Somewhere within there is a guiding light
Without which mankind is destined for eternal fright
Living in a darkness of our own making
No one can pinpoint it’s beginning
All the boundaries we know
Is what we ultimately bestow
On the innocent, of the future
Who unwittingly become the suitor
Taking it as a gift
Not knowing it’s potential to cause a rift
We’ve seen the myth of the wall
Shattered, like the one in Berlin was made to fall
Breaking down a physical divide
May not quell the mental tide
That rolls out with a force
Which may not follow the right course
The guiding light does not recognize
Or even empathize
With the mind’s ever changing glow
Unless it learns to let go
Trapped under sheaves of pain
The mind will not deign
To see the greater good
That comes when it’s nature is understood
A blocked portal
Shunning the light of the immortal
It’s left to the mercy of the sun
Thankfully there’s no danger of it ending its run
It can’t light up anything below our skin
A dark world it is within
Amazingly so, everything continues to flow
Is it by a divine glow?
Humankind may be too proud to ask
It isn’t such a hard task
The wick of humility
Ultimately catches the flame of eternity
For the one who waits patiently
The guiding light may appear intermittently
Wisps of that flame
Are enough to understand the gist of the game
Of hide and seek
Behind walls that are both strong and weak
Uniformity isn’t the norm
As thoughts fight to perform
As entertainers in their own right
Succeeding in claiming the limelight
The weak link isn’t rusty old metal
But a will that isn’t in fine fettle
Traveling at the speed of that inner light
Thoughts cannot put up much of a fight
As one clears the underbrush of memory
Thoughts cannot survive that state of penury
Leaving the mind with little choice
Having lost allies with a strong voice
What’s left? But to look up
And do the best to make up
Time that’s been lost
There’s no way to justify that cost
Chance tries never to repeat
If it’s good it’s a one of a kind treat
The guiding light never dances with chance
Even as it offers just a rare glance
It is reliable if there is faith
And may be bought to life, it isn’t a wraith
A life lived by that light
Will gladden historians’ hearts as they write
Glowing tributes that may gain scriptural might
Goading humankind to stop the lesser fight
There is darkness within that must be crushed
The effort cannot be rushed
The mental flame doesn’t easily die
Thoughts spark up to defy
Only the intrepid can make it across
It is an abyss that everyone will have to eventually cross
The sun tries to wean us off its light in vain
As only the inner guiding light can make us humane
There is no rising or setting of that universal sun
Burning softly in everyone
The oil of consciousness will never run dry
When the guiding light always fills the inner sky
- N. Seshadri
