kitchenette soul

2012-01-23T22:49:00.000-08:00

Shut down

When the “enter” key got stuck

A number of windows opened

One after another

Like a mind gone berserk

With a million thoughts all at once

In a million directions

To move on

The only way was to shut down

For a while

Both the comp and the mind

To connect back to the source

In silent mediation

Even if it be for just a while.

2011-09-11T11:25:00.001-07:00

Jai Ganesh

One so tall

One so huge

Breathtakingly awesome

With gentle wonderful eyes

That speak so beautifully

Of Love and compassion unlimited

A silence that is eternal

Magnificence of divinity in each

See Ganesha is the idol and in all that those

Around

That cheer loud and dance in joy

Omnipresence indeed!!

They clap and dance when he comes

And sing and dance when he leaves

Symbolize life and celebration

Celebration in birth and dissolution

2011-09-11T11:21:00.001-07:00

There is brilliance in a worm

Beauty and grace

In that which in mundane terms

Is a pest

To a mind that seeks ‘a cause’

And use in everything---

Pet to some

Pest to some

Life sustains life

2011-01-05T02:18:00.001-08:00

Yearn to sing to you so much

The Love that fills me so much

Have not words that can express enough

Love you is all I can say through tears

To meet you I have to drop

To meet to merge

Would be to shed

Every clothing of this soul

Of the mind

Of the intellect

Of everything

To turn nothing

Nothing just the

Presence that’s One

Your absence invoked your presence so

Understand now why Radha to let you go

For in your physical absence

Did she merge

In your Omnipresence

As You in spirit

One with you forever

She was truly blessed

Yearn for this union

Always

To merge in that which is

2010-09-24T02:23:00.001-07:00

Devotee: You my Lord

Are my Only God

Never think of anyone thus

Love you thus as my God

God: “Your God meaning?”

Devotee: The One I turn to when in need

You, a shoulder I cry upon when the world

Proves too much

Look up to you for everything

God: You turn to me in need

Yes Indeed!!

When not in need?

Forgotten?

Devotee: No dear Lord I remember you every week

Of course make offerings

For your blessings

God: Yes of course

One rupee in return for a lakh

And a million curses should I not oblige?

I am the Creator what would I want more?

Creation Born of Fulfillment

Eternity

Seeks none

Favours none

You love me

As one who fulfils your every need

Cry out in sorrow

I am just a support a source of solace?

I am such

But am much, much more should you see me as you

In happiness and sorrow

In times of agony and ecstasy

The unchanging One that remains

Unite with me

As is me

and that unruffled state is yours

In joy and sorrow

In success and failure

All opposites are twins born

They are always together

Look beyond both polarites

The Ulimate One

That is me and that is in fact… You

2010-07-14T22:27:00.001-07:00

I stepped in through the doors

of the place once home

Memories came flooding by

Of children their laughter

And clatter

Memories of seasons gone by

Of fun and frolic

Laughter and sorrow

Then for just a moment

Just let the memories go by

Experienced the stillness left

Behind

Like a sky when the clouds pass

A stillness present

Then and now

Eternally

A space untouched by none

Without a name

Eternity

2010-04-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

Looked down upon my dress stained

While at work

Wondered why I did not wear an apron

For it would have kept the stains off

Then as I wore the apron there came a little whisper from deep within

"Just as you wear an apron to work

To come out of work unstained and unhurt

Thus shall you wear the apron of non-attachment

Not be stained by like and dislike

Opposites of every color and hue

Working living a full life of all hues

Yet untouched by all"

2010-03-14T11:03:00.001-07:00

See the miracle called world

to see the mystery

Or the misery?

To see each as a link in an eternal dance

Of eternity

Particles in a giant wave

Of colors of infinite hues

Each of breathtaking brilliance

The universe is forever new

Its in the now

Forever

The misery is in the passing

It cannot last even if you would wish it to

Watch the mystery of this universe

Its eternal…………..

2010-02-10T21:31:00.000-08:00

Yours Truly

To Love that One
You need forsake none
Simply claim all as your own

Not ‘own’ as in ‘posses’
Simply hold at heart so near
That all are dear

Divine is not a jealous spouse
To demand exclusivity in Love
Simple ‘inclusivity’
Love that encompasses all

Not to escape this world
But embrace as one’s own

This is Liberation of the subtle kind
Eternally free
Yet ‘eternally yours truly’

2010-01-17T21:38:00.000-08:00

Just Watch…….

Who creates differences between you and your loved ones, the ones who you hold near and dear?

Many a time its your very own mind, with its tendency to magnify differences

The mind is a wonderful machine a quirky kind of magnifying glass which knows only to magnify the ‘faults’ of others and ‘good’ in you.

The mind is your best friend and your deadliest enemy. It can elevate you to a higher plane of thinking and consciousness, when it dwells on the oneness around or can push you into the world of division, comparison, judgmental thinking.

So when such thoughts of divisions come, followed by comparison and judgment,

The way out is to tell oneself ‘yes differences exist as each of us is designed this way’.

This brings in acceptance. Acceptance is not tolerance. Tolerance is a kind of repression through which one just is forced to put up with a lot of things. Acceptance implies ‘no why about it’ attitude, in full awareness of the underlying oneness with all around.

Acceptance paves the way for expansion of one's being. When there is no conflict in the mind, then its possible to retrieve a situation, to transform a problem into a solution. A solution will never come, no matter how hard one tries, when there a million ‘whys’ screaming within.

2009-12-26T22:24:00.000-08:00

Just Watch........

The mind always focuses on differences, makes them appear larger than life. Differences are always few but this nature of the mind to focus on them enlivens them, expands them beyond proportion. To allow the mind to continue to do so and have its way is to pave the way for pain and sorrow.

For every division begins at the mind then progresses to eclipse our thoughts first and later actions. To shift the mind to focus on the larger underlying oneness and see how much more we have in common is to expand the mind to a greater realm of oneness which is the truth.

Differences exist in Creation each is a uniqueness that enables Creation to function, not an obstacle in the path, not a threat.

