Visvavatan Quotes

“If you wanna learn about tolerance, ask a person of color, How do you even tolerate the sight of white people, when the wrongs done to you by whites are unparalleled in history!”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“If you cared about the thousands of children suffering today in Gaza, as much you care about the birth of one middle eastern child two thousand years ago, perhaps then, you could've understood the true meaning of Christmas.

As of now, Christmas is just a festival of hypocrisy - and that too, in the name of a man who gave his life to lift up the fallen. My question is, if you cannot be Christlike in your deeds, what's the point of all these festivities, which are supposed to be rooted in goodwill towards all, not mindless self-obsession!”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Divide and divine can never go together.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Letter to My Soldiers

I am only the beginning - the beginning of a new kind of humans - humans who belong to not one culture, but many cultures - humans who speak not one language, but many languages - humans who study scriptures and science with equal enthusiasm, yet pledge allegiance to neither, and know how to use both in the benefit of humanity - humans who aim for neither belief nor disbelief, but warmth and understanding - humans who are more concerned with the real hard problem of inhumanity, than the outdated hard problem of consciousness - humans who sacrifice their life treating the real hard question of hate, rather than the mythical hard question of god. I am only the beginning - the first spark, if you may - the best are yet to come.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Timing for a dream is never right,
Yet you must persevere against the tide.
A tenacious mind can turn any table,
Even amidst the utter absence of light.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Orphanizers (Demilitarization Sonnet, 1303)

Show me a nation with a huge defense budget,
I'll show you a demented nation.
Show me a nation with a big education budget,
I'll show you a nation of the future.

Disband the soldiers, empower the teachers,
Thus you plant the paradigm of peace.
Abolish all pride in nation's military,
Thus you emerge as maker of peace.

The real warmongers of the world are,
Not the world leaders, but the civilians,
Who can't think past the strength of military,
Who take pride in a genocidal arsenal of weapons.

With such civilian primitiveness rampant in society,
No conference can ensure the promise of peace.
If you really want to ensure peace on planet earth,
Denounce all politics and democracy militarist.

Stop taking pride in your national military,
That very pride floods the world with orphans.
Amidst the herd of widowmakers and orphanizers,
Wake up alone, and slogan for demilitarization!”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Pro Government or Pro Human Rights
(Earth Administrative Service, Sonnet 1304)

Either pro government or pro human rights,
A civilized human cannot be both.
Doesn't mean you're always anti government,
It means you pledge no one blanket support.

Gaza has made it more evident than ever,
No politician got the guts to rock the boat.
When the chips are down and balloon goes up,
Politicians hide behind the diplomacy door.

World leeches masquerading as world leaders,
Would sell their mothers if the price is right.
Sheeply civilians don't do much to change things,
So they seek comfort in snobbish arguments on AI.

Dump all autocratic nonsense of law-abidance,
Tell the right from wrong by conscience rule.
If you want human rights to reign supreme,
Wake up and be the world leader of your hood.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Stop taking pride in your national military,
That very pride floods the world with orphans.
Amidst the herd of widowmakers and orphanizers,
Wake up alone, and slogan for demilitarization!”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“World's light comes from your light,
It comes from the sacrifice of the few.
If these few ever became selfish,
Whole world would drown in dwindling dew.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“You are the God,
You are the rock.
You are the tune
on the cosmic chord.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Real education is to learn what to unlearn.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Love is not christian,
Love is not muslim.
Names are mere reflection,
Love is the source beam.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Love is travel,
Love is reform.
Peace is play,
When love reigns dawn.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Give me a team of five, with an engineer, physicist, mathematician, coder and composer, and I'll improvise a nation impenetrable, without needing to kill a single soldier.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“To treat disease you need medical license,
To treat injustice being human is enough.
To fly a plane you need pilot's license,
To lift up society being human is enough.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Sonnet 1359

I know people who use God
as excuse for hate and war.
I know people who use God
as inspiration for love and peace.

I know people who use Science
as excuse to be cold and inhuman.
I know people who use Science
as means to be warm and responsible.

It's neither God nor Science,
that causes coldness and war.
In the hands of a selfish ape,
Science and God are equally impotent.

But when it's a responsible human
that wields either God or Science,
You can rest assured of one thing,
nothing can dent their humanness.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Martyr's Dilemma
(An Existential Sonnet, 1349)

Abhijit Naskar are two, not one.
Abhijit the person, Naskar the mission.
Abhijit has dreams like an ordinary man,
While Naskar is the dream of world union.

