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Preface
On the Wings of Ecstasy, appositely titled, is a collection of poems by Nochur Sri Venkataraman. All the poems in this collection took form within a span of 48 hours, but they emanate the fragrance of bliss experienced during various ecstatic moments in the past. Footprints of various visions, insights and practices of the past flowed anon as if some secret tap in the heart of the author had opened.
In the strictest literary sense, these compositions cannot be classified as poems, rather they are ecstatic outpourings from the heart in the form of songs without any metrical sequence. But then, the mystical flights of a spiritual heart is not bound by any manmade rules of literature.
The Lamp
At last my lamp also was Lit by my beloved! The lamp of this body Was filled with the oil of love The wick, the ego was Dry to get aflame Unaware He came - My Master with the lamp of Self knowledge bright in His hand And gave fire to the Dry cotton in the mind. The dark corners of my Heart Anon was lit up with the Effulgence of that golden light. Peace spread out everyWhere when the horrid creatures Of darkness quit the place Peace that fills the whole Being was so deep that Its beyond my power To fathom its grandeur!
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Freewill was lost entirely And in that loss was my victory. Free I became wholly Free from the clutches of The mind, senses and logic.
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The Vision
The dawn came in the horizon And unveiled was all forms! When the veil was lifted Lifted was all the forms too Everyone was He; He alone! The joy of THE VISION! It was a perception Unknown hitherto to the mind All dualistic castles fell down All frightening creatures of darkness Vanished anon from the sight Who beheld the vision? its mystery! No seer and the seen No He or She or I One solidified Mass of Love. Love, alas! Where the lover has ceased The great release, eternal relaxation; Nirvana!
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The Treasure
To be aware of the invaluable Treasure kept in the chest of my heart, The gem of rare brilliance, Which gleams forth thro The holes of my eyes Is the only act to be Done, moment by moment. To behold the radiance Of this rare beauty And to be awake Day and night to guard it Is my only act to be Done, moment by moment. Unaware, the thieves enter Alas to steal this treasure Through the back doors Hence I am awake allThe night burning the lamp Of vigilance and wisdom.
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Life
Life throbs everywhere! The shower of rain brings nothing But life energy in its waters Plants luscious, green, throbs With life and beauty. Life is beauty, life is Self. The vast blue sky is The expansion of life, consciousness - pure. That mystery is solved Here and now when ones Inner experience is probed That which pulstaes As I I is life, divine. It is existence, knowledge and bliss.
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True Home
In the inner space dwells This Supreme Being surrounded By the climate of melting love. His nature is abundant, Overflowing deep peace. He is immortal and radiant With golden light. With eyes turned inward Behold His effulgence And Lo! The beauty of it! The moment mind is turned Towards Him, there issues forth A liquid light from the Deepest point of my inner world The mind which is only a Speck, an insignificant dust Is sucked into that brilliant Light and there shines The orb of brilliance and Grace, which is my True, abode. My true home is reached
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Samadhi
That state where I ceases to move Where the eye of knowledge beholds Thee Where dual throngs play not the game Wind of grace is released Whence Love, attachment, hatred; mere words! That supreme state of Samadhi is Thy abode; conflictless Infinite beauty!
The ego returns to its womb The mind vanishes in the inner space No power was attained; power, thy name Into the ocean of power I dissolved Power that hurts not but heals Power that radiates protection and love That omnipotence art Thou O Infinite Peace
Nothing sacred was known apart Knowledge was there as solidified love Nay love was there aflame with knowledge Knowledge and Love as male and female Fused together and radiated joy Lo thy power! Thy beauty, thy depth Peace is thy name O existence!
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When perception digs its own bosom When the mind swallows its own Self When the Self dives back to the womb Then, is the dawn of that Infinite being Who can fathom its depth! The phantom who dived into The fathomless deeps was lost; Lost forever was he In the ocean of eternity; He gained eternal life by death.
In the deepest spot within Lies a flower of divine brilliance Within is hidden enormous lives Eternity lies in its womb The Time-less One is asleep within Its petals are made of satoric insights Do they open, one after the other In the still hours of twilight, The brilliance of the Divine within Gleams thro the Knowing Stillness. The brain rests in absolute quietude The mind is hushed to supreme silence Be-Still the flower now blossoms!
