I was out on an errand today, to drop my son
At a friend's home, where he could play and run
A simple weekend errand that is common place
With many a parent, who have kids to raise
It had rained in the morning, and the road was wet
The Sun was behind dark clouds, playing hard to get
There was warmth in the air, enough to be pleasant
For a quick drive up towards the Mission Hills ascent
It was a task that I had performed many times in my life
Driving through country side sometimes almost as a traipse
I would take the road less travelled with the hope of a sight
Of a brilliant rainbow, or if lucky, a deer hopping in fright
As I drove through the scenic back roads just a stone's throw
Away from my little abode, marvelling at how tall trees grow
In this corner of the world, I knew that god's gifts are shown
In shapes legion, as in a pine's cone or a peak's lofty dome
1 comment:
I have read with great interest, the pieces that you have added to your blogsite on the 28th of this month. I was particularly impressed by your choice of identity “AHAM BRAHMAM”.
This is a profound and awe inspiring choice. You are no doubt aware that these two words form part of one of the “great sayings” or Mahavakyas of our Upanishads. The complete mahavakyam is Aham Brahmam Asmi, which literally translates as “ I God Am”. I recall Swami Dayananda Saraswati, elucidating, in one of his spiritual discourses, the exact meaning of this Mahavakya. Let me share the details with you as far as I can do justice to it, by recalling it to the extent possible, from my memory, which incidentally has never been my strong point.
The word AHAM consists of two syllables, Ah and Aum, which are the first and last letters of the Sanskrit alphabet. It is very akin to what we speak of in every day parlance, as the alpha and omega of things, to signify the entirety of a subject or a concept. Only in this case we are making use of the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet. The Swamiji stated that all created things in this universe can be described in words, however inadequate, they may sometimes be. And the totality of all words can be signified in a simple fashion by the first and last letters of the alphabet. So when one refers to one self as AHAM, it signifies that one is the sum total of all creation, the one without a second, and this is the epitome of Advaitic thinking, which is admittedly, the loftiest heights to which human spiritual quest can rise. So when one uses the word Aham to refer to oneself, it is an assertion, however unintentional it may be, that one is a true Advaitin, one who can like Vivekananda, shout from the rooftops, another mahavakya, which conveys the same sense, namely EKAM EVA ADVITIYAM BRAHMA, which loosely translates as “ONLY THE ONE EXISTS AND THAT IS THE INDIVISIBLE BRAHMA”
Post a Comment