The Beauty of Rhythmic Prayers
Publishing-in-support-of, EDUCREATION PUBLISHING RZ 94, Sector - 6, Dwarka, New Delhi - 110075 Shubham Vihar, Mangla, Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh - 495001 Website: www.educreation.in Copyright, Author All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, magnetic, optical, chemical, manual, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written consent of its writer. ISBN: 978-1-5457-0736-4 Price: ` 98.00 The opinions/ contents expressed in this book are solely of the author and do not represent the opinions/ standings/ thoughts of Educreation. Printed in India
The Beauty of Rhythmic Prayers Zain-e-Zikr (A Tribute to all the Parents and Grandparents Across the Globe) Dr. Manthan R. Sheth - Itttefaq EDUCREATION PUBLISHING (Since 2011) www.educreation.in
Disclaimer W This book is inspired by a true story. Some places and events are real, but some are the author's own creations and fictions. Mistake, if any, is the author's responsibility. P
Praise for Author W "The way Dr. Manthan has expressed his emotions for his parents and grandparents is really heartwarming. I am sure his book will inspire the younger generation and it will also be very helpful to the society." Honorable Mayor, Surat, Gujarat "A 26-year-old young doctor held a debate on 'Prarthana' & 'Azaan' and has explained to us that there is no difference between 'Dharma' & 'Mazhab'!" Mr. Savji Dholakia "A must read book. This young gentleman is very mature for his age. His views are really worth." Dr. Shashikant Shah "In this book, the young author has shown his gratitude for his parents and grandparents in such that I am sure that he won t have to perform any holy rituals for his ancestors to rest in peace." Amar Palanpuri (Well-known poet, Gujarat) P
The Beauty of Rhythmic Prayers Zain-e-Zikr W A modest young man, Dr. Manthan Sheth is the founder of the philanthropic organisation 'Maisha Group' which works for the poor, needy and orphans. This book is his debut book inspired by a true story. You can find out more about him at the given websites. Facebook: /zainezikr Twitter: /ManthanSheth YouTube: /drmanthanrsheth Instagram: /drmanthanrsheth P
Dedicated To W My parents and All the other parents and grandparents across the globe. P
Foreword W By Mr. Savji Dholakia Founder and Chairman, Hari Krishna Exports Pvt. Ltd. (India's Leading Diamond Business Tycoon) I received The Beauty of Rhythmic Prayers, Zain-e- Zikr, a book by Dr. Manthan Sheth, and I was surprised to find out that a 26-year-old young doctor has written such an interesting and mature book consisting of poems and prayers on parents! I salute this talented youngster. I like this book a lot as it is a tradition of India to offer the respect to their parents. This is not just a custom but a culture that we followed generation after generation and it is our responsibility to pass on this culture to our future generation. How wonderfully Dr. Manthan has explained to us that there is no difference between Dharma and Mazhab. He debated this view based on Prarthna and Azaan. We can identify the diamond but we usually don t have words of praise for it. I am feeling that through this book the society is getting an invaluable diamond in form of Dr. Manthan. I heartily congratulate him on the occasion of publication of his first book. P Savji Dholakia
Prelude W By Dr. Shashikant G. Shah Educationist & Columnist (Rt. H.O.D., Dept. Of Education, VNSGU, Surat) Swagatam! On the occasion of publication of Dr. Manthan's debut book "The Beauty of Rhythmic Prayers," I heartily congratulate him. How to give respect to one s parents has been expressed in the book in depth. There is depth as well as advancement in his thoughts. Although Dr. Manthan is at the tender age of 26, he is well mature and his wisdom knows no bound. For this reason, I appreciate him. His poetry world is also very much delightful and sagacious. If I recall my relationship with him, I remember that his father was my student during the 80s. It brings a real smile when you are blessed to have interaction with your student s successful son on such an auspicious occasion. I have observed this boy for the last 3 months and to my surprise I was overwhelmed to find that apart from his mainstream interest in medicine, he is a very keen observer of Nature and is very passionate about writing. He visited different temples, shrines, mosques and also explored many caves. He has obtained spiritual quintessence through many spiritual masters and leaders. It is always a literary treat to witness the demonstration of his pen's firm hold over English, Hindi and Urdu apart from Gujarati when it comes to poetry. Synchronisation of different religions has been mentioned in his poems which is very much acceptable in this present era and it
