TURN INWARD

Break down the flood gates of imprisoned mind,
Let deep waters of love flow freely to flood
Soul's hard places that are best left behind.
Make great effort with all one's strength and blood,
Turn within and find the source of ego dark,
Then 'twill fall down and die in dire defeat.
Soul will then arise, ascending like the lark,
Filled with bliss of awakening and replete!

ART OF INWARD TURNING

Like the dawn chorus of many carolling birds,
Man's a restless creature made up of many words,
This mountain stream of thought's not a blessing but a bane;
Clouds the Sun of Selfhood and leaves him sad in shame.

In order to fly up to a higher plane of Being,
He must cultivate the art of inward seeing;
With attention, yearn to find the source of I,
Which spills a verbal torrent made of 'me' and 'my'.

Questioning 'Who Am I' silences tyrant mind,
And instead of bubbling burble we soon will find
A flood of joy and bliss stemming from one's heart,
Full of Grace and Love and ever ready to impart

An evocation of the Self to his fellow man,
Which only the Self Realised really truly can;
Such is divine stillness and mystical power
Which great silent mind brings into perfect flower.

So we turn attention inward with all of our might,
Deeply diving down to source and experience God's Light.

UNSTRUCK MUSIC

Tune in to the unstruck music of the heart,
Here subtle ethereal sounds impart

Angelic melody from another place,
Where Souls at rest are at peace in grace.

It's the music of the heavenly spheres,
Only enjoyed by those who have the ears

To hear, as Lord Jesus so wisely said,
'Begin to walk and take up your bed'.

This music is composed in rays of light,
Heard in the Self, but unseen by sight.

It's a magic mystery of sound profound,
Hear it once and demon ego's unwound.

So rejoice in this Beauty to take one home,
It's all that's contained in the sound of OM!

SOUL'S GARDENER

The fertile soil of devotion must be carefully tilled,
With persistent determined effort ones days need be filled.

We remove all egotism's strangling climbing creeping weeds,
Then plant deeply and firmly, right intention's prayerful seeds.

The golden harvest rests in the palm of that Eternal One,
Whose mercy sends us refreshing grace of rain and wisdom's Sun.

All the overgrown shrubs of desire, we must carefully prune,
Or they'll bury deep our well kept garden much, much too soon.


We water the roses and lilies with fond love and grace,
And make sure verges edges and borders are well trimmed in place.

All needs to be carefully tended and well watched as it must,
Not abandoned by careless neglect and lack of great trust.

So once more we determine to make our fair garden whole,
To redeem this forsaken treasure of the poor wandering Soul!

DIVINE DANCER

THIS LIFE of ours is a bewildering dance
Whirled by a wild Dervish God divine,
Drunk on vintage Dionysian wine,
Wildly turning, nothing left to chance.
Upon the mellow pipes of circumstance
He choreographs a play of space and time,
Every glance upon Earth’s stage is His rhyme.
Universes glide through His mystic stance.
With rolling drums of thunder, mark His stamp;
In symphony of spheres, hear His tune.
Effulgent Sun shines as a beacon lamp,
His finger ever points towards the silver Moon.
He’s the Alone, whereby all things are done;
Divine dancer, dancing, and the dance are one.

EASTER LILY

Easter Lily, named by those whose blooms we love,

Golden yellow, Daffodill, wild in wood or field,

They open pure perfumed petals to yield

To sunlight, shining down from high above.

We wait for the sign of the peaceful dove

To save us from Noah’s flood when soul is healed,

And our covenant with God is truly sealed,

And demon ego receives his final shove.



Emblem of all that's good in Christ's Teaching,

The Easter Lily shines as floral light,

The Christian Way of Love is ever reaching

The hearts of those who for redemption fight.

This flower of Beauty feeds the yearning soul,

Of those who crave salvation, to be made whole.



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BRIDAL MARRIAGE

We delight in dawns magenta red when we wake up,
From the black nightmare dream of sad samsara.
So raise on high the silver chalice wedding cup
To celebrate the advent of blest chit ananda!

Now the bridal marriage is consummated in bliss,
A thanksgiving to the Guru dwelling in the heart,
Seal it with an everlasting devotional kiss,
To 'That' who made the miracle happen, from the start!

