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 ninth one in the series.

God Is the Sun

The face of truth is hidden by your orb
Of gold, O sun.  May you remove the orb
So that I, who adore the true, may see
The glory of truth.  O nourishing sun,
Solitary traveler, controller,
Source of life for all creatures, spread your light,
And subdue your dazzling splendor
So that I may see your blessed Self.
Even that very Self am I!
—from “The Inner Ruler” in the Isha Upanishad

It is unwise to look directly at the sun—you may go blind.

If you do see the sun, you see only the sun.  You cannot see anything else.  At least not with your human eyes.

If you are seeking the Truth, you could do no better and no worse than look at the sun.  For, while the sun is true to itself, it is not the Whole Truth.

God is the Truth we seek, and God is in the sun, but that does not make the sun God.

When we look at the sun, we see God in action, giving us the light we all need.

Just as without the sun there would be no life on earth, without God there would be no life at all.

God is the splendor in the sun.  God is the dazzle.  God is the light.  God is the nourishment.

God is our splendor.  God is our dazzle.  God is our light.  God is the nourishment we offer the world.

You could do no better and no worse than look to the sun for the Truth.  You could do no better and no worse than look to yourself for the Truth.  You could do no better and no worse than look within for the Truth.

If you open your eyes to the Truth, you will see God in the sun and God in yourself and God within.  You will see that you and the sun are One.

If you open your eyes to the Truth, you will see God’s glory.