Poet Seers

A great collection of poems.

Poet Seers is a collection of spiritual and illumining poetry by poets from around the world, including many different spiritual traditions.

http://www.poetseers.org/the_great_poets

"Desiderata" by Max Ehrman

Thanks Deepa for sugesting this wonderful poem.

Desiderata by Max Ehrmann

Go placidly amid the noise and haste,
and remember what peace there may be in silence.
As far as possible, without surrender, be on good terms with all persons.
Speak your truth quietly and clearly; and listen to others,
even to the dull and ignorant; they too have their story.

Avoid loud and aggressive persons, they are vexations to the spirit.
If you compare yourself with others, you may become vain and bitter,
for always there will be greater and lesser persons than yourself.
Enjoy your achievements as well as your plans.

Keep interested in your own career, however humble;
it is a real possession in the changing fortunes of time.
Exercise caution in your business affairs,
for the world is full of trickery.
But let this not blind you to what virtue there is;
many persons strive for high ideals,
and everywhere life is full of heroism.

Be yourself. Especially do not feign affection.
Neither be cynical about love;
for in the face of all aridity and disenchantment
it is as perennial as the grass.
Take kindly the counsel of the years,
gracefully surrendering the things of youth.
Nurture strength of spirit to shield you in sudden misfortune.
But do not distress yourself with dark imaginings.
Many fears are born of fatigue and loneliness.

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself.
You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars;
you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you,
no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should.

Therefore be at peace with God, whatever you conceive Him to be.
And whatever your labors and aspirations,
in the noisy confusion of life, keep peace with your soul.
With all its sham, drudgery and broken dreams,
it is still a beautiful world.
Be cheerful. Strive to be happy.

"If" by Rudyard Kipling

Thanks Deepa for suggesting the following poem. Beautiful poem.

If by Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,

Or, being hated, don't give way to hating,

And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream - and not make dreams your master;

If you can think - and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with triumph and disaster

And treat those two imposters just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken

Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,

And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose, and start again at your beginnings

And never breath a word about your loss;

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on";

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you;

If all men count with you, but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -

Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,

And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!



Bhagavad Gita

Friends,

Many of you have suggested / asked, why "Bhagavad Gita" is not one of my inspirational book. A short answer, I haven't read it yet. I am sure once I read it and more importantly understand it, it could be the best inspirational book of all time.

There have been hundereds of commenteries written on Bhagavd Gita. I would like to draw from the reader's experiences in terms of their recommendation for a particular commentary.

Manish.

From Wikipedia.

Bhagavad gita - The discourse on the Bhagavad Gita begins before the start of the climactic battle at Kurukshetra. It begins with the Pandava prince Arjuna, as he becomes filled with doubt on the battlefield. Realizing that his enemies are his own relatives, beloved friends and revered teachers, he turns to his charioteer and guide, Krishna, for advice.

In summary the main philosophical subject matter of the Bhagavad-gita is the explanation of five basic concepts or "truths":

Ishvara (The Supreme Controller)
Jiva (Living beings/the soul)
Prakrti (Matter)
Karma (Action)
Kala (Time)

The Complete List: TIME Magazine – ALL-TIME 100 Novels"

Time Critics - Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo picks the 100 best English language novels from 1923 to present.

http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/the_complete_list.html

An excellent link.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel

Here's a suggestion which has come from many friends as a highly inspirational book. I haven't read the book. I intend to read it as soon as I get a chance.

Meanwhile, I would like to hear from the rest about this book, if they had a chance to read it.

Life of Pi by Yann Martel.

Piscine "Pi" Molitor Patel, an Indian boy from Pondicherry, explores issues of religion and spirituality from an early age and survives 227 days shipwrecked in the Pacific Ocean. "Pi" is the narrator and main character of the story. The story is told as a narrative when Pi is much older and living in Canada. He recounts the story of his life and thus the 227 day journey on a lifeboat when his boat sinks.

Here's the link to the summary of the book for a quick review.

http://www.wikisummaries.org/Life_of_Pi

Enjoy.

Manish.

Back from Vacation..

Friends,

Sorry for not updating the blog in last two weeks. I have received lots of new book recommendations from friends, which I plan to update as soon as possible.

I was in India for 2 weeks. A short and sweet trip. Visited Chandigarh, Shimla, Begaluru and Purthpathy (Sai Baba's Ashram). Just came back Sunday.

Enjoy reading.

Manish.

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

One of my good friend suggested that the following book has been inspirational to her.

The Prophet by Khalil Gibran

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Prophet is a book of 26 poetic essays written in English in 1923 by the Lebanese-American artist, philosopher and writer Kahlil Gibran. In the book, the prophet Al-mustafa who has lived in the foreign city of Orphalese for 12 years is about to board a ship which will carry him home. He is stopped by a group of people, with whom he discusses many issues of life and the human condition. The book is divided into chapters dealing with love, marriage, children, giving, eating and drinking, work, joy and sorrow, houses, clothes, buying and selling, crime and punishment, laws, freedom, reason and passion, pain, self-knowledge, teaching, friendship, talking, time, good and evil, prayer, pleasure, beauty, religion, and death.

I have had the chance to read this book many years ago and had enjoyed it. This is probably the best known work of Khalil Gibran. A collection of 26 poetic essays on various topics. A great book.

I am privileged to have a Gujarati translation of this book which belonged to my maternal great grandfather.

Here's the link to the entire text.

http://leb.net/~mira/works/prophet/prophet.html

Manish.