[Emily Dickinson's] unique, gemlike lyrics are distillations of profound feeling and original intellect, and they stand outside the mainstream of American literary tradition. “ PoetSeers.org

Ode to Emily Dickinson

Oh to be like Emily
Retreat from the world
Into the second floor of self,
Sending messages by a tether,
The thinnest possible line of contact,
Invisible, withdrawn into silence,
Close by the fragrant core of being,
The place of knowing,
The emptiness that can pour abundance
Onto the blank page.
Oh to read
Her luminous strings of words,
Like dew-dropped webs
Delicately stretched
Across the morning sun “
To see in them
The nearly forgotten
Rainbowed-reflections
Of our own sequestered selves!

“ Atmatyagi Kutt.

——-

Drawn from the April 2004 edition of Panorama.

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My Guru sits engulfed
in warm golden light
the curtains, the yellow blanket
covering his chair, his jacket -
all this night are golden.
He has taken a chill, and sneezed.
To warm up, he has tugged on
a white hat (looking like a chick
emerging from its egg),
and golden gloves,
leaving his arms uncovered.

He emanates golden Light
from the heart of the Golden Boat.
All, all is full of the supernal Light
of this precious moment on earth -
where even the prasad is a golden orb.
The oneness-affection-height
of this Thanksgiving night
is all pervading.

- Hashi Roberts.
——-

Drawn from the April 2007 edition of Panorama.

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Jitavrata Jacobs.
——-

Drawn from the April 2006 edition of Panorama.

Expanding on the theme of ‘pleasure gain’ equating to ’spiritual loss’, this poem from the pen of Sri Chinmoy:

From everything that you say,
Everything that you do
And everything that you see
In your life,
Just ask yourself one question:
“Am I deriving any
Spiritual benefit?”
(Source)

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There is a pleasure in the pathless woods,
There is a rapture on the lonely shore,
There is society, where none intrudes,
By the deep sea, and music in its roar:
I love not man the less, but Nature more,
From these our interviews, in which I steal
From all I may be, or have been before,
To mingle with the Universe, and feel
What I can ne’er express, yet cannot all conceal.

——-

There is music in the sighing of a reed;
There’s music in the gushing of a rill;
There’s music in all things, if men had ears:
Their earth is but an echo of the spheres.

In an inspirational talk entitled Poetry the Winner, the seer poet in Sri Chinmoy mentions Lord Byron in the context of the famous poets jocular reference to poetry being the domain of the idle:

When a poet sits in deep contemplation, who can say to which realm his thoughts are winging? Lord Byron jests, “Poetry should only occupy the idle.” But the idle moments of his own life were not spent uselessly. Even in idleness, the inspiration-promise of dynamism can burst forth. In Don Juan, for example, Byron writes:

“The mountains look on Marathon—
And Marathon looks on the sea;
And musing there an hour alone,
I dream’d that Greece might still be free.”

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We look forward to bringing you more poems from the minds, hearts and lives of Sri Chinmoy’s students and invite you to explore Panorama for poetry that offers you some joy or insight, or simply a moment of reflection. “Poetry,” Kahlil Gibran once said, “is a deal of joy and pain and wonder, with a dash of the dictionary.” Yet, it is more. Poetry can be the revelation of the hidden divine that secrets itself behind the mask of everyday human events. For, like music, poetry offers us an opportunity to express deeper ideas and feelings that usher forth from that misty region between silence and speech.

“He who draws noble delights from sentiments of poetry is a true poet, though he has never written a line in all his life.” George Sand.

Wikipedia describes writers block as ‘a phenomenon involving temporary loss of ability to begin or continue writing, usually due to lack of inspiration or creativity.’ Is there a remedy for writers block? Great volumes have been written on the subject, but according to one member of Panorama’s poetically inclined cadre, there is a very simple way to regain ones focus. Sumangali Morhall advises that if inspiration and creativity cannot be found in the head, one should look to the heart.

Consciously focusing on the heart rather than the mind can help unlock ever-new writing potential, keeping your creativity flowing ever more consistently, bringing forward from within your own unique writing capacity. Writing from the heart is allowing our true inner self speak about the world around us.

