AUM
‘Aum’ is Brahma of one seed-letter
‘Beeja-akshara’ is thus of divine form
Chanting produces divinity in flutter
The divine manifesting by charm:
Aum is the origin of Vedas four
Beginning and end of literary lore:
To amplify secret knowledge it has power
Meditators go into it as if to supreme tower:
From it the visible world did emerge
Into it created it will converge:
Dhyana on Aum purifies mind,
For salvation seekers, it is a find
Aum is Brahma, for Vidya
We two are Guru and Shishya,
Let Pranava protect us
Pilgrims we are on path of progress,
Together hopefully we get energy vital,
Let learning bathe us light pivotal,
There shall be no count differential,
Salutation to Peace Eternal.
Prayers to Vighneswara
Vighneswara!
My motivating source you are –
Muladhara.
Light of your million suns
Charging my nib,
I do my nibbling ones!
Ganapathi!
Dispeller you are
Of doubt and durmathi.
Your tooth and sting
Sensitize my coil spring!
Kundalini
Moves your trunk
And my writing mutiny!
Serpent power
Seizes to rise
In my poetic tower!
Indeed!
The seed you are in Aum
And my creed of breed
Let me wish
Inflow of thought incessant
In me to flourish!
Salutations to Sadguru
Salutations to Sadguru!
Master of masters on Meru,
The receptacle of reality,
And symbol of immortality!
His bliss has no parallel,
And peace is but natural!
In every atma he glows,
And on all, his grace flows!
Dispeller of disease grave,
Preceptor unique and brave!
For this, I crave his indulgence,
The wave of poetic intransigence!
Neela Saraswathi & Others
Hail! Neela Saraswathi!
My ink you are and sympathy,
Devaraja! King of Gods!
I’m in your deft and royal hands.
Milk of Knowledge,
Apeeta Kuchamba, the bosoms beckon
But inexhaustible to reckon!
Accept my pledge
Arunachaleswara, ruler of Universe!
Fire my verse.
There’ll be no smudge,
Abhayeswara, Fountain of Fearlessness!
Sire my inky fineness!
Remove the hedge!
Wealth of material, Perfection’s acme,
Oh! Kubera Lakshmi!
Garuda
Hail, Pakshiraja!
Protector of pen-friends,
Wielder of my clip!
Oh! Garuda-ja!
Born of your beak
Your grace holds the grip.
King of birds!
Let me be sharpness
Of your beak golden,
Bereft of swords
Winged warrior, winner
Of wars! I’m beholden.
Vishnu’s carrier!
I pray to the Heavens
Sail me, Suvarna Paksha
You’ve no barrier,
Wanderings free you muster
To world of moksha.
Do predicate
My clip to point
Your spirit to sprint
To lokas I dedicate
My ‘beak’ of Bhu to point
Sathya, beauteous ascent
Oh! Garuda-dhwaja!
On to my clip
Your flag is fastened
My flying Theja,
Give vent to expression
Till it is hastened!
Bestower of boon!
Bondage, cries the clip.
But to you I cling.
Deliver me soon.
Imagery! Take a dip
Poetic, for me to sing.
Flier fantastic,
Not like pillar to post,
Bust fast you cover
Writer artistic,
The world around hoist
These lines for the lover.
What’s in a name?
My clip heaves your force
But not your fame!
What care I if it’s coarse
And the supporting leg lame?
Enough for me is your grace.
Arunachaleswara
Arunachaleswara,
Presiding Iswara!
Your celestial flame
Is of fiery frame.
Arunachaleswara,
Unique is your aurora!
Of solar, lunar rays
In Agni’s weird ways
Arunachaleswara,
Creator you are, Hara!
Of Hari and Brahma
Their delusion and drama!
Arunachaleswara,
Salutations Sarveswara!
Universe of your will
Is hidden in your hill.
Arunachaleswara,
Burner of sins plethora!
Purifier sui generis
Pray, be generous!
Arunachaleswara,
Hail, Hridayeswara!
Liver of hearty lotus
Lover of purity, bless us.
Iswara of Iswaras!
Not a blade of grass
Lives bereft of your will
Moves not, like the hill.
Arunachaleswara,
You are Shonachaleswara!
Pradakshina-priya your name!
Saviour of all, all the same.
Arunachaleswara
Wielder of moral era!
Vice of the wicked stings
Virtue of the wise rings!
Arunachaleswara
My Matru-bhuteswara!
Of doubt dispeller
And sins expeller.
Arunachaleswara!
From Samsara-sagara
You are boon bestower
And bondage liberator.
Arunachaleswara
You are Parameswara!
Remembrance, Skanda says
Is sufficient for your grace!
Arunachaleswara
Cause of Vighneswara!
Apeeta Kucha, your consort
To a play did you resort?
Arunachaleswara,
As hilly fauna, flora,
Your origin a fiery pillar,
Defied knowing you fuller.
Brahma-Chaitanya
At the centre of lotus of heart
As unmanifest and unseen sort,
Only to Hari, Hara and Brahma known
And by the yogi in deep contemplation,
That can destroy the fear of death
And apprehension of re-birth,
That stays as Sat-Chit form
And as seed of all creative storm,
Of every conceivable world
And the inconceivable unified field
As energy pure and primordial
Is Brahma-Chaitanya quintessential!
Among elements on the breakage,
Brahma-Chaitanya is the bondage;
Universal creation it sustains,
Individual longevity it maintains;
Elemental harmony it keeps,
For Mahan Seshadri it is tops;
Fear of conflict it vanishes;
Scourge of war it banishes!
Meditate on the prenatal vitality,
Shuddha-Chaitanya, the supreme reality!
Sapta Rishis
Kashyapa, the King
Among seven rishis,
The one all-pervading,
Cleanses life vicious!
Atri, maker of Datta mould,
Is of trinity fame,
Dispeller of cometary cloud
Over earthly frame!
Bharadwaja is the symbol
Of peace to the fore,
Protectors of the pull
Of Vedic lore!
Viswamitra, the custodian
Of Gayathri mantra,
Proved, as conqueror doyen,
Thapas is the top tantra!
Gautama, personification
Of rare purity,
Has shown high concern
For health of humanity!
Jamadagni, a fire-brand
Of blemishless mind,
Set an example grand
Though difficult to grind!
Vasishta, the paragon
Of peaceful bastion,
Champion uncommon
Of Kriya siddhi doctrine!
Saviours of mankind
Are the rishis seven?
To write on their legend
Is futile for the pen!
Shuka Nadi
This is the silver jubilee year
Of an experience I did not hear
But saw with an eye-fill
In a place known as “Blind-hill”!
‘Kurudumale’ is the shrine name
But ‘Kutadri’ of Puranic fame,
A meeting place of Gods great
Dedicated to Vinayaka of elephantine height
Worshipped by Krishna inimitable
And Shanmukha, the warrior invincible
Besides a blooming billion
For untold benefit and boon!
