The Mahabharata

Did you know that nearly all of us come from India? -- A spiritual jouney through India and the origin of Man

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The God Shiva (Creator and Destroyer) in his apparition of Nataraja (Lord of the Dance), dancing the Tandava (Dance of Creation) over Maya (Demon of Ignorance). Photograph: http://www.chopra.com/files/images/Shiva.jpg

 

Dear Readers,

 

The central theme of the poem is to explore the biological, cultural, and religious heritage that most of the world’s people owe to Indian origins dating back to 70,000 years ago. All of the world’s population outside of Africa arose from a small band of people that lived in India and then expanded to fill the rest of the world.  Because of this it is likely that we are similar in many ways, including our ways of thinking about things and our religious beliefs.  (See notes at the end of the poem for additional details.)

 

Best regards -- Rick

 

 

The Mahabharata

     …A Poem by Rick Puetter

 

  

Invocation

 

…“Man is made by his belief. As he believes, so he is.” -- Bhagavad Gita

…“The faith of each is in accordance with one's own nature.” -- Bhagavad Gita

 

Agni¹, bear you faithful witness!

To fiery birth of Man’s condition

How belief and Man’s awareness

Are shaped by Fate and His ambition

 

Will Man learn from His past lessons?

From His long trials faced ardently

Will at last He find completion?

In this final Age of Kali²

 

The Beginning

 

…“Thou hast power only to act not over the result thereof.  Act thou therefore without prospect of the result and without succumbing to inaction” -- Bhagavad Gita

…“On action alone be thy interest, Never on its fruits. Let not the fruits of action be thy motive, Nor be thy attachment to inaction.” -- Bhagavad Gita

 

Oh India, most mystic land

Ancestral home, the root of Man³

In ages old you held Man’s seed

Then to the World his spirit freed

When You sowed out His fledgling breed

 

And with Man’s flow, His exodus

Outpouring like the river Indus⁴

From You, Man spread to other parts

Man’s body left, but not his heart

And from Your soul He’ll ne’er depart

 

India, profuse with Devas⁵

More num’rous than names of Shiva⁶

With wisdom and no viewpoints fixed

With diverse cultures intermixed

With one religion ne’er confixed

 

You are the key, Dharma’s⁷ mentor

You are Man’s source, Man’s Spirit’s center

Root of Man’s culture and His thought

By You was Karma Yoga⁸ taught

That through His acts Man’s life is wrought

 

From Vedic days, You’ve ever grown

Through Krishna’s⁹ will Man’s duty shown

Oh, Pandava and Kaurava¹⁰--

Epic battle of the Gita¹¹--

Hear the words Mahabharata¹²

 

Here brothers fought, kingdom to gain¹³

Arjuna’s¹⁴ soul did twist with pain

So distraught he’d his brothers kill

He turned to hear Lord Krishna’s will

And through His truths his spirit stilled

 

Discoursing on Brahman’s design¹⁵

Lord Krishna spoke of things divine:

In rightful action place your trust--

Man’s body, only, turns to dust--

In duty, this war, fight you must!

 

Learn, then, Krishna’s lesson wise!

Put self aside, in Dharma rise

Worldly cares but transitory

Mortal death--illusionary

Heed these words of Karma’s Yogi!

 

Transcendent Vision

 

...“All paths lead to the one Truth” -- Hindu great saying

... “The Soul is Brahman” -- Brihadaranyaka Upanishad

...“Never was there a time when I (Ishvara¹⁶) did not exist, nor you, nor all these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be.” -- Krishna in the Bhagavad Gita

 

Incognizable is Brahman¹⁷

Eternal source and soul of Man

Greater Atman¹⁸--stuff of being

There before Trimurti’s¹⁹ breathing

Past Lord Shiva’s last undoing

 

Lose the Self, reside in Brahman

Return to where all things began

In Oneness, joy and such beauty

Past all things where there’s no duty

There, selfless, floats infinity

 

All the Gods but apparitions

Just like Man, Brahman’s reflection

Transitory situation

Momentary separation

Culminating in reunion

 

Be at peace with Nature’s essence

Join again blissful existence

Calm emotion there within you

Supplant desire and seek the true

And harmony will then ensue

 

Ah, the insights you have given!

