To the silence of the gods

How long for us to eschew the mute god?

Where are thou?

I cannot see you nor can I hear you.

I feel nothing when I close my eyes and fold my hands to you.

There is no voice, no form, there is no God, and yet there is a need to conform. 

I was frustrated as he never replied, he never listened to me or saw my pain, 

I left the temple and broke my chain; I threw my ring and walked in the rain.

The rain washed away the sandal from my forehead and the idea of God from my mind.

 

I grew up reading of the mind, of Freud and his thoughts.

I went on investigating from blogs to books of all sorts.

I then discovered much later that it was in a state of no mind and no thoughts.

That peace prevails.

It becomes bolder as our mind become more silent, our thoughts become clearer,

And we can see through to the floor, like gazing through still water.

We understand that our being is walking a tightrope, 

Over the water and we look forward to hope.

Our mind balancing between the past and the future,

We often fall into the trap of one or the other. 

We learn that by only walking moment to moment,

A step at a time, can we have the balance, to see ourselves reach the future unbent. 

I learned that the silence that follows once our eyes closed,

Is the silence that we were always looking for, it needs no name, no form,

No need to conform or follow any norms.

I learned that this was what the Buddha asks us to seek,

Gain strength from this silence, and not to be weak. 

Author's Note

Inspired from the words of the great OSHO (Acharya Rajneesh)
The man who moved the world and spoke the truth.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kll1XQ90JOs

Please do share your thoughts, let us have a healthy discussion, debate.

Won - Story/Poetry contest by 'Skib'

Reviews

[T. Edana Talbott]

...this was kind of hard to read - but because I could relate so powerfully to this. It was really amazing. I've had many years as of late, where I've consistently struggled in my relationship with God, sometimes just struggling to have faith in him. There are still many days where I resent him for the things that goes on in the world, but at some point we humans have to take responsibility for our own actions, God or no God.

Very amazing write.

[Ashwin Shanker]

I completely agree with you. The dilemma that you are facing now was what I faced many years ago. read moreI completely agree with you. The dilemma that you are facing now was what I faced many years ago.
The idea of god can be attributed to nature itself. The very consciousness of nature. Where some species or the other prevails...

[Alice Poésy]

A poem about the beauty and peace in balance and silence. Some revel in the chaos but it's in stillness we find growth.

Loved the journey this poem took us on.

[Ashwin Shanker]

Thank you so much for the review. Very appreciated.

[Jerryyoung1z]

Well trained silence is more eloquent than speech. Most times we frustrate our selves waiting for answers we've already gotten, searching for things we already have all because they were packaged in a way we were not expecting. Finding peace within your self I believe is one of the greatest blessings.

[Ashwin Shanker]

Really well said Jerry. I completely agree with you. In fact OSHO has even once mentioned exactly what you have just shared.

[Girija Virkar]

Beautifully written.. the way you portrayed the semblance of how one experiences the meditative state is phenomenal.. I enjoyed reading.. regardless of the fact that I can't really be still and calm enough to well stay calm.. but the piece had me read it single mindedly!! Keep writing!

[Ashwin Shanker]

Happy to know that you loved the poem. Actually, the art of keeping still takes years to be mastered.
Even I haven't aced it as much as I would like to have, but I am still trying. Basically, it's the effort that counts. If I have at least ignited an ember of hope in you that such a state is possible, then I consider myself successful.
Glad that you loved the piece. Thanks.

[Schatzi]

Hello Ashan Shanker,

This poem really resonated with me. I think many of us can relate as we too, have walked a similar path. This is a great thought-provoking read! Nicely done!

Thank you for sharing!

Kind regards,

Schatzi

[Ashwin Shanker]

Thank you once more Schatzi. Really appreciated.

[andrew mitchell]

a good write although too many I's for me maybe one or two per stanza only...in the 2nd and 3rd but you improved so much as the poem read on.

[Ashwin Shanker]

Thank you Andrew for the review

[MightyMouse]

I've read quite a few poems on here since I signed up, and this is one of the few that actually flowed nicely. Well done.

[Surabhi Kaushik]

Nice one. I liked the line "silence that follows once our eyes are closed". Says a lot about the power of silence. Would love to see more imagery about silence in your writing. Good work!

[Akshita]

That is a very pretty poem! : )

[Ashwin Shanker]

Thank you very much Akshita

[Mifa]

Nice work Ash. Keep writing.

[Ashwin Shanker]

Thank you very much Mifa!