Poems by Swami Sivananda Thanksgiving How kind and compassionate Thou art, my lord;You created a beautiful world for me,The Sun and Moon illumine the earth.You created cows to supply me good milk,You created delicious fruits and vegetables,You created holy Ganga for bathing,You created hill-stations and seas,Beautiful flowers, herbs and landscapes.You created this mysterious body,For my soul to live in;You created these five Indriyas1,To get knowledge and experience;You created the Rishis2 and Sages,To lead me to Your Supreme Abode;You created the Vedas and scripturesTo guide me in the path of righteousness;How can I thank Thee, my Lord?Words are poor, language is imperfect;I bow to Thee with folded hands, O Lord:And pay my silent homage:Thus Sayeth Sivananda. 1. Senses2. Seers Cosmic Prayer and Kirtan Come along all birds, my little sisters,Let us sing the glory of our lord.You must praise Him heartily,For He has given you liberty,To fly about in all places;You need not sow or reap,He gives you food easily:He has provided you tall treesTo build your nests.Come along, my Mother Earth,Let us sing His praise.God has given you productive power,To produce fruits, flowers, grass.Come along, my brothers Sun and fire,Let us sing the glory of our Lord.He has given you great effulgence.Come along my sistersWind, water, moon and little stars,Mountain, rivers, trees and beasts,Let us give thanks to the lord.Come along, my brothers Varuna1,Yama2 and Brihaspati3,Let us pay homage to the lordAnd sing His glory:Thus Sayeth Sivananda. 1. God of the sky and the waters2. God of death3. Sage who counsels the Gods Divine Flowers Hey Prabho, bestower of Bliss,My basket of flowers is empty now.I shall offer Thee, O Lord!Some rarest divine flowers.I cultivated them with great difficulty;These flowers cannot be had in any market,Or in any garden in the three worlds:I offer Thee the divine Champaka¹ of Santi2,I offer Thee the divine rose of equal vision,I offer Thee the divine Jasmine of Santosh3,I offer Thee the divine Parijata4I offer Thee the divine Mandara5 of discrimination,I offer Thee the rare flower of self-restraint:These flowers will be more pleasing to Thee, O lord,Please accept these flowers, my Lord:Thus Sayeth Sivananda. 1. Tropical flowering tree with orange fragrant blooms2. Peace3. Contentment4. Divine tree. Its flowers have medicinal value and bloom in the evening, at thefirst rise of daylight the flowers drop.5. A mythological tree. It is believed that if you sit under this tree, all your caresand worries will go away. My Auspicious Day I celebrated this auspicious day,With great éclat and pomp;With illumination and joyful songs:My wish has been fulfilled.I have met my Beloved;How shall I find wordsFor the beauty of my Beloved.He is brilliant like millions of suns;He has enthroned in my heart:The lamp of love burns lustrously.I bathed Him with the water of love;I adorned Him with the flowers of Prem¹I gave Him butter and sugar – candy.I have drunk the cup of love,Which is filled to the brim;It is the cup of perfect joy:My rapture wells forth.The mercy of my Lord has come upon me;How blessed am I?Who have seen my Beloved?Thus Sayeth Sivananda. 1. Divine love Secret of Love Subtle and profound is the path of love;It is like the edge of a sharp razor:But the true lover treads it easily.His grace renders his path smooth;There is no asking or bargaining there,It is all sacrifice and self-surrender;It is all the outpouring of heart’s loveAt the lotus feet of the Lord.Egoism is burnt in the fire of love;Desires are destroyed in the flame of loveTwo have become one now.The lover plunges himselfIn the Ocean of Divine Love;He immerses himselfIn the sea of Divine Joy:He offers his all in Lord’s service.His tan, man, dhan¹:This is the secret of this Love:Thus Sayeth Sivananda.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba – His Poems Introduction Whether from Japan or the USA, Iceland or Brunei, whether erudite scholar or schoolchild, everyone finds a roadmap in Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s teachings. Direct and simple, they transcend religion and cut straight to the heart of the matter. They speak of how to keep oneself anchored to the inner self in this fast and often confusing world, how to remain incorruptible under materialistic pressures, and how to restore humanity. They tell us who we really are. Baba’s words invite us to transform ourselves, to be the miracle. Day in and day out, for more than seven decades, Baba patiently spelt out his teachings in a number of moving speeches, memorable aphorisms and— poems. Baba would spontaneously sing these unique poems in the melodic style of the oral Telugu narrative tradition. Dramatic, often packing a punch into the last line, these poems deliver hard truths in a provocative manner. Some of these poems exist in a number of versions across different discourses. The English translations below follow Baba’s Telugu words and lines, occasionally departing from the literal for the sake of