Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XXVI

18:46-47
Perfection is attained when, from the heart,
One offers up his own especial art—
O, better death in dharma of one’s own,
Than playing with success another’s part!

18:49
Each one I will in victory enthrone
Who, unattached, knows nothing as his own,
Who reigns triumphant from his highest Self,
From whom all lesser, base desires have flown.

18:63
And now that Wisdom, sacred, secret, true,
My devotee, has been revealed to you,
Reflect on it, absorb it in your soul,
And, going forth, do as you feel to do.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XXV

18:37
What seems like poison first, yet proves to be
The sweetest nectar of the Living Tree,
Is sattwic happiness and leads to Bliss
Through clear perception of the Self in Me.

18:38
Rajasic are those pleasures which arise
Through senses and the objects that they prize.
Like nectar first, like poison in the end,
These traitors are avoided by the wise.

18:39
That “happiness,” so called, which most offends
Is that which all the fire of Life expends.
Unconscious, drunk, unkempt—in such
Tamasic stupor it begins and ends.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XXIV

17:1
Arjuna asked: Of those who set aside
Those rules and laws by scripture codified,
Yet with devotion make their sacrifice,
What is their worship—false, or sanctified?

17:2
The Blessed Lord said: Here the only test
Is in the quality of faith expressed,
Rajasic, sattwic or tamasic rites
Are to their own degrees both judged and blessed.

17:11
A sacrifice to God is ne’er in vain
If done without desire for private gain,
But offered up with love and firm belief—
This one from Me all blessings shall obtain.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XXIII

16:21
From these three: anger, lust and greed for gain,
Man in his own self-interest should abstain.
Destroying happiness of soul in all,
These certain paths to hell are paved with pain.

16:23
That one who, by desires ego-driven,
Ignores the holy texts to all men given,
Finds neither happiness nor peace of mind,
And from his sacred Goal is fully riven.

16:24
So take true scriptures, therefore, as your guide,
And with them keep your consciousness allied.
Intuitively understand their laws,
And find your life with wisdom fortified.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XXII

16:1-3
The Blessed Lord said: Gentle, modest, kind,
Pure of heart, of even-keeled mind,
Steadfast of purpose, fearless, radiant—
These are the traits of one to God inclined.

16:4
Vainglory, self-conceit and arrogance,
Wrathfulness and restless ignorance,
All these, O Pandava, identify
Those in whose nature all the demons dance.

16:5
All qualities Divine to freedom lead,
Demonic ones continued bondage breed.
Fear not, Arjuna—you have long refined
Such qualities that soon will see you freed!

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XXI

15:16
All things created are impermanent,
Destruction-bound, that none can circumvent.
Yet Cosmic Consciousness immortal is—
Naught else but these, Creation’s fundament.

15:17
However, there exists another One,
Beyond these two, beyond the stars and sun,
Yet permeating all Creation’s realms—
Supreme sustaining Self, the Unbegun.

15:19
O he from whom has all delusion flown,
Who fills his heart and mind with Me alone,
And knows Me as the Being beyond all,
That one knows all there is that can be known.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XX

14:5
O Mighty-armed Arjuna, those which bind
The everlasting soul to earthly grind,
Are three essential blended qualities
Of Sattwa, Rajas, Tamas, here outlined.

14:6
O Sinless One, of all these gunas three,
Sattwa brings wisdom and vitality,
Yet still results in bondage of the soul,
Though the attachments be of high degree.

14:7
The quality of Rajas is imbued
With passions by desires and whims accrued,
And thus it binds one through intensity
Of expectations, restlessness of mood.

14:8
And last, Creation’s darkest attribute
Of Tamas is the one that will pollute
All noble thoughts with sloth and ignorance,
And all high aspirations will refute.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XIX

13:0
Arjuna said: O Keshava, I yearn
Of all Creation’s mysteries to learn—
Of God and Nature, body, mind and soul,
Of knowing, knower, known, each one in turn.

13:1
The Blessed Lord replied: O Kunti’s Son,
The body is that field in everyone
Where good and evil karma both are reaped.
The soul attends the field and sees it done.

13:26
O Best of Bharatas, within the whole
Of all Creation scribed in cosmic scroll,
All things arise from innate unity
Of Nature, body, Spirit, and the soul.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XVIII

12:8
Immerse your consciousness in Me alone,
Let all distracting thoughts be overthrown.
Without a doubt, then, you shall come to Me,
And sit beside Me on the cosmic throne.

12:9
If you cannot absorb your thoughts in Me,
O Dhananjay, take heart from My decree:
By yoga practice train both heart and mind,
The path of these techniques will set you free.

12:10
And yet, if in this sanctified technique
You falter, finding resolution weak,
Perform your outward acts in thought of Me—
You will attain the victory you seek.

12:11
If even this you cannot yet achieve,
Then do not be downcast or disbelieve,
But offer Me your failures and your hopes,
And still my devotee I will receive.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XVII

12:1
Arjuna said: Of those who worship You
With loving hearts and pure devotion true,
Or those whose minds pursue Infinity—
Which is the better yogi, in Your view?

