Marghazi day 1
These misty mornings,
Goosebumps ghosting over arms,
Fresh faces..
Doorsteps with
intricate kolams.
Winter solstice.
Dormancy for plants
Hibernating animals,
A slowing down of life processes.
A time for the human mind to contemplate on what’s past and gone
To gear up for what’s to come.
To let spiritual energies flow
In this Marghazi morning’s early glow
When the day is new-born..
And the dark segues into the dawn.
Marghazi day 2
In the cold dark of the Cosmos
A stream of energy appeared…
Some personified it as a pillar of fire-
The One with no beginning or end
And called it Siva.
Some called it an effulgent ocean
From which all life began
On which Vishnu reclines
He, whose single footstep had once spanned
The entire universe.
The cold of winter recalls the chill
Before the beginning of time
And to anticipate the spring
Voices are raised in song
As silver and bronze bells chime.
The longest night of the year
Is gone
As the days grow warm again.
The winter solstice passing
Is marked with singing and dancing
And early morning chanting
Of songs to Siva and Vishnu.
In winter’s cold dark nights,
Orion strides the sky,
At his left heel, blue Rigel blazes
On his right shoulder Betelgeuse
Glows red.
The full moon is closest in December
To this hunter’s head.
Ancient indian traditions are based
On these cycles of the moon and sun
And inspired great saints whose hymns
Were handed down to be sung
In this month of Marghazi.
Marghazi day 3
Awaken to your destiny
You who have been formed
From random strands of protein
Reflect on what you have become,
Where you now stand
On evolution’s ladder, halfway between
A single -celled amoeba
And a self-realised being.
Warm and cosy is your bed
Your dreams are real, in your head.
From your comfort zone, arise!
For your immortal soul, its just a step
Forward…from the mud to the skies!
Dont fritter away this daybreak
The glow of reason’s dawn
Come let us join minds and hearts
To move upward and along.
Marghazi Day 4
From the ocean’s depths, rises a shining light
A conch, all dazzling, pearly white.
It summons life, with a clarion call.
A great golden wheel spins in sync
To energize and create all
Life.
Together they call forth the thunder showers
That rejuvenate the earth.
Brown soil explodes with grass and flowers.
All around is light and sound.
Green parrots streak across the skies,
Their raucous meaningless cries
As loud as mankind’s chatter
Across social media –
But what does this white noise matter
To souls that must be awoken, inspired,
To rise from where they now lie mired
In ignorance. To shake off sloth
And move along the one true path
That leads to Truth.
Marghazi Day 5
Gita Bharath
The creator of illusion, of Maya, is called Mayan
The Formless one, taking on many forms,
Babe, naughty urchin, cowherd, philosopher
Diplomat, advisor, unique charioter,
All offerings we make of fruit or flowers
Thinking they belong to us, as ours
Are part of your creation.
And when we realise this truth, it shall sear
All false illusion and wickedness here
On earth.
Silver tongued, glib, with the arrogance of youth,
You mortal, who claimed you’ve seen this great truth,
Yet lie asleep. Open your eyes, open your mind’s door
Jettison your ego, let your soul soar.
Marghazi day 6
Temple bells chime, white conches are blown,
Birds twitter, a great eagle zooms upward in the dawn.
Minds that are fresh and pure now meditate
On their inchoate
Understanding of energy that is at once static
And dynamic.
Omnipotent, omniscient might
Quiescent in the midst of its creation.
Alert and restless, deer-like,
The mind always anticipating
Reward and danger.
Unaware that both are all around
From the orbiting planets
To orbiting electrons
A symphony of sound-
The music of the spheres
— Om—-
Marghazi day 7
The milkmaids’ ornaments tinkle
As the butter froths up in the churn
As white as the flowers in their hair.
In the woods, each sparrow takes its turn
To serenade the pre-dawn light.
But sleep lies heavy on eyelids
Of mortals who can scarce differentiate
Between illusory day and night.
Voices call out in vain
To those still fast asleep –
“Rise up from the deep
Sloth of ignorance.
Open your door, let in the Light!
Marghazi day 8
The low horizon begins to
brighten in the east
And dull dun buffaloes amble out to feast
On dew-drenched blades of grass.
Why wait for the night to pass?
Let’s go forth instead to greet the sun
To receive the benison
Of being part of quickening life.
The cockscrow is prelude
To the music of the white conch and lute
That sing of Creation and the Creator
Is he apart or a part of all?
Marghazi day 9
We are of one blood, cousin, you and I,
I think I’m awake yet, you still sigh
Caught up in the warm folds of Maya
In a dream world of nacreous light.
I shall call to you in myriad tongues
And speak of our creator.
He is the Ageless, the Eldest, too,
He permeates what we call ‘me’ and ‘you’,
Formless, and yet, taking on new forms
Does that make him the Youngest, who
Dances, and makes Time dance to the beat of his drum
Makes our hearts reverberate to the thrum
Of Life, of Love.
Marghazi Day 10
The rewards that accrue
To the pure and true
Through cycles of birth and death
Are also to be renewed
So, wake and restring
The fresh garland of holy basil leaves
Shake off the demon of sleep.
Or the energy-circuit that courses through all will break.
With our limited view
We try to comprehend the limitless.
The male and female components,
The celestial and mundane.
Pinning down a Name, a Form, a Something
That we can look up to, worship..
Marghazi day 11
That dark cowherd Krishna
Omnipotence in human form,
Has milked the cows and vanquished foes
Whilst you were still asleep.
The celebrations are on
This early morn
Under the golden orb of the sun.
We are singing and dancing in joy
How can you sleep through it all?
The Cosmic Energy- red fire and ash
created a symphony this dawn
Of jewelled dragonflies
Buzzing and darting
Over pink and white lilies
Come dip your palms in the cool water
And realise the blessing
Of just being….
gitabharath 