What I Wanted, and What I Became. A Sonnet, Dedicated to Frank Atanacio For His Love of Poetry and Flash Fiction

My Sweet Surabhi,

I had to look again. I thought that it was a man. Haha.

You're mimicking me in your awesome stanza. he he. All good. Love you! Jai Lord indeed!

Bill, I thank you much, as I know you have a lot to do. Thank you for gracing my page here so often as you do. Gratitude...much

Well, hi Hello there, my Sweet. Somehow I thought that you had already been here. All's good. Great to have you grace my page again.

Such a sweet thing to say! Your words touch me inside. I try, my Dear, I try. Nimmita matram bhava, savvyasachin. I am a mere instrument of the Supreme.

Hope that all's good for you and have a great Christmas or seasonal time and much love to all your dear ones. Glory be!

Shauna, a truly sweet thing to say; a sentiment to treasure. Thank you, thank you ...

Jodah,

Yes, Bro. A great writer, he is. Thank you so much for a fine contribution. Higher blessings.

Thank you, thank you Reynold. Truly appreciated. Much Love this Christmas and the New Year!

Emge, this sentiment is like a blessing for me. I treasure this so much! Truly appreciated! Om Shanti!

Funny Surabhi.

My respects to her. I did take in the essentials on my second visit. Hehe. Good to see you. Much Love.

Thanks Dee.

I am heavily influenced by my Spiritual Teacher, and sat at his feet for 33 years. His words just come to me, as I have not only listened to his talks but read nearly all his 1600 books. The title just came to me, but it is also influenced by his poem. I am putting here and hope that you get to it before it is removed as there are quite a few words from him. It is much more powerful than my poem:

“I wanted to become just a poet,

But You have made me a Seer-Poet.

I wanted to become a Yogi,

But You have made me an Avatar.

I wanted to become Your lamb,

But You have made me Your lion-king.

I desired the dust of Your Feet,

But You gave me Your Victory-Garland,

Your Crown and Your Throne.”2

This song I wrote at eight o’clock last night on the way from Kuala Lumpur to Penang, Malaysia, on Malaysian Airlines Flight 2683. This song is immortal. It is extremely, extremely, extremely important to me. I would like everybody to sing it very, very soulfully.

This song is about what I wanted and what the Supreme gave to me. I wanted oneness with God, but God not only made me one with Him, He also made me His representative. In your case also, if you pray to the Supreme for a drop of His Compassion, He will come to you with an Ocean of Compassion.

If you want something divine from God and if you make a sincere effort, then God will give you much more than you ever asked for. But you have to go step by step. You need patience, and you must cheerfully wait for God’s choice Hour."- Sri Chinmoy.

Thank you so much for asking. Much Love.

Venkatachari M, achaa. Sukriya.

I have studied Vedic literature for many years at the feet of a Bengali Realised Soul. So I'm heavily influenced there. Again, when one enters the spiritual life proper, and depending on one's inner cry, many worlds open up before him/her.

Thank you so much. You're very kind.

Thank you, my Dear brother. Sri Chinmoy is not a Swami.

With your kind permission, let me explain a Swami briefly.

With a few notable exceptions, Swami's are good and noble Souls pursuing the spiritual life. The Realized Master is radically different and embodies God ceaselessly 24-hrs a day. Sri Chinmoy himself told us that he is not a Swami.

Asia and India are full of Swami's wearing ochre coloured clothes. They are essentially monks or good people who love God or Nibbana. The God-man lives in Infinity and is an embodiment of the Absolute. Hope this helps. Sai Ram!

True, your explanation is sound, and perhaps you and I are more inspired and elevated than some of them. It is my understanding, that some of us, will realize God before some of those in Habits. The Buddha teased them; Christ teased them and Sultan Bahu, Kabir and others teased them. All the more reason, perhaps, that we should be careful.

The Vedic system is very precise and has a hierachy of Souls, if you like: Yogi's, Seers, Rishis ..the Satguru, which is really the one who lives in the infinite. Avatars, partial and full Avatars ...endless.

One sometimes have to scrutinize them to see their importance. For example, ask the God-realised Soul his religion, and he will immediately give a wise answer. He knows the effect of words and their connotations. Religion is such a beautiful thing! yet we turn away from it, because what we hear is war, politics, blood, bigotry, fundamentalism ...

If I say that I am a God-lover; a spiritual beginner or seeker of Truth, I may confuse some, but I do not get the same kind of vibe.

Whew! A lot here! The word Guru or even Yoga and 'Sri' can sometimes be used loosely. But Sri is really Lord as in Lord Rama, Lord Krishna, Lord Christ ... and the Guru is a Dispeller of Darkness ...

As the meditation deepens, it teaches us all these things. Hari Om!

Note: There was a recent Swami Chinmayanada. Sri Chinmoy Kumar Ghose is different.

My appreciations, Dee. Much Love.

Yes, Bro. A very deep one, this. Hope that all's good. Much Love and have a wonderful season and blessings from our Lord. Peace.

Thanks Ruby. Much Love.

Thank you, thank you. I appreciate your visit and kind words, my Friend. Much Love to love and all you hold dear this Christmas and beyond ... joy and Higher blessings.

Thank you, Missy. A very nice man. Good to see you up and about. Extend my hugs to the children and your immediate family. Have a great weekend.