Your Best Friend!

In this world of machines, when you feel human,
To share humanness, when you need someone,
When realize you’re lonely, lost and depressed.
Dull and discouraged, and need to be refreshed,
When you find, you’re in dark and need a light,
Defeated and rejected, feel unfit to win the fight,
When you find none to listen, and none to share
When all leave you, leave you without care,
You look for a place to sit in calm and peace,
Look someone with whom to share that peace.
I know a person, who can be your best friend,
Who’ll share your joys and sorrows, such friend,
The best friend is within you, that’s your “Self,”
No greater support but, you the greatest help.
Go with your self, sit and chat, share and care,
You’d realize, never realized before, he’s there,
Listen to him, tell him and seek his guidance,
“Self” is your own Guru, feel the renaissance,
Talk to your “Self”, listen to him frequently,
You’ll be good, better, and best consequently.

- B. Johnson Maria

Blessed Mother Teresa of Kolkatta

True Messenger
(A Tribute to Mother of Kolkatta)


Commuters running up and down,
A living corpse, I saw in town.
Gaunt figure, with body bleeding,
Worsened by the clouds’ drizzling.
A dying leper, mercy imploring,
Human statues, callously walking.
He could foresee, his nearing end,
Why? Why did God not aid send?
That frail’s life, was full of dark,
Waited and waiting, for a pitied hark.
As death was nearing, I saw a hand,
He felt himself, elated from sand.
A wrinkled figure, clad in white,
Came in the dark, to spread the light.
She wiped his wounds, with a smile,
“Receive God’s love, my dear child.”
A true messenger of divine love was she,
Appointed to fulfill His plan to free.
On wrinkled face, the grace I could see,
That bade me; mother of Kolkatta was she,
Nay, of Kolkatta, but of the world,
Who brought in life, joys unfurled.

- B. Johnson Maria

Nature Meditation

You human beings!

           After searching a comfortable place, I sat peacefully on a piece of stone in the midst of natural grass and green trees. Many young and old trees, green with monsoon, with green and lively grass around and enthusiastic creepers. All seemed to flourish with life and joy, perhaps because of the previous day’s rain.

As I sat, trying to communicate with the nature, suddenly a thought occurred to me. The trees… how happily they are swinging and rejoicing, and when there is no water, or good soil, how miserably they die… what an undeserved death they get! I saw a bird, very happily singing and searching for food. I though, what a life they have… no time table for anything, no rules and regulations, no worry about anything at all. They live, exist and die an unknown death. When they will die, they don’t know, off course nobody knows about one’s death. What a waste of life! Only because they are not human. I was looking with contempt on that swinging tree, that restless bird, what is their life worth?

I felt as if the tree sensed what I was thinking… that’s why I felt as if it started to talk to me. It said, “What do you think, you are superior, you are great, just because you are human, just because you are rational, you can think, you have systematic life?” I looked in great surprise, it continued, “Look at us, we don’t bother about useless things, like you. Our heavenly father gives us life, and we enjoy it. We have nothing to regret, nothing to worry. When we get good rain, good mud, we rejoice that God our creator takes care of us. When there is no water, no productive land, and we have to die, we don’t feel bad about it, for it happens with the will of one who created us. We do only what He wants us to do. We know, he wants that when we are happy, we should rejoice, when we see our end, accept it. No regret for yesterday, no worry for tomorrow.”

I was dumb founded. It was talking philosophically, “You human beings! Because you have brain, you have thinking faculty; you use it worrying about useless things. You plan and re-plan, for what? Can you change God’s planning by trying to plan for yourself? When he gives happiness, you worry, how long this happiness will remain, how I can get some more happiness. Doing this, you ruin your own peace of mind; you lose the privilege of enjoying peace and happiness. When he gives you pain and sorrow, you start thinking about the causes of it, repercussions of it; in the process you lose the “fun” of facing them sincerely. You start blaming that your heavenly father does not love you and does not care for you.”

It kept on saying more, but I felt bereft of my thinking faculty, my brain had melted away. I got up quietly from my place and slowly moved as if ashamed of myself being a rational human being.

- B. Johnson Maria