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 eleventh and final one in the series.

Let Us Shine

O God of fire, lead us by the good path
To eternal joy.  You know all our deeds.
Deliver us from evil, we that bow
And pray again and again.
—from “The Inner Ruler” in the Isha Upanishad

God of fire, God of light, God of water, God of love, Holy One, Almighty, Joy, Self, All That Is, Universe, Source, Word, God of thunder, God of storm, God of breath, God of the beating heart.

The One that is Within.

May I listen deeply.  May I hear your voice.

Be the lamps on my feet.  Guide me one step at a time.

May I be light merging into the Great Light.

May I be joy merging into the Great Joy.

May I be forgiven.

In your love, you hold all of history.  In your love, you hold what is to come.

In your love, you hold the eternal now.

In your love, I know we are safe.

You are our shield.  We have no reason to defend ourselves.

Hear this prayer.

You hear all prayers.

We offer you ourselves, our lives.

Let our hands be your hands.

Let us share your holy frequency.

Shine through us.  Let us shine.  Let us shine.