communication. Structured like song lyrics, the short lines of the translated poems accentuate the melodic form and emphasis of the original poems. Poems Oneness We belong to the same race, the human raceThe Divine we all worship is the sameWe all belong to the caste called humanityWe speak only one language, the language of the heart There is only one God Religions are manybut their path is the same Clothes are uniquebut they are all made from thread Different ornamentsare made of the same gold Cows come in many coloursbut milk is always white It is the same lifein all living beings No matter what the social statuswe are born the same way Whatever flower you chooseit is the worship that counts Divisions and diversity occuronly to make life easier Guidelines to Devotees By the grace of Sri Sai—Always enjoy the good things of lifeHave good sense See no differenceof ‘yours’ and ‘mine’ Show equal regardfor all humans Become gentleShow compassion to those who sufferAs patrons, help othersBe ideal householders Set an example for othersEarn a good reputation in the worldKeep on becoming a better personAlways be a seeker Be steadfast in moralityBy the grace of Sri Sai— For sure you will bebetter than the best Essence of Religion Muslims say “Allah”Christians, “Jehovah”Vaishnavites call Him “Vishnu”And Shaivites, “Shiva” O’ people, realize He who fulfills desiresand bestows longevity, happiness,fortune and prosperity on those who pray whole-heartedlyis only One When Vaishnavites say Vishnu’s the greatestWhen Shiva’s the greatest say the ShaivitesWhen Ganapati’s followers call Him the greatestWhen Saraswati’s the greatest say the educated When Muslims say Allah’s almightyWhen Christians say it’s JesusWhen my devotees say I am the greatestWhen some say all gods are the same You must understandAll religions agree—Truth, Brahman, is One He who plants Lovein his heart Only he— Only he is ChristianOnly he is SikhOnly he is HinduOnly he is MuslimOnly he is humanOnly he is a Guru Transience Made of five elementsthe body is fragile No idea whenyou will leave it Theoretically, a hundred yearsbut don’t trust that No idea when and whereyou will leave this body In childhood, youthor old age City or forest, wateror in-between spaces Well, death is certain So wise upKnow yourself Realize the essence of dharmaWhile you still have this body This is the correct way forwardYou have Sri Sai’s word for it Morality A termite infestation is slow to startSoon they’ve eaten all the wood away Bad qualities slink into the mind stealthilyEven the great are eventually ruined by them O’ brave children of India, listen A country’s honour dependson moralityWithout morality a countrydeclinesA worthy country is thatwhich has morality Some Truths Is there a better donationthan food? Aren’t parents truly gods? Are there better habitsthan spiritual discipline? Is there a better virtuethan compassion? Can you find anything more beneficialthan the company of good people? Is there an enemy worsethan anger? Is there a worse malaisethan debt? Isn’t infamy like death? Is there a memoirmore lasting than fame? Human Values Just as a lily beautifies a lakeAnd the moon illumines the sky As waves adorn the oceanVirtues enhance human beings Truth, morality, non-violencepeace and love The five life-breaths of manon earth Of these five breathsLove is the most important So strengthen the Lovein your heart In the absenceof truth, morality, love and peace All the skills you’ve learnedare worth zero The end of charity is zero The results of a big job, zero The merit from multipleapparently good deeds, zero The mansion of our timeless dharmaUpheld by the four walls of virtues Only He who awakensthe spirit of Love who instils brotherhoodand egalitarianism who teaches human values Only He is GodOnly He is Sai What Sai wants from you are virtues — Be brotherly to allGive up selfishnessServe the community with a pure heart Truly, this is the real wealthyou can give Sai Seva – Selfless Service When you do service tenderlyand without selfishnessThat’s really service Truly, when you do servicewith fellow-feelingyou find peace Social service in a villageAs good as worship of Lord Rama That which is filled with LoveThe kingdom of Rama No welfare without LoveNo peace without service Where’s God, where allhave you looked for the secret?Is God not in the heart? By serving othersyou receive Love That’s how you findyour divine self All that you do with the bodyAll you say with wordsAll notions of your mindAll activities of sense-organs tenAll ideas of your intellectAll worries in your sub-consciousAll everyday customsAll religious austeritiesAll vedic injunctions When you considerwhatever you doas service to God Sai’s organizationswill be successful Prema – Love Brahman is LoveNothing but Love Only Love will mergewith Love— so Anchor yourselfin Love, become worthy of Oneness God is LoveLove is His divine formLove makes the world go around When you cannot feeleven the slightest sparkof love in this world O’ man, how will youseek and