Do I Dare!

Do I Dare!

शान्तं शिवमद्वैतम्

śāntaṃ śivam advaitam

— Māṇḍūkya Upaniṣad 7

Do I dare! To allow my mind,

to grope words to express

This serendipity that falls with the growing night,

Do I dare!

Oh, a voice comes seeking permission

to open eyes within and without,

to unlatch all the windows of the self

to let the light!

Ah! See how it scatters

into infinite colours,

To say something about the energy

that shakes and shivers my being,

grossly and subtly,

I just witness the play that unfolds,

When I... behold such a highland beauty.

Do I Dare to touch!

Ah, Intangible!

with all my adoration to the 'Divine Feminine'.

Do I dare to ask you

to let the self flow

with the finitude of time, or the moment,

synonyms though, and timeless.

Do I dare,

to dream of an utopian piece of earth,

with all the highest that human eye

and intelligence may grasp;

This 'Adana Raga.... Shiva Shiva Shiva...'

Do I dare,

to dance,

whole of body seems lifting up

with this intense energy,

Such a grace you carry,

glows the Self.

O Eternal Beloved,

Yā Umā sā svayaṃ Viṣṇuḥ...

The dance that bursts forth,

Breath rides this self

up to the horizon of That.

Do I dare!

to ask you to remain

the way this silence envelops,

the utter romance.

Ah! The Starry Night,

The Timeless time and again.

Do you see these human lights

shatter this calmness,

Humans!

They have slaughtered countless trees,

just to comfort the human,

encroaching and animalistic.

See how they treat sensible Himvant,

The majestic Himalaya.

Do I Dare! To say...

“Can't you see everything is perfect?”

See that untouched mountain,

with no lights save that which descends from skies,

See how the moon shines

with a freshness mystic.

19 midnight, 20 morning, Sept 2026

Glass House, Srinagar Garhwal