دار بيبليون
In the cave of Nani Ma
A cave on the banks of Mother Ganga/ A poem by Lwiis Saliba
In the cave of Nani Ma([1]) and her Master
It is beautiful to meditate, to pray, to be reborn!
In this mini cave of natural rock
Which can only accommodate a pilgrim under its wing!
Where no one standing can stand.
One must enter bent over by its little door…
Perhaps the narrow door that Jesus wanted? ([2])
