Ramesh's reflections

      PAIN AND JOY I stand alone watching the sea It opens up a spaciousness in me Dissolving pain that seems to arise Like darkness dispelled by sunrise  Thoughts of joy and pain follow each other  Like sunshine and rain that never come together One brings a smile and the other a tear Both should be seen     without any fear. I have seen more of pain than  joy It is pain that makes me write and enjoy  That which I create wipes out the pain   Fills me with peace,the ultimate gain. N.S.Ramesh  Poem 

      THE LAST GLIMPSE As he lay dead to the world  stillness pervading the room All pride in me evoporated And my heart was filled with wonder He was driven by desire when in robust health Overpowered by pride in his actions Most of them born out of arrogance Very few with traces of compassion He knew not that his days were numbered And lived in an illusion that he was supreme. Life is eternal for it is beyond birth and death But the body is ravaged by age ,  And returns to the dust  whence it has come. Death has freed him from all his woes For it is the ultimate blessing to man. N.S.Ramesh  Poem 

                MUSIC Music stirs the soul, brings joy Takes you beyond the domain of mind Pleasure,unspeakable,arises in you Thought ceases,a state of stillness prevails Where there is only hearing,none who hears Therapy it is for the depressed, Panacea for those in grief Stimulus for the tired brain Activating  neurons to play their part Bringing peace amidst daily chaos. One who does not enjoy music Or is not moved by sweet sounds  Can never in harmony live. Into every cell of the body does music seep Makes you want to dance to it's rythm Be in love with music,peace emanates from it. N.S.Ramesh  (Poem)

      A BROKEN TREE A broken tree, which once had stood with pride Now ravaged by the onslaught of nature Has a lone flower sprouting from it With bright red petals and full of grace Standing amidst the broken ruins Tilting its face to blossom in sunshine Cheering the morning with its blushes Saying that nothing is broken forever Every life that has once been broken Can mend itself with love and hope A lesson learnt from the broken tree. N.S.Ramesh  (Poem)

          AUTUMN   As rains retreat autumn shows its colourful face The breeze is cool,whispering to the trees    They change their colours, so do leaves Giving man a feast for his eyes And joy for his heart,so selfless is nature. Leaves fall  in graceful surrender Wind carries the fallen leaves far  away         Birds flock together and disappear on the    horizon  Nature changes gracefully,man resists every change It gives up what is not needed with so much delight But man clings to all he has and never stops seeking more  Alas! man is  full of pride and fails to learn from nature.           N.S.Ramesh  (Poem )

.              FIRE       As it burns there is the crackling sound Red embers,the remanants of plants Smoke curling its way towards the sky Dancing to the tunes of the cool breeze Reminds me of one's journey of life. Man's mind is cluttered with  desires  And fears that can never be held at bay His desires never fulfilled,for one gives  birth to another His pride never wanes nor does his attachment  He knows not the impermanence of what exsists For what arises shall cease,burnt away by  the fire of time Where once was he and his dreams               There remains only a fistful of ashes. N.S.Ramesh  (Poem)

              REVERIE  A maiden I chanced to see one day In the shadow of the tree as I lay Eyes closed in thoughts that could never be held at bay Of a loved and lost one, whom dwells far away  She appeared like a shooting star on a moonless night That flashes past defying sight So momentary and yet in flight Illumines the night with rays so bright Robed in white she walked with ease Like a solitary flower caressed by the breeze A snowy streak as she smiled  to tease Encircled by rosy petals made my mighty pain to cease  As she cast her charms on me I opened my eyes once more to see  But alas! I woke up from my reverie  And saw not a maiden but only a tree. N.S.Ramesh  (Poem)

A tribute to my brother in law,N.R.Panchapakesan, who passed. DEATH OF A LOVED ONE  He was a man who was wise and strong Who had attained great heights in his profession Pride could never cast its shadow on him Exuding the priceless virtue of humility He inspired all with his profound wisdom And instilled in us discipline and purpose. He could get angry at the drop of a hat But never allowed hatred to enter his heart. Beneath the anger was love in the purest form He too faced challenges,but never did it break him Blessed was he with a strong will And faced vicissitudes with great resilience Has left his body and  entered the kingdom of God And the fragrance of his love will remain forever. N.S.RAMESH  (Poem) 

        FACE OF GOD. As the sun rises my mind arises from the source Deep sleep had wiped out all thoughts Where there was only bliss,without another This is my true nature,a state of pure awareness Thoughts by themselve have no power Unless I pay attention to every one of them They move one after after another inviting me To embrace them and enter an illusory world Of joys and sorrows,appearing to be so real. When I step back and see them sans interest They become as harmless as a cloud drifting in the sky The I that steps back is the impersonal awareness 'I am' It is the only truth that has exsisted from the time of birth And can never be erased till this body perishes Resting in the 'I am' is the only way out of the game That the mind plays, acting as a veil of deception The wise watch the mind,the ignorant become the mind Wisdom has taken over,mind has retreated to its source And everywhere I see the face of God. N.S.RAMESH  Poem 

    THE STORYTELLER  When I wake up in the morning My mind is slow and  quiet. The walk and meditation create the illusion of a happy day. When  the mind wakes up from slumber, It makes me dance to its tunes. The mind is  but a storyteller. Starts its work as the day moves on, In fear of extinction, it makes its play. And makes one believe that not all is well. Belief in the mind is the cause of grief, But the soul knows that all is well. Right and wrong are in the mind's domain. It judges harshly, for it is made that way. The soul is wise and full of light  And is beyond the realm of the mind ,      A bundle of thoughts,that rise and fall Conditioned by what it percieves through the senses. When mind is transcended,Peace prevails. N.S.Ramesh  Poem 

      NARURE'S GLORY Rain falls,all scamper for cover I  feel drops falling on my face Like a thousand needles pricking. Clouds,unburdened, move across the sky in joy. Through a broken cloud the sun peeps Making  raindrops on the grass shine.  All the gloom in my heart disappears I am struck by wonder at nature's beauty  Flowers, of different colours, add their splendor  As they dance caressed by the breeze. The tapestry of nature in all its glory. N.S.Ramesh  (Poem)

    NATURE'S DELIGHT As I wade through the forest With cool air striking against my cheeks The cricket and the birds chirping in joy The childlike wonder,long forgotten,arises in me. Nature,not touched by thought, is a treat to the eye Trees of every size,some trying to reach the heavens Some staying close to the bosom of mother earth Each grounded, nourishing the grace of the other These are my most intimate contact with nature Untouched by humans they grow with abandon Rare flowers of different colours and fragrance Smile at me,the rays of beauty engulfing my being They lift their faces towards the blazing sun For butterflies,nature's angels, to get their nectar The leaves kissed by the breeze dance to a rythm I see God has woven his magic By appearing as all that is percieved. N.S.RAMESH  (poem).

FRAGRANCE OF A RARE FLOWER From nowhere was he ushered into this earth  In no time was he overtaken by death Like a flower that blossomed one morning  And withered so soon to leave me mourning  My memory of him shall never perish His love for me I shall forever cherish  Though fate has set us far apart  Yet from within me he will never depart. The tears in my eyes my vision they shroud  Like the drops of rain from the heavy cloud.  My heart bleeds with pain and sorrow  Pierced as though by an unseen arrow  Beneath my feet in the dust he lies  Gone forever deaf to my cries  His body and soul split asunder  One to the grave the other to where I wonder! N.S.RAMESH. Poem written  in memory of my son.  

  What is it that  I want? Seen it all to the mind's content  Yet I roam like the wind Not knowing where to go I have seen only petty pleaures That touch the heart but never fill it So transient and yet they repeat themselves  And bring only remorse and no fulfillment  Man's soul is pure and remains untouched The mind is fraught with desires unfulfilled  And he rummages like the musk deer Not knowing what he seeks is seeking him Mesmerised by all that appears, just a fleeting picture He knows not what the source of all appearance is And yet seeks and seeks till his last breath  Then wisdom dawns, that the seeker is the sought. N.S.RAMESH (poem)

    NOW IS ETERNITY  I live in the now and now lives in me It is now that masquerades as the me It is eternal and neither space nor time Exist outside of it for it contains all It is this moment where life happens And is the only moment that forever exists It has neither birth nor does it ever die It is not an existence which is perishable Nor is at an emptiness which is a mere void It has no color or form and enjoys no pleasure or suffers no pain It is the limitless container for it has no boundaries And the world arises and subsides in it. I am that and the world arises when I am in movement And disappears when I am at rest. N.S.Ramesh (poem)