Dr. B.R. Aneja

A Red Dream

An old man had a dream at night,
A dazzling picture, shocking to sight.

There were colours bright and shades dark,
But bloody red dominated them all.

Starving black and cold blue,
A tinge of purple and greenish too.

His own sons were fighting afar,
On road that led to temple and mosque.

Youngsters were tearing the book of law,
Studies had been set at naught.

Some burnt flag and constitution,
As if they got licence for rowdyism.

Then he saw a green landscape,
A smile played on his lips soon to fade.

His smiling visage lost its glow,
When he saw a skeleton at plough.

He saw some industries afar,
Smoke was coming out of them all.

But smoke contained red vapours in it,
The old man could not bear all this.

He shook himself to shatter the dream,
To efface the memory of that scene.

He woke up though a bit disturbed,
And moved to his goal that lay ahead.

Gradually he regained his real Self,
Realizing within him the Sole Subject.

The dot of Now was in flux for Eternity;
Ages past and ahead were all momentary.

It was his own Self throbbing everywhere;
The veil that had divided soon disappeared.

Goal and the Pursuer

Nothing can come between
The pursuer and his goal;
All lies within your reach,
Learn it from the bold.

Rise and rush towards the goal,
The goal too would rush to meet;
The distance will disappear,
When you are out to seek.

Chance waits on that road,
Which is not easy to tread;
On Fate’s chariot ride the bold,
The weak groan under its wheel.

There is no short cut to success,
Hard work is the only key;
Wavering mind brings bad luck,
Steady growth makes the seed a tree.

Portia lies in that casket
Which you may not like to choose;
Sweet things are not easy to get,
One wins when heart and brain are fused.

The Bubble of Life

A bubble is born when water and air mate;
It is the product of romance
Between the wind and the wave.
And like the romance,
The product too is short-lived;
It contains a moment of Time,
A part of Eternity in it.
As soon as the moment completes its span,
The bubble bursts, the dream is shattered,
And the labour of love is lost.
Although the sin has served its purpose,
Yet the race of life will never stop.

The Cosmic Pool of Knowledge

If a grain of sand is the cosmos in miniature,
And if an amoeba is whole humanity,
There must be a central brain, a memory pool,
That preserves the experience and information of all.
Organisms are not chemistry alone,
Nor language is the only medium of learning;
Impressions from the cosmic pool surround us,
And we receive them when we tune in.
Harmony with the nature and self,
Resonance with the music of the space,
Teach us more than the dry printed leaves.
This cosmic pool emits and contains all because
Past and future are not beyond its reach,
And experience survives even the extinct species.

Command Your Stars

In your palm is your fate confined,
Fashion your future as willed by mind;
Command your stars change the lines,
What you want, explore and find.

You can flourish juggler’s rod,
You can beg with beggar’s staff;
You can hold scepter and sword,
In these hands lie powers vast.

You can gain laurels with hands,
You can grow flowers in sand;
You can scatter joys and thorns,
You can soothe the hearts torn.

You can grapple and struggle,
Against life’s painful troubles;
You can face sufferings of the world,
Your hands can work miracles.

You can box, bless or fondle,
You can lift the down-trodden;
With these hands you can kill,
Wipe out the tears, if you will.

You can lick the feet of others,
You can rule over the world;
You can steal even from beggars,
With same hands you can hit the robbers.

Get upper hand, deal fair hand,
Lend your hand, find helping hands;
Hand in hand continue your march,
Be the first hand to hold the torch.

Noble Deeds on the Pages of Time

God has sent you to this earth,
To live life equal to its worth;
To scatter radiance of love and hope,
To alleviate suffering and sorrows.

Man was made in the image of God
To have hatred for none, love for all.
If man can’t love his fellow beings,
How can he love God who is unseen?

If you have chanced to pass this world,
Why should you leave it unloved?
You may not be able to come again,
Avail this chance and spiritually gain.

Suffering may look Promethean to you,
But Himalayan will can cure it too.
Flowers you may not be able to grow,
But weeds you can clear before you go.

Single-handed one can do Herculean task,
Big fire is kindled by a little spark.
Little acts of service start a chain,
Torrents are formed by drops of rain.

See, even a thorn protects the rose,
To fight the dark, glow-worm glows.
To brighten earth, moon reflects light,
The cuckoo sings to spread delight.

To transport itself to a higher plane,
A moth burns itself in the flame.
Clouds dissolve to quench the earth,
Bees gather honey not for themselves.

You too light a candle in the dark,
Be light to lighten God’s task.
There is certainly some divinity in us,
Let it wake, work and spread.

Threatening disparities in society,
Call for acts of peace and piety.
Need of the hour is revolution of love,
Else world would be heading for trouble.

Lift the fallen, encourage the weak,
Scatter smiles free of colour and creed.
The poor need bread buttered with love,
Cold charity is charity’s insult.

Break this narrow circle of self,
Be cosmic and soak up the universe.
We are integral part of the whole,
Humanity is a family and home, the globe.

Realize the magnetic thread of life,
That is woven through earth and sky.
Find the wood that lies in the tree,
Prismatic rays of One Light are we.

What brought you here except your Soul,
Empty-handed you came and thus will go.
But words of courage and deeds of love,
Vibrate ever in the memory of the world.

The stars that glitter in the sky,
Halo that surrounds the moon bright,
Are noble deeds done to mankind,
Which ever shine on the pages of time.