He was accosted by some total strangers,

Who sought to relieve him of his wealth,

Amassed at the expense of many years,

To quell their hunger,

He recognized one as the butcher’s son,

And the men, being prudent,

Decided to end his worldly life.

In turn, he asked for their help,

As he prepared to leave the world behind,

He begged of them to let him write his will,

To be left on his person,

As a testament to those he had loved in time,

And would be grieved to see him go.

He heard the savior’s plea –

Open the doors of your life to my way,

And write down your last testament,

As an inspiration to those

Who come upon it.

He wrote the following words:

Dear friends, beloved ones,

My undying love goes out to you,

Across the un-bridged chasm,

And forgive me my grievous faults,

That I, in truth, was loathe to see.

Of the life of this departing soul,

Decisively cut short,

I regret it all –there is nothing worthwhile,

But an outward show of charity.

Recall the deeds, not the man,

I depart in peace,

I love them all that have wronged me,

They are ignorant –

And know not what they do,

They are driven by an alien spirit,

And do not understand.

They ended my resistance with a greater force,

Their greed has brought me to this pass,

Yet, they are of the human flock,

And will learn to repent the wrongful deed,

When angry youth gives way to a wiser age,

For the wise learn to despise hate,

The ignorant learn wisdom,

And the wise yearn for peace;

But the instrument of their teaching,

Must be the love of humanity,

In the name of God,

And soon the fountain of love,

Will blossom forth in untutored hearts.

He thought aloud:

Who gave me life when I was young?

And could not tell the wheat from the chaff,

What strange emotion as it?

That turned my face from my fellow men,

Let me make up in the end,

What I so dearly lacked, awhile.

He wrote again:

If by some quirk of fate,

Those who have wronged me,

Be captured, and confess their crime,

My deepest desire, my greatest wish,

Is those that stand accused,

Be not judged by any man.

Truly, I have forgiven them,

This is my testament,

This is my inner will,

A statement of my faith in him,

Whom I had not believed in earlier,

When my life was devoid of his love.

Forgiveness should be granted,

From the highest court of law,

Do not cry out for their blood

Do not yearn for judgment,

But put forward a departing soul’s evidence,

And preach to them the message of love;

Do this to honor an old colleague,

Who, in going, has learned the importance of love.

The judge’s scroll was found,

And written in blood were the words –

Let there be forgiveness,

So I may gain eternal peace.

The scroll was evidence,

To the trained legal minds of our time,

Who recognized the flowing hand,

And sentenced the guilty to death,

As an unwritten tribute to their fellow judge,

The teacher of such great repute.

They have not forgiven those,

Who wronged him in such a sordid way,

But one they have understood not,

Is the one above they know not the name,

He preaches love and forgiveness to all,

Let him not hold against them this fact.

Who was the judge’s letter addressed to?

Who knows, who can tell?

What the nameless jurists could scarce have known,

Was that his message was meant for them.

With faith, the gift of knowledge helps,

Old customs move men’s hearts,

A common ancestry avails,

And a shared tongue touches men’s souls.

With faith, the results of perseverance bear fruit,

And our works flower,

When the moment of our triumph is at hand.

With faith, we start the day afresh,

We write off what has passed before,

And a promise made shall be kept.

With faith, awareness is gained,

And the consequences of our acts understood,

We do our duty with every breath,

Other men just follow suit.

With faith, we learn to truly live,

In accordance with our will,

And the freedom we cherish,

Becomes our greatest resource.

With faith, it is possible,

To make our dreams come true again,

And with the storm yet to break,

We are borne on the wings of the phoenix.

Faith – a survival kit for an outsider,

The story of a human being.

In his own image,

The lord conceived of man –

As merciful to the meek,

Compassionate to the poor,

As just to the needy,

And truthful to his fellows.

He shelters in the hearts,

Of those who believe in him,

The truth he values above all,

And in the name of truth he speaks,

In love and healing his work is done –

Such is the nature of our lord.

Looking back at the annals of the earth,

His hand is often seen,

He awakens the devout,

And inspires them to act on his words,

His vision he shares,

With those who seek for him.

His gifts to mankind,

To those who do not fear him,

Are a reasoning mind,

And freedom of choice,

He wrongs none in any way,

Why question then his purpose,

Upon this earth.

