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Theme: Culture

A Hindu Obligation

As I lie breathing my last
somewhere
one more tree is being chopped
so that enough wood is available
to make a pyre
The last bed of my earthly life
To commence my journey yonder
And my devoted son
is crying.....

Reminiscences of the past float by......
Born a Hindu
every now and then
the family would perform
Puja and Havan 
burning wood
pouring Ghee

And on my first "Lohri"
when I was barely 4 months old
Wood equivalent to one big tree
was burnt.

Blessed was the male child!

Then Holi!
And Holika burnt again with wood
This burning has continued
all my life.

The birthdays
The marriage
The anniversaries
The birth of my children
On all occasions
A Havan
Burning of wood
with Vedic Chants.....

And what did I do?

I remained a silent witness
To the Deforestation
Endangering Species
Environmental Pollution
Ecological Imbalances

Not once did I plant trees
although I consumed dozens of them
in the rituals and traditions.
A price of being a Hindu!

Simply planting bushes in the pots
is not a substitute
to the destruction of trees
that happened because of me.

Son,
Cry Not
But Remember
Your Hindu obligation
of planting and growing more trees

And
while Yama still is afar
and I am living with a few breaths more
help me
so that I can plant One Sapling ....

... and become the image of Nirvana.
 

A Hindu Obligation3.jpg

24-May-2000

More By  :  Rajender Krishan

Views: 1497     Comments: 4

Comments on this Poem

Comment Thanks so much for this....we should have planting trees as ap part of school curriculum

Charu Uppal
02-Jun-2013 01:17 AM

Comment Oh, what a poetic pathos -
"one more tree is being chopped
so that enough wood is available
to make a pyre" -
and - "Not once did I plant trees
although I consumed dozens of them
in the rituals and traditions.
A price of being a Hindu!"

BS Murthy
19-Dec-2012 08:36 AM

Comment O really wonderful poem on social consciousness. The poetry mingled with the unpoetic, reality with the imagination. What a sharp cudgeling of the society! Yes, I myself have never thought over this deforestation in the name of rites and rituals...
nice poem in content and form as well.

Dr.Ratan Bhattacharjee
28-Aug-2012 11:55 AM

Comment I really enjoyed the glory of our culture in which there is a link between trees are chosen as a main concept.

Berisetty sreelakshmi
05-Aug-2012 06:36 AM


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