Finding Oneself Through Grace!

Many want to climb by themselves,

Little do they know,

The stairs keep moving,

Hallways and dead ends,

Keep on appearing,

Often one enters a maze,

An endless roundabout, a labyrinth,

At times, the path disappears,

Yet, trying, trying, the seeker presses on,

A sole candle of hope,

His or her light!

Finally, when all strength has ebbed,

Resolutions blown away,

Despair in the air,

The seeker just stops,

Does nothing!

Now miracle of miracles, there happens,

In response to the sincere heart, perhaps,

A surprising downpour of grace!

A husband and his wife,

Long before their marriage had they sought,

To know the truth, to realize their self!

Faith, prayer, yoga,

Pranayama⁽¹⁾ and pooja⁽²⁾,

Mananam⁽³⁾ and dharana⁽⁴⁾,

Austerities and japa⁽⁵⁾,

Blessings of saints and seekers alike,

Sleepless nights of sadhana⁽⁶⁾,

And days of selfless sacrifice,

Nothing seemed to bring them,

What they yearned so much for,

Though wondrous spiritual visions,

Luminescent astral lights,

Magical astral sounds,

They came and they went,

Contentment, still so far!

Realization, still beyond reach!

Earthly difficulties and trials,

Nightmares and storms of pain,

Tossed seemingly forever on the waves,

And alternatively trapped in a furnace,

While facing merciless tests of life,

Within a Pandora’s box,

They felt like ending all!

Then one day, a journey took place,

To an ashram⁽⁷⁾ in the hills,

At the door, a hoary personage,

Love oozing from every pore,

Evidently, long expecting them,

Seeing the visitors from afar,

Laughed he, and asked, “Ahoy there!

Do you guys really need to hold your nose⁽⁸⁾,

And struggle your way up with such difficulty?

Won’t it be enough,

For you to come down from the top,

If so you wish?”

Hearing these words of nectar,

They bowed down in gratitude.

Instantly the husband’s tongue,

Spoke for both of them,

“Yes, Paramatma⁽⁹⁾, yes!

Enough, Paramatma, enough!”

And He looked upon them with power,

The Grace that descended at that moment,

Filled their hearts, overflowed,

The haze of ignorance lifted,

And contentment became their name!

When yearning reaches its zenith,

When incessant striving has vanquished effort,

When experience weakened ego,

Dominates you, no more,

When your mind, an empty vessel,

Stands open, ready to be filled,

Grace takes over, inundates your being,

You are blessed, you just found yourself!

Meanings:

1. Pranayama – Control of breath
2. Pooja – Ritual deity worship
3. Mananam – Constant guided exercise of the mind,
4. Dharana – Concentration on an object
5. Japa – Continuous repetition of the Name or of primordial root sounds
6. Sadhana – Spiritual practice
7. Ashram – Hermitage
8. Hold your nose – Control of breath through the practice of Pranayama
9. Paramatma – Supreme soul, God