Falling Back Within By Shiv Charan Singh

In the summer of our life there is a lot of foliage
Giving the impression that our personal domain is vast
It is a time when we show the world all that we have
A fanfare of expansion
The foliage of fame
Our achievements and acquisitions
Filling out a space we claim personal credit for
When the most glorious display of all
Comes with its colours of red, orange, yellow,
Such fascinating beauty
Yet it is a sign of the inner vitality drying up
A sign of the approaching reduction and withdrawal
In the season of the fall
When the decorations of our life fall away
When all we have accomplished
Is being surpassed by the new generation
Our record breaking has been broken
Our knowing has been appropriated
Our technologies are outdated
Our story is not the new story
And it seldom gets written into history
All that we have accomplished
All that we have possessed
All that we have given our name to
And all we assumed gave us value
Shall be revealed in its emptiness
What really remains of you now
What became of the inner essence of self
The ultimate true treasure
Forgotten in the wild frenzy
Of trying to be someone in the world
We came in search for our own unknown
Saw the world and presented back a costume
The hidden realm within
Put aside for a cheap applause
Till comes the season of the fall
What was a strong vibrant green
Burst into a bright array of flame colours
Now withers, dry, crisp and fragile
A light breeze is enough to strip off the mask
Though a storm is yet to come
And test the inner being
The stamina of your spirit
Must cross the falling season
May you accumulate peace
Now, while you can

– Shiv Charan Singh

Another poem from my teacher Shiv Charan Singh

No amount of splashing in a bathtub
Prepares you to face the waves of the ocean

No amount of fitness training, gymnastics or obstacle courses
Prepare you for the violence of the battlefield
No amount of running on a machine
Or round the village 10 times a day
Prepares you for the marathon called life
No amount of watching romantic movies
Or reading books on sex education
Prepares to you be truly naked with another being
No amount of speaking the words of a song
Compares to singing out with your whole body, mind and soul
No amount of studying scripture
And reading all the wisdom of the ages
Compares to the falling into the centre of yourself
No amount of intelligent debate
Gets you any closer to truth
and there is no question
That will provide the ultimate answer
There’s a bridge to cross
A solitary leap to take
A threshold to step onto
Where you stand alone
There’s an experience waiting for you
Called being yourself here and now
A river flowing by
Listen, it’s Your life stream
You already are:
On the bridge
In the middle of the jump
Dancing with the waves
Fighting for clarity
A long distance runner
Naked to your Creator
Chanting your destiny song
Forever falling into freedom
The answer to the unspeakable question
Known through your very existence
Merging with the fountain
Of your own light
SCS

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