To go to Krishna's Abode
a ladder is provided.
We must pull ourselves up
rung by rung.
There is Maya
swirling like smoke
above, around, below.
By simply
chanting
Krishna's Name
with sincerity,
submission,
and purified desire,
we clear away the smoke
and see standing rungs above us,
Beloved Swamiji.
How easy it is then to pull ourselves up
one more rung.
But if we forget
Krishna
and say, "Oh, I have advanced another rung,"
the smoke quickly engulfs us
and Swamiji is lost
from our sight.
So we stand there;
we cannot fall off the ladder,
(This is Krishna's Mercy.)
we just stand there
on whatever rung we are on.
We only need to remember
always,
"I am not the provider;
Krishna is the Provider,"
and the smoke melts away,
and we see
Swamiji
standing there
a few rungs above us,
looking down,
bright-eyed and smiling,
beckoning us to reach up
one more rung towards
Krishna.
Again it is so easy
to pull ourselves up
one more rung.
And no matter how many rungs
we pull ourselves up,
standing there always
above us is
Swamiji,
helping us
to help ourselves
get out of this foreign place
and go back
Home,
Back to Godhead.
Brahmananda Das Brahmachary
(Bruce Scharf)