Poetry Wednesday - This, I believe

Along the steep climbs
And the deep falls
Within us something stirs
A knowing-we will be alright
A glimmer of hope
We hang on or rise from
That edge, that cave
To become More
More of what we could be
More than our illusory dreams
In the season of Ripening
Time stands in Applause
For our Resilience,
This, I believe.

Each, a speck
In infinite space
Twinkling at the other
From a Distance
In rare moments
We touch each other
Giving myself to you
Receiving you unto me
Completely transformed
Basking in a Glow
We stand Before the other
Time, silently bows
Seeing our Truth
This, I believe.

The Old one smiles
Ready to leave
Words suspended in silence
Love envelopes beloved
A faint knowing remains
In those left behind
We hold the old one
In our eyes, our soul
Now and forever
They speak through us
In our hopeless moments
Time, flows in timelessness
For our eternal spirit
This, I believe.

K P Rashmi - January 2009

Poetry Wednesday- Stroll through here

Who are you?

Memories are strange things. There are times when I cant tell if what I know is a memory of something that happened or if it is a dream from some other place. There are memories of places, people and times that I am sure I have not met in this life of mine.

If I were to pinpoint the exact time my heart felt you, I should go back a few lifetimes, hard as that is to believe. I feel your presence around me, even when my eyes don’t see you. I know your thoughts like I do my own thoughts. I feel your touch like I feel the passing breeze that caresses my face on a cool summer day. People say I am a Loner but I am never alone, never really alone.

There are days when you appear. I am not sure if it is my dreams or if it is your world. But I see you as clear as the Moon on a dark night. I see your impish yet wise face, dark hair and the glint of mischief in your eyes, that endearing smile on your lips that makes dimples on your cheeks. We have pleasant walks over beautiful meadows overlooking mountains, picking flowers or along the river bank feeling the wet soil or the sand or a trail in the woods with the sounds of songbirds. We frolic in the waters, pick fruits from laden trees, walk amongst the gentle animals or sometimes pet the Big Cats. Sometimes we share long conversations, or very comfortable silences with smiles that warm our insides, the kind that leaves joy and peace within my self as I come out of the fog. I always know I will see you again, that the coming of the fog only means that our time with each other was up for my day. I never remember the conversations except for the feeling of being happy. But the words you said come to me at certain times in my life, like a reminder. It feels like as if its something my elder has taught me, like as if I already knew, like its part of me but really not from me.

It makes me curious…who are you? Are you a visitor from my past or part of the present or will be part of my future? There are people who remind me of you, like you split yourself into those many others. You feel like a friend almost bordering someone I love but I also feel an unseen line that we are careful not to cross. Nothing is said but is understood. Would a day arrive where the world where you are and the world where I seemingly am, could blend into One? As I wait for an answer, I do wish for you to remain a part of me even if I don’t really know who you are. It doesn’t matter, for I have my names for you so that I may claim you for myself—my soul’s guard, my place of happiness, my place of understanding who I am.

Soul, Death and Incarnation

It is amazing the things that happen when we get into a discussion. We had our friend over for dinner today and as usual, we like to discuss things that are not usually discussed say at a Hugely Successful Party. So among the topics we talked off today were theories (yes, they are only theories, no one really has an answer) to the questions of Deja vu, death, reincarnation, soul and God.

After they left, I log online and catch the heading on ChrisV's blog- "what do you believe happens when you die?" Coincidence? Synchronicity? Universe listening in on our conversation? Although I have a few theories which might have a few holes in it (for now I am blind to it, will throw the theory out when I find a better explanation). I would stick with the most obvious answer, either "I would become part of Nature's recycle bin" or "I am not dead yet so I don't know". But for the heck of it let's go into my theory. Before I go further, I need to say this- While you read this, I want you all to remember that none of these views are my own or original. I am not an expert in any of the subjects that I might seem to touch in this blog. These are just my opinions and as you all know... Opinions are a dime a dozen.

These I believe, due to my conditioning. These I believe only because of the culture I was brought up in; because of the people I grew up with; because of religion I was first introduced to and have in my own way remained "faithful" to.

For all purposes of Labeling- I am a Hindu (I prefer- I am human). I do subscribe to the Hindu philosophy. I do believe in God, Karma, Soul and Reincarnation. I also believe in science (does that make me an Atheist?). I say "Believe" because science isn't Static; it changes as we learn more. Most things that the scientists say have to be believed by people like me because we don't have the time to get into verifying the veracity of their research. I have never had a conflict between science and religion, because to me they are two ways of explaining what we see in nature. One tries the definitive process while the other is an indefinite process. I do know from experience that there is a Force that we perceive in different ways. There's pressure, there's current, there's wind speeds, there's gravitation, friction, radio waves, electromagnetic waves, magnetic fields- these are things that we see the effects off but not the force themselves. No one says- "I can collect friction in this shoe box" but they do say "I feel friction". So there exists what we call Energy. Of this I am Sure.