The presiding deity, known to reign,
Is a spiritually illimitable sovereign,
Saviour of mankind
And the divine and angelic kind,
Bestower of bliss
And permanent peace.
It was on a tranquil base
When the Moon was on the fourth phase
The Sun was on the Western horizon
And the five elements seemed to beckon
The whole world for worship
Of Vinayaka, His Lordship,
In perfect harmony,
Sruti, sound and symphony
That my senior friend and preceptor
Opened the palm-leaf literature
Authored by Shuka, the ageless sage,
Shuka Nadi – the veritable work of ancient age
Of Vedic and Vedantic visages
And a phantasmagoria of images.
The writing wasn’t with pen proverbial
But materialized by the Rishi’s will!
A blank leaf I lifted
For my venerable senior to read!
But Shuka’s pen invisible filled the page
In a minute to see the miracle of sage!
The leaf was put back after perusal
But I picked up one with inscription full.
I held the leaf with the inscribed ink
And soon it was blank
To permit old writing yielding place to new
My surprise adding to the mystic view!
I bow with my pen and flowers pinkl
To Vinayaka’s pendular trunk
And Shuka’s invisible pen and peculiar ink!
My blood is blue!
My blood is blue
But not the body
As a rare baby’s is true!
Shade makes me steady
And shapes my writing too.
The flood of thought
But not of body
Sharpens the biting bit!
The fluid heady
Flows fighting fit
And stirs the soul’s wit.
Body is banal
Soul immortal.
Undying soul is one
Immortal body none.
If you know that
You are “That”
Panther pink
Pervades my pal!
Disaster brink
Is to body Foul,
Indelible ink
Is like the soul!
Who is a Guru?
Who a Guru is, Shankara defines
Scarce qualities he combines!
On a foundation of discipline,
Learning and Scholarship are fine,
Finer the mastery of secret doctrine
But disciples welfare, the finest concern!
The whole brunt Adi Shankara bore!
Elevating four of shishyas to fore,
In Vedic text and Vedantic lore,
With thapas, austerity as core,
Talent and resources outstanding,
Radiating grace and peace to pour!
Secret of Sesha Brahman
Oh, Gods! Let our ears pair
Be for things good to hear,
And our eyes
Be to behold likewise!
Lets gather strength
Health and wealth
To spend our life
Sans strife
In divine contemplation,
Sublime thought and action;
True to word!
May Indra, the Knowledgeable one
And the all-knowing Sun,
Garuda, destroyer of misfortune
And Brihaspati, the wise fountain,
Bless us with powers of brain!
What’s the secret divine?
Vidya the best
Called Brahma Vidya in fine?
What’s the aspirant’s quest?
When set at rest,
Means vanishing point of sin,
Taking them to threshold
Of Brahman supreme, to win?
Pursuits enduring
Patience endearing
Detachment sine qua non
Desire for salvation –
Make up path of one,
The four-fold way to Brahman!
Brahma Vidya
Demands devotion;
Dedicated pursuit
Commands meditation.
Sanyasa sustains some
On sadhana to immortal home;
Karma, procreation and pelf
Never lead to knowledge of self!
The enlightened mind
Should in seat of Brahman bind,
Detachment purifying frame
Physical vibrating metaphysical name,
And knowledge by Vedantic means
Confirmed by Brahmic experience!
The blessed one then is Living Divinity
Amidst many a human entity!
When blissful body withers away,
As Sesha Brahman, blessed will stay!
Verily this is the path to Brahma-pada,
Surely the secret one in Atharva Veda!
Purusha
Fulfiller or aspiration
Purusha seems punier then my pen!
But of power profound and personification,
At the centre of the heart human,
He is the one!
Like the jyothi smokeless,
He shines, second to none,
As universal witness!
Purusha he is,
Purity par excellence
Rishis know this
So does the atma of Muni’s eminence!
Purusha pervades all
Ruler of the hoary past,
Heavenly future
And the present, pen and pal!
The Crown of Gods!
My cap is my crown
My articulation powers
It covers
Till faculties frown!
Hail, Hiranyagarbha!
Holder of all
Pen and pal
Hibernating in Gajagarbha!
Gem of head, jewels, it holds
Chance of creativity beholds
My cap flips
Idea but slips!
Force of fair expression
Seeks to fly,
Cap-barrier is but the bastion
On the sly!
Closed is the expressive gatee
Dharma desires
Karma denies
Cruel soul-less fate!
My Crusade
The class struggle,
War of survival,
Throws harmony into a jungle,
Heralding arrival
Of aspiration
Yielding place to exasperation,
Perspiration
And prompt denial!
I’ve an advantage
Over others ten
Armed with patent vintage
Point of my pen
The sharpened word
More piercing
Than the proverbial sword
The high class
Its citadel of despair
The top brass
Camouflage does it wear?
Financial purge
In name of national urge
“We lose all we own”,
The protagonists bemoan.
The ‘low’ class
Has its staring profile
And the confusion morass
Wild dreams tending to defile
The cold winter of despair
Its stinging poverty
Is bone-chilling affair
Of impecuniosity.
Whither ‘middle’ class?
Has it a place
Is it visible through opaque glass?
In the poverty race,
The middle class is fathoms deep
It’s time for archaeologist,
From oblivion to excavate and hoist
A dirty epitaph on a heap
Of desolation
When reborn
One foot regales in the tomb
Another ruminates in the womb!
The cure for class war
On divine care depends
Social equality karma amends,
Dharma Universal is bar
To stigma and the sticky far.
They say I’m mightier than sword
Then on with my crusade with every word!
Money
Indescribable is thy soul-stirring quality
A wonder of Creation, Master Money!
Key to revival of dead fraternity
Embodied in thy magical name, sweeter than honey!
Unfortunate is one bereft of bulging purse,
An unworthy member of human society?
Thy name can save from an evil curse
One and all from afflictions till eternity!
Thou art the mate of the oldest profession
The King-maker and the queen of treasures!
From trinkets to mind’s rousing mansion
Thy fame begets one’s endless pleasures!
Thou can impart beauty to a beastly brand
Match-maker thou art from time immemorial!
Thy bewitching name can buy things really grand
And invest the possessor with powers dictatorial!
Thou art the vanishing point of caste and creed
The mantle to shield shameful wrongs indeed!
My pen cracks under the crushing weight of karma
Gurudeva! Will you revive it and the height of dharma?
Twelve-faceted Gem
Banish your thirst for money,
Ignorant one!
Invoke intelligence, mental
Attachment to none;
Indulge in proper pursuits,
For pelf known,
Satiate your mind with
Self-acquisition!
Know that wealth will ever
Spell misfortune
No modicum of happiness there is
From it in fine
The affluent aren’t above reaction
By children own
Universal is the order,
This phenomenon!
