You think of the Path - Ram Tzu (Wayne Liquorman) - Ramesh Balsekar Tribute
Ivan M. Granger September 30th, 2009
You think of the Path
by Ram Tzu (Wayne Liquorman)
You think of the Path
As a long arduous climb
Up the mountain.
You concede there may be
Many paths
But you’re sure
All have the same
Exalted goal.
Ram Tzu knows this…
There ARE many Paths.
Like streams
They flow effortlessly
(though not necessarily painlessly)
Down the mountain.
All disappear
Into the desert sands below
— from No Way: For the Spiritually “Advanced”, by Wayne Liquorman
/ Photo by mateo caprari /
Ramesh Balsekar died this past weekend, on September 27. He was a well-known as a spiritual teacher of Advaita Vedanta, the Hindu nondualist tradition. So I thought it might be appropriate to remember him through this poem by one of his best known Western students Wayne Liquorman (who sometimes writes under the pen name of Ram Tzu).
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In this poem, why do you suppose Ram Tzu has reversed the traditional image of the spiritual journey, transforming it from a path (or many paths) that go up a mountain into many streams that flow down a mountain… and disappear into sands? What is he saying about effort and non-effort? What does the image of the streams disappearing into the sands say about his nondualist perspective?
A few questions to contemplate…
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Ram Tzu (Wayne Liquorman)
US (1950 - ) |
Wayne Liquorman is a teacher in the Advaita nondualist tradition of Ramesh S. Balsekar, Nisargadatta Maharaj, and Ramana Maharshi.
Ram Tzu is his poetic alter-ego (alter non-ego?). Liquorman says he published his poetry under the pen name Ram Tzu because he “didn’t want a bunch of miserable seekers cluttering up his living room.”
His poetry often reveals an iconoclastic sense of humor and sarcasm similar to Han Shan and some of the Zen rascals.
“For Ram Tzu, only Nothing is truly sacred.”
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I think of the downward stream as reflecting the spirit-into-matter concept as in spirit living a human life…and I think that applies to non-human lives too…
And then I look at the sands, the many grains of sand, and think of Blake…”to see the world in a grain of sand…”
And I think…what are we configuring of these sands from the downward flowing streams?
Ivan, I am certain that when we make the decision to come
onto this planet, we are so sure that our path, our journey will be one that “flows effortlessly” At the point of
our making this decision to be a blessing to planet Earth,
we are somehow aware - aware with an ecstatic vision
of things. Arriving here,however, we forget that we did
consent to forget our ecstatic vision and we find planet
Earth and its inhabitants riddled with guilt and having
sinned in ways that allow us to feel much desolation and despair.
A kind of hopelessness sets in. We see wars, like the one
looming before us now - within Afghanistan. The simple
people there, the common villagers, are not educated
and they find now that there’s even very little clean drinking water for them. Women are not at all respected and even treated as though they are ignorant inconsequential beings not worth even basic schooling.
I sincerely hope we can help these miserably unhappy
underprivileged people, we are truly obliged to, I believe.
I believe our presence in Afghanistan will not be at all
like our occupying presence in Iraq. There’s a General
named McCrystal who, I hope and pray, with his great
caring heart, will somehow make a huge impact on the
Pentagon and this will be the last struggle or war we will
have to engage in. I believe humanity is, by the Grace
of God, waking up to a “forgotten vision” that will save
the world and thank God - just in time. 2011 is closer
than we think. Forgive my rambling on here. It’s just
the way I’m feeling today. Thank you for this poem!
Thoughts on the Path
In matter
Humans mediate heaven and earth …
Right? or Wrong?
In the conscious sphere
We All Ways must stand in the balance
Of aspiration and entropy …
Though we roll our rocks uphill
For a million years,
The rocks and the path eventually crumble.
So what is the point of remaining upright
Continuing to place one foot in front of the other
To persevere as exothermic living instruments
of divine guidance and vital habits?
Can we presume to be somebodies special?
Damned if we do, dead if we don’t ,,,
the path continues …
We follow in the footsteps of Sisyphus and Prometheus
Exalted and doomed
To BE NOBODY’s Special.
Leslie Levy
(C)
I loved the image of paths flowing into the sands (of time perhaps?) Maybe it is my (somewhat advanced and rapidly advancing) age but I have been on so many paths in my life and I now know it doesn’t matter, they all lead in the same direction towards bliss if not of the spirit, then death.
Thank you Ivan for your continuing gift to the world.
Speaking of paths….here is a favorite poem…by Ivan!
Earth and Sky
by Ivan M. Granger
Yogis do not touch
the earth
beneath their feet.
All breath and fire,
they grow thin,
rootless,
reaching only for sky.
Wild-eyed shamans,
earth’s children,
pull medicine
from peyote nightmares
and twilight.
Attending to family and village,
rooted,
they do not soar.
Earth — Sky
Neither shamans
nor yogis
find heaven —
everywhere!
2002
thanks Ivan, for sharing!
all paths lead in one direction, towards heaven ” like streams they flow effortlessly..”
and i thank the poet RAM TZU today for leaving us with such beautiful poetry and to have known him (his work) after he had left us grieves my heart and yet smiles when i realise his words will linger forever.