Guest guest Posted February 10, 2010 Report Share Posted February 10, 2010 ---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 / ============ Thought for the Day: The true Poetrestsin the wordless space. ============ Here's your Daily Music selection -- Eliyahu Sills Songs of Qadim Listen - Purchase More Music Selections Hi Alan -A 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 for 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...Well, I'm hungry now...Ivan Share Your Thoughts on today's poem or my commentary... New on the Poetry Chaikhana BlogIn addition to the daily poem, other recent blog posts include: The Celestial Drink 5: The Wine of the Sufis - While sacred wine imagery occurs all over the world, the theme is perhaps most fully developed by the great Sufi poets... More The Celestial Drink 4: Fermentation - Comments (2) When the still water is lit up by that initiating fire or fermentation, the heavenly night sky is reflected upon its calm face... More The Celestial Drink 3: The Wine Press - Comments (4) Through the action of the wine press, we ourselves have become the sacrificial offering. The juice of that troublesome ego has become the sanctifying element. More Support the Poetry Chaikhana Donations to the Poetry Chaikhana in any amount are always welcome. Thank you! Click here You can also support the Poetry Chaikhana, as well as the authors and publishers of sacred poetry, by purchasing some of the recommended books through the links on this site. Thank you! Click here A small amount each month makes a big difference. Become a voluntary Subscriber for just $2/mo. Click here Help the Poetry Chaikhana reach more people. Become a Supporter for just $10/mo. Poetry Chaikhana HomeNew | Books | Music | Teahouse | About | ContactPoets by: Name| Tradition | Timeline Poetry by: Theme | CommentaryBlog | Forum | Facebook | Twitter www.Poetry-Chaikhana.com Poetry ChaikhanaP.O. Box 2320Boulder, CO 80306 Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers. ============ Plain Text: If you have any difficulty reading this HTML formatted email, please let me know and I can send you plain text emails instead. Friday Only: If you want to receive only one poem email each week, reply to this email and change the Subject to "Friday Only". Canceling: If you wish to stop receiving this Daily Poem email from the Poetry Chaikhana, simply reply to this email and change the Subject to "Cancel". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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