Looking for a Direction

BRAHMA

If the red slayer think he slays,
  Or if the slain think he is slain,
They know not well the subtle ways
  I keep, and pass, and turn again.

Far or forgot to me is near, 
  Shadow and sunlight are the same,
The vanished gods to me appear,
  And one to me are shame and fame.

They reckon ill who leave me out;
  When me they fly, I am the wings;
I am the doubter and the doubt,
  And I the hymn the Brahmin sings.

The strong gods pine for my abode,
  And pine in vain the sacred Seven;
But thou, meek lover of the good!
  Find me, and turn thy back on heaven.

 

It was one of those moments where I was lost and was looking for some direction in life. Thought processes worked and I was made to read this wonderful poem by Ralph Waldo Emerson titled BRAHMA. The poem is a miraculous in its blend of Eastern and Western thought. In the poem, Emerson assumes the role of Brahma, the Hindu God of creation. All through the poem, Emerson alludes to Hindu mythology. The knowledge of which he gained through reading the Bhagavad-Gita and other Hindu scriptures. The poem talks about Emerson’s relation with the divine and his perception of the eternal creator.

I think I now got the direction I’m looking for. Will make a conscious effort to read the Bhagavad Gita in a few days time. and