by Vinita Agrawal
[box]“The book attempts to recreate a modern day renaissance of Hafiz, Kabir, Rumi, Lalla, Mirabai and Tagore at least in intent,” says Vinita Agrawal, in a review of ‘The Poetry of Yoga’, a collection of the works of 150 poets from over 16 countries. Read on.[/box]
The Poetry of Yoga: A Contemporary Anthology Vol. I
333 pages
Edited by HawaH
Publisher: One Common Unity
Price: $19.95
The unique date 11.11.11 is intrinsically attuned to the unity of number 1 mirrored in the conjoined number eleven. Such a date will be repeated only after a thousand years, when not one of us present on earth today will be alive! To commemorate this esoteric juncture in time, Onecommonunity.org has released a specially compiled book of poems called The Poetry of Yoga – Vol. I – a book of shared numinous experiences that have snowballed into something spiritually momentous.
The pioneering anthology is a collection of poems stemming from man’s quest for spirituality and mysticism. It contains the works of 150 poets from over 16 countries and has contributions from Lilias Folan, Rod Stryker, Swami Ramananda, Eric Schiffman, Aadil Palkhiwala, Krishna Das, to name a few. The book attempts to recreate a modern day renaissance of Hafiz, Kabir, Rumi, Lalla, Mirabai and Tagore at least in intent. Effectively speaking, the poems are too modernistic and individualistic to justify comparison with such stalwarts.
That said, the reader can look forward to reading some good, divine, soul-stirring poetry and find a few inspirational anchors which might help tide over treacherous times.
In Devotion to the breath by Millicent Accardi, the poet writes:
“I love you shallow
I love you deep
I love you in three parts and when you come in like a lion
And leave like ice”
The poems are broadly categorised under five headings – Compassion, Desire, Freedom Transformation and Service. The editor, HawaH, apart from sharing his aspirations behind this project in a rather tender Prologue, has contributed three poems on the theme of Transformation.
“There is nothing more that I want to do
Than to join you in the cocoon…to know the dreams that grow wings…Butterfly what is your dream?”
In her poem titled Yogini on Fire, the poet, Sianna Sherman, writes on the theme of surrender thus:
“Naked in my truth
Raw in my honesty
Nothing to hide
No shame to wear
Anything can happen now
In the womb of Kali
Swallowed whole
Undeniable power of her swift sword
She holds me
Its total fierce love”
In the book, God and his ethos are found woven around cities and countries. Britany Policastro’s poem on Cambodia called Full Cambodia Bellies is a gulp of guilt in the face of wretched, starving children in a poor country.
“…how those little fingers
Once scavenged for recyclables
In football fields of people’s unwanted particles…”
and
“Love can exist like the lone lotus
In the wretched filth of infested swamp…”
In another poem she writes about India – the proverbial, universal spiritual destination.
“But I am afraid….
…when I am feet away from the majesty of the Himalayas
Plunging my toes in the courage of the Ganga
I know I may never return.”
Yoga tennis, Attachment, Inner Encounter, Silent Surrender, Divine Signature, The Inward Journey, Surya Namaskar – Some of the titles of the poems contained in the book are indicative of what is on offer. In a poem ‘Sunset Sandhya,’ Shiva Rea, who has also penned a prayer-like invocation for the anthology, describes the moving impact of a spectacular sunset in these words – “no-thing is left. Only the breath dances in everything”. The book is indeed for readers who enjoy indulging in existential expressions, who grope for something beyond the obvious and who search for words that are food for the soul.
Paula Hayes, who has contributed three poems to the collection, adopts a uniquely philosophical perspective on impermanence. Everything is ephemeral, she says in her poems. However there is no trace of bitterness in her views, they are simply a statement of facts dredged out from the depths of human realisations about life and love. In one of her poem titled, Relinquishment, she writes –
“And I am left open and alone
And not I, even I, will remain upon this earth
Except in spirit and bones…
Love between the husband and wife will extinguish
Beneath the big moon’s rising and setting
Against the ocean waves,
What stays, my dear
What is the word forever for?”
HawaH, the editor of the book, is an artist, alchemist Everlutionary and an ardent promoter of solutions to non-violence. He is a special representative to the United Nations and the World Conference against Racism and writes in his Foreword:
“This book is a great victory
a celebration
for the cells who carried the creative spark through time
for the sages who poured the nectar of realization
into the hymns, songs and sutras that were the poetry of
the Vedas. Upanishads, Gita and Tantralokas”
The project will be releasing volume II of the collection on 12.12.12 the next noteworthy date.
Vinita is a Delhi based writer and poet and has been published in international print and online journals.
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