Song of Eknath

How sweet is the curdling of liquid ghee.

So blissful is the seeker, when the hidden one reveals his form.

Dark is he, dark is the totally unknown and locked is the way to thoughts and words: the scriptures are silent, the Vedas do not utter a word.

Not so the revealed one.

How bright! How near!

Our thirst is quenched if only he appears, who is so dear to our heart. The ever perfect one, eternal bliss, being and thought - see, it is Govinda, source of ecstasy and rapture.

Strength, courage, honor, and exalted spirit - see, we witness our God sharing all this.

If I catch a glimpse of God, my eye-sight is restored.

I have escaped the net of life, the guilt of my senses is cancelled.

In the light of the lamp all hidden things are made apparent - so it is when I think of my God: the god from faraway is here!

Eknath was a scholar, fluent in Marathi, Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic. He wrote Bhavartha Ramayana, Rukmini Swayamvara, Eknathi Bhagavata and numerous abhangas and bharudas. Many incidents in his life, tell about how he fought against untouchability. He shocked the contemporary Brahmin community by such deeds. He faced their anger by holding a crying untouchable child in his arms, or serving food to untouchables instead of inviting Brahmins or giving Ganga-Jal to a dying donkey.
Eknath is known as a scholar of the Bhagvata Purana. The Jnaneshwari, which is available today, is the one amended amd edited by Sant Eknath.

Dust and Ashes

Here you see a naked Sadhu performing a painful and difficult act of penance according to the Hindu tantric tradition.

The Western religious teacher, and in particular the 'Christian' onlooker may express dismay, shock, and may even feel disgusted at this 'vulgar' display of the naked body. Some may even call this 'satanism' and 'devil worship'.

The Christian, [and maybe the Jew] has always been so obsessed with 'covering up'. The Christian religious rituals [and jew and Mohamedan] have vestments that are elaborate and cover up one's nakedness. And yet, According to Christian tradition, we aere all created 'in God's Image'.

St. Francis of Assissi was known to have thrown off all his clothes at the defining moment of spiritual revelation. He stood stark naked in front of a whole crowd of the elite and the commoners and renounced his father's wealth. He stood there, sky clad, in all his created glory and said "Now I can truly say, Our Father in Heaven". The Bishop covered him with his cloak. But a few minutes later, he gave away that cloak to a poor beggar, walking away naked. he later wore clothes of coarse sackcloth.

Why are Christians so ashamed of their god-given bodies?

In Hindu tradition, the priest actually strips down to the very basics to worship. To belong to nature. To stand humbled before the Power.

Renunciation in the East has been achieved through the shedding of clothes. Many great Teachers and saints were sky-clad. Mahavir and the other founders of the Jain religion did not wear clothes, but they did cover their mouths so as not to harm tiny insects. Even today, there are many Gurus in the Indian tradition who have renounced clothes.

To be unclad is not to be indecent. One can go around as naked as the day he was born, with a clear mind, devoid of attachment. One can wear the longest cloak and protest his modesty, and yet be indecent and lecherous in his mind.

[series to continue]

Lord as Elephant and Mouse

The other day I was visited by an ‘upright’ - or should I say 'uptight'  Christian couple. 

They sat uncomfortably in my living room, pursing their lips. After a while they asked me, “Do you believe in Jesus Christ?”

 “Sure,” I said, “Jesus Christ is an historical fact.”

“Then why is it that you have all these Hindu gods all  around your house?” they persisted.

They were obviously perturbed by the Ganesha figure outside my door. And the  Ganesha statues and artwork that adorn my living room. 

"And why not?" I countered. 

Spiritual iconography is very much a part of any tradition. And the icons in the Hindy tradition have really deep meaning, if you have the grace and knowledge to decipher them.

Ganesha is a wonderful representation of the power of God. 

The power of the almighty. The power of mind over matter. The power of Nirvana.

One of the names of Ganesha:  
Vighna-mochan. 

The remover of obstacles. 

The Ganesha symbol is an elephant headed man astride a mouse. The elephant is the biggest animal in the jungle. Nothing can withstand the charge of the elephant. He can tear a path through the densest and most tangled of forests.

The tiny mouse can cut a passage through the highest mountain. He can tunnel under the hardest rock.

Put the elephant and the mouse together and you have it!

A wonderful representation of the remover of obstacles.

I love my Vighna –mochan. 

Ganesha

The remover of obstacles. 

God.     Allah.     Christ.  The Lord.

At times of perplexity, in times of trepidation, when the tangles and the thorns of the dark forests of the unknown challenge me, or an insurmountable wall blocks my path.

The Lord comes to me as an elephant. And as a mouse.

 Christians believe that  God being everywhere. 

 Muslims say there are a thousand names for Allah.

Pity some people can’t recognize Her.