To Dream Is All That Man Wants
If he can hold on to that rare haven—
To that retreat if but for a moment,
Never mind that it stands to no reason—
He loves to dream, gossamer its garment,
Let thoughts go wild and often a bit naïve,
Let his imagination space-time bend,
And let wisdom's reality transcend,
In this deluding world man loves to thrive.
If life’s a dream in dream, ah what a gift!
And mind a monkey trying to escape,
Thanks be to it that world falls into shape,
Letting one’s struggling spirit to lift.
Amidst world of dreams, both real and surreal,
Who after all has known the truth that’s real?
_______________________________________
Sonnets | 10.08.07, revised April 2022 |
Poet’s note: Recently I did a poetic translation of Ashtavakra Geeta, an ancient Indic text in Sanskrit on spiritual enquiry. A constant refrain therein is: this world is dream-like vain, it is a myth, what we see is not what it is, and what it is in reality we can’t see, and the like. Atman is man’s true identity, not ego. Atman and Brahman are the same. So are all the souls. Atman is the sole reality, not this world. Human aim is to seek freedom from rebirth. This is not to belittle the great wisdom that the text is (otherwise I would not have taken the trouble of translating its 650 odd verses), but here is my tongue-in-cheek take on it.
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