SACRIFICE

Put ego-mind to the fiery flame of sacrifice,
In your spiritual heart abiding on the right.
The fool’s heart’s on the left as wisely bright
Ecclesiastes sagely stated, to be precise.
Bhagavan affirmed that Truth too, clearly and concise.
‘There dwells the Sun of Self, its shining blazing light,
Is darkly veiled by vasanas, black as night.
Remove them by surrender and enquiry, that my Sage advice!

God told Abrahman to sacrifice his only son
Isaac, a deed of devotion and surrender,
But compassionately, the Lord said “ none
Of thy kith and kin do thou need to render,
Just circumcise your righteous heart instead,
Then demon ego will surely drop down dead”!

DEEP HEART DIVING

Dive into the heart with great tenacity,
With great love, patience and alacrity;
Such practice must surely end in Jnana,
So said great Guru Sage, Lord Ramana.
He gave the Eki Sloka* to the Muni
The Kavankanti who was like Ganapati,
Brother to God Skanda, the son of Shiva,
Who was reborn on earth as Sage Ramana
To bring us the blessing of atma vichara.
Such is the power of this great sadhana
That egotism is removed and the Sun of Jnana
Shines forth to enlighten the sad ignorant jiva,
That’s the great gift from Sri Bhagavan Ramana,
Who came on Eath to guide mankind to Jnana!

• THE EKI SLOKA
• “IN THE INMOST CORE, THE HEART
• SHINES AS BRAHMAN ALONE,
• AS I-I, THE SELF AWARE.
• ENTER DEEP INTO THE HEART
• BY SEARCH FOR SELF, OR DIVING DEEP,
• WITH BREATH UNDER CHECK.
• THUS ABIDE EVER IN ATMAN.”
This verse hangs above Bhagavan’s couch in the New Hall engraved in gold on black basalt..

I AM THAT I AM

God spoke to Moses from thorns of crackling fire,
He told him “I AM THAT I AM, that’s my sacred name.
King David sang his psalms and strummed upon his lyre,
He said “Be still and know that I am God, they’re just the same”.
I AM THAT is stated by the great Advaita Sages,
Who’ve recognized the Truth throughout the many ages.
Consciousness- Awareness, free from dark vasanas and pure,
Is that ‘I AM’, the key to Jnana which always must endure.
So Hebrew prophets and Hindu Sagesall both agree,
To rest in one’s I AMNESS is the right way to be free!

Mohammad, great prophet of Allah, wisely said,
“God is closer than one’s breathing, hands and feet”.
If one remembers ‘THAT I AM’, then one is quickly led,
To a life of wholeness, fulfilled and quite complete;
One with God and ever dwelling in most blessed peace,
A blissful state of paradise that shall never cease!

CRIME PREVENTION

Ego dresses up as a policeman to catch a thief,
To trap the crook red handed will give us great relief;
That’s achieved by plunging deep into the heart,
The wicked scoundrel falls when his base we start
To touch, and Realisation comes to all who dive;
Then from spiritual death we rise again alive!
So Self Enquiry will destroy the criminal mind,
So our Sat-Guru taught and that is what we find!

An evil burglar broke into a sadhak’s house,
To rob his essential substance like a hungry mouse
Steals the larder cheese. It needs some watchful cats,
To put a final end to thieving mice and rats.
The cat is ever alert and constantly aware;
Awareness guards the heart from all that steals in there!

SUNLIGHT

From darkness God spoke; “let there be light”! and there was light!
To Earth he gave his white hot mighty fire named Sun,
A mass of vast atomic power that’s second to none,
Warming his planets by day and cooling them by night,
All moving round His mammoth majestic sight.
A Gir-pradakshina around their Guru done,
They then finish their annual Sadhak’s run,
As that gigantic Shivaic force blazes on and on!

That Sun is the macrocosm of our Real Self unborn,
Which shines as microcosm in every human heart,
Alas it is obscured by darkest vasanas forlorn,
It’s blazing light fails to reach the blinkered soul,
But by Enquiry and Surrender, ‘That’ will make one whole!
Dark ego causes our Solar Eclipse,
Insightful wisdom pours from our Guru’s lips.

*An extended sonnet

EQUANIMITY

Why worry about anything in life,
Thinking it be either pleasure or pain?
Where’s the need ever to moan or complain,
Where’s anything now like wrongful strife?
Guru does all for us like a kind loving wife.
He knows what is best, there’s no need to explain.
Leave it to him, keep calm, all anxiety is vain.
He’ll cut that binding knot* with Enquiry’s knife!

Pilgrim went by train on the railroad track,
The fool was bearing his baggage on his head,
Instead of loading it on the luggage rack.
Se when we climb the mountain path, we’re led
To give all our burden into good Guru’s care,
And trust Him more than this world would ever dare!

*The binding knot (granthi) which connects mind to body making it believe that is who I am.

WALK ON THE WATER

Walk calmly on stormy world’s restless waves,
Tossing and turbulent in a violent ocean.
Be free of the ‘I am the body’ notion;
In this way our Great Sage’s teaching shall soon save
Us from that treacherous egotistic knave,
Who stole God’s role in soul’s endless motion,
With worthless desires and pleasures set to crave.
Dwelling in blissful Self is the supreme emotion!

Bold swimmer saw a tidal wave ahead,
Fearless he thought it prudent just to float,
Rather than brave tempest waves instead.
He survived like a strong well crafted boat,
And soon reached that heavenly other shore,
Where he dwelt blissfully, ever, ever more!

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BEAUTY POINTS TO FREEDOM

Golden sunflowers prank the river bank,
Deep blue waters flow briskly, like the dream
Of life, for which the grateful heart will thank
Heaven, for the stunning beauty of her scene.

As Beauty is the stepping stone to God;
The restless mind will pause in silent awe,
Held in thrall by lush deep green, growing from the clod
Of Earth, that opens up for soul a door,
To enter into union with all ‘That’ sees,
Straight away to Being’s innermost core.

Bowing, the body bends in motion with the trees,
Soul prays for breeze to waft her to Nirvana’s shore;
Metalic mind’s no longer imprisoned by its iron bars!

FIRM FAITH

Find firmest Faith in one’s Sat-Guru deep inside the heart,
His force of Self will quieten down the meandering mind;
Peaceful joy, and his paternal love, we’ll quickly find.
That’s all one needs and has to try, in order to impart
Self Knowledge, most miraculous, majestic art,
Which will set alight a magic life, set to unwind.
Gracious virtues shall unfold, most merciful and kind;
Mind’s struck down by Realisation’s sudden lightning dart!

Sadhak struggled hard to climb the upward mountain way,
To the peak of Arunachala’s state for which he yearned.
Through grace he came upon a wise and humble Sage one day,
Who said “by persistence and effort you have justly earned,
The right to Liberation and eternal peace,
From Self Enquiry and Surrender you never once did cease”!