Maha...

...Shivaratri

The time has come
To meditate upon the formless
Called by many with many names
God, Energy, Being, Self,
Allah, Christ, Omkar or Shiva
Silence, Nothing, Everything,
Zen and the Tao
The cosmic one that manifests as many
Many forms and names
All of the one essence
Whose presence they say
Will be felt in abundance
On the Mahashivaratri
The day of penance for the Yogis
To celebrate the day of the
Lord of the Yogis
Shiva, they call him
The planets aligned so
To keep the spine erect
All night from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m.
Seated in meditation, chanting or singing
Doing nothing, but just remember the presence
It is no new presence or happening
But a conducive atmosphere
To experience the one
That is already within
Dormant and unnoticed.

- Swahilya

Love...

...is like a garden

To love is like
Tending a garden
Tilling the soil
Pouring in the required
Water for the moisture
Allowing sunlight
And fresh air
The love just remains
But there is also a love
Where one merges
With the Universe
There no tilling
Nurturing
Nor nourishing
Is required
And in this love
There are not just gardens
But whole lush forests
With all the beautiful animals
The giant mountains
The flowing rivers
Rushing cataracts
Wide oceans and placid lakes
Green fields dancing in the breeze
All beneath the roof of
A beautiful sky
Bedecked with the sun and moon
And all those stars
The love of abandon
Is as wide and deep
Infinite and eternal
As the Universe.

- Swahilya

Nadopasana...

....surrounded by a world of music

As music closes in on me
Listening to chants of Shiva
And my most favourite bhajan
Gourangu Ardhangu Gangatharange
Again and again on my walkman
As I drive through the four directions
Of this lively city
I see that music is a zone of subtle vibrations
That lies deep deep within my being
Listening or singing connects me
The height of the body is just
Five feet plus
But the mind's height has no expanse
It is infinite
And music keeps me united ever
With that eternity.
Feet on the ground
Yet mind in the high zones
Of silence and bliss
I move on and on.
- Swahilya

The test...

....of truth

My blog is the first thing on my mind
Whenever I think about writing
But getting the time to sit quietly
To simply write what I feel
Is getting rare as I spin
Around the city from morning to night
When my mind gets full of things to do
I can almost see its fabric being stretched
Breaking into splinters
Then I remind myself
Lots of things to be done
That's alright
The problem is when I am planning
For the next moment
So I am practising the art
Of living in this moment
Living it the best
That will be the greatest achievement
And the rest shall take care of itself
In this way I am enjoying what I do
As I did this drama
Of Raja Harishchandra
Staged by the boys
Of the Sri Ramakrishna Students' Home
The story of the king
Who stood for truth
At the cost of his kingdom
His child, his wife, his everything
The little children acted
Yet their voices had the ring of truth
That sent my energy surging through
As I watched the, I was being in that Truth.
- Swahilya