The Temple Dome

My first trip to Sri Jagannath Puri was in November 2018. It was an unforgettable experience and inspired a couple of poems. This is one of them. 

The  Temple Dome

As I walked out of the narrow lane, there I saw:

Rising into the bright sky,

Majestic presence, stunning sight,

I gasped, and let out a loud cry,

Attained I had the success of life.

A storm of thoughts raged within,

Down I went, I gave my heart,

No end I found to my good fortune, 

I was in front of Lord Jagannath.

As if a burden of countless lives,

Had been lifted from my heavy heart,

I felt light, I roared and roared,

Jai Jagannath Jai Jai Jagannath!

For there it rose, the Temple dome,

It's intricate beauty captured my heart,

The Wheel atop of infinite fame,

The dancing flag doing its part.

Let them be my constant meditation,

The Chakra, the flag, the Temple dome, 

O Lord give me this benediction,

And Your Holy Names to take me Home.

Knowledge is to know Jagannath!

My first trip to Sri Jagannath Puri was in November 2018. It was an unforgettable experience and inspired a couple of poems. This is one of them. 

Knowledge is to know Jagannath!

-- Nov 6 2018. Late night at Sri Jagannath Puri Dham

Knowledge means the knowledge of Bhakti,

Because the highest knowledge is to know Bhakti,

Knowing Bhakti means knowing the Lord,

Knowing the Bhakta, and the process of Bhakti. 

Knowing means to know the complete Truth,

Not just what is not, but also what is so,

The Supreme Person is the Absolute Truth,

Knowing anything else is to not quite know.

To dismiss Bhakti in the name of knowledge,

Is the mere arrogance of the pseudo-knower,

His childish grudge against the loving Lord,

Keeps him bereft of knowledge forever. 

Knowledge is to know Jagannath,

The highest knowledge is Lord Jagannath,

The process is to serve Jagannath,

By chanting His name Jai Jagannath!

O Resplendent Lord (Janmashtami Prayer - 2020)

O Resplendent Lord!

-- A Janmashtami prayer, 2020.

O Resplendent Lord,
To relieve us of our plight,
You appeared that frightening night,
At the stroke of midnight.

O Mysterious Lord,
For missions big and small,
You appeared that momentous night,
Bewildering one and all.

O Tender Lord,
To soothe our aching heart
You appeared that auspicious night,
Enrapturing pastimes to start.

O Affectionate Lord,
For your love for everyone,
You appeared that thunderous night,
To soon lift dear Gowardhan.

O My Dear Dear Lord,
Will You ever appear in my heart?
I sincere pray that you might,
To never ever depart?

A Prayer to Mother Ganges

Photo Courtesy: Avatari Chaitanya Dasa

A Prayer to Mother Ganges

Oh, enigmatic one,

Non-different from the Lord,

Even the breeze that you touch,

Purifies one and all.

Oh, dear Mother,

Your touch soft and silken,

Gushing love of your waters,

Comforts your hapless children.

Oh, Goddess Ganga,

Worshippable for every soul,

Accept the lamps of our hearts,

Pray take us to Krishna's abode.

~*~

My View of the World

My view of Religion changed,

When I came across the thought,

That it is all about Love,

And merely Rituals it is not.

My view of Rituals changed,

When someone made a comment,

They enhance expression of Love,

And are themselves not the end.

My view of Love changed,

When I read this principle deep,

Love for God embraces all,

Without which it is incomplete.

My view of God changed,

When I introspected a lot,

The object of highest Love,

Cannot be impersonal at all.

My view of Myself changed,

When it finally did register,

I cannot think, love, or Live,

If all I am is matter.

My view of Life changed,

When I accepted I am a soul,

Found a new way of life,

With Spirituality as its goal.

My view of Spirituality changed,

When my Spiritual Master taught,

It's not passive negation,

But dynamic Love for God.

-- *~ -- *~ --

New Year Anthem

New Year Anthem - 2013

Have I become now a better human,

And have the quality of my thoughts risen?

Perhaps my desires are now more refined,

Perhaps my goals are now well-defined.

Yearn do I still for paltry pleasures,

Never do I think of inner treasures?

Ever inconsequential is my life still,

Where am I investing my free will?

Year after year, let me progress,

Ever new spiritual delights to witness,

Always eying the pinnacle distant,

Resolving not to stop an instant.

-- Abhijit.

Let My Heart Be Warmed Again

My cousin Sanket Joshi has beautifully composed and sung my poem "Let My Heart Be Warmed Again".

Let My Heart Be Warmed Again

Many verses have I penned,

Various moods have flowed along,

With no mention of the Supreme Lord,

All but parts of some useless song.

Now that I try to write again,

Glorifications of that Supreme Lord,

The rebellious mind helps no more,

I find it hard, to even start.

And so I pray to that Supreme Lord,

Let my heart be warmed again,

Let it overflow with nectarean words,

To drench Him as will torrential rain!

The Flight to Light

I saw a swift bird,
And wished I could fly,
Freely roaming far and wide,
High into the sky.

I saw a sleek car,
And wished I too could zoom,
From one town to another,
I would arrive too soon.

I saw a lovely lady,
And wished her in my car,
An evening after another,
I would be her star.

I saw a trendy sportstar,
With accolades against his name,
I wished I could be number one,
On top of my game.

I saw the rugged mountaineer,
And dreamt of Mount Everest,
I wished I were scaling,
Along with the best.

Thus my life passed,
Anxious to be what I’m not,
Convinced that all happiness,
Is out there to be got.

And then I saw a devotee,
Just chanting the Holy Names,
Surely I didn’t want this,
It didn’t make no sense!

But then I saw him again,
He didn’t have all that stuff,
But he was just so happy,
Was it just a bluff?

