Puppet

I have been trying to control my mind,

throughout every day and night,

but I am simply lacking the will to fight

with the endless chatter

all inside!

I strive to control

all that I know, see, and desire,

but alas,

I’ve simply become a puppet of Maya (illusion)!   

All the screens around

only scream about

the endless lies

that have entrapped

in my heart and eyes!

And the king of all desires­­– lust–

is dictating every action that I make,

every word that I say,

and every thought that I have!

It’s difficult to be free

when one is a servant of

the serpent like senses–

always biting, always fighting–

resulting in the poison

of endless distractions.

And the merciless puppeteer Maya

makes me not see clear,

what should be done,

how to act,

and how to serve everyone I see!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

take hold of my hand

and teach me how to dance for You,

how to serve You,

how to love You!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

sever all the strings attached,

all the lust in my heart,

and all the dirt on my hands!

Free me from the puppet master Maya,

and make me dance according to Your

Supreme Desire!

Take away all the illusion of independence

and simply help me surrender

all that I have at Your Dependence!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

it’s only Your Divine Descend into my heart,

that can allow me to be a

puppet of Your Grace!

Simply hear this cry out

from your pretend to be servant!

Vision

 I have been sleeping

day and night,

slowly forgetting

my birth right,

of serving everyone in sight!

It seems I have become so blind

for all the transcendental insights

and now I can’t discern

wrong from right!

All my well-wishers

warn against

narrow-mindedness

and tell me to keep away from

short-sightedness

yet, I fall a prey to

my unrestrained

deceitfulness.

Alas, lust has clouded my vision,

slowly suffocating my intuition,

preventing me from truly seeing His hand,

behind every choice that I make,

behind every breath that I take,

behind every thought that I have!

Only seeing the faults of others

is enough of a vice

but pretending to see their virtues

puts me on a hellish track!

Truly, it takes Divine Grace

to inhabit the sacred space,

where there is no disgrace

so, I can act out of Love

‘till my final days.

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

anoint these eyes of mine,

churn my heart,

and simply give me the vision,

which will allow me to see You,

in every step that I make,

in every heart that I serve,

and in every word that I speak.

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

infuse me with humility,

so, I can have the ability

to respond to Your Divine Call,

and simply surrender it all!

This pretend to be servant is making

a plea to actually see!

Distance

I’ve been walking day and night,

through the darkest corners of my heart,

trying badly reaching for the stars,

but always falling short behind!

I keep fighting with the mind,

confusing always left and right,

forgetting to keep reaching out,

and staying on the right direction

that leads me to eternal perfection!

Walking the path of humility

is my only responsibility

yet, I keep stumbling on the stones of pride,

forgetting once again that Divine Love is might!

Alas, Dear Friend Divine,

the distance between our hearts

won’t be bridged overnight!

The distance between our hearts

feels like walking through the Valley of Death,

where, at times, I lose my life-breath,

and I can’t keep walking ahead!  

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

when will that day be mine,

when every step towards You is a dance,

when every word about You is a song,

and when every action for You is a prayer?

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

let me walk the distance,

make me humble,

don’t allow me to stumble,

so, one day I can join Your Dance Divine

and celebrate Your Love Divine,

till the end of Time!

Your pretend to be servant is

making a plea!

Beggar

These days,

 I have been living in confusion,

daily striving for material illusions,

and honestly

forgetting how to avoid

my mind’s constant delusions!

I find myself

on the field of battle,

completely stripped-down

of my shield and armour,

almost dropping my axe of knowledge,

and kneeling defeated at the feet of Maya (Illusion)!

Completely forgetful,

kneeling on the ground,

with the last of my powers,

I raised my hands up in the sky,

begging the Divine,

for His Holy sign!

‘Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

I possess nothing

but my will to beg!

Make me wander from place to place,

Make me serve in certain ways,

Make me dance, sing, and play,

till my final days!

Allow me to fight

all the serpents of the past,

and let me rise up from the dust

of my burned impressions!

I have only one weapon against illusion

and that is shouting out Thy Holy Names!

You have made me a beggar, indeed!

