In God Makes the Rivers to Flow; An Anthology of the World’s Sacred Poetry & Prose, Eknath Easwaran includes a selection from Swami Ramdas entitled “Unshakable Faith.”  I’ve written the following poem-like reflections inspired by this selection.

To Live in Truth

Give up I and mine. Make no plans.

Let nothing of the past or future disturb you.

God is the sole doer and you are His child, His servant.

Your I and mine has no existence. It is all He, He alone.

Submit, resign, surrender yourself to Him.

—Swami Ramdas

Who am I without “I” and “mine”?

Would I be my body, or no body, or any body?

Would I be you, we, they, him, her, us?

Would I have a place in the universe?

Would I still be a daughter, a sister, an aunt, a cousin, a friend?

Would I still work my business?

Would I still live in my home?

Would I still have money, or would I give it all away?

Would I have one partner or many partners or no partner?

Would I love anybody or everybody?

And who am I without my plans?

Who am I without my future?

Who am I without my past?

How do I release all the pain from my past and all the fear of the future?

It all comes down to remembering God,

remembering God is all there is.

To claim ownership of anything is to deny God.

To judge another is to deny God.

To judge oneself is to deny God.

To fear the future is to deny the future is in God’s hands.

To blame and resent others for past suffering is to deny God.

To suffer is to deny God.

Who am I without “I”?

I am God’s child, one with him in substance and being.

I am unlimited.

Who am I without “mine”?

I am God’s servant, giving without reservation.

All that I have is God’s.

All that I have is yours.

I am free, and so are you.

There is no self. There is no other. There is only God.

To live in joy, I need to give every thought, every word, every action unto God.

To live in truth is to remember that I am one with God and so are you.

To live in love is to deny every denial of God.