Vacanas
POETRY FORMAT, 24 Apr 2023
William T. Hathaway – TRANSCEND Media Service
Vacanas are short, informal poems of devotion to Shiva. They originated in South India during the tenth century, a time of social upheaval, and took the side of poor against the rich, of spontaneous free expression against established orthodoxy, of passion against propriety. Our times are similar to those, so they speak to us across the millennium and are now enjoying a revival by contemporary poets.
Shiva, Deity of Transcendence – Bangalore
Soaring to Shiva – by William T. Hathaway
10
Holding my kite, I run ‘til I’ve stirred a breeze,
then swing my arm, toss the kite, give it string.
It lofts into the air, catches a gust and soars.
I laugh in glee.
30
Holding the tiller, I steer my boat to open water
where the wind lives.
I rev the motor, shut it off, hoist the sail.
The canvas flaps listlessly ‘til I swing the boom,
then it catches wind and swells taut.
The boat surges forward, slapping and skimming the waves.
I shout exultant.
50
Kite and boat no longer needed,
I fly by the grace of Guru Dev.
His forcefield flows above me,
and I stretch up to reach it –
meditation, asanas, devotion.
With a leap of faith
I vault into the flow
and don’t fall.
He holds me aloft,
fills me with divine prana,
and sends me flying exalted through the heavens.
Leaving behind gravity, the grave and the crave,
his Zepher Express sails me all the way to Shiva.
Depths – by William T. Hathaway
Ocean outside
Ocean inside
Outside motion
Inside stillness
Dive into both
Find at the bottom
Shiva
Shiva in the Sky – Wikimedia Commons
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William T. Hathaway is a Special Forces combat veteran and an emeritus Fulbright professor of American Studies in Germany. His books won him a Rinehart Foundation Award and a Fulbright professorship in creative writing. His book Radical Peace: People Refusing War presents the experiences of war resisters, deserters, and peace activists who are working to change U.S. ‘warrior’ culture. His novel Lila, the Revolutionary is a fable for adults about an eight-year-old girl who sparks a world revolution for social justice. Hathaway’s novel of the climate change, Wellsprings: A Fable of Consciousness tells of an old woman and a young man healing nature through techniques of higher consciousness. Chapters are posted HERE. His peace novel, Summer Snow, is the story of a US soldier falling in love with a Sufi Muslim and learning from her that higher consciousness is more effective than violence. Chapters are posted HERE.
Tags: India, Poetry, Shiva, Vacanas
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 24 Apr 2023.
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