Let love and grace guide your sail

Picture "Om mani padme hum" kindly provided by h.koppdelaney

The winds of time takes you to places you don't expect to go

It brings together people you don't expect to know...

All is not random, although it may seem that way

There are lessons to be learnt, kind deeds to do, kinds words to say...

Learn the lesson of simplicity,

Learn the lesson of humility...

Leadership, strength, courage to be shown

Your soul in this body to be flown...

Alas, you have it in you to go through this journey and come out awaken

Pray that you don't fall asleep, pray with grace you are shaken...

Let love and grace guide your sail

So in life you do not fail...

 

Mind like the sky...

Let your mind be like the clear blue sky

Clear blue it always is, above the dark clouds you can always fly

Even when there is storms, hurricanes, all is just a phase

For when the storms clear, the clear blue skies come back to amaze

Such is yourself, the storms of your emotions, your troubles, your environment

In your mind are just really small mice, not a big elephant

Don't blow them out to what they are not, keep your piece of mind all the same

Your troubles are like the clouds, they will disappear just as they came

(This poem was inspired by Jack Kornfield's Mind Like the Sky Meditation)

Flurries of snow float from the sky...

Picture "North by East West" kindly provided by mindgutter

I wrote this today enjoying the beautiful snow that came down:

Flurries of snow float from the sky...

Barefoot outside, I fly...

Let these little clouds of ice float right on top of me...

Let the snow flakes kiss my face, thousands of them floating above me is all I see...

My bare feet freeze below me, my body shivers...but I feel more alive then ever...

To go outside like this, one side of me would normally say never...

For now, I merge with the snow flakes, I forget about me...
As the ice melts, so does the mind, into what the eyes can't never see...

 

The cost of commoditizing everything...

I see it everywhere, where there was once something beautiful, now it is shallow and skin deep,

What it was there before, is still there now, but a shallow reminisce of its former self

Stripped of its original glory, simplicity and beauty

It is now just a vehicle for funneling ignorance in the money printing machine

The system propagates the system, with no regards for the innocent,

Like invisible grim reapers, they wait patiently,

Best to be aware of these traps, 

So you don't be an easy victim for these modern day vampires...

Rainbows are beautiful

Picture "Rainbow Valley" kindly provided by rwangsa

Rainbows are beautiful don't you think?

Don't try to possess them though, they are not yours to keep

The more you grasp the more it disappears

The pot of gold is not in the rainbow's end

But in the brief moment of beauty that it shares with you

For all to share and experience, not just you

Like the rainbow, the joys in your life are beautiful to experience

Enjoy them, share them, let them go...

Peace,

Kirpal

Prayer for Peace on 9/11

Picture Peace kindly provided by Cayusa

Please don't regret, when it comes to your last breath,

Thoughts, words, actions of hatred and vengeance, these are not impressions you want to carry to death,

Caste, creed, color, people of poverty and of fame,

What difference does it make in the end? when the color of blood is all the same,

Learn the language of compassion and love,

Hate, vengeance and ego imprison the soul, like a cage for a dove,

Pray for peace in your heart, pray for peace in your home, pray for peace in the world, pray for peace in every single place,

Each one of these builds on the other, all is not possible except with grace,

Please don't regret, when it comes to your last breath,

Thoughts, words, actions of love and compassion are the only impressions you want to carry to death

Peace,

Kirpal

Paint with the Colors of Virtue

Picture Shamba Returning kindly provided by h.koppdelaney

Don't be a puppet

Everyone has their own agenda

Switch off that TV

Take off those headphones

Switch off your blackberry

Bring yourself back to the present

Listen, Listen, Listen

Your time is running out quickly

Don't drift your life away

Imagine your life as a blank canvas from today

Paint it with the colors of virtue,

the color of service,

the color of compassion,

the color of love,

the color of devotion,

Paint a picture that has never been seen before
One only you can create

Paint it with the brush of action, and the oil of intention

This picture stays with you forever

Peace,

Kirpal

Busboys & Poets

This seems like an interesting concept, I would like to visit this place someday to showcase some of my work.

Here's a poem to leave you with, I just wrote:

I look through my photos of the past,
Time has gone by so fast, 

Like sand in an hourglass, not seconds, but years has gone by

Alas, I have wasted too much precious time, to do too much I always try

I have wasted too much tears,

Living in ignorance and in fears,

What I have left I will give,

So to have a mindful and compassionate life I will try to live

For strength and courage I will pray

And of love I hope I will stay

Peace,

Kirpal

The Song of the Reed

Picture "Zen Gold" kindly provided by h.koppdelaney under CC

An adaptation of my favorite poem's follow below by Sufi mystic Rumi follows below.  I modified it a bit to suit my interpretation.

Oh friend listen to the song of the reed

Singing with pangs of separation ever since it was torn away

From its loving bed

Now it suffers from distant memories and lost love

The secret of my song though near

These inner melodies, no-one can, see no one can hear 

Find the one who can

Let that person share with you the secret of my song

Of mingling that person's soul with mine

The inner flame of love that fuels my being

This inner wine of love that gives me life

Would you dare learn how lovers bleed, and bare open your naked soul

Listen, listen to the song of the reed!

Peace

Kirpal

A Fathers Day Prayer...

Picture "buddha's light" kindly provided by h.koppdelaney

Oh holy father, one true lord, beyond time & space

Creator and sustainer of everything

Lost is this soul in this alien land

Confused and bewildered, clutching at straws of ego and ignorance

Oh holy father, only you know your mysterious ways

Like a kite pulling some close, letting others soar in the winds of creation

The string is always in your hand, without which no life is possible

Oh holy father, when will you pull your kite back

Which you let fly so, so long ago :(

Happy Fathers Day Dads,

Peace,

Kirpal

Grace lend your gentle hand...

