“Between Two Moons,” monotype by Mary Gow

I received a lovely poem from my dear friend Shipra that her father had written it in 1958. It’s an excerpt from Rhythm of Truth. Dr. Chaudhuri founded the California Institute of Integral Studies (“CIIS”) and an ashram he founded is the Cultural Integration Fellowship (“CIF”) in San Francisco. In another post I’ll write about a show I’ll be having at CIF the opens on October 6th. Stay tuned!

Self Offering

May our whole life be unto Thee
a supreme act of self-offering,
As the burning flame gives out light,
through continuous self-consuming.

May all our actions be performed
for the sake of Thy glory;
May all our thoughts be centered
on Thy ultimate victory.

May all our feelings and impulses,
desires and wishful thinking,
Be swallow’d up entire and transform’d
into one Godward yearning.

May all our endless strife and struggle,
and passions uncontrollable,
Be transcended and sublimated,
and made for Thee serviceable.

May all wrong movements of our nature,
wrong feelings, wishes and thoughts,
Be ruthlessly eliminated,
and a total purging wrought.

May all our idle curiosities,
and loud arrogant pretensions,
Be hushed up into humility,
for Thy gracious revelation.

May all our senseless vanities,
and shameless self-assertion,
Be shamed into the right spirit
of willing self-donation.

May all our worries and anxieties,
and countless calculations,
Be engulfed in the living moment’s
rich, momentous fruition.

<a href="Haridas Chaudhuri, excerpt from Rhythm of Truth(1958)