Who is your son and
Who your wife?
Strange and amazing is the
Run of life
Who you are or who he is – is
One of strife
Brother, better bestow thought
To this question rife!
Youthful pride, weal and wealth,
Shall pay no price
Treachery of time terminates them
In a trice
Transcend barriers illusory
Of this Universe
Install yourself in the Brahman,
And arise!
Desire, anger, niggardliness and
Attachment, you shun;
“Who am I?” Shall your question
Be and introspection
Shorn of the spirit of en enquiry
About Atman,
The ignorant born have Hellish
Trial and tribulation.
Living beneath a tree, in the
precincts of temple
Sleeping on floor, sitting on skin,
To make living simple
Forsaking pleasures all and
Gifts to grapple!
Who will not be happy from
Detachment as example?
In you and me dwells Vishnu,
One and Universal,
Beyond bounds of patience your ire
On me is habitual
Perceive the Atman who manifests
In all is real
And purge your mind of all
Destinations Unreal
Friend or foe, son or relative,
Develop attachment not
Stay neutral to war and peace.
Take no part,
May equal be your outlook,
And fraternal great
Veritable Vishnu, the protector,
You’ll soon be by that!
Pranayama and pratyahara, yogic
Exercises pivotal
Practice them and nitya-anitya
Values vital
As also mantra japa and the
Matrix of upadhi
Sufficient stress there shall be
On citadel of Samadhi!
Like droplets seen unstable
On lotus leaf
Life also has its ever
Elusive half
Egoism and disease eclipse the
Overbearing self
Only to be overpowered by
Deathly grief!
Vacillating one! Your mind runs in
Directions eighteen!
Is there no one to show the
Distance between
Creation and destruction besides those
That intervene
And guide, by holding your hands
Firm and fine?
Place your devotion on lotus feet
Of guru and sage
Liberate yourself soon from
All earthly bondage
With sensory perceptions shall your mind
Retreat to vintage
And witness the lord of the heart –
Iswara’s visage!
The twelve-faceted gem is the
Guru’s initiation,
For shishyas to grasp the
Sermons in stone;
If bereft of commonsense, their
Tutorial tune
Will face the music indeed of
Many a misfortune!
Roam about like a Rhino!
Air can’t be trapped in net,
Lotus leaf isn’t in water wet,
Immune to comments you get,
And roam about like a Rhinoceros!
Unshaken by sound wild or oblivion,
The jungle king’s is call clarion,
Leap into arena divine like the lion,
Or roam about like a Rhinoceros!
On the path to salvation,
Untrammelled by obstruction,
And undeterred by obstacle,
As a solitary vehicle
Sporting a skin thick, oblivious,
Roam about like a Rhinoceros!
Like the Rhino horn stuff
Rib and nib are born tough!
Soul of Living
Was it a descent?
From the Garden of Eden
Or the very ascent
Of flowery run
From the Sogetsu school?
Feast to the full,
Unexcelled towers
Of arranged flowers!
Birds of paradise
Lotus-lilies arise
Marigold mercies
Monumental memories
Mother and child
In plants wild
Stills of life
Relief in rife
Make the mixing
Soul of living!
Guru Brahma
Keep awake, spirits kindred!
Do not relax but be vigilant;
Away from illusion dreaded,
Retreat from sensory enjoyment.
Search for the Guru lest you miss
Truth lying in Brahmic bliss!
The Sadguru has Shakti sui generis
Take refuge in his teaching
Before ruinous time brings crisis
Stake your means to reaching
The rich knowledge of his oasis
Never for a moment forgetting
To profit by his vast experience!
The spider winds its web
First by spinning the thread;
Plants come out of a blob
Most mystic from the seed;
Hairs grow from the bulb
On the skin from tiny tub;
So did Brahman with galactic web,
Cause all creative deed!
Body enveloped the Atman
Your innate divinity,
Universe and beyond the Brahman
Creator’s infinite reality!
Unless the enveloped is seen
There isn’t hope for humanity!
Dying for you!
People chase the Will-o ‘-the wisp
The mirage and the elusive grip;
Make mountainous turns
For meaningless returns
They know not the gaping gap
Betwixt the jot and lot
The trivial pleasures
And tremendous sorrows
Between mustard seeds
And the ocean of weeds
Momentary joys
And monumental decoys!
Victims of greed there have been
Myriads of men and women
Their tribulations beyond powers of pen!
Some driven to extremities of suicide
Only to enter the escapists’ den!
Some have died
For unfulfilled desires
Many have defied
Their masters and sires!
There are those who have died
For wine and women
For land or gold,
But how many in your fold
O Lord, have you seen dying for you?
Still Mind
To Ramana Maharshi, a swami went,
And met the master divine;
To his expression, he gave vent,
On seeing him in spirits fine
He was in week frame but face glowed!
How could he forget the body?
And experience Advaita, he asked,
Merging his self with the Universal?
The master advised, “Be still!”
A venerable swami from Skandagiri
Met a sanyasini on a giri.
The devout one asked him, face beaming,
All about his master’s teaching.
He took an hour to recount
Rich knowledge he had from the mount,
From the Vedic world to tantric lore
What he could have had and more!
He sought to know her learning out of run of mill.
She said all she got was “Stay still”.
Mahan Seshadri explained once,
Movement is characteristic of force
Trees, leaves and fruits ripe
Waters in a river run deep
Clouds above us move upon
Time inexorable marches on
Everything moves except jnani’s will
For, his passion is the Atman
And so his mind stays still!
On Failure
Deva!
If you do not redeem me
From shackles of domestic chain,
It isn’t any sort of acme
I’ll! Feel my sadhana is in vain,
As there’s none to protect me!
Sorrow and repentance aren’t new,
Imagine one surrendered to you:
If I fail in my divine race
The infamy will be on you!
For not shedding your rays
On me!
Symphony of Peace
Detracting from charms is a tongue foul
Indecorous it is to pierce the soul!
Hamlet of Shakespeare mused:
“I speak daggers to her, but use none!”
Can staggering ones be used?
Venturing an answer isn’t an easy one.
Gems get into words
In delicate hands of bards
Harsh ones hurled at by die-hards,
Cowherd and shepherd boys
Rob one of hard-earned joys!
How I wish to hear about peacock feathers!
Speech like a pleasing necklace of pearls
Recollection like the rich light of rubies
Talk excelling prismatic purity of crystals,
Growing in memory like emerald green
Expression engendering crescendo of delight
Tantalizing one akin to myriads to topaz light
Its power precisely like a shapely diamond,
Crowned with clarity of coral colour
Spreading the radiance of the blue sapphire
Across the world to build harmony
And sing the symphony of peace!
On Success
Righteous conduct is road to success,
For conquest of world are eleven others!
Truth is one and manifests reality,
Scriptures lay stress on this quality!
