Brahma - A poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson

If the red slayer think he slays, Or if the slain think he is slain, They know not well the subtle ways I keep, and pass, and turn again. Far or forgot to me is near, Shadow and sunlight are the same, The vanished gods to me appear, And one to me are shame and fame. They reckon ill who leave me out; When me they fly, I am the wings; I am the doubter and the doubt, And I the hymn the Brahmin sings. The strong gods pine for my abode, And pine in vain the sacred Seven; But thou, meek lover of the good! Find me, and turn thy back on heaven.

Comment 6 of 8, added on April 2nd, 2010 at 1:52 PM.
brahma
here goes my analysis:
Emerson has very beautifully summarised the entire Bhagvath Gita in this poem.Brahma here refers to that universal energy that is behind this entire creation, that which is indestructible. Call it God, Big mindconsciousness, Self, Paramatman, Nature, Light..
and thta big mind is speaking to us, revealing itself that shadow and light are in fact same, ( opposite values are complementary) and my favourite bit is Find me.. all of us need to seek the brahma within us :)

the doubter and the doubt being one is basis for all the indian text. the actor and teh act is one, the dancer and the dance is one..when that happens there is true union ..( that is the actual meaning of yoga, union) If you are into any art form, you will realise at some point, there is a space where you becoem one with music, that is when you ar ein touch with the cosmos or the brahma

for more understanding of the poem, you may need to do sudarshan kriya ( the awesomest process ever invented by Sri Sri Ravi Shankar) in workshops conducted by the Art of Living :D

sharika from India

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