2009-12-24T09:19:00.000-08:00

Sacrifice is not a 'giving up'

Not an abandonment

Its a sharing

A caring

Born of a deep sense of oneness

That the one I give unto is but me

Just me

A sharing of spirit

A merging of two

Two expressions of One

2009-11-09T10:45:00.000-08:00

My Parents All

Earth water fire, air and space

The earth I tread on is a part of me
My teacher
Teaches me patience and love for all
While I tread each day across
Nourishes me
Shelters me

The water that sustains me is a part of me
Slakes my thirst enlivens me
Teaches me to flow
To serve with love

Fire warms me

Lights my path

The air that enters
Walks in and out without barriers
Teaches me freedom all the while
That none can bind

I was created from the five
Am nurtured by Five
I shall return to the five elements
‘Parents’ Forever!!
At home forever!!

2009-10-08T10:40:00.000-07:00

My Love you say you Love me...
Yet, hold onto to my physical form
So lost in my physical presence
You fail to see the essence
That is Me
Enamored by my words you hold them dear

They are both instruments to draw you near!!
Scents that lead unto me
Means to an end
Use them wisely
To Reach Me
The Eternal Me
Beyond form, words and thought
The essence of divinity
That Is
Where ‘you’ and ‘me’ die a blissful death
One or None?
Simply Silence….

2009-09-30T22:06:00.000-07:00

Belief, Disbelief and Beyond.......

Once a sage was passing by a village. He had a box with him, which he entrusted to one villager saying “this box contains five gold coins please keep it till I return”. The sage then left. After a while another man came along and saw the villager with the box. He enquired what was in it. To this the villager replied, “This box has five gold coins”. The man replied, “How do you know? What is the logic behind your belief?” The villager replied, “The person who gave me this box is a great person, and I believe what he said to be true.” The second man disagreed, and said, “I do not believe so, how would you know?” While the two men were in conversation yet another man stopped by, and enquired. The first villager narrated the incident and said. “The sage is a great man and I believe what he said to be true, but this person here refuses to believe him. What do you say?”

To this the third villager replied, “I do not know. But there is one way…lets see for ourselves and open the box and we shall see what is”

The first villager is a believer, who simply believes not willing to see for himself. The second a disbeliever, firm in his disbelief. The third person is a sincere seeker who neither believes nor disbelieves but has the courage to experience it.

Doubt is integral in any belief or disbelief. Experience, paves the way for knowledge and knowledge destroys doubt.

A Master does not encourage belief or disbelief but points the way to experience the Truth for oneself.

2009-09-21T00:40:00.000-07:00

To spout wisdom when the sun is out, shining bright
And things are just right
Is easy

To live it when the storm rages within
With no solution is sight
When thoughts hurl faster than bullets
When its dark all around
To see the light
Of insight
Is a man of steady wisdom

Untouched by the polarities that life has to offer
Happiness and joy
Ever evolved
Wholeheartedly participates in life
Yet can withdraw like a tortoise
Withdraws its limbs into itself
And remain
Within
United in the Consciousness within

He sails through like a ship
Untouched by the waves of uncertainty
Above like and dislike

Not enslaved by emotions
For they are his tools
To live a full life
Yet remains untouched
Like a lotus leaf
In water

2009-09-16T09:10:00.000-07:00

Riches of the Gross do make a man rich
For a while
They shall vanish like mud castles on a seashore runawash with the waves of time
Virtues of Compassion and reverence for all as for Oneself
Born of a deep oneness of spirit felt deep within do make a man rich
For evermore
Masters the world calls them
Servants they have none
Serve all in their compassion
Their presence
A beacon of light
For seekers past and present and those yet to come
Life eternal

2009-08-29T02:08:00.000-07:00

Each asks for what he wants most from You
Wealth riches, name and fame
Gifts of the gross
Important to the one who seeks them
For the moment
Transient as ever

I ask you of yourself
How greedy can I get?
When your words no longer suffice
You form no longer can quench that thirst for more
Deep within
I seek as a moth rushes to the flame
For blissful oblivion
A ‘dissolution’ of sorts
To remain in the union that always is

2009-08-22T22:25:00.000-07:00

Janamasthami

The Birth of Krishna within
How can the eternal have a birth? That which is omnipresent is Divinity. If there is a birth then there must have been a time when Divinity was absent. Birth will automatically mean there is a death. The One that cannot be captured in the framework of time and space is Krishna, the Eternal Consciousness beyond birth and death.
To celebrate the birth of Krishna is to celebrate the birth of the awareness of that Omnipresence within each of us. A time to rejuvenate, to shed some of the layers of conditioning that creep on in everyday life, a time to look within beyond the corridors of the mind and experience the ever-present divinity within... even it be for a few moments.
Every festival is thus a time to invoke the deity within and a time for rejuvenation

All the religious practices are towards this end, to realize the Presence that has always been.

2009-08-21T23:19:00.000-07:00

O My God!

If I were to fashion a God it would be a super man
Something bigger and better than me
To be my savior to pick up the pieces when Life is a mess ?
To be around when I am in distress
Or else when I am busy not to trespass?

Who would grant me boons at will
As I wish and will?
Run the world as I would have it

Be mine and none else?
Destroy my enemies
Favour my friends
Help me make a million
In return for a few praises?

This is Not GOD
Just a moronic fantasy
To indulge in this is not devotion
Its hallucination

‘God’ is a Force beyond
The fulcrum of existence
Around which all revolves
Praises nor curses
Affect this

Every prayer and praise is to trigger the Divine within
To be in tune with this force
Is to know ‘God’---------------

2009-07-29T23:15:00.000-07:00

On waiting

I waited at your doorstep
Wondering how long will it be
Before I gaze on your blissful form
Every moment an agony and an ecstasy
At once
The next moment couldn’t be soon enough

Then came a Silence a pause
As if in answer...
A thought that drifted in

‘How long have i kept You waiting
You called me so many many times
Not from afar
But from less than a whisper’s distance away
And yet…..

Though so intimately close
I was afar
In a land beyond reach
Chasing shadows, earthly dreams
That vanished
As I went near
While You wait endlessly…

2009-03-11T09:53:00.001-07:00

H O L I

To meet to merge
Is the urge
Let me thirst evermore

Wish to adorn myself
with all the colors
shades of every hue
that is You
Adorn ALL your colors through devotion
Colors of love joy, compassion
That surpasses all
Of every conceivable difference
Where is but one hue
That is You
To see You in all

Where ‘i’ die a blissful death
And become that which I yearn

2009-01-16T21:27:00.000-08:00

Yearn to sing to you so much
The Love that fills me so much

Have not words that can express enough
Love you is all I can say through tears

To meet you I have to drop
To meet to merge
Would be to shed
Every clothing of this soul
Of the mind
Of the intellect
Of everything
To turn nothing
Nothing.... just the Presence that’s One

Your absence invoked your presence so
Understand now why Radha chose to let you go
For in your physical absence
Did she merge
In your Omnipresence

As You in spirit
One with you forever
She was truly blessed

Yearn for this union
Always
To merge in that which is

2009-01-01T08:12:00.000-08:00

A season to give and receive
Gifts….
Gifts of the gross transient
Effervescent
Last a while

Gifts eternal
Of love and joy unbounded
To all around
Wish each one
The very best may happen
In their lives

Gifts unbounded
I receive each day
From Existence

Of light and sunshine,
Nature and nurture
I have a lot to thank for each moment

Each moment here is a reason to celebrate.
'Thank you' is a small word for gifts
Just an attitude of gratitude
In Silence

2008-12-18T23:32:00.000-08:00

The Train

As I stood waiting, it bustled in nosily, clattering, a seemingly unending line of blue carriages.
Then as it slowed down the 'seemingly unending stream’ had gaps in between, windows to the Space that contained the train.

Space untouched despite the noise and the chatter
That remained as it 'was’
Before and after the train left.....
That which Is

The mind too is a ‘seemingly unending’ stream of thoughts, yet there are gaps between thoughts, that become more apparent when the frequency of thoughts slow down. ‘Empty’ spaces untouched by thoughts, the space that contains the mind.

The space between the thoughts, is that which simply is…. The Eternal Consciousness.

2008-11-26T21:24:00.000-08:00

Cooking, eating, feeding
And then cleaning
Empty counter first
And empty counter last
Every day….

Logically an exercise in futility
Yet eternity
is just this

Coming together
Of five elements
Of transformation
And dissolution
Yet again
Yet again
No logic
No reason
A dance called
Eternity
To simply witness its poetry
Is bliss

2008-10-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

The light of Consciousness within
Illumines the home it resides in
And those around
To connect to the Consciousness within
Is to light a lamp of brilliance
That dispels the darkness of Ignorance

All that is left is the radiance of Truth

2008-09-24T08:46:00.000-07:00

The more I know
I know this….
How little I know
Each glimpse of the Truth
Shows me just that
The expanse of the Truth that is
I know but this..
I shall never know in entirety
This expanse of eternity
I can experience a fraction
Me a fraction
In this expanse of Creation

2008-09-19T23:20:00.000-07:00

As I serve… to remember that I serve the One, and I can serve the One through all around. To feed the ant, the dog, to water the plant is to serve Existence. No duty in this no charity either for its Myself, my very own self I serve.

To be given work in itself is a gift! An opportunity to help myself by serving others. That others benefit is incidental, what happens within me is only of consequence.

To know love as I serve, to experience Love is to move to Bhakti through Karma and Jnana, the knowledge that its just me in so many forms none else.

Thus does each path lead to the other, its of no consequence where one might start since we reach to the same summit, traversing all other paths! Every point in a circle is the beginning and the end of the circle

2008-09-11T02:12:00.000-07:00

A certain quietitude of sorts
Contentment from simply being
Nothing to chase
Nothing to reach to
Nothing to run away from

Nothing to ‘do’
Or say
Nothing to take care of…except
This moment here and now
An acceptance of that all around is
Just ‘right’
The way it is

A sense of gratitude
A certain quietitude
See the Beatitude
Of Grace
In a land beyond words
Silence!!!

Its is a miracle to be here.. just here

2008-09-07T09:44:00.000-07:00

Eshwaro sarva bhutanam hridayeshe arjuna tishtati
Bhramayan sarva bhutani yantraudhani mayaya…..ch 18 verse 61 62

The Divine rests in heart of all beings
The living and the not so living
The same in me as In that all around

The Force that is the fulcrum of existence
The immutable the unchanging force
that supports, sustains and transforms existence

The Divine is the only refuge

There is none other
To surrender this divine force
And set sail effortlessly
To eternity........

2008-08-17T17:39:00.000-07:00

jnana-yagnena capyanye yajanto mam upasate
Ektawena pritakwena bahuda vishotomukam--- (Ref: The Bhagwad Gita chapter 9:15)
Many paths to unite with me
Some tread the path of knowledge
Some the path of devotion
Some through work with renunciation of
Fruits of action thereof

Each path leads to Me

The One in the multitudes of forms
Million facets to the One
Universe

2008-07-20T10:39:00.000-07:00

patram pushpam phalam toyam yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam asnami pryatatmanah— The Bhagawad Gita chapter 9: verse 26

Offer me a flower or fruit even a leaf will do
With love in your heart
A handful of flattened rice
Offered to me with loving devotion
Won me over
The unparalleled love with which it is offered

Is the essence
In every sense
Of the offering

Devotion and love
In whatsoever you do
Eat drink walk talk
Do so as an offering unto me
With love

As you would offer a flower unto me
With love

Thus shall you unite in Me
As Me

2008-07-12T07:10:00.000-07:00

(Ref: Bhagwad Gita chapter 15—Puroshottama yoga)

The two facets to my Eternal Nature
Are the Perishable and the imperishable
Perishable are all beings
The Imperishable that resides within
The immutable force that moves Creation

There is yet another facet to My Nature
That which transcends the perishable and the imperishable
Which envelopes both..
The Utam purusha the Ultimate, the contains the known and the unknown

The one who knows this knows All
And sees me in himself and in all that is perceived
And beyond
Thus does he unite with Me

2008-07-01T08:49:00.000-07:00

sarvasya caham hridi sannivishtho mattah smrtir jnanam apohanam ca
vedais ca sarvair sham eva vedyo Vedanta-krd veda videva caham (Ref. Bhagawad Gita, Chapter 15, verse 15)

I am enshrined in every heart
The mind its memory, knowledge
The force that remembers and does not too!
I am the Eternal knowledge
The compiler and the knower
I am All

2008-06-26T10:52:00.000-07:00

Aham Vaishvanaro Bhutva pranimam deham asritah
Pranapana-samayuktah pacamy annam catur-vidham— Ref: Bhagwad Gita chapter 15, verse14
Gross and subtle Manifestations are Me
I reside in all beings
The Life that sustains

The breath the enlivens
Walks in and out effortlessly, continuously
Is Me

Every form is Me
The Fire that digests
Food that sustains
The sustainer and the sustained
Just Me

2008-06-25T09:31:00.000-07:00

Gamavsya ca bhutanai dharyam aham ojasa
Pushnami aushadha sarvah somo bhutava rasatmakah (Ref: Chapter 15: verse 13 (Bhagawad Gita)
I permeate all
The largest and the minutest
The scent of the flowers
The trees standing tall
The essence of the earth that sustains
All forms

The essence of the herbs that heal
My presence in All

2008-06-23T02:23:00.000-07:00

Always sought to see how different
I am from the others,
Seeing differences
At times bring elation
At other times depression

Swayed like a pendulum
From one end to the other

To turn this mind to see similarities
Is to bring a smile
Of oneness
Difference are transitory
Oneness remains
One thread that runs
Through creation
Of all that is

I am a link in creation
A unique one
Yet just one of many such
Just one

2008-05-15T10:26:00.000-07:00

Your best Friend and Foe....The MIND

Bandhur atmatmanas tasya yenatmaivatmana jitah
Anatmanas tu satrutve vartetatmaiva satruvat
Chapter 6: verse 6 (Bhagawad Gita)

Mind…a bundle of thoughts
Your faithful friend and foe too
All at once in a jiffy

A mind trained to look out
Is vagrant
Sees divisions
Will constantly divide compare sort
Breed in feelings of inferiority/superiority
Both bring in misery
And pain unlimited
Amidst fleeting joys

A mind
That turns within
that sees the oneness around
Amidst division that surround
Is one rooted in the Consciousness
Is a friend
Brings in wisdom, clarity
And most of all Bliss
Eternal

2008-05-02T00:18:00.000-07:00

Na tad bhasyate suryo na sasanko na pavakah
Yad gatva na nivartante tad dhama paramam mamah--(ref: Bhagawad Gita Chapter 15-- verse 6)

The light of the sun-light
The light of the moon-light

Yet the light beyond them !
That which enfolds within and around
The light that enlivens all beings
Just the One

To know this is the en-lighten-ment
To reach me for-ever

2008-04-15T06:37:00.000-07:00

First among equals
Sammoham sarvabhuteshu na me dvesho asti na priyah
Ye bhajanti tu maam bhaktya mayi te teshu chapyaham
( Bhagawad Gita Chapter 9: verse29 )

"I exist in all beings
I hate none
Favour none
Love all
But the one who Loves me unconditionally
He lives in me eternally
As I live in him"

2008-04-03T22:55:00.000-07:00

The path of knowledge flowers into Love

And ultimately Bhakti, which is unconditional love Bhakti is what enables one to work
Tirelessly endlessly not as charity
Not as a service
But simply for one self
For each around is a glimpse of my own self
How can one be charitable to oneself?
Thus does love lead to self-less action
Actions which done with no thought of recognition
Or the fruits of the action

Thus does Bhakti Yoga transform into Jnana yoga and to Karma yoga
Its is no matter where one starts for each path if followed in its right perspective will meander into the other, effortlessly. Its only when Karma yoga ignites Bhakti and Jnana does it reach fulfillment

2008-03-17T21:46:00.000-07:00

Jnana Vijnana Yoga--- ( Bhagwad Gita Chapter 7-Union through the path of Knowledge)
The five elements, mind intellect and ego are my eightfold nature
Living beings adorn such in this world
I am the Creator and the Created
The force that sustains
And into me do all dissolve
There is none other
I am the one
Hold together all like
Jewels on a string

I am the essence
In every sense
The radiance of the sun
The brilliance of the moon
The fragrance of the earth
The Life force of all

I am verily the seed of Creation
Great and small

The intellect of the intellectuals
The courage of the courageous
The strength of the strong
The desire of the desirous

Three qualities of satva, Rajas and tamas
Do I enfold
Untouched by them yet
The world is permeated by these

The ignorant brought in their sway
It is indeed difficult to overcome

Yet the one who seeks me
shall reach me
Swimming across

As a thirsty traveler in a desert
Slakes his thirst
Distinguishing the mirage and the oasis
Reaching the oasis

Thus does the seeker reach me
The Ultimate Consciousness

2008-03-09T22:00:00.000-07:00

Knowledge of the self, the Eternal Consciousness (Brahman), when imbibed totally results in graceful living driven by need not greed.

There is enough to go around in Existence to satisfy every man’s need but not enough to satisfy one man’s greed

A person with a right understanding of Brahman would live a virtuously life naturally without it being enforced upon him, either by a moral code of an organization or by society. He/she would live in communion with existence naturally, free of internal conflict hence will not create conflict around too!

He does not have to be told he must love his fellow-beings he will love them for that is his very nature. Anything enforced from outside is bound to be transient, when the same emerges from within its eternal.

2008-03-05T21:57:00.000-08:00

Braharpanam brahma havir brahmagnau brahmanahutam
Brahmaiva tena gantavyam brahma karma samadhina 4:24
(Brahman is the samskrit word for Consciousness)
The One to which every offering is made is Brahman
The offering is Brahman and the one making the offering too

The fire unto which the offering drops in is Brahman too
There is nothing beyond the Brahman
All ‘actions’ are within the realms of Brahman and rest in Brahman.

There is nothing other than Consciousness
The farmer who tills the land
To give us grain in hand

The grain is an assimilation of five elements
Each of which is Brahman the ultimate Consciousness

The one who cooks the food is Consciousness
The one it is offered to is Consciousness
Every action thus is a worship unto the Consciousness
By the Consciousness of the Consciousness and for the Consciousness
And IN THE Consciousness.

Verily One
This knowledge too is Consciousness
Which turns ‘mundane’ into divine

2008-02-28T21:52:00.000-08:00

Mattah parataram nanyat kinchid asti dhananjaya
Mayi sarvam idam proktam sutre mani-gana iva (chapter7: verse7)

I am the One
There is None
Like Me in every sense
I am the essence
Of all

Jewels on a string
The unseen string
The One unmanifest
That holds together

To know me thus
Is to merge with me
As one without a second

2008-02-15T23:53:00.000-08:00

Chaturvarnam maya shristim gunakarma vibhagashah
Tasya kartarmapi mam viddya akartaram avayayam (( chapter4:13)

Four categories did I create
Qualities too
I am the Creator of them
Yet untouched by them
Each plays its part in Creation
None the higher
None the lower

For I am the expression
And the source

2008-02-04T22:38:00.000-08:00

VIBHUTI YOGA—Chapter 10
-----

“ I am the poetry in you
the words that flow are me
the breath in you
closer than you think
the long hair you cherish

know me thus
I am the best in each
Know me thus
Divinity in myriad forms

Just one”
To Unite with Me
Know the best in each is Me
Each manifest creation has a sterling quality
Unique and distinct

Divinity in all
The best in all
The best you see in each One
Is me
The foremost in all
The tallest of mountains
The mightiest of rivers
The strongest of winds
The brightest star in the sky

Thus did I divide myself
As One encompassing ALL

2008-01-23T23:37:00.000-08:00

Vishwaropa Darshan---- Chapter 11
U N I V E R S E.....and BEYOND
Everything you see is just me
The wide sky, the earth
The sun that shines
The worm that crawls
Your sworn enemy, your best friend
I have neither friend nor foe
Love all
For I am all
Behold this form

I encompass all
Right and wrong
Gross and subtle
Perishable and Imperishable
I am all

The saint and the sinner
There is nothing beyond me
I am the One that encompasses all

The known and the unknown
Beyond all frontiers of perception
Of human imagination
Manifest and Unmanifest
I contain all
None can contain ME
I am the One and none else

To ‘see’ me thus
Simply LOVE me
And just as you love me
Love all

The crawling ant and the tree that stands tall
For they are me
Just as you are
ONE

(This is a very significant chapter in that Krishna reveals the Universal Form. When Arjuna desires to see the Universal form Krishna grants him the divine vision to see this,
He revels not just his gentle four-armed form but reveals that UNI verse encompass every aspect, fearful not so fearful. He gets to see All, not just what he thinks is divine.)

(Picture courtesy www.bhagavad-gita.us)

2008-01-22T05:50:00.000-08:00

Na tu mam sakyase darashatum
Anenaviva sva chakusha
Divyam dadami te chakshuh pasya me yogamaishwaryam chapter11 verse-8

Two eyes to see the gross world around
One to see Me as I am
The sight of insight
In your heart and in those around
Everything you behold
The undivided Divinity that is Me.

2008-01-19T10:43:00.000-08:00

It beings with a seeing
A worshiping
That moves to a loving
A spin of ecstasy
A tailspin of agony
A merger of sorts
To commune than just communicate
A knowing
Then---
Just Being
Simply in Silence

2008-01-17T05:03:00.000-08:00

BHAKTI YOGA-2

(Ref: The Bhagawad Gita Chapter 12 verses 13 to 20)

MY Devotee
Hates none,
Loves all
Friends all
Has compassion and Love for all kind.
Equipoise in Joy and Sorrow
Anchored in me
Ever fulfilled in Union with me
Having surrendered mind, intellect unto me
This is my Beloved
As I am his

He fears not the world
The world fears him not
Devoid of fear, anger and hatred

This is my beloved
Has no expectations
Having surrendered all fruits of actions unto me
He neither rejoices nor weeps
This is my Beloved
As I am his

'Friend' and 'foe' are alike
Descriptions that belong to a mind divided
My beloved has none
'Fame' and 'Il-fame'
Are the same
As heat and cold
Happiness and Joy

Unaffected by criticism and praise
At home ever
Lives in me forever

This is my beloved
As I am his

Just ONE!!
(Wonder after while Krishna is describing himself or his devotee!! )

2008-01-15T02:04:00.000-08:00

Bhakti Yoga-- Part 1
Offering flowers of every color and fragrance
The ringing of bells the lighting of lamps
There is beauty and Love in them
But there is more to devotion than flowers and incense
To know the Divine in every sense
Krishna’s very essence…………
-------------
(Ref: Chapter 12--Bhakti yoga)
When asked by Arjuna whether worship of form is superior or worship of the formless. Sri Krishna at first states that worship of the form is relatively easier. He then moves on to the essence that both lead to

“See me as the essence
In every sense
The seed of devotion flowers into
Love unparalleled
Love not just for me but for everything around
Should you seek me thus
Simply surrender all your fruits of your actions
Unto me
The ‘good and the bad
Work simply as an instrument
Like a pen in hands of a writer
Thus shall you effortlessly cross
This seemingly insurmountable ocean of Samsara

Should this be difficult too’
Never you mind
Just perform everything you do
As a worship unto me
Thus shall you attain

Constant practice, knowledge leads to me too
Knowledge is superior to practice, meditation is superior to knowledge
But the best of all surrender of fruits of actions
For this is Meditation in action
Thus does the bliss of devotion
Lead to the Ocean of Silence
Of me of you
Or just one?

2008-01-13T00:54:00.000-08:00

Aniketah sthira-matir
Homeless yet at home
Here there and everywhere
Own a home or none
At home
Anytime every time

When all that surrounds
Are but me
This world is Home

Ref:(Tulya-nindha-sthir-mauni santusto yeana kenacit
Aniketah sthira-matir bhatiman me priyo narah--(chapter 12—verse—19)
—

2008-01-12T09:37:00.000-08:00

Ya nisha sarva bhutanam tasyam jagrati samyami
Yasyam jagrati bhutaani sa nisha pashyato munehe
Chapter 2: 69

In darkness there is light
Problems to the world
Are possibilities to a Master

2008-01-10T07:04:00.000-08:00

VISHADA YOGA--

“In this multi colored world of different shades
what do I do?
The ‘Right path’ at times seems tainted with the ‘wrong’
And ‘wrong’ tainted with ‘right’
As I wade through multifarious emotions of anger, hatred
Jealousy, individual ends
Buffeted as ever
As friends turn foes
If ever there is a fleeing glimpse of joy
Where shall I turn?
What shall I do?
No light in sight”

Man seeks divinity
In times of adversity
Adversity is an opportunity
To connect to the Divine
Arjuna’s dejection
Provided him a connection
To the Divine

(vishada yoga- the first chapter in Bhagavad Geeta)

For a verse by verse interpretation of the Bhagavad Gita visit Bamboo Wisdom

2008-01-08T23:40:00.000-08:00

THE CELESTIAL SONG--BHAGAVAD GEETA

Eighteen chapters of seven hundred verses
Each word will speak a million
Etched in His Divine Love
Each word a gem beyond compare
Wisdom eternal,
Enrapture many.

There is a melody of Truth
Concise and precise
Eternal

An overwhelming sense of Gratitude
For the Master who wrote these words
Out of his Compassion
The One who spoke out of his Infinite Love
For me and for all seekers to come

Have no words to describe this
‘Krishna’ in so many forms

And above all
To You, dear Master who gave me the best gift ever
When you asked me to read

The time I read Gita is so special
I forget all else.

This is the most precious gift
I have ever received

( The Gita is my muse in the writings i shall be posting soon. These are contemplations that occured at random and provide me an insight into the Philosophy of the Gita, which I see as a means to intelligent living)

2008-01-05T23:22:00.000-08:00

One change in the porphyrin ring and you breathe for me!
You cook for me
I provide you with your breath
And you provide me

Just a little chemistry
You stand still
Serve all
Still life
A simple interdependence
LIFE

2008-01-05T03:22:00.000-08:00

Wish from the depths of your heart
For the well –being of all
Known and unknown
Reach frontiers
Afar

Eternal
As the blessing of Masters
Eternal
Beyond time and space

2007-12-28T09:19:00.000-08:00

Knowledge of the Self
Empowers one to go with the flow
Of events occurrences
In this magnum opus
Called Life
To swim with the flow
Or against it
Is the choice
Ignorance causes one to fight it
With innumerable ‘why’ and ‘why not’
When there is no ‘why and why not’
This Knowledge makes this light
Helps to move through life with insight
That all that surrounds me is Me
Just me

2007-12-24T01:43:00.000-08:00

Innocence beyond comprehension,
Love beyond every division
Of this mind’s perception
An ocean of Compassion

You showed me the world is my own
To own in Love
And share
Your eternal smile
A beacon of hope
For all to come

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPIER NEW YEAR

2007-12-24T01:22:00.000-08:00

Gifts of the gross
Last a while

Gifts of the subtle
Eternal

Of Love and Compassion
For not just mankind
But all kind
Gifts of the subtle
That you my Little One
Gave me
Mine to treasure forever
Gifts which grow with sharing
And caring

Illumine the world
As did the star that
Did at the time
You were born

2007-12-17T06:56:00.001-08:00

Mixer, blender toaster, refrigerator
All that makes life easier
Instruments empowered from the same power
That lights up
Defies darkness
Experience the ‘power’
Never touched it with any of my senses
Yet know it by its power to perform

Creation all around an expression
Of the Omnipresent ONE
The force behind all
That enables
Know the Divine only by its expressions
As I know electricity by the lamp that glows

The sun that shines
The water that runs
Bespeak of the One Divine

2007-12-10T22:47:00.000-08:00

Know the rose by its fragrance
Its very essence.
The flower long dies leaving its essence behind.
Loved ones depart leaving their essence behind
Essence in the form of thoughts, wisdom and experience.

Each life carries a message
However brief or long

To carry the essence all along
Is to remember the words of wisdom and courage.
And live them
Is to know them eternally

2007-12-03T09:52:00.001-08:00

Zipping down the highway of life
People, places, situations whiz past
Enticing, alluring at times
Alarming and painful at others
All whiz past

Nothing outside secures,
Ensures a cruising ride
Except to be anchored within

Like the driver with his seat belt
Anchored to the vehicle

As he whizzes past the highway
The wind in his hair and sun in his eyes
He moves on
Anchored within

2007-12-01T21:35:00.000-08:00

KRISHNA O KRISHNA

What qualifications do I need to love you?
To say I love you?
Communicate to commune
spirit communes with the Spirit
The body, this mind are shells that envelop such

The seedling breaks through all envelopes to reach out
To flower
Just as divinity within to Divine around
Just apparent walls that divide
There are none that can divide
ONE
-------------------------------------

2007-11-13T01:05:00.000-08:00

A million recipes out there never tried
A million ‘inventions’ to be ‘invented’
Theories to be ‘proved’
Galaxies to be ‘discovered’

Each ‘invention’ is just an uncovering of that which already is

As each ‘new’ one unfolds to one who opened the doors of his being
Wide
Knocked out conditioning walls
That said only this can be
And none else

Just that the mind opened itself to it
Just then

Truth unfolds
Turns manifest

Nothing ‘mine’ in this.
For Truth simply is

2007-11-08T01:04:00.000-08:00

Lamps of many forms
Of colors bright of every hue
Each selt alight with the one light
A spark from the One flame
Dispel darkness
As a torchlight
Dispels darkness in sight
Darkness of ignorance
of misery
All the remains is the Radiance
Of Truth

2007-10-28T09:39:00.000-07:00

Signposts

The traveler plods on
On roads unknown
Begins with the known
And moves on

Finds his way
By signposts and directions
Left by others who passed this way
Mostly with no name to claim as one’s own
In compassion for the traveler that shall tread
This path

Scriptures footprints of Masters

Who were compassionate enough to leave signposts

For seekers to come

Master the Kindly light that shows the way

The Master the kindly Light that leads unto itself

The ONE SELF

The seeker moves on

To cling to the Master or the Scriptures

Is ignorance

2007-10-19T02:07:00.000-07:00

She introduces the Source
As the newborn is introduced to its Father
By the Mother

IN the still waters of the pond
In the swirling waters of the whirlpool
In the innocent smile of the child,
In the hand that nurtures, admonishes
And serves, effortlessly, ever selfless
Resides Mother

The still earth that nurtures saint and sinner
With love and patience
Resides Mother

In the ‘lifeless’ idols,
What is ‘lifeless’ when everything is permeated by You?

There is none independent of you
Every atom is permeated by you
Some say you are Durga
Some say Shakti
Yet others Cosmic Energy

Many, many names

For MY MOTHER
There is none other

2007-10-18T09:46:00.000-07:00

SHAKTI
Princess of Eternal beauty,
Slender yet strong
Watch in amazement
At the multitudes of roles you play
Creator, Conserver, Destroyer,
Simply MOTHER
Expression of the Infinite Source
Starkly different
As sound from Silence
Yet two sides of one coin
TRUTH

2007-10-12T20:24:00.000-07:00

Truth is always close at hand
One can see it in the palm of one’s hand
Or in the swaying fronds of the palm on land
In the play of darkness and light
In the hour of twilight
At dawn and dusk
In between everything and something
In nothing
In the play of words in the space between words
In emptiness and fullness
As everything fades into nothing
In the Oneness that is …………..

2007-10-07T03:04:00.000-07:00

The deeds of men live long after they die
Bodies are but clothes to the soul
That are shed

Deeds are not shed with change of clothing
Every effect has a cause
He that planted the neem
Shall reap such
He that planted the mango
Shall taste such

2007-09-26T09:49:00.000-07:00

Just Cricket!
As the ball swings from one to another
So did laughter and dismay
Laughter lines some faces
Misery yet others
The ball swings forth
Its just a game!
Yet watch the mind
Sway from agony one moment
Ecstasy in another

Loss or gain?
Its one and the same

Its just a game
Winning and losing are a part
Its matters how the game is played
The game of life
Loss and gain are in integral part
All it matters is how the game is played
The high of victory and the low of defeat
The ‘heroic’ victory and the ‘shameful’ defeat
Are no matter, in the game of life
Both equidistant from the One
The witness within

2007-09-19T18:41:00.000-07:00

Kitchen Counter
The days work done
Put away the knives
Clean the counter
The trash is put away
The food is put away
Both ‘created’ at the same place
In the same space

A clean counter enables
Work the next day
A cluttered counter disables
Work no matter how urgent
Its impossible to work with a cluttered counter

Just as its impossible for a cluttered mind to find a solution
No wonder the Master states “Meditation first solution next”

Just as the counter the mind needs to be cleared up
Thoughts, happenings
Good and bad
Events all
Transient

Sans thoughts wither mind?
Just an empty space
That enables all

2007-09-11T00:19:00.001-07:00

Path ?

The duck takes to water
The eagle soars high in the skies
The ostrich races across the land
Birds of feathers all

Each takes a path intrinsic to his nature
Seekers all

The river flows
Simply flows
The path is determined not by the river
But by the land
And the ocean simply pulls

Each stream to itself

Each seeker shall merge into that ocean of Consciousness
No matter which path he takes.

2007-08-24T22:28:00.000-07:00

"Aham Brahma asmi"

Knowledge of the Self ripens into Love
For all
Oneness for all kind
Not just mankind
Still life and surging streams
Thus springs bliss
“These are mine
As I am theirs
I am the eternal spirit manifest all around
Just as every being all around”

Words born NOT of superlative
But of Oneness beyond Comprehension
Oneness of spirit
Eternal undivided One
A drop in the Ocean
Is as much ocean as is every other drop that surrounds
Know not myself from all around

2007-08-22T00:23:00.000-07:00

Enlightenment is a gentle waking up
Waking up to the eternal oneness around
To realize the union that is
No rewards for waking up
It’s a reward in itself

2007-08-19T22:53:00.000-07:00

Five fingers and a palm

Fingers alike yet different
In shape size structure and function
Work in unison
Make a hand

Yet different in everyway
Each serves an individual purpose
And the whole

Creation is myriad in forms and shapes
Each individual and whole
Yet a part of the whole

2007-08-09T22:45:00.001-07:00

My piece of sky

As I looked out of the window
There it was- my piece of sky
A little grey a few clouds

Know as I watch this is just a window
There lies the expanse beyond

An experience of the Truth is just that
‘My piece of sky”
The Ocean of Truth beckons
Each seeker sees through the window of his soul

To state my experience alone is the Truth
Is ignorance
The Ocean lies beyond
Vistas unexplored

Eternal

2007-08-02T22:18:00.000-07:00

The bee collects more that it needs for its living
Works for the its welfare and others too
Trees prepare food not just for itself but for creation around too
Every creature small and big lives for itself and others too
Interdependence is the order of Creation
None can say I am independent of work
Work to sustain oneself and others too
Each an integral part of the whole
Links in the unending chain of Creation

2007-08-01T07:19:00.000-07:00

To continue to protect, console and shelter is to bind
And a Master liberates not binds
As a mother I carried my children for a while, all the while
And then they had to walk too
They did protest then,
when I refused to carry no more
Yelled and wailed but did walk along at first reluctantly
And now run away

2007-07-28T01:07:00.000-07:00

Masters are here
Neither to console
Nor to protect
Nor shelter
From the ever-blowing winds of change

Just a lamp that kindles
Another in me
A trigger to find myself
Anchor within
And ride the waves of change
To flow along

2007-07-28T00:26:00.000-07:00

GURU

Masters inspire
In their compassion share their very own experience,
Their words of wisdom
Torches in black darkness of ignorance

Salutations to all
The One to spoke the words of wisdom
The One who preserved them
For seekers to come

2007-07-17T05:08:00.000-07:00

Bubbles

One small important, insignificant bubble
In the Ocean of Existence
Creation is before my ‘coming’
Will continue just as ever after my ‘going’

A dance in Harmony
A transformation of roles

This mind deludes itself
‘I’ do things all ‘by myself’

An infinitesimal yet important bubble
In the chain of Existence
A dancer in a troupe

The dancer is important
The dance too

Yet bubbles too

In the Ocean of Existence
One ‘dies’ as another is ‘born’

Even united as One

2007-06-26T21:27:00.000-07:00

Spiritual?

To be spiritual is not to be just good and holy. It is not a tag a recognition, yet another label of respectability. Far far from that. It is about finding the courage of a lion within, yet meet the world with compassion and love. Work with hands of steel, yet with the softness of love. Spirituality is a journey to find-- not some god somewhere and book a place in heaven for yourself, but to find your own true self. The naked face devoid of all the role play. Roles that we adorn everyday, Son of someone, boss of someone, wife of someone. Amidst all these roles there is someone deep down who is distinct. That is the real you, the god within. Devotion, meditation and religion are mere routes to this. Once you find that then springs all else, courage and compassion to face this world, not as a soilder goes to war, but like a mother tending to her own at home. Each and everyone is spiritual. For without that spirit within, there is no life.

2007-06-19T21:39:00.000-07:00

BIRTH--- DAY

A year gone by
Of pleasure, of pain
Of joy and sorrow

Have been drifted by the pain too
The joy too

Amidst all this
The Bliss of
Experiencing the one divine

Birthday is a day I say in Gratitude and reverence
A heartfelt “thankyou”
Life is the greatest present,

What more gift can I ask?

For to be allowed a part of Existence
To experience the Divine

Birthday shall cease when I remember thus everyday
For ‘birth’ and ‘death’ are encased every moment of everyday

2007-06-19T21:36:00.000-07:00

Moving on

To a ‘new place’
New’ and old are perceptions
People all over are same, no exceptions
With expectations, aspirations
All the same

Each city has its distinct identity
To explore this will be fun
and yes

An opportunity to
Experience the underling Oneness of all

To live it yet again

2007-05-28T09:04:00.000-07:00

Moving

Its been a while since I posted,
I am moving out of Bangalore and will soon set up home in Hyderabad

Will come back soon

2007-02-27T23:11:00.000-08:00

The farmer scatters seeds
Some bloom others do not
Those that fall on fertile ground do
Into shrubs that flower

The Masters speaks words of wisdom
These are seeds too
Should be received by a fertile mind
Then shall flower yet again
Flowering from within

2007-02-20T00:27:00.000-08:00

Judgement

Judgement is a baby of the mind
A device that devises to divide
Yet again
Every division is a separation
Of You from your eternal self

When judgements dissolve
When this ‘ever thinking mind”
Stills
There is the Silence
Which is the Truth

2007-01-19T01:02:00.000-08:00

The feel of the earth beneath the feet, just me
Turn my face to the rain drops from the sky
That kiss and carress with love
The lofty trees that sway
In the gentle breeze with arms laden with blossoms
Too much to hold
There is so much to behold
Every sunrise is a beckoning
For a new beginning
To celebrate Life

The blossom that lands at my feet
A gift in indeed
Everything around
There is so much Love
In the warmth of the sun
The carress of the earth

This much I behold
Everything around me is just divine
As I am

2007-01-03T09:39:00.000-08:00

ONENESS
To smile at another’s pleasure
To revel at another’s happiness
To feel another’s pain
Just as yours
In empathy
To wish each ‘ONE’ well
Simply……
For everything around is just me
An extension of me
Just a drop in the ocean of Conciousness
Just as I am

2006-11-23T21:03:00.000-08:00

This too will pass

Dark clouds that will pass
In a while
Till then I shall be away awhile
Helping my little one to cope
When there seems no hope

I wish she knows
There is a rainbow at the end waiting
Of Light and Love eternal

Wish she knows
I am with her in this too
With her joys too

I celebrated her success
I cry with her too
In agony and distress
In success and exhilaration
I can see just the One

2006-10-24T22:55:00.000-07:00

Sunrise on Diwali

A Celebration in Silence

Amidst green woods and hills

Sans the usual hustle and bustle

Sans fireworks

It was beautiful

A time to be alone

2006-10-09T21:03:00.000-07:00

Birth and Death
Let me die that
You may be born
In me

Then shall a vehicle be born
Of Love, Compassion Infinite
That is You

Then can it flow
All that You pour in me
Of Love and Knowledge
Like water from a bamboo spout
Like music from a flute

Till then shall sorrow reign
Till then shall bliss elude

2006-09-27T21:08:00.000-07:00

Define, Refine and Redefine??

This funny thing about definitions
Elevates some demote some
Draw lines where there are none

Pluto till yesterday was a planet of great fame
Now not even a name
Just a number
Like a million more numbers

‘Pluto’ will be what it is
What it always ‘was’

Never mind the miniscule man
Who defines and ‘redefines’
Nature
Nature is beyond the grasp of definition

A mystery to be tasted and relished
Every moment like a toddler does
In wonderment and gratitude
Not solved and resolved

‘Pluto’ is
Just as the Truth is

Never mind the million definitions
Interpretations

Of the Truth that is

2006-09-13T06:40:00.000-07:00

Respect

Some command yet others demand
The one who demands is one
Engulfed in fear of losing of variant hues
Of money, power, name and fame

He that commands respect
Is but a mirror that reflects
One speck of the Love Infinite
That melts all fears
Respect born of love
For One so blessed

2006-09-04T20:59:00.000-07:00

Words can kill

Words are dealier than venom
Can kill in a matter of hours

Wounds inflicted on the body heal
Wounds inflicted on the mind leave deep scars

A bright and brilliant child's life snuffed out
By careless words from a so called 'teacher'
Who couldn't deal with her own frustations

Performance is not the end all
be all of life

There is a future for all
The big and the small
The short and the tall
The smart
and the not so smart

Children are gifts
To be nurtured
Not racehorses geared
To win and only win

Not assets to show off
By parents and colleges

Its truly sad that things
have come to this end

This is the peril of a Goal- driven
Society
where only results matter
no matter what

(I write this for Anup Bopaiah a 16-year old student of Christ Jr. College Bangalore who ended his life when humiliated and threatened in class by a teacher. )

2006-08-17T23:00:00.000-07:00

The river that flows also serves

Brings water from down the mountain
Nourishes yet again
Yet again
Till its very breath

Trees that nourish fruits simply
With their very essence

Yet watch as the fruit drops off
No matter if plucked or dropped

To renounce is to renounce like the tree
Simply
To serve with love simply
For Nothing

Sanyas is a state of mind
Where there is love aplenty

Purpose none
Reasons none
Where all you see is N-ONE

To be a tree that stands tall
Or a flowing river
Is just One.