Fearless is the one who knows the truth,

Who seeks for knowledge of the self,

Who seeks for wisdom in this world,

That one shall rise again.

A galaxy of words,

To describe a condition that simply is,

A multitude of words,

To say what need no be said at all.

Faith either is or is not,

And cannot easily be imbibed,

Though a young sapling

May draw sustenance from fertile soil.

Their true purpose is to impart courage,

To reassure those of us who doubt,

These, perchance, words can soothe.

It is convenient to rest upon the floor,

With the words upon our lips,

So that others may see our inclination,

And think no more of it,

As they are the bedrock of our faith.

Though words are often used,

To praise the lord,

They must be used in undiluted form,

Or else, confusion will prevail.

It is the lord himself,

In whom we seek refuge,

Most often in times of soul-felt need,

Amidst the turmoil of our lives.

When we venture forth from home,

We seek his guidance,

And invoke his blessings,

To help us on our way.

When we offer prayers,

For our lost friends and departed ones,

We wish them well,

In accordance with their creed.

It is by repetition of his name,

That prayers are given,

When we look for shelter in the night;

And even as little children,

We learn to place our trust in him…

Untouched by the passions of the world,

He is forever by our side,

He removes sorrow from our lives,

He fulfills our hopes and dreams,

And to the common folk,

He is lord Shiva.

They uphold the laws with vigor,

The laws that were framed in the past,

None are immune to the law, they say,

Be they the rulers of the day.

To see to it that justice is done,

They proclaim justice to one and all,

Be they rich or poor,

We welcome the ideals they uphold.

The guardians of the law,

Explain their purpose on that day,

To bring back justice to the land;

To know the guilty from the innocent,

They assess the justness of their cause,

But the trust that men repose in them,

Is vital to their endeavor.

They should not compromise with the truth,

But settle the quarrels of men,

As per the canons of the law.

No veil can shroud the soul of man,

The heart’s desire cannot be quenched,

The lover’s quest knows no term,

With time, love is kindled again.

With the body, the passion for life is born,

And with the senses, it grows,

With a force that cannot be stopped.

The passion for life is within our genes,

We must control our desire,

And long-lived our life shall be.

There is no shame upon the lover,

Love is noble, love is kind,

Do not fear to love,

Love is part of mankind’s nature.

Love shields her own,

Love brings the lovers together again.

Hear the voice within,

Far too insistent to be ignored,

That leads men across to the other shore,

To the Utopia of their dreams.

Review the tales of olden times,

Study the records that are closely kept,

All speak of a driving will to find the truth,

And the need for a flawless conception.

This is an eye-opener,

A reminder of what is to come,

Though many have sought for Utopia,

Few have found the place within.

The gateway to this man-made realm,

Rests in some hidden recess of the mind,

In a secret world of make-believe,

Where dreams come alive;

One day, in the future, it is said

Utopia shall redeem her pledge to mankind.

The radiance of the sun,

Gives the earth a beautiful glow,

But to illuminate the soul, one must look within.

Seekers from the world beyond,

Whose homes lie on some other plane,

Seek guidance from one,

Who is learned in the mystic lore,

Who laid down the law in an earlier time,

Whose voice is heard down the ages,

Whose spirit is dear to mankind.

In times long gone, in times of yore,

The rulers ruled on faith and trust,

When belief was all, logic naught,

None breached the moral law.

In the age of enlightenment,

What messages do they hold for mankind?

What should be done?

When the ancestors speak to us.

What lessons can we draw?

But that we are the instruments of their will,

We are the tools for teaching,

We must practice what we preach.

Let us protect the natural balance,

Nature is the source of life,

And long before man came into being,

Mother she was to all.

If we disrupt the march of nature,

We threaten life that harbors our kind,

In the pristine land.

Our belief in truth our armor,

Our commitment to justice our sword,

Our faith in God our shield,

To falsehood, our armor will not yield.

The eyes relax, the thoughts focus,

Steady the mind with thoughts of grey,

In silence draw in the breath,

And cast anew the mental mold.

Take refuge in the symbol Aum,

This is the primal sound,

This is the lord’s true name.

To free the psyche,

The senses subdue to the mind,

Of attachment, this is the cure,

Each and every time.

Step back this once,

The stage no longer seek to play,

But wear the truth upon your brow,

That is the best way.

Is self-control

A tool of discipline alone,

Or a vital step upon the path?