I am not my body
that I cling to
but instead
let me dissolve
like the air that
in any shape can grow.

I am not my feelings
worn out by weight
but instead
let me float
like a feather
free from any freight

I am not my perceptions
coloring my judgement
but instead
let me disappear
like the glass that shares
all light without abatement

I am not my intentions
Nor the dreams they hound
but instead
let me be content
like the still water
steady in the sound

I am not my consciousness
molding a mirage wholesome
but instead
let me expand
like the rain drop that falls
to one with the ocean become.

Like we disregard the sensations within a dream as unreal, the sages of Upanishads discarded everything that was in a constant process of change as unreal. Their principle was neti, neti atma: “this is not the self, that is not the self”. When you dig into your own personality deeper, you find layers of perceptions, thoughts, emotions, drives, and memories. The sages found that none of this is permanent. In their search for a constant, they defined what was left – the intense awareness – as the atman, the Self.

When after worthless wars
And losses unknown
We draw imaginary lines
To mark our own

When after earning the alms
And growing it many fold
Still sleepless we count
Our neighbor’s gold

When in need to be faultless
Photoshop and filters we use
Our very own reality
Is what we abuse

When yet again we choose
To sever from a mate
Slicing the once beloved
With words of hate

Then a desire is met with
and a wish appears to be granted
Only to spawn another longing
For a thing we never wanted.

The Sanksrit word samskara literally means “that which is intensely done”. Samskaras are thought, speech, or behavior motivated by desire to get some experience for oneself. It is one of the five ingredients Buddha uses to describe personality. The others are rupa (form), vedana (sensation or feeling), samjna (perception), and vijnana (consciousness).

Much like the wind
that powers the sails
for the soul lost at sea
seeking a refuge
until the shores
yet to be discovered
are no longer in wait,
the desires deep down,
known and unknown,
seek a destiny
in an entangled world
of cause and effects
until a sigh rests
in the arms that await.

Text from Brihadaranyaka Upanishad IV.4.5

अथो खल्वाहुः काममय एवायं पुरुष इति स यथाकामो भवति तत्क्रतुर्भवति यत्क्रतुर्भवति तत्कर्म कुरुते यत्कर्म कुरुते तदभिसम्पद्यते

And here they say that a person consists of desires. And as is his desire, so is his will; and as is his will, so is his deed; and whatever deed he does, that he will reap.

The flame is born to shine,
But can only shape to a rhyme,
When a breeze chooses to chime.

The earth is bound to hold,
But whether that is grain or gold,
Plots the potter when it is mold.

The flying fragrance of the flower,
Follows the hand that plucks forever,
Destined to where it’s smell shall shower.

So, to those who rid you of platitude,
For your fame, fortune, and fortitude,
For them, spare a thought of gratitude.

Gratitude is called kataññutā in Pali. The word consists of two parts: kata, which means that which has been done, especially to oneself; and annuta means knowing or recognizing. So katannuta means knowing and recognizing what has been done to one for one’s benefit.

The wings of the hummingbird
The swing of the warrior’s sword
The water from the tallest fall
The force of advancing gall
When it reacts at everything small
The mind hops faster than all.

But instead when the mind makes
A choice to only observe the stakes
The agitation, the angst, the anger
The commotion, and the will to meander
None but inner peace it brings forth
For a needle that always points North.



Vipassana, which means to see things as they really are, is one of India’s most ancient techniques of meditation. It was rediscovered by Gautama Buddha more than 2500 years ago. Vipassana is a way of self-transformation through self-observation. It focuses on the deep interconnection between mind and body, which can be experienced directly by disciplined attention to the physical sensations that form the life of the body, and that continuously interconnect and condition the life of the mind. It is this observation-based, self-exploratory journey to the common root of mind and body that dissolves mental impurity, resulting in a balanced mind full of love and compassion.

Reference: http://www.dhamma.org/en-US/about/vipassana

The one unwilling to undress the mind
From years of nurture and experiences
To treat each argument on its merits
But be biased by memories of one’s kind
Will be the one who believes
The world is damaged and distorted
When on a rainy day through glass minted
The outside scenery that mind sees.

यथा दृष्टि, तथा सृष्टि – Yatha Drishti, Tatha Srishti. Dristhi is vision, srishti is the universe. The Sanskrit proverb implies “as you see the world, that is how the world is for you.”

When a branch turns into a root
Backward walks nature’s foot
Like when with a chisel and a stone
Man creates a God of his own.

Old banyan trees often adorn campuses around Hindu temples in India with their characteristic aerial roots forming new trunks indistinguishable from the primary trunk.

सर्वं खल्विदं ब्रह्म – All this universe is Brahman (Chandogya Upanishad III.14.1). The Vedas depict Brahman as the Ultimate Reality. It is the impersonal and immanent, infinite cause and support of the universe that has no form or attributes.