Speculation

[Guest guest]

SPECULATION

 

Reality evades the brains

of us illusioned fools

who rely on speculation

as our only searching tool.

 

The conclusions hereby made

in such a faulty way

can never reveal the truth and light

but can only find the gray.

 

Our reasoning is full of fault--

not one or two but four defects

will muddle up the way.

 

So hear the wise advise

from the chain of realized souls

"Please don't take shelter there,

the pilgrimage of fools."

 

but abandon now

this path to certain hell

for in your heart

a flame does burn with love

which reasoning can kill.

 

But take instead

the shelter of the Holy Name

'tis there that truth is quickly found

by one to speculation's bound.

 

Remember now my brothers

the lessons of the past

when twenty of your friends or so

had said "such and such is true."

 

Believing it so logically

their truths just grew and grew

and they tasted so-called nectar

once already chewed.

 

And they settled for tiny bits of glass

held out by logic's charms

but couldn't find the precious jewels

that might have laden down their arms.

 

So take heed my beloved pilgrims

as our teachers to us have warned

and beware of mental speculator

and logicians to be sure.

 

They lie as thieves and robbers

on the path that we are on

and strip us of our serving mood

and rob us of our song.

 

What could be more sad than this

what could be more wrong

to interrupt our journey

back to our Beloved Lord

for Whom we've searched so long!

 

But herein lies an irony

too obvious to conceal

that my poem is on the mental plane

'cause I've forgotten how to feel

all the love that's trapped inside

and like all the rest

have long believed that only logic's real.

 

But now our Blessed Gurudev

has come to save the day

lighting up the gloomy word

with what he has to say

 

Now a thousand times

we bow to him

or ever a million times or more

and still our debt to him

I'm sure we never can repay!

 

 

(offered to my beloved spiritual master

A.C. Bhaktivadanta Swami Prabhupada)