Creative Challenge #90 - Walk in the forest

Walk through the forest
Everytime you need to see
Where you're at in Life's Sea

Let your mind embrace
The landscape's breadth
Understand your expanse.

Let your thoughts trace
Your every breath
Know your Softness.

Let your feet move
Grounded with the earth
Understand your Strength.

Let the innocent dove
Give wings to your soul
Know  your wholeness.

Let your eyes behold
Beauty that never gets old
Know the beauty that lies in you.

Let your hands touch
Hearts that need to heal
Understand the power of your being.

Let your smile vouch
For all of Love's Seal
Know this Love is always within You.

As you walk in the Forest
Know that all it holds
Is what you hold in You.

Tour Creative Challenge #90 - Walk in the Forest

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

Entry for October 12, 2007 (360 repost)

Random Thought of the Day - All is as it should be. At any given moment, You are where You are supposed to be.

When it comes to religious beliefs, I can range anywhere from being an atheist to a fundamentalist. Although I associate myself with the label of Hindu, I would very much like to use the label- Human. When I look at events where the media quotes the perpetrator of some roit or communal violence, as Hindus, I do feel ashamed for carrying that label. Yes, I do understand that the media quotes are motivated by politics and economics and that the truth can never be found on the NEWS. But it still puts me to shame that we(Hindus) weren't intelligent enough to avoid blame or to behave differently. These are the times I feel like a fundamentalist, that somehow we were right and our path is the right one and the ONLY one and everyone/thing else is wrong. Of course, I cant live on that island of thought for long cause my rational side takes over and will fight its way through to the Live and let live side. My Rational Side has a (I am exagerrating by 1/4's)99.9% chance of always winning(with the exception of arguments with my kids and husband).

As I was reading to my kids the story of Prahlad, I remembered the story of Hiranyakashupu(Prahlad's father) and Hiranyaksha(Hiranyakashupu's brother) that I had read sometime ago. Hiranyakashupu and Hiranyaksha were in their previous life, the doorkeepers at Vaikunta, the abode of Lord Vishnu. It is said that the Kumara rishi's-Sanaka, Sanandana, Sanatana, Sanatkumara and Sanatsujata, came to pay obeisance to Lord Vishnu at Vaikunta. Jaya and Vijaya the door keepers at Viakunta refused to let them in and spoke to them with arrogance. The angered rishis cursed them to a live life on earth forgetting their godliness and closeness to Vishnu. When Jaya and Vijaya realized their folly, they begged Sri Vishnu to help them stay. So Vishnu says that since the exalted ones curse always comes to pass he could only offer a compromise.. He gave Jaya and Vijaya a choice between living on earth for 7 lives as Devotees of Vishnu or 3 lives as Enemies of Vishnu. They wanted to be back at the Lords feet at the earliest so they chose to be enemies of Vishnu in three yugas. In the Krita Yuga(part of the Hindu time cycle, I have a site for it on my blogroll if you are interested in reading about it)they were Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashupu, In the Treta Yuga they were Kumbakarna and Ravana and in the Dwapara Yuga they were Shishupala and Dantavakra. Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakashupu were considered as Asuras(those embodied with personalities that are quick to choose Anger, Indulgence, Greed etc).

As I remembered, I suffered a sudden insight into why I tend to not act when according to those in my life, I should have. I end up rooted to the spot, lost in thought- This is karma in action. I wonder what my relationship was with this person, in my previous births. Was she/he my friend, child, lover, parent, family elder, the person from my village, my debtor, my creditor, my neighbour? I say Previous Births because I cant see myself as being all that I am today just with the knowledge gained from the last three decades, definitely there must have been many lifetimes through which I have gained certain insights that make me so SURE about certain things in life. Now why I cant remember all my other lives, I havent yet worked on the theory that has convinced me yet. I see myself as a speck or blob of energy. If materially we are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen and each of those elements are composed of atoms, then at the core, we must be an intangible(spiritual) form of energy(of course I wouldn't get a Nobel Prize for that kind of Theory).

This would further be an explanation for the old stories of yore about people levitating, being able to move stuff without touching them, knowing what the animals talk about etc. which is presently considered as a Con. Imagine if all you had to do was to manipulate the way energy flows around you or within you to change an outcome. God, can be explained as that person who through discipline, focusing on the balance, harmony and the present, is able see the whole (as in all that is there in the Universe) picture and manifest changes that is in accordance with the Law of Nature. This might probably be a symbiotic working of all that is there within the known and unknown realms. So it does make sense if the Hare Krishna's say that all is Lila (a play directed by God). Depending on where we stand to view this energy, we could say its outside, inside, both inside and outside, neither inside or outside, non-existent, exists but not understandable, part of us or separate from us.

