Kuchh Hosh Bhi Hai Ae Dast-e-junoon

Lyrics in Hindi

अल्लाह रे ये कमसिनी इतना नहीं ख़्याल
मय्यत पे आके पूछते हैं इनको क्या हुआ

(कमसिनी = बचपना)

नज़र-ए-अदा हुआ के नियाज़-ए-क़ज़ा हुआ
पहलू में एक दिल था ख़ुदा जाने क्या हुआ

(नज़र-ए-अदा = प्रियतम की अदाओं की भेंट), (नियाज़-ए-क़ज़ा = मौत की इच्छा/ कामना)

अपनी हदूद से ना बढे़ इश्क़ में कोई
क़तरा हुबाब बन के जो उभरा फ़ना हुआ

(हदूद = मर्यादाओं, सीमाओं), (हुबाब = पानी का बुलबुला), (फ़ना = बर्बादी, तबाही, मृत्यु)

आओ 'असीर' अब तो यही मशग़ला सही
एक रोये और दूसरा पूछे के क्या हुआ

(मशगला = शगल करना, दिल बहलाव)

-असीर अलीगढ़ी

Witchgrass

Other poems about name calling: 

"Sticks and Stones" by Dora Alice Holmes

"Names" by Marilyn Nelson

"Label Poem" by Philip Levine

"Slurs" by Martin Espada

"To This Day" by Shane Koyczan

Other Themes and reminders 

What is Witchgrass

Other poems by Louise Gluck: https://shivpreetsingh.blogspot.com/2020/10/my-favorite-of-louise-glucks-poems.html

Much Madness is divinest Sense -
To a discerning Eye -
Much Sense - the starkest Madness -
’Tis the Majority
In this, as all, prevail -
Assent - and you are sane -
Demur - you’re straightway dangerous -
And handled with a Chain -

In the following succinct couplet, Kabir ponders about how illogical world’s thinking is:

Rangi ko narangi kahe, bane doodh ko khoya
Chalti ko gaari kahe, yeh dekh Kabira roya.

They call an orange, non-colorful (na-rangi),
they call a delicious milk cake lost (khoya)
they call a moving object stuck (gaari)
Seeing this (hypocrisy of the world) Kabir cries

I am reminded of a shabad I sing:

The world calls me crazy, 

but love, I am yours. 

- Kabir 

Kabir in the World of Fake News

The World Does Not Recognize Truth

Guru Nanak on the Hypocrisy of the World

The Hypocrisy of Heaven

"To do something crazy and to be amazing, to achieve something crazy, you have to do something crazy. You have to sacrifice and do something that's not normal, because you want to become not normal. To become a great champion, you can't do what the average Joe does. Because you're not going to get there." 

“There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness.” —  Friedrich Nietzsche

This is the bedtime story I am telling the kids tonight. Its the story of from Robert Fulghum's book, "UH, OH." I recently read it today in Michael Yaconelli's book "Messy Spirituality." This story shows that its not just ok to be a misfit, that it is an advantage. In essence, Norman's story reminds us of the value of authenticity, creativity, dedication, emotional connection, and the potential for unconventional success when we are true to ourselves. A different song is a more interesting song. 

All things are subject to interpretation. Whichever interpretation prevails at a given time is a function of power and not truth. ~Nietzsche

Here is a poem about "Lotan Baba" or the rolling saint. And also a video about him.  Per Reuters: "Lotan Baba, a holy man from India, rolled on his side for four thousand kilometers across the country in his quest for world peace and eternal salvation." Per Wikipedia: 

Mohan Das, more commonly known as Lotan Baba (or "rolling saint") is an Indian holy man promoting peace by rolling his body along the ground when he travels. He claims to have covered 30,000 kilometers (19,000 mi) to various cities in India, including Kashmir, first setting off from his hometown Ratlam, in Madhya Pradesh. Witnesses report Mohan travels on average roughly 10 to 12 kilometers (six to eight miles) a day rolling on the ground, at times smoking a cigarette while in motion. Media reports indicate Mohan Das began his life as a mystic after leaving home at age 12, and once undertook penance for 7 years by standing in one place and eating grass.

Different people sing in different colors.  And this baba sings by rolling.  Its an interesting kind of singing. Its not really hurting anyone.  He says his aim was peace.  And he seems be raising awareness about it.  

