IN SEARCH OF A HOME: More Musings about the Moon

Friday, December 7, 2012

More Musings about the Moon

“I don't know if there are men on the moon, but if there are they must be using the earth as their lunatic asylum”
George Bernard Shaw quotes (Irish literary Critic, Playwright and Essayist. 1925 Nobel Prize for Literature, 1856-1950)

“See how nature - trees, flowers, grass - grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence...we need silence to be able to touch souls.”
Mother Teresa of Calcutta quotes (Albanian born Indian Missionary and Founder of the Order of the Missionaries of Charity. Nobel Prize for Peace in 1979. 1910-1997)

“When a finger points to the moon, the imbecile looks at the finger”
Chinese Proverbs quotes

The Burglar

neglected to take

the window's moon

John Daido Loori, Zen of Creativity, p. 154

Sometimes, the moon is the most expensive thing a Burglar could take....but AH.... the most precious of things can never be stolen!! They can only be enjoyed....like love!! There is a whole tradition of stealing love, like Lord Krishna does, in hindu mythology. But this stealing of love is still done by belonging. By noticing, by caring, by giving of one’s attention. Like Lord Krishna does for Radha. But, in the final analysis, the richness of it all lies in experiencing the joy in your lover’s eyes.

Just like the moon, so rich and silvery, can never be had, but may be in its reflection, which is fleeting....

Karlstad, Sweden, December 2010.

We were headed towards town for a faculty dinner, just before Christmas break. As we all stood freezing at the bus stop --yes Swedes included, none of us could ignore the bright moon. I was lucky, as always, to have my camera hanging on my knapsack.

I have also to acknowledge the richness that I have been given in the midst of all confusion. The four full moons between beginning of August 2012, and end of October 2012 (August 2012 had two full moons) were all spent in different countries on three different continents.

They all had their own flavors, the moonrise over the Drakensberg mountain, the shiny moon of early autumn in Sweden, the quiet silent one in Bhutan and finally the one in Singapore--waving a finger at busy singaporeans to slow down.....

Bhutan September 28, 2012

Both the above the below pictures were taken in Bhutan. The starkness is so apparent, the pictures look black and white. If you click on the pictures and see them in their enlarged version, you will notice the grey clouds framing the moon.

However, if you notice the following two pictures, you will see the distant lights of Paro City. I remember staring at it in the dark Bhutan is quite safe, so I could simply breath in the fresh, slightly chilly Bhutan air and simply whisper a ‘thankyou!!'

Bhutan September 29, 2012

The following two pictures are again from Karlstad, Sweden. Feb 2011. Notice how bright is lady of night (In India the moon is a ‘man’. Affectionately referred to as Mama, mother’s brother!!

Karlstad, Feb, 2011

Here are two quotes from different traditions, Buddha vs. Mark Twain. Both of whom I have affection for....for different reasons. I leave you with these two quotes for you to ‘muse a bit about the moon!!’ and its place in our world, thoughts and cultures.

“Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth.”
Buddha quotes (Hindu Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.)

“Every one is a moon, and has a dark side which he never shows to anybody”

Mark Twain quotes (American Humorist, Writer and Lecturer. 1835-1910)

PS: Here are links to all time favorite songs where lovers are talking to the ‘Chanda’ (the moon) or their love....through the moon!

1. Dam Bhar Jo Udhar Moon Phere (If only (dear Moon) you look away for a moment, I will show affection to my beloved)

2. Yeh raat yeh chandni phir kahan (Neither this evening nor this moonlight will return (in the same way), so come my beloved to meet me.

3. Yeh raat bheegi bheegi:

This Rainy Night ...these stunning surroundings
And Rising gradually rising, that lovely moon
Why is the Moonlight silent after setting me on Fire
and the beautiful evening signals me away from sleep

4. Aao Tumhen Chand Pe Le Jayen: Let’s take you to the moon (where santa claus lives
according to this song...not the North Pole..Too far from India!! :)
This song is a famous Bollywood Lullaby from the 1970s!!

5. Chand Sifarish Jo Karta Hamari: If moon recommended me to you...it would
have told you that I ‘like you’ (english subtitles)

6. CHANDA CHAMKE (the moon shines): A tongue twister--to be sung with children!!

I TRULY HOPE THE READERS WILL NEVER SEE ‘THE MOON’ THE SAME AGAIN...

ENJOY!!