Voices

Voices coming from the left

voices coming from the right,

from the front and back,

composing a never-ending symphony

of dreams unfollowed,

of traumas unhealed,

and of problems unsolved.

The mind shouts at me:

‘I want it all!’

The intelligence reminds me:

‘Control it all!’

The ego demands from me:

‘I can’t let go!’

And I, the soul, in the middle,

am trying to transcend them all.

My head is a battleground

for voices, never-ending,

foreign, distant, and mysterious.

For voices, vicious,

evil and depressing.

For voices, happy,

thoughtful and supporting.

Amongst all this storm and thunder,

amongst all the confusion and illusion,

amongst this battle between titan-like voices,

I the little soul,

the innocent civilian,

am trying to connect

with the Supersoul.

I scream and shout

day and night,

till I can’t hear even myself out!

Alas, all in vain,

all my efforts silenced

by the titans fighting

on the battleground

of my head.

I guess, there is one thing left

for me to do,

that is only pray to You!

Oh, dear Friend Divine,

don’t ignore me!

I may be a useless servant,

yet, I am trying to be Yours!

I may be after material gains,

yet, I try to call Your Holy Names!

Please, kindly make this battle of voices end

now and for all!

Please, let there be peace,

so, I can glorify You,

so, I can remember You,

so, I can adore You!

Oh, dear Friend Divine,

please, make all these voices go off,

and let me hear only Your Flute Divine!

In Sound

At the start there was the Word.

In sound we are born,

in sound we shall die,

and sound shall remain.

Sound sustains, annihilates,

and procreates.

Sound creates realities and dimensions,

as well as all kinds of transfigurations.

Sound sustains all kinds of misconceptions,

as well as caters for our deepest misidentifications.

The sound of our sweet names,

attaches us to futile claims.

The sound of our minds,

distracts us from eternal gains.

But there is one special sound,

the sound of His Holy names,

coming from His flute Divine.

This transcendental sound

does not bind, enslave, or delude.

This transendental sound

is full of bliss and taste.

The mind shall die,

but transcendental sound shall not.

The body will die,

but transcendental sound shall not.

The ego will die,

but transcendental sound shall not.

On the path of salvation,

only transcendental sound remains.

Oh dear friend,

simply bathe in transcendental sound,

and you shall never be bound!

Misgivings of the Loving Heart

Oh, dear friend,

tell me – how can I stand the absence of Love?

How can I reside within this lump of blood and bones?

How can I conform to social norms?

Oh, dear friend,

tell me – how can I stand this burning fire in the chest?

How can I control myself?

How can I live a normal life –

without His loving eyes,

without His playful smile,

without His delightful embrace,

how can I exist?

Oh, dear friend,

tell me!

What’s my purpose –

without Her soothing glance,

without Her beautiful and gentle hands,

without Her  warming presence?

Oh, dear friend,

tell me!

Oh, dear friend,

I wake up at night,

to have an internal fight,

after which,

the mind always wins,

and makes me cry!

‘Oh, damn you Mind!

You are always ruthless

in telling me

what should I do and not do.’

‘You better be quiet, if

it wasn’t for me,

you won’t be alive!’

Oh, dear friend!

Every moment

passes in unbearable agony,

without the Beloved.

Oh, dear friend,

‘I wish he was closer,

I wish she was here,

I wish they were loving me more!’

I wish, I wish, I wish…

Oh, dear friend,

only a jar full of wishes,

that’s what I have become.

There is nothing else,

but wish and hope,

for that is the nature

of one’s misgiving and loving heart!

Oh, dear friend!

The Calling

 

 

It was a splendid peaceful summer night. The Moon Goddess was silently and imperceptibly walking her path. It was a clear sky with a plethora of shining stars. Only from time to time, a cloud would appear on the horizon, but the Moon Goddess, with her majestic hands, would very caringly dispel it from her path. Here and there, a shooting star would reach its final destination and would fade into stardust. The forest was asleep. The trees were quietly dancing with the slight breeze coming from the south. Most of the forest creatures were in a deep slumber. Apart for the nocturnal birds, which were caringly producing their midnight symphony.

