THE GREAT SAGE

The great Sage, unfathomable, free from fear
Stands firmly in his field; in silent solitude,
Enjoying throbbing beat of heart’s beatitude;
Yet unseen by those who time and space hold dear,
There being One Self Existent for the Seer,
No place remains in his placid plenitude,
For grey shadows real or unreal to occlude;
No more the Sun seems to rise or set, yet’s here.

Now seeing golden Sun at play in his world,
Can he whose Natural State is Self empowered,
Receiving healing rays, see other than pure gold?
As an arum lily flowers, so’s his fertile field endowed.
Awakened man, remembers not his worldy dream,
His robe, the Self, is a cloak without a seam.

DIVE DEEP

The veracity of sacred tomes alone,
Fail to unveil the longed and yearned for end;
A message to all seekers, the Sage doth send
“Dive deep! find union with your very own.”
If Guru’s teaching seeds are finely sown,
Wisdom’s granary grows to feed you, my dear friend;
At harvest time your wounded soul will bend,
That book, your Self divine, shall soon be known!

To meditate, rest in your Natural State;
When abidance in that field is truly firm,
Abundantly, you’ll reap the golden germ,
To free your mind from bands of iron bound fate.
Rich is that grain, unfolding, both firm and true,
Enquiring at one’s source, ‘who is really, really, you?’

WHAT IS

Fate jogs along, a drunken juggernaut.
What’s to happen inevitably will,
Be it destined for pleasure or for ill;
No end of prayer or angst of thought
Will change the plan, Almightly God has wrought.
Be it ambrosial sweet or poisonous pill;
Accept all that happens, drink one’s fill,
This way the ‘awakened state’ is brought.

He loses his pile, she sweeps the pool,
He comes to life, she speeds to her dying day,
He’s sent to hard labour, she to endless play,
He learns Self Knowledge, she stays a fool.
Welcome all that comes your pilgrim way,
Bring great peace to troubled mortal clay.

SPIDERS SPIN

On spiders spindle, a silken web does spin
By pinhead wheel, threads of gossamer come,
Stinging with mandible the victim numb,
To wrap and trap, her jaws to drag within
Fortune’s morsel! A dainty dinner thus to win.
Sages when perceiving Creation see; and some
Say that She, whose depth no mind can plumb,
Springs spider-like from Brahm, all worlds begun.

Spirit and matter as One, come from the Source,
That is cosmic law, none are free to stray.
Consciousness in motion is a mighty force
Whose will’s a wheel of magic shadow play.
There’s not any other way but be free in Truth,
So rest in spider’s jaws, await her sabre tooth!

BEE KEEPING

My mind drones on, like a hive, each thought’s a bee,
Buzzing past purple fields of perfumed thyme,
Then from home to comb, nectar drips through time,
With amber wax and honey, rippling free.
My thoughts like bees disturbed, sting suddenly!
When snared by any dispute, that’s not sublime;
Beware! bees will swarm beneath the scented lime;
Withdraw deep within your heart of nullity.

The dance of bees points out the path to flowers,
A wise sage speaks, to point the way to Truth.
Queen ‘me’ rules for countless summer hours,
But when she dies, the bees lie quiet forsooth.
If perception has yet to arise, dear sleeper,
Heed this counsel from an old bee keeper.

CLOISTERED GARDEN

In my cloistered garden, blood red roses lie,
Bowed, surrendered, to sharp sword of morning light;
Diamond drops of dew mirror the shining sky,
Blue forget-me-nots cradle Easter lilies white.
All’s hushed in heart’s deep haven bright;
A silence profound descends, the dawn of peace.
Simply to be still, is our yearning soul’s release.
The gardener comes, to summer prune a bloom,
With tender care he cuts its sappy stem,
The lustrous sun disperses earthly gloom,
Each radiant rose glows like a ruby gem.
The temple of the Goddess is her bridal hem;
Each green leaf and fragrant summer rose
Is breathing beauty, where one’s True Nature knows

LOVE

Love shines in soft summer evening light,
Arms outstretched, embracing all with grace,
Yea-saying here, in Earth’s bleak and jagged place.
On crumbling walls of inner courts of sight
The Sage sees daylight even in the dead of night.
Dawn’s blood streaked gold scatters clouds apace,
Spears of glory pierce God’s infinite space
Of massive nature; grace, beauty, love and might.