Picture Buddha Mind kindly provided by h.koppdelaney

Grace lend your gentle hand to this lost soul

There are too many paths to choose from

Lend me your light that shines ever so brightly

Embrace me with your heavenly melodies

Lead me to your waters, only which quenches my unending thirst

Oh Grace, on you I depend only to show me the path of truth

Alas, I know its only me who is not holding your hand tight enough

And it is your hands that catch me when I fall

Peace,

Kirpal

The joy I seek

Picture "Spirit + Nature" kindly provided by h.koppdelaney

The joy I seek does not rest in coins of gold

Nor can it be found in fame or power

Tempting they are, I must say

But tell me friend, how much does your soul weigh in gold?

Unlike first class, death allows no baggage

The joy I seek does not rest in pleasures of the senses or the stomach

After all how much can one eat?

Overeating is just as uncomfortable as not eating!

What to say about those poor creatures that are slaughtered without thought, who will bring them justice?

The joy I seek lies not in scholarly knowledge

All that does is blow up my ego!

The joy I seek lies in the dormant potential of humility, love, peace and compassion that lies in reach of all of us

So near, yet so far

Like a statue in the stone waiting for only what is not needed to be chipped away

Chip away what is not needed by keeping only that which is kind and is of purpose

Peace,

Kirpal

Voice of an angel

Picture kindly provided by OliBac

Voice of an Angel

Heart of a Saint

Its hard not to be hit by the arrows of love

The arrows don't have a sharp point at the end, but a white rose

They lock on to you like self guided missiles

There is no where you can hide!

They penetrate deep into your soul

Leaving a mark in your heart forever

That touches your naked soul with bitter sweet tenderness

Thank you Snatam for your gifts of peace to the world

Kirpal

Me and Snatam Kaur after concert in DC last night

The perfume of humility

Picture "Now" kindly provided by h.koppdelaney

I seek those who wear the perfume of humility

What use is a cup which is not hollow?
Have you ever seen a proud lover?
A lover has to go down on one knee to propose
Is humility not an embodiment of true love?

The temple of the living God is not made of bricks or mortar, but of flesh and blood

With a door that is tinier than an atom

Only the naked soul can enter

Oh friend, adorn the perfume of humility

One lock of eternity is opened by it

Peace,

Kirpal

The labyrinth of the mind

Picture "Amitabha" kindly provided by h.koppdelaney

I feel lost in the labyrinth of the mind

All these temporary pursuits always lead me to the same dead end

The labyrinth is nothing but my desires and attachments

Yet the world feeds off this crazy frenzy like zombies

Oh friend, don't be a zombie in a labyrinth

I myself created the labyrinth

So why can I not uncreate it?

Uncreate the labyrinth through the discipline of meditation

Real freedom is freedom from yourself

I long for the taste of this real freedom

Peace,

Kirpal

To see the world in a grain of sand

Picture "Searching the Ox" kindly provided by h.koppdelaney under CC

In this poem, I used the one of my favorite poems from William Blake to "seed" my own:

"To see a world in a grain of sand,

And a heaven in a wild flower,

Hold infinity in the palm of your hand,

And eternity in an hour."

William Blake

Time fades away and has no meaning

No past, no future, only an expanded sense of presence

Self melts away and is not separated from anything

Consciousness expands freely and not bounded by Ego or the Senses

Oh friend, why trade this for worldly reflections of shadows?

Born with this potential you were

Use the key of meditation to unlock eternity in an hour

Peace,

Kirpal

The winds of time blow swiftly

Picture "A Buddha in the Rain" kindly provided by h.koppdelaney under CC

Oh friend, the winds of time blow very swiftly

The compass of the whispering inner voice is there to tell you where to go

It needs not a steady hand but a steady mind

What's worse than dying in the sea of confusion?

Oh friend, bring up the sails of meditation and catch these swift winds of time

Use the rudder of intention to guide you to your destination

Your destination lies in the journey itself

Waste not the priceless moments that can never be re-lived

Peace,

Kirpal

The washerman cleaning the garment

Picture "Buddha heartfully stoned" kindly provided by h.koppdelaney

The garment cries to the washerman "Why do you beat me?"

The washerman says "I am not beating you, I am only trying to clean you"

So it is with us...

The garment is the mind, the washerman our current situation or Karma

Every moment in life is a teacher

It teaches us lessons that we need to learn

The biggest lessons are not insolvable puzzles

But basic lessons of being a decent human being

Lessons of humility

Lessons of compassion

Lessons of letting go

Lessons of acceptance
Don't learn this, you already know this intrinsically, unlearn the opposite!

Peace,

Kirpal

The void inside won't let me be... .. .

Picture "Planetary Nebula NGC 6302" kindly provided by wstera2 

The void inside won't let me be

The void is not of this world

So why do I always try to fill it with things of this world?

What do I hold on to if I don't hold on to the illusions?

My minds wavers with the winds of distractions

Being on the fence brings no satisfaction, only more torment

But this is still better than ignorance

Grace please tip me over to your side of the fence

Anchor me to freedom and bliss

Grace tip me over your side... .. .

Peace,

Kirpal

The mills of karma

Picture "Om mani padme hum" kindly provided by h.koppdelaney under CC

The mills of karma grinds slowly but very fine

Actions leave subtle imprints that stay forever

In the mind seeds or sanskaras are planted

How can one expected fruit when seeds of weeds are sown?

Actions of love and compassion grows into fruits of peace

Actions of the vices bring nothing but suffering

Protect yourself from yourself by planting the right seeds

Peace,

Kirpal