Abhijit put his hopes and dreams away,
So that Naskar could engulf the world.
Abhijit even got dumped by the girl,
Because Naskar couldn't dump the world.

The question is, do I regret all this!
With all honesty - yes, I do on occasion.
All the vastness of Naskar isn't enough,
to make up for the things I missed out on.

The point is, it's okay to have regrets,
You ain't alive till you have regrets.
Yet I never abandoned my duty to the world,
For my mission is bigger than my regrets.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“All the professions that actually require some tangible skillsets and expertise, don't rely on the jungle whim of democracy. Yet the most glorified profession of all, has no performance standards compulsory.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Sonnet 1306

Doctors are not official representatives,
Yet they do their job quite efficiently.
Teachers are not official representatives,
Yet they do their job quite respectfully.

Public transport drivers ain't representatives,
Yet they carry their duties quite diligently.
Factory workers ain't official representatives,
Yet they fulfill their tasks rather honorably.

All the professions that actually require
some tangible skillsets and expertise,
don't rely on the jungle whim of democracy.
Yet the most glorified profession of all,
has no performance standards compulsory.

If this is your idea of a civilized democracy,
No wonder you still crave peace in nuclear weapons!
Only monkeys could confuse homicide with defense,
It takes a human to plant peace through illumination.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Dutybound, Sonnet 1315

To treat disease you need medical license,
To treat injustice being human is enough.
To fly a plane you need pilot's license,
To lift up society being human is enough.

To talk to computers you gotta learn coding,
To listen to people being human is enough.
To build a shuttle you need rocket science,
To build a society being human is enough.

To analyze behavior study neuropsychology,
To accept people being human is enough.
To practice law you gotta pass the Bar exam,
To practice humanity being human is enough.

To make it rain on land in drought,
you gotta seed the clouds with dry ice.
To make it rain on hearts in drought,
just lend a hand, and smile without price.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Stateless Sonnet

Some dreams are too big for a town,
Some dreams are too big for a city.
My dream was too big for one country,
So I stood up and engulfed humanity.

I am too alive to be bound by ideology,
I am too human to be bound by border.
Too civilized to pledge flagly allegiance,
I am the ultimate geopolitical defector.

In poetry I am sufi,
In philosophy I am advaitin.
In duty I am scientist,
In existence I am human.

I am a civilized human being,
I don't exist to impress governments.
I'm a being with heart, brain 'n backbone,
I'm the stateless force of world upliftment.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“World needs love that transcends body.
World needs truth that transcends belief.
World needs honor that transcends wealth.
World needs order that transcends police.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Mindfulness leads to selflessness, which unfolds as mindlessness is left behind.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Diversity is the presence of light, Inclusion is the celebration of light.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Diversity is an act of nature,
Inclusion is an act of mind.
Diversity is the presence of light,
Inclusion is the celebration of light.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Better abandon citizenship than abandon your dream.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“The day the billions of people of earth are valued more than the billionaires, that day you shall be human.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Kind words cost us nothing, Cruel words will cost us all.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“Miracle and Migraine (Sonnet 1370)

Words are my leisure,
Words are my life.
Words are my gift to thee,
Use 'em wisely for light.

Kind words cost us nothing,
Cruel words will cost us all.
Faith in people costs us nothing,
Systemic mistrust will end us all.

It is common knowledge in the circle,
I don't control words, I get visions.
However, every miracle takes its toll,
Hence, the migraines are getting worse.

I don't mind, so long as I am ointment.
You keep the magic, I'll keep the pain.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets

“There is nothing supernatural about visions - or to be more accurate, contrary to traditional belief, it's not messages from some extraterrestrial domain. Visions are indeed messages from a mysterious realm alright, but like the everyday realm of human perception, the transcendental realm as well is creation of brain chemicals. I won't go into details here, as I already did that in my early days. One of my earliest works, Autobiography of God, contains a detailed analytical account of the neurobiology of transcendental experiences. However, the question is not whether there is an explanation, the question is, is it worth explaining! Because, while sometimes the lack of explanation facilitates superstition, some things are better left unexplained - such as, love.”
― Abhijit Naskar, Visvavatan: 100 Demilitarization Sonnets