From our being can’t be driven

India, you’re Mankind’s Mother

Bonded to You, Mankind’s brothers

Cling to You above all others

 

Benediction

 

…“ When a sage sees this great Unity, and realizes that his Self has become all beings, what delusion and what sorrow could ever approach him?” -- Isha Upanishad

…”All created beings are unmanifest in their beginning, manifest in their interim state, and unmanifest again when they are annihilated. So what need is there for lamentation” -- Bhagavad Gita

 

From the mountains, Himalayas

With their snows, high, cold and fresh

Flows the sacred river Ganga

To Sundarbans in Bangladesh

 

Here a modern culture rises

Western in its business dealings

But don’t mistake, for these are guises

Ancient are Her inner feelings

 

To Man She calls: “Remember ‘past!”

In ages old we were but One

And we’ll be One again at last

Long ages, hence, when World is done

 

And Brahman blessed Man with this boon

That though we separate do seem

In infinity we’ll all join soon

United …Om mani padme hum²⁰

 

 

 

 

Prince Arjuna and Krishna as his charioteer in the epic battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas brothers

Painting: http://vijee.files.wordpress.com/2008/12/arjuna_krishna_chariot.jpg

 

 

©2009 Richard Puetter

All rights reserved

 

 

 

Notes:

 

     The central theme of the poem is to explore the biological, cultural, and religious heritage that most of the world’s people owe to Indian origins dating back to 70,000 years ago. Most of the world’s people arose from a small band of people and because of this it is likely that we are similar in many ways, including our ways of thinking about things and our religious beliefs.

 

^[1]Agni is a Vedic (pre-Hindu) god of fire mentioned in the Rig Veda, one of the four main Vedic writings and probably the oldest preserved religious writing in the world, with an oral tradition perhaps dating as early as 4000 BCE (Before the Current Epoch). Agni was a messenger to and from the other gods. Agni is one of the gods that successfully made a transition to the Hindu pantheon without any significant loss of importance. His name is the first word in the Rig Veda and is honored here as the first word of this poem. And it is quite appropriate that Agni, the God of Fire, is invoked, since a super volcano was so instrumental in the early history of Homo sapiens.

 

^[2]The Age of Kali (Kali Yuga) is the last of the four Hindu ages of the world. The Age of Kali begins at the death of Krishna at the end of the Mahabharata, which some scholars date (there is disagreement) as February 17/18 3201 BCE. The other ages (or epochs) are Satya Yuga, Treta Yuga, and Dwapar Yuga. In Hindu cosmology, the cycle of these epochs is repeated every 4,320,000 years.

 

^[3]Although Homo erectus migrated out of Africa and into Europe and Asia as early as 2 million years ago, all of the Homo species outside of Africa would be wiped out by natural disasters (except Neanderthals in Europe and Asia, which some suspect may have merged with Homo sapiens or become extinct about the time of arrival of Homo sapiens from India--see below). About 90,000-85,000 years ago Homo sapiens left Africa and crossed into the Arabian Peninsula at the mouth of the Red Sea (The Gates of Grief). Then 85,000 to 75,000 years ago this population spread into India and Indonesia (then a land mass attached to the mainland). 74,000 years ago there was a super eruption of Mount Toba in Sumatra (largest eruption of the last 2 million years, leaving 1-5 meters of ash covering India, Pakistan, and the Gulf region), which caused a 6 year nuclear winter, ushering in an instant ice-age, reducing the Homo sapiens population to an estimated 10,000 individuals in south Asia. All non-African people descend from this L3 African mitochondrial DNA population, eventually leading to one mitochondrial type. By contrast, in Africa there are 15 surviving maternal mitochondrial DNA types dating back to 80,000 years ago. So the African population has much greater biological diversity than the rest of the world’s human population. After this devastation, there was repopulation of the Indian sub-continent. Finally, from there Homo sapiens spread out to fill the rest of the World, reaching Europe (about 40,000 years ago), East Asia (about 30,000 years ago), North America (somewhere between 15,000 and 30,000 years ago), and Australia (probably around 41,000 to 46,000 years ago).