I beg, and beg, and beg

to always hold Thy Holy Feet!

Suddenly,

a ray of light

illuminates

my heart

and I stand up

ready for the fight!

By a drop of mercy,

I remembered now,

that a simple call to the Divine,

is all that I’ve got!

The Battle continues,

but I am prepared now,

as my Dear Friend Divine,

 has got me by the hand

and continues to shine light

upon my desert-like heart!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

your desperate servant

is begging at Your Holy Feet!

Roles

I woke up in this

material body one day

and started immediately

countless roles to play.

Playing day and night,

I presumed that I was always right,

but often forgetting that

only acting out of Love is might!

Once,

 I played the role of the

obedient son,

who had to act

in accordance with

his parents’ wishes.

Once,

I played the role of the

trustful friend

who had to act

for the sake of his brother

in times of need.

Once,

I played the role of the

courageous hero

who had to slay

some dragons

and safe some

beautiful maidens.  

Roles all we play,

of teachers,

of politicians,

of fathers and mothers,

of workers and artists

and of intellectuals and engineers.

There is no other way,

but roles to play,

and mostly we have no

real say

‘cause life throws us away!

Role after role,

day after day,

life after life,

we play and play and play!

Alas, forgetting in this whole role play

that there is only one real Role to be,

and that is a servant of Thy Lotus Feet!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

wash away all these temporary roles,

and let us remember our absolute one

of a servant of all!

Allow us to transcend

and stop to pretend

that we are anything but a

simple servant of all!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

show us the way

of actually entering Your Divine Play!

This servant of yours

is making a plea!

Burning

Living with material desires,

forgetting the means

that will take me higher,

my heart is burning

day and night,

in the reactions

of my misconceived

and misdirected actions.

It is hard, indeed,

to perceive any higher truth

when my mind

is on fire.

Nonviolence, truthfulness, compassion…

nah… these only become

empty signifiers

and servants

to my basic desires!

‘Let me exploit,

let me enjoy,

 let me destroy,

all that is holy,

all that is sacred,

all that matters!’–

this is the only mantra

that dictates my endeavours!

Pathetic condition indeed,

but this is the reality of

choosing Maya (Ilusion)!

The mind burns as if

it’s been bitten by

many hooded serpents of

material desires!

The heart burns as if

it’s been melted in lava!

The body burns as if

it’s been dissembled

limb by limb!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

when will You release

Your merciful shower?

When will You put out

this raging fire?

When will You send

me guidance

in the form of Your beloved

flower-like devotees?

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

allow us to transcend

any worldly desires

and take shelter of

the cooling rays that

come from Your Lotus Feet!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

I know You are simply a thief

that collects only hearts,

but without Your mercy

how can I offer my

burning heart!

Thus, I petition to Your attention,

my heartfelt intentions

of purifying my heart

and taking shelter

of Your Lotus Feet!

This forgetful servant

is making a plea!

Expand

Oh, dear mind,

are you not tired of

always thinking

of ‘me’, ‘mine’, and ‘I’?

Endless days,

endless nights,

you are cycling around

and around,

always coming to the same point

of satisfying

 your own senses,

while disregarding the hearts of others!

Always coming to the same point,

of deriving pleasure

from being cynical and envious

of others!

Always coming to the same point,

of cheating yourself

with the latest distractions!

Throw away these mindless patterns,

abandon all useless matters,

and simply grab hold of the

lotus feet of all saintly teachers!

Cry, shout, and beg for their mercy,

as they can ignite the fire,

that will start a revolution

within your heart

and there will be no trace of any

mindless chatter!  

Their mercy will indeed

bring you to your Friend Divine,

Who will allow for your heart to expand!

Then, the mind will be quiet and

the heart will speak!

It will expand beyond your kin, nation, and land,

even beyond your precious life!

Your heart will expand to all creatures that fly,

to all that swim,

and to all that walk and run!

Ultimately, the heart will know no bound,

while jumping, dancing, and singing for your Dear Friend Divine!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

simply help us overcome

our conditioned minds,

so, that our hearts can expand,

beyond the conceptions of ‘I’ and ‘mine’!

