HE WHO HAS NO LEARNING

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

HE WHO HAS NO LEARNING

This is A Hindu Saying translated from Sanskrit.

Taken from the book “A Mirror of Morality” by the Hindu sage
CHAANAKYA

He, who has no learning, does not perform penance, does not give alms, and has no piety, no virtue, no righteousness; he, becoming a burden to the earth, wanders like a deer in human form.

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LIFE BEGINS IN THE MORNING

LIFE BEGINS IN THE MORNING

Life begins in the early morning…
Each morning is the open door to a new world -
new vistas, new aims, new tryings.
-Leigh Hodges.

Every new day is a gift from God which we should not squander. It brings us new opportunities for beginning a new life, for correcting mistakes, and for setting a new course for the enhancement of life. At the same time we must remember that at some time there will never be a new day, so bearing that in mind, we must live today as if it is our last day. My mother who was a workaholic used to say in creolese, “If me know me go dead tomarra, me go wuk mo haad today”. Yes, we have to work conscientiously and also to serve with dedication, for loving service to your fellow man is the noblest accomplishment.
-Randall Butisingh

PREJUDICE DIES HARD

PREJUDICE DIES HARD

Some time ago, I visited one of my friend’s blogs and read where the Australian Prime Minister apologised to the indigenous Aborigine Tribes for the horrors done to them through racism in the name of ‘progress’. In particular he mentioned the stolen generation, referring to the 10-30% of children who were taken from their parents to be raised and educated in white households, from 1910 to 1970.

As an America she is reminded once again of the national psyche in the areas where apology has not yet been made to the Native Americans of this land who suffered full scale genocide at the hands of pioneering settlers and the United States government. This was my reply: -

“The realisation of the atrocities done to the indigenous people of Australia and the President’s apology is a laudable one; but his voice however sincere or the voice of government, may not be the voice of the nation. Prejudice dies hard. It is even seen in religion.

When India gained Independence, the caste system was abolished, but that did not remove the prejudice. It remained and is lingering still, though there is hope that it will disappear with the education of the coming generations. In the U, S.A. the same could be said to the indigenous peoples. However, with the slavery of the Africans, the ugliest blot on civilisation, where a people made in the image of God and a brother man was reduced to the category of goods and chattels, who were deprived of their language and culture and therefore of their identity, no apology from a government alone could remove the indelible stain of the gross injustice perpetrated by their greedy forefathers.

However there were individuals who saw the injustice and did what they can to help. Among them, the greatest President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln, who became a martyr for the cause. He used his authority during the Civil War to free all the slaves, give them asylum in the North and an opportunity to live as human beings. Frederick Douglas, one of his African advisers could have attested to his sincerity. But, as I said before, prejudices hard. We see it every day; but there is a glimpse of hope as is evinced during the primaries for the U.S.A. November 2008 elections.
May Truth prevail!”

– Randall Butisingh

THE DAISY

THE DAISY

You teach me humility, the cord on which all the virtues are strung.

That you may be trampled upon, but you will rise again victorious.

You teach me that the body is transitory; that outward beauty fades, but true beauty never fades, it remains in the wrinkled face; it survives death.

You teach me that however small I am, I can make a contribution. You can give shade to the ant.

You teach me that there is constant change in the world of things; that forms disappear and reappear in other forms.

That only that which was before the beginning of time is unchanging, is eternal.

That you too have a purpose.

Randall Butisingh

Haiku

(a Japanese form of Poetry)

The yellow daisies

Colour the earth’s green carpet

Restraining the feet.

Randall Butisingh

Small service is true service while it lasts;

Of humblest friends, bright creature, scorn not one;

The daisy, by the shadow that it casts,

Protects the lingering dewdrop from the sun.

William Wordsworth.

ONE DAY AT A TIME

THOUGHT FOR TODAY:

ONE DAY AT A TIME

ONE DAY AT A TIME SWEET JESUS
IS ALL I AM ASKING OF YOU
-Gospel song

We have to live one day at a time,
but we are living it for eternity in that
one day.
-anonymous

Look to this day for it is life…..
Yesterday is but a dream
and tomorrow only a vision…
-Kalidas

Comment:

Today, nay this present moment is what we are certain we have.
We do not know what will happen the next moment. Death is the
only certainty. Then let us live today as if it was our last and as Gandhiji, that saintly soul puts “Live as if you will die today, but work as if you will live forever.”
Working for Eternity means: loving your neighbour as you love yourself.
That is: Do unto others as you will have them do to you. Working as
if you will live forever means; shun idleness and procrastination, choose
the work that you love and can do well, and give it your best. If you
love your work, you will enjoy a perpetual holiday, and you will have
freedom from stress and anxiety. After all it is health of body and peace of mind we want most in life, and if we can get it with love in our hearts and just the bare necessities for life and living, it is worth the while.

Randall Butisingh

FATHER’S DAY

FATHERS DAY

Speech delivered by Randall Butisingh some time ago to a mixed religious gathering

The Almighty in his Infinite wisdom has created for the purpose of procreation, man and woman. He has instituted and sanctified matrimony when the two become one, an indivisible bond. In Hinduism there is no divorce; the two are irrevocably joined. It is also enjoined in scripture that “ Whomsoever God hath joined, let not man put asunder”.