There was no living soul to be found, when our heroine approached the path entering the forest, except for the mysterious calling, that has brought our heroine here. This special calling was coming from deep inside the forest. It was so attractive that our heroine did not care for any external circumstances. Her only motive was to find the source. So she started walking on the forest path. She walked and walked and the path was swaying sometimes to the left, sometimes to the right. She lost sense of time and space. Her only focus was on the calling that was coming from the heart of the forest. It was so attractive. Suddenly, something from inside her heart made her look at the side of the path. She realized the diversity of beautiful flowers that were scattered on the side of the path. The mysterious calling made her start picking these flowers. They were all kinds of colours- pink, purple, yellow, orange. So our heroine grabbed a bunch of them and carried on walking towards the heart of the forest. She walked and walked. The more she walked, the more she had the feeling she was walking towards a place that she actually belonged to. As she was getting closer, a sense of Home aroused in her heart. She knew she has been there before. As she was getting closer to the heart of the forest, the mysterious calling turned into a melody. The closer she was getting, the easier was for our heroine to start discerning musical instruments and tumultuous sounds coming from the beings dancing and happily shouting. The path swayed to the left and then to the right, and again to the left. She arrived. She was there, in the heart of the forest, where the mysterious calling was manifesting.

Our heroine was so mesmerised by the scenery that was unfolding in front of her very eyes. There were drums, there were fireplaces, there was food, and there were bells. It was a festival of a sort. Everybody appeared stunningly beautiful. Everybody wore colourful dresses and ankle bells. Everybody was ecstatically dancing and singing. Everybody was smiling and laughing. Their smiles were illuminating the whole place. Suddenly, someone noticed our heroine and told everybody. Rapidly, everybody stopped dancing and singing, and all looked at the newcomer. Everybody was smiling at our heroine. Then, from the middle of the dancing circle, a young beautiful boy with a bluish skin and effulgent face, and His consort, a beautiful young girl with a golden skin, approached our heroine. Both of them kindly extended their hands towards our heroine.

Suddenly, the boy said:

‘-Welcome Home! Shall we dance?’

Our heroine replied, rather reluctantly:

‘-But I don’t know how to dance.’

The blue boy extended His hands and replied:

‘-Don’t worry, everybody knows how to dance… it’s natural.’

Our heroine replied:

‘-Okay… I can try I guess.’

Then, the blue boy’s consort grabbed the flowers that our heroine had brought. Next, the golden-skin girl quickly and artfully made a flower crown and offered it to our heroine:

‘- Put these flowers on your head, they will make you fit in! Come on! There is no time to waste! Let’s dance!’

All of sudden, the music started again and the festival carried on. At that moment, our heroine realised that she was Actually Home. She was at the Home of her heart!

Jai Sri Radhe!

Jai Sri Radhe, Jai Sri Radhe!

Oh, You most merciful one,

without You we don’t know what Love is,

without You we don’t know what our real position is,

without You we don’t know  what our duty is,

without You we cannot access the ocean of nectar,

without You we don’t know what worship is,

without You we don’t know Krishna’s heart,

without You we are simply lost!

 

Jai Sri Radhe, Jai Sri Radhe!

Oh, You most exalted one,

You are the inducer of transcendental pleasure,

You are the driver of our faith,

You make us jump and shout,

You make us laugh,

You make us smile,

You make us dance.

You send us knowledge,

and You make us wonder.

Without You we are simply lost!

Jai Sri Radhe, Jai Sri Radhe!

Oh, jewel of Vraja,

Let us serve You,

Let us help You,

Let us never forget You,

Let us adore You,

Let us obey You!

Without You we are simply lost!