is also an opportune in today s world. I tried to find out by a keen study of his book about the message that Dr. Manthan wants to give to the Nation. I found, Love and respect your parents, elders, teachers and spiritual masters unconditionally. Moreover, develop a feeling of "Sarva Dharma Sambhava" (all religions are same) in your heart. So that security of human species remains intact and the love between every human gets enhanced. Also, this book is worthy of praise because of the beautiful way in which he expressed his thoughts. Dr. Manthan was successful in giving to us the sign of the fact that society is getting a noble human being, an excellent poet and a sensitive doctor. I appreciate his writing skills and congratulate him from the bottom of my heart. Shashikant Shah P
Acknowledgement W Expression of Heart I owe my life to my parents who have been my support and have helped my inner self to grow and mature into a good human being. Here I would like to thank everyone; All my readers, fans, social media friends, thank you for picking up The Beauty of Rhythmic Prayers, Zain-e-Zikr. You all have made me what I am today. My mentor, my editor and my first reader Dr. Shashikant Shah, I am indebted to you and thankful for shaping my talent of writing a book. I thank my father Dr. Rajen Sheth for his contributions in correcting this book. I am obliged to my mother Bakula Sheth, my brother and his wife, Hemang and Priyanki Sheth; and my sister and her husband, Kruti and Vaibhav Shah for their support in my academic and literary career. I thank my colleague Dr. Fouzia Rehman, for her inspiration and support in my times of struggles. I owe to my close friends Dr. Karan, Dr. Shrey and Dr. Rinkan for being there for me in my ups and downs. I also thank my relatives and friends and I appreciate them for cheering me on. I am grateful to the spiritual leaders and masters of all religions who blessed me and inspired me to write. I would also like to thank all those personalities who are no more in this world with me. I am grateful for their eternal love and blessings.
Once again I would like to show my utmost gratitude to each and every one for contributing towards betterment of my life. Welcome to The Beauty of Rhythmic Prayers, Zain-e-Zikr. Thank you for being there in making of myself. P
Index W S.No Index P. No Prologue 19 1. Facsimile 22.of Father 2. Sources of Brilliance 28.The Grandparents 3. Apparently Nominal 36.(For Them) To Me, The Maternal Grandparents 4. Patience 39.Chivalry to the Son by Mother in Her Womb 5. Happy Living 48.The Power of Female Fraternity 6. Under The Honour of Stars 53.The Play of Illusion and Infatuation
7. Consistency 57.In Their Prayers Traces of My Pen 60 Epilogue 68 P
Prologue W Dr. Manthan R. Sheth Inspiration resides in you itself. Intuitions are hidden in your inner self. You never know what can become an inspiration or a sudden bright idea which may turn out to be master card to your classic living! Who knows it might become that point which has created a genius in you! Who knows it may just build up the base for your future's acme. And who else other than Akshat Saini can be a perfect example for such. I can vividly recall that it was that ordinary and hectic day of my medical schooling. I was returning back from the hospital at late evening. It was drizzling softly. It was very cold. Car's heater mode was switched on. I was listening to my spiritual discourse, and suddenly the phone rang. Akshat was on the line, "Bro, if you are free now, can we meet for a while? Not for a while. Actually, I need to talk to you about something important." "Fine! Come to my apartment within 30 minutes or so. We shall meet over a cup of ginger lemon tea. Tantalising climate outside, isn t it?" I said. Akshat is an Internal Medicine aspirant and one of my close colleague who is 25 years old and dreams about something out of the context. I could never understand him but I tried my best to manage his goals and visions of his career life. He belongs to a middle class Indian family and was raised in a small town and came to the metro city since last decade. He grew up by observing all the religious stereotypes from his mother and grandmother. But he was blessed with a medical graduate father and a registered medical practitioner his 19