The third one is conquest of senses,
Step real towards spiritual progress!
All defects will thapas interne rout,
As Viswamitra proved beyond doubt!
Taking delight in other’s prosperity,
Only to exalted, surfaces such quality!
Modesty is part integral of life,
And Bashfulness is Dharma’s wife!
Prime quality is one of patience,
Else, energy divine vanishes hence!
Looking askance at others is mean,
Asking for trouble from the Dean!
Yajna is called Vedic sacrifice,
Prajna tells is elevating force!
Gifts given will return ten-fold,
Paces of success quicken manifold!
Courage essential to conquer karma,
Age of endurance ennobles dharma!
Salient feature is study of scriptures,
Recipe for success, bliss of raptures!
Epilogue
Rarities twelve occur by divine rate,
Even a few make one fortunate!
A great one sports qualities best,
Passing the test conquers the rest!
Conquest of Senses
Progress at peril by one that affects:
Amongst plethora are eighteen defects!
Swadharma give pride of place,
Give up righteousness and lose race!
Can someone’s success seek acceptance?
Jealousy, thy name is intolerance!
Desire is but a defective trait,
Snare of propensity is to covet!
Greed proverbial strays one’s path,
Avaricious one perishes like moth,
Anger tilts the balance of mind,
Ire burns the spiritual kind.
Sorrow spurned by scriptures,
Right attitude lies in raptures!
Pleasures material measure longevity,
Bliss alone brings Life’s surety.
Beware of limitless thirst and hunger,
Self-control is Hope’s harbinger!
Show of accusing finger or abusive voice,
Invites only divine anger and curse!
Pride blocks the human vision,
Fails fulfilment of life mission.
Prejudices cut the root of progress
Injudicious frame is but pernicious!
Distinct harm is offence to dharma,
Sadistic instinct child of karma!
Hatred houses sin against humanity,
Love to all is trait of divinity.
Quarrel not over tremendous trifles,
Growth of personality it stifles!
Brood not over unlucky phases,
Worry creates carrier of diseases.
Talk useless detracts from charms,
Gossips baulk one of good norms!
Disgusting demeanor is real destroyer
Divesting of dirt is the saviour.
Self-praise feeds the egoistic rod,
Let the deeds be assessed by God!
Ridding of defects cleanse lenses,
Conquering them conquers the senses.
Enemies Six, Man’s Fix!
1.Kama
Bless me Light of Lights!
The enemy of desire
As in-dweller it fights
Save me, Lord of Fire!
From my foe,
To thee I bow.
- Krodha
Protect me, Paragon of peace!
My frame is full of ire
As in-dweller, Iam ill at ease
Away from me, take the fire!
Burn my foe,
Innate inferno!
- Lobha
Lord, broaden my vision!
Fie on the miser in me
Against charitable disposition
Banish from anatomy
Qualities unkind
Inimical to mankind.
- Moha
Hence! Ugly attachment!
Of the Hell in me born
To covet unworthy enchantment
In spell of illusion forlorn,
Centered in self
On pitiless pelf!
- Mada
Steeped in pride incorrigible,
My inner frame a repository,
For its thirst insatiable,
My enemy legendary!
Cleanse my ‘red’
Condense my head!
- Matsara
Animosity, thy name is man!
Antar-atma, why this prejudice?
Inner devil scriptures ban!
Perfection grace and practice
Divinity acclaims
Guru proclaims.
Light of Mountain
Mercy as fountain
Let my birth obtain
Liberate me, everyone
From enemies six
The unedifying fix
On Friendship
Wish to shoot a friendly arrow,
And share your friend’s sorrow?
Feel happy at his rise you hear,
Proving concern for human care?
Rejoice in his moments of joy,
Get him things he would buy?
Sacrifice all as if for a ward,
And not expect any reward?
After extending help he deserved
Remain oblivious and disinterested?
Traditional conception of friend true,
Lies in sacrificing self too!
Lord Almighty is friend supreme
Never fails one who holds Him!
Knowledge and articulation
Hence, harrowing experience!
Of Hellish fib
And scratching nib
Groping in dark for commonsense!
Hail, all-knowing Hayagreeva!
Horse-head you wear
Banish my nightmare
Explode in me like supernova!
‘Nothing equals knowledge’
Vedas verily proclaim
Knowers avidly acclaim
My nervous nib on ribbon ridge!
Om is the Pranava song
Sound symbolic of origin
Pen-point of Brahman
The creative dot of Big Bang!
It is ‘That Purusha’
The vehicle of vision
Point of expression
Purusha pervades pourusha!
Bondage & Liberation
My triumph in sketching
Is art of my writing
Karma imprisons inking
Dharma liberates thinking?
Bondage and liberation
From no condition rise!
Keep your mind clean
There all the liberation lies.
Mind is root of appendage,
Life cycle and death is truth
Forgetting it begets bondage!
Realizing it salvation path.
Craving for prestige and pride
Cause of cycles and possession
Pride of place to prestigious tide
Of moksha, ensures march on and on!
In pretension lies bondage
Mere resolution to pursue knowledge!
If knowledge stands on vigilance,
You gain by dispelling ignorance.
Karma and dharma, facets of factor,
Controlled by Yama, the Ruler;
Dharma Guru acts as liberator
By emptying karma in accumulator!
Endless desire and delusions
Explain agony of attachment!
Chain of alluring passions
Cut by symphony of enlightenment.
Earthly iniquity blinds
Realities, to cause illusion.
Faith in Guru great finds
Path of ecstasy and liberation.
Discipline and Destination
His science rides the horse of wind,
Discipline rules Universe of mind,
Spiritual destination he will find!
He champions his waves mental,
Sensory organs run into control,
He will reach Brahman vital!
He releases intelligence step-wise,
Every step a spiritual rise,
He will traverse Vishnu’s place!
He sports awareness constant,
With mind and purity effervescent,
Will attain Reality transcendent!
Myth and Reality
For a man, woman is the illusion,
Dream of man, likewise, is delusion
For the down-to-earth, it looks real!
Path transcending may seem unreal.
It isn’t one of natural manifestation,
Verily it is the mind of pollution
Momentary wave in the Heart’s ocean
Brilliant bubbles aren’t gems of intuition.
Why then the wealth of a dying kind?
The wound from a vacillating mind?
Apparent breeze but a fiery wind?
Seeming moonlight but scorching find?
If the Lord wills, the cups fill
If the guru grants, set the quill!
Saviour of all is Arunachala hill;
Blessed by the Great, mind stays still!
Blaze of Bindu
Prana devata, prime mover!
I’m in dying danger;
As Asuneeti force vital,
Re-enter my sinking refill
Ere innate energy’s fall!
May my soul stay in word,
Mightier than the sword!
Migration, crescendo of karma,
Mystically stares at dharma,
Only Brahma knows the marma!
