Arsha Vidya Center

There is Nothing Indeed as Purifying as Knowledge

Category: Vedanta

  • Rishikesh

    Rishikesh

    By Zarina Kaji, 2011

    On the banks of mother Ganga I find
    A serenity that is so divine
    The river gentle and calm at times
    Rushing like an impatient seeker sometimes

    At the feet of Pujya Swamiji we learn
    The truth of ourselves,
    That is shrouded so well.
    Wake up wake up a voice calls out
    In ignorant slumber you are without a doubt
    He wields the words of the pramana so well
    With compassion and a sense of humor as well

    All that is here is Brahman he teaches
    With joy and compassion our hearts he reaches.
    We bow to you with humility and gratitude
    Please bless us with your guru krupa
    So that we cultivate the right attitude
    To inquire with fearlessness and fortitude

    The stillness of my mind urges me to be
    In the midst of living a life and being just me
    I am the one, the whole, the all
    You are the one, the whole, the all
    All is the one, the whole, the all
    How can there be any limitation at all?

    When love is the only expression in the heart,
    There is no fear of being alone or apart
    There is only joy, of Being, of One
    As the eyes see the beauty of the One in all
    There is nothing to gain and nothing to loose
    How can there be when all is me?

  • What is God I ask myself,

    A dedication to my Gurus

    Zarina Kaji
    Saylorsburg, PA
    October 2010

    What is God I ask myself,
    Could he be high up in the sky?
    Of course not, I chide myself,
    For who then answers to all my “Whys”?
    So what is God, I ask myself.

    A mother’s touch, a gentle breeze
    A sunset and the stormy sea
    A bird in flight, the lightening strike
    A garden filled with nature’s delights
    Is this God? Yes this is God , but wait there’s more

    A helping hand, a caring gesture
    A selfless act to make it better
    To put one’s own needs aside and do
    what needs to be done and see it through
    Is this God? Yes this is God but wait there’s more

    A thought that occurs in the mind,
    A will to be courageous and kind
    No need for pain and strife of separation
    Seeking the oneness from the isolation.
    Is this God? Yes this is God, but wait there’s more

    Staying with the Self in contemplation I learn
    I am not the doer or the done
    I am not the Bhokta having fun
    I am all there is, all that can be
    So what kind of eyes do I need to see?
    So is this God I ask myself
    Yes this is God, but wait there’s more.

    The guru shows the way with light
    Shining brightly in the darkest night
    The knower, known and knowing as one
    He melts the heart strings as away the fear runs
    Clarifying the Shruti’s words like the rising Sun
    Is this God? Yes this is God but wait there’s more.

    This knowledge that is our hidden treasure
    Remains shrouded until we are pure to the measure
    Reveals Self-evident Atman as it awakens the peace
    My own swarupa, the ananda of all that “is”
    Yes, this is God but is that me?

    The self shining atman illumines all asti
    I surrender all that is at His lotus feet
    I am knowledge, full and complete
    Yes this is God and this is me!!

    Love flows like a torrential river
    Filling me up with awe and tears
    How could my reality be hidden so well
    Could it be Maya casting a spell?
    The question answers itself as I dwell
    Upon the One Vastu, the Self.
    Yes this is God and this is me
    This is you and all that can be.

     

  • The Truth

    The Truth

    By Zarina Kaji

    The truth I find in all that I see
    The oneness through all reality
    The thread that strings the pearls of life
    Like gold that pervades every ornament type

    The truth of all is to be understood and known
    As no different today than through the ages untold
    When both time and space exist because of this
    How can there be any yours mine or his?

    When the Truth of all is the indivisible one
    When there is nothing more and nothing less
    That all of nature is fullness and perfect
    The heart rests in peace with nothing to select

    The Truth is the unmanifest manifest as many
    This variegated jagat with galaxies so plenty
    Each species and type every flower and spice
    As the manifestation of the very cause, we rejoice.

    The Truth of every wave as water as it comes to shore
    Is like our lives as we surf from birth to death for sure
    Knowing that this cycle is merely a figment of my imagination
    I find the Truth in the depths of my Self in contemplation.

    The Truth is in the song of silence I hear
    In and through all ” I am”, the joy of the seer
    I seek nothing, knowing there is nothing to seek
    I am the joy of Being, filled with light and complete.

  • The glory that is Ishwara

    The glory that is Ishwara

    By Zarina Kaji

    The rise and fall of the ocean and waves
    The Sun, the orb of life sustaining rays
    Who can doubt the genius of our Creator
    When the glory of his universe can be no clearer?

