Sanskrit blog: Children - a poem by Khalil Gibran

शिशवः

शिशुं परिष्वज्य जगाद माता,

“शिशून् समुद्दिश्य निरूपय प्रभो” ।

“तवार्भकास्ते न भवन्ति मातः

आत्मस्पृहालोः खलु जीवितस्य ॥

भवन्त्यपत्यानि बहिः प्रयान्ति

द्वारेण ते त्वन्न भवेयुरत्र ।

त्वत्स्वं न ते  यद्यपि ते वसन्ति

साकं त्वया कांश्चन वत्सरान् वै ॥

वात्सल्यदात्री न तु चिन्तनानां

दात्री भवेः ते स्वमनोऽधिराजाः ।

तद्विग्रहान् त्वं  खलु वासयेः चिरम्

परं तु नात्मानि कदापि तेषां ॥

श्वोभाविलोके हि वसन्ति तानि

स्वप्नेऽप्यगम्यं भुवनं त्वया तत् ।

यतस्व मा त्वत्सदृशांश्च कर्तुम्

तत्साम्यमाप्तुं यदि चेत् यतेथाः ॥

कालः स्थितो नैव सदाग्रगामी

कदापि न ह्यस्तनमार्गवर्ती ।

त्वं कार्मुकं त्वच्छिशवस्तु बाणाः

धन्वीश्वरो लक्ष्यमनन्तमार्गे ॥

पश्यन् स्वशक्त्या धनुरानमय्य

तान् लीलया मुञ्चति दूरलक्ष्ये । 

तुष्टा भवेस्त्वं नमिता महेशः

प्रेम्णा शिशून् त्वां च सदैव पश्येत्” ॥

 -- 

Above is a rough rendering of the following  famous poem of Khalil Gibran:

Children

And a woman who held a babe against her bosom said, 'Speak to us of Children.'

And he said:
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,

And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.You may give them your love but not your thoughts.

For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow, which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.

For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as he loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Khalil Gibran

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