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The Buddha
That great ancient teacher Who walked the earth Who set the wheel of compassion to motion That great being who merged In the profound stillness of being And emerged for the good of all That sage par excellence who Did superhuman penance For the release of all That master who gave up all And took the begging bowl of compassion That emperor of monks Who found the infinite reservoir of love and intelligence Came to me often and merged in my being I became one with him in the deepest core of my heart Profundity is Thy name O Lord! The life itself is the field of enlightenment The life itself is the Bodhi tree Live it with all attention; alertness In one life - your life - is the WHOLE The entire creation is buried inside you. Seek the tree of life and find its root They say that the root is He the sacred one!
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Seek the sacred in the secret corners of life Seek, Seek by living with alertness; Not by learning or rituals do thou discover But by alertness do thou behold Be alert to thy very roots Be alert moment by moment And explore its unseen deeps
Enter thy inner being and behold! Behold the root of creation The root is existence, light and bliss From there comes out the first sprout The sprout of I and its shoot mine The moment attention loses the hold The root is no more seen There stands the mammoth tree The tree of life, Desire are its leaves Pain and pleasure are its fruits Senses are the branches The body is its trunk In it is perched the ego bird To fell this tree one should have the Powerful axe of Who am I?
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Stillness
Be still, He comes!! Still is the mountain Still is the deep sea Still is the windless woods Still is the contemplating Mind In the womb of stillness is born The dark beauty, the ethereal joy! He the dark one is effulgent! Yes, have you heard dear Dark and yet effulgent! He is dark and radiant! He is still and dynamic He is manifold and one He is bewitching yet formless Be still within and behold In the stillness of the mind He comes!
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Chith-Shakthi
In the deep recesses of the mind Movement of an unseen force is felt It moves now in darkness and then in light Desire is its movement in darkness And insight, its movement in light. The force arose from beyond Beyond desire and knowledge is its form IT IS THE SHAKTHI OF CHITH The power of the divine Self! It blazes up from the inner fire When it enters the field of ignorance Apparent it is as desire and knowledge Transcending the dual and see it as it is It is the force of grace The power of Motherly love The power of Paternal discipline It alone can complete the life As it arises from the Perfect One!
The body moves from place to place The mind thinks about facts There is movement in both
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Beyond both is that abysmal stillness Stillness which percolates through the mind Stillness which fills each and every cell. When one touches that dimension The entire panorama transfigures The mind with all its vibrant thoughts And the corporeal frame with all its limbs Each and every atom is made of That The mind is the vibrant form of stillness The body is the solid form of stillness The body is ever in flux The mind too is ever in motion Change seems to be the nature Beyond both is that abysmal stillness Stillness which is not mere aloofness Stillness which percolates through the mind and body Stillness which impregnates each and every cell When I merged in that stillness The entire panorama was transfigured There is neither body nor mind The very form is impregnated with primordial stillness.
The Guru
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He my lord by boundless Grace forcefully entered my Heart and took over the control My body then and there Became a willful instrument In the hands of Sadguru. His grace as a cool stream
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Of peace is now running Underneath my usual self. Whoever comes near me Is touched by that coolness It is not mine, it is His I am not even aware about Its operation on others.
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The great teacher who was None other than God who walked the earth Made me mad with inundation. He was not a person. He was a teaching. An awakening was He Awakening to our own majesty, Awakening to the Godhead. An awakening which is only A Rediscovery of the Primordial teaching in Ones own deep awareness. This vision of the great Master Filled the heart with gratefulness. Tears rolled on and on Expressing the inner fulfillment What else can be returned To the omnipotent being Who was solidified nectarine Ocean of compassion!
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Made the weight melt to nothing. Giving up the me is The only way to invoke His power to flow thro Me to deify my entire being.