There's no real substance in life's dire dream,
All that appears on awareness' fine screen,
Is not my friends what it appears to seem,
For Mother Maya deceives us in whatever's seen.

So pursue sadhana with all strength and fortitude,
And feel our Great Power of love and gratitude!

FAITH

Take the deep leap into firm certainty of Faith,
With determined unshakeable fearlessness!
Let mount Arunachala be our mighty shield
Against sense storms of restless monkey mi
Enjoy complete untroubled care free unworried calm,
By handing over our whole fictional burden
Of distress, concern, stress, and fancied anxiety
About our ordained duties and many affairs,
To our Lord of Love and infinite compassion,
Great Power in the heart, Self of our own Being,
To whom we've unconditionally surrendered,
Taking sole refuge with worshipful devotion.

Even tribulation is welcomed as for the best!
We gain mind control through repetition of His Name,
And dive into the Heart, questing for the source of 'I',

Full of gratitude for his boundless love and grace.

BALLAD OF MARY PEARL FISHER

Surrender and Self Enquiry are Golden Keys to our magnificent teaching,
So start heavy duty practise, call off the seeking and cease mindless preaching,
Like those deluded ones who say, 'You're perfect as you are now, just remain in a blissful state!'
And then all those others who profess, 'Why bother,it's all preordained by fate?'

Beyond a shadow of doubt Advaitic Non-Dualism is very, very far reaching,
If we assert we are the 'doers of action ', then God's Will we are breaching,
But in meeting this teaching we're quickly brought to knock at Heaven's Pearly Gate
Where intellectual games and metaphysical puzzles all end in stalemate.

Let's rejoice in gladness in whatever God sends us in our pilgrimage on Earth.
This miraculous, melodramatic adventure, starting from the day of our birth,
Passing through childhood years when rebellious ego started to raise its brazen head
Shouting, screaming,compulsive daily demands loudly feet kicking wildly spread.

Then on to passionate adolescence, loving experience for all one is worth.
But tiring of riotous pleasure, the soul feel empty and loathes such a
meaningless dearth.
And so into this wilderness poor Mary wanders, feeling barren,lost and wretched,
Struggling to find an oasis, festooned with apple blossom and a pink orchid.

She yearns for help and prays hard with faith to her childhood God with a
passionate cry,
"Oh please give me some meaning to my sordid discordant life or I feel
I will die!"
And then, a vision appears before her – is it reality or illusion?
Shimmering and shining with radiance – is it just another trick of delusion?

A firm voice spoke from inside the light with awesome power and might,
but very clear,
"Know your Self, my child, and ask the question 'Who Am I?', banish all
your doubt and fear."
"But I can't know who I am," she moaned, "nor how to know myself or the
meaning of life!"
And with downcast eyes, she wept inconsolably pouring forth her woes and strife.

The next day in a Mind-Body-Spirit Book Shop where she went to browse and look,
She came across the title "Who Am I?", a force impelled her to buy this book .
And turning the front cover quivering with wonder and awe she discovered therein
A photo of an Indian Sage with a face of great peace, emanating within.

It struck a resounding chord deep in her innermost heart with immediate force
She proceeded to peruse the pages with the uttermost attention, of course.
‘Self Enquiry’, ‘Mind control’, ‘Peace and Happiness, ‘Self and Individuality’
‘The Jnani and the World’, ‘Sadhana and Grace’, and ‘Aham - all is Unity.

She knew the greatest spiritual adventure of her life was about to begin,
A journey deep into her Self that with this Great Guru's help she was
certain to win.
So she read Chapter One, ‘Self Enquiry’ which told her to ask herself, 'Who am I?’,
Which she did with zeal and earnestness but there was no answer that came in reply.

She begged the Sage for guidance to aid her in this pondersome, perplexing plight,
A serene voice within aroused her and answered in the middle of the night
"Listen to me, my sweet child, for fate has decreed that it is time for you to die,
But it’s not a death to be afraid of, just the end of your individual ‘I’.

The mighty sword of Self Enquiry will surely bring about this mystic death,
Do not expect answers! Questioning, alone is the way to stifle ego's breath."
Just focus your undivided attention through the right hand side of your chest,
Be brave, be resolute, be patient – all will be revealed in this source
of greatest rest.

