Karma - The Poet's interpretation

After writing the post on my interpretation about Jay's poem "Karma", Jay sent me his interpretation about the poem. It is really deep and enlightening. We both found some new ideas from these interpretations. I thought of sharing it with you all.

With the basic truths revealed
Wounds deep within are healed

whenever there is a shift in consciousness, a shift in perception happens. Existence feels simple and clear. Deep wounds in the psyche are effortlessly healed as the unconsciousness that was keeping it alive comes to light.

Bathing silently in effortless grace
the mind is absent without a trace

an expression of how it feels to be conscious without thoughts....

Again it comes with a fiery tale
Fast and strong shots in a hail
Drawn in a second, by tumultuous thoughts,
The existence feels full of knots.

Soon our discovery of "truth" seems doubtful, as the mind comes back with a different force. And it seems all the same again...lack of clarity (a sign of unawareness) returns. What was clear and obvious now seems like a dream as it no longer matches the current experience.

Why? I wondered, did the soothing breeze
Turn to shabby air, full of disease.

This is a basic tendency of the mind to hold on to experiences. Instead of allowing every moment to be as it is, it analyses and labels it. Mind loves to put everything in boxes of concepts and put labels on them. (It feels like knowing everything.... :))

"Karma" I thought, was at work,
My own choices, giving a rebuke.

Here a truth expresses itself through thought. All the mind activity is self created. Either due to wanting something or due to not wanting something. (Rag and Dwesh). At the start of each thought there is a force, the force of ego or unobserved mind. It keeps firing thoughts after thoughts. So that it is never observed. This points to observing the basic force behind thoughts rather then fighting them.

What Now? Is life to be,
By karmic fate or choices free,
Each thought, an endless tree,
Who am I? Amongst thee.

This is the position of someone in the middle......has glimpses of freedom from mind. But is not fully conscious yet. Sometimes observes the thoughts and allows them to pass (and hence dissolve the karma that the thoughts were expressing) and sometimes get identified with them and act them out.

Don't Fight, watch through,
These thoughts are not you,
Let them come and float by,
Floods don't leave marks in the sky

another expression of truth and a powerful feeling of self. Of being untouched like a sky amidst tumults of any order. I picked this from a beautiful verse of Astavakra Gita (forgive if it’s inaccurate):-

Maya Megho Jaganniram
Varshate YathaTatha
Mahakasho Kim Hani
Kim Labham iti Vidhyate

(The clouds of maya now and then showers the rain of the world, what’s the loss to the infinite (Maha Akash, the great sky....the cosmos) and what’s the gain. (Implying there is no loss or gain)

The flute makes beautiful sound
Hollow within, it is never bound,
Infinite blows through, in rhythm divine,
The discords are all, chokes of mine.

Another fundamental lesson is learned. As one begins to be more in this connectedness, he/she feels an unseen force guiding and taking them through the course of events. The discords of life are recognized as endless repeats of the mind's perspectives.

With this all redemption starts,
All the past karma departs,
The Karma passes without repeats,
The witness is, as it is.

Here is the key to freedom. One discovers that mind has many layers. And each layer represents a set of belief systems rooted into the mind without question or analysis. Being conscious of a layer starts to dissolve its belief system. And one feels free and calm.......till the next layer comes through. But as these layers pass, the key is to witness all that happens. Dissolving layers is not something that one does.......it’s not an act or a long path that one has to travel. It can happen in a second or can take years, its independent of the time dimension. As our deeper layers dissolve we feel more connected or aware in our everyday lives.

O Master eternal, my holy shrine,
Please look at me, not thoughts of mine,

this is a prayer to the Guru...........
The way of praying is unique though. The Guru knows who you are beyond thoughts. You don’t need to tell them to look at you and not your thoughts......that’s what you have learned from them. But it is an implicit way of invoking grace so that I may realize it.

Hanging on without support,
Thy eyes are my only hope.

As our deep beliefs dissolve, it sometimes feels empty as mind finds it hard to get things to hold on to. It is not a time when one needs theory, in theory its all clear, but the practical seems difficult. One turns to the Guru to seek existential help.

In your presence, all fades away
No need for a path or a way.
In the light of your effortless grace,
The Karma dissolves, without a trace.

And it does come. In the presence of a Master, everything clears up. we go there seeking for a path to reach somewhere, but discover us sitting at our destination.....all seeking for the right path ends. This is a grace/healing/help that happens in presence of a true Guru. Even without their talking....

"Aap tasali na do, sirf baithe hi raho,
mehefil ka rang badal jayega, murja hua dil bhi savar jayega"

Truly it is the grace of such Masters that we are able to take our baby steps towards awareness.

OM...