I first found his rolling and standing on foot for 7 years ludicrous; what useless waste of a man's energy I am thinking.  But after 15 minutes of the shock of reading this and watching his video, I felt much better.  Is our routine any less ludicrous -- we have been working for years and years, or studying for years and years. Are we not the dog chasing its tail? And a dog that craves attention.  He might also be craving attention, at least from he also carries the message of peace -- in a very unique color.  No wonder he thinks he hears God whisper when he rolls.  

I also read that he tried to roll his way to Pakistan to Nankana sahib.  He was stopped because he did not have a passport.  He said the government should get him a passport and visa.  He did end up going to Darbar Sahib in Amritsar, where he was given a bath before he entered the temple.  

Quite an interesting story.  I just think this rolling saint should have a twitter account so we know what he is doing everyday. What do you think?  Do you think your endeavors are more meaningful than his?  

The Rolling Saint
BY AIMEE NEZHUKUMATATHIL

Translation of
"Nindau nindau mo ko log nindau"

Says Kabeer, I have become mute, insane and deaf.

I am crippled - the Guru of truth has pierced me with His Arrow. ||193||

ਕਬੀਰ ਰਾਮ ਕਹਨ ਮਹਿ ਭੇਦੁ ਹੈ ਤਾ ਮਹਿ ਏਕੁ ਬਿਚਾਰੁ ॥
Kabīr rām kahan mėh bẖeḏ hai ṯā mėh ek bicẖār.
Kabeer, it does make a difference, how you chant the Lord's Name, 'Raam'. This is something to consider.

ਸੋਈ ਰਾਮੁ ਸਭੈ ਕਹਹਿ ਸੋਈ ਕਉਤਕਹਾਰ ॥੧੯੦॥
Soī rām sabẖai kahėh soī kauṯakhār. ||190||
Everyone uses the same word for the one who made miracles (the son of Dasrath) ||190||

ਕਬੀਰ ਰਾਮੈ ਰਾਮ ਕਹੁ ਕਹਿਬੇ ਮਾਹਿ ਬਿਬੇਕ ॥
Kabīr rāmai rām kaho kahibe māhi bibek.
Kabeer, use the word 'Raam', only to speak of the All-pervading Lord. You must make that distinction.

ਏਕੁ ਅਨੇਕਹਿ ਮਿਲਿ ਗਇਆ ਏਕ ਸਮਾਨਾ ਏਕ ॥੧੯੧॥
Ėk anekėh mil gaiā ek samānā ek. ||191||
One 'Raam' is pervading everywhere, while the other is contained only in himself. ||191||

Some call me a ghost; 
some a demon.
Some have pity on me, 
poor human! 

I am fearful of the one.
for I fear no one else

I gave up my cleverness
for I am in his wisdom

I am bad, all else good. 
I am truly in love 

Yes, I am Crazy

- Guru Nanak




Other posts with the "Crazy" theme:
http://shivsangels.blogspot.com/search/label/Crazy

Yesterday I sung this beautiful Kabir poem, "I am crazy but I yours"

Practice on Piano - Jo Hum Baora

I read this poem to the kids today.  The poem is "Do you have any advice for those of us just starting out?"The poem gives advice on writing.

Learn from a 2 year old kid visiting a library.  While other people are enjoying themselves reading books (or are there because of an assignment that needs to be done), he picks books based on their appearance, not their content, and makes a tower with them; then watches them fall.  And laughs out loud and repeats this feat despite people objecting to it with Shhhhs.  Be like that child.  Write creatively.  Sing in a different color than the music around.



“Do You Have Any Advice For Those of Us Just Starting Out?"
- Ron Koertge

Give up sitting dutifully at your desk. Leave
your house or apartment. Go out into the world.

It's all right to carry a notebook but a cheap
one is best, with pages the color of weak tea
and on the front a kitten or a space ship.

Avoid any enclosed space where more than
three people are wearing turtlenecks. Beware
any snow-covered chalet with deer tracks
across the muffled tennis courts.

Not surprisingly, libraries are a good place to write.
And the perfect place in a library is near an aisle
where a child a year or two old is playing as his
mother browses the ranks of the dead.

