Devotion—
Not what it seems
Not sweet words and praise
but a giving up of yourself again and again
so that Truth wins each time
Not a determined loyalty
but an endless steadfastness to Silence
Not a lazy surrender to a form where you’re
tempted to glance out of the corner of
your eye for a reaction
But a surrender of all knowledge
that leaves not a single tool in your hand
Devotion:
is loving Krishna as Radha
Silence:
is knowing that Krishna himself is Radha
and Radha
is only another Krishna
– ‘Devoid’, from HeartWords, p.40
HeartWords: mystic poems
Krishna’s love, Shiva’s emptiness, the ecstasy of bhakti, beauty and freedom of Being are some of the themes of this illustrated collection of poems.
My new book HeartWords was created to be able to share a more intimate experience through the many poems written during a period of intense sadhana of contemplation and devotion. I’m grateful to be able to share this gift and most happy to receive messages from readers who have enjoyed the book.
Below is an excerpt from the ‘Afterword’ about my long-standing love affair with words and how I view the art of writing.
The Yoga of Words
As a child, I’d discovered something mystical about words. I found that if I really sat with them, feeling them truly and fully, I would go through them to a space of sunshine and peace. A place of temporary disappearance; where the world was squared away. Then every word that came to be written felt holy and I’d never feel to change anything written.
The strains of deep beauty, sensitivity to Life and the love and devotion ignited by the Master, are the source of the words in this book. The flow of insight and inspiration that comes from Life is often referred to in India, as the Grace of Ma Saraswati who guides expression with both wisdom and artistic sensibilities. May the flow that comes from Her always happen in the Master’s Light. All my humble words are offered with the deepest gratitude to the Satguru’s sacred fire.
On writing
The best words and any art seem to come from a churning that left no tangible trace but still, a knowing is shared in invisible ways that something was lost…and maybe something found.
To crack open words, to make them lose their rigidity and right-ness. To make them dance and sing, needs a poking, a chopping, a twisting and turning.
Somehow only then do things come to life.
A wrestling with something ‘imposed’ to sing a fresh song into it. Burning what’s known and seeing where life might choose to burst forth through it.
The most enjoyable writing is when there is enough leeway for the reader to join the writer in completing the sentences. Where language is not just utilitarian but more true to its essence in being a shared experience where both sides
willingly step into intimacy. Where the other implicitly agrees to drop their resistance by playing as if it was your words they enjoyed, when really it was the essence of their own self.
-from the ‘Afterword’, HeartWords available on Amazon and other stores
You may also like to read:
The Yoga of Poets
Bhakti: To Fall in Love Like Meera
