For Swami Shantanand Saraswati
For Swami Shantanand Saraswati (1942 - 2020) I'm unending -- for I'm still the "I" That was and will be till the day I die-- Once just an infant with wide open eyes That learned to walk and play all day with toys-- Now a grownup in sadness and in joy, Asleep, awake, disturbed, mad and serene-- Well, who am I indeed? What do I mean? Am I my body lustful or in pain?-- Hot, freezing, hungry, soaking in the rain-- Am I my thoughts, my fantasies and dreams? Am I the words that I compose and scream? Am I my brain, my memories, my life-- Did I exist before I was alive? And will I still be here when I'm gone?-- These fictions that we constantly present Congenial or given to dissent, While hiding behind doctrines from the light-- A Christian, Buddhist, Muslim, black or white-- Or faithful follower of the Scientific cult, Chained to the darkness of material lies Without ever asking: Who am I? October 20, 2022 --Alexander Shaumyan Note: I met Swami Shantanand back in 1987. He gave me a signed booklet The Challenge of Wisdom: Ending the Crisis of Identity on May 1, 1987. He left his body on October 27, 2020. This is my tribute to him.