Often he will pull books from the bottom shelf.
The title, the author's name, the brooding photo
on the flap mean nothing. Red book on black, gray
book on brown, he builds a tower. And the higher
it gets, the wider he grins.

You who asked for advice, listen: When the tower
falls, be like that child. Laugh so loud everybody
in the world frowns and says, "Shhhh."

Then start again.

“Believe nothing because a wise person said it. Believe nothing because it is generally held. Believe nothing because it is written. Believe nothing because it is said to be Divine. Believe nothing because someone else believes it. But believe only what you yourself judge to be true.”

 

This day we are commemorating the witness of Harriet Beecher Stowe, a woman who used her words to set the captive free. I’ll say more about her later, but right now I want to note that in 1943-44 her witness was celebrated in a Broadway play titled “Harriet.”

It was Helen Hayes who played the part of Harriet Beecher Stowe. At the end of the play Beecher Stowe’s family stands around Harriet and sings the words of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic,” affirming the Christian witness of this brave and bold woman. Part of the hymn goes like this:

In the beauty of the lilies Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me:
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,

While God is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
His truth is marching on.

For a text today, I offer these words from Mark 3:19-21 (NRSV):
Then [Jesus] went home; and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, ‘He has gone out of his mind.'

The King James Version of the Bible translates the concern of Jesus’ family for him in these words: “He is beside himself.” The old J.B. Phillips New Testament translates it, “People were saying, ‘He must be mad!’” But my favorite is from the 1995 Contemporary English Version, which says, “When Jesus’ family heard what he was doing, they thought he was crazy and went to get him under control.”

So forgive me for saying it this way, but Jesus was, and is, crazy! And those who would follow him, those who would be his disciples, those who would live as and be the people of the Way, are called and summoned and challenged to be just as crazy as Jesus. So I want to speak on the subject “We need some crazy Christians.”

I don’t want to be too quick to judge Jesus’ mother and the whole family. They had good reason to be concerned. We just read from 1 Peter a teaching that reflects what Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount: “Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing” (1 Peter 3:9). That’s crazy. In the Gospel reading from Matthew, read just a few moments ago, Jesus says, “The greatest among you will be your servant” (Matthew 23:11). That’s crazy.

What the world calls wretched, Jesus calls blessed. Blessed are the poor and the poor in spirit. Blessed are the merciful, the compassionate. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst that God’s righteous justice might prevail. Blessed are those who work for peace. Blessed are you when you are persecuted just for trying to love and do what is good. Jesus was crazy. He said, “Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, pray for those who despitefully use you.” He was crazy. He prayed while folk were killing him, “Father, forgive them; they know not what they do.” Now, that’s crazy.

We need some Christians who are as crazy as the Lord. Crazy enough to love like Jesus, to give like Jesus, to forgive like Jesus, to do justice, love mercy, walk humbly with God -- like Jesus. Crazy enough to dare to change the world from the nightmare it often is into something close to the dream that God dreams for it. And for those who would follow him, those who would be his disciples, those who would live as and be the people of the Way? It might come as a shock, but they are called to craziness.

Let me suggest one example of such a call from the New Testament: Mary of Magdala, Mary Magdalene. For whatever reason, Mary often gets a bum rap.

Think back to the crucifixion of Jesus. Crucifixion was execution by the empire for crimes against the state. It was public torture. It was an intentionally brutal means of capital punishment, an execution designed to send a message that revolution and revolutionaries would not be tolerated. If you were a supporter or follower of the person being crucified, it was dangerous to stand too close by during the execution. The rational and sensible thing to do was to go into hiding or exile.

Having said that, let’s call the roll of those Jesus called to follow him; let’s take the attendance of the apostles at the crucifixion of their Lord. Simon Peter? Absent. James? Absent. Andrew? Absent. Bartholomew? Absent. Thomas? Absent. Judas? Definitely absent. Mary Magdalene? Present and accounted for! That’s a disciple! When the old slaves sang, “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?” there was a woman named Mary who could answer, “I was there!” Now, that’s crazy!

Now, it may not be obvious at first, but we actually have a day to remember crazy Christians. I think we call it All Saints’ Day. It’s not called “All the Same Day”; it’s All Saints’ Day, because, though they were fallible and mortal, and sinners like the rest of us, when push came to shove, the people we honor as saints marched to the beat of a different drummer. In their lifetimes, they made a difference for the kingdom of God. As you know, we are even working on a book to help us commemorate them. We are calling it “Holy Women, Holy Men.” But we might as well call it “The Chronicles of Crazy Christians.”

