Ladder of Devotion

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Ladder of Devotion

Poem

First the hearsay of that to be known,
Of that fairytale glory, of awe and wonder.
Next the tongue to constantly mutter
The facets and attributes of the mystic One.

Ear and tongue purified, then the mind
To dwell on that Personage in remembrance,
Harnessing the mind to constant awareness.
Mind suffused by this capacity solid

Now yoke the steady mind to thy heart
Binding it to the Feet by a humility.
Draw gestures from out and within thee
Building a continuity without any cleft.

Then the salutation of Him who pervades
All that thou seest and hearest here below.
All Its variety of high and low to follow
To ends convention and His will permits.

Then the poise great of His servitor
To serve His whim and quirks strange.
These the swiftest strangest discovery bring,
That he who stoops soars ever higher.

By long kinship of service earn the place
Of His playmate in the world’s garden,
Then none but to Him thou art beholden,
For now thou dwellest solely by His grace.

Then the crowning moment of thy self
Given entirely for His incalculable muse,
Then flees self’s and cosmos’ purpose,
Then immortal thou livest above Time and grief.

PS: A poetic retelling of the stages/modes of devotion feasible in the Hindu taxonomy of self-discovery and self-development. Inspired by this article by Shri Sampadananda Mishra.