The plaintive sob of amorous nightingale
Throbs for his beloved with poignant song.
He know his faith in her will never fail,
And they’ll lie breast to breast before too long.
When even dark night falls, his joyful tongue
Hymns harmony, echoing love’s eternal tale.

FAIRY TALE

From her charmed castle casement, a Princess fair
Dropped her precious pearl, deep into a well.
It struck the water, plop, and then befell
Disaster! For the orient jewel sank where
No courtier dared to dive. The King, in despair
Found a skilled fisher boy, whom he did tell
“Hold your breath lad, plunge like hell, pell mell!”
The boy retrieved the pearl, winning the regal dare.

The meaning of my tale is crystal clear.
If Self is lost by mortals who cannot hear,
Like drowning men, straining hard for air,
Then dive deep into the Heart; be sincere.
Seek the source of ‘I conceit’, dear would be seer,
End forever, ignorance, and feeble foolish fear!

SELF REMEMBERING

I Self Remembered on a calm cobalt lake,
An ivory swan sailed by, confident at play.
A breeze like finger skimmed the waters grey,
Stormy clouds cobbled together to shake
The peaks of purple hills and make them quake.
A peal of thunder! The leonine Sun in fray
Sent dark banks of elephantine clouds away;
He rainbow paints the sky, for our dear sake.

I muscled to mount the heavy heathered height,
Easing my feline strength of brawn and might,
With catlike stride I startled a small Redstart,
And breathed cool champagne air, intense and bright.
A shaft of sunshine cleared the clouds to part,
I rested, tired, on a mountain height of light.

FOR THE BELOVED

My Beloved muses in her arbour playing;
Each perfumed rose shyly breathes her name,
Deep shades of ruby, amber, onyx, all aflame,
Regaling in swollen August’s glory, displaying
Pearls of shimmering dew bethorned, praying,
Blessed be thy holy Name, beyond all fame.
Oh! Cleanse my blackspot pest, free me from shame,
Prune me, destroy my green fly of gainsaying.

The hum of bumble bees hymning Aum,
Sift nectar in the stillness, sipping bliss,
As dawn brushes each rose with kindly kiss.
Her arbour’s a temple with a saphire dome,
Was there ever on Earth, such perfection as this?
Drunk on Her brazen beauty, I stumble back home.

WOODLAND WALK

Tied in tangled twist of birch and beech,
Copper leaf and silver bark entwining,
My path’s imperilled by knotty roots reclining;
In anguish I stretch my weary arm to reach
Through thick clustered hawthorn pricks; each
Conceals the gracious grey of argent lining;
My feet fall over a felled stump; resigning,
I yearn for light, this stumbling block to breach.

Suddenly golden sunbeams pierce the gloom,
Unveiling ahead a spacious glade of light;
I walk where I find a safely shaded way,
In a paeon of pagan joy I shatter dismal doom.
My path is crazed, brilliantly bluebell bright,
Carefree, I ramble on, praising God’s new day!

ONE BRIGHT MORNING

ONE bright morning I woke to transformed sight,
The Sun’s spears pierced and shook the spacious air
Gilding emerald leaves so freshly fair
On copper beech and silver birch. Queen of Light!
Your sky-lark’s trill heralds joy so bright,
A saphire day is pending, pregnant there.
Light painter, prod me with your camel hair,
Stunned by such beauty, pray pity my plight.
Awaken from this dream, loving She who paints,
Wild whirler of rainbows on my visual screen,
Deceiver is She, yet patient with complaints.
Let’s bathe in the sea of mercy, azure green.
Are you and I but sleepers in the night
Dreaming of awakening from darkness into light?