 

^[4]The Indus Valley Civilization, mature in the Harappan Civilization circa 2600-1700 BCE, but with evidence dating back to 3300 BCE, was an important civilization in Mankind’s early development. This area is adjacent to the fertile Swat valley in Pakistan, a site of much current turmoil. Some think that the Indus Valley Civilization was the site of early Vedic and Sanskrit culture that would dominate most of south Asia during its height. However the absence of Vedic writing and any references to horses (important in Vedic writings) in the cultural remains, make this doubtful. Climate change eventually forced Man to leave the Indus Valley and move east to fill the Ganga plains.

 

^[5]There are a variety of Devas (Sanskrit word for “God”) in the Hindu belief. In the Upanishads, 33 celestial Gods (Devas) are mentioned, which was later expanded to 330 million (the Sanskrit word for “group” also means “ten million”, which probably is the origin of this confusion). Devas are essential, natural spirits that have sprung out of Brahman: “Great indeed are the devas who have sprung out of Brahman.” -- Atharva Veda.

 

^[6]Shiva (also “Siva”), “The Auspicious one” (in Sanskrit, “Shiva” means “auspicious”), is one of the trio of Gods in the Trimurti (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva), and shares many of the features of the Vedic god Rudra. In the Trimurti, Shiva is “the destroyer” or “transformer”.  But there are so many belief systems in India. In Shaiva Hinduism, Shiva is supreme. In the Smarta Hinduism, Shiva is but of one of five primary Gods. Shiva is called by many different names, as many as 10,000 in the Mahanyasa. The depiction of Shiva as Nataraja, the Lord of the dance, is very popular--see the photograph at the beginning of the poem. In some belief systems, Shiva and Krishna (and sometimes Brahma) are one, and/or change into each other. For example, in Chapter 11 of the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna shows Arjuna--see note [14]--his true cosmic, god-like form, saying “I am become Death, the Destroyer of worlds”, a role more appropriate to Shiva. This quote was made famous in the western world right after the Trinity bomb blast when Oppenheimer, the director of the Manhattan Project, said this about himself. In any event, each of the Gods of the Trimurti are but reflections of Brahman.

 

^[7]Dharma is a major concept in Hinduism. It means one’s righteous duty. More commonly it also refers to one’s religion. A variety of eastern religions incorporate a concept of dharma, including Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, and Sikhism. The root of the word “dharma” comes from the proto-Indo-Iranian word “dhar” which means “to fasten”, “to support”, “to hold”, but it is related to European and Latin words as well, and similar words appear in the Rig Veda. In Hinduism dharma is directly associated with upholding the natural order, the truth, and aligning oneself with Brahman.

 

^[8]There are 4 classic Yoga systems in Hinduism, Raja Yoga (Royal Union, or classical Yoga), Karma Yoga (Selfless Action), Jnana Yoga (Transcendent knowledge), and Bhakti Yoga (Devotion), which refer to the meditative and physical practices to achieve selflessness, alignment with Brahman, and a higher state of consciousness. But since in the Sanskrit version of the Bhagavad Gita, Yoga is described in 18 chapters and the title of each chapter uses the word “Yoga”, many believe there are 18 pure forms of Yoga. In Hindu literature the term “Yoga” first appears in the Katha Upanishad, where it means to control one’s senses to achieve a God-like state. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna states that the knowledge of Yoga was given to Man at the Beginning, and describes the roots of Yoga as lying in service, action, mediation, and knowledge.