Very soon I found,
What was really the bluff –
To think that the source of happiness,
Was all the other stuff.

Fooled by the media blitz,
Which promises immediate pleasure,
Blinded by its powerful glare,
I had lost the real treasure.

Deluded by the silver screen,
Immersed in that filmy song,
On roller coaster rides with happy endings,
I had wasted my time so long.

Maddened by the sports mania,
With the ball’s movement I rose and sat,
With no one to tell me any better,
Had sought happiness in wielding the bat.

Shackled by my limitations,
Wanting to break free,
I had desired to be an insignificant bird,
Whose life is but from a tree to a tree.

Looking for a life full of meaning,
Yearning for something to dedicate to,
If nothing else, at least, I had thought,
Let me scale a mountain or two.

Oh! How I have been deceived,
By the society in which I live,
False promises of happiness,
Is all that it can give.

Now I’m finally disillusioned,
By the grace of the devotee,
Who impressed it upon me,
What it is to be truly happy.

In fact, I’m an eternal soul,
Part and parcel of the Lord,
To serve Him is my original nature,
Unlimited happiness is the reward.

By looking for happiness somewhere else,
I was never satisfied with whatever I got,
Because nothing else was actually that,
Which my heart unknowingly sought.

Now when I see a bird fly,
It reminds me of my own flight,
From the murky shores of dissatisfaction,
High into the sky of eternal light.

_._._

The Poetry Page

This page contains a list of (and links to) the Krishna Conscious poetry I have written so far.

1. O Resplendent Lord (Janmashtami Prayer) (August 12, 2020)
2. The Temple Dome (November 08, 2018)
3. Knowledge is to know Jagannath! (November 06, 2018)
4. Rappelling - Faith over Fear (August 2018)
5. A Prayer to Mother Ganges (April 29, 2017)
6. My View of the World (January 01, 2015)
7. New Year Anthem (January 02, 2013)
8. The Flight to Light (May 15, 2010)
9. A Prayer To Srila Prabhupada (May 23, 2008)
10. Let My Heart Be Warmed Again (April 23, 2007)
11. Wake Up! Wake Up! Oh Ignorant Me! (February 21, 2007)

A Prayer to Srila Prabhupada

A Prayer to His Divine Grace Srila A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Wandering in this world of deception,
I was in search of Perfection,
Exactly what, I did not know,
But surely something, I believed so.

Inspiration I got from all that’s grand,
Mediocrity I couldn’t stand,
But no matter how hard I tried,
Perfection I was always denied.

There were times of infatuations,
I couldn’t resist their temptations,
This is it! my mind impelled,
But one-by-one, the illusions dispelled.

Broken and bruised, my heart so torn,
Had given up hope, I was forlorn,
In the depths of despair I was lost,
In the waves of misery, I was tossed.

While I was being tortured so,
Crushed and dismantled, my proud ego,
All the miseries and pains to erase,
Came into my life, His Divine Grace!

His disciples carry him in their hearts,
All of them are doing their parts,
By bringing his mercy to one and all,
By not letting his glorious mission stall.

Through his followers, he came to me,
His books are there for all to see,
I finally found it, it was here,
Perfection, which was to me so dear!

His Divine Grace, my lord and master,
His Divine Grace, saved me from disaster,
Oh! Srila Prabhupada, thanks a lot,
Oh! Srila Prabhupada, forget me not.

Let my life be a mission glorious,
Let me take on the task so serious,
Of spreading far and wide your glories,
In every town and village there is.

What can a fool like me can do?
I am insignificant, it is true,
But what’s impossible for you my Lord,
Kindly a drop of mercy award.

When will come to pass that day,
In which my every breath will say,
Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare,
Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare.

This degraded sinner prays to you,
Oh! Lord, Oh! Master, Oh! Jagat Guru!
May you always be guiding me,
Under your feet let my existence be.

Let My Heart Be Warmed Again

Let My Heart Be Warmed Again

Many verses have I penned,
Various moods have flowed along,
With no mention of the Supreme Lord,
All but parts of some useless song.

Now that I try to write again,
Glorifications of that Supreme Lord,
The rebellious mind helps no more,
I find it hard, to even start.

And so I pray to that Supreme Lord,
Let my heart be warmed again,
Let it overflow with nectarean words,
To drench Him as will torrential rain!

Abhijit
April 23, 2007.

Wake up! Wake up! Oh ignorant Me!

Hare Krishna!

The three ropes that bind us.

This was the topic of discussion in today's morning class. We all know about the three ropes, they are the three modes of material nature -- goodness, passion, and ignorance. I just noted down some remarkable quotes and thoughts, which I will post in this entry.

1. Lord Jesus Christ said:

"Don't try to make a house on a bridge."

The purport is that this material world is like a bridge, crossing which we go to the other side -- to the Kingdom of God (Spiritual world). Therefore, one should not attempt to make a permanant settlement on this bridge (the material world), but instead try to cross over this bridge.

2. Quote:

"There are enough material enjoyments in this world to keep us attached to our sufferings."

Even though we are suffering in this world, we are attached to the so-called illusory and fleeting happiness that this world provides. We must sever such attachments (and ofcourse get attached to devotional service to Krishna) if we really want freedom from all misery.

3. Easy-going life and Krishna Consciousness go ill together.

Hmmm.. this one is specially meant for me. One has to struggle hard to improve ones devotional service to the Supreme Lord Sri Krishna.

Wake up! Wake up! Oh ignorant Me!
Open your eyes, and let them see,
Look this side, so full of misery,
But on the other, you'll be so free,
Wake up! Wake up! Oh ignorant Me!
Which side do you want to be?

Your insignificant servant,
Abhijit.