Re-entry failing writing boost,
Transmigration rules roost,
Neela Saraswathi, energies my ink
Ere blank one begins to blink!
Neelamani, Cosmic Blue-gem
Worldly wisdom and diadem
Breathe life into tiny tint
To see light pervade my point
Like glory in ceremony to anoint!
Hail, Bindu in blaze!
Poet’s and prophet’s craze;
Phase materialistic by-gone
Chase of spiritualist to dawn.
In latter’s hand, let me be pawn.
Descent of Divinity
On Shivaganga rock monolithic
Amidst jubilation and great expectation,
Ganga springs on the peak mystic
For Shiva to bathe in ostentation.
Where does water come from?
Do you know its timing is firm?
Over the Sabarimala hill and high
In the presence of massive humanity
Light Divine adorns the sky
For devotees to bathe in divinity.
It’s an annual occurrence
On a day reckoned for recurrence.
It is the solar month of Capricorn,
The first day of entry of sun
The descent of divinity for everyone
The spring of delight for all born!
Only if link divine follows
The ink in me flows!
The Chariot of Gods!
It was a holy day in the month of Karthika,
The Moon beckoned devoted humanity
To shed its rays as if from exalted Krittika
And drench devotees of Lord with divinity!
Lord Subramanya was installed with consorts,
On the glittering silver chariot devotees didn’t miss,
Men and women, young and old, of all sorts,
Had made lives sublime by darshan for bliss!
Know Atman is the God or Goddess
Mind is unchallengedly the chariot
Chequered wheels symbols of progress
And the processionists on divine fiat!
Temple Idol
O Atman!
Bereft of all impurities,
Being Brahman,
Transcending known qualities,
Thou art One,
Universal ruler,
Jyeshta-rajan!
Cosmic Creator
Spiritually illimitable sovereign!
O Atman Great!
Adorning my heart
Protecting its beat
And limbs as Mover Prime,
Thou art the idol
In the human temple frame,
And as Brahmic force
The sustainers of cosmos
Dispenser of ethos and pathos!
Songs on Stone
What matters if a monolith, bereft of beauty,
Rises to a colossal height?
What marvels can mass and detail inspire,
Divorced from divinity?
Nay! Only Gomateswara fuses, in harmony,
Splendours of peace and size
And stands unequalled among equals,
Inspiring reverence of the world;
Like Maruti facing Namakkal Narasimha
Transcending all barriers man-made
The ink in me descends in many a shade
To dance in ecstasy with songs on stone
That is the Brahman!
What cannot be known by speech?
But for its power it has to beseech,
Know that it is verily the Brahman!
What cannot be cultivated by mind?
But what cultivates it from behind,
Know that it is verily the Brahman!
What cannot be perceived by eyes?
But what makes them see in a trice,
Know that it is verily the Brahman!
What cannot be heard by the ear?
But what really makes it hear,
Know that it is verily the Brahman!
What cannot be known by smell?
But what the nose owes for its spell,
Know that it is verily the Brahman!
What cannot be known by touch?
But what transcends its power as such,
Know that it is verily the Brahman!
What cannot be written about by the pen?
But what really powers that one,
Know that it is verily the Brahman!
Sub-atomic Particles
Building blocks of nature
Particles are sub-atomic
Fifty they are in stature
Representing Shakti dynamic.
Prime centre is Muladhara
Particles four as Vighneswara!
Swadhishtana is six-petalled,
Particles in pairs get settled.
Manipura is a gem of petals
Ten in number are particles.
Anahata is lotus of heart
Twelve particles fuse in art
Vishuddi wheel is in neck region
Sixteen bedeck as particles legion
Ajna is chakra penultimate
Two particles to Reality Ultimate!
In the thousand-petalled lotus,
Particles as purest ray serene
Get the Brahman’s bonus
As divine sublimation in fine!
Gayathri
Open your eyes arise!
Behold the Gayathri profile!
She manifested in a trice,
Choosing to sit with a smile!
Prayer lasting a minute,
There she is, cool as ice
Like magic infinite,
To deliver us from bondage.
And all the appendage,
To bless us with bliss
And a Heavenly kiss.
Tricoloured frame
In six shades
Draped is the dame
Her five heads
Represent Pancha Brahmas
And the subtle dogmas!
She is Savithri who fuels
Our thought and spirit,
With myriad gems and jewels,
Ruling the world with her writ.
Her three-eyed lotus
Heralds no more life of foetus!
Amidst her bosom bower
Bejeweled diamonds twelve
And diadem of intuitive power
Necklace tending to delve
Into glorious splendour
Its threads converging to unity
Ike Atman and Brahman
Into unmistakable identity!
Saraswathi – she is the one,
Sruti of her ear ring
Tingles in thousand petals to sing
With mantra matrix and wing.
Pearl nose stud is her sport
Like nascent light of Chitta star
Sat-chit-ananda her fort
Doubt and delusion dispeller
Creator Brahma’s invincible power
The veritable shakti – Parashakti!
Symbol she is of mantle of mukti,
Humble my pen is in brand of bhakta!
The Motive Force
Parashakti!
You are the beautiful flow of bliss
The comic light one can’t miss!
Of Self-luminosity you’re the ray,
Worshipped in glory in every way!
Sign of truthful age and pure one,
Beginning or end you have none!
Player supreme in gamut of Creation,
Spiller however of spell of illusion!
All-pervader of animate and inanimate,
Bereft of distinctions and the palate
Bestower of beauty and name,
Of health, wealth and fame!
Parashakti!
You are the power behind the Universe,
And the motivator of this verse!
Champion of devotees’s adversity,
Of poverty and impecuniosity!
Conferrer of longevity and fortune,
Dispeller of doubt and misfortune!
Praised alike by priest and preceptor,
Worshipped though in heart of meditator!
You are virtually the son or spouse,
As everybody’s cause you espouse,
Giver of bhukti, mukti and bhakta,
Symbol of unity of Shiva and Shakti!
Saraswathi Saptakam
Vedantic doctrine focuses fame
On singularity and form same
She manifests likewise in name
May that Saraswathi protect me!
Vedas four sing praise’s rain
Second to none her divine sign
She is Brahma’s power in fine
May that Saraswathi protect me!
In letter and word, sense of belonging,
She personifies sentence and meaning;
Bereft she is of end or beginning
May that Saraswathi protect me!
The yogi toes the path of knowledge
With her grace breaks all bondage
On path salvation attains high stage
May that Saraswathi protect me!
Salutations do Devi, Brahmaani,
Sharada and Kashmirapuravasini,
My prayers ever to Vidya-dayini
May that Saraswathi bless me!
Beads she holds and trident spears
By book and noose she swears
Necklace of earls she wears
May that Saraswathi stay in my say!