Karma - A Poem

Continuing from my last post, here is a beautiful poem about Karma by my friend Jay Yagnik. I could not resist myself from writing my understanding about his poem and Karma in general. Your views are welcome.

With the basic truths revealed
Wounds deep within are healed
Bathing silently in effortless grace
The mind is absent without a trace

The starting itself teaches us the most important lesson about Karma. Wounds, deep in the mind - the mind impressions (good, bad, right, wrong etc) that we have gathered over time, are healed (getting removed) once the basic truth is found. And what is that basic truth? That all suffering is an illusion, happening in perception only.

Once you get this truth, your journey becomes effortless. Now, you don’t have to do something right. All things that happen through you are RIGHT. When mind participation is zero, the underneath spirit takes over. And it can seldom do wrong as there is no right, no wrong. If we are ready to be healed, the healing is always there to happen.

Again it comes with a fiery tale
Fast and strong shots in a hail
Drawn in a second, by tumultuous thoughts,
The existence feels full of knots.

But wait!! Realization isn’t just getting the truth. It is LIVING that truth to the fullest. Mind, with all its potent, tries to regain the control over us. How? There might still be some mind impressions, some belief that makes us indulge into unconsciousness. There might still be some unconsciousness that makes us indulge into these mind impressions. Whatsoever is first, the cycle continues. We burned all Karma seeds but sowed few new. That change is only that of degree, not of kind.

Why? I wondered, did the soothing breeze
Turn to shabby air, full of disease.
“Karma” I thought, was at work,
My own choices, giving a rebuke.

What Now? Is life to be,
By karmic fate or choices free,
Each thought, an endless tree,
Who am I? Amongst thee.

Here is the first conscious thought after that tumult. Why has everything that looked so peaceful, joyful and simple become sorrowful, painful and complicated? Consciousness is like a light in a darkened room. Darkness is only the absence of light. Darkness ceases when only a tiny light beam comes into existence.

The consciousness reckons it to be the Karma that is at work. But consciousness also reckons that Karma simply doesn’t mean fate which is predefined and unchanged. It reckons Karma as his own choices that he made in past and giving fruits in present. It reckons that all these are in fact, effects, not the cause. The cause lies in his choices. Which choices? His choices to choose some situations, beliefs, ideas, things, persons etc. to build his mind impressions and believing it as who he is.

Don’t Fight, watch through,
These thoughts are not you,
Let them come and float by,
Floods don’t leave marks in the sky

This is one of the basic spiritual understandings. Do not participate in thoughts. Just watch them as they pass by. I recall one nice story about it.

The disciple said to his master: "I have spent most of the day thinking about things I should not be thinking about, desiring things I should not desire and making plans I should not be making."

The master invited the disciple to take a walk with him through the forest behind his house. Along the way, he pointed to a plant, and asked the disciple if he knew its name.

"Belladonna," said the disciple. "It can kill anyone who eats its leaves."

"But it cannot kill anyone who simply observes it," said the master. "Likewise, negative desires can cause no evil if you do not allow yourself to be seduced by them."

~ ~ ~

We often tend to believe that thoughts define us. Even the quote: “I think therefore I am” strengthens that belief. In fact, it is just the opposite.

Thoughts and emotions come and go.
I remain.

The flute makes beautiful sound
Hollow within, it is never bound,
Infinite blows through, in rhythm divine,
The discords are all, chokes of mine.

If we recall the property of any resistor, it does not allow electrons to pass from it. The more hindrance it can produce, the more resistance it has. Similarly, mind impressions are like these resistors. They occupy mind space to hinder any present moment. When any present moment passes by our mind, they reduce it by resisting what is. At the end, what we get is the reduced image of what actually is. A mind, free of such impressions is thus, a conductor of peace and joy.

Such mind simply connects us to the rhythm divine, to the infinite whole. There is no discord, no disagreement. All is one.

With this all redemption starts,
All the past karma departs,
The Karma passes without repeats,
The witness is, as it is.

With such consciousness, the redemption follows. Once all past Karma seeds are burnt, one is called realized. He then no longer produces new Karma seeds as there is no thought of doer ship. All that remains is I, the real I.

O Master eternal, my holy shrine,
Please look at me, not thoughts of mine,
Hanging on without support,
Thy eyes are my only hope.

What a beautiful expression!! Look at me, not thoughts of mine. If only we can look at the person and not to his thoughts, many fights and wars would come to an end. There can be different opinions on thoughts, but no discords in hearts.

In your presence, all fades away
No need for a path or a way.
In the light of your effortless grace,
The Karma dissolves, without a trace.

That presence, consciousness, awareness, alertness, knowledge is what we all are seeking. There is no predefined path for that. Your spiritual journey is the path.

Karma Yogi is the one who is conscious in all his works and peaceful from within and with everybody outside.

Salvation lies within.