Atmānanda- Laharī

  Atma Nishta I am whole; free of any limitations. Moments of joy visit, where limitations are forgotten, something vast shines through. I am not this body; it stands before me as seen. Am I in the body, or is the body floating in me? The mind manufactures thoughts. The mind stores memories. I am not the mind, a restless archive of passive thoughts. Thoughts are lighted by me, the consciousness. Ahankara, the intellect, also comes and goes, wearing roles like shifting garments. I am not the intellect; I was, before its first question even arose. In the waking state, the show begins. the world appears, the characters narrate the script, In dream, another stage appears, inner skies, silent scripts. In deep sleep, the curtains fall. Yet whether the show plays or dissolves, I remain, the light in which all appears. I am in and through; yet beyond, I transcend all. I am everything. I am one without a second. I am everywhere. Space unfolds in me Time moves on me. unclinging and untouched...

All You Can Eat — A Buffet of Silence In the world’s vast buffet of offerings— Māyā, Īśvara, ignorance, knowledge, student, teacher, retreat, reflection— all are served upon the table of Brahman. The wise begin with the appetizer called Meditation: a taste of silence before the feast of life. I make an appointment with my own self for contentment. I am not running away from life; I return to myself. In the marketplace of the Eternal Whole Foods an ancient soap is still sold: Om Namah Śivāya! It cleans the mind’s inside, washes the thicket of likes and dislikes, extinguishes the forest fire of desire, dissolves the vast ocean of notions. I sit upright, eyes gently closed. I externalize the secret invaders, retain only love and care. I let go of frozen needs, allow caregivers simply to be. I clear the hardened plaque of the heart with the stent of contemplation. Now, the flow of life is smooth. As though I have a life, as though I am a wife, as though I bear children, as though I love an...