Atmānanda- Laharī

  Maya's Gallery: An Exhibition of Waking    I open my eyes from sleep, the so-called waking state begins. Marvelous manifestation blossoms, and the so-called universe appears. From within, I witness  the world arise, family and friends come to life. homes, streets, markets, parks fill with events,  emotions, and commotions. Maya, the artist,  paints with three colors. Some live softly in sattva, some move restlessly in rajas, some remain deluded in tamas. I witness the tapestry and refuse to be trapped in it. I witness each scene as it arrives, each moment as it dissolves. I play the roles and move along, I remain untouched as the lotus. As the ego falls away, the nameless, formless  Self is evident, as whole, needing nothing. I take on many names and forms, yet all swirls merge into One. I uphold all as their very base, immanent, and transcendent. Self-sufficient, roots below, branches above, I cannot be bound or entangled. I shine as the Self in all...

  Oh Maya, the Elusive 18 th  Elephant! I am the eternal, incomparable Brahman, Indivisible, part less, pure consciousness. In me, the undivided essence resides, Yet you, Maya, dance ‘as though’ a power. ‘As though’ you delude, without a warning, ‘As though’ you divide, without a question. ‘As though’ you appear as names and forms, Creating an illusion of duality and plurality. Indeed, you are very skilled, In making the impossible seem real, In concealing and projecting A wondrous tapestry of gunas To worship Īśvara in form— The first step of our worldly school. Creating a routine from this devotion, Leads to the leap of self-inquiry. Śrava ṇ am is the worship, Mananam , is the alankaram Nidhidhyāsanam , is the Ārāti  I worship, I meditate, I connect. I see Īśvara in all around me, Within myself, within others, In every corner of the vast world- The divine thread woven through existence. Oh, Maya, you with no beginning, Like the elusive 18th elephant, ...