Prolific writer Sri Chinmoy once said:

“There is a vast difference between what you can get from the mind and what you can get from the heart. The mind is limited; the heart is unlimited.”

To make life easier for anyone stranded in the rhymester doldrums, Sumangali has listed 10 creative and very practical ideas for developing an awareness of the spiritual heart - for it is in the heart that our creative capacities can most easily be accessed and utilised. Read more: Write From The Heart: 10 Ideas.

My prose is my mind.
My poetry is my heart.
Without my mind I am lame.
Without my heart I am blind. - Sri Chinmoy.

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From its midst an evening star
Shines with the ancient burning light
Of a million yearning eyes.
Piercing the stillness of space,
She watches eternally.

Mountains stand regal below
Peaks climbing skyward
Steeply they rise
To encircle the night.
Like chords they reverberate
Infinity’s Peace.

Tears flood my eyes
As in silence I stand
Regarding this night.
Breathless I cry,
How long will it be? How far is my goal?
The evening star smiles at me
Immortality’s Love.

Amelia Lloyd.

——-

Drawn from the August 2004 edition of Panorama.

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Sri Chinmoy: “From the spiritual point of view, the new year has a specific significance. On the eve of the new year, a new consciousness dawns on earth.” Read more…

Two poems from the poetic heart of Sri Chinmoy:

The new year has commenced
Its momentous journey today.
From today on, during the entire year,
I shall not offer my volcano-ambition
To the world.
I shall offer the world
Only my moonlit heart’s flaming aspiration.

——-

Each time you enter a new year,
Be determined not to bring
Your old self with you.

… A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL …

And for his students, Sri Chinmoy was a wonderful role model who’s example and encouragement gave us the intrepidity and determination to explore new avenues of expression and experience. He always encouraged us to do things that enhanced our spirituality and the knowledge of who we truly are. For some of his students, it was in sports; for some, the arts; for some the field of public service. For many it was all of the above and much more…

Among the many members of the Sri Chinmoy Centre who share a love of expressing their inmost thoughts and aspirations through poetry and prose is Sumangali Morhall of York in England. Sumangali has written many beautifully crafted and thoughtful poems, essays and articles, but we would like to bring attention to the unique rhyming plays that she has penned, and that are based upon short stories written by Sri Chinmoy. These plays have been performed on stage by groups of Sri Chinmoy’s students during our annual Christmas vacations in various countries and have brought great joy to both the performers and the audience. Here’s a sample from one of Sumangali’s rhyming plays that is based on five of Sri Chinmoy’s short stories and was inspired by Spanish medieval music…

Duke: Did I raise you from that mire
In which some tawdry ungenerous bint
Spawned and cast you sans care, sans hint
Of mortal wound or even sadness?
Frolicked off with all the madness
Of a hare in spring,
Left you sans the meagrest thing
To call your own,
Whimpering softly all alone.

Cook: Sire, my very breath today submits to you with gratitude,
But mother had no callousness in granting me my latitude.
She did but die of her own accord,
And father then could scarce afford…

Duke: Do you displease me? O hho hhhho!
With whom and wither will you go?
And why and howso cruelly wrenched?
When here since hapless birth entrenched…

Cook: I leave alone, Sire, as you found me,
No wall or blanket to surround me.
Boar and ant to be my brothers,
Trees my sisters, clouds my mothers,
Cousin of the night sky…

Duke: Yes, yes, but prithee why?

Cook: …The heather knoll my hermitage…
Oh…! I am bound for PILGRIMAGE!

Read more: The Pilgrimage to Santiago

For lovers of poetry and verse; for lovers of stories and plays, Sumangali’s rhyming plays are a veritable amalgam of pure delight!

Sumangali Morhall’s Rhyming Plays:

• Krishna’s Supreme Love
• Music and Religion
• Satyavama’s Perfect Husband
• The Pilgrimage to Santiago

Also Visit:

• Sumangali.org – In The Spirit Of Serendipity

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