Speech and shraddha she reigns
Dear to Brahma, wisdom she means,
Conferrer of qualities, peace and patience,
May that Saraswathi stay in my say!
Who am I?
I’m not intellect or mind,
Ego or airs,
Neither the nose nor tongue,
Eyes and ears
Nor the sky or matter
Fire and air,
I’m Shiva, Shiva I am,
In Sachidananda state!
I’m not the five-fold air,
Force of life,
Neither fluids seven, nor
Sheaths of strife,
Not the limbs of action
Nor organs rife,
I’m Shiva, Shiva I am,
In Sachidananda state!
I’ve no attachment or animosity
Or narrow tension,
Neither pride nor prejudice
Nor veil of illusion
Nor am I dharma itself,
Nor any aspiration,
I’m Shiva, Shiva I am,
In Sachidananda state!
I’m not sorrow or happiness,
Virtue or vice,
Neither mantra nor theertha
And the Vedic force,
Nor food, its subject or object
Nor its piece,
I’m Shiva, Shiva I am,
In Sachidananda state!
I’m no caste and creed, deathly
Fear to smother,
Neither birth nor death,
Father and mother,
Nor relative-friend and
Guru-shishya tether,
I’m Shiva, Shiva I am,
In Sachidananda state!
I’m beyond delusion,
Bereft of film,
Transcending sensory perception,
All-pervading I am,
I’m the Lord of the Universe,
Above time, space continuum,
I’m Shiva, Shiva I am,
In Sachidananda state!
I’m not the body and
Not the cap,
Neither the staying spring,
Nor the clip,
Neither the creative nib,
Nor inky dip,
I’m Shiva, Shiva I am,
In Sachidananda state!
Where do we go?
Million-dollar questions
Ever there will be.
Behold!
Invincible yaksha revels
Like the buzzing bee
Hurling knotty ones
And the upheavals!
“Answer me first”, he said
“And satiate my thirst
Else!
By fate you’ll fade
By drinking deathly water!
Tell me what is made
Most amazing by Creator?”
Did Yudhishtira break his spine
Or ruminate over Karma?
Nay!
Yaksha had drawn the line,
For repository of dharma;
Do or Die ‘twas in fine
On the home of dilemma!
Searching and sizzling
The poser and answer?
Yes! His answer:
“What’s more amazing
Than blindness of eye,
When Death keeps staring –
To say “Till eternity live!”
“After a death-ride joyous
Where do we go?”
Hell!
As Chitragupta unfolds
The catalogue of sins,
And Yama beholds
Our consignment to pins!
There’s a silver lining
An abode of wish
Heaven!
On unfoldment revealing
Tales bereft of blemish
A Life of sweet singing
Metal pure and its fetish!
There is a golden facet
Is the packet for all?
Mahan!
Redeem our imprisoned ray!
Arunachala is great
Keep the hand of Death at bay
Till the ray reaches Lord’s feet!
Women on High Pedestal
The Vedas vehemently declare
Equality to all women
Pride of place and position rare
Virtually excelling all men!
Vedic source is women’s right
Like the purusha, her spouse;
She had the Brahmavadin’s might
And was never a material mouse!
The parallels of rishi patni,
Yagnavalkya’s name and fame;
Spouses Maitreyi and Katyayini
Were not second to the sage!
On the eve of departure,
From Grihastashrama, family life
He gave his wealth away for
Living in seclusion bereft of wife!
“Maitreyi! Away I live henceforth
I’ll rescind the bondage with both”.
“Bhagavani! With wealth of all humanity
Would I attain immortality?”
“Like one of instruments, your life will contain
But there is no desire through them to attain”
“Will wealth liberates one? Oh, No!
Bhagavani Pray, tell me, what you know!”
“Maitreyi! Dear to me you were in past,
You are now spelling all that is present.
I’ll give lessons for your benefit;
When I do so, concentrate over it”
His lesson on Brahmic lore was deft
Vedantic essence excelled wealth left
Non-duality he taught, knowledge of Atman,
Maitreyi’s frame attained the Brahman.
Transferred Epithet
Divine Mother! Salutations to you!
Empress unique and the world too!
Your devotees say they’ll build on the way
A temple for you to stay!
Jewels to adorn you with glitter
Brocades to wear and make them titter!
Scents and aromatics to smell
Fragrance to break barriers of wall!
Sweets and flowers to make you flutter
Offerings many with ghee and butter
Honey, curds, dishes and milk
And a delicious lot in bulk!
A panoramic place to build your abode
Vying with one another to smother the code!
A gopuram to crown you with glory
And a chariot to complete the story!
Don’t these make onlookers cough?
But I know you have the last laugh!
Who owns the land but you?
Who gives them jewels to woo?
Whose is the fabric of illusion, Mayeswari?
Can they give eatables to Annapurneswari?
Strange it seems they want to give too
All that belongs only to you!
Mother Divine! Transferred are the epithets!
Have mercy on loyal ones, their leaflets!
They know not what they say in verse
They know not who created the Universe!
Legends lay down you come up in forms diverse!
Divine Mother! Who knows your fame?
Self-Manifestation is your name!
Paramatman
Like an inverted lotus lies the heart
Sushumna passes through the part
Flames invincible fire the centre
To all directions tending to enter;
Fiery frame is digestive medium
And the distribution fulcrum
Like wave of electrical energy
As subtle as the husk of grain
Glows a celestial tongue of golden hue;
Installed in its heart is the Paramatman!
He is Vishnu, Shiva and the Brahman,
Indra, Akshara and Transcendence
Mustering the insignia of independence!
The universe He pervades
All elements he invades!
He sustains worlds universal
The innate Atman He is in all
The in-dweller of the human heart
They key figure of the apple-cart!
Illusion
‘ Tis for body, world falls in haste,
A pot of stinking waste!
Seemingly a beautiful one
But concealing a ghostly skeleton!
After the bloody puss holds the sway
And the flowery flesh withers away
In Nature’s half acre,
It is a living sepulchre!
The world floats in space
Bottomless though its material face!
Its emptiness has nothing to spill
As victims can’t see the mystic hill!
Arunachaleswara, my Lord!
Only you can dispel the cloud
Of ignorance and disbelief
To bring solace and relief!
For one reposing in your faith incessant,
There’s no illusion en passant!
Sesha was wedded to “adri”
For forty years
To show a blissful world
Bereft of fears!
Sakshatkara
Vasihta and Vamadeva groomed a soul’s fate:
Viswamitra to triumph a Brahma-rishi great;
The trinity had something in common
They all had attained the Brahman!
Brahman-rishis are sustainers of Universe
Their life a symphony of living verse!
Whatever the field they traverse
The accursed is at once purified by transverse!
What was Vamadeva’s success among seers?
Adi Shankara has a message that cheers:
“The kind of Brahma-sakshatkara he had
Isn’t beyond man, rishi or God!”
