The Secret Sits
We dance round in a ring and suppose,
But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.
— Robert Frost
I can imagine the fire, the elves, their pointed hats, their ruddy faces with the long beards.. and The Wise Secret.
Neat.
Simply Being | Simple Being
The Secret Sits
We dance round in a ring and suppose,
But the Secret sits in the middle and knows.
— Robert Frost
I can imagine the fire, the elves, their pointed hats, their ruddy faces with the long beards.. and The Wise Secret.
Neat.
hariputtar says:
⋅ quite a fertile imagination u have. 🙂
⋅ i took an entirely different dekko at this one. its about discovery of self: http://www.harpercollins.com/catalog/excerpt_xml.asp?isbn=006092053X
[ its a commentary of *search for god* in all sorts of places, when He actually resides inside our own consciousness. “… kasturi kunDal basai mrig DhoonDhe ban mahi …” (xlation: like the musk deer that wanders around in the forest, unaware to the fact that the source of smell (kasturi), resides in its own body …)]
August 20, 2004 — 12:39 pm
hariputtar says:
and The Wise Secret, takes a disparaging look at the dancing figures around it and murmurs …
Bazeecha-e-Itfaal Hai DuniyaMere Aage
Hota He Shabo Roz Tamasha Mere Aage – Ghalib.
[ the world is like a playground full of children / imbeciles. and the spectacle / mtamasha continues through night and day]
August 20, 2004 — 1:09 pm
Lakshmi says:
Thanks for the input, Sonal… I read this poem a few years back and at that time, the imagery was very different. What I wrote above was conjured the very moment I posted it…. My initial imagery wasn’t one involving goblins/pixies/elves… but nothing related to God either. It was about how people hem and haw around a million things while The Truth is out there… and It knows all.
August 20, 2004 — 1:26 pm
arunshanbhag says:
your comments reminded me of the beautiful bhajan by Sudhir Phadke:
Kuthe shodhishi Rameshwar
Kuthe shodhishi kashi
Hridayatil bhagawant rahila
Hyridayat upaashi
August 20, 2004 — 1:38 pm
Lakshmi says:
I love that song.. have heard it SO MANY times on early morning Vividh Bharati.. Is it an abhang?
August 21, 2004 — 1:31 pm
arunshanbhag says:
I am not very clear of the definitions of ‘Abhang, Bhav Geet and Bhakti Geet. I would guess the last.
When spending our summers in the Konkani village of Bhatkal, my grandfather would play this record, along with Sudhir Phadke’s Geet Ramayan. As kids we were irritated by his playing this early every morning and waking us up. Now many years after his passing and far away from the lush bhatkal, I am only glad he ‘disturbed’ us so.
August 23, 2004 — 8:10 am
hariputtar says:
yes. u are right. it has to be about the truth. and not merely *god*. (being brought up in a hindu tradition – it all gets mingled, beyond a point, for me – sat-chit-anand : truth. consciousness. joy.)
the play on goblins/pixies/gnomes part was the trigger for the ghalib-quote. 🙂 its a good imagery.
thanks for this quote.
August 20, 2004 — 1:40 pm
Lakshmi says:
Btw, you have a friend by the same name, I see.. LJ-pal, I mean!
August 21, 2004 — 1:31 pm
Lakshmi says:
That’s a beautiful metaphor; I feel like I’ve heard it in Sanskrit too…
August 20, 2004 — 1:27 pm
rileen says:
I can imagine the fire, the elves, their pointed hats, their ruddy faces with the long beards.. and The Wise Secret.
Thanks to Peter Jackson, no prizes for guessing what that reminds one of!
August 21, 2004 — 1:08 pm
Lakshmi says:
Thanks, Rileen… But I no longer feel like taking the test!
Thanks anyways….:-)
August 23, 2004 — 8:46 am
rileen says:
Oh, there’ll be tons more, and sooner or later you might just feel like it – and of course, you’re welcome 🙂
August 23, 2004 — 8:52 am