I do believe that the energy that gives us the property of what we describe as "Alive" is labeled the soul. Since I see it as energy, and know that energy changes state, I believe in re-incarnation. For this change of state describes to me the process of re-incarnation. I do think that soul, God and energy can be used interchangeably to express the same concept in a different context. That doesn't mean that "I AM GOD". This is the best analogy I can give- though Ice is frozen water, we don't call ice, water. Though the Pot is made from clay, we do not call the pot, Clay.

So what do I believe happens when we die? I believe that when energy transforms into matter there is a sort of contract that is made depending on the form that it takes(very much like a chemical reaction, there is a definite result, depending on the properties of the chemicals involved but the chemicals are not aware of it or are they?). All activity/action takes place based on this contract; everything from how it interacts with its surroundings to what its understanding of itself is drawn in this contract. Once all the conditions of the contract are met, energy is released from the matter so that a new contract is made or not made depending on the Property of that droplet of energy. So when we die, depending on our soul's contract with our body and itself, we might take another form or not. We might become inert, like say a rock or earth or we might take a living form.

From what I understand of Science and the theory of Multiple dimensions/universes, the possibility of living in a different time/universe, is also a plausibility (Yes, I do love many options, I hate being stuck with just one or the other). To me, heaven and hell is a state of mind when the soul has a form, not a place to go to after you die. All the negativity falls in the hell state and the positivity in the heaven state.

This theory of mine has its basis in the Sankya Philosophy of Hinduism... Here is a little bit of background for it-

Sankya is derived from the Sanskrit word prefix "San" meaning" exact" and the root "kya" meaning "to know". Therefore, Sankya means "To know Exactly". Sankya can loosely be translated to mean "Calculation, Enumeration, Discrimination, Knowledge, Numbers or a Numerical Demonstration". It is a School of Theoretical Knowledge. It is an attempt at answering the question "What is real?" and "How does it all relate to each other?". It introduces the dualistic approach to understanding Reality. The Original theory of Sankya does not ascribe the evolution of life on earth to God or to an Absolute principle, but as a creative process passing through different phases of change and transformation. Hence it is atheistic. Although Sage Kapila is said to have founded the Sankya School of philosophy, Ishvarakrishna, who probably lived about the 3rd century AD, is considered to be the author of a collection of aphorisms called the "Sankya Karika". Rishi Kapila is also considered by some Hindus, as the Father of Psychology.

The Philosophy of Sankya regards the universe as consisting of two eternal realities - 1. Purusha and 2. Prakriti. It is very similar to the Yin and the Yang of the Chinese philosophical origins.

Purusha is described as a principle of sentience, conscious, inactive(akarta) and beyond all Qualities/adjectives. It is silent, unchanging, non-judging spectator, a witness. Purusha is the soul, the Knower, the witness. The Purusha is described as being like a witness to the Prakriti or a mirror in which the Prakriti is reflected.

Prakriti translates to "Nature of matter". Prakriti is active, dynamic, ever-changing, and not conscious. It is characterized by the three Gunas(attributes) - clarity/harmony/light (sattva), activity/action/movement (rajas), and darkness/inertia(tamas) . Prakriti is the unmanifest, primal resource, the sum total of the universal energy that manifests itself in various material forms. Prakriti cannot have life without the Purusha and the Purusha gains form through the prakriti.

When the three gunas - sattva, rajas and tamas - are in equilibrium, there is no world or the phenomenon of space and time. When the Purusha (soul/atman) comes into contact with Prakrti, the equilibrium of the three attributes is disturbed and the creative process (Shristi) begins, when Purusha, the individual soul enters and becomes established in Prakriti. Sankhya does not explain why and how the two come into contact or the reason why the atman, even after it is liberated, will not come into contact again.

Out of this process of unity of the unmanifested Purusha and the unmanifested Prakriti evolve 24 principles,

Mahat: the great principle (1)

Buddhi : the discriminating, reasoning and causative intelligence (2)

Ahamkara : the ego-principle of "I" . It refers to the sense of 'I' that separates one's own self from all others and creates an individual entity. It is not similar to the Western concept of Ego. (3)

Manas : the mind or consciousness (4)

Panchendiryas : the five sense organs-(9)

Karmendriyas : the five organs of action-verbalization, tactility, locomotion, excretion and procreation, (14)

Tanmantras : the five subtle elements or perception of the senses,(19)

Mahabhutas : the five gross elements (earth, water, air, fire and ether)(24)

These evolutes, along with Purusha make the 25 categories from which all matter, in the universe is derived from. Mahat is Prakriti or the primordial nature in its manifested/dynamic aspect. From the Mahat evolves buddhi and Manas. Buddhi is the principle of intelligence or the discriminating awareness. Manas is the mind stuff consisting of pure consciousness. From Buddhi evolve ahmkara or the feeling of individuality and separation and the five tanmantras of sound, touch, smell, form or color and taste.

Source : 1. Classical Indian Philosophy by J. N. Mohanty

2. Various websites on Hindu Darshana

That is what I believe. I haven't said anything that someone, somewhere, sometime hasn't said. Hope you enjoyed the information.

Have a lovely week...

Signing off to Ponderland

Mithuna.

P.S. For those interested in the Sankya Karika.