This Merciful Path

a poem from Shambhavi Sarasvati at Kindred 108

This Merciful Path

Even if I berate myself for wantonly missing opportunities while indulging my karmas, this confidence in the path that has chosen me remains unbroken.

Even if I wander onto detours and squander my energy,
I never doubt I am somehow moving in the right direction.

Even if I avoid following clear instructions out of sheer brattiness or inertia,
I am certain that the instructions are infallible.

Even if I complain a lot, and enjoy doing that, 
never for a moment is the flow of devotion interrupted.

Even if I ask my Teacher the most outlandish questions 
and dream up preposterous objections, 
When She arrived, I know the game ended. 

Even if I turn a hair’s breadth away from what She showed me, turning back, that always appears to me again. 

Even if thousands of teachers abuse tens of thousands of students, 
the reality She showed me remains, and the way to realize that is still open.

Even if millions of students take tens of millions of years to realize, what of it?  It just means we can relax and continue together. 

No matter how badly I feel or how many times I am mistaken, I don’t care. 
I know I’ll continue always. That’s all I need. 

No matter how others feel, whether they praise or reproach, stay or leave, 
I am not deviating from this human way, 
one foot then the next on this merciful path. 



~ Shambhavi Sarasvati

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