Who Art Thou Poem by Aniruddha Pathak

Flesh, blood, nor mind, nor am I brain well-lined,
I'm not what I know, nor am I ego,
Nor yet five senses can claim what ‘I' am,
I'm not five elements as wisdom said—
Ether nor space, water nor ever earth,
Fire nor yet air, nor am I known by birth,
I've a father, nor ever a mother,
Nor have I foes, friends nor yet a brother,
I've only a tag tied to me as name,
By any a name still I'm all the same,
Ye ask when who art thou, what should I say?
A formless me can scarce a finger lay.
Eternal joy and bliss, I'm consciousness,
And all pervasive, I'm auspiciousness.
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When Shankaracharya first approached, his guru-to-be asked, ‘who are you? ' And he, still a little boy of barely eight years at that time, answered in chaste Sanskrit known as verses on atman (shivoham, shivoham) . The first four lines have internal rhymes; the rest are couplets.
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Sonnets | 01.11.13 |