In God Makes the Rivers to Flow; An Anthology of the World’s Sacred Poetry & Prose, Eknath Easwaran has included a selection from the Isha Upanishad and entitled it “The Inner Ruler.”  I have written a series of poem-like reflections based on this selection.  The first one was my last post, called “Let It Go.”  This post is the second one.

Denial

Those who deny the Self are born again
Blind to the Self, enveloped in darkness,
Utterly devoid of love for the Lord.
—from “The Inner Ruler” in the Isha Upanishad

We would love to avoid the darkness, the shadow, the illusions blocking the light.

To live in love, our hearts bright as the sun.

But do we?

We have been born in love and we will die in love.

To deny the Self is to deny Reality.

It is to lose touch with our own heart, our own soul.

Dwelling in constant fear, making decisions in the dark.

Craving power and praise.  Seeking to be the lords of our own lives.

The one True Lord, our True Self, dwells within us.

The small self, the ego, demands our full allegiance, separating us from everybody and everything, and creating hate.

We cannot comprehend the Unity that we cannot escape.

But we are blessed by that Unity.

Praise the Lord for your good fortune.  Praise the Lord, the Self, for speaking to your heart.

You may not know what you truly love, but if you love anyone, you love the Lord.

The Self teaches you to see with unconditional, positive regard.  The Self teaches you to see the Self even in those who deny the Self.