 

^[9]Krishna is one of the avatars of Vishnu, who in turn is one of three primary Gods in the Trimurti--see note [6]. Vishnu commonly appears in human incarnations. In the Bhagavad Gita, Krishna is an incarnation of Vishnu and becomes the charioteer of Prince Arjuna in the epic battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas brothers. Being a high incarnation of Brahman (through Vishnu), Krishna instructs Arjuna on the Greater Purpose of things and the practices of Yoga. He urges Arjuna to ignore his worldly desires (Arjuna was seeking to avoid warring and killing his relatives and friends) and to see past the temporariness of the World and to Brahman’s truth so that he can selflessly take action to fulfill dharmic duty, saving his people, and restoring the balance of Nature. The death of Krishna at the end of the Mahabharata ushers in the Age of Kali--see note [2]. Krishna also fulfills the role of Ishvara, The Supreme Controller--see note [15].

 

^[10]The Pandavas and Kauravas were the sons of two brothers, Pandu and Dhritarashtra, respectively, that vied for control of the kingdom of Hastinapura. There were 5 Pandava brothers, Yudhishthira, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula, and Sahadeva, the eldest of which was Yudhishthira.  There were 100 Kaurava brothers, the most notable of which were Bhishma and Dronacharya.  Dronacharya cheated Yudhishthira out of all his possessions, including his brothers and himself, through a fixed dice game just as the kingship was to pass to Yudhishthira. Eventually, war could not be avoided. The Pandavas would eventually win this epic battle of the Bhagavad Gita and ascend into heaven. The greed of the eldest Kaurava brother was the cause of the battle. Krishna offered either his personal council or his armies to the Pandavas and the Kauravas. The Kauravas chose Krishna’s armies, but the Pandavas chose Krishna’s services as a council.

 

^[11]The battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas--see note [10]. The Bhagavad Gita (commonly called the “Gita”) is contained within the larger writing of the Mahabharata. It contains 700 stanzas and comprises 18 chapters in the Mahabharata (chapters 25 through 42). It probably dates between the 5^th and 2^nd century BCE and was added later after much of the original text of the Mahabharata--see note [12].

 

^[12]The Mahabharata is the longest poem ever written. It contains over 90,000 stanzas and long prose sections. The poem is normally ascribed to the sage Vyasa, who is also a character in the Mahabharata--the father of both Pandu and Dhritarashtra--see note [10]--and the writing itself was set down by the God Ganesha. The Mahabharata is one of two major Sanskrit epic writings, the other being the Ramayana. The Mahabharata contains roughly 2 million words, roughly 3 times the length of the bible, 10 times the length of the Iliad and Odyssey, and 5 times the length of Dante’s Divine Comedy. The earliest parts of Mahabharata probably date from the 8^th century BCE and the latest parts from roughly 400 CE.

 

^[13]While the battle between the Pandavas and Kauravas was superficially about winning a kingdom, as pointed out to me by Nikita Tanwar (naked_odim on WritersCafe.com, http://www.writerscafe.org/writers/niki_coooolest/) there were much deeper and complex issues at stake, with the battle probably arising ultimately because of Duryodhan’s (eldest Kaurava) rage with the Pandava after a life-long jealousy of the Pandavas. This caused Duryodhan’s fall to worldly passions and caused him to lose the core values taught to him by his Yogi. It is also important to remember that there was no one Good and Bad side in the battle. Arjuna’s Yogi (the same as Duryodan’s), for example, fought on the side of the Kauravas, and both the Pandavas and Kauravas had good and bad aspects. Because of this, and the respect each side had for the other, the battle was fought with a very strict set of rules of fairness and honor. For example, the fighting could only begin at sunrise and ended at sunset. No warrior could face another with a different or superior weapon. Only one-on-one combat was allowed. A horse mounted warrior could not fight a foot soldier. A warrior on an elephant could not fight someone on a horse. One could not attack someone from behind, etc. The whole of the Mahabharata is a study in honor and selfless duty, i.e., Dharma.

 

^[14]Arjuna is one of the sons of Pandu, the father of the Pandavas brothers. Arjuna is one of the major figures in the Bhagavad Gita and is instructed by Krishna in the teachings of Yoga--see note [9].

 

^[15]The greater purpose in “Brahman’s design” is ultimate reunion of Man with Brahman. This is what is achieved through the teachings of Yoga.

