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i

Stooping Towards the Absolute

Collection of Poems


ii

Publishing-in-support-of,

EDUCREATION PUBLISHING

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Website: www.educreation.in __________________________________________________

© Copyright, 2018, R B Joshi

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of its writer.

ISBN: 978-1-5457-2450-7

Price: ₹ 185.00

The opinions/ contents expressed in this book are solely of the author and do not represent the opinions/ standings/ thoughts of Educreation.

Printed in India


iii

Stooping Towards the

Absolute

(Collection of Poems)

By

R B JOSHI

EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011)

www.educreation.in


iv


v

DEDICATION

Dedicated to the loving memory of my uncles

Late Prabhakar Ramachandra Joshi

&

Anantrao Joshi Kulkarni


vi

FOREWORD

Prof. Ramesh Joshi is a poet of sweetness and

light. He is born with the love of poetry and

philosophy. He has a rich religious tradition and

sound Sanskrit learning as a background to his

poetical endeavours. He seems to see discord at

the heart of human life which makes him search for

an enduring harmony and peace. The collection of

his poems titled ' STOOPING TOWARDS THE

ABSOLUTE ' shows a kind of restlessness and

spiritual craving which turn him Godward. The poet

is an adorer of the virtuous, noble and liberal. Most

of these poems are serious in stuff and

unconventional in form as they are mainly

expressions of a spiritual perception of things and

of and of human life philosophically viewed.

At times Shri Joshi sounds a bit Hardyan in his

world-view , but in reality his view of man is one of

optimism and that is why he looks up to the

Almighty's grace for man at every step. These

poems move mostly on one dimension, that is, the

relationship between man and God ; naturally there

is a frequent focus on the conflict between the

enticing world of the flesh and spiritual aspiration

which happily finds a solution in the acceptance of

the soul's power and the supremacy of God. No

wonder, then, that Shri Joshi's Muse has no room

for song and romance and so also for hums and


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colours of nature. Considering the character and

form of this kind of poetry, it demands that these

poems should be judged by the principle on which

they are written rather than in accordance with the

parameters of prosody, grammar, syntax etc.

It would be proper, if a few specimens of these

poems are taken for discussion.

'Promethean Struggle ' speaks of God's divine

selfishness in keeping man bound to His heart. The

beauty and originality of the idea contained in the

poem can be understood and appreciated only

against the backdrop of the Greek mythological

story of Prometheus. Prometheus was fastened to

a mountain for three thousand years for his crime of

having stolen fire and arts from heaven for the

benefit of mankind and later he was released by

Hercules. Here the poem gives an interesting and

significant twist in the parallel instances: God holds

tight in his embrace and does not let him go, lest he

might fall into the hands of the Devil of Ignorance;

the poet upholds this act of all-merciful God.

'The Song of Silence ' is an innovatively phrased

metaphorical poem with the philosophical idea that

real bhakti ( devotion ) is the soul's silent yearning

for union with the Almighty, a silent expression of

total self-surrender to the Lord. ' Life in Death '

shows the paradox of life: we are living life with

death. The reverie in which the poet experiences

his own death is reality only. This poem

emphasises the need for us to snap our worldly


viii

ties, so that we will be able to see ' reality '

screened by so called life.

If ' Power of the Mind ' speaks powerfully of the

unpredictable and unrealistic behaviour of the mind

which is " a friend enemy, slave " , the poem ' Life a

Beautiful Rose ' effectively pictures life as a "

beautiful, fragrant, tender " rose with " prickly thorns

" which is not properly received and made use of by

man who is a " temporary sojourner " and lays it a

waste out of his ignorance.

This poet who considers man's life an illusion in '

The Child's Play ' , powerfully showing its

transistorises with the analogy of " a child playing

on the sands of time " , however, drives home

effectively, un the poem of ' Life Relationships ', the

idea of the necessity for all of us to live together in

harmony and brotherhood " like sugar dissolved in

milk ".

'The Twilight Time ' makes a succinct and sad

comment on our taking life in a misconceived

perspective: we welcome the sunrise regret the

sunset, feeling happy at our childhood and youth

while lamenting over own declining age

accompanied by " wrinkled face " and " enfeebled

body " .

The most successful poem in this anthology is ' The

Elegy of Life '. This is an artistically appropriate

rendering of a Sanskrit Subhashit, depicting the

transcience of human existence nurturing fleeting

joys and hopes under the shadow of death


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represented by the image of an elephant in the

poem; smashing everything in no time. Rich with a

slant this piece is remarkable for its structure and

technique besides phrases like " Lotus jail " , "

dreaming unreal real ", " ever contracting life ", etc.

