L I F E

Life

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Life begins and ends with us
When the energy within pulls in and expels
The first breath of divine air - life begins to tick.
And when we die, the last push outward
The body no longer breathes, we are over
So this is what life's all about
Breathing in and breathing out
Every second, from dawn to dusk
From morn to night, day by day
Year in and Year out.
Through this breathing, we have the schooling,
We do our work, get angry, fall in love,
Married we get to beget children, raise them up
And they all did live, see them grow and we pass on.
Close your eyes to think if this is all?
Plants sprout from seeds, breathe as they grow,
Animals are born from their mother's womb
And birds and insects crack out of their shells.
They too live, breathing in and out.
They think not of life, but we do,
Living like them in so many ways.
Life I discovered is when, eyes closed to the space without,
When quietly we remain witness to the space within,
Life, life, life everywhere, sitting or standing,
Sleeping or awake - life moves around
In the beggar's cry, the sick man's howl,
The father's authority, the mother's love
The child's cheer, the boss's sternness
And the subordinate's fear.
Life in the plants and in the mountains
The forests and its animals,
The oceans and rivers, the glaciers and plains -
Backdrop scenes for the gigantic drama.
Enacting their part, the actors play.
I am an actor who for long thought was real
But now I see, I am but Part of the great cinema show.
The actor, director, producer and audience,
The theatre and the set Everything and anything,
Something and nothing - Are all none other than me.
- Akilananda Bharati.