[Poetry Chaikhana] Ramana Maharshi - The Song of the Poppadum

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Dear Friends,

 

Ivan Granger has given us a great treat to-day. Ramana's great Poem beautifully versified by Major Chadwick, an amateur poet.--- On Mon, 6/10/08, Poetry Chaikhana <ivan wrote:

Poetry Chaikhana <ivan[Poetry Chaikhana] Ramana Maharshi - The Song of the PoppadumalanadamsjacobsDate: Monday, 6 October, 2008, 5:07 PM

 

Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana --

 

 

 

 

 

The Song of the Poppadum

By Ramana Maharshi(1879 - 1950)

English version by Ramanasramam

No need about the world to roamAnd suffer from depression;Make poppadum within the homeAccording to the lessonOf 'Thou art That', without compare,The Unique Word, unspoken'Tis not by speech it will declare.The silence is unbrokenOf Him who is the Adept-Sage,The great Apotheosis,With His eternal heritageThat Being-Wisdom-Bliss is.Make poppadum and after making fry,Eat, so your cravings you may satisfy. The grain which is the black gram’s yield,The so-called self or ego,Grown in the body's fertile fieldOf five-fold sheaths, put intoThe roller-mill made out of stone,Which is the search for Wisdom,The 'Who am I?'. 'Tis thus aloneThe Self will gain its freedom.This must be crushed to finest dustAnd ground up into

fragmentsAs being the non-self, so mustWe shatter our attachments.Make poppadum and after making fry,Eat, so your cravings you may satisfy. Mix the juice of square-stemmed vine,This associationWith Holy Men. With this combineWithin the preparationSome cummin-seed of mind-controlAnd pepper for restrainingThe wayward senses, with them rollThat salt which is remainingIndifferent to the world we see,With condiment of leaningsTowards a virtuous unity.These are their different meanings.Make poppadum and after making fry,Eat, so your cravings you may satisfy. The mixture into dough now blendAnd on the stone then place itOf mind, by tendencies hardened,And without ceasing baste itWith heavy strokes of the 'I-I'Delivered with the pestleOf introverted mind. SlowlyThe mind will

cease to wrestle.Then roll out with the pin of peaceUpon the slab of Brahman.Continue effort without ceaseWith energetic élan.Make poppadum and after making fry,Eat, so your cravings you may satisfy. The poppadum or soul's now fitTo put into the fry-pan,The one infinite symbol itOf the great Silence, which canBe first prepared by putting inSome clarified fresh butterOf the Supreme. And now beginTo heat it till it sputter,On Wisdom's self-effulgent flameFry poppadum, 'I', as That.Enjoying all alone the same;Which bliss we ever aim at.Make poppadum of self and after eat;Of Perfect Peace then you will be replete.

 

 

 

 

 

 

-- from The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi, Edited by Arthur Osborne

Amazon.com / Photo by Matt Seppings /

 

 

 

 

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Thought for the Day:

Even in our stumblings, in our rebellions and unconsciousness, there is a smoldering nugget of awareness that calls out for remembrance.

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Hi Alan -I got so many responses from the commentary on fasting I sent out a few weeks ago at the beginning of Ramadan, that I thought this week we should consider the relationship of food and eating to spirituality. I wanted to start things off with this playful song of realization and food preparation by the great non-dualist sage, Ramana Maharshi.The story is told that the Maharshi's mother, who lived at her son's ashram, one day asked him to help in the preparation of poppadum, a spicy lentil-flour cracker. Instead, Ramana Maharshi composed this poem, comparing the preparation of the poppadum with the process of Self-Realization.I'll admit, this English translation is more than a bit forced in order to get its singsong rhyme, but I can imagine a kirtan hall filled with people laughing and joyously singing these words... all the while growing hungry supper. Maybe a few

are even contemplating the consummation of awareness that food, attentively prepared and eaten, can be to us.Next time you go to your local Indian restaurant, order some poppadum. And contemplate what you are really consuming.Eat, so your cravings you may satisfy...IvanPS - Email Responses from IvanI always love to receive emails from you and comments on the blog asking me questions -- but my daily job has been so busy lately, along with other aspects of life, that I haven't been very good at responding. I read every email and comment, but I don't always have the time I'd like to write out an individual response. Perhaps that will change as the Poetry Chaikhana continues to expand and more people sign up for voluntary donations. But please continue to send your comments and questions. If I don't respond immediately, feel free to try again in a few weeks. (Or maybe I need cut out the

technological middleman and just send telepathic responses from now on... ;-)

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New on the Poetry Chaikhana BlogIn addition to the daily poem, other recent blog posts include:

Stork Migrations and Reading a Poem - I just returned from a walk along the shore of a nearby lake. Eight majestic white wood storks were drifting along the surface, then, at some mutually agreed upon signal, they took off one after the other, reaching out for full wingspan, and rising up in an ascending, orderly line to the sky. Watching them, I thought, “Reading a poem is like this.†More

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