Dis-Illusion

How can I rejoice in this world,
When she mourns and cries the loss of a dear one?
How can I be at peace with ease,
When there are so many broken pieces everywhere?

Would the holy fire of the funeral pyre,
Discriminate the corpse that it burns?
Would the body demand that the coffin be divided
Into physical boundaries for each of its organs,
As one's God is more sacred than the others?

Would a predator or a scavenger,
Discriminate you based on your status or colour?
To them, you are just a sumptuous meal.
Then why do you bias your views against your own brethren,
And shed so much of an innocent blood and tear?

Many civilizations arose and many a war fought,
Many were their immortal gods; or so they thought.
But some went away soon and the rest a bit later.
Now, buried in books they just remain a forgotten past,
And all those mute monuments will also crumble at last.

Nothing in this world is for yours to keep,
What you sow is what you reap.
This world as you see it is a big illusion,
The very next moment is beyond your perception.

Into this world you came naked and empty,
And away from it you shall go the same way.
Just for a moment you will walk on this earth,
And then you repay the debt by turning into dust.
So till this moment lasts, Love One Another...
As nothing transient as you can last forever!

[ T. S. Sudarshan, 16 September 2008 ]