The Beauty of Rhythmic Prayers late maternal grandfather. He found a special affection from his purely business-minded and cricket-loving late grandfather. He witnessed countless failures and struggled for stability throughout his late twenties and ultimately found it gracefully when the Almighty blessed him with a niece; Maisha. "Dude, open the door. I am shivering outside!" he shouted on his arrival to my place. I opened the door. We settled down in my portico and started taking sips of our all time favourite ginger lemon tea. "Sheth, actually mom's birthday is coming. You know, I have given them surprise every time but to my dismay I have no idea this time. I am almost out of ideas in the last 10 years," he initiated the conversation. "Well, I don't think I can help out with anything. If you suggest something I can guide you," I added. "I have an idea but I don't know whether it will work out or not. If you give a green signal to it, then you only have to direct it too," he suggested. "I am not getting what you want exactly," I said. "See, Zoya and I both know very well that you are well versed in writing. Your pen is something which can bring smile to anyone," he went on explaining. I put my mug on the table, rested my chin on my palm and a deep thought process began about inside me what he was saying. "What I want to say is, how about gifting a book to Mom? Not just to Mom but to dedicate it to all the parents. Their constant care and infinite inspirations have led us to our destinations. Isn't it?" He questioned. "Yeah, I agree, but how can I be of help in this case? You should ask some philosopher or some authenticated freelance writer," I concluded. "No, you already understood what I am saying but it's your modesty that you tried to say you didn't. Well, 20
Dr. Manthan R. Sheth here is the concept and I know no one else other than you can express my heart and its feelings in words. Listen, 'whatever we are today is just because of the prayers of our parents and grandparents.' Our existence would be questionable if they wouldn't have prayed and worshipped for us," he elaborated his concept. "It's definitely an awesome concept," I was so emotional that I said that sentence in very low pitch. Our conversation went on for 2 hours. He left my apartment at 11:50 pm. I couldn't sleep. I took out my car and went for long drive at 2 am. I was still couldn t believe that he asked me to pen down those feelings that he has for his family, and this is too in form of a book! I told myself, this man is from another planet. Who would get such thought to give an exclusively written book as a gift to his parents? His last words while leaving my place, "Sheth, I know you can do it. It's time for you to get engaged with your pen officially." So here, the inner beauty that we have developed due to our parents and grandparents' prayers is all set to take you on a ride of your life's journey from childhood to the present day. It's a conceptual proposal by Akshat, going to be narrated through my pen as an "Itttefaq" which will converse with you from here on. P 21
The Beauty of Rhythmic Prayers 1 Facsimile of Father THIS LIFE IS A PEN, YOU ARE IT'S INK; WHENEVER A FULL STOP COMES AHEAD OF THY NAME; THERE, THIS INK WILL FADE AWAY...! W 22
Dr. Manthan R. Sheth If there is any immortal relation in this world, it is of father and son. When one surpasses teenage and enters the adulthood, at that time you can understand the role of a father! The best example of a unique relationship is that with a father. Not to insinuate in anyone's life, not to give any advice or just not to say anything in any matter; to understand such silence, even two decades would be less. If someone explains the things through words, it will be easy to understand. But it was very tough to understand this personality who is par from words. Such silence can be made true only when we felicitate our father by gaining plenty of achievements in our life. There are many families where relationship and friendship between father and son is very much fascinating and it cannot be explained just by words. To make life interesting, another definition of adventure can only be learnt from the father. Every time when one wants to realise the goals of life, one has to rest one s head on the father's shoulder. When a father keeps his right hand on a son s head and pats his shoulder with his left hand, the son will receive a ray of hope for winning and achieving his life s goal. Behind every achievement or success, there is a supportive and broad-minded vision of father. "What will I become? Or what can I do?" Before these questions arise in my mind, it has been already created in his mind. These positive vibrations are like catalyst due to which the consistency of purity in life of every child has been maintained. It's not that I have never seen failures. More than success I have experienced failures. And every now and then, the only person who had kept his trust in me is my father. He has completely different mindset; once I asked 23
