Remember
याद रखो - जॉय हरजो (३ जुलाई, २०१९)
याद रखो उस आकाश को, जिसके नीचे तुमने जन्म लिया,
प्रत्येक तारे की कहानी को जानो।
याद रखो चाँद को, जानो कि वह कौन है।
याद रखो भोर में सूरज का जन्म, वह है
समय का सबसे मजबूत बिंदु। याद रखो सूरज का ढ़लना
और आज की रात ख़ुद को खो देना।
याद रखो अपने जन्म को, कैसे तुम्हारी माँ ने संघर्ष किया
तुम्हें रूप और सांस देने के लिए। तुम सबूत हो
उसके जीवन का, और उसकी माँ के, और उसकी भी।
याद रखो अपने पिता को । वह भी तुम्हारा जीवन है।
याद रखो उस पृथ्वी को जिसकी त्वचा तुम हो:
लाल मिट्टी, काली मिट्टी, पीली मिट्टी, सफेद मिट्टी
भूरी मिट्टी, हम मिट्टी हैं।
याद रखो पौधों, पेड़ों, प्राणी जीवन को, जिन सब की अपनी
जनजातियों हैं, उनके परिवारों, उनके इतिहास, भी। उनसे बात करो,
उनकी बात सुनो। वे जीवंत कविताएँ हैं।
याद रखो हवा को। याद रखो उसकी आवाज़ । वह जानती है
इस ब्रह्मांड की उत्पत्ति।
याद रखो तुम सभी लोग हो और सभी लोग
हो तुम ।
याद रखो कि तुम यह ब्रह्मांड हो और ये
ब्रह्मांड तुम हो ।
याद रखो कि सभी गति में है, बढ़ रहा है, वह तुम हो।
याद रखो भाषा इसी से आती है।
याद रखो भाषा नृत्य है, वह जीवन है।
याद रखो ।
विचार के लिए बीज प्रश्न: याद रखना आपके सामने क्या ले कर आता है? क्या आप उस समय की कोई व्यक्तिगत कहानी बाँट सकते हैं जब आपको याद रहा हो कि ब्रह्मांड आप हैं और आप यह ब्रह्मांड हैं? आपको यह याद रखने में क्या मदद करता है कि 'जीवन है’?
“इमेरजेंस मैगज़ीन (उभरती पत्रिका)” से लिया गया।
Syndicated from Emergence Magazine.
SEED QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: What does remembrance bring up for you? Can you share a personal story of a time you remembered that the universe is you and you are this universe? What helps you remember that 'life is'?
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13 Past Reflections
On May 31, 2024 Sunshine wrote :
I had to choose a poem to read for my graduation and I found this. The poem had to be in English or Spanish so the translation was super helpful. I feel like the poem really highlights the most important things in life. Joy Harjo is an incredible poet.
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On Jul 3, 2019 Pankaj Shah wrote :
A wonderful poem/prayer for cultivating mindfulness about our oneness. May we all learn to remember well.
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On Jul 2, 2019 Wendy Noyes wrote :
Remembering is the silent act that happens when we lie down at night and see a star shoot through midnight. Softly and in a split second of light I remember my father laughing, his extra large hand curling around my small girl’s knee, squeezing in just those sensitive spots that make my whole leg tingle. “Horse bite” he whispers without looking away from the road. We are in the front seat of his Cadillac that has a bench seat. My Mom is next me. We are coming home from fishing together. We have caught nothing but each others’ closeness. I remember being loved by my parents, in the black of nights, in the burning sun of day. Thank you to Joy for reminding me to remember.
1 reply: Bob | Post Your Reply
On Jul 1, 2019 Jodi wrote :
I have been reading/responding/posting about the atrocities, esp against children, at our southern border (U.S.).Calling Senators/Rep. I am fighting but heartbroken. I came to this beautiful, life-affirming poem & sobbed. Yes, life is. Life is horrific, unbelievably unbearable sometimes. An infant kidnapped from parents, cared for by fellow kidnapped child (who eventually loses interest), reeking in own bodily waste, drinking from toilet, in hellish, torturous, overcrowded, disease-laden cell or the "Dog Pound," outdoor cage w/no protection from driving heat in day, freezing cold at night. Yet this poem connects me to the Life that IS. That flows through every single thing, in & between atoms. Comforts me to some degree. Gives me "life" to do more tomorrow. I wish I could put myself in front of those guards. In front of Miller, disdainfully, hate-fully giving orders.
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On Jun 28, 2019 me too wrote :
Last evening, I cared for my mother in law (90 years old) ... my parents (83 and 81 years old). I did a lot of remembering! Interesting ... how, out of all the good and bad over the years, my “remembering” centers around the wisdom I’vegainedfrom each. These past few weeks have been weepy ones for me. With so many changes ... so many special moments ... so much fragility ... I have to “remember” that I am God’s girl! It’s OK for my loved ones to decline in mind and body. It’s OK to die. it’s OK to move to another “place”. He remains The Same ... always and forever. On Him, I must stand. amen
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On Jun 28, 2019 David Doane wrote :
I very much like this essay. Joy Harjo exhorts us to remember our oneness with all that is, which we forgot. We are one with the sun and moon and stars, one with all who came before us and will come after us, one with earth, one with all plants and animals. All that is is one, as it has been since the beginning of time and will be until the end of time, and we are part of it. We once had that awareness, then we forgot and have lived as though separate, and we are beginning to bring back to mind or remember the fact of oneness, which is critically important for us to remember for our very survival. It's been over the past approximately 15 years that I have remembered more deeply that we are one, which I learned mainly from the Buddhist and Vedantic traditions, and I remind myself of it frequently.
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On Jun 27, 2019 Jagdish P Dave wrote :
Remembrance brings me to the realization that all threads of life are interwoven and interconnected and there is an underlying flow of oneness.Like the author Joy Harjowrites," Remember you are the universe and this universe is in you. There are times I forget this Universal Truth.Thanks for reminding me the truth. We all need to be often reminded that life is one though it has different forms.Hurting nature is hurting us.
Several years ago when I was teaching in a college in my home town Ahmedabad. My students and I went to an exhibition.The theme of the exhibition was Family of Man. At the entrance there was a poem written by Carl Sandburg." There is one Man in the world and the Man's name is All Man. There is one Woman in the world and the Woman's name is all Woman. These is one Child in the world and the Child's name is all Child."
I would add this line:" There is one Life in the world and the Life,s name is all Life." I will never forget these... [View Full Comment]
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On Jun 27, 2019 Kristin Pedemonti wrote :
Remembrance means to me to acknowledge I am part of something bigger than myself.To honor my ancestors. To honor the earth and the universe of which earth is a larger part. Remembering the universe is in me and I am this universe happens when I let go and allow: recently I felt this while in facilitating for a group of veterans and I was so hoping what i was sharing was of value to them, that I was being of service because I was deeply second-guessing myself and my place. There was a moment of intense peace as not only did I see my dad in their eyes (he's been gone for 28 years) I felt my dad in the room with us and the veterans felt it too, they pointed it out to me. That moment was profound, a knowing, a connection beyond the physical in front of us. I felt both small and limitless at the same time. I hope this makes sense.