Two poems: One from Julia Carney and other from Louis I. Newman

I like one of the poems of Julia Abigail Fletcher Carney (commonly known as Julia Carney) very much. It has gone deep down my heart. I love this lady for such a beautiful poem. 

Julia Carney was an American Educator born on April 6, 1823 in Lancaster, Massachussets and died at the age of 85 years on November 1, 1908. She is very famous for her great poem 'Little Things' which gave her a fame in 1845.

I reproduce the lines here:

Little drops of water,
Little grains of sand,
Make the mighty occean,
And the pleasant Land!

Little deeds of kindness,
Little words of Love,
Make our word an Eden,
Like the heaven above!

The other poem that I would like to share with you is of Louis I. Newman. He was a poet and scholar of Jewish ethics. He is famous for scholarly writings and poems. He says:

I sought to hear the Voice of God, 
And climbed the topmost steeple,
But God declared, Go down again,
I dwell among the people.

Poetry of the Learned Poets!

I have intentionally selected such a title. For me not all poets are learned. (Sorry, if it offends someone)! I like poetry that is deep in thought. Words might be simple but with deep meaning. I will share the poems/poetry of the poets from different cultures/places which I come across. I would try to give translation as well, if I really could find one or translate myself. Please forgive me if I cant find the source of the translation or transliteration. If you know the source, please leave in a comment below. Thanks,

Allama Muhammad Iqbal, also known as the poet of the east, says:

Aqal Ne Aik Din Ye Dil Se Kaha                       One day reason said to the heart:
Bhoole Bhatke Ki Rahnuma Hun Main               I am a guide for those who are lost. 

Hun Zameen Par, Guzr Falak Pe Mera             I live on earth, but I roam the skies
Dekh To Kis Qadar Rasa Hun Main                  just see the vastness of my reach.

Kaam Dunya Mein Rahbari Hai Mera               My task in the world is to guide and lead,
Misl-e-Khizr-e-Khajasta Pa Hun Main              I am like Khizr of blessed steps.

Hun Mufassir-e-Kitab-e-Hasti Ki                     I interpret the book of life,
Mazhar-e-Shan-e-Kibriya Hun Main               And through me Divine Glory shines forth.

Boond Ek Khoon Ki Hai Tu Lekin                    You are no more than a drop of blood,
Ghairat-e-Laal-e-Be Baha Hun Main              While I am the envy of the priceless pearl!

Dil Ne Sun Kar Kaha Ye Sub Sach Hai           The heart listened, and then said: 
Par Mujhe Bhi To Dekh, Kya Hun Main          This is all true,But now look at me,And see what I am.

Raaz-e-Hasti Ko Ti Samajhti Hai                  You penetrate the secret of existence,
Aur Ankhon Se Dekhta Hun Main!                But I see it with my eyes.


Hai Tujhe Wasta Mazahir Se                       You deal With the outward aspect of things,
Aur Batin Se Ashna Hun Main                      I know what lies within.

Ilm Tujh Se To Maarifat Mujh Se                Knowledge comes from you, gnosis from me;

Tu Khuda Joo, Khuda Numa Hun Main         You seek God, I reveal Him.

Ilm Ki Intiha Hai Betaabi                             Attaining the ultimate in knowledge only makes one restless

Iss Marz Ki Magar Dawa Hun Main              I am the cure for that malady.

Shama Tu Mehfil-e-Sadaqat Ki                  You are the candle of the Assembly of Truth;
Husn Ki Bazm Ka Diya Hun Main                 I am the lamp of the Assembly of Beauty.

Tu Zaman-o-Makan Se Rishta Bapa
Taeer-e-Sidra Se Ashna Hun Main

Kis Bulandi Pe Hai Maqam Mera
Arsh Rab-e-Jaleel Ka Hun Main!

Glorifying the beauty of my Lord!

My routine is very unusual. Since very long, I do not follow a disciplined routine. My wake up time is messed up, my sleeping time is not fixed, my daily work agenda is highly flexible, yet to everyone's and to my own surprise, I follow some routine :). My routine comprises of tea in the morning before going to university, studying with couple of breaks including prayer, tea, and food/fruit breaks, some days teaching to third year students and back to home, having dinner, watching TV on my laptop and long (sometimes constructive) arguable discussions with (a) friend(s) on various issues concerning plights of peoples in Pakistan on a cup of Pakistani tea (Kheer patti/Dhoodh patti chae). 

