From: niko@generic.UUCP (Slavtcho Nikolov)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian
Subject: Poetry and more
Date: 25 Dec 1992 09:13:24 -0600
Organization: UTexas Mail-to-News Gateway
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

 Hi,

On the 5 th of January, 1993 people from many countries of the world
will celebrate Paramahansa Yogananda's Centennial. I would not be
able to introduce this great teacher from India to those who do not
know about him because it is hard to find words that can adequately
describe his life and teachings (and their ramifications), so I'll 
just post one of his poems taken from "Whispers from Eternity" --
published in 1986 by Self-Realization Fellowship, 3880 San Rafael Ave.,
Los Angeles, CA 90065, USA (although no permission has been obtained
to do so). Enjoy.


         'I beheld Thee in Thy dances of creation, preservation,
                          and destruction'

                     by Paramahansa Yogananda


        O Kali, I bow to Thee -- all sheltering Mother 
        Nature, ruler of time, space, form and 
        relativity. Invisible Spirit took shape in Thee, 
        a visible Woman Divine.

            The beauty spot of the moon is set between
        Thy spacious eyebrows. Clouds of eternity hide 
        Thy face. Gusts of prophet lives blow aside mo-
        mentarily Thy mystery veil, revealing to man-
        kind glimpses of Thine ineffable beauty.

            The countless worlds delineate Thy form --
        million-eyed, moon-garlanded, infinite in adorn-
        ments and glories. In Thy changing robes are
        woven the dreams of creation, preservation, and
        destruction. On the endless etheric curtain of
        Thy mind a myriad cosmic dramas play. Thou dost
        entertain Thy good children and frighten Thy
        naughty ones.

            O Kali Primordial, from Thy hand of creative
        power issue the vibrations of Aum, materializing
        in an inexhaustible, bewildering, and wondrous
        variety of finite forms. Another hand holds the 
        astral sword of preservation, keeping guard over
        planetary rhythms and balances. Thy third hand
        clutches the severed head of Cosmos, symbolizing
        annihilation in Brahma's Night. Thy fourth hand
        stills the storm of delusion and bestows on
        devotees Thy rays of salvation.
         
            Thou dost project the fabulous dream fiestas
        of the centuries: the pageant of human life and
        death, the birth and passing of civilizations, and
        the evolution and dissolution of solar systems.

            On earth Thou are equally present in the
        slums of misery, the halls of festive prosperity,
        and the quiet shrines of wisdom.

            O Pristine Mother, in the cyclic dawn of cre-
        ation I beheld(*) Thee crowned with wild Nature,
        wearing the scant garment of primitive cultures
        and roaming among unpolished minds.

            In the noonday of creation I saw Thee in full 
        activity. Thy vast body perspired as Thou, unseen,     
        didst accomplish the tasks set by the restless
        ambition of Thy children. They felt the strain of
        struggle, scorched by their own ego blaze, men
        implored Thee to send cooling breezes of soul
        peace.
         
            The night of total destruction approached, I
        beheld Thee covered ominously with mourning
        veils. Thou didst plunge the universe into a ter-
        rible but purifying ordeal by fire. The sun burst,
        belching smoke and flames, doomful quakes sunder-
        ed the sky and conflagrated the stars. The worlds
        vanished, within Thy crucible, matter became
        pure, luminous.

            The phenomenal spheres, that came from light,(+)
        slept as astral embers. Then, stirred by
        Thee, O Perennial Mother, the universe reawoke
        in its vibratory body of subtle flames.

            The Unmanifested Infinite is hidden beneath
        the magic shroud of Maya, whilst Thou, O Exuber-
        ant Goddes of Forms, dost whirl in fantastic
        dances of finitude. Thy wild steps cease only
        when Thy feet touch the transcendent breast of
        Thy consort, Shiva, in whom all creation has rest.

            Everywhere, O Kali, I hear Thy voice, resound-
        ing in the thunder or singing softly in the flux of
        atoms. I hear Thee in the symphony of spinning 
        stars. I hear Thee, too, in the tinkling bells of
        little, laughing, harmonious lives. Thou art nearer
        to me than the throbs of my heart, and I perceive
        Thee on the farthest horizon of consciousness.

            O Dancer of Unsearchable Caprice Thine en-
        trancing footsteps ever echo in my soul.

                            ---

  From above: (*)"These passages describe a vision in samadhi in which
                  I was permitted by the Great Mother to observe her at
                  Her universal work"
              (+)" 'Let there be light: and there was light' --Genesis 1:3."

  (The rest of the comments--concerning what Kali, Brahma's night, Aum,
   Shiva...symbolize-- have been omitted since the readers of this news- 
   group supposedly know their meanings.)
Newsgroups: soc.culture.indian