Applying this thought to all the events happening in our world and the people involved in these events, I feel everything is as it should be. I should not be agitated by the workings of Politicians, the citizens, the criminals etc. because they are just all living out their Nature in accordance with what their Karmic agreements are. Is that an apathetic view? I don't know. If we are all doing what we are supposed to be doing, then maybe it seems chaotic only if we watch them at the same level as the events, Maybe if we flew in an airplane looking down, the events would seem very patterned, very orderly, in the process of various degrees of movement or stillness.

I could go on with this till the cows come home but my feet just landed on the ground. So I am Done with Being the Dreamer/Thinker for the day. Now back to Chores in the my world.

As Usual

Pondering while working

Wishing all Peace

Mithuna.

Why we read what we dont understand

I enjoy listening to languages I dont understand, its the only way to entertain my poor Bored ear. I try not to make my senses complacent. So sometimes during my everyday chores of cutting veges, cooking and cleaning, I end up with a cut on my finger or a burn on my arm or a blue mark on my thigh(nope I am not admitting I am a Klutz). If I continue doing the things as it is done everyday, my brain feels like its on automation. I dont like automation, I like to mark the difference between a Machine and ME...

oh where was I? Yeah! listening to stuff that I dont understand... Probably my first introduction to what I dont understand was the early morning Shloka readings I used to hear from my neighbours house. You could set the clock by the time that Uncle used to start the Shloka, it used to be regularly, without fail. At first it annoyed me that his shloka was waking me up... but over time I began to enjoy it. So I used to stand at the sink, eyes closed, with the brush in my teeth listening to the high and lows of his chanting. I never knew what it was that was that felt so nice but listen I did. After a while I used to know the variations if he made a mistake(I am presuming he did so). At that time, my mother was reading the Bhagawath Geeta in Sanskrit with its translations in Kannada(a language she could read write and speak fluently). Me, the one who prided herself in being Logical couldnt understand it. Why read the Sanskrit version and then read the translation when you could just read the translation and be done? Oh well! I should have known it will come to bite me in the future...I did it too in my 20's, reading the Bhagawath Geeta in sanskrit with translations in English. Makes me wonder... is there some pattern in the Genes for carrying over Mother's mode of behaviour? I never bothered to rationalize it.. it just was.. I like doing it. Yesterday, my cousin sends me this story which I thought gave me an explanation of why my mother did what she did... Here goes the story. Enjoy:

Why do we read Geeta, even if we can't understand a Sanskrit word???

The Story:

An old Farmer lived on a farm in the mountains with his young grandson.
Each morning Grandpa was up early sitting at the kitchen table reading his Bhagavat Geeta. His grandson wanted to be just like him and tried to imitate him in every way he could.

One day the grandson asked, "Grandpa! I try to read the Bhagavat Geeta just like you but I don't understand it, and what I do understand I forget as soon as I close the book. What good does reading the Bhagavat Geeta do?"

The Grandfather quietly turned from putting coal in the stove and replied, "Take this coal basket down to the river and bring me back a basket of water."

The boy did as he was told, but all the water leaked out before he got back to the house. The grandfather laughed and said, "You'll have to move a little faster next time," and sent him back to the river with the basket to try again.

This time the boy ran faster, but again the basket was empty before he returned home. Out of breath, he told his grandfather that it was impossible to carry water in a basket, and he went to get a bucket instead. The old man said, "I don't want a bucket of water; I want a basket of water. You're just not trying hard enough," and he went out the door to watch the boy try again.

At this point, the boy knew it was impossible, but he wanted to show his grandfather that even if he ran as fast as he could, the water would leak out before he got back to the house.

The boy again dipped the basket into river and ran hard, but when he reached his grandfather the basket was again empty.

Out of breath, he said, "See Grandpa, it's useless!"
"So you think it is useless?" The old man said, "Look at the basket."

The boy looked at the basket and for the first time realized that the basket was different. It had been transformed from a dirty old coal basket and was now clean, inside and out.

"Son, that's what happens when you read the Bhagavat Geeta. You might not understand or remember everything, but when you read it, you will be changed, inside and out. That is the work of God in our lives."

End of story.

I guess it goes to explain reading every holy book too. Maybe thats why they are considered Holy. This also takes me back to second grade when we learned the Multiplication tables without really understanding what it meant. We had to memorize it, so we did.. When I reached 3rd grade, as I was writing out the table on paper, I suddenly understood how the table was written.. I felt elated.. although thinking about it now, I wonder if I was a dullard at math(giggling).

Peace always

Mithuna