The Chaste Wife Posted in: Stories

There was once a wicked man of the lower classes. He abandoned all holy rites and gave himself to sin. He had a young wife but also kept a prostitute in his house. The wife, wishing only to please him, served them both. She washed their feet and ate only the remnants of their food. Although the prostitute tried to prevent her she continued to serve that woman in every way, along with her husband. When…

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Wasting my rare human birth. Posted in: Vaishnava songs

  DURLABHA MANAVA JANMA by BHAKTIVINODA THAKUR 1. durlabha manava-janma labhiya samsare krsna na bhajinu — duhkha kahibo kahare? Born in this rare human body, I did not worship you. Now Lord I am left lamenting. Who shall I tell this to? 2. ‘samsar’ ‘samsar’, ko’re miche gelo kal labha na koilo kichu, ghatilo janjal My time passed in wordly pursuits, without the slightest gain. My one and only profit was pure anguish and pain.…

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If I had a Time Machine (Pause for Thought BBC Radio 4 June) Posted in: Broadcasts

We seem to have something of a fascination for time machines, if the success of Dr Who, Back to the Future, and numerous other such shows are anything to go by. H.G.Wells started it all off many years ago, and maybe when we do finally work out how to do it, someone could pop back and tell him how well his book, ‘The Time Machine’, is still doing. Wells sent a man one million years…

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Courage (Pause for Thought. BBC Radio 2. May 28) Posted in: Broadcasts

I remember back in the sixties when the words ‘take courage’ were the ubiquitous advertising slogan for a beer of the same name. Quite a nifty publicity idea, I suppose, but a few years ago when it was resurrected in a TV campaign it was banned. The censors quite rightly concluded that encouraging us to drink beer to increase our confidence might not be the best example of social responsibility. Courage means standing up for…

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