The doctor rubbed my sore shoulder
spraying copious amounts of analgesic compound
to freeze the area
from the side of my eye I caught the
silver glint of a 6 inch needle poised
to penetrate my quivering shoulder
with cortisone
intense pain exploded through my consciousness
as the syringe fracked into the deeper regions of
my shoulder

Afterwards, while reflecting on this incident
I thought about polarities and Newton’s Law:
“For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction”
The pain I had just experienced did not occur in a vacuum
Somewhere along the time continuum I’d set up that opposite
swing of the pendulum

I recollected all the intense moments of extreme and dizzying
sense enjoyment, lust and gratification
my mind has sought and indulged in with rabid satisfaction
always wanting more, restless, never content or at peace

When we examine this world, and its quintessential duality
we are confronted with extremes at every angle
Hot, cold, up, down, win, lose
We can’t have birth without death and so on
hmm…. I thought as the enlightenment bulb
went off in my head
This is why many great sages and saints
fostered a way of life that
transcended duality

Lord Buddha extolled the “Middle Path”
He described the middle way as moderation
between the excesses of carnal indulgence
and self mortification

Aristotle gave us the “Golden Mean”
“every virtue is a mean between two extremes, each of which is a vice.”

Sathya Sai Baba states:
“The object of meditation is equanimity,
the object of equanimity is samadhi (enlightenment or self realization)"

This beautiful quote by Bhagavan Baba is redolent with wisdom
and sublime beauty:

“Surrender to God and to life means the absence of duality
and being of the same nature as God.
But such a state is beyond man’s will.
Surrender is when doer, deed and object are all God.
It comes naturally to a heart filled with love for God.
God is as a spring of fresh and sweet water in the heart.
The best tool to dig a well to that inexhaustible source and
savor its sweetness, is Japa (Chanting God’s Name)

Before the dew evaporates

on rose petals misty with tears

and birds seated on lofty branches

sweeten the air with rapturous song



Before the scorching Saturn Sun

at high noon

holding his granite karmic slate

burns us to a crisp

for our sad and loveless deeds



We must awaken early

shake off sloth and slumber



Close to the amber footsteps of dawn

Brahmamuhurtam

Love's breath kindling bright

the embers of Sat Chit Ananda

Eternal Being, Awareness and Bliss



"The function of the Scriptures is to guide people toward living a perfected life on Earth and repeatedly remind them of the goal, which should be nothing short of achieving Divinity itself. But those who spurn the teachings and guidance of the Scriptures and act only on the impulses of their desires will not achieve perfection and divinity, only misery.

" Let the Scriptures tell you what you should and should not do, Arjuna. Know what the right choices are and live up to them. It is simpler than you think. When you or anyone is firmly on the road to enlightenment there is no conflict at all between what you do and what the Scriptures advise." Bhagavan Gita,  interpreted by Jack Hawley, Chapter, 16, Vs. 23, 24

Those days, Those days
in Prashanti, not a care in the world
waiting for the Lord of the Universe

Rainbow sequined saris flutter like
colorful prayer flags
in the sultry, warm breezes

Women devotees, buzzing honeybees,
breathlessly squeeze into granite window openings
outside the mandir
straining to see, hoping their adoring eyes
will be blessed by the nectarine vision of Sai Avatar

Seva Dal angels in vivid orange and yellow scarves
manage to bridle the swooning, burgeoning, euphoric
crowds with spirited "Sairam, Sairams"

O Baba
what we wouldn't give for a chance to once more
see your airborne Lotus feet floating towards us
on the golden sands of Puttaparthi

Reverently, I press my fingertips to my eyelids
taking padnamaskar
these orbs, these orbs
once gazed upon the holy sight of
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Chant the name of Narayan Chant the name of Narayan
Chant The Name of Narayan
Praise the name of the God you adore
Chant the name of Narayan
Listen to the flute enchanting blue Lord
Listen to the call of God
He is Ram, Krishna, Bhagavan
Sai Infinite one

http://www.sairapture.com/narayan-narayan.html

I don't know the
shape of things to come
the day opens like a
wild exotic flower
exuding the fragrance
of Your presence
my heart has found You
after long, long searches
here and there
Bhagavan
To feel You near
is my life's whole purpose