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The Guru
To be in the presence Of Guru is to get illumined Inwardly with the light of God. Guru is none other than Our own real Self shooting Out in a comely form to Pull our mind towards Him. This is the most mystical Incarnation of divine grace. When the mind moves to the centre The flame in the centre swallows it. That flame is the Inner Guru Once the Inner monitor Takes over the Control the Person can never go wrong. Infallible is His guidance. A person whose attention Is sharp enough to listen to This Infallible inner voice Is a free person. He is liberated from The trap of ignorance.
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In the deepest poise of sleep Do I merge in the undifferentiated There I become One with Truth From Perfection I arise to waking
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Unto perfection do I merge Perfection is the substratum Perfection is the essence of myself This treasure was ever hidden in the heart Unknowingly was my trip often The veil of Ignorance was torn apart By the grace of Master within That very moment attention was ablaze Undifferentiated awareness was revealed As my eternal Home The real import of profound OM!
From eternity I was seeking For perfection and wholeness The vague recollection of THAT Made me frantic to seek Where have I seen it? Where have I touched it? Why this frantic search for the unknown? Why this nostalgic brooding of a lost home? The whole world was felt an alien land Then came the grace of my Master He roared You are the Truth
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The truth was revealed as The very essence of my being That healing source which Is the most ancient balm of life For all the miseries of the world The only panacea for the pain of embodiment Was revealed within as my very being
The Seeking
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The Struggle
Struggle is inevitable in inner life It was a constant fight to gain Perfection, Truth, purity and silence. Each time with courage I fought But alas! Only to fail again. I wept and beseeched Him. He said Child observe with Attention at your failure Again I fought only to fail. Then it was found that It is the failure of the I. Each failure made me expand more. Each failure convinced me that I am nothing. By constant defeat the I was completely vanquished And then dawned perfection, Peace and silence as the substratum. On this ground was all these Battles taking place corrupting the sacred spot.
When the battle was over the war was won. The fight for victory was lost and
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In that failure was my success. I fought and fought only to perish. On the ashes of my dead self Was the resurrection of the divine. It was the death of all ambitions, Worldly or otherworldly. It was the death of all gloating Over attainments and success. It was the death of all curiosity, Fear, guilt, pride and envy. The fight was indeed a noble one In which the warrior was crucified to death. And that death was another Name for God, Truth or Love.
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Walking in God
To walk is to be still, To walk is to meditate When the body moves agile God was there as profound energy. The fresh dawn hours when The whole nature is alive With divine stillness and peace rejuvenating I walked listening to The melody of warbling birds Nay I listened to the very silence Some secret pep was set free Within the centre of my body There issued forth a stream of Invigorating energy from That centre bathing me in peace. God was there around me Wafting a divine fragrance There was no separate me To feel Him, yet the Feeling was deep as ones own existence.
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To walk in the dawn When the divine orb sets in For me is to move in Light, Peace and Joy.
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To See GOD
To see God is to be filled With light, energy and joy. To see God is to behold love Pure, in the heart of all To see God is to move about With a lilt in ones heart To see God is to be free, Fearless and agile like a child. To see God is to be aware Of a vast ocean of joy in ones heart To see God is to bury ones mind In the primordial ground of creation To see God is to be free Of the ego movement. To see God is to be Free of envy towards all To see God is to see The Self in all beings. To see God means to have The inner lake still and deep To see God means to be Awake always to the Real To see God is to be God, yet to be NOTHING.
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And glided into the beyond Where the kingdom of God was eternally mine.
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A Sacred Place
It was a temple of rare Sacredness where I spent Some days in Inwardness. Austerity was there in the Very air inside the holy place. Moods changed from love To peace, silence to ecstasy. One could clearly see the Change; palpable was it. During twilight hours They say that the Lord Walked the sacred earth. Yes, there was something Personal moving during Those periods which drew The deepest and noblest Emotions in you.
As the smoke from an Incense stick wafts A rare fragrance, mist like,
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Emanated from that centre Which instantly made the Mind still, introvert and tender During Those periods some Thing melted in our heart. That was love, ecstasy; That was God experience. Every dawn and dusk in Those days was an invitation To be a part of this most mystical Imperceptible worship. To recollect those days Is to Relive it here and now.