One of the people we celebrate in the book is Harriet Beecher Stowe, a descendant of Mary Magdalene. She was born in 1811 into a devout family committed to the gospel of Jesus and to helping transform the world from the nightmare it often is into the dream God intends. She is best-known for a fictional work titled “Uncle Tom’s Cabin.”

In this fiction, she told the truth. She told the story of how chattel slavery afflicted a family, afflicted real people. She told the truth of the brutality, the injustice, the inhumanity of the institution of chattel slavery. Her book did what YouTube videos of injustices and brutalities do today. It went 19th-century viral. It rallied abolitionists and enraged vested interests.

The influence of that book was so powerful that Abraham Lincoln is reputed to have said, upon meeting Harriet Beecher Stowe for the first time, “So this is the little lady who started this great war!”

A woman of her era was supposed to write nice stories, not stories that would disturb the conscience of a nation. She was supposed to marry well, raise well-bred children, participate in a few charitable activities and be fondly remembered by all who knew her. That was the life she was supposed to have.

But she had been raised in a family that believed that following Jesus means changing the world from the nightmare it often is into the dream that God intends. And sometimes that means marching to the beat of a different drummer. Sometimes that means caring when it is tempting to care less, or standing up when others sit down. Sometimes it means speaking up when others shut up. Sometimes it means being different -- even being crazy.

When Steve Jobs, one of the founders of Apple Inc., died last year, an old Apple commercial from the 90s went viral on YouTube. It was a commercial that aired in 1997 and that attempted to re-brand Apple products. The tag line for the commercial and the company was “Think different,” a phrase that is grammatically incorrect -- which is part of the point.

In the commercial, they showed a collage of photographs and film footage of people who have invented and inspired, created and sacrificed to improve the world, to make a difference. They showed Bob Dylan, Amelia Earhart, Frank Lloyd Wright, Maria Callas, Muhammad Ali, Martin Luther King Jr., Jim Henson, Albert Einstein, Pablo Picasso, Mahatma Gandhi and on and on and on. As the images rolled by, a voice read this poem:


Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels.
The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.
The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules.
And they have no respect for the status quo.
You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.
About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.
Because they change things.
They push the human race forward.
While some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.
Because the people who are crazy enough
to think they can change the world,
are the ones who do.

We need some crazy Christians. Sane, sanitized Christianity is killing us. That may have worked once upon a time, but it won’t carry the gospel anymore. We need some crazy Christians like Mary Magdalene and Harriet Beecher Stowe. Christians crazy enough to believe that God is real and that Jesus lives. Crazy enough to follow the radical way of the gospel. Crazy enough to believe that the love of God is greater than all the powers of evil and death. Crazy enough to believe, as Dr. King often said, that though “the moral arc of the universe is long, … it bends toward justice.”

We need some Christians crazy enough to believe that children don’t have to go to bed hungry; that the world doesn’t have to be the way it often seems to be; that there is a way to lay down our swords and shields, down by the riverside; that, as the slaves used to sing, “there’s plenty good room in my Father’s kingdom,” because every human being has been created in the image of God, and we are all equally children of God and meant to be treated as such.

In the beauty of the lilies, Christ was born across the sea,
With a glory in his bosom that transfigures you and me:
As he died to make men holy, let us die to make men free,
While God is marching on.
Glory, glory, hallelujah!
God’s truth is marching on.

Maaroo (in the color of death)

Some call him a ghost; some say that he is a demon.
Some call him a mere mortal; O, poor Nanak! ||1||

Crazy Nanak has gone insane, after his Lord, the King.
He knows of none other than the Lord. ||1||Pause||

He alone is known to be insane, when he goes insane with the Fear of God.
He recognizes none other than the One Lord and Master. ||2||

He alone is known to be insane, if he works for the One Lord.
Recognizing the Hukam, the Command of his Lord and Master, what other cleverness is there? ||3||

He alone is known to be insane, when he falls in love with his Lord and Master.
He sees himself as bad, and all the rest of the world as good. ||4||7||