The purpose of marriage is primarily procreation, the bringing of other human beings into the world. Children are an investment and insurance for the future. Marriage is also for companionship between male and female, which companionship must grow in love as the couple grow in years If the union is to be successful, love between parents is essential for the nurture and upbringing of the child. To be conceived and nurtured in love are of more importance than instruction and restraint. Formal education can help a child to earn a living, but love will help a child to grow in grace and enjoy a high quality of life. Mere living or existing is not life.

A child nurtured in an atmosphere of love will have more mental and moral stability, will feel more secure, will be better emotionally adjusted, and will grow to be a valuable human resource for his country and for humanity as a whole. If all the homes could be loving homes, then all the communities would be good communities; then the world in which we live would be a better place with less crime, less poverty, as the resources of the world would not be squandered in making weapons of mass destruction, but would be utilized for peaceful constructive purposes.

The duty of rearing a child devolves on both father and mother. The loving of each must be felt by the child. There must be no partiality in relationships. The mother must accept the father as head, and the father must accept the responsibility of provider and protector.. The father must earn the respect of the family and will be as a shelter against the storms of life.. If he is to abdicate that duty, then the home will lose its bearings and will be exposed to assault from without and disintegration from within.

The love of mother is incomparable but the love of father can be as great.. With both these loves as models, will naturally follow sibling love, Then there will be peace and harmony in the home..

We are seeing in our society today where many of our own people who have entered this country for the purpose of fulfilling their material needs have broken ties of family and friendships and have become culturally orphaned. We have seen in this new life style broken homes due to a high divorce rate and homes where the father is a permanent absentee; where there are many cases of teenage pregnancies, where children are born out of wedlock and where the father is not ready to assume responsibility. The breakdown of family life is the root of most of the evils that pervade this society. The family, and not the individual is the unit of society.

Children from broken homes where the mother alone has to work to provide for all are missing the love and attention so desirable for growth and development. These children become insecure, maladjusted, insensitive and callous, and they view the world as a cruel place. They become antisocial with disregard for authority and are least amenable to discipline at home and school. These are the ones attracted to gangs for acceptance, protection and comradeship. These youths who choose the wrong road are not inherently evil. They are the products of this society. All are involved. This situation will never change until we revert to the era when the sanctity of marriage was upheld and there were very few broken homes, where there were integrated families and extended families living together and supporting one another, where elders were respected and the young protected.

I exhort you, parents, especially fathers to build strong family ties where love abides, and though you are in a different society to cling together as one large family, living your religion as it is intended to be, respecting those of others, and knowing that by so doing, you will be serving one Father, God, the Creator, of whom we are all His children.

Happy Father’s Day and God bless you.

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

PRELUDE TO FATHER’S DAY

As a prelude to FATHER’S DAY, I am posting one of my favourite Hymns.
which I have memorised and often reflect on in my quiet moments.
God Is Love. He is Light. He is Joy. His way is ‘The Way of the Cross’.

O Love that wilt not let me go
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe
That in Thine Ocean’s depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O Light that followest all my way
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray
That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be..

O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promsse id not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust, life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.

- G. Matheson
Hymn 699
(Hymns ancient and modern)

FEELING WITH THE HEART

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

FEELING WITH THE HEART

The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.
-Mother Teresa

Comment:

These are the words of that saintly character Mother Teresa; and who could have said it better than one who has spurned the shelter of the cloister for the rigours of the slums in Calcutta, in order to help the sick, the suffering and the destitute.

We tend to think that beauty is visible and we make our choices on what we see; but what we see is not beauty but what is pretty or comely. These attributes wither and perish with time like a plucked flower. Beauty makes for lasting relationships.

Love, the best and most beautiful of things, cannot be seen but it is most powerful. It can melt the stoniest heart and tame the wildest beast. Other best and beautiful things that cannot be seen are compassion, kindness and the warmth of friendship. They bind us, but at the same time, give us perfect freedom.
-Randall Butisingh

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

STEADILY TO OUR GOAL

As we make our way up from the valley of tears, let us not dawdle or hang back. There is still some way to go, and laziness and pride will suggest other and easier ways of getting there’ but we can reject them and climb on steadily toward our goal - If our trust is in the One who watches over our going out and our coming in, who guards our feet and shields us from the burning sun of day and the chilling moon of night.
-The Confessions of St Augustine

COMMENT:
Dear Lord as I near the end of my sojourn on earth in this corruptible body, strengthen my Faith and purify my heart, so that I no more see darkly as through a coloured glass, 1Corinthians 13:12, but can perceive the essence of all things; with a clear mind I can make good judgments, and with a clean heart, I will be able to feel your Love and Presence; and that all my doings will be fashioned according to Your will. Help me to sustain that love and as I live daily, let me so think and say and do, that men may see your light which shines in me and glorify you.

– Randall Butisingh

THOUGHT FOR TODAY

STRANGERS IN A STRANGE LAND

This world is not my home,
I’m just a passing through.”

We are all strangers in a strange land’
Longing for home, but not quite
knowing what or where home is. We
glimpse it sometimes in our dreams, or
as we turn a corner, and suddenly there
is a strange, sweet familiarity that
vanishes almost as soon as it comes.
-Madeleine L’Engle,
The Rock That is Higher

Comment:

We are all truly strangers in a land which is not our home.
Where we are is temporary - a brief stay like the flowers
of the grass. We are deluded that the body is the true Self.
We are not the body. The body is our corruptible house.

In moments of inspiration, we get glimpses of our true Self which is Spirit eternal.
-Randall Butisingh