Sribali village near Gokarna town,
Was abuzz with excitement all around.
The people they headed towards the temple near,
To have a 'darshan' of Adi Shankara, the seer.
Prostrated they did before the saint's feet,
Blessed were they to him meet...
Prabhakaran, the merchant at the saint's feet fell,
Made his son prostrate before him as well.
He stood aside, his eyes welling with tears,
His shoulders drooped low, his face lined with fears.
"What troubles you?" the saint asked in soothing tones,
"Speak up for you are not alone!"
With great kindness on him his gaze rested,
The merchant felt light, his burden lifted.
"It is my son!" sighed he with deep sadness,
"He seems afflicted by a form of madness...
He neither eats, nor reads, nor sleeps,
Bereft of emotions, he does not speak.
Vacant, empty, he stares at the sun,
Like a log of wood, he reacts to none!"
Upon the boy, 'the guru' his eyes laid,
To come a little closer, he then bade.
A 'realised' soul, a 'jnani' he recognised,
'No ordinary soul without a doubt,' he instantly surmised.
"Who are you?" the guru gently enquired,
"What is your purpose? Why have you been sired?"
The guru's gaze with compassion softened,
Between him and the boy, a channel opened.
Like an ocean exploding with high tide,
Like a cuckoo bursting forth when spring arrives,
Out from his mouth, the words tumbled,
A volley, a torrent, he did not fumble.
Clear and transparent like the fruit 'amalaka',
Thus spoke the boy, Hastamalaka...
"I am not God, nor yaksha, nor brahmin,
Not brahmachari, nor householder, nor sanyasin.
The mind and senses, I activate,
Like the sun which every movement initiates.
Associated I am with everything around,
Like heat with fire is always found .
I am that 'self' with ego not separated,
Like the image in a mirror from the object reflected.
The mirror you remove, the object you still find,
That 'self' I am... that which remains after the extinction of the mind.
Like the sun reflected in the waters of the sea,
I am reflected in as many minds as can be.
The mind, the intellect, I illuminate, I enlighten,
Like the sun which every eye brightens.
On agitated waters, the sun has mutilated beams,
on calm surfaces, clear and laminated it seems.
I am that 'self' unrecognizable in disturbed minds,
I shine forth in serene minds you find.
Seemingly limited by the body and senses, I cannot deny,
Yet I am the mind of the mind, the eye of the eye.
Permeating, yet not bound,
Within and beyond the senses I abound.
Like ether, all pervading yet unaffected,
Like a crystal, reflecting, yet to change not subjected.
I am that 'self ' that 'consciousness', peaceful,
Unchanging, unbound, eternal, blissful!"
"Come forth dear one and me you follow,
In this 'samsara sagara' you can no more wallow!"
The guru turned to his disciples who stared with surprise,
He proceeded to explain with words wise.
"This boy's body houses a great soul,
Life from this body, fate once stole...
He was tiny, a mere toddler, an infant,
His mother left him in the care of a 'sadhu' for an instant.
The child crawled into the river and drowned,
The 'sadhu' unaware and in a state of stupor was found.
The wails, the laments of the mother bereaved,
In a daze, her grief, the 'sadhu' perceived.
Struck he was with great remorse,
To enter the inert body he chose.
The child stirred and was awakened,
The body now housed the soul enlightened.
The soul continued in deep contemplation,
Drowned in the throes of ecstasy, in exhultation.
Unaffected and unattached while in silent communion,
With the source, with consciousness in eternal union."
The guru stepped forward, the path he tread,
Hastamalaka followed as he walked ahead.
His path lay clear, his heart filled with reverence,
In the footsteps of his guru, his journey did commence.
Footnotes
------------
Gokarna - A temple town in the state of Karnataka, India
Darshan - to behold
Guru - teacher
Sadhu - saint
Samsara sagara - ocean of worldliness
No comments:
Post a Comment