12:2
Krishna replied: The devotee whose mind
Is fixed on Me, whose very heart is twined
All through and through with loving thoughts of Me—
None better versed in yoga will you find.

12:3-4
Yet those who to Infinity aspire,
Who seek to grasp Me as I am, Entire,
The All-Pervading, Indescribable—
They too will find in Me their souls’ desire.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XVI

11:52
The Blessed Lord said: This vision you have seen,
Was not of Earth, nor Heav’n, nor in between.
This cosmic sight, so sacred to behold,
Has e’en to gods a seldom blessing been.

11:53-54
This revelation, not to be attained
By penitence, neither by study gained,
Can only be achieved through love of Me.
By yoga practice, thus the heart is trained.

11:55
That yogi who, whatever may befall,
Does not lose sight, beholding Me in all,
And therefore bears no enmity or fear,
Lives in My cosmic consciousness enthralled.

[after Kobayashi Issa]

Whenever I feel I am not
what I should be, yet
still unsure what I may become,
whenever I want to ask a
question of the Buddha—
What is all… this?
I hear an ancient
answer, whispered by a pine:
Make of your spine a bodhi tree,
then sit, and know that you are dreaming.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XV

10:1
To you who are receptive to My Word,
Accepting with great joy what you have heard,
My utterance supreme I give to you,
With all the blessings that can be conferred.

10:2
Not gods nor angels, devils, saints or men
Can grasp My truest form within their ken.
Beyond the space of even space itself,
I am their very cosmic Origin.

10:8
I am the all-existence bearing Tree,
The Source of all that was or e’er will be,
And this Truth realizing in their souls,
The wise, awe-stricken, live adoring Me.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XIV

9:25
All those who worship ancient family,
In afterlife with ancestors will be,
Likewise to those who worship gods or sprites,
But all My devotees will come to Me.

9:26
The pure intention in an offering
Is greater than the riches of a king.
The slightest gift of leaf, of fruit or flow’r,
In it I recognize the love you bring.

9:30
Even that one who of his evil ways
Repents, and in new wisdom turns his gaze
To Me alone, rejecting pain and sin,
In light of that shall be accorded praise.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XIII

9:1
The Blessed Lord said, You have proved to be
Of moods, complaints, and carping spirit free.
Therefore I now reveal that mystery
Sublime to you, which makes all evils flee.

9:2
Secret of secrets, this knowledge is the peak
Of sciences, and holiest technique.
Through yoga methods, simple to perform,
You will attain the Wisdom that you seek.

9:22
To those who know Me as their very own,
And hold Me in their hearts, let it be known:
I will supply their least deficiencies,
And make their gains more permanent than stone.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XII

8:5
The yogi, when he finds his life is fleeing,
And Death to him appears with its decreeing,
If he but keeps his mind engrossed in Me,
He enters without doubt into My Being.

8:15
Those great ones who adore Me and thereby
Attain that highest state for which they try,
Need not return to this grief-stricken world,
Their every karmic bond I will untie.

8:26-27
The soul's two paths of exit from this earth—
The light to freedom, darkness to rebirth—
Are each alike open to everyone,
Therefore, Arjuna, hold the course of worth.

Two-Way Street

Poetry has a way of
making the world

interesting.
Start by imposing

your own meaning on it,
but then sit back

and let it show you
what it’s really made of.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part XI

7:7
As gemstones on a necklace all are threaded,
And by that cord they each to each are wedded,
E’en so, Arjuna, is My consciousness
In Nature’s every particle embedded.

7:8-10
In every element I can be found:
Fluidity of water, solid ground,
In fire’s light, in ether’s subtle space—
In Me the highest states of all are crowned.

I am the light of moon and stars and sun,
I make the waves, the winds, the waters run,
I am the Life of every living thing,
The Light, the spark, the glory in each one.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part X

7:1
O Partha, hear from Me and comprehend
The path of Yoga, by which men ascend.
Through it come to know Me as I Am
And every slightest trace of doubt transcend.

7:2
To you I will reveal the Truth sublime,
The logic in the universal Rhyme.
Armed with this understanding you will find
Naught left for you to know in space or time.

7:3
Out of a thousand men there will not be
But one or two who even try to see,
And of a thousand such who seek and strive
But hardly one to ever realize Me.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part IX

6:37-39
O Krishna, tell me: What becomes of him
Who uses all his strength of mind and limb,
Yet still falls short of that most noble Goal?
Is not his fate beyond all others grim?

6:40
O Arjuna, My beloved son,
The righteous man shall never be undone!
No matter in this world or in the next,
His fate will never be an evil one.

6:41-43
For in an astral Heav’n he shall abide,
Or in new earthly home come to reside,
Propelled towards his Goal by karmic friends,
Till all his hopes divine be satisfied.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part VIII

6:5
Let man uplift himself by strength and skill,
And not debase himself by doing ill.
The Self will prove your greatest, truest Friend,
Or falsest Enemy—whate’er you will.

