Soulful Sadhak

We should never lose hope, even in the face of the worst possible adversity. The is a remake of Eddy Grant's anti-apartheid classic, sadly, i did not have to change much of the lyrics to make it up to date. History repeating itself. However,  as MLK famously said: 'The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends towards justice.'  So l et's continue to speak up, to sing and to hope that the course of Bibi is changed, and that peace and justice will prevail. Free Palestine.     Lyrics Well Bibi he runs a country In Tel Aviv and Jerusalem He makes a few of his people happy oh He don't care about the rest of them  He’s got a system we call Apartheid It keeps a brother in subjection But maybe pressure will make ol’ Bibi see  How everybody could live as one  [CHORUS]  Gimme hope o Bibi,  Hope o Bibi  Gimme hope o Bibi  'Fore the morning come  Gimme hope o Bibi,  Hope o Bibi  Hope before the morning come  His ...

Can my words put anything right? Can they help those who suffer in all their plight? Stop bombs and guns in the middle of a fight? And the powers that be with all of their might? Does it make any difference if i write? Or is my writing just academic? My questions only epistemic? Aesthetic text administered as anesthetic The old blind lady starts to look a bit pathetic She doesn’t stand a chance of stopping a polemic What if justice just was a dream of the past? Made up by poets whose time didn’t last Can blank verses transcend color and caste when the pain is so widespread and vast, like words from the book to uplift the downcast? What good does it do to be but criticizing? Do i add insult to injury with my philosophizing? Can a writer really be this surprising, a deus ex machina to create an uprising? Or is this simply too much fantasizing?   Is lady justice blind? Has 'justice' become an empty word? I keep witnessing the horror on the news, and sometimes i feel completely los...

Nowhere to run, Nowhere to hide Born into bondage, endlessly trapped inside Just a drop  in an ocean of woes Desperately looking for allies, as their fate draws close Their pains and cries are not televised Don't ask questions, you are advised And who will see them, who will bear witness? Is this a testimony  of evolutionary fitness? As the world keeps silence we carry on with the violence The butcher washes his hands in cold-blooded innocence Yet who is to blame for all this upheaval? Is it the mere banality of evil? When they cease to be an individual, ending a life becomes business as usual Reduced to numbers, their names not disclosed Taken by the machine, the bodies simply disposed The ubiquity of iniquity is desensitizing As we inflict moral injury it keeps traumatizing Driven by greed, suffering becomes epidemic Covered by ignorance, the injustice is systemic How to stop a faceless murder? Where do we go from here, is there a way further? How can we help those beyond ho...

Please call me by my true names So I can see that my joy and pain are one - Thich Nhat Hanh    For a while i struggled with this thought: How can i practice mindfulness and meditation and find peace and happiness, while there is so much peace and injustice in the world? This poem came out of that contemplation. It is dedicated to my brother in the Dharma and activist friend Tom. When i breathe, let me breathe for Eric Garner and all those suffocating under discrimination and oppression And when i breathe, let me breathe for the officer who only knows how to react to challenge with violence When i walk, let me walk for the child in Gaza who can no longer walk home as he lost both his legs in a bomb explosion And when i walk, let me walk for the soldier who does not know  how to walk in peace but sees enemies everywhere When i eat let me eat for the mother in Darfur going hungry to save the last scraps of food for her starving children And when i eat let me eat for the mult...