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Running To Stand Still

I pushed away from the scene of the yajna
And the mantras
Om Bhanave Namaha!…
The endless mantras
I'd been struggling to understand.
Om Khagaya Namaha!…
Trying and trying to feel
Om Pushne Namaha!…
Something.
Until perseverance, patience (and then bladder)
Were at the breaking point.
Om Hiranya Garbhaya Namaha!…
I rushed away from the yajna,
In a hurry to get back
Om Marichaye Namaha!…
to the yajna.
With mantras following me
On the loudspeakers outside.
Om Adityaya Namaha!…

Walking towards the out-house,
I noticed three cows.
Om.
At the sight of them
The panorama of my vision opened into stillness.
And I stopped.

As they watched me,
They were wholly absorbed in their own nature.
Their movements
Were slow and perfect –
A gentle turn of the head,
A light flap of the tail.
At once
I felt that there was nothing
I needed to try to understand.
No struggle.
No race.
No rush.
I stood by the wooden gate
And stroked their faces.
Time fell away
I needed nothing else.

Madhava (Mike Hallock, USA)

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