in a
moment enchanted:
Countless temples, minarets of mosques,
Boats on the
tranquil river until the ghats
Erupt into a riot of colour and
activity
With river
breaking up the sun's
Golden reflection in the water!
8.
The magical
sweeping stairs
Plunging into the Ganges
Crowded by
devotees eagar to take a dip.
The beautiful crescent sweep
Of the river
towards the north
From the Western bank-- Like
The white moon
pinned to Lord Shiva's Lock!
9.
Out of my
reverie, the sorrow continues!
Banaras without you, gives me a stab,
The heartache,
no one can heal,
But I know in the memories
I'll feel you
every moment, every day!
Your memories become a treasure--
Too precious and
beautiful to forget:
Can never be devoured by Death!
RANJANA SHARAN SINHA
Dr. RANJANA SHARAN
SINHA is an eminent poet, author and retired professor of English. She
is a well- known voice is n Indian Poetry in English with International
recognition. Her poems, short stories, articles and research papers have been
widely published in reputed dailies, magazines, e-zines, archives and journals
at national and international levels. Her poems have found space in more than
40 highly-acclaimed global Anthologies like Atunis Galaktika, Our Poetry
Archive, Inner Child Press, USA, Kali Project, Indie Blu(e) Publishers, USA,
Poet , UK, Silk Route Anthologies, Egypt
and many more. Her poems have been translated into German, Greek, Polish,
Spanish, Albanian, Russian, Persian, Nepali and Hindi languages. She has
authored and published 09 books in different genres and 50 research papers
covering different themes and subjects: 1. Spring Zone (A Collection of Poems
and Haiku) 2. Midnight Sun (A Collection of Short Stories) 3. Nature in the
Poetry of William Wordsworth and SumitraNandan Pant (A Comparative Criticism)
4. Feminism: Times and Tides (A Historiographical and Theoretical commentary on
Feminism) 5. Different Dimensions (A Compilation of Research Papers presented
in various national and international conferences and seminars) 6. Scents and
Shadows (A Collection of Poems) 7. Rhymes for Children (A Collection of Nursery
Rhymes) 8. The Purple Jacaranda and Other Poems (A Collection of Poems) 9. Ek
Sita Main Bhee (A Collection of Poems in Hindi). She has received a number of
awards for her contribution to poetry that include a commendation from the
former President of India, A P.J. Abdul Kalam for her poem 'Mother Nature'
contained in her collection 'Spring Zone'.To name the awards: Best Poet Award,
Poets International, Bangalore; Rashtriya Pratibha Samman, (Kalam Kalanidhi),
Udaipur; Best Citizens of India, International Publishing House, New Delhi;
Best Teacher Award, Nagpur Shikshan Mandal, Nagpur, Brijsahityamani Samman,
Agra, Govind Hindi Samman, Chitransh Kulbhaskar Samman, Bilaspur; Citation of the Brightest Honour by Sufi
International, Bangalore; Independence Day Honour by Gujarat Sahitya Akadem and
Motivational Strips, 2021, Rabindranath Memorial Award, 2022 and The Golden
Heart International Award, 2022. Her poems from her collection 'Scents and
Shadows' have been included in postgraduate university syllabus of Purnea
University. She is associated with many global Poetry Groups and Organizations.
Many academic research papers have been written and published on her poetry.
She is one of the editors of Our Poetry Archive. She lives in Nagpur
(Maharashtra), India with her spouse who is a doctor (ophthalmologist).
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