The last but very meaningful one among the ones

selected here for consideration is ' The Cuckoo's

Cacophony ' . This piece of composition calls our

attention to its beauty and grace by metaphorical

picturing of man's tearful, forlorn orphaned

existence.

On the whole, this poetical work is a harbinger of a

greater glory. I am sure Shri Joshi will play on other

strings too.

Dr. R.K. Kulkarni

Retd. Professor of English

Vijaypur, Karnataka.


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PREFACE

I have pleasure to place " Stooping Towards The

Absolute" a collection of 70 poems, at the hands of

the lovers of Poetry, coincidently , in my 70th year

of life, by the divine grace .

The title of the book purports to suggest directly or

indirectly that the precious human birth is not an

accident, but a definite mission, with which, we are

born, and preordained to discharge our duties at

the different stages of life.

The master mind, incomprehensible to our senses,

directs and forces to do things, 'His will be done'. It

is our undeniable relation towards the Absolute. In

all stages and circumstances of life, we have to

stoop before that Absolute Master .

Due to our ignorance or arrogance, we assume to

know all, and do in life, which, in fact, is a white lie.

After being pushed to hopelessness and frustration,

we, generally surrenders to the destiny or the

Divine will. It should be prudent on our part that

we accept things as His will and maintain the

equanimity and tranquillity of the mind.

At the same time, it should not be confused about

'inaction', action and' Inaction in Action' as

Bhagavad Gita puts. “Inaction in action" is what the

' Stooping Towards the Absolute ' mean.


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An attempt is made to dress these thoughts in

poems, wherever possible. ' His will be done' is the

driving force behind all contemplation.' Do thy duty,

leaving reward to Him'.

R. B.Joshi

Retd. Professor of English.


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CONTENTS

Sr. Poems Page

1 Cuckoo's Cacophony 1

2 Strange are the Ways of God 2

3 Love and Friendship 3

4 Memoriam 4

5 Sold Soul to Satan 6

6 Silent Song 8

7 Waking Dream 9

8 Endless Desires 10

9 Fair is Foul 11

10 Child Play 12

11 The Song of Life 13

12 Promethean Struggle 14

13 Life Like Beauty 15

14 Life, a Reverie 16

15 To Rising Sun 17

16 Elegy of Life 18

17 Change of Work 19

18 Playing Children 20

19 Stooping towards Absolute 21

20 History Speaks 23

21 Earth Bears All 24

22 Live in Harmony 25

23 Sunrise 27

24 Human Relationships 28

25 Citizen of the World 29


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26 Fragile Man 30

27 Be a Lion and Roar 31

28 Paradigmatic Shift 32

29 Restrain Mind, Mad Pursuit 33

30 Family Life 35

31 Saga of Life 37

32 Struggle for Life 38

33 Salutations, Father in Heaven 39

34 Perils of Slavery 40

35 Prayer for Enlightenment 41

36 The Pilgrims Predicament 43

37 Drum Beats 44

38 The Twilight Time 45

39 Beautiful Rose 46

40 Death to Devour 47

41 Nature of Self 48

42 The Power of Mind 49

43 Travesty of Justice 51

44 Life in Death 52

45 Colour Catalyst 54

46 Darling Soul 55

47 Meditation 57

48 Sri Ramakrishna 58

49 Man, Proud Man 59

50 Life Relationship 60

51 Message of Upanishad 61

52 Strange are the Ways of the

World

63

53 Book Lover 65

54 Teaching or Cheating 67

55 Divine Carpenter 68


xiv

56 Tomb of Aurangzeb 69

57 The Song of Silence 71

58 Birds Song Stops 72

59 What Vedantin Says 73

60 New Religion Wanted 75

61 Dear Lotus 77

62 Sleep 79

63 Money and Moral 80

64 To the Setting Sun 81

65 Dine With Daughter 82

66 Obituary to Father 83

67 Ratha Saptami 85

68 My heart 86

69 The Temple Said 88

70 A Prayer to Father in Heaven 89

Review 90


Stooping Towards the Absolute - Collection of Poems

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1. CUCKOO'S CACOPHONY

A lone cuckoo's cacophony anguish

lonely, crowd of crows' ambushed.

looks hither and thither for comfort

calling some to extend safe escort.

'Come, escape me, where you are,

who you , how you do, mind not.

Life precious, priceless, yarns survival

sing heart’s sorrow, expect your arrival.

Others of kind, tweet symphony,

exert friendship above disharmony,

heart's unison ready, deeply aspire,

wait determined, searching, insane.


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