The Disciplined Heart

Poetic RenderingO mind, do not weary with play,do not falter with ease.Do not err when together,Speak not of worldly things,but with folded hands seekthe sharanas of Koodalasangama. Basavanna directly commands…

Maheshwara - Aikya AIKYA

The Stillness Beyond the Seeking

Poetic RenderingWhen Linga and Jangamaare known as onenot believed,but realized in the marrowhow can one fail to seethat this very bodyis the palace of the Linga?Within and without,in breath and…

Maheshwara - Aikya AIKYA

Walking Between the Steps and the Breath

Poetic RenderingThose who walk without the Linga,those who speak without the Lingawithout awareness of the all-pervadingConsciousness that fills body and skyeven swallowing their own breathturns bitter within them,for no act…

Maheshwara - Prasadi PRASADI

The Neighbor’s Sorrow

Poetic RenderingWhy grieve over the neighbor’s wandering ways?First heal the pain lodged in your own body;First quiet the unrest rising in your own mind.O Kudalasangama,why let my heart burn for…

Pranalingi - Maheshwara MAHESHWARA

The Pasture of Desire

Poetic RenderingBefore me stretches the wide pasture of desiresgreen, tempting, inviting the mind to wander.And what does the beast within know,except to graze wherever its eyes may fall?If left to…

MAHESHWARA Prasadi - Maheshwara

The Three Mirrors of Integrity

Poetic RenderingThey call him bravebut let his enemies say so.They call him vowedlet his kin find peace in his promise.They call him devoutlet the Jangama rejoice in his presence.When words…

Maheshwara - Sharana SHARANA

The Scripture of the Heart

Poetic RenderingWhat worth are the Shastras,when they bind the seekerin knots of hollow ritual?What worth are the Vedas,when their hymns tremblewith the cries of sacrifice?What worth are the scriptures,when they…

Sharana - Maheshwara MAHESHWARA

The Mud Wall

Poetic RenderingBorn in the house of Shiva,your very breath shaped by the all-pervading Oneyou accepted the Linga as the path to liberation,yet your tongue strays toward other gods,your mind wanders…

Sharana - Maheshwara MAHESHWARA

The Builder and the Sculpture

Poetic RenderingIf one claims to be Shiva’s devoteeyet thinks his journey is already complete,let him know thishe will be struck down,scraped, humbled,his earth-born body reduced to dark ash.For the one…

Maheshwara - Bhakta BHAKTA

The Stench and the Clay

Poetic RenderingDress a cow-dung Ganesha with champaca blossomsits fragrance will not enter him;the stench remains what it is.Bathe a clay idol in sacred watersdoes the mud lose its nature?It only…