6:14
Serene and fearless, firm in self-control,
The seated yogi, body, mind and soul,
Shall meditate, his thoughts engrossed in Me:
Of every striving, the essential Goal.

6:30
O, he that shall behold Me everywhere,
In Me becoming ever more aware,
He never shall lose constant sight of Me,
Nor ever miss My watchful, loving care.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part VII

5:11
The yogi in his wisdom understands
He’s not his senses, feelings, mind or hands,
But as conductor of an orchestra,
Bends all these functions to his least commands.

5:22
O Son of Kunti, shun the falsest friend
Of transitory pleasures that depend
On senses seeking joy outside the Self—
A pleasure that begins must always end.

5:23
A yogi, he, who calmly shows his worth,
By manifesting Heaven here on Earth.
Mastering every impulse of desire,
He lives a life of bliss in Divine mirth.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part VI

5:15
The All-Pervading cares not for your sin,
But pities all mankind for having been
Enmeshed in such delusion that must needs
Eclipse the Wisdom that resides within.

5:16
In those, however, who have banished all
That Ignorance which kept them in its thrall,
Shines forth a great effulgence as the Sun,
Bestowing Light, enlightenment withal.

5:18
Such a free soul views all with equal eye,
The rich, the poor, the lowly and the high,
The pious priest, the workman and the thief,
Great elephant to smallest harvest fly.

[after Matsuo Bashō]

Catch a storm and ask it how
it calls itself admirable,
how it fools you into
seeing what it wants you to see.
Use the interruptions of lightning
between darkness and
darkness, to not
merely think
but know that life
is eternal, and that it is
only the world that is fleeting.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part V

4:7-8
Fear not! Whene’er it comes the world’s fate
That Truth declines and lies predominate,
Then I descend and take on human form,
All vice to rout, and Virtue reinstate.

4:11
If your devotion, chela, is sincere,
Then worship any form that you hold dear.
As father, mother, child, saint or sage,
In that same form will I to you appear.

4:36
However far into the dark you roam,
How tossed upon delusion’s ocean foam,
Cling tightly to the raft of Wisdom that
Will take alike all saints and sinners home.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part IV

3:22
O Son of Pritha, nothing holds me here!
From karma free, I’m strictly volunteer.
I labor only to uplift mankind—
Where all such work is done, you’ll find Me near.

3:33
’Tis Nature’s nature all to tyrannize—
The foolish and enlightened sympathize,
All subject to their nature’s least demands,
And so, Arjuna, make your nature wise!

3:35
However hard a duty must be done,
Forsake it not for some more pleasing one.
Better death in dharma of one’s own,
Than glory in another’s, lightly won.

Of Eels and Their Mysteries

If ever I came like an eel from the sea,
translucent and shimmering, tossed on the foam,
and learning again what it means to be me,
then let me remember the place I called home.

If ever I struggle to carve out my way,
to grow gills for freshwater, and muscles for mud,
to thrust myself farther upstream and astray,
then let me not lose the deep call in my blood.

And if, after years lurking deep in a pond,
constrained to the dark and the wet and the weeds,
I chance to recall the far place I was spawned,
O let me then follow my heart where it leads.

And then if I find my way back through the bourne
to choke on the salt in the wide open sea,
and if my old self I am tempted to mourn,
then grant me a glimpse of where I’m meant to be.

For I’ll follow the call that I hear in my soul,
though the miles before me are many and wide,
till at last I approach the great Sea of my goal,
and there, in my final and true Self, abide.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part III

2:40-41
The path of inner wisdom, wise men say,
leads forward only, and will not stop or stray.
And dire fears, colossal sufferings,
dissolve with every step along the way.

2:69
The day is dark to those who see the Light,
and find the glowing Star in darkest night.
The worldly man casts pity on the seer,
and revels in his unenlightened plight.

2:70
O! See the rivers of your mind’s desires,
that drain in endless branching multipliers!
Be like the Ocean, calling all back home—
content the heart whose longing thus retires.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part II

2:14
Sensations that the mind takes by default
as absolute decrees it must exalt—
the heat or cold, the pleasure, pain—are but
suggestions. Take them with a grain of salt.

2:22
This overcoat of clay that you must don,
to clothe the spirit while from heav’n you’re gone,
must one day be hung back upon its hook,
but though you change attire, You still live on.

2:23-25
The soul in water is unsinkable,
by earthly chains it is unlinkable,
unburnable by fire, immune from harm,
and even, to the mind, unthinkable.

Bhagavad Gita Rubaiyat, part I

2:10
When worries gather, pile upon pile,
and rocky roads stretch mile after mile,
if then my heart but turns unto the Lord,
I feel His secret smile, smile, smile.

2:16
There’s no such thing as Unreality,
and what is Real can never cease to be.
Therefore, Arjuna, in your wisdom know
the true and infinite Finality.

2:19
Ignorant they, who the world’s deceived,
whose lamentations cry to be believed.
None there are who fight, are slain, or slay,
but all are one, and in the Light conceived.