![]() ![]() We are embraced by the immensity of life on all levels. We are no longer alien creatures in a sterile world. In this way, all the world becomes sacred space, alive, inviting communion with every touch. God in the air we breathe, God in the stream running along the edge of town, God in the solid ground beneath our feet. Imagine how profoundly our lives - and our spirituality - can open up when we relate to the Divine, not just in a safely distant, hard-to-imagine heavenly otherworld, but also right here, in front of us, below us, all around us, materially. Then add to that the modern worldview which further objectifies the land, defining it as inert matter, a possession, a subjugated source of wealth and resources. In many cases, to address God in a mountain or a lake or a tree is considered blasphemous. There is something lost, I think, in Western forms of religion that tend to divide the divine from the land. ![]() ![]() So, when Arthur Osborne addresses this poem to Arunachala, he is addressing the mountain, the guru, and the God. For many devotees, Arunachala is considered an embodiment of the god Shiva. Ramana Maharshi's ashram was (and still is) at the foot of Arunachala Hill, which, since ancient times, has been an important sacred site in southern India. | More Poems by Arthur Osborne | Next Poem > / Image by mrbichel /Īrthur Osborne was one of the early Western seekers to write about Ramana Maharshi, one of the most loved and respected nondualist sages of India in the early 20th century. from Poetry for the Spirit: Poems of Universal Wisdom and Beauty, Edited by Alan Jacobs ![]()
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