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.  This is the fifth one in the series.

Looking at the Lion

Those who see all creatures in themselves
And themselves in all creatures know no fear.
Those who see all creatures in themselves
And themselves in all creatures know no grief.
How can the multiplicity of life
Delude the one who sees its unity?
—from “The Inner Ruler” in the Isha Upanishad

What you see in the lion when you truly see the lion is his union with the Divine.

What you see in your neighbor when you truly see your neighbor is her union with the Divine.

What you see in the mirror when you really look in the mirror is the Divine looking out of your eyes.

When you see the Divine in everything, you see only love.  In love there is no fear nor sorrow.

When you see the Divine in everything, you see the Self in everything, for the Self is nothing other than Divine.

When you see the Self in the lion, you see no lion.  You see only the Self.

When you see the Self in your neighbor, you see no neighbor.  You see only the Self.

When you see the Self in the mirror, you forget the small self that was your identity.  You see only the Divine Self.

When you see that the Divine Self is everything and everything beyond everything, boundaries dissolve and there is no separation.

There is Pure Joy.