 

^[16]Ishvara is the Supreme Controller, one of the 5 basic concepts of truth: Ishvara (The Supreme Controller), Jiva (Living beings/the soul), Prakrti (Matter), Karma (Duty), and Kala (Time). Ishvara is often associated with Krishna--see note [9].

 

^[17]Brahman is the ultimate stuff of being out of which all existence is constructed. All the Gods, Devas, and Man are but a reflection of Brahman and will in the end return to Brahman. Brahman is personal and impersonal, immanent and transcendent. Brahman has an amazing resemblance to what modern physics might call the multiverse, the essence out of which all universes are selected and born. It is the set of all possibilities.  It is beyond all understanding since Man is but one small reflection of all of possibility and incapable of grasping the immensity of Brahman. It is beyond all time since time is but one incarnation of possibility. Brahman is the infinitude of all possible beings and existence. And in the Hindu faith Man is an intimate part of Brahman, and therefore as permanent and immortal as all of existence. Brahman is all things since it encompasses all possibilities.

 

^[18]Atman is the Hindu word for the soul. As such it is a part of, and is, Brahman.

 

^[19]The Trimurti is the trio of Hindu Gods, Brahma (The Creator), Vishnu (The Maintainer or Preserver), and Shiva (The Destroyer or Transformer). The origin of the idea of the Trimurti can be traced back to the Rig Veda, i.e., perhaps as early as 4000 BCE, well before the Christian tradition of a triune God, which only became part of Christian belief after the First Council of Nicaea during the rule of Emperor Constantine in Constantinople in 325 CE. There has been much speculation that the idea of the Christian triune God was borrowed from Hindu beliefs and there was considerable traffic between the Greek and the Romans with India to support such speculation. There is also much resistance, of course, to these ideas from the main-stream Christian church. However, it is interesting that Vishnu (here as Krishna), one of the trio of Gods in the Trimurti, also often takes human form and dies, and how the Holy Spirit is talked about as transforming the believer (Shiva is the Transformer), and God the Father is the creator (Brahma is the Creator).

 

^[20]Om mani padme hum is a Hindu mantra of compassion. It has many different definitions within eastern belief systems and some believe it to be a mere sequence of sounds that have transcendent powers. Tibetan Buddhists associate the 6 syllables with the purification of the six realms of existence: Om (meditation), ma (patience), ni (discipline), pad (wisdom), me (generosity), hum (diligence). For Hindus, “Om” represents Brahman. It is the primordial sound and first breath of creation. Many Hindu poems and writings begin with the word “Om”.

 

 

Author's Note

Sheila and Scott: In the closing phrase Om mani padme hum, if you are not aware, the correct pronunciation of the word hum is exactly like the word whom. So this completes the inverted Rubaiyat rhyme (abaa) that I planned for the last stanza. Also note that the last stanza breaks with the abab rhyme of the Invocation and Benediction sections as well as the 8 syllable line length of every other line, with the last two lines of the poem having 9 syllables.

Mark: Yes, Krishna is an avatar of Vishnu. Thanks for your careful eye. I will clean up the notes to avoid this confusion.

naked_odium: Thanks for your instructive review.

Best regards,

Rick

Reviews

[Dinesh Sairam]

Let me start with the with the vedas. Now, the old hindu scriptures were divided into 98 heads based on their subjects. On the corrosion of time, almost all of them were destroyed except two - The vedas and the hindu scriptures on mathematics (Quite not sure what was it's title). The math scriptures contained ultimate techniques.. Like solving integration and differentiation techniques in just two or three steps.. and more. The vedas were about life. Just imagine what the other 96 could have contained? I can only imagine.. So much was lost once. (Google - Scriptures of Hinduism)

You're right about Kali yuga. It did start with the downfall of Lord Krishna -- Not truly, Lord Krishna was just an incarnation of Vishnu. There are 10 in total. We call it in our language the 'Avatars' of god. Popularly known as 'Dasavataram' (Dasa - Ten). They're in order of their incarnations - Matsya (Fish incarnation of god), Kurma (Turtle), Varaha (Wild boar, who held the world between his horns), Narashima (Half-human, Half-lion incarnation, incarnated to end a Tyrant's rule and to prove even a small boys love can bind god), Vaamana (The short human incarnation, who asked an ambitious king to lend him 'three steps' of land. Once the king yielded, he took his gigantic form and measured the land and sky in two steps. The third step landed on the king, burying him alive), Parasurama (For Teacher obedience), Balarama, Rama (Ethics of a family life, depicted by the infamous 'Ramayana'), Krishna, Kalki (The yet-to incarnation. It's said that when Kalki rises, he will devour everything i.e. End of mankind, doom's day.)

