May 29 Driving along a country road on a late spring day
O' the smell of honeysuckle, and look --
A great flock overhead, many birds flying,
How auspicious
Beginning to ascend the eastern slopes of the Blue Ridge
Now I'm out and climbing humpback mountain just before sunset
I see a burning bush blowing in the sun and wind
The roar of the branches on this gold afternoon.
Mose covers his face. "Hey, you got the wrong guy."
Rumi says: Consider what the prophets have done
Abraham wore fire as an anklet
Moses spoke to the sea
David molded iron
Solomon rode the wind.
Rabbi Shefa says: We're all meant to be prophets
So birth the expression of what you are.
Forget the future, says Rumi.
The miracle of Jesus is himself
Not what he said or did.
And here's the honeysuckle goddess now.
"Come visit me," she says, and takes me in her arms.
June 6 A wandering Aramean was my father
An acrobat, a star athlete at the Academy
A Commodore of sixteen destroyers, a mighty warrior
who dearly loved his wife and sons.
Fair winds and a following sea, Dad.
Don't be timid, says Rumi. Load the ship and set out
No one knows for certain if the vessel will sink or reach the harbor.
Just don't be one of those merchants who won't risk the ocean.
This is much more important than making money.
This is your connection to God!
July 16 It's sunset in the Piedmont valley. I see the now moon rising above the Blue Ridge. I'm on my way to the ashram, to the Nataraj site to talk with Shiva. Now I'm on a hilltop overlooking the Lotus temple. Overhead, streaks of red-blue and purple clouds look like a big flying serpent with outstretched wings. There's no one else here. Think I'll just turn on my boom box and play some Tibetan Buddhist chants as I circle the Dancing Shiva shrine. O' I love that oval Shiva lingam inside the glass. Looks like the stone that Jacob poured oil on when he awoke from his dreams and said: "Sure, God is in this place and I didn't know it. This is none other than the supreme abode and gateway to heaven."
“Use prayer to connect to the mystery,” says Shefa.
It's dark now. I'm leaning on the knee of a sculpture of my guru and praying. There's a light approaching. Shiva's talking and I'm listening.
About marriage, don't simply seek the best partner for yourself. Better
seek one for whom you will be the best partner.
About passing along the dharma, just set'm up and I’ll come through.
About money, be honest and keep good records.
Rumi: Rise up nimbly and go on your strange journey.
The stream knows it can't stay on the mountain
There are hundreds of ways to kneel and kiss the ground.
Let the beauty you love be what you do.
* * *
Prahaladan
(with thanks to Jelaluddin Rumi, his translator Professor Coleman Barks and Rabbi Shefa Gold.)