PUISSANT POWER

A perfectly pure supernatural Power,
Puts His precious paws firmly on our soul,
To stay with us, and protect us, at every hour,
With the role of making us complete and whole.

We're filled with gratitude to that vast Power,
Who bears the burden of our predestined life,
That Power who's one's sole refuge, a potent tower
Sent to shield us from all that causes strife.

The master key is 'Surrender to that Power',
Place one's whole life in His mighty hands.
That Power is Brahman, a sure refuge, and our
Saviour from mental shackles and brazen bands.

The Great Power dwells deep in ones spiritual heart,
Our Self Realisation He shall one day soon impart.

FAITH

Take the deep leap into firm certainty of Faith,
With determined unshakeable fearlessness!
Let mighty mount Arunachala be our shield
Against sense storms of restless monkey mind.

Enjoy wholly untoubled carefree satvic calm,
By handing over our whole fictional burden
Of worry, concern, stress, and fancied anxiety
About our ordained duties and many affairs,
To our Lord of Love and infinite compassion,
Bhagavan Sri Ramana, 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 practice mind control through Japa of His Name,
And dive into the Heart, questing for the source of 'I',
Full of gratitude for his boundless love and grace.

A PRAYER TO RAMANA MAHARSHI

Bhagavan! Thou art the boon giver supreme,
Saints and the lesser Gods call upon Thee,
They hold place through Thy generosity;
How great is Thy grace, and yet we scheme
With increased desire in this crazy dream.
When will you destroy pernicious petty ‘me’,
Through thy gaze of peaceful clemency?
From your dazzling light cast me a single beam.
Pilgrims pray for you to uphold their gains,
Blessed benefactor of all sentient Beings,
Strengthen and fasten my slack mental reins,
Unite see-er and seen with all my seeings.
I depend on Thee Sri Bhagavan for Thy grace,
Accept me, and my false ego pray efface.

HEART GARDEN

Deep in the heavenly garden of one's spiritual heart,
Plant a pink Rose of Purity, such beauty 'twill impart,
With a pure white Arum Lily of unconditional love,
Fresh fragrant bright green Champaka flowers, falling from above
To grace Mandara blooms, emblems of humility meek,
Friends of Lady of Night, sweet compassion that we seek.

So plant in our spiritual garden for all to see
A melting heart, a bountiful hand that's always free,
Kind speech and a life of service to one's fellow man,
Equal vision, the whole wide universe, there to scan,
With an ever impartial non-judgemental attitude,
Full of freshly found forgiveness, blessing and beatitude.

ARUNACHALA

Parrots love to glean among ripening luscious fruits so fine,
But beware of little lemurs or there'll be no sparkling wine
Of ecstacy this morn, ushered in by radiant ruby dawn,
When prayer and meditation declare the soul's to be reborn.

Striding up the sacred roseate mountain path,laughing aloud,
Far away from the noisy, hurried, bustling maddening crowd,
While lucid dew drops, rainbow edged, grace the heavenly scene,
Pilgrim laughs, striving hard to wake up from his daunting dream

Of mundane life, which prisons sleeping mankind's worldly throng.
So now he fills his lungs with air and sings a joyful song,
"Hara, hara, hara, maha deva, om namah shivayah!
All praise our great Sat-Guru beloved Bhagavan Ramanayah!

Let us prostate before his gentle soft lily lotus feet,
Then his boundless Grace will surely heal our weeping soul complete,
And lead us to enlightning moksha through his penetrating gaze,
Where we shall bathe in sat-chit-ananda all our blissful days.

Trust that great magificent power which truly knows the way,
It thrives inside our own dear Self if we honour 'That' each day,
All will be well, very, very well, unfolding as it should,
Then we'll emerge free! laughing out of sad samsara's wood.