    The revolving galaxies in space abound
    With innumerable stars, impossible to count
    Each held in orbit with the laws we find
    In our quest for answers the sciences combine

    The macrocosmic infinity as “isness” exists
    The microcosm in each discovery where the mind we enlist
    From gravity that pulls and holds
    To the powerful magnets at each pole

    The laws that keep each in its place
    Are the same that make us sneeze and shake
    The order that functions in every case
    Does not discriminate any species or race

    Blinded by our ignorance we do not see
    How the universe functions so perfectly
    We are caught up in the web of life
    Filled with a million likes and dislikes

    Let us make the time to question and learn
    The reality of pranaa in every tree and fern
    This life being a mere passage along the way
    To gyanam, the ultimate Truth to know I pray

    In ignorance this life we live is a role in strife
    Each of us playing our part on this stage called life
    We seek to pleasure the senses with so called delight
    Not knowing our reality is unlimitedness, fullness and light

    Listen, question and contemplate upon the Truth
    At the feet of a benevolent guru, seek his blessings for good
    Open your heart for the light of knowledge to shine
    Reflecting the Atman as Ishwara’s glory divine.

  • Let love lead the way, let love lead the way

    Let love lead the way, let love lead the way

    By Zarina Kaji April 2011

    To walk a path in another man’s shoes
    To understand another person’s woes
    To lend a helping hand and ear
    To listen with compassion even as he sheds a tear
    That is love that is love that is love all the way
    Let love lead the way, let love lead the way

    Gently steer without judgment or showing one’s might
    Practicing dharma, knowing that which is wrong and not right
    Allowing all to be the best he can be
    Be accepting of the gifts of Ishwara’s grace and shakti
    That is love that is love that is love all the way
    Let love lead the way, let love lead the way

    Subside the ego, he causes us the pain
    Of feeling separate and alone, where helplessness reigns
    The ‘I’ is the master; let not the egoic mind swell
    Use it instead as an instrument to serve the higher Self.
    That is love that is love that is love all the way
    Let love lead the way, let love lead the way

    Sharing the gift of kindness we see
    Makes the world a happier place to be
    Laugh at oneself, see the mithya around
    Keep being objective and see Satyam abound
    That is love that is love that is love all the way
    Let love lead the way, let love lead the way

    To cherish and respect every life form as Brahman
    To use gifts we are granted for the betterment of someone
    Know that all that is here is given to me
    Not just for myself, but to share with humanity.
    That is love that is love that is love all the way
    Let love lead the way, let love lead the way

    Love for the Self, must precede every other
    Only then can we begin to truly love another
    Knowing there is no difference in the Truth of each one
    Keep the heart and mind open to accommodate every one
    That is love that is love that is love all the way
    Let love lead the way, let love lead the way

    Me as the Jivatma is a minuscule bit
    That is chewed up by life and tossed out like a pit
    Our reality is Atma, the I AM, the One
    That is Satyam, Gyanam, Anamtam Brahma
    That is love that is love that is love all the way
    Let love lead the way, let love lead the way

  • Inspired by Swami TV’s lectures on Chandogya Upanishad

    Inspired by Swami TV’s lectures on Chandogya Upanishad
    By Zarina Kaji March 2010

    Who am I that wakes each morn,
    To greet the sun as it rises at dawn?
    Am I the Sun, which rises each day
    Warming the earth, making the rain
    Feeding the beings, from the Earth making grain.
    I am the light of the Sun that shines,
    Reflecting its glory in all kinds of waters
    Shining in the minds of all who can think
    With intelligence and compassion, such a powerful link.
    I am the ocean, full, unchanging and still
    Matters not if rivers flow in or a storm spills.
    When the light of Awareness, reflects in all its glory
    In every droplet of water, each with its own story
    The waves seem to rise and fall, in unending tide
    Making the ocean no greater nor changing its size.
    Then the fullness of “I am” the Ananda of all that is
    Complete and glorious, melts my heart strings
    A song of quiet and stillness, with freedom and joy I sing.
    Nothing more needed, I merge into the glory of OM
    Like each wave making it back to the source of us all.

  • I AM

    I Am

    By Zarina Kaji

    There is no depth to me, no length or size
    The shape and form have long met their demise
    The boundaries melt, nothing to defend
    There is no foe, only friends that depend
    That I am, the pure, the untainted, the One
    That pervades all that has nothing to be done
    To be and lend being to all that exists
    Without the consciousness how can anything exist?
    That reality of the self I am and know,
    The unending truth of all that is seen and shown
    I am the hearer of the heard
    I am the hand that lifts and serves
    I am the seer of the sight
    I am the strength of the one with might
    I am thinker of the thoughts
    I am the seeker and the sought
    I am every grain of sand upon the shore
    I am the mighty galaxy of yonder and more
    I am love, I am courage and kindness too
    I see the Truth, the indivisible, through the duality
    I am the One that is manifest as many
    To know me, the Atman, is to know your Reality

  • Hey ! Mind….. by Chandra Reddy, Indianapolis

    Hey ! Mind…… Do Your Meditation

    Remember,You are the Consciousness,the Absolute SELF,
    Be conscious of “That” constantly consulting yourself
    O mind ! Don’t forget you are only It’s reflection,
    Acting and reacting in the rays of SELF affection.