By following such a (sounding uninteresting) time-flexible routine, I never gave a deep thought to admiring the beauty of my Lord. Paulo Coelho in his book Alchemist reports that 

I am going to put on a shirt I often wear and, for the first time, I am going to notice how it was made. I am going to imagine the hands that wove the cotton and the river where the fibers of the plant were born. I will understand that all those now invisible things are a part of history of my shirt.

Being inspired by the thought of noticing how a shirt was made, described by Paulo Coelho in his book, I try to look back and think of my routine. When I think about it again and again, my routine though sounds quite uninteresting but is actually not. No one can see the beauty of my Lord in it but I can see it for sure. How beautifully he wakes me up from slumber and my whole existence comes into existence. SubhanaAllah. I live again. SubhanaAllah. Should I say, human's life is like a pure random walk process. You do not know when what happens next. Predictability is zero. Wow! Time never stops, but yet Lord gives us time to spend. We have loads of things on the plate to be done. There is purpose in life again. Glorify the name of the Lord, admire the beauty of the Lord, and seek the shelter of the Lord. 

The purpose makes the routine look better to oneself. Vision starts shining and one sees a routine like a blossoming flower. It is promising. 

Tomorrow will be different. It will not be different that I am going to change my routine (though I might need to for some other reason), but it will be different because I will start looking at things I do from the time I wake up to time I fall prey to slumber differently. I will seek my Lord's beauty in everything. 

As Paulo Coelho says that when you want something, forces of nature will move in a way that you will achieve your goal. I call these forces of nature nothing but the will of Allah, my Lord: It is actually He who moves the things in your favor and yet we do not realize and recognize.

That is the beauty of my Lord! He is there! Need to see it. :)

Quotes

Vandaag, wil ik graag een aantal quotes te posten in plaats van een blog schriven. Ik weet het dat jullie (sommige) zullen niet leuk.

Ik hop dat je vind het leuk.

I hope that you you like it. Thanks

Random thoughts :)

Do we really learn things?

Over time, I have realized that one should remind oneself of his/her learning curve. One should be aware of the things learnt from time to time. Every day is a different day in some sense even for a person who follows an exact same routine. A day can be different due to several reasons related to emotions, work, feelings, situations, happenings, events, and what not. With all these things, we learn something. 

'Time never waits for anyone'. It moves on. It is therefore very important to remind oneself of one's progress and learning. Human race is progressing and with time the ocean of knowledge is growing. The learning is important as the world has moved from a common knowledge to specialization. 

Having learnt so much (acquired knowledge), can we still answer questions like:

1. Which is the best classroom in the world?
2. When is a day really a good day?
3. When do I feel better about myself?
4. Which is the most peaceful feeling for me?
5. What is the importance of the things that we do for ourselves?
6. What is the importance of the things that we do for others?
7. What is the importance of a sincere apology?
8. What is the importance of harsh words uttered?
9. What is an innocence of a child?
10. What is the importance of saying 'No' or saying 'Yes'?
11. What is the strength of helping others?
12. When do you need a friend?
13. What is the function of heart to a person?
14. What is the meaning of time to us?
15. What is the meaning of life to us?
......
.....
....
...
..
.
and the list goes on.....


Learning about what one has learnt is very important for self-development (personal-development). We must keep asking ourselves questions like above to help ourselves improve. I wish I can store my learning in some words, I find it extremely difficult. Sometimes words deceive me and at other times, feelings turn their faces away from me, and yet at other times mind does not accept to code the learning into words.

But we have to live, so we should live happily, purposefully, respectfully, and with energy and enthusiasm. This can be achieved by reflection on the learning achieved from various things, occasions, feelings, emotions, situations, people, groups, surroundings, environments, etc.

Plan for learning languages!

Sometimes, I think that when we all humans are the descendants of Prophet Adam (May Peace Be Upon Him), then why on earth do we have to speak so many languages? Well, I know the reasons that people will present and I agree with them. But this has really made my life difficult. hehe.

I speak afew languages, can understand even more languages, and yet can write even more languages. Sindhi, Urdu, English are ones I can speak, write, and understand fluently. Arabic I can read and write. Since Persian uses same script as Arabic, so I assume I will be able to read and write (if someone dictates me) but would not understand / comprehend. Punjabi, I can read (though it is written with urdu alphabets), write, and understand but, ofcourse, not fully. Amazingly, Hindi is similar to urdu when you hear and I can speak and understand but can not write or read. I can not read/write because Hindi uses totally different script - Devanagri script. I wish I could recognize the letters. An Indian friend of mine tried to explain to me but unfortunately, I did not take much interest because of many reasons, specially, I did not have enough time and I thought when I can speak and understand, I guess I do not need to put efforts on a totally new script for reading. These days, one can write in roman, anyways.

