Yugas

from The Mother Poems by Shambhavi Sarasvati at Kindred 108. We're all kindred here.

Oṃ namaḥ śivāya - artist unknown

Yugas

The door to this prison is open, 
but few ever step out.
They talk about the
furniture obsessively.
They breathe dense air
and their own nervous
perfumes.  

In certain waking dreams,
people come gunning
with their urgency and laws.
They aim their criticisms and
demands at anyone who
eludes their worldview.  
 
I hide out, 
slow breathing, unseen.
If someone notices, 
I share whatever medicines 
and empowerments I’ve received.
Otherwise, I don’t stop them 
from leaving
I just get on with
my real life.   

I used to fight for everyone,
including myself.
That was easier. 
Now I’m an escape artist
who understands she has
nowhere to go.
If I want to live in another world
it will have to be right here
with everything
precisely the same 
as this.

from The Mother Poems by Shambhavi Sarasvati

In Hinduism, Yugas are epochs characterized by how easy or difficult it is for beings to self-realize. The yugas are the satya, treta, dvapara, and kali yugas. Many think that these yugas progress sequentially and then start over again in a cycle. My Guru, Anandamayi Ma, taught that all of the yugas are occurring simultaneously. In other words, the yugas represent the differing experiences of beings.

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