God Makes the Rivers to Flow: An Anthology of the World's Sacred Poetry and Prose (Essential Easwaran Library Book 4)

by Eknath Easwaran

Abiding. I see the gates of joy Are opening for you, Nachiketa. NACHIKETA: Teach me of That you see as beyond right And wrong, cause and effect, past and future. THE KING OF DEATH: I will give you the Word all the scriptures Glorify, all spiritual disciplines Express, to attain which aspirants lead A life of sense-restraint and self-naughting. It is om. This symbol of the Godhead Is the highest. Realizing it, one finds Complete fulfillment of all one’s longings. It is the greatest support to all seekers. When om reverberates unceasingly Within one’s heart, that one is indeed blessed And greatly loved as one who is the Self. The all-knowing Self was never born, Nor will it die. Beyond cause and effect, This Self is eternal and immutable. When the body dies, the Self does not die. If the slayer believes that he can kill And the slain believes that he can be killed, Neither knows the truth. The eternal Self Slays not, nor is ever slain.