THE WORLD OF THE SPIRIT

I do not understand what the learned say, But my Guide used to tell me…He was a simple guileless man: “There is a world of spirits; Some sink like lead to earth, Some are thought-imprisoned, They are too heavy to fly; And some are fettered forever by their own violent actions; Some go and rise a little higher up on the wings of good actions: But only a few chant “Glory to the Guru”, Fly off like birds from the cage of this body. Each breath is an opportunity afforded us to break our fetters of matter and break in to the chant: “Glory to the Guru”- We waste our breaths, we spill them in the mire; The odors of our breath are foul; Our flesh is rank with negligence: We run after the mirage of Maya and get bitten by the serpent of indifference. Our very existence stinks, our helpers fly away from us. We cry and weep, but what avail is mere tear-shedding? It is hard to breathe the Spirit of God, can such great destiny be ours without incessant labor? O disciple! labor as the child at school labors in muttering his lessons, his alphabet, without understanding.