Jeevan is Brahman before experience Brahmic
Though fails to see by ignorance karmic
Illusion clouds concept of corporeal appendage
Knowledge of identity cuts asunder bondage!
Was he He?
As I meditated in morning
silence scintillating,
Ruminating within me on the
mantra reverberating,
In darkness of fantasy
With feeling of ecstasy
A figure resplendent rose
in golden pink,
Making mockery of my poor
powers to think,
Image unfathomable
Effulgence indescribable
Saintly one of brilliant hue
and heavenly frame
In padmasana posture, hands locked
in yogic fame
Face serene but total
Peace full and pivotal
Was he a doctor of divinity
deliverer from bondage?
Or saviour of humanity
harbinger of New Age?
A messenger of hope?
With millions to rope?
That was the cluster of questions
Piercing the mental bastions!
The angelic vision vanished,
leaving impression indelible
In Memory’s photography
and thejas unforgettable
Experience though over
‘Tis of eternal hangover!
Was he He? Of kindness personified,
the ruler benign?
Was he He? Unique spiritual guide
the illimitable sovereign?
Without sitting on the hedge
You be the judge!
Sweet Salt
The story of world is of avaricious hold,
Man hankering after glitter of gold
Gratification of senses and strife
The delusions of human life
In pursuits mad of livelihood
At costly expense of common good
And only to spend time albeit
In swallowing fruits bitter and sweet!
Man the charioteer is a living corpse
As Vedas liken mind to restive horse!
Those fated to ride emptiness of life
Golden path but boyish disbelief rife
Impelled by Karma to eat the nut
Inability of some to get out of rut!
And this is the world and its strife
Bar the silver lining in every life!
Amidst nadirs of depression
Or peaks of ascension
We see the cloud of blockade
Clears by miracle as uncertainties recede.
Beyond the perception of sensory organ
There is the oft-repeated jargon
Of one Transcendental Reality
The order changing despite our entity!
Beyond the territories of sensory illusion,
Trials and tribulation, grandiose delusion,
About this world and the next game
Name, money and fame
The future of family tides
The sunny and the seamy sides,
Yonder lies the beacon or hope
To release ourselves from the tight,
Dissuade our man from the groping bent
And arrest his aimless movement!
Stop he shall at the sight of light
Tending to end the inward fight!
Neither the bright nor dark side he can see
But can watch another in serenity of sea!
Of personal glory and peace
Shorn of the sweet or bitter piece,
He seizes the lightening flash of life
Amidst vicissitudes of calm and strife!
The scene changes but soon
There’s an imposing one to spoon!
He settles eventually down
To peace even when others frown!
But rising again with a strong will
And see God and enjoy the cup of fill!
Bitter Sugar
Does bitter sugar’
On body vigour
Spiritual wealth
Critic of ill-health
Make a diabetic
Of dementia
Or Paranoia
Cause tension
Or delusion?
Journey’s end
Is but sweetened
But the path?
Bitter, in Nature’s wrath!
On body and mind
The wheels grind
We doubt if we find
The broken links
But blink we do
To break the hoodoo!
Milton mused:
“Zig-zag paths
And zuts of pointed rock!”
To make one mock
At the hard hedge
Like the razor’s edge
And to breathe air
Of onomatopoeic flare
Into sweet worlds
Of bitter worlds!
Blissful end and reins
Justify bitter means!
Path bitter,
End far far better!
Red and Green
On nothing a man ruminates
But a seed germinates
To a tree
In land free
As a banyan
Or a lemon!
Fruits ripen
Man beholden!
Eggs break into birds
Animals into herds!
Powers of man’s seat
And civilizations get effete!
The child grows into boyhood
And boys to manhood
Men, women start ageing
But their desires remain young!
There’s weathering effect on all
But sensory ones do not fall!
Even in the evening
They keep glowing
With a catalogue of desires in a row
Like the youthful colours of a rainbow!
Gaseous cloud
Becomes stars proud
But the time-piece on them said
They become giants red!
The cobra raises its hood
For anything except good!
Man remains green
And serpent power is seen!
Whither man’s profundity
Or women’s fecundity?
O Lord, let’s hear your say,
Or follow your way!
O Kundalini! Rise in sahasrara
With your resplendent aurora!
Unified Vision
Diversity there’s none in creation
Unity therein is the phenomenon!
The creator committed no blunder
Harmony perfect is its wonder!
Poetic rhyme marks the crest
Scientific rhythm rules the rest!
Time-honoured are space continuum,
Baffling distances ad infinitum!
Whole field of creation is unified
Whither its comprehension stupefied?
Blurred is our vision by karmic bondage
Grossness impairing the appendage!
Protection is beyond mind’s power
Its thinking of intellectual tower!
Brahman is maker of field unique
For Atman to unravel the technique!
The stars and seasons are legion
But relativity rules the region!
Planets are small in galaxies rife
But supporters big of beautiful life!
Massive bodies float in space
Lesser ones gravitate to their pace!
Elemental structure in field is the order
Brahma-chaitanya seed of divine border!
The nuclear field has a nexus
With Maker’s supreme power in excess!
Electro-magnetism is force to reckon
Brahman’s transcendence is there to beckon!
By strong and weak force scientists swear
But full many a force is yonder there!
Worlds invisible are far and beyond
Anti-universe, anti-particles abound!
Symmetry and symphony rule the tether
As Brahman holds them all together!
Creation cosmic was at his will itself
Scriptures say He manifested himself!
Religions all were created by Providence
For cultures of religious tolerance!
Religions do not change the soul
So do caste, creed or distinctions foul!
Life was there before birth
‘Tis very much alive after death!
Karmic strife sheds light on transmigration
Dharmic life ennobles reincarnation!
Between science and religion, see the synthesis,
Vision of unison is to know the genesis!
Brahman pervades the Unified Field
Distinctions between them none!
Identity opens the eye of the Jeevan
As world around can be seen within!
What isn’t in the body subtle
Exists nowhere outside its mettle!
Atman emerges as a force potential
To mark identity with Brahman’s level!
Powers of the duo are beyond measure
But non-duality is the secret treasure!
Unified cosmos is real manifestation
Its consciousness verily the Unified Vision!
Between myth and reality there’s a wedge
Unified Vision gives the profound edge!
‘Tis the Vision of peaceful insignia
For problems all, it is the panacea!
The mission of truth and tranquillity
The beaten track to immortality!
Alliteration
Rhythm and rhyme
Alliteration to attract attention,
To drive dialectical dimension
Into domain of divinity
Or to destroy the devil
The damned and the diabolical
Or deter foes from flagrant frauds,
Fuse fragrance to fields
And hoist heavenly holiness
Fraternity and friendliness,
The secret is the symphony of sound
The initial and the inimitable!
