Blossom of Self
Posted on April 17, 2026 • 2 minutes • 390 words
O fool! No rules of grammar save the breath,
When you must face the silent sting of death.
Give up your thirst for gold and worldly pride,
And let your mind in thoughts of Truth abide.
The love you bear for one is brief and vain,
A fleeting joy that ripens into pain.
All bonds are threads that time or death shall rend in two;
Seek That which neither fades nor leaves the True.
Be calm with what your past deeds come to bring,
Nor drown in passion’s wild and fleeting sting.
For lust is but a desire of rotting flesh;
Do not let earthly nets your soul enmesh.
The life of man is trembling and brief,
Like raindrops on a lotus, shaking leaf.
Know that the world is but a hungry prey,
To ego, grief, and sickness and decay.
When from the frame the weary soul has fled,
The family shuns the body of the dead.
Even the spouse, who swore a life of grace,
Will shrink in terror from that rotting face.
In play the child lets all his hours fly;
In passion’s fire the youth’s best moments die.
The aged man laments what used to be;
None face the Truth of the Present, clear and free.
Who are you? Why? O brother, pause and see;
Why boast of friends or wealth or youth to be?
For in a second, time can strike them low;
Release the world and let its shadows go.
The dawn and dusk, the winter and the spring,
Are but the games that passing seasons bring.
While time plays on, our lives ebb like the tide;
Why let the storm of craving burn inside?
Some dress in suits, some wear a grand disguise,
Yet all are puppets in the passion’s eyes.
Though some seek ties and some from them depart,
Only the steady find the blissful heart.
In me, in you, one Essence lies the same;
See through the veil of duality and name.
Shed lust and anger, envy, greed, and pride;
Find your true nature; let the storm subside.
O seeker of the Self, be now set free;
Through mastered mind, let light your vision be.
With senses stilled and ego’s clamor ceased,
From all the bonds of flesh, you are released.
This wonderful piece is inspired by the Sanskrit poet Adi Shankara.