Ecological Meditations: A Collection of Poems

By Dr. Karan R. Aggarwala

“Ecological Meditations— A Collection of
Poems” is a unique book of poetry that
reveals layer upon layer of insight into
the human condition. Each poem is focused
upon the heart of a particular thought,
emotion, experience, or subject of study.
The poems unfold sometimes logically, and
sometimes with an element of surprise or
wonder, transporting the reader into a realm that can be touched by a
consciousness of all the sense faculties.
The poems address universal principles and are close to Nature— both
human and ecological. The insights revealed are based upon deep
reflection and meditation upon the primary thought or feeling behind
the poem.
Ecological meditations is about an extended ecology— one that begins
with the individual gaining a consciousness of self in relation to nature,
moving forth into relationships both intimate and casual, extending
further into personal growth that understands and equally questions
received societal wisdom. Religion is addressed with regard to spiritual
development and due respect is paid to luminaries from the Hindu and
Christian faiths, although concepts such as "ethical conduct," typical of various
cultural traditions are also evident.
In reading the poems, at times one gets the feeling that beyond religion
there exists a universal ethic of “respect for life” that is informed by
good science, love, and the desire to be joyful and positive in all manner
of being.
The audience of this book can be the teenager who is looking to
find meaning, or even the career person who is fully engaged, and
surprisingly, also the elderly person whose nest is now empty. The lover
and the seeker, both will find something of lasting value within these
pages. Ecological Meditations is a book of poems with appeal for almost
everyone who has the inclination for self reflection."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Dec 23, 2010
• ISBN: 9781456836498

Dr. Karan R. Aggarwala

My professional interests are ocular diagnostics and visual neurosciences for which I am qualified and experienced. My first poem was composed on a train journey from New York Penn Station to Chicago by Amtrak; and is NOT documented. Three poems that most influenced my psychic developmental process in pre-teenage years are: The Beggar Maid, The Road Less Traveled, and Ozymandias. Three popular books that most influenced me prior to age fifteen are: Jonathan Livingston Seagull, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, and Atlas Shrugged. Three painters that cast an early impression on me are: Michelangelo, Dali, and Vermeer. Three musicians that I most admired as a teenager are: Joan Baez, Bob Dylan, and Paul McCartney. Three favored pastimes of childhood were: feeding sparrows on the roof, cycling on suburban backstreets, and star constellation gazing at Orion and the Big Dipper. A note of gratitude is needed here. My father was born into an educated family of modest means, with Grandpa training in Europe and qualifying as member of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons. Any and all persons that knew my father at any stage of his life are acknowledged here. Financing for my early developmental years came to father from companies such as Westinghouse Electric and Friedrich Air Conditioning, for which I have a natural gratitude. A Midwestern ethic coming from Grandpa’s collaborating with Dr. Grossman, filtering down to Dad is partly my own. Access to the World Book Encyclopedia and the National Geographic Magazine and the Time Life Scientific volumes and the Funk and Wagnall Dictionary were instrumental. Finally, access to the volumes of Will and Ariel Durant, would prove necessary for history of civilization. Any and all persons that knew my mother and that knew stepmother are given my vote of thanks. Any persons connected by blood relation are precious to me. The traditional profession practiced by the name Aggarwal would perhaps be considered bartering of food grains, oilseeds, spices, and textile manufacturing. Colonel Grandpa added the letter A at the end for better publishing visibility somewhere between completion of training in Europe {1924} and date of inclusion into the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons {on file}. Karan’s parents lived in Columbus Ohio and San Antonio Texas and father almost always drove station wagons. Karan’s earliest memories of childhood are looking through the rear window of a Ford Motorcar Falcon model of the early 1970’s. Karan is an only child of his mother born in Texas, now residing In Virginia. Father had a previous wife born in India. Father ancestry has historic roots of Azerbaijan going back to a kingdom that ended around 750 BC. Karan’s school education took place on both sides of the Atlantic waters. Although never attending Ivy League colleges, Dr Aggarwala was always directly involved with such high level research, teaching and scholarship: proof of such worthiness being employment offered by the US FDA, and qualifying for the National Research Service Award.

Book preview

Ecological Meditations

A Collection of Poems

Dr. Karan R. Aggarwala

Copyright © 2011 by Dr. Karan R. Aggarwala.