"Whenever righteousness wanes and unrighteousness increases I send myself forth.
In order to protect the good and punish the wicked,
In order to make a firm foundation for righteousness,
I come into being age after age."

Devas are more like demi-gods. All of them are half human. More like 'Ra' from Egypt. And yes, each of them has their own unique rule and power. But as they're humans, they too have erred. Many hindu writes denote demi-gods aka Devas being punished by higher gods like Shiva, Vishnu etc.,

Our family is a follower of Lord 'Vishnu'. Well, technically we go to all hindu temples. So, as for Lord shiva.. I have this one intriguing thing.. I'll quote one of the religious research book I read "The shivalingam (The statue format of Lord shiva, more like a symbol to him. Google the term to see the picture.) is an intriguing symbol. One day, I saw it from a distance, it looked like a cross! Just a moment -- one moment, I saw Jesus christ in the center on the lingam. And then it was gone.. There stays the lingam, as elegant and mysterious as ever..".

I was kinda a Religious nerd back then. I've won quiz competitions on Ramayana and Mahabaratha. So, I can honestly say, Mahabarath war was NOT CERTAINLY for any kingdom. It all started with a game of cards (Lol, yea. You wouldn't believe.). Dhuriyodhana invited Dharma for a game of gambling cards. Though well educated, Dharma yeilded, lost all his kingdom. The greed caused him to gamble his wife Panjali too (Seriously dude, I hate her. She was wife for all five of the Pandavas. Trust me, that's what the scripture says!! I guess contract act wasn't enacted back then, lol). He lost her too. Confusion was let loose and both sides decided a war face-off. Here are two instances from Mahabaratha - 1. Both the sides vied for Lord Krishnas titan-like army. When coming to ask for support, Krishna was sleeping. Dhuryodhana sat beside the head considering that sitting beside the feet would disrespect himself. Dharma came and sat at the feet. When Krishna woke up, he saw Dharma first and lended him the support and the army. The grand novel says a 'simple prejudice' caused Dhuryodhana his demise. 2. Arjuna's son (Named 'Aravan') was the first trans-gender to be in a book ever. Aravan, 16, died bravely fighting a vortex of enemies. After his death, Arjuna never touched his bows and arrows, as a homage. There's actually much quotable incidents, time won't permit me. If you are interested just message me :)

When the war was about to begin, Dharma cried like a child and asked Krishna "How do I fight my relatives and my own master?". 'Bhagavadh Geetha' was the recital, rather a ton of advices that Lord Krishna gave to Dharma at the Mahabaratha battle field. It's full of wisdom, truly great.. The best part I'd say.

And yeah, the "Om" info is right. Actually it needs to be stressed... I can't explain how. Just say it, it brings calmness to your vicinity. And my parents say it's good for 're-aligning' the breathing pattern if uttered several times. :)

Thanks for putting this up. I do agree India was a great country. I respect the olden days of grace and religion. But, I don't wanna comment on today -- It's nowhere near those days.. It just breaks my heart as to how people have disrespected their own country and are destroying its culture and tradition.

Keep writing.

[Nolo Segundo]

Congrats on your win,Rick-- this is very good. And I much enjoyed the lesson on Hinduism-- I've studied Buddhism more but I see the 'overlaps'; actually the commonality of all the major faiths is intriguing. You're not only a good poet but a pretty fine teacher too it seems.