I want to learn two more languages, which I can read, write, speak and understand as well. These languages are Arabic and Dutch. For Arabic, I know how to read, write but can't speak since I cant understand it. I can read and write it because my mother tongue (Sindhi) and Pakistan's National language (Urdu) use the Arabic script for writing.

I know a little bit of dutch since I have lived in the Netherlands for some time. But I really regret that I did not take the opportunity to learn this language. There are not many people in the world who speak dutch but still it is a language. I agree with the most people who think that Dutch is a difficult language to learn. Yet, I want to learn this language and I am learning it.

May be in next couple of weeks, I start blogging in dutch. (At least try simple, short sentences in Dutch explaining my everyday activities).

Arabic!!! I have many Arabs around me, so I am thinking that I should also take a course or some lessons from some university/institute/tutor to learn Arabic as it is the most rich language on earth. I would start learning this language soon. I will inform you about that soon.

Bye for now :)

Banking, Business, Economics and Finance Related Movies

Following is the list of some of the movies related to finance, banking, business, economy, and/or financial crisis. The synopsis or story-line of the movie, if available, is taken from IMDB website. Moreover, Youtube links of the trailers of the movies are also presented. I would highly recommend these movies to the students of finance/accounting/economics/business.

Good luck!

1. Wall Street (1987) (Imdb rating: 7.4)

A young and impatient stockbroker is willing to do anything to get to the top, including trading on illegal inside information taken through a ruthless and greedy corporate raider who takes the youth under his wing.

Imdb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0094291/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Trailer:

2. The Pursuit of Happiness (2006) (Biography, Drama) (Imdb rating: 7.9)

A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional endeavor.

Imdb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0454921/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Trailer:

3. Boiler Room (2008) (Documentary) (Imdb rating: 7.0)

A college dropout gets a job as a broker for a suburban investment firm, which puts him on the fast track to success, but the job might not be as legitimate as it sounds.

Imdb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181984/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Trailer:

4. The Ascent of Money (2008) (Documentary) (Imdb rating: 7.8)

Imdb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1358383/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Trailer:

5. Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) (Imdb rating: 7.4)

An examination of the social costs of corporate interests pursuing profits at the expense of the public good.

Imdb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232207/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Trailer:

6. Overdose (Original Title: Overdos) (2010) (Imdb rating: 7.9)

In times of crisis people seek strong leaders and simple solutions. But what happens when their solutions are identical to the mistakes that caused the very crisis? 'Overdose' is the story of the greatest economic crisis of our age - the one that awaits us. The documentary traces the origins of the financial crisis and explores the eerie similarities with today's situation, where states like Greece, Iceland and even the U.S. seems to be in danger of collapsing. Among those interviewed are experts who were mocked when they predicted the current crisis. Other interviewees include Nobel laureate Vernon Smith and former US Comptroller General David Walker (I.O.U.S.A). The film is shot in the U.S., Sweden and Germany and makes extensive use of music, archive footage and graphics.

Imdb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1634833/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1

Trailer:

7. Inside Job (2010) (Imdb rating: 8.3)

Takes a closer look at what brought about the financial meltdown.

Imdb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/?ref_=nv_sr_3

Trailer:

8. Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (Sequel of Wall Street) (2010) (Imdb rating: 6.3)

Now out of prison but still disgraced by his peers, Gordon Gekko works his future son-in-law, an idealistic stock broker, when he sees an opportunity to take down a Wall Street enemy and rebuild his empire.

Imdb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1027718/?ref_=nv_sr_2

Trailer:

9. The Flaw (Documentary) (2011) (Imdb rating: 8.3)

People all over the world are still struggling with the aftermath of the greatest financial crisis since the Wall Street Crash of 1929. We all know what the effects have been but what exactly were the causes? The Flaw ranges widely across the history of American capitalism in the twentieth century, its rigor laced with sardonic humor and peopled with a cast of characters that spans Nobel-prize winning economists and distressed home owners to the New York Times financial correspondent on the brink of foreclosure and the Wall Street banker who feels the pain encoded in his spreadsheets. The film argues that the roots of the crisis lie in the changing relationship between the rich and the rest in American society.

Imdb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/?ref_=nv_sr_3

Trailer:

10. The Wolf of Wallstreet (2013) (Imdb rating: 8.5)

Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stockbroker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.

Imdb:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0993846/?ref_=nv_sr_1

Trailer: