Pleasure Point is an academic endeavour which aims at propagating the concept "Poetry pleases". Reading and assimilating poetry is a pleasurable experience akin to a child's eagerness in devouring icecreams, a teenager's titillations on eying the prospective counterparts of the opposite sex, a house-holder's joy at making both ends meet metaphorically and literally, the aged and the infirm's ray of hope and bliss that lights up their path towards the unknown.

Every week it is proposed to take up a few lines of poetry and relate them to other known and not so well known lines of metre and prose and juxtapose the thoughts contained in them with such of those thoughts of relevance and import.

In order to be absolutely certain about what the few chosen lines of thought may signify, it is proposed to highlight such of those lines that appear in the book "Pandora's Bliss" by Dr. JKS, which is a collection of 111 eight-lined poems. Since each of these poems is dedicated to an individual or a set of individuals, the human element in all its diversified glory can be fully exploited in the analysis.

This week let us take the lines:

These lines form the closing thought of the poem "Do's and Don'ts" dedicated to His Holiness Sri Jayendra Saraswathi Swamigal, the Sankaracharya of the Kanchi Kamakotti Pedam, Kanchipuram, Tamilnadu, India. In the dedication to His Holiness the poet notes, "in these days of communal disharmony and racial tensions, there is a haven of peace and purpose guarded and guided by His Holiness. Alexander Pope has said, "to err is human, to forgive, divine". Dr. JKS has surged forward to express that seeking forgiveness is diviner still. "To err is human', but those who err, when they realize their mistakes, repent, renounce and rededicate themselves to the upright path of virtue, they are then performing an act which surpasses even divine measures and thus becomes 'diviner still'.

Human nature is such that the human psyche shies away from accepting truth or reality. This tendency becomes more pronounced when reality or truth becomes hurtful. A doctor who has to divulge about his wrong diagnosis to a patient or a spouse who wants to convey the loss of love to his/her life partner or an employee who has been instrumental in incurring a loss to his/her employer, all feel the urge to keep away from seeking forgiveness for their act and turn out to be rather brash and abrasive in their actions, thereby compounding their original sin. When one realizes the great strength that can be derived from seeking forgiveness, the world can be rid of so much of heartache and hardship. Christ showed the way for seeking forgiveness, though He, Himself was unblemished and above blame. One need not aspire to become Christ, but by emulating His goodness, if one can attain Godhead, then seeking forgiveness is nothing to be scoffed at.

Seeking forgiveness is an individual's prerogative and a very individualistic act. There can be no blueprints or formats for those seeking forgiveness. Each one in their own way and in their own time needs to do this and the outcome of this memorable act which is peace and contentment need not be trumpeted to all, because the mind of one who has sincerely sought forgiveness gets suffused with a heavenly glow even as their eyes radiate confidence and love.

(By Dr. JKS)

Also by the author: Short Stories and Debate