[Aakash Jha]

Friend, you had really wrote which is one in millions and i am very glad that there's other people also in writers cafe who are interested in Indian culture and heritage. you had really wrote epic lines.
Your poetry is awesome. From now I am your fan.
If there will be no more submission in one in million contest then i will definately declare you the winner.
Keep writing and make writers cafe proud on you.
Thanks,
Your Fan Aakash Jha

[Indra Neil]

Amazing composition! it is not an easy task to understand and interpret this epic but you have done it very well! enjoyed reading this superb write! kudos *claps*

[Chuba kichu]

Seriously! This is great. The best piece I read. Enjoy writting :-D

[L.Edward]

Congratulations! Epic ode to an epic spiritual journey. Om mani peme hung (Tbetan Variation) Reading the Krishna Conciousness version of the Gita was my first brush with Eastern Mysticism. It still holds a very special place in my heart.

[wordwarrior]

I loved the truth and inner message in this verse from...The Beginning....
So very true. Unless we listen to that inner spirit, life cannot function to its best.

...Here brothers fought, kingdom to gain
Arjuna’s soul did twist with pain
So distraught he’d his brothers kill
He turned to hear Lord Krishna’s will
And through His truths his spirit stilled....

The Transcendent Vision sends a powerful message, the one of selflessly giving, being attuned to others and nature. That is one that our spirits often ignore with so much going on in the world. We need time fo that inner reflection, so that we can use our inner wisdom and tuning in that spiritual thought and emotion to make ourselves and the world around us a better place.

The Benediction I felt like a salve, such a soothing and calming effect, that left me spiritually with feelings of peace( as it was meant to I am thinking?).

I thought that the way you separated the different echoes of faith and spirituality was very well done and certainly helped this reader understand the full message.
All this is most thought provoking for the inner self and very well penned.

Great writing.
Many Blessings to you

[THEAMATEURPOET]

Dear Rick,
I don't know how you write all this. Chancing upon another Religion and writing all this is very difficult. Your to enthusiasm to know is well nigh to the power infinity. You have highlighted the brightest points of The Vedas and The Gita. I am really falling in love with your poems. Hats off(Note: I have only a cap but no hat , so Caps off!!)

[Gobinder Singh Dhindsa]

Great.. Great.. Great work! Well Döne! Pen On..

[zainul]

Dear Rick,
You have written an epic poem on the Epic,The Mahabharata.
I am impressed,overwhelmed and hypnotized by strength and stamina of your inquisitive mind to delve into a literary work which is a proof of evolution of human civilization in the light of belief systems and modern science.
My review on this great work is interim which may be treated as a continuation of other learned reviewers.
I feel very proud to be defined,located and cited in your great poem as a citizen of Bangladesh in the following stanza:
"From the mountains, Himalayas
With their snows, high, cold and fresh
Flows the sacred river Ganga
To Sundarbans in Bangladesh"
This much today.
Take my heartfelt salute,learned scientist and awesome litterateur.
Best regards,
Zainul

[BLBrown]

Rick - I'm not sure I can provide value here since, embarrassingly, the extent of my knowledge of India extends to Americanized Indian food...which I love. I read all the way through your poem and notes...and now I feel like I've been living under a rock all these years in stultified spirituality. First, I adore the history lessons and will continue to learn about Buddhism in particular, something I've recently embarked upon. As for your poem, so very unusual I think, different somehow from other things I've read of yours. You have such vast knowledge of India and I love how you take it back to the beginning of species and physical history of the earth in your notes...gives such great context.

You effectively represent modern Bangladesh through "personification" in your stanza:

Here a modern culture rises
Western in its business dealings
But don’t mistake, for these are guises
Ancient are Her inner feelings

This is very clever indeed. Every time I read your work, I wish I had more brains. I am fascinated by the emergence of the Homo species on earth. When my brother was fighting in Iraq he got to see the land known as the "cradle of civilization" and Babylon...was a very surreal experience as I'm sure you can imagine. I literally cried when I saw the videos of Saddam Hussein's armies blowing up ancient statues and works of art as if they could just wipe history away. That's why I think I like that line, "Ancient are Her inner feelings," even though your poem is about India.

Really, no words, just feel very spiritual reading this. Thank you for that.

Barbara