Hold your breath if you wish, it keeps the mind quiet, then dive deeply
into your Heart
To find the source of the 'I'. This is a method that I wish, my child ,to impart.
And so, inhaling deeply, she followed the advice of her innermost guide,
Putting all her concentration where she knew her immortal soul does reside.

"That is correct," her inner voice replied, "keep on trying just a little
each day
And in time, where your tendencies are tied, you will cut that ganglion knot away."
"But those tendencies are who I am,’ sh said starting to feel bewildered and sad,
I’m not sure that I want to lose my quirks and foibles for I think it’ might drive me mad."

"Foolish child,' the voice replied, "those form the walls that stop you
knowing ‘who you are'
I am teaching you how to know your Self, your True Nature, and remove that prison bar!"
"Please don’t be angry with me," she said forlornly, "I promise
that I shall try my best."
And knocking on the door of the Heart a voice replied, "Come in,most honoured guest!"

After that Mary, for that was her name, persevered daily, as she had been told
Deeper and deeper inside she dived like a pearl fisher girl, and ever so bold.
And lo, amazing trinkets of thoughts, feelings and emotions Mary found within,
But midst rusty concepts and broken dreams, were precious gems of wisdom strewn therein.

One morning Mary vowed not to be distracted by these soap bubbles of thought,
But to plunge below those baubles as deep as she ought, 'twas the Source of I' she sought.
She did not know what to expect - overwhelming joy, satchitananda, bliss.
But instead she felt as if she were falling down into a deep, dark,abyss.

It was as if a loving power had grasped her mind and then held it firm
and still,
All chattering ceased and a tranquil peace invaded and seized her selfish will .
Like a newly born babe, she opened up her eyes and looking all around in awe
Mary viewed the magnificence of God's creation hardly believing what she
saw!

Her ego had fled,it was as if someone had removed a badly aching tooth,
She realised all was One ,she saw without separation, an Immortal Truth
"I am limitless, unbounded, free!" she cried, not knowing if she should
laugh or weep.
"I am God, the Absolute, the Self. No longer hypnotised by the painful veil of sleep!"

Paula Marvelly and Alan Jacobs

SPRINGTIME

Persephone slumbers beneath earth's fair ground,

Aroused by the warmth of Sun and cuckoo's sound,

She strikes up the grand symphony of Spring,

Croci and daffodils start there wakening,

Heralding the golden dawn of life's re-birthing,

When man too can waken from his idle sleep,

And like the snow drop , above soul's mire he'll peep.

Spring is a gracious and auspicious time,

When hope rises and fresh visions come sublime

ALMIGHTY POWER

Your Almighty Power shines bright from the light of Your lotus feet,
Our dearest Sat-Guru dwelling deep in the spiritual heart;
You nourish our souls with ambrosial nectar, honey sweet,
Ever gracious to aid our quest; Your sacred Jnana You impart
To those blessed devotees, earnest in their chosen sadhana.
We thank you for leading us to tread your holy mountain way,
We chant your praises daily oh Great Sri Bhagavan Ramana!
You makes life's dire dream well worth living every single day.

Your Almighty Power is brim filled with unconditional love,
You take us closer to our own True Self, a compassionate friend.
You've been sent to help us in our quest by Brahman who reigns above,
You promise to ferry us to the other shore right up to life's end.
We wait to hear your inner voice in silence and in solitude,
We attend your call and our hearts are filled with solemn gratitude.

CHECK MATE

Bad King Ego stands with his haughty band,
Ready to wage the chequered game of fate,
Queen Truth waits with army straight at hand,
Battle's to be staged before it gets too late.

Black King wore a blindfold as dark as night,
His mob is ready to fight and mate the Queen,
White Queen shone brightly like morning light,
She gathers in her might,surveys the battle scene.

She makes first move and sends a centre pawn
To reign o'er the board and commence attack,
The Black King blocked it with regal scorn,
White Queen sent a Knight to lead her pack.

The game progressed 'til locked in fight,
Queen gained the upper hand and he resigned,
It was the triumph over wrong by right
Defeating the wandering perverted mind.

If there's a moral to this chequered tale,
Win or lose, just enjoy the royal game,
Persistence and study will never fail,
For no thought force ever goes in vain.