The Beauty of Rhythmic Prayers him, "After these many failures, you still have faith in me? Many times Dad, even my soul loses the selfconfidence, even though I am so strong! Every single one tortured me, every single one criticised me. But you?" "If I also intervene in your life by giving advices or suggestions like everyone else, then what will be the difference between me and them? And due to my advices if you are going to become successful, then I will keep on suggesting throughout the day. But no, I have confidence in your capabilities. You are so much mature that you properly know what is right and what is wrong. And beyond right and wrong, you know the difference between what is proper and what is improper at that very time. If I shall give you any target, you will be limited within to it. But if I won't say anything, I know you will reach to an infinity! And there only lies a real achievement. I have more trust on your brilliance and talent, rather than judging power of other people about your capabilities." Dad, December 13. As of now, when I think about the circumstances of three decades back, I can realise what struggle actually is. I now understand the phases of hardships from which every father had to pass through. I understand the hardships of a man who starts his journey from the smallest village and then becomes the very first doctor or engineer or etc. of that village and then settles down with his family in a metro city to give a firm stability in this recent times. This journey is definitely not a slaver of any words. In 26 years of my life, when me and father went ahead with aggressive approach in our lives; many troubles came from my life to his life, but at that time I had a verifiable introduction with Presence of Mind, I realised and experienced what it really is. And when in 24
Dr. Manthan R. Sheth life's toughest and difficult situations, when you get to listen from Dad that "I am not worried at all. My brain, the another one in form of you, is working for me in another world". At such time, believe me, this very life happens to meet the feelings of beatitude. The paradise lies in these words only, and so what is the need of searching it after death? P Dedicated To Every Father Two unique and wandering souls; as you, as me; Whenever meet in non-dual family, Happens to be an eternal Kith and Kin, As a Father, as a Son! One innocent child finds stability, When his fickle and frivolous life, Gets yourself as Father! The sacrament and the culture, as a father from you; When I gained, believe me, Enjoying life becomes festival forever! In world's alchemy and society's politics, You only directed the path to mountain! You prioritise the education, When you sacrificed everything, To get us on the Pinnacle! 25
The Beauty of Rhythmic Prayers It's a boundless thrilling experience, When we realise the presence of such a dad! Keeping aside millions of dreams, Avoiding plenty of necessities, You well off us with glamour, To this personality, I bow! In a world of phantasm, Definition of recent virtuous, You taught us by your Simplest and modest character! Thee, My Inspiration; Thee, My Belief; Thee, My faith; Thee, My self-confidence; Besotted becomes bewitching by, Thou! Thee, behind my success, Thee, behind my shining personality, Thee, the decorator of my character! Obtaining essence of thy fiery life, One more achievement, would it be! Thou, held my finger, When the world left me, Thou, represented me in front of the world, By making me stand on thy shoulder! Prosperous and Dignified existence of mine wouldn't be there, If thou hand wouldn't be there on me! 26
Dr. Manthan R. Sheth Together wherever we stood, The whole world started shivering! Thou; My custom, My words, My achievement, Just a mediator I am, with Voice and Body! Thee breathing, My success, Thee heart's bewailing, My failure, Thou faith, feelings, fervour, Precious gifts of my life! Thou, the reader of my mind, Thou, the savvy of my nature, This writer feels victorious, When bestowed with a father like you! Our innate, don't need play of words. It's a story of personifying your name, It's a life of you, beating bloody politics, It's an illustration of history of family's chief, It's a story satire by struggles of Every "Father"! P FROM THE DESK OF "ITTTEFAQ" "WHEN IT MATTERS THE MOST, DON'T GIVE EXPLANATIONS; JUST RELEASE YOUR STATEMENT!" P 27
The Beauty of Rhythmic Prayers 2 Sources of Brilliance The Grandparents FROM BRITISH INDIA TO TODAY'S INDIA; THOU, THE TRAVELLER! REMAINS OUR GUIDE FOR THE AGES. W 28
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