Inspirations : 'Life of my Life' - A poem From 'Gitanjali'

'Life of my life' - A true submission to the Almighty - A poem from 'Gitanjali' portraying the paramount submission of a Soul(Atma) to the Almighty(Param-atma):

Life of my life, I shall ever try to keep my body pure,
knowing that thy touch is upon all my limbs.

I shall ever try to keep all untruths out from my thoughts,
knowing that thou art that truth
which has kindled the light of reason in my mind.

I shall ever try to drive all evils away from my heart
and keep my love in flower,
knowing that thou hast thy seat
in the inmost shrine of my heart.

And it shall be my endeavour
to reveal thee in my actions,
knowing it is thy power gives me strength to act.'

From 'Gitanjali' by Rabindranath Tagore.

Inspirations : 'Mother' - A prime source of Inspiration.

'Mother' - Has always been a prime source of Inspiration on which the existence of our cultural entity has sustained and will remain to do so, in the years to come. Whether in the worship of the Mother Goddess, or the Mother Nation, the word 'Mother' has been associated with a great revered feeling. It would be aptly appropriate to quote 'Mother' a poem beautifully portrayed by our beloved Ex-President Dr.APJ Abdul Kalam in his book 'Wings of Fire' :
I still remember the day when I was ten,
Sleeping on your lap to the envy of
my elder brothers and sisters.
It was full moon night, my world only
you knew Mother! My Mother!
When at midnight I woke with tears
falling on my knee
You knew the pain of your child, my Mother.
Your caring hands, tenderly removing the pain
Your love, your care, your faith gave me strength,
To face the world without fear and with His strength.
We will meet again on the great Judgement Day
My Mother!
From 'Wings of Fire' by Dr. Apj Abdul Kalam

Inspirations : 'O master poet'

'O master poet' : A beautiful poem from 'Gitanjali'

My song has put off her adornments.
She has no pride of dress and decoration.
Ornaments would mar our union;
they would come between thee and me;
their jingling would drown thy whispers.

My poet's vanity dies in shame before thy sight.
O master poet, I have sat down at thy feet.
Only let me make my life simple and straight,
like a flute of reed for thee to fill with music.

From 'Gitanjali' by Rabindranath Tagore.

Inspirations : My house

" I do not want my house to be walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all the lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be blown off my feet by any. I refuse to live in other people's houses as an interloper, a begger or a slave." - M.K.Gandhi

Inspirations : 'Conscience'

'Conscience' : We heard the voice of Conscience as narated by Mahatma Gandhi. Exploring 'Conscience' further, it would be most appropriate to quote APJ Abdul Kalam when he says thus :

'Conscience is the divine light of the soul that burns within the chambers of our psychological heart. It is as real as life is. It raises its voice in protest whenever anything is thought of or done which is contrary to righteousness.

Conscience is a form of truth that has been transferred through our genetic stock in the form of our own acts and our feeling of right or wrong.

Conscience is also a great ledger where our offences are booked and registered. It is a terrible witness. It threatens, promises, rewards and punishes, keeping all under its control. If conscience stings once, it is an admonition; if twice, it is a condemnation.'
From 'Indomitable Spirit' by APJ Abdul Kalam

Inspirations : Voice of conscience

"There are times when you have to obey a call which is the highest of all, i.e. the voice of conscience even though such obedience may cost many a bitter tear, and even more, separation from friends, from family, from the state to which you may belong, from all that you have held as dear as life itself. For this obedience is the law of our being", M K Gandhi - From 'Quotes of Gandhi'

Inspirations: Comment on 'Can everyone be a writer' in Sunday Times Dtd.Feb.10,2008

'Can everyone be a writer?' was an interesting article. I too believe that the art of writing is an inborn talent. It is an art because the inspirational thoughts can only come from within ourselves and would vary from person to person, rather from soul to soul as per the pureness quotient of the respective souls. I would like to stress upon 'soul' which is the source of inspiration for 'mind' to create thoughts. Again, the whole activity takes place in the virtual domain, the physical body working to translate the virtual thoughts into physical entity on paper in the form of language. To sum up, it is the language that can be taught or acquired, while the richness of content of thoughts is what is inborn and which cannot to be acquired by physical means.

Again, you have mentioned "Writing becomes art when it comes from heart". I feel there is a bit of misconception over here. It should be 'soul' instead of 'heart'. There is a difference in the two terms, a heart is a physical entity, while soul is in a virtual domain and it is the one which generates inspirations the artistic content of any writing. Trust you will agree with me.