I shared with my friend my blog post
“The Various Culinary (Philosophical?) Dispositions Round the World”
And she picks this to highlight to me
From the more than 20 entries in that post
“Ramana Maharshi: Who is the one who likes the pudding.”
Knowing she loved that Argentinian, too,
I message her:
You’d have liked this, too:
Latin Americans: Che Guevara never cared for the pudding.
She replies without much fanfare
Yes
I did.
This shift from the mental
To the metaphysical
Is so interesting
In her who is still in the thick of action
More wise than Arjuna
In defusing conflicts across the continents
Having studied how these patterns play out
At Fairleigh Dickinson and JNU
No accounting for the shift
Except to recognize
She is one of the few lucky ones
To whom the Self is starting to reveal itself.
nāyam ātmā pravacanena labhyo na medhayā, na bahunā śrutena:yamevaiṣa vṛṇute, tena labhyas tasyaiṣa ātmā vivṛṇute tanῡṁ svām.
-(Katho Upanishad, 1.2, 23)
Translation: This Self cannot be attained by study of the Scriptures, nor by intellectual perception, nor by frequent hearing (of It). He whom the Self chooses, by him alone is It attained. To him the Self reveals Its true nature.
Know Thyself 