    Knowing that Truth,why you get any agitation,
    Playing and praying,just do your meditation.
    Your body is made up of five elemental communion,
    Organizing and performing duties with a great union

    Please be at ease,with sthira sukha asana
    Taking two deep breaths,discarding any vasana
    Hands in your lap,your feet firm on the elemental EARTH,
    Just relax your body,without looking for any upper or lower berth.

    Be aware of your lower abdomen is of major elemental WATER,
    Reproducing and discarding the contents with a measuring meter.
    Your upper abdomen containing Udara and Hridayangi,
    Constantly churning and burning the food with elemental AGNI.

    Then,notice your big chest holding two large lungs,
    Breathing the VAYU and flying like a bird with two wings.
    Please notice the SPACE in your head and neck location,
    Throat,mouth,nose and sinus sounds like a song on vacation.

    Hey Mind ! now  see the Adhitya shining through eyes sockets,
    Showing you the path to Moksha through higher orbits.
    Be it Karma,bhakti or Raja upasana to only sense gratification,
    Only the Jnana upasana leads to SELF realization.

  • VEDANTIC “GPS” by Chandra Reddy, Indianapolis

    VEDANTIC “GPS”

     

    “I” have a beautiful and timeless car named “JIVATMA”,
    Operates with the help of Super spirit called “PARAMATMA”.
    It has a high quality ancient GPS on the dash board,
    A triple push button GODJET to guide me on my chosen road.

    Understand, GPS stands for God Power Satellite,
    GITA, PARAMATMA, SATSANGA Triplet to show me the LIGHT.
    Pancha  Karma Jnana indriyas  are my might and sights.
    To undertake a life journey to take me to the greater heights.

    “I” am a Dhira, driving on the path of “Sreyas”,
    Without Fanatic or fatalism, discarding the Manda “Preyas”.
    Always thinking wisely , with a strong determination,
    With Shravana, Manana, Nidhidhyasana to my destination.

    Facing and passing the most powerful lust, anger and the greed,
    Focused on Asanga, Abhaya, Ahimsa, Ananda for my need .
    “Nachiketha Fire” in Heart for ever in my utilization,
    In transcending MAHA MAYA for my final Self-realization.

  • The Self Speaks

    Another new Vedantic poem composed by Jayaram, an ardent Vedanta student of Arsha Vidya.

    The Self Speaks

    If your Self could speak

    You would hear it say,

    “Why search for Me,

    In mind as Object?

    Verily I am the Subject,

    Of all Object Experiences,

    I am the Presence in all thoughts

    The Presence in meditation’s chant

    And, in silence between the chants.

    On these as Ever Shining Self I shine,

    Un-displaced by thought or chant or silence,

    Know that I am Ever Present.

    In string of thoughts, like that behind

    In pearl necklace, unseen I am,

    But like the string behind

    The common thread, in train of thoughts I am.

    Verily, I am the Vedantin’s SAT

    Ever Existing SAT,

    The SAT that lends you Existence

    And the SAT you see of in all of Existence.”

    “As Conscious Awareness of your thoughts,

    I do not in them participate,

    Nor do I in judgement sit,

    For I know not good nor I know bad,

    I simply illumine all thoughts,

    As humble, permitting Witness.

    Verily, I am the Vedantin’s CIT,

    All pervading Consciousness,

    CIT of all Existence.”

    “As Ever Existing SAT,

    And All pervading CIT,

    I am also Absolute Fullness,

    I harbour no wants or needs,

    Of human unhappiness, the seeds.

    “My Fullness, Vedantin’s call Ananda

    Others say Happiness or bliss.

    No matter these words and definitions,

    Inadequate they are my nature to describe

    Verily I am SAT-CIT- ANANDA

    Of the Vedantin’s Brahman

    The One and Only Reality

    Behind all Apparent Reality.”

    “Delude not Oh Man: you’re neither Body,

    Mind nor Intellect,

    Insentient they are, their sentience,

    From Me you draw,

    Delude not Oh Man: the ‘I’ you think you are,

    In all Experience,

    Is also thought, by Me illumined,

    Unreal as though Real,

    From Me they arise; unto Me they resolve.”

    Verily the Vedantin says:

    “Oh Man, Know this Truth,

    Ignorance of Me the cause,

    Of all your worldly ills.”

    Know that “That You Are.”

    Ask not for proof any more,

    That You Are,

    Tat Tvam Asi.

    Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.