A poem to perswayed ?

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marjoram_blues
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A poem to perswayed ?

Post by marjoram_blues »

Do you have - or could you find - a poem which reflects your philosophy, personality or particular moment in time ?
I read this one by Emily Dickinson which swayed me a little:

If I can stop one heart from breaking,
I shall not live in vain;
If I can ease one life the aching,
Or cool one pain,
Or help one fainting robin
Unto his nest again,
I shall not live in vain.


It gives worth to the smallest caring act - and can take you out of yourself and thoughts of powerlessness.
If you let it...

If...
sthitapragya
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Re: A poem to perswayed ?

Post by sthitapragya »

Just a verse which has been my mainstay:
Karmanye vadhikarastey maafalesukadaachana

Maakarmafalaheturbhur maatesangoststavakarmani.

It translates to "Do your karma but do not be worried about the fruit of your karma. Let not the the fruit of your karma be your motive. Don't let your attachment be to inaction."
marjoram_blues
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Re: A poem to perswayed ?

Post by marjoram_blues »

sthitapragya wrote:Just a verse which has been my mainstay:
Karmanye vadhikarastey maafalesukadaachana

Maakarmafalaheturbhur maatesangoststavakarmani.

It translates to "Do your karma but do not be worried about the fruit of your karma. Let not the the fruit of your karma be your motive. Don't let your attachment be to inaction."
Interesting - who is the poet, and what does it mean? How do you 'do your karma' ? What does the word 'karma' add?
I'm thinking that it could be replaced by 'live your life' or 'life'. The last line seems to be a separate issue?

If you could provide a brief explanation of context, I would be grateful. Trying hard, right now, not to get too weighed down in any religious quagmire.
sthitapragya
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Re: A poem to perswayed ?

Post by sthitapragya »

marjoram_blues wrote:
Interesting - who is the poet, and what does it mean? How do you 'do your karma' ? What does the word 'karma' add?
I'm thinking that it could be replaced by 'live your life' or 'life'. The last line seems to be a separate issue?

If you could provide a brief explanation of context, I would be grateful. Trying hard, right now, not to get too weighed down in any religious quagmire.
Don't worry about that. I am an atheist. But this shloka from the Bhagwat gita is something I spent a lot of time contemplating on when I was deeply religious. I realized that karma is something that has been grossly misinterpreted. Karma does not mean some mystical cause and effect crap. It literally means action behind which you have put all your thought. If you have really thought things through, success is more or less certain. If however, you are unsuccessful, look back to your actions and thought process. If you look hard enough, you will find a flaw. Repair it and try again. Don't focus on the fruit otherwise you will only be dissatisfied.
Walker
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Re: A poem to perswayed ?

Post by Walker »

sthitapragya wrote:Just a verse which has been my mainstay:
Karmanye vadhikarastey maafalesukadaachana

Maakarmafalaheturbhur maatesangoststavakarmani.

It translates to "Do your karma but do not be worried about the fruit of your karma. Let not the the fruit of your karma be your motive. Don't let your attachment be to inaction."
Alternate translation: Focus on the execution, not the outcome.
sthitapragya
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Re: A poem to perswayed ?

Post by sthitapragya »

Walker wrote:
sthitapragya wrote:Just a verse which has been my mainstay:
Karmanye vadhikarastey maafalesukadaachana

Maakarmafalaheturbhur maatesangoststavakarmani.

It translates to "Do your karma but do not be worried about the fruit of your karma. Let not the the fruit of your karma be your motive. Don't let your attachment be to inaction."
Alternate translation: Focus on the execution, not the outcome.
Well said. Yes. I will add that don't get attached to the outcome even if it is positive.
Walker
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Re: A poem to perswayed ?

Post by Walker »

Not to be blithe, but it's a golf saying.

A big part of golf execution is mental visualization. It’s an interesting technique of holding the image of the shot (ball flight) in the mind while simultaneously executing the shot. The pre-cognition from imagination eventually becomes a seamless template with unfolding reality, so-much-so that distinctions separating identity with the physical world begin to blur as one becomes ... the ball. :shock:

Are you familiar with ending karma before physical death?
sthitapragya
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Re: A poem to perswayed ?

Post by sthitapragya »

Walker wrote:Not to be blithe, but it's a golf saying.

A big part of golf execution is mental visualization. It’s an interesting technique of holding the image of the shot (ball flight) in the mind while simultaneously executing the shot. The pre-cognition from imagination eventually becomes a seamless template with unfolding reality, so-much-so that distinctions separating identity with the physical world begin to blur as one becomes ... the ball. :shock:

Are you familiar with ending karma before physical death?
No.
marjoram_blues
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Re: A poem to perswayed ?

Post by marjoram_blues »

Walker wrote:Not to be blithe, but it's a golf saying.

A big part of golf execution is mental visualization. It’s an interesting technique of holding the image of the shot (ball flight) in the mind while simultaneously executing the shot. The pre-cognition from imagination eventually becomes a seamless template with unfolding reality, so-much-so that distinctions separating identity with the physical world begin to blur as one becomes ... the ball. :shock:

Are you familiar with ending karma before physical death?
So to return to the topic ( ahem! ), I looked up 'the ball poem' and discovered John Berryman's:

What is the boy now, who has lost his ball
What, what is he to do? I saw it go...
...

Seems to be about a Watcher who talks about the boy learning about 'responsibility', the 'epistemology of loss' and how to stand up, 'what every man must one day know'.

The ball appears to be a symbol for life; his own which he must value and take care of, as he passes through the different stages.
What is it about balls?

To clarify, I don't care what religious or philosophical position anyone has, or what the poem reflects. And I enjoy seeing where it takes us...up to a point. Really don't wish for a religious ball game between 2 players.

Walker, do you have a poem ?
New balls ? Anyone?
Walker
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Joined: Thu Nov 05, 2015 12:00 am

Re: A poem to perswayed ?

Post by Walker »

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock
BY T. S. ELIOT

full poem

And I have known the eyes already, known them all—
The eyes that fix you in a formulated phrase,
And when I am formulated, sprawling on a pin,
When I am pinned and wriggling on the wall,
Then how should I begin
To spit out all the butt-ends of my days and ways?
And how should I presume?
Dalek Prime
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Location: Living in a tree with Polly.

Re: A poem to perswayed ?

Post by Dalek Prime »

Philip Larkin - This Be The Verse

They fuck you up, your mum and dad.
They may not mean to, but they do.
They fill you with the faults they had
And add some extra, just for you.

But they were fucked up in their turn
By fools in old-style hats and coats,
Who half the time were soppy-stern
And half at one another's throats.

Man hands on misery to man.
It deepens like a coastal shelf.
Get out as early as you can,
And don't have any kids yourself.
Dalek Prime
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Joined: Tue Apr 14, 2015 4:48 am
Location: Living in a tree with Polly.

Re: A poem to perswayed ?

Post by Dalek Prime »

Life is an immobile, locked,
Three-handed struggle between
Your wants, the world's for you, and (worse)
The unbeatable slow machine
That brings what you'll get.

“”
from "The Life with a Hole in it" (1974),
Collected Poems (Philip Larkin)
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