Harry Terhanian.com

Suffering is due to sinful acts
These are caused by a lack of facts
Ignorance is the enemy
That shrouds the mind in obscurity

Those who do not know what is what
sinfully fall into a hopeless rut
A child may put his hand in a fire
Unwitting he’s blistered like a roasted fryer

The fire is impartial, makes no exceptions
Innocent or guilty are not considerations
Due to our ignorance we act in foolish ways
But nature unyielding scolds flesh in the blaze

Who is there that knows how the world is working
Who is its controller and how it is functioning?
In darkness we ply the vast ocean of life
Tossed by the waves of ignorance and strife

To gain release from suffering and pangs
Is possible in the human form, not in the body of fangs
For the laws of nature are strict without excuse
they act blindly to put us in an unrelenting noose

We must choose our course of action prudently
Lest nature’s laws bind us to suffering eternally
We must understand what to do and what not to do
To be free of karma’s cauldron of reactive stew

Through knowledge we can gain release from suffering
By three stages of spiritual understanding
First, to know our body is not our true identity
Second, we are a pure spiritual soul apart from the body
Third, our soul is the eternal servant of God for eternity

Forgetful of our relationship with the Supreme Lord
We selfishly work to enjoy a sensual reward
The Lord has given us scriptures for knowledge
To free us from the throes of karma’s binding sludge

mahrtuh chee guhrtzahv huhmaiyn deeehzehrkuh uhmpernehl
pohrtzetch aiyn pahtzadrehlou hahmahr buhzdeektznehl

Once an illumined sage was lying down on the side of a country road. He was fallen in a state of ecstatic contemplation of love of God. Not longer aware of his immediate surrounding, he was swooning in his meditative thoughts of love.

A day laborer walked by and noticed the man. He thought, “This worker is a lazy fool. Instead of sleeping at night and working hard during the day, he is sleeping on the job and will probably get fired by his employer.” He felt disdain for the sleeping man and a snug pride that he was so much more serious and attentive to his own obligations as a hard worker.

Soon after, a drunkard rambled by and noticed the sage. He mumbled, “I can hold my drink and walk straight. I am not going to fall down in the street like you.” He continued his meandering stroll content with his self declared prowess.

Another sage walked by and recognized that the man lying on the roadside was a great saint in a state of deep contemplation. He sat down and prayed intensely waiting patiently.

Thus, our parochial mindset often prevents us from understanding our observations correctly due to projecting our own limitations on what we see.

Can a frog in a small well understand the expansive breath of the ocean? Can the blind man understand the brilliance of the sun at high noon or the myriad hues of a spectacular sunset?