WITHERING GRASS

How useless I am, thought the yellowing blades of grass!

Abundant in form and fully grown!

Yet, I do not bear any tasty fruit

My seeds are gritty, and not fit to eat

Oh how worthless I am as a crop!

 Growing without being tended to; but trampled upon by every feet!

Today, I am left with only some aging greenery!

But tomorrow, that too shall wither away!

And once I dry, I’m but a useless stack of hay!

Worthy of only feeding the mules!

So fretted and thought the aging grass!

Before it became the holy hay on which baby Jesus was born!

So friend! Don’t you worry when you wither today!

For the petals of God’s plan will soon blossom before you! 

OASIS OF LOVE

In this life of wilderness, lurking with concealed predators  

Oh! Beloved Lord! How wonderful is the comfort of your love!

Lost and wandering, in this desert of pointlessness

In your mighty presence; I have finally found the oasis of my life!

In this magnificent oasis; the spring of love is overflowing

The fruits of joy are all around; and happiness surrounds me

In this oasis, of your glorious presence

My thirst and hunger for life has been finally quenched

Oh! Beloved Lord! As I finally rest in this oasis; let me sleep tonight! 

PEBBLE IN THE RIVER

Oh shinning pebble in the river bed

Who is it who shapes thee?  

Who is it who polishes your rounded curves!

A silent observer!  So still you seem!

But to the flowing water you smoothly yield

Does the vastness of the river still hold traces of your colour?

Does the freshness of the water still hold the taste of your mineral breath?

Shaped by the eddies of adversity; but not carried away by the currents of passion

Still yet changing; silent yet yielding!

Holding on to nothing; but letting all things flow

Oh mighty pebble, shining in the river bed!

Yielding in form; but unyielding in principle!

How mighty is thy endurance! 

KENSHO

Smiling softly, I walk this garden path today!

As the flower withers; and the weed grows!

Blissful it is, to humbly know

When this moment ceases

I too will lie beneath the grass!

GOD IS LOVE

Listen friend! What are you fighting about!

In this day of enlightenment

Why do you still crouch in medieval darkness!

Take away your blindfold of hatred

And see the world with eyes of love!

Throw away your divisive thoughts

And embrace the truth of love and compassion!

For God is all around you; god is all within you;

For God is manifested! God is Love!  

In the mystical dervishes of the Sufi

In the lotus position of the yogi

In the cross and the Calvary

In the holy ashes, and the flowing Ganges

God is all around you!

In Mecca or Jerusalem; Kasi or Gaya

Every man has a heart; and every heart has a spark of it!  

The  flame of everlasting love!

As the same sun shines high; in both the wilderness and in the green pastures

Jehovah and Allah; Hari and Shiva

Aren’t they but different fingers pointing to the same sun?

As the sunshine of love fills the heart of a true lover

What else is God but Love! 

KOAN NOT TO

 

In this cloudy world of distractions

To see is not to see

To do is not to do

To understand is not to

And to know is but mere delusion

Yet, when the morning sun shines in silence

To let go, is true enlightenment!

PASSING CLOUDS

Sitting by the window, on a cold winter night  

As the open curtains greet the serene moonlight

Passing clouds of thought come and go

Some are good and friendly

Some are riotous till they go

Some tent in my garden

And some just refuse to go

Some make me smile when they come in

But rip my home when they go

Some keep evading as I chase them

And some just make a mess and go  

Some brighten the home with their presence

But they too drizzle and go

For all these thoughts, just come visiting

And, sooner or later, they all must go

For when the new sun rises in the morning, the morning mist must go!