time reigns supreme

आकाशगामिकरमृष्टसुमं सुवक्त्रम्
मेघाश्रुपातबहुलेन फलं सुपक्वम् ।
वायुप्रकम्पशिथिलं पतितं च बीजम्
कः  बीजपाकवचनः स हि काल एव ॥

The flower blooms when it is touched by the rays of the sun;
The fruit ripens when it is watered by the tears of the cloud;
The seed falls when it is shaken and loosened by the wind;
But kāla alone can tell you when all of this will happen.

on vāsanās

इन्द्रियाध्यशनेऽतृष्णा वासनातानवे स्पृहा ।
कार्यालये रमाचिन्ता गृहे कार्यस्य चिन्तनम् ॥

When you feast on the senses, you attain dispassion; and when you do the opposite you attain desire. After all, when you at at work, you are thinking about your wife (home life). And, when you are at home, you are busy thinking of work !  (i.e. When you overload the senses at home, you attain dispassion about home and instead desire work. And vice versa)

Molai Forest

[link] http://www.thebetterindia.com/10904/jadav-molai-payeng-forest-man-india/

"Almost three decades ago, a teenager, after noticing the deaths of a large number of reptiles due to a lack of a tree cover, started planting Bamboo in an area that had been washed away by floods. Today, that same land hosts 1,360 acres of Jungle called Molai Forest, named after Jadav “Molai” Payeng, the man who made this possible single handedly!"

"That forest is now home to Bengal tigers, Indian rhinoceros, over 100 deer and rabbits besides apes and several varieties of birds, including a large number of vultures. There are several thousand trees. Bamboo covers an area of over 300 hectares. A herd of around 100 elephants regularly visits the forest every year and generally stays for around six months. They have given birth to 10 calves in the forest in recent years."

उन्निद्रवारिनिधिजृम्भपरिप्लुता सा
वन्ध्येव पुष्परहिता समभूरनन्ता ।
एकैकबीजवपनश्रमजीवितेन
व्याघ्रादिजन्तुगणपोषयुतान्नपूर्णा ॥

When the ocean expanded and yawned, it overflowed onto the land and rendered her barren for an infinite stretch. Then, by a life's work of painstakingly planting seed after seed, mother annapūrṇā has once again become the nourishing haunt of tigers and other herds.

perfect circumstances

In a recent thread, an āstika was commenting on the dire straits in which many of the vedic traditions find themselves. In order to revive them, he was looking for utterly ideal circumstances to be provided by those in places of authority. He wanted "crown wearing" sannyāsis to take care of his every want. I found the situation comical --

चण्डे मरौ श्रुतितरुं समुपेत्य सन्धौ
सन्ध्याजलं कुत अहो विसृजामि सोऽहम् ।
मन्मन्त्रशक्तिधरवारिविशेषदाने
संन्यस्तराजमुकुटं हि समर्थपात्रम् ॥

Having approached the vedic-tree which is in a crisis state in terrifying desert conditions, he wonders -- "Where should I release my sandhyā waters? The only vessel fit to receive the waters that contain my mantra śakti is a royal crown laid down before me". The words sandhau, so'ham and sannyāsa all have a secondary meaning as well.

on meetings and projections

चर्चासभा सकललोकसुखप्रदात्री
पश्यन्ति शुभ्रफलकं पुरतश्च सभ्याः ।
ताराश्च सूर्यकिरणान् फलकानि तद्वत्
दृष्ट्वा प्रभातसमये प्रणमन्ति भक्ताः ॥

Everyone loves meetings, and those who partake in them love to stare at the shining white board (projector screen) in front of them. These bhaktas wake up in the morning, and salute the stars and the sun, and projector screens !

a verse in vasantatilaka

शैवागमोक्त-गुरुवर्य-कृता प्रतिष्ठा
तद्वंशजैः सुविवृता शिव-सङ्घ-पद्या ।
वेदानुचारिण इमे शिव-शक्ति-सक्ताः
धन्या वयं कलि-कुलेऽपि पवित्र-नेत्राः ॥

śaivāgamokta-guruvarya-kṛtā pratiṣṭhā
tadvaṁśajaiḥ suvivṛtā śiva-saṅgha-padyā |
vedānucāriṇa ime śiva-śakti-saktāḥ
dhanyā vayaṁ kali-kule 'pi pavitra-netrāḥ ||

In my very first composition in the vasantatilaka meter, the subject matter is the śivācāryas who officiated at a recent śiva pratiṣthā in a local temple. The pratiṣṭhā was done by those who are designated as śivācāryas in the śaivāgamas, and it is their forefathers who described and opened up the path towards śiva. In addition to being devoted to śiva and his consort śakti, these ācāryas also follow the vedas. Those of us who attended the pratīṣṭhā event are blessed, are our eyes were purified from witnessing this festive occasion, in spite of being born in the age of kali.