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Himalayan Sonneteer: 100 Sonnets of Unsubmission

Book by Abhijit Naskar · 50 quotes · Social Justice, Civic Duty, Life Lessons

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Himalayan Sonneteer: 100 Sonnets of Unsubmission Quotes

“Himalayan Sonneteer Sonnet 2 Just like every family needs a pillar, Every generation needs a rock. All may sprinkle salt on each other's wounds, You for one, be the ointment to the epoch. Be the foundation stone to civilization, Be the walking measure of human character. You are the definition of sapience, You are the very definer. Let no law define your duty, Let no scripture determine goodness. Let no ancestor imprison your identity, Expand, explore and usher into sentience. You are the illusion, you are the truth. When evil hangs heavy, you gotta blow your fuse.”

“Why do you think I make zero mention of the culture I was born and raised in? It's because if I am to build a world where civilized beings would behave civilized and step across cultural bigotry, I must stand as the anomalous specimen of that possibility myself - I must stand as the ultimate global citizen - as a sapiens of earth, not of borders. Hence, I wiped out every last trace of identity imposed on me by the environment. Today I stand as the Himalayas - many cultures will claim exclusive copyright over me, but no single culture is vast enough to contain me.”

“Thus Speaks God (The Sonnet) Ik onkar, satnaam, Porque, yo soy insan. Aham bismillahsmi, Çünkü, benim adım vicdan. Sarva dharman parityajya, Giving up all national grave, Nos haremos vessels of verdad, Rise we shall as sapiens brave. Divinidad está en cada cultura, But no culture is pure divinity. Human divided is human undivine, Hatelessness is civilized divinity. Thus speaks God in tongue beyond tongues. One vessel isn't enough to contain my neurons.”

“Personal fiction is a psychological necessity of the individual – hence, a right - why can't we simply accept it as such! Why do we have to diss another person for not believing in the same kind of fiction that we believe in! It is time we become an aid to each other's light, not an impediment.”

“God is all in the mind, What's wrong with that! Art is also all in the mind, So, is art nothing but dirt! Dividers will always divide, Haters will always hate. Apes will find one excuse or another, To justify their authoritarian trait.”

“Himalayan Sonneteer Sonnet 9 I don't obey the law, I write them. I am the school where reformers, And public servants learn the rudiments. I don't follow science, I am science. I am the university where scientists, Shrinks 'n philosophers develop sapience. I believe in no God, I am walking Godliness. I am the cosmic record that makes, Monks and theologians grow sentience. I am the end of all half-knowledge, I am the beginning of sight beyond sight. Whoever finds me in their heart's mirror, Can never be tamed by apish fright.”

“Women Ain't Hood Ornament (The Sonnet) Why should women have to give up, Their name when they get married, As if they are not real people, But hood ornament to their husband! Why should a child be identified only, By their father's name, not mother's, Who by the way is the root of creation, Who is the actual almighty creator! It is a sad state of affairs when, Morons peddle moronity as tradition. Shame on us for sustaining such savagery, As we do not put our backbone to action! Each couple must determine the parameters of their relationship, not some ragged tradition. Only norm that matters is love, for in love lies emancipation.”

“Dead Men's Tale (The Sonnet) They say, time and tide wait for none, Lest the bird learns it can fly. The best way to control apes is, To make them feel guilty for their light. They say, dead men tell no tale, and yet, We live our lives based on dead men's tale. It is okay to tell tales if it enhances sight, But not the kind that produces a walking hell. There is no divide when we are alive, Divisions exist only in kingdom of the dead. We are divided because we are dead, Come to life, and all divides will be deleted. Let us write a new tale with the spirit of life. Instead of celebrating death, let's celebrate each other's light.”

“So far, heritage has only caused a mess. You know why? Because it is never about just heritage - all talk of heritage inadvertently leads us to the savage dilemma of "our heritage versus their heritage". And such dilemma might have been acceptable in a savage society, but it is totally and utterly out of place in a civilized world. So, either the very construct of heritage evolves, or becomes an impediment to the expansion, hence the welfare, of the world as well as the self. That is why I say - just because you are born and raised in a particular culture, it doesn't mean, you are supposed to stay chained to that culture all your life, with blinkers on your eyes, that keep you ignorant of the beauty beyond the horizon. Let me put this into perspective with an unambiguous example. Some of you have asked me, what's my relation to Turkey? Well, everybody loves Rumi, but I learnt his tongue, so I could pick up where he left off. Some of you have asked me, what's my relation to Latin America? Well, everybody loves to yell "viva la libertad", but I learnt el idioma, so I could revolutionize the very paradigm of revolution. Every corner of earth has some distinct strongholds, and I am the force that brings them together to create a strong, sapient, and undivided planet.”

“Neighborhood Humanitarian (The Sonnet) They ask me, why do I never run out of ideas! It is because I never dwell in one culture. Sometimes I'm North American, sometimes Latino, Sometimes I'm South Indian, sometimes I am Turk. When I run low on charge, I listen to Español, When my sight gets foggy, I watch Cary Grant. Whenever I feel homesick, I listen to some Telugu, Whenever my heart bleeds, I run straight to Turkey. It is sort of a perpetual motion engine, I empower the cultures, the cultures empower me. If I am the world's not-so-secret hometown human, The world is my secret to my infinite electricity. How, do you think, I became the neighborhood humanitarian to every single person on earth! It's because I never glorified one culture over another.”

“Thus Peace Begins (The Sonnet) Peace begins with society, Society begins with individuality. Individuality begins with liberty, Liberty begins with accountability. Accountability comes from unity, Unity comes through community. Community comes through diversity, Diversity comes through inclusivity. Inclusivity comes through nonrigidity, Nonrigidity comes through curiosity. Curiosity comes through expansivity, Expansivity comes through evolvability. Evolvability comes through taming animality. Animality is tamed when we prioritize humanity.”

“Good Seed (The Sonnet) It is existentially impossible, For all republicans to be inhuman fiend. But when they violate human rights as daily choir, It is also impossible to notice the good seed. It is existentially impossible, For all republicans to incite hate and violence. But when a party coddles guns over children, It is difficult to find anything good in them. It is existentially impossible, For all republicans to confuse divinity with division. But when a party uses bible as an excuse for bigotry, It is impossible to see the silent vessels of inclusion. Forgive me, if at times I have been harsh at an entire party! I know you're there, o good seed - it is time to grow some greenery.”

“What Hope Means (The Sonnet) What do you think hope means, To sit and do nothing! Such is no hope but cowardice, Real hope gets you walking. Hope means to take charge, Hope means unsubmission. Hope means to not lose sight, Hope means to cause illumination. Life is what happens to the human, Human is what happens to life. Nature is what happens to the animal, Human is the animal rising civilized. I repeat, hope is no excuse for inaction. Real hope brings emancipation from submission.”

“Hope is Nature's Defibrillator (The Sonnet) Hope is nature's defibrillator that, Electrifies the heart to unsubmission. Hope rescues us from the depths of despair, Hope drags the being even out of cremation. Hope lights the way when clouds convene, Hope brings sight when smog sets in. Hope is the bird that heralds the dawn, Hope is the answer to all things disheartening. Never let intellect trod on the sapling of hope, When things get rough intellect is first to scarper. The brain needs backbone to trudge through hardship, Without hope, backbone is first to lose its caper. But again, most times inaction sets in, disguised as hope. Real hope sets you on fire, it doesn't make you mellow.”