Poetry: Smruti Ranjan Mohanty

Smruti Ranjan Mohanty

1. A JOURNEY

The world outside

No doubt is beautiful and fascinating

But it is nothing in comparison to the

Inner world where you hardly live.

You have travelled a lot

Your mind wandered here and there

Your organs of senses searched for

Happiness everywhere

But you failed miserably

Real happiness you found nowhere

Now when no outer world to roam

Lockdown your outing

For a change

Look within

Go inside and see what lies therein

Just close your lies

And sit for a few minutes

That will convince you about the treasure

That lies deep within.

As you go deep

Move along the spine

Layers of consciousness will unfold

Until you become the whole

And your identification is complete

Expand your consciousness

And be the universe

Contract yourself to a dot

Feel you are the ocean and mountains

Feel you are the atom, protons and neutrons in the nucleus

The electrons orbiting around

Think you are eating through thousands of mouths

You are suffering in millions of bodies

You are taking birth and dying every moment

You are Krishna and Arjuna, Dhritarashtra, Duryodhan and the beheaded Belalasen

Who could see nothing but the Sudarshan chakra Cutting alike friends and foes

You are in the mid-sea surrounded by water

But inside you, there is hardly any water

That visualisation will introduce you to yourself

And bring you close to reality.

Be a spectator

Watch your breath

You will realise you are not breathe

Watch your body and mind

Hands, legs, eyes, ears and other

Organs of senses

You will realise you are neither body nor mind

You are that consciousness which drives

The body and mind to action

Without being involved

Consciousness does not have birth and death

It is immune to pleasure and pain

It is untouched by pairs of opposites

It is above time and space

It has been there since infinity

When there was no time and space

Consciousness is not many

It is one that pervades, holds and

Is, in fact, the whole universe.

***

2.  POETRY

Poetry is a beautiful dream

In a sleepless summer night

That comes with a smile

When you are silently dozing

Poetry is the hope in the eyes

Of someone terminally ill

Poetry is a ray of light

Amidst darkness, frustration and apathy

Poetry is life

That puts death at bay

Poetry is the eternal spring that drives

The hot summer away

Poetry is the beauty of childhood

The spirit of youth and stay of old age

Poetry is that unusual summer shower

That drenches your body and mind

When you feel exhausted and out of the world

Poetry is mother's lap

And father's shadow

Sister's rakhi on your hand

Friend's heart, brother's love and concern

The voice of Bulbul in a dry desert

Poetry is a lovely pair of eyes

That waits for you for hours

The quivering lips

Locked with yours

And the waves of dimples writing

The lyric of romance and love

Poetry is grace and beauty undefined

The eyes of the blind and

The voice of the dumb

The love of the old man for his wife

Their undefined chemistry

The passion and feeling that saw them

Through the years of their life

Poetry is a beautiful garden

The beauty of which never fades

The perennial stream

That never dries up

The symphony of love

That always murmurs

The innate urge that sustains existence

Pushes life to fight for its own survival

For me, poetry is hard reality

A safe pair of hands

That never betrays

Never plays with my existence

Mouth, nose and eyes,

My fingers always clean

Before they touch my mouth

Always at a safe distance

My beautiful hands that stood by me

All along in moments of happiness and annoyance

The need of the time is poetry

Health and hygiene

Social distancing

Lots of guts and common sense

Warm water and natural vitamin c

To boost the immunity

To fight against the virus invading

Poetry is the story of mankind

Its ebb and tide, fight against circumstances

To come to the zenith

Poetry is life

Its beauty, contradictions and intricacies

Poetry is the will, force and

Means for survival against all odds

Even when the world is struggling against Coronavirus

When there is darkness everywhere

Poetry as a ray of hope shines in my eyes

Holds me, beats in the heart of heart

As an ocean of hope, tells me emphatically

Go ahead the victory is yours.

That which sustains existence

Uplifts and fulfils life

Takes you to new horizons

To different levels of consciousness

That which is always with you

Irrespective of your situation

And state of mind is poetry.

That which brings you close to life

Faithfully reflects you, your surrounding

your joy and anguish is poetry

Poetry in not all about love and romance

Nature and its beauty, rhythm and rhyme

Poetry is living with the reality

Accepting life as it is

***

3. THY WILL IS MY WILL

I believe in God

Neither I am afraid of life

Nor I am afraid of death

In both, I see the will of my Lord

Neither I see the sun

Nor the shower

It is He who is born

It is He who dies

It is He who lives

Enjoys and endures

He is Krishna

He is Arjun, Aswathama

Sakuni and Duryodhan

He lives in a thousand bodies

He is everywhere

In whatever I see and perceive

And what lies beyond

My vision and perception

It is His game

He knows how to play it

Why should I worry?

Happiness is His

So also the sorrow

Why so much of fear?

So much of anxiety?

So much of possessiveness?

When I am not the doer

The doer is someone else

The drama is His

He knows how to enact it

Why should I bother?

When I come close to my real nature

I feel

I am He and He is me

The big void, the comic consciousness

Neither there is life nor death

Only consciousness unfolding

A parade, from eternity to eternity

And I myself

The actor, spectator and director

Beyond me, nothing exists

Absolutely nothing. 

Setu, April 2020