The One Reality

 

If I could see the same wood
in a table or in a lectern,
why can’t I see in you
the same Brahman I see in me?

Perhaps I’m overwhelmed
by this mind and body.

The One Reality

If I could see the same gold
in a bangle or in a necklace,
what prevents me from seeing
the one reality in all its grace?

Perhaps the mind and body
cannot trace the path through silence.

If I mistook a rope for a snake
but, through knowledge, came to know
that there had never been
a reptile to fear,
what prevents me from seeing
reality as it truly is?

Perhaps the mind and body
have yet to learn to be at ease.

If I could see the same water
in the ocean, in the waves, and
in the clouds,
I could see Brahman in a crowd
and recognise it instantly.

The waves may subside,
the clouds may disperse,
but I remain limitless—
the one, indivisible Self.

Like every other discipline,
this, too, requires practice;
this, too, requires mastery,
this too, needs faith, bravery.