Wild Geese: Call from another world ..

For over a decade, I have lived the seasons alongside the wild geese; always aware of their powerful presence, preening in the ponds, resting in the fields or flying overhead during walks in the woods. I have heard their honking on winter nights through tightly shut doors and windows as a skein fly high up in the dark skies. The call of the geese pulls me out from my mundane existence. I return back momentarily with a wider perception of life, reminded again of the tiny place of humans in this vast and grand cosmos. In the poem Wild Geese, by Mary Oliver, the call of the geese is a call of belonging. 

You do not have to be good.

You do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert repenting.

You only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

Tell me about despair, yours, and I will tell you mine.

Meanwhile the world goes on.

Meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

Meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

Whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting -

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.  

One evening, as I sat watching..

One evening sitting by the shore and gazing at the  horizon where the azure sky meets the ocean, the poet Subramanya Bharati invites the elusive muse. The muse is the divine personified as a lover. The muse comes uninvited in those rare heavenly moments when one is immersed in the contemplation of beauty. The exquisite poem "Maalai pozhudil oru" is a conversation between the poet and his beloved muse. She asks him, "What did you see?" She then basks in the glory of her own beauty as seen from the eyes of her beloved.

One evening, on a mound I sat looking into the vast expanse of sky and ocean
There in a corner of the horizon, I saw the sky arch to kiss and caress the ocean
Immersed in the vast blueness, I lost sense of passing time. 
In numerous enchanting reveries, I lost track of myself.

In that magical moment, from behind she came and covered my eyes, 
From gently touching the hands, I knew
From the fragrance wafting off the silk dress, I knew
From the excitement rising within me, I knew
From the union of our two hearts, I knew  
"Oh Kannamma, take off your hands! Whom are you trying to trick?” I said

I moved her hands, turned around and embracing her said "tell me what's the news"
Laughing she asked "In the crushing ocean waves, what did you see? 
In the blue skies, what did you see?  
In the crushing foam, what did you see? 
In the tiny bubbles, what did you see?
What good did you get by measuring the clouds? Tell me!"

In the crushing ocean waves, I saw your face
In the vast blue skies, I saw your face
In the tiny bubbles, I saw your face
Measuring the clouds, I saw nothing but your face.
I turned around and embraced you and saw again your face!

The hours when the mind is absorbed by beauty are the only hours when we really live - Richard Jefferies

Summer must pass through me

As deep the despair of winter, so high is the exuberance of the summer in this part of the world.  I flow with the summer taking in the heat, the light, the sounds and sights.

When the doors are thrown wide open
Letting in the light and air; 
When I step outside without a care
Or worry of what to wear

When I have soaked in many a dawns;
Gazed at cloudless blue skies
Reveled in the bright endless days

When I have smelt the wildflowers;
Seen the new snails, bunnies and herons;
Heard all the bird songs; 
Tasted all the tart berries

When I have suffered the stifling heat
Sweating through every pore; 
When I am tanned all over;
Bitten and bruised by insect bites
Then the summer has passed through me

Wave after wave of wildflowers

Song of Contentment..

Many a times I wake up with a fullness of heart. A heart that is overflowing; with contentment, gratitude and peace; for everything received and for everything revealed. Tears flow freely with an immense sense of gratitude to the divine providence which gives everything in the right measure. Kurai onrum illai is a song that expresses the sentiment of deep contentment and an abiding faith in the divine providence, eternally providing for all earthlings.

There is nothing I lack, O Lord
You remain invisible; 
my eyes cannot fathom your presence, 
even so I lack nothing, O Lord
You grant me everything I need, 
I seek nothing more my Lord
You remain hidden, 
your presence revealed only to the wise, 
even so I lack nothing
You forget none; in your breast
the mother,  the ocean of compassion who denies nothing
residing eternally; so how can I lack anything?
There is nothing I lack

kurai ondrum illai, marai moorthi kanna
kannukku theriyamal nirkindraai kanna
kannukku theriyamal nindraalum yenakku
kurai ondrum illai, marai moorthi kanna
vendiyathai thandhida venketesan yenrirukka
vendiyathu verillai marai moorthi kanna
manivanna malaiyappa govinda govinda
thirayin pin nirkinrai kanna
unnai marayodhum nyaaniyar mattume kaanbar
endralum kurai ondrum enakkillai kanna
yaadum marukkadha malayappa - un maarbil
yethum thara nirkum karunai kadal annai
endrum irundhida yedhu kurai enakku
ondrum kurai illai, marai moorthi kanna 
(by C Rajagopalachari )

There is nothing I lack, there is nothing more I seek. 

Born again ..

Twice born or dwija in Sanskrit or born again in Christianity refers to the spiritual rebirth of man. Man is born once and blossom physically into youthfulness. Having lived through the trials and tribulations of life in youth and adulthood, there comes a period of reflection bringing about a deeper understanding of life, its ebb and flow. After this period of introspection, we have the opportunity to be born again in this world; to see everything in a new light. This spiritual rebirth can set us free.

The life cycle of the dandelion is a classic example of spiritual rebirth and the freedom that comes with it. The dandelion blooms once from the bud, then withdraws only to bloom again as a puff ball of seeds. The seeds are dispersed by the wind and the dandelion finds its freedom and fulfills its purpose.

"Unless a person is born again his life will remain like a blank sheet in the book of existence." - Khalil Gibran

An anonymous life..

In a world where people bare open their daily lives to the public, I prefer to live an intensely private life. Protected from the glare of the public eye, unsolicited interruptions and distractions, I can focus on what is truly important to me. 

In an obscure corner of the world, I seek to live a quiet, unassuming life. One can live a creative and content life despite being a nobody to the world at large. In anonymity brews the golden richness of an inner life. I see, feel, think, love and learn and just as quietly I hope to take leave of this magnificent world.

How dreary to be somebody!

How public, like a frog

To tell your name the livelong day

To an admiring bog!  - Emily Dickenson

I asked for fame, so others would know me; I was given obscurity, that I might know myself. - Billy Mills, Oglala Lakota