Some people are blessed to have the touch of Goddess Saraswati on their fingers and Her kiss in their hearts; as a result they are able to compose remarkable verses. Due to this special blessings, they can dive into the ocean of thoughts and realizations and bring out the most precious pearls which they knit together to form a priceless necklace. This necklace is also known as “poetry”. There are some who think, analyze and evaluate subjects and occurrences of incidents from a different angle or perspective. They are the intellectuals and researchers who not only think but make others think as well. There is another class of people gifted with the special power of speech. They are superb conversationalists who mesmerize the audience whenever they speak. They have the touch of the Goddess of Learning in their tongue. In the fourth category of people there are the seers, the Yogis—who, despite being a part of this world, belong to the Divine. They are here to guide us, help us, lead us from Darkness to Light and from Falsehood to Truth. They enlighten us with their wisdom (practical and spiritual) and we feel secure when we are in their company. But is it possible to have these four traits in a single person? Yes, it indeed is possible. We still have such great men amidst us—K.D. Sethna alias Amal Kiran, who is not only a great Yogi but also a poet par excellence, a researcher, an Indologist, a prose-writer, a critic and what not! In this article, we shall try to discuss the various aspects of Amal Kiran, the universal genius…   more »

Poetry is truly a complete expression of beauty because it combines many different kinds of beauty: the beauty of sounds, of images, of thought, of emotions and of expression. And yet, unfortunately, the word “poetry” conjures up only images of school life. Those images often have in the background the voice of an unkind teacher or the stress of having to struggle with incomprehensible or archaic words. Most people think that one bids goodbye to poetry when one steps out of the student life. This may be why poems don’t usually form a part of our general reading. A combination of factors has made the poems of Sri Aurobindo so little appreciated. English poetry was a natural part of his education and therefore helped to form his mental make-up. In the late 19th century, a school like St Paul’s taught Greek and Latin from the lowest level of classes, and the entire focus was on literature. Education for the upper classes in England was structured around acquiring general culture, and this is why poetry was given a place of great importance at school level and was also commonly studied at colleges. It was an age when science, commerce and technology were generally considered to be inferior to literature. Having studied poetry so thoroughly, it was a natural step for Sri Aurobindo to compose his own poems. Yet there is a puzzle, and we could continue to look for less evident reasons to justify why so enjoyable a book as Sri Aurobindo’s Collected Poems remains so little known.   more »

In the supramental realisation, each thing will carry in itself a truth which will manifest at each instant without being bound by what has been or what will follow. --The Mother

Palash is a native tree of tropical southern Asia, commonly found in Indian forests. It is a medium sized, dry season, deciduous tree, growing up to 15 m. Each leaf consists of three leaflets and is velvety to the touch. The tree goes bare during winter. But from January till March, when the flowers bloom, it really looks like flame of the forest, with its bright orange flowers covering the whole tree. Flowers are medium-sized with one central beaklike petal and two smaller lateral recurved pointed petals and a recurved pointed lower petal. The flowers contain nectar and many species of birds, like sunbirds, mynahs and babblers can be seen hurrying from flower to flower. A brilliant colouring matter can be obtained from the flowers which may be made into water-paint or a dye...   more »

Reference that prompted this posting is Rich's The Origin of the Words check at http://www.sciy.org/blog/_archives/2008/6/25/3762846.html   more »