Silence

The drums have stopped,

The bells have chocked,

The harmonium has died,

The voices have gone,

and the Kirtan is no more.

Silence has arrived!

‘-Come back, come back!’-

the heart cries out.

‘-Don’t stop singing, Don’t stop dancing!’-

the heart shouts out.

Alas, there is no response…

Silence has arrived!

Without a transcendental sound,

there is no life,

there is no goal,

there is no Love.

How can the heart live in Silence?

how can it dream;

how can it sleep;

how can it walk;

how can it talk;

How can it do anything at all???

Silence has arrived!

Without a transcendental sound

there is only darkness,

there is only sadness,

there is only madness.

Without a transcendental sound

the Moon doesn’t shine,

the Sun doesn’t rise,

the flowers don’t smell,

and the Spring never comes.

Silence has arrived!

The Mind, The Body, and the Spirit walked into a bar…

It is Friday night. The weekend has come. Our hero has just finished work and was thinking of going to the pub.

-‘Whoohoo, it’s Friday, let’s go to the pub guys! Let’s get really wasted, you know, enjoy ourselves! You Only Live Once! YOLO! YOLO!’- shouted the Mind.

-‘Seriously dude! We have been through this more than 100 times and it always ends up bad for all of us, and the worst for me, of course, because I am the one who endures all the pain and toxins! Urgghh! Please, let’s just go home and sleep! I am really tired! It’s been a long week.’- replied the Body.

-‘Oh, you two! Here we go again! Mind, you should seriously have some restrain! And please show some respect towards your brother, Body! Without him we are both lost! – replied the Spirit!’

-‘YOLO, YOLO, YOLO! YOLO, YOLO, YOLO!’- chanted the Mind.

Thus, our hero ended up ordering a double Jack Daniels and Coke.

-‘Ahh, that’s nice!’- said the Mind, after our hero finished the drink.

-‘Ouch, that is hot, hot, hot!’-screamed the Body. -‘I don’t understand why you are doing this to me every weekend, Mind! You drag me here, you pour down burning liquor into my mouth and stomach, you are deluding yourself that you are having fun, and on the next morning, I am paying a heavy price! I am in pain, all in bruises, having headache, and the worst is when you drag us to someone else’s bed, and have sex with strangers! It’s pure luck, we haven’t caught up some disease! I can’t stand you anymore! You are driving me crazy! Spirit, can back me up here!’

-‘Body has a point! If you think you are not paying any prize for this misbehaviour, you are completely delusional!’– said Spirit. -‘There are universal laws that affect all living beings, despite of their ignorance! The ultimate sufferer is me, as I am eternal! You two will disintegrate with time passing, but I will have to take another body with another mind! We can all stop this madness here and now, but we need to unite forces and work together, put our differences aside, and ultimately, strive for self-realization. In turn, this will allow for escaping this material world and all its sufferings!’

Our hero downed another drink.

-‘Spirit, you go to hell, with your mumbo-jumbo spiritual lectures and myths! If there is anyone delusional here, it’s only you!’–replied condescendingly the Mind. –‘And you Body, stop complaining and moaning! I know for a fact that you are enjoying alcohol and sex as much as I do! You are only pretending that you do not like it, so you and Spirit can overthrow me and become the masters of our hero! I know you both pretty well and your petty conspiracies! So get lost! I am in control! YOLO!’

-‘You are not in control, Mind, you are simply delusional!’- said Spirit calmly. ‘Instead of being grateful to Body for taking you here and there, for feeding you day and night, and for essentially being your servant 24/7, you pay him back by punishing him with burning liquor. That’s simply a disgrace!’- commented Spirit.

-‘Spirit is right! I am your servant, Mind, show some mercy and compassion, I do so many things for you!’- encouragingly said Body.

-‘You two, can’t you just stop whining about this and that! I am trying to enjoy myself here!’- said Mind, as he was making our hero down another shot of tequila.

