Ordinary

 

Day 53 of Age 39

Somewhere around the third week of July, I admitted a Muslim Bangladeshi man with a drug overdose with the intention of suicide. We were able to save him after a couple of days on the ventilator. Our hospital arranges Muslim chaplains if asked. In any case, we were able to bring a local mosque Imam at the request of his family. He agreed to talk with him. I was in the room when Imam made this statement. I am not sure if I fully agree with this. You can make your judgment.

"Allah the Almighty says in Ayat 53 of Surah 39, named Zumar, that: "Do not take a toll on your nafs (life/soul). Do not lose hope in Allah's blessings. He forgives all sins, and he is Gafoorur-Rahim."

Here is the kick from Imam. I think this ayat is a sign for you, and you know Ayat itself means sign. You did your act on the 53rd day on your age 39, and this ayat is the 53rd ayat of Surah 39. Allah gives you a sign that if you asked for forgiveness of your act, you would be blessed by him.

Go figure!!!

Guide - Guru - Hadi

 Kabir says:

At a personal note: I don't subscribe to the philosophy of Guide/Guru/Hadi - but I guess it should help.

Journey of Sufferings

Not sure what to make of this quote

 

Annihilation

I went to see one of my patients I cared for once. Unfortunately, he progressed to stage 4 cancer and is now in hospice. He said something worth sharing:

"Doc! I am lucky to take care of many affairs that people may not be able to when they die abruptly. It is such a blessing. I was able to distribute my estate fairly. I am talking to many friends, reading many books, and enjoying favorite foods as much as possible. A few days are good, and a few are bad due to pain. The most important realization is that - we all eventually annihilate in-universe as energy. We never die. We think we were born. Our energy vibe slowed, and we lived as a body for a while. We were always here and will stay here. When I close my eyes and feel myself as a wave of energy, I suddenly feel a part of the infinite universe. I feel immense peace, and I ask myself, where is death?"

*

Nothing is accidental

I made a conscious decision to donate all of my books to people since I realized: "Jin kitaboN se kirdar main pukhtagi naa aaye woh gadhe be ladaa bojh hi hai". 

In any case, it was getting hard to find a person who can value all my classic Urdu collections - many of them are now out of print. I made announcements in local WhatsApp groups with titles/pics, inquired via friends and families - but no one was interested. 

I accidentally bump a person in a local mosque where I went to help in a vaccine drive. The point is that I promised a few months ago, but on that particular day, I was post-call after 24 hours at Trauma ER and had to go reluctantly & tired. I guess things are meant to happen in a specific way. This person was ecstatic finding these books and has a good comprehension of Urdu literature.

 

Life

 

Love and Responsibilty

When it comes to taking care of people, loved ones, things, or any other stuff in life: it requires both love and a sense of responsibility. Ideally, they should be proportionate, but I will put responsibility above love if the situation comes.

A mistake of all generations

 Every generation has made the same mistake. They try to see their forefathers' lives with present-day values. It's all contemporary.

Dilkash Aurat

 (A conversation)

"Tum jaante ho sab se ziyada dilkash aurat kaunsi hoti hai?"

"Jo shadi ke baad nikharti hai"

Life after night...

(remarked by a friend on our discussion on prostitution)

"Zaindagi ki asal surat dekhna chahte ho to - raat ki agli subah - aa ker woh gali, makaan aur us ke makeeN dekho jo bazzare husn main raat dhalne ke baad aati hai"

Life

One of my uncles died last week. He was 92 years old. We made him hospice and let him go peacefully in his bed. One of my cousins said something, which makes sense:

"He lived with grace and died with dignity. Nothing else matters in life".

So true!

Seeker and doubts

 

The Road Not Taken

 What a remarkable poem by Frost. I am constantly encouraging my kids to go far for work, travel unseen places, and spent time in uncomfortable zones. I guess, this what makes all the difference.

  

The Road Not Taken - Robert Frost

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,

And sorry I could not travel both

And be one traveler, long I stood

And looked down one as far as I could

To where it bent in the undergrowth;

Then took the other, as just as fair,

And having perhaps the better claim,

Because it was grassy and wanted wear;

Though as for that the passing there

Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay

In leaves no step had trodden black.

Oh, I kept the first for another day!

Yet knowing how way leads on to way,

I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh

Somewhere ages and ages hence:

Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—

I took the one less traveled by,

And that has made all the difference.

Dilip Sahab

 It's not only Dilip Kumar who died. I think Bollywood died.

If you ever get the chance, watch his dialogue in the movie Devdas: "Kaun Kambakht hai jo bardasht krne ke liye peeta hai" - and right after watch SRK or any other actor delivering that dialogue - you will know the whole difference.

What a unique man he was - one of the finest human beings sub-continent produced. He aligned literature, human emotions, and expressions so effortlessly.

RIP

On Dressing

 

The bright side of pessimism

 

From the sharp pen of Majeed Lahori

عہدہ و منصب دلا جمہوریت کے نام پر

تخت پر مجھ کو بٹھا جمہوریت کے نام پر

’آیت الکرسی‘ کا کرتا ہوں وظیفہ رات دن

بخش کرسی اے خدا جمہوریت کے نام پر

فاقہ کش لٹتے رہیں، پِٹتے رہیں، مٹتے رہیں

مجھ کو ڈکٹیٹر بنا جمہوریت کے نام پر

بھولی بھالی قوم کوئی اور مل سکتی نہیں

قوم کو الّو بنا جمہوریت کے نام پر

Two philosophies of life

 I have two extreme of friends, and not sure which one is on the right philosophy.

One is like my friend KT - who we popularly call - Abu dada. He is a strict dieter and an exercise freak. He has not eaten rice in two years, walks two miles every day besides an hour in Gym. My this group of friend takes life very seriously and believes healthy body leads to a healthy mind. Most of them are intellectuals or at least pseudo-intellectuals.

The second is like Sohail and Abhijeet. They love food. They don't care about weight gain. One has two stents in his heart and the second travel exclusively for the sake of good food.  Both have a wobbly belly. They believe it does not matter, you live 50 years or 100 years. Die early but enjoy fully.

I, personally and periodically oscillate between two philosophies. 

A second chance to say Good bye

 I don't want to make it dramatic, but this is an interesting article today on CNN. This is not the first time, this is talked about, but this may be interesting in wake of the COVID pandemic.

"And whenever there is a massive tragedy such as a pandemic, a war or a natural disaster, there is a corresponding surge in reports of people seeing the dead or trying to contact them. The 1918 influenza epidemic sparked a "spiritualism craze" as Americans turned to seances and Ouija boards to contact departed loved ones. After the 9/11 terrorist attacks came a wave of people reporting sightings of and even conversations with those who had been snatched from their lives. When a tsunami struck Japan in 2011, killing at least 20,000 people, so many inhabitants of Ishinomaki reported seeing their loved ones appear that a book and a documentary were made about this city of wandering ghosts."

Article link: https://www.cnn.com/2021/06/20/health/supernatural-encounters-pandemic-loved-ones-blake/index.html