Photo Credits:

Front cover photo from Wikimedia by Elaine R. Wilson; Sialia currucoides - Mountain Bluebird, Cabin Lake Viewing Blinds, Deschutes National Forest, Near Fort Rock, Oregon

ISBN:          Softcover                                 978-1-4568-3648-1

                   Ebook                                      978-1-4568-3649-8

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

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www.Xlibris.com

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Contents

Science, evolution, nature and ecology

Lessons from water

Restraint

Chlamydia

Inner strings

Rocks turn

Evolution of mind

Color contrast

My territory

Earth, my mother

Bennigan’s

Twelve chambered window

Why? Out of love

Species

Creatures of the moon

Downstream from you

Grain of rice

Reign of oak leaves

Anise seeds

Apricot

One can learn

Butterfly

My friend, a mosquito

Where are you, O Krishna?

Invisible organism

Introduced species?

Did she ask to be picked?

Seeds of grain

Are you qualified?

Why does he bark?

Wild berry of yonder

Where you need to go

Chained to the sky

My mother’s milk without consent

I hate the chime

My divine mother hates the wheel

My bee no longer sings

Love, romance and trust

Whom did I embrace?

My love—a white rose

Close to heaven

Seventeen gladioli

Touch me

Secret reality

My oh my

Fatal stroke

Teach your children

Kindness

Moment of truth

Space of indifference

Mortar and pestle

Dark valley

Forever true?

Talisman

Oasis

Home of the dove

Sparrow lovers

Concrete corners

Let me rest, my dear

The beloved one

I’ll be watching you

Lustrous lips

Innocent evening

Water and air

Yesteryears

If I had a photograph of you

Heart longs for you

Quarter to three

Necessity

One and many

Legitimate desire

Bitter rose

Immortal birthday

A miracle

I don’t want to fall in love with you

Consciousness, spirituality, friendship and personal growth

Where am I?

Without

Mysterious gift

Lovers’ anthem—message for Anurag

Song of the stars

Father time

Moon song

Ocean heartbeat

Hat delight

In unison—a prayer

Timeless sky

Uncle Aditya

Abandoned

Morning song

That you are

Thought birds

Nature’s blessings—message for Manish

Encounters

History without goals?

Reality is felt

World out there

Confused with

Discovering a father

Father fire

Creation and dissolution

Thirty-five cents

Perspective and dichotomy

Who turns the wheels?

Teacher of souls

My friend, my cousin brother— message for Asheem

Sister Rashmi

Message for Jyoti

When I am old

Great expectations

Outside earth, inside body

Sapling words

Cognitive superfield

Rage

Anjana and Darshan

May I transition?

A weak eye, no reason to sigh

Society, customs, politics and religion

Edifice of words

My body no more

Mediocre man

Photo consent

Musical home

Mirrors

My luscious ripe pear—an unsung hero

Offering

Uneasy quiet

Nineteen nineties—gun control

Crows of woe

Human or ant?

Some 36

Knees dangle over

Nobody

April twenty two, two thousand

Water words

Healer of wounds

Message for Isabel Pura Faria

House of cards

Diwali

Violin concerto

Twenty-one

Law-makers

Rumble

To seek or not to seek

Worker

Port Authority Bus Station

Teachers and learners

Money and morals

Happy here

Birth trauma

On gifts

An optometrist liberated

For this, I pray

Peace

Customer service

Venus or Mars

Example

Seven before the hour

Meher Baba and Jesus Christ in the glimpse of an eye

Dedication

To all the people from whom I have learned,

and to those who continue to inspire me.

Acknowledgements

I am grateful to all the people from whom I have learned. I thank my father Raj for introducing me to his work ethic. I feel deep gratitude to my mother Poonam, who left her body in 1993, for her unconditional love and patient listening. I have a debt to my grandparents, of whom Shri Charan Das showed me at an early age the hidden beauty of the divine in something as miniscule as an ant, and Lt. Col. Amin Chand Aggarwala who inspired diligence and responsibility. I thank my uncles and aunts from both my father’s side and my mother’s side, for their constant caring, listening, gentle reprimands, and encouragement. I am grateful to my teachers from Modern School, Vasant Vihar, who believed in me and nurtured creativity. I acknowledge my teachers and professors from the All-India Institute of Medical Sciences for introducing me to optometry as a career option. I am grateful to Dr. Jordan Kassalow for giving me my first job in New York City. I am deeply grateful to my professors of optometry and vision science at the State University of New York, State College of Optometry, who dared me to ask questions and search for unconventional answers. In particular I thank Dr. Philip B. Kruger, my doctoral research advisor whose sharp intellect was focused like a laser. I thank Dr. Jordan Pola and the late Dr. Dean