Oceans Meet

'Music is born out of poems
Poems are born out of thoughts,
Thoughts spring from creative minds'

 

Oceans Meet

       
Friends, when I (Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam ) am in the midst of poets from around the world, in this beautiful environment of Taipei, I would like to share a poem which is a conversation of two beautiful islands - the Rameswaram Island from India and Formosa, with the two great divine minds – Buddha and Confucius. This poem is born out of friendship between Dr. Yu Hsi and myself as a tribute. Let me share this poem with all of you.

Oceans Meet

"I am the Island of Rameswaram, dear friend,
Born out of the shining water of the Indian Ocean.

O my fellow Island, O my dearest friend,

What is your origin and where do you live?"

"Dear Ramy, they call me Formosa – the beautiful Island,
I live like a beautiful flower seeing the early sun-rise,
Sitting in the gardens of magnificent oceans of the Pacific,
As the deepest waves of the noble ocean scatter around me."

"O friend, my dear friend – Formosa,
I greet you with a heart brimming with joy.
My vast ocean embraces a land of ancient religions, culture and divine wisdom,
It is the soil where enlightened one – Lord Buddha once walked upon."

"O Ramy! You are indeed showered with blessings divine,
Garlanding around me are nations with billions of human souls,
It was, the land and the nation which I call mine,
That gave birth to the wisest sage, Confucius who shaped human thought in noble roles."

And then, the two great humble oceans prayed and prayed,
The two noble sages, then descended like angels upon the Sangam ,
The magnificent oceans then with veneration asked the heavenly souls,
To glorify the earth with their wisdom like they did two millennia ago.

The waves of gracious smiles from them merged with peace into each other,
As they waited for the sages to ponder and illuminate with their knowledge.
The mighty oceans sat patiently with clasped watery hands,
As they swell and fell with each stroke of unfailing tide.

And then with the radiant sun shining behind them spreading day,
The sages smiled graciously as they began to say,
Their voice echoed from the horizon filling the anxious sky,
Time froze as the message of human glory and peace expanded to occupy the void.

       
The wisest sage, Confucius said,

"We are with two oceans who nurture half of humanity,
We came to the planet earth in the same century,
And gave the message of humanity and peace.
O enlightened one! O Lord Buddha,
Can you tell the world, how they can live,
With universal peace and prosperity for all?"

Buddha smiled with serene tranquility,

"God gifted humans with intelligence and the tool of reason,
It is for man to harness the might of the divine gift,

To prosper towards a life of goodness and truth."

The wisest sage, the holy master then agreed,

"O enlightened one! Your thoughts are unique,
Humans are indeed entrusted the great mission,
Of realizing with body, mind and soul – the God’s vision".

Then our Island friends and the oceans which gave them birth,
Humbly joined their voices from the heart,
As they prayed and prayed again,
Beseeching the divines to give a message of human renaissance.

Again a deep silence engulfed the universe,
The cosmos seemed to be filled with energy,
The waves from both the oceans went violently high,
And gently touched the feet of divinity with beautiful shehnai playing:

(O planet, what a past and what a present you possess,
And when they come together, greeting like us two seas,
They create the future, future of peace and prosperity for all)

"O wisest sage, Confucius! You have preached and preached to peasants and herders in Lu,
You preached the value of family life and that of righteousness in the heart,
And O enlightened one! Under the sprawling Bodhi tree,
You proclaimed – where there is righteousness in the heart, there is beauty in the character".

The wise sage then said,

"Yes I will sing now!
When there is beauty in the character,
There is harmony in the home"

The enlightened one, the Buddha added,

"When there is harmony in the home,
There is order in the nation,
When there is order in the nation
There is peace in the world".

In chorus, the two great sages wise and enlightened,
Blessed humanity with the song of life righteousness,
For world peace and prosperity for all.

The Islands and the oceans rejoiced in unison,
The waves and winds joined to sing the song of life in Sri Raga ,
Om Shanti! Om Shanti! then He-ping! He-ping!

The song was then done.




May God Bless You,

Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam