The Walled Garden of Truth

We tried reasoning
our way to Him:
it did not work;
but the moment we gave up,
no obstacle remained.

He introduced himself to us
out of kindness: how else
could we have known him?
Reason took us as far as the door;
but it was his presence that let us in.

But how will you ever known him,
as long as you are unable
to know yourself?

Once one is one,
no more, no less:
error begins with duality;
unity knows no error.

The road your self must journey on
lies in polishing the heart.
It is not by rebellion and discord
that the heart’s mirror is polished free
of the rust of hypocrisy and unbelief:
your mirror is polished by your certitude –
by the unalloyed purity of your faith.

Break free
from your chains you have forged about yourself,
for you will be free when you are free of clay.
The body is dark – the heart is shining bright;
the body is mere compost – the heart a blooming garden.

[Hakim Sanai]

Swimming - a Poem

Swimming
[by Stephanie Sharon]

I am the ocean
That can only be itself.
Deep, ever present,
With waves that have no destination or purpose.
Dive deep and drown in my sacred water.
Leave your memory on the shore...
It serves no useful purpose.

Stripped naked of concepts,
My current will dissolve whatever's left of you.
So what if you've never been a swimmer?
Trust in your own buoyancy.
But be careful not to rest long in it
Or claim it as an achievement.
Just let yourself finally drown
And fulfill your human purpose.

What use has this sense of "I" ever been to you
Except to create the illusion of separation?
In truth, you've always been submerged in my ebb and flow,
Dreaming of the further shore.

Some try to describe me as everything.
Others claim I'm nothingness.
Don't believe a word of it, it's all hearsay.
Find out for yourself. Seek your own origin.
Beyond the womb of your barren mother,
Transcending all holy books and rumors of time.

Don't believe anything you can see
But trust everything you can feel
That can't be linked to words.
Celebrate your death
For I am the ocean
That can only be itself.

Hail to Thee!

In a comment relating to an earlier posting on this Blog, a reader sent in the following poem, of which the below is only a small part. Would very much appreciate receiving full details of this beautiful poem.

Hail to Thee! O'Arunachala!

1. Countless lifetimes past
Was I Thy votary fast
Thou were my Source my all
As the world's allure did pall

2. But forgetful wretch that I art
I allow'd myself from Thee to part
Drifting from Thy holy refuge
Ag'inst my mind's deadly deluge

3. And toss'd and turn'd, steering alone
On seas whose fury Thou had'st borne
Claiming victory's freshness at every crest
To be dashed next moment in the tempest

4. Wandering lost in the desert of desire
Chasing the mirage of purpose's sire
Where fulfillment fanned flames first
As saltwater does a castaway's thirst

5. Strutting in ignorance of ignorance
In the darkness of Primal arrogance
Till at last with spirit vanquished
I called out desperately anguished

6. Pleading for surcease and relief
Petitioning powers with dim belief
Sinking, knees bent in fatigue and failure
I prayed despondent, in abject surrender

7. Lo! You blazed silent and still
As the Beacon from Eternity's Hill
A blinding flame cool and bright
From my Heartcave in thoughtless delight

8. Reminding me of our eternal connection
Silencing my senses with the recollection
Of the port of safety that always existed
In the depths of my being where "I" is fixated

9. Beguiling my mind with Thy innocent smile
Thou did'st feed me Thy nectar free of guile
Bewitching my heart in the dead of the night
You transfixed and consumed me in Thy Light

So much work!

There is so much to be done;
let us unroll the earth,
let us put leaves on the trees,
blossoms on branches,
let us set mountains in a row,
hang the moon;
add vast space to blue heavens,
light the stars,
to the wind give velocity,
to stones, wings, to movement, melody;
also smiles to lips,
glowlight to eyes,
and to moving shadow on the roadside,
life.

God is silent.
Why don't you come
And help create the universe.
I can't do this all by myself.

[By Nida Fazli]

Surrender

Surrender to the Source.

Surrender to Awareness,

This is the only place of protection.

Surrender your heart and you will know all.

Surrender to Consciousness and Bliss.

Surrender means to surrender your bondage
and simply Be Freedom.
Surrender is the ego bowing down to its Source.
No more demands or commands,
but just putting all in the hands of the Source.
Surrender is to submit your stupidness, your wickedness,
To the will of Existence, to Consciousness and Bliss
And being happy.

Surrender.
Let Silence have You.

[By Sri HWL Poonja]

I AM

O, raise up thine eyes to eternal sky

In thy bondage strike out to be free

Hush the whispering voice of the infinite why

With "I am and I was and I ever will be."

[Anonymous]

Glory of Trees

"But the Glory of Trees is more than their gifts;

It is a Beautiful Wonder of Life that lifts.

From a wrinkled seed in an earthbound clod.

A column, an arch in the Temple of God.

A Pillar of Power. A Dome of Delight.

A Shrine of Song, and a Joy of Sight.

Their roots are nurses of Rivers in Birth.

Their leaves are alive with the Breadth of the Earth:

They shelter the dwellings of man and they bend,

O'er his Grave with the look of a Loving Friend".