The recurrence of roaring rhyme
In poetry for pathfinders prime
In the army of aksharas
As in Big Bang
Stellar systems
Stars and seasons
Planets and paths
Gravity of galaxies
Relativity and rotations,
Penmanship is projection
Of primary point,
Creation cute,
Of architecture astounding!
Anatomy of alliteration
Admits of aspects anterior none
Attribute anon:
Aadi-madhyaanta-rahita!
As “a” is the alpha
Of alliteration
Origin of omega,
So is Parabrahman
In prayers of the Pen!
Onomatopoeia
The sound of onomatopoeic word
Is symbol of meaning of this world!
Figure of speech is suggestive one
Sans vibration, ventilative of none!
In murmur of voices many,
Words of war or of honey
In jarring sounds
Meaning abounds!
Body medium not withstanding
Idiom of soul is beyond understanding!
The soothing sound
Is fine all round;
The mellifluent air
Is literary fair.
Zig-zag walks and windings
Zoological phenomenon of wanderings
The humming note of Vedic hymns
Mean messages and mental synonyms!
The blissful Titan, Sabda-Brahman
Blesses the Samaritan, Satya-Atman!
Sound of body is but ethereal
Meaning of spirit is material!
It is the mark of Reality!
And pith of profundity!
Muse of Onomatopoeia!
Thy ruse is Utopia!
Oxymoron
Oxymoron is a bundle
of contradictions
Lighting the candle
of distinctions:
Many a pair opposite
And antithesis exquisite!
Like the sharp edge of swords
‘Tis a union of piercing words
Akin to the kind cruelty of users,
For faith unfaithful, of abusers!
Attitude of many
Menacingly peaceful
Like monotony
Of a regularly irregular handful
In gloriously poor Satsang
Inviting tragic melodies of Swan-song!
O Kala-agni Rudra
Lord of Silent Time!
Are you breathing
Opposite notes of chime
The oxymoron of poles apart
The antithetical doles to depart
Into the materially made?
Of spiritual facade,
To flourish and fade?
Hyperbole
He is a criminal
For offences penal
Acts banal,
For having brought blood
Of none but the good!
All the perfumes of Parimala
Or scents of Kollimala
Will not remove smell offensive,
Application though intensive,
Of the stinking hand,
Of the sinning brand!
If his spouse were alive
Filled she would have
Grand Canyon’s crevices abominable
With her tears interminable!
In Kali’s Yuga, many fall a prey
My million pen-friends can’t pray!
Simile
The soul is like the sun
And body like the moon
The light of day
And darkness of night
Show the fire-like ray
Aud its evening flight!
The portion of day
Can shed light
On anything vividly;
Darkness has its way,
The power of night
Exercising it avidly!
There are level-headed ones
Seeking brightness like hungry guns!
And some others but parallels none
As revellers in darkness as for fun!
Like an evening start over Sabarimala
Watch the luminosity of Hari-Hara’s son!
And over the hill divine in Arunachala,
Have visions clear of the night Sun!
Scriptural knowledge
Light of divine edge,
The exalted aspire!
The groping ones,
Bat-like species
Have no keen desire!
Simile awhile in solitude
Over figures of speech and simile
Beseech body and soul for comparison
For crimson ride and verisimilitude!
Metaphor
Simile is explicit
Metaphor implicit;
Speech that figures in the latter:
Comparisons converge into a matter!
Similes end reign
As metaphors begin!
Entities two in simile
Like Atman and Brahman
Converge into a “two-in-one”,
Heralding unity of concepts
Emerging from duality of aspects.
Simile is the double-headed dvaita
Metaphor the unified soul of advaita!
Atman is the fire of Jeevan
Galactic frie product of Brahman.
Message metaphor
Stays in meaning of figure!
In identification
Of Atman and Brahman,
In merger of Jeevan
With factor of Brahman!
‘Tis verily the device to dwell
On exalted pedestal!
Metaphor is the sanctuary
Of poetic excellence,
For attainment spiritual,
Progress cultural
And of Vedantic quintessence!
Synecdoche
Where are we?
What do we see?
Where is the world?
How is it hurled?
In the world we are,
And the world in Akshara!
From it is the alphabet
Of swaras and the rest!
That’s the Lord’s art
Putting whole into part
And the part for the whole
Secret in His synecdoche role!
His hand rocks the world
And rules the word!
Best brains can’t fathom power
Longest trains can’t reach His bower!
He has many mouths to feed
We are parts in His deed!
The parting role he plays
By withdrawing His rays!
How do we call Him by name?
He is well within our frame!
Akshara is Brahman
And so is the Atman!
Time-honoured is the thought
Though archaic;
Chiselled is the slot
But synecdochic!
Metonymy
Devil! Simhasaneswari!
Prayers to the throne, free us from worry!
From cradle to crematorium
You are the wholesome medium!
From re-birth to immortality
The force of one’s vitality!
Your devotees, Mother Divine!
Have won laurels in fine,
Drunk the immortal cup
Though each in your hands a pup!
Few play to the gallery
But you are the sole Ishwari!
O Shakti! The sense of transfer
Exists in Kalidasa and Kambar
Mastery they had over word,
Their pen mightier than sword,
For association of Metonymy,
My pen takes a plunge into anatomy!
Saraswathi! Your grace is its love!
For Metonymic figure it takes a vow
To salute Vak-devatas in a row
But not without an ode or bow!
I’m the field, you are the sower,
You have the wield, grace you shower!
Apostrophe
Apostrophe! Where’s your bed?
Experts in English have said
About direct address to the dead!
O Kindness! Where have you fled
To make way for cruelty in red?
O Liberty! The horse you ride
And its footprints give you no pride!
Around your circle white
Lays the domain beyond sight;
Is transcendence your right?
O Righteousness! Where’s your residence?
In the sanctuary of grave, forest dense?
Are you, in the sense of Kali, in past tense?
Whither your locational dearth?
Your Holiness! Whither your mystic death?
O Loneliness! Where’s the loveliness
Rishis have matched with holiness?
If apostrophe is a direct address
O Helplessness! What fails you to redress
The grievance, with readiness nonetheless?
O Jnanananda! You should be living
At this time streak
To behold Sat-Chit-Ananda Seshadri
On Arunachala peak!
He is the wound dresser,
Of grievance redresser!
Personification
Bereft of life are some objects
Intelligence enlivens ideas abstract!
Ideals prompt lively versification
And there comes the poem of Personification!
Death lays his strong hand on sinners
No doubt one day He embraces winners!
But righteousness rules his judgement
And justice delivers the punishment!
Just penalty is Lord’s weapon
He wields it but produces no pun!
Nor does Divinity derive fun
From the delinquent and use the gun!
Can Pride and Prejudice shape Creation?
Does Mediocrity claim equality with Bastion?
Creativity can seek to be son of Ambition
And Humility marks the Prayers of the Pen!
Leave a Reply