-‘Body you’ll be fine, you said it yourself, we have done this before more than 100 times, so why not make it 101!? Spirit, you manipulator! I am not going to let you deceive me with your moral/spiritual lectures. Why don’t you just let it go?’- said Mind.

Thus, our hero, controlled by the drunk Mind, continued on drinking more and more for the rest of the night. In this way, Spirit and Body became numb, and there was only one ruler. The delusional Mind.

PS: Inspired from: ‘For the mind is restless, turbulent, obstinate and very strong, O Krishna, and to subdue it is, it seems to me, more difficult than controlling the wind.’ (BG 6.34)

 

 

Bodies

Bag full of bones, Bag full of veins,

Bag full of fears, Bag full of dreams,

Bag full of desires, Bag full of pains.

Oh, this Bag full of wonders,

Oh, this complicated machine,

this Bag,

our bodies, we name it.

Bodies as diverse as the night sky.

Skinny bodies, fat bodies,

Short bodies, tall bodies,

Black bodies, yellow bodies,

Red bodies, purple bodies

Beautiful bodies, ugly bodies,

That body, this body.

Her body, his body, its body.

All these bodies, but they have one thing in common,

All these bodies, but all they never cease to wane.

From the first breath, all these bodies,

They wane, they die, they cry,

Oh, they collapse, they fail, they break.

They change, they grow, they fall.

And at the last breath, they evaporate.

And what we often forget,

Is that these bodies,

don’t define Us,

don’t describe Us,

but only captivate Us.

If we remembered only,

that we are beyond these bodies,

Infinite we could be!

Bigger than life,

bigger than the boundaries of this Bag full of bones,

a Bag full of waning flesh!

Infinite we could be!

Bigger than fear,

Bigger than Death.

Infinite we could be!

Conquering any heights,

and surrendering with every step!

Oh, Infinite we could be!

If we remembered only,

That we are not these bodies,

but the eternal spark within…

 

She walks away…

 

I met her in the classroom,

We met.

We shared some beautiful moments together,

She smiled,

I smiled,

But then she walked away…

I met her on the street,

We went out,

We kissed,

We hugged,

But she walked away again…

I met her in the club,

We talked,

We walked,

We laughed,

And she walked away…

I met her in the temple,

We danced,

We shared food together,

We talked,

We made love,

But she walked away…

I met her on the Way,

We walked,

We meditated together,

We sang,

But she walked away…

I met her in Yoga class,

We practiced,

We chanted,

We read together,

But she walked away…

She comes, She goes,

She walks away!

She kisses me, she hugs me

She walks away!

She loves me, she surrenders to me,

She walks away!

On and on she walks away…

 

The Tower of Love

Nested high in the Mountains,

away from impure thoughts,

away from selfish desires,

away from anger,

away from frustration,

away from violence,

and away from the toxins of life,

sleeps a beautiful and tall Tower.

The Tower of Love,

is resting on the Mountain peak,

where every second is a smile,

where every minute is a breath,

where every hour is a step,

and where eternity is bliss.

The Tower of Love,

invites us all,

to purify our hearts,

to let go of our minds,

and to nourish our souls.

The Tower of Love,

brings the Sound,

the Sound of the good vibes,

the good vibes emanating from,

‘Hare, Krishna, and Rama.’

Hare, Krishna, and Rama,

they bring us the Love of life,

the Love of existence,

the Love of Nature,

and the Love of All.

In the Tower of Love,

the Good Vibes,

make us dance,

make us scream,

make us shout,

the Good Vibes,

oh they,

heal our hearts.

They give us strength

they help us forgive,

they make us trust,

they make us love,

they make us live.

The Good vibes,

in the Tower of Love,

brings us closer to Ourselves,

brings us closer to Home.

In the Tower of Love,

Mind, Heart, and Spirit,

dance their Cosmic Tango.

Oh, Tower of Love,

You are Heaven on Earth!

Oh, Tower of Love,

You are Our only Hope!