An old lady,
Wrinkles stamped on her face,
Greeted me 'Merry Christmas',
Invited me to her residence.
Her cottage was simple and cosy,
Filled with love, kindness and humility,
Her daughters welcomed me,
Served dinner with cake and sweet.
With a simple job,
She struggled hard,
To educate her daughters,
Till they stood on their feet.
On Christmas day,
She thanked Jesus,
Invited guests,
Celebrated by serving a feast.

A tale,
Of two pals,
Ego possessed the former,
Self-respect imbibed the latter.

The former faced problems, complained;
The latter solved problems, smiled.
One, choosy and demanding;
Other, suitable and acceptable.

Fortunately,
Acquiring jobs,
In a corporation,
Standing at the threshold
Of promising careers,
Days rolled on
And the day arrived
For promotion.

Self-respect surpassed,
Ego lagged behind.
Thoughts converted into self-realization,
Truth revealed.

Ego satisfied merely the senses
"I want this" and "I want that"
Self-respect implied acceptance
"I respect this and I accept that."

To further proceed,
To reach the summit,
'I' and 'my' be discarded,
'We' and 'ours' be adopted.

When I was young,
My teacher once asked me,
What will I be,
When I grow up.
I replied, 'a teacher'.
But today,
In this age of ‘kalyug’,
I feel -
Each one of us,
Should strive to be,
A good human being first.

On a Sunday evening,
Swinging on a swing,
I remembered a saying -
"Work while you work,
Play while you play."

I pondered awhile
Exploring significance.
Does it mean concentration
Or detachment
Or perhaps,
A harmony between the two.

Though different, yet inseparable,
One cannot sustain without the other,
Just like
Energy and matter,
Metaphysical and mundane,
Soul and body.