Poem by Rama Tirtha

Know for certain that you yourself are God,
The supreme Self, the eye of the eye,
Which the eye cannot see.
You are the essence of speech,
Which speech cannot express.
You are the hearer of hearing,
Which the ear cannot hear.
You are the life of life,

Who does not need the lifeforce to love.
Recognize that you are the light of the mind,
Which the mind cannot know.

O man of God,
When duality goes, what do we lose?
Have you ever drunk such a potion as this?
Till now, you have never done yourself justice.
You took an ocean for a water drop
And perceived not the mountain within you.
The brilliance of all lights is yours,
Why are your own eyes dim?

The voice of the bubble in the river
Says, “You and I are one.
Do not think yourself different,
You and I are one.”
When the bud burst at dawn in the garden,
It whispered quickly into the ear of the rose,
“Today my tongue has been loosened,
You and I are one.”
When the mirror was held before the face,
The reflection seemed to say, “Brother,
Why are you so amazed to see me?
You and I are one.”
The grain of corn said to the sheaf,
“Quiet, this is no place to argue.
A glimpse of unity has appeared in multiplicity,
You and I are one.”
When I came into the world, I saw
That all growth proceeds from my true essence.
As the strand is one with the cotton.

You and I are one.
Why do you think I am a stranger,
Why do You hide your beautiful face?
Remove the curtain, come forward,
You and I are one.

O seekers of God,
I am with you at every moment.
I am manifest in your eyes
And hidden in your hearts.
The notion that I am distant or hidden
Is purely your fancy.
I am ever present as your support,
Like the sea supporting the wave.
I am charmed by my own beauty,
I am present in love and amidst lovers.
I am Leila and Majnun, Wamiq and Azra.
Sometimes I practice supplication,
Sometimes independence is my glory.
Both attitudes suit me,
I am both servant and master.
In form I am human, in nature divine.
I am more manifest than the manifest,
More hidden that in the hidden.
My nature is unlike the objects of the world.
Though hidden in my true nature,
I am manifest as the world.
Though in reality I have no veil,
Yet am I encased in the veil of concealment.

Earth and sky cannot contain your greatness,
Yet You are wholly present within my heart.
No hint of duality can enter your unity,
No mirror can hold itself up before You.
Go your ways, messenger! Only one’s own heart
Can receive a message like this.
Beware, imprudent one, do not forget God.
If you can forget, forget the ego.

        by Rama Tirtha

    *    Rama Tirth, the well-known poet-saint from India, was born on October 22, 1873, in the village of Muraliwala, about 60 miles north of Lahore, in what is now Pakistan. 


http://www.ramatirtha.org/rama.htm