Calling You!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

it’s me again!

I know You must have had enough,

but, hey, I won’t give up calling You!

I keep swimming in the dualities

of this material world

yet, trying to call out for You,

alas, I guess that is what hypocrites do!

The sages of the past promised me

that Your Names Divine

will intoxicate my mind and heart,

but chanting Them,

I feel nothing else, but deaf and blind!

Oh, the sages

 they promised,

that the tongue will dance

in my mouth,

tasting the transcendental sound,

and experiencing the bliss of being unbound!

Alas, all I feel is as if

I am chewing the ground­,

tasteless, bitter, poisonous,

trepidations in my heart–

no trace of transcendental sound,

no trace of ecstatic dancing all around!

Anyway, I will keep calling You,

for I have faith in promises,

for I know that pleases You,

for I have nothing else to lose.

I will keep calling You,

so, one day the bitter taste goes far away,

so, one day my poisoned mind becomes unbound,

so, one day my heart dances all around!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

please, kindly,

reveal Yourself

in Thy Holy Name!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

now is the time,

to let me taste

the boundless bliss

coming from your Flute Divine!

An Ocean of Flowers

Oh, Dear Friend Divine

there is an ocean of flowers

and I am one of them!

I am waiting amongst

all the other flowers,

hoping against hope,

for the moment when You notice me!

Oh, when will that day come

when You send Your

most Beloved Servants

to come and pick me up,

so, that they can put me on

the flower garlands that

decorate Your gentle neck!

Oh, when that day comes,

I will be finally able to

render a little bit of

service to Your Lotus Feet!

Oh, when that day comes,

I will be able to intoxicate You

with my beautiful fragrance,

I will be able to beautify Your Smile,

with my exquisite colours,

oh, I will be able to charm You

with my tender petals.

Oh, when that day comes,

finally,

I will be there,

witnessing

Your Flute playing,

Your dancing,

and Your swaying!

I will be there,

witnessing

Your joking words,

Your gambling games,

and Your swinging plays!

I will be there,

witnessing

Your cheating ways,

Your swimming days,

and You hiding in the hays!

Until that day comes,

oh, Dear Friend Divine,

there is lots of work to do,

there are lots of souls to serve,

in the here and now,

alas, there is plenty of suffering

all around!

Thus, it’s time for You

to ignite my heart,

so, I can intoxicate others

with the nectar coming from

 Thy Holy Names!

So, one day You can

notice them amongst

all the other flowers in the ocean!

So, one day You can

call for your Beloved Servants

to pick them up,

and make a flower garland

out of their hearts!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

I know it’s a lot to ask,

but hey,

 I have no other task,

except to wait and pray

for that day to come!

Shell

 My heart has become

an impenetrable shell

that even You,

Dear Friend Divine,

are having troubles

unlocking.

I have been building day and night,

with my distracted mind,

this wall around my heart!

Envy is my bricks,

lust is my cement,

anger is my water,

and greed is my fix!

Labouring day and night,

I am building my fortress

of isolation,

of misidentification,

of frustration,

and adulteration!

Distant and foreign voices

are spinning like rollercoasters

in my head:

‘You are not enough,

you would fail,

there is no point of this or that!’

A constant reminder

of past mistakes,

of roads unfollowed,

 of dreams forgotten,

and of opportunities abandoned!

The days I had full faith,

full trust,

and lack of fear,

seem from another lifetime!

My heart has become an impenetrable shell, indeed!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

all the holy scriptures,

all the saintly persons,

all the divine well-wishers,

they promise one thing­–

that Thy Holy Name

is the cure for all,

misfortunes,

delusions,

and confusions!

Alas, it seems,

You have neglected me,

and cheated me!

But I am not surprised at all,

as You are known as tribhanga (three-fold bend),

and Your ways, indeed,

they are crooked!

I have nothing else to do

but hope against hope,

for the transcendental vibration

coming from Your flute divine,

to penetrate my impenetrable heart!

I have nothing else to do but wait for You,

to penetrate this shell-like heart of mine!

Oh, Dear Friend Divine,

simply hear my cry out

and make me dance

till I find the way out!