The Tables Turned – William Wordsworth

Up! up! my Friend, and quit your books;
Or surely you’ll grow double:
Up! up! my Friend, and clear your looks;
Why all this toil and trouble?

The sun above the mountain’s head,
A freshening lustre mellow
Through all the long green fields has spread,
His first sweet evening yellow.

Books! ’tis a dull and endless strife:
Come, hear the woodland linnet,
How sweet his music! on my life,
There’s more of wisdom in it.

And hark! how blithe the throstle sings!
He, too, is no mean preacher:
Come forth into the light of things,
Let Nature be your teacher.

She has a world of ready wealth,
Our minds and hearts to bless—
Spontaneous wisdom breathed by health,
Truth breathed by cheerfulness.

One impulse from a vernal wood
May teach you more of man,
Of moral evil and of good,
Than all the sages can.

Sweet is the lore which Nature brings;
Our meddling intellect
Mis-shapes the beauteous forms of things:—
We murder to dissect.

Enough of Science and of Art;
Close up those barren leaves;
Come forth, and bring with you a heart
That watches and receives.

If – Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or being lied about, don’t deal in lies,
Or being hated, don’t give way to hating,
And yet don’t look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream—and not make dreams your master;
If you can think—and not make thoughts your aim;
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same;
If you can bear to hear the truth you’ve spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build ’em up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings
And never breathe a word about your loss;
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: ‘Hold on!’

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings—nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds’ worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that’s in it,
And—which is more—you’ll be a Man, my son!

Koi nahi paraya – No one is a stranger

In 2006, I reproduced a part of this poem from http://karthiksn.wordpress.com/poems/ simply because Google did not have a second reference to it. Sadly, there still isn’t a translation of this beautiful poem available to date.

I had known earlier about Gopal Das. But I hadn’t read this particular poem till then.

I have made several corrections to the original post so as to reflect the true meaning of the poem in English.

 

कोई नहीं पराया, मेरा घर सारा संसार है।
Koi nahi paraya, mera ghar sara sansar hai
No one is a stranger, the whole world is my home

मैं ना बँधा हूँ देश काल की जंग लगी जंजीर में
Mein na bandha hoon desh kaal ki zang lagi zangir mein
I am not tied in the rusted chains of country and time

मैं ना खड़ा हूँ जाति−पाति की ऊँची−नीची भीड़ में
Mein na khada hoon jaati paati ki unchi nichi bhid mein
I am not standing in the crowd of caste and creed differences

मेरा धर्म ना कुछ स्याही−शब्दों का सिर्फ गुलाम है
Mera dharm na kuch syahishabdo ka sirf gulam hain
My faith is not just a slave of words written by ink

मैं बस कहता हूँ कि प्यार है तो घट−घट में राम है
Mein bas kehta hoon ki pyar hain to ghat ghat mein ram hain
I am only saying that if there is love, God is in every heart

मुझ से तुम ना कहो कि मंदिर−मस्जिद पर मैं सर टेक दूँ
Mujse tum na kaho ki mandir-masjid par mein sar tek doon
You should not tell me to rest my head in a temple or mosque

मेरा तो आराध्य आदमी− देवालय हर द्वार है
Mera to aaradhya aadmi, devalay har dvar hain
To me the human is worthy of worship and every door is my place of worship

कोई नहीं पराया मेरा घर सारा संसार है ।।
Koi nahi paraya,mera ghar sara sansar hain
No one is a stranger, the whole world is my home

 

कहीं रहे कैसे भी मुझको प्यारा यह इन्सान है,
Kahin rahe kaise bhi mujhko pyara yeh insaan hai
Wherever they live, however, this human kind is dear to me

मुझको अपनी मानवता पर बहुत-बहुत अभिमान है,
Mujhko apni maanavta par bahut bahut abhimaan hai
I am very very proud of my humanity

अरे नहीं देवत्व मुझे तो भाता है मनुजत्व ही,
Arey nahin devatv, mujhe to bhaata hai manujatv hee
Not divinity, I have a liking to only humanity

और छोड़कर प्यार नहीं स्वीकार सकल अमरत्व भी,
Aur chod kar pyar nahi sweekar sakal amaratv bhi
In the absence of love, even eternal immortality is not acceptable

मुझे सुनाओ तुम न स्वर्ग-सुख की सुकुमार कहानियाँ,
Mujhe sunao tum na swarg ki sukumar kahaniyaan
Dont you make me hear beautiful stories of heaven and pleasure

मेरी धरती सौ-सौ स्वर्गों से ज्यादा सुकुमार है।
Meri dharti sau sau swargon se zyada sukumar hai
My earth is more beautiful than hundred hundreds of heavens

कोई नहीं पराया मेरा घर सारा संसार है ।।
Koi nahi paraya mera ghar saara sansaar hai
No one is a stranger, the whole world is my home

 

मुझे मिली है प्यास विषमता का विष पीने के लिए,
Mujhe mili hai pyaas vishamtha ka vish peene ke liye
I have the thirst to drink up the poison of discrimination

मैं जन्मा हूँ नहीं स्वयँ-हित, जग-हित जीने के लिए,
Main janma hoon nahin svayam hith, jag hith jeene ke liye
I am not born for my cause, but to live for the welfare of the world

मुझे दी गई आग कि इस तम को मैं आग लगा सकूँ,
Mujhe dee gayi aag ki is tam ko main aag laga sakoon
I was given fire so that I can set fire to the darkness

गीत मिले इसलिए कि घायल जग की पीड़ा गा सकूँ,
Geet mile isliye ki ghaayal jag kee peeda gaa sakoon
Songs were given so that I can sing the pain of the world that is wounded

मेरे दर्दीले गीतों को मत पहनाओ हथकड़ी,
Mere dardeele geeton ko mat pehnao hathkadi
Don’t make my painful songs wear handcuffs

मेरा दर्द नहीं मेरा है, सबका हाहाकार है ।
Mera dard nahi mera hai, sabka haahaakaar hai
The pain I have is not mine, it is the loud lamentation of everyone

कोई नहीं पराया मेरा घर सारा संसार है ।।
Koi nahi paraya mera ghar saara sansaar hai
No one is a stranger, the whole world is my home

 
मैं सिखलाता हूँ कि जिओ और जीने दो संसार को,
Main sikhlaata hoon ki jeeyo aur jeene do sansaar ko
I teach that you should live and let the world live

जितना ज्यादा बाँट सको तुम बाँटो अपने प्यार को,
Jitna zyada baant sako tum baanto apne pyaar ko
How much ever you could give, give away your love

ह‌ँसो इस तरह, हँसे तुम्हारे साथ दलित यह धूल भी,
Haso is tarah, hasen tumhare saath dalit yeh dhool bhi
Laugh such that, the even the lowly dust will laugh with you

चलो इस तरह कुचल न जाये पग से कोई शूल भी,
Chalo is tarah kuchal ne jaaye pag se koi shool bhi
Walk in such a way that your feet do not trample upon even a thorn

सुख न तुम्हारा सुख केवल जग का भी उसमें भाग है,
Sukh na tumhara sukh keval jag ka bhi usme bhaag hai
Happiness is not yours alone, the world has a part in it

फूल डाल का पीछे, पहले उपवन का श्रृंगार है।
Phool daal ka peeche, pehle upvan ka shringaar hai
Flower is behind the bough, first is the adornment of the grove

कोई नहीं पराया मेरा घर सारा संसार है ।।
Koi nahi paraya mera ghar saara sansaar hai
No one is a stranger, the whole world is my home