{"id":8419,"date":"2024-05-17T08:03:00","date_gmt":"2024-05-17T15:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/?p=8419"},"modified":"2024-05-17T08:03:00","modified_gmt":"2024-05-17T15:03:00","slug":"tulsi-sahib-within-this-body","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/2024\/05\/17\/tulsi-sahib-within-this-body\/","title":{"rendered":"Tulsi Sahib – Within This Body"},"content":{"rendered":"

Within This Body
\nby Tulsi Sahib<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n

English version by Ivan M. Granger<\/font><\/p>\n

Within this body
\nbreathes the secret essence.
\nWithin this body
\nbeats the heart of the Vedas.<\/p>\n

Within this body
\nshines the entire Universe,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 so the saints say.<\/p>\n

Hermits, ascetics, celibates \u2014
\nall are lost
\nseeking Him
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 in endless guises.<\/p>\n

Seers and sages perfectly parrot
\nthe scriptures and holy books,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 blinded by knowledge.<\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Their pilgrimage,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and fasting,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and striving
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 but delude.
\nDespite their perfect practice,
\nthey discover no destination.<\/p>\n

Only the saints
\nwho know the body\u2019s heart
\nhave attained the Ultimate, O Tulsi.<\/p>\n

Realize this, and you\u2019ve found your freedom
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 (while teachers trapped in tradition
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 know only the mirage
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 in the mirror).<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/a> \u2014 from Real Thirst: Poetry of the Spiritual Journey<\/a>, by Ivan M. Granger<\/font><\/p>\n


\/ Image by vaticanus<\/a> \/<\/em><\/font><\/p>\n

This poem really cuts right through the delusion of fundamentalism on the one hand\u2014<\/p>\n

Seers and sages perfectly parrot
\nthe scriptures and holy books,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 blinded by knowledge.<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2013and being overly enamored with spiritual practices and rituals, on the other\u2013<\/p>\n

Their pilgrimage,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and fasting,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 and striving
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 but delude.<\/i><\/p>\n

This is not to say that one should not study sacred texts or that we should ignore the value of spiritual practices. The problem is that it\u2019s easy to forget what their true purpose is. Sacred writing, sacred striving, they are signposts that remind us to turn inward and discover the true heart that shines with the light of the universe.<\/p>\n

Within this body
\nbreathes the secret essence.
\nWithin this body
\nbeats the heart of the Vedas.<\/p>\n

Within this body
\nshines the entire Universe,
\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 so the saints say.<\/i><\/p>\n

If we just memorize words or pray in the mountains, even if we do it perfectly, we are idolizing the trappings of spirituality, without understanding, without making the real journey. This is one of the reasons why there is so much anger among fundamentalists in all the world\u2019s traditions \u2014 they push to fit into an externalized idea of what it means to be perfect, yet they are not transformed, and they secretly know it. <\/p>\n

Despite their perfect practice,
\nthey discover no destination.<\/i><\/p>\n

Unable to face the pain of that failure, they externalize it, and blame the imperfections of the world around them for holding them back. That pain becomes anger at the outer world, and that anger is reflexively attributed to God. Then that angry God is imagined to punish by withholding heaven from the individual until the whole world rigidly falls into order. The more desperate these individuals become for release from spiritual pain, the more violently they try to enforce their vision upon society in the hopes that they will finally appease God and find freedom.<\/p>\n

So sad, when all that is necessary is to slip through that pain, let go of the ego\u2019s self-importance, and discover the immense joy quietly glowing deep within. No one and nothing else holds us back.<\/p>\n

Only the saints
\nwho know the body\u2019s heart
\nhave attained the Ultimate, O Tulsi.<\/i><\/p>\n

So Tulsidas is reminding us: Study, yes, and strive. But always more important is to yield and open and finally settle into the secret shining heart that awaits discovery. Those are the true fundamentals.<\/p>\n

Realize this, and you\u2019ve found your freedom<\/i><\/p>\n

\u2026Okay, Ivan will now step down from his soapbox. Have a wonderful weekend, and remember to take some sweet quiet time to settle within.<\/p>\n


\n

<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/a>Recommended Books: Tulsi Sahib<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n\n

<\/p>\n

\n\n\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/center>
\n<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Real Thirst: Poetry of the Spiritual Journey<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nSongs of the Saints from the Adi Granth<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nSongs of the Saints of India<\/a><\/small><\/td>\nTulsi Sahib: Saint of Hathras<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/a><\/small><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
\n\n
\n\"Tulsi<\/a>\n<\/td>\n\nTulsi Sahib<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

India (1763 \u2013 1843) Timeline<\/a>
\nYoga \/ Hindu<\/a> : Vaishnava (Krishna\/Rama)<\/a>
\nSikh<\/a><\/a><\/em>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n

Although Tulsi Sahib lived relatively recently, few details about his life can be stated with certainty. He may have been part of the royal family of Pune.<\/p>\n

One biographical account suggests he was engaged to be married against his will. On the day before the wedding, he ran away and took up the life of a sadhu, a spiritual mendicant wandering through forests, going from town to town, engaged in meditation. In the early 1800s, he settled in Hathras in Uttar Pradesh, where he spent the rest of his life.<\/p>\n

Tulsi Sahib practiced Surat Shabd Yoga or the Yoga of Sound. He is particularly revered within the Sant Mat Sikh tradition.<\/p>\n

More poetry by Tulsi Sahib<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Within This Body by Tulsi Sahib English version by Ivan M. Granger Within this body breathes the secret essence. Within this body beats the heart of the Vedas. Within this body shines the entire Universe, \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 so the saints say. Hermits, ascetics, celibates \u2014 all are lost seeking Him \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 in endless guises. Seers and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[1025,14,1917,27,999],"class_list":["post-8419","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-poetry","tag-fundamentalism","tag-hindu-poetry","tag-scriptures","tag-sikh-poetry","tag-tulsi-sahib"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8419","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8419"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8419\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8420,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8419\/revisions\/8420"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8419"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8419"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.poetry-chaikhana.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8419"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}