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The Effulgence
Those were days when the storm Of grace swept the leaf forcefully. Delightful it is to recollect the joy. A boy floating on the river of Bhakthi was sitting immersed In front of a Sacred Shrine. A liquid light from inside Came flooding and spread out Hither, thither everywhere Light alone was there. It was His light - the Light which was the ray of grace. It came and vanished Alas only to kindle the Fire of deep yearning for Him. The light came as a messenger From the beloved to beckon Me to Him in my own Heart.
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The Sun
The reflection of the brilliant Sun was there in the Muddy water of the lake. When the water shook, the Reflection also wavered making shapes. Every wave made the reflection Dance, break and muddy. Then with great effort The water was purified To make the reflection pure. For a minute the Sun Looked pure and steady Alas only to get shaken again. This non-ending effort continued. Atlast the brilliance of the Sun Made the water evaporate And Lo! There was no Sun In the lake to suffer. The Sun in all majesty was Shining bright in the heaven.
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Living Flame
To be without I is Freedom here and now. To be without the I is To be the real I which is Existence, awareness and bliss. Moment by moment pay attention To the feeling of I I. Watch its every movement As a tiger would, its prey. Burn this virulent offshoot With the fire of watchfulness. Watchfulness is the radiumRay of the Real Self. Switch it off, you are in dark. Keep it aflame, you move in light, Nay you are light. Moment by moment live With this flame of awareness. Be a living flame of Awareness, Peace and Existence.
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Compelled by the past wind Without a prisoner within. To see that body is to Behold a sacred temple. To look at those eyes Is to see ones own beloved.
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Not to amass but to give in plenty, Not to seek love but to give love, Not to be worshipped but to adore, Is, is my boon O lord to be bestowed.
Not to be curtailed but to be free, Not to brood but to be silent, Not to be active but to be still, Is, is my boon O lord to be bestowed.
Not to be deified but to divinise Not to be restless but to be restful Not to subdue but to be surrendered Is, is my boon O lord to be bestowed.
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Not to be fascinated but to be enlivened Not to be haphazard but to be vigilant Not to be lazy but to be agile Is, is my boon O lord to be bestowed.
Not to crave or wish but to be content and still Not to be afraid ever but to be fearless anon Not at all bound or dull but to be free and brave Is, is my boon O lord to be bestowed.
Not to sing or dance but to be a song of delight Not to celebrate or proclaim but to be a celebration to all Not to be glorious or bright but to have the glow of love Is, is my boon O lord to be bestowed.
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Time
The mind is a pendulum It constantly rocks to past and future. It is a cloud which covers The brilliance of the divine orb. To be free of time is To be free of the mind. Know that the now alone is. Past, future are the bluffs of The mind to entice attention. Do not believe your mind Instead listen to the divine Whisper in between the thoughts. Listen to the voice of I am. I am I am is the ever Ringing mystic syllable, the manthra. Go deep and find this Ever rolling inner rosary within. I amness is another name for liberation. It is neither in past nor in future. It is the eternal Self which Is Here and now.
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In this refreshing ocean Of Now does the mind create Waves of past and future. Be aware of the eternal Truth, the present moment. It is Self, God and Truth.
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Those who talk ill of others Are indeed the most sacred Tirthas like Ganga or Yamuna
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Alas! Seldom we recognize The invaluable Service rendered by them. When they insult or scandalize The ego that lurks in various Unknown crevices will peep out Then should you use the shaft Of Who am I? to burn it. Otherwise the hidden foe Will never appear to the Clear light of your vision. So we should prostrate To the great Master who Appears in the form of Scandalizers, Backbiters and Insulters.
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Invoke Him
Do not sit in the drivers seat Quit the spot and invoke Him. Give the reigns to the ancient Being, the teacher of all teachers. The simplest way to be free Is to stop the tussle with Our mind and handing it over To Him who is the all powerful one. If we struggle with our power Difficult, nay impossible is the goal. Hand it to the Master, freedom The angel which even gods dream Is here and now in our Heart.
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This is the saving knowledge Which deals a death blow To yourself to wake you up To the Sunlit land of immortality.
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By contacting My devotees who chant O Lord! How to know Thy devotees? By the fragrance of love and peace.
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