To the utterly at-one with Siva

by Devara Dasimayya

English version by A. K. Ramanujan
Original Language Kannada

To the utterly at-one with Siva
there's no dawn,
no new moon,
no noonday,
nor equinoxes,
nor sunsets,
nor full moons;

his front yard
is the true Benares,

O Ramanatha.

-- from Speaking of Siva, by A K Ramanujan

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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

To the utterly at-one with Siva...

That line stops me in my tracks each time I read it. Do you have the same reaction?

there's no dawn,
no new moon,
no noonday...

Time and the phenomenal experiences that move through time are seen as glimmerings on the surface of the immense, still sea of the Eternal. Days and seasons, action and reaction exist only for the unsettled ego-self. For the true Self, which is "utterly at-one with Siva," there is only Siva, there is only the Eternal. Dawn and sunset, new moon and full moon, time and motion, all of these are simply Siva's ornaments fluctuating in timelessness.

This is another way of saying there is no separation in Reality. The new moon pours into the full moon, the glow of dawn naturally builds to noon's blaze and fills the sunset with its sleepy glory. They are not separate objects or events, but a single continuity witnessed from different perspectives. They are one, shifting glimmerings upon the surface of the Eternal.

Truly realizing this, we recognize that wherever we are is the holiest place in the universe: right here, right now. There is no fundamental difference or distance between the ground under our feet and the most sacred pilgrimage spot. They are the same, part of the same continuity of existence. Your "front yard / is the true Benares," or Jerusalem, Rome, Mecca...



Recommended Books: Devara Dasimayya

Speaking of Siva



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