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An Essay – "TM and Poetry"
"Transcendental Meditation and Writing Poetry
- Pausing Along the Journey Home"
“There is very great meaning in the study of literature – but
it must be done along with the morning and evening practice of Transcendental Meditation, so
that the ability to comprehend increases, that flexibility increases, which is very, very
necessary when one flows
with the literary piece.” - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi In a million poems one finds the spontaneous jump to higher expression in speech. These creations of
“poetry” reflect the first skill of intelligence – to be able to know itself ! During Transcendental Meditation, or “TM”, our busy, daily awareness settles inward to become
awareness alone. It is during
these treasured encounters – repeatable at will through TM practice – that
the thought of a poet falls in tune with inner
inspiration. In acquainting
his awareness with this initial field of culture during Transcendental Meditation, the author or poet learns to play freely
with words ... and with the emotions they create. His words become vehicles, in fact, to
replicate that inner experience of knowingness in the reader. The reader rides ecstatic, then, waves
of meter and of meaning. Thus, silence and sentence learn to coexist –
as in Robert Frost’s great poem, “Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening”. Read Poem
Robert Frost 1874-1963 1874–1963
In this poem, the traveler-home pauses next to a woods.
It is a property he is not unfamiliar with, knowing the
title-holder
who lives “in the village”. The wayfarer deems
the approval of the owner for appreciation of his estate,
though his horse wishes to maintain its home-bound duty.
For one watchful
moment, the “easy wind” imparts rest
to the journeyer, as the “downy flake” captures his
awareness with its quietness.
“At the time that they read a passage, they will fathom so many
more values – and be able to do this in a very
natural way – when their consciousness
is pure, when it doesn’t have any preconceived ideas in it …” * To me, this poem is a perfect image of Transcendental
Meditation! Yes, we know the owner, and the name, of that quiet wood. It is our own mind, experienced at its stillest. The stop-over
there is as much a pause for the pensive
writer as it is for the weary voyager in Robert Frost’s poem.
So, for the lovely darkness of the “woods”, we stay the steed
of our purpose-filled life.
Watching the woods “fill up
with snow”, the peace of that inner countryside ascends in our hearts.
Hidden and “stopping here”, we gain the serenity that will carry our lives the busy miles to go.
So much of literature is about this journey inward ...
the true journey home. ________
* Maharishi
Mahesh Yogi on Transcendental Meditation
"The Flow of Consciousness" (2011) -
Historic Tape Series of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi
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