Atmānanda- Laharī

Ode to Samsara- The Borrowed Sweetness What is Samsara? Dhanyāṣṭakam- Verse -7 Oh, poor butterfly, mesmerized by the lotus’ beauty, you drift too close and sink into the sludge. The sludge of saṃsāra pulls you again and again. What is long dried appears juicy still, sweetness borrowed from the Self. Superimposing ātmā upon anātmā, you chase pleasures, material triumphs, emotional surges. See the attention seeking mind Watch it, without condemnation. Drop the drama; Hold on to Rama! Leave this duḥkhālaya; here and now. Listen to one class a day, Rip the silken shackle away Grip sickle of jñāna Cut the root of the disease. At first, a sādhana, cultivated as asaṅgatva Later, it is known as your very nature. Mūla-mantra japa clears the subtle knots. Nothing obstructs what was never bound. You are light  You are free, Open your wings Fly effortlessly!

    Beyond the Bend: The Butterfly’s Ascent on Gosai Drive Who is the jñani? Dhanyāṣṭakam- Verses -3-6 Releasing attachment to the nest, loosening the pull of sensual delight, holding one quiet longing to know the truth alone, the butterfly opens its wings and enters the sky of Bentleyville Fear dissolved in the chant of Rudram, “All this is Me” affirmed in Chamakam. Through hymns and bhajans the heart learned trust, and the butterfly turned northward Giving up me” and “mine,” it surrendered into the supreme. A dense forest of illusions lay ahead, yet it passed through untouched, leaving behind wealth, lineage, and world. Seeking solitude and satsang, abiding in Brahman, with spontaneous radiance, From ignorance to knowledge it flew, leaving no footprint in the air. Neither object nor absence, neither huge nor small, beyond form and gender, beyond all measure the truth shines effulgently. Incidentally appearing as people and events, karma stirs its cup of joy and sorrow. Samsa...

Rise and Roam- Breaking the Fort  Who is truly free?    Dhanyāṣṭakam- Verse -2 Kāma , desire appears, binds within, Pulls the mind to taste and cling. Shake the likes, release the dislikes, Drop the coffee and toffee Let them go, let them go Blocked desire turns into anger krodha . See it blaze from the spark Let loved ones name the flame. Soften the brow, loosen the jaw. Cry to the sky, shout to space, Let the noise leave, Let the mind clear. Mohā , delusion, is a stubborn wall. A wall that hides the real. Know the goal, walk the talk. Let the doubts dissolve, Let the fog lift Let the highway become a freeway Lobha   comes in many robes. Today is enough, this meal is enough. Two in hand? Give one away. Lighten the load, Lighten the heart. Mada swells the chest with pride. All talents belong to  Īśvara Not mine, not mine. Be still. Be quiet. If words must come, Let Vedanta speak. Mātsarya , the fire of comparison Īśvarize ever...

Butterfly in the Backyard  Who is truly wealthy?    Dhanyāṣṭakam- Verse -1 Jīva is the caterpillar, fed by the leaves of Śāstra, wrapped in the cocoon of becoming. Through śravaṇam, mananam, and nididhyāsanam, sipping the ever-fresh, awakening brew of Dhanyāṣṭakam, that knowledge is known which brings quietude to the senses, well ascertained in the ultimate truth. The fibers of saṃsāra loosen, the cocoon opens. While others keep crawling in ignorance, this one remembers its wings. The butterfly rises— unbound, beyond all becoming.

Exit from Abhimanyu Syndrome Should I sleep away from the drama of the world, Or awaken to the stillness in which it appears? Should I wake up from the dream of the waking state, where name and form parade as truth? Or accept them as they are? Should I stop attempting to rewrite the script of life? Or engage in the scenes of the play with a playful attitude? Should I stop projecting a personal movie, Or recognize that I am the light that makes all images possible? Should I reject the world as a mere phenomenon? Or release identification with body and mind? Should I rest in the wisdom of internal calmness ? Should I be that mystical Swan  meandering gracefully in the water  abiding in self right now? If not I, Who will see this? If not now, When will this seeing occur? Who am I is the question of Viveka What am I up to is the question of Vairagya When there is nowhere to go, and nothing to attain, I dwell in these questions, not seeking answers, for the questions themselves are...

Opening the Inner Temple of Knowledge The rain falls at the Bay, yet no single drop claims authorship. Clouds gather -dense and dark, but none declares, “I give.” Oceans rise as vapor, trees breathe out their offering, sunlight fuels the cycle— and yet none stands apart as the doer Where does money truly flow from? From the labor of the body? From the power of thought? From the ego that claims ownership? Who is the giver? Who is the receiver? The body moves, the mind conceives, the ego asserts— while I simply witness. Everything resolves in Me- There is no separate giver, no separate receiver all arise as one, within one,  from one. When everything arises from one indivisible source, the giver and receiver dissolve; Action happens, without an actor Aim for Seva continues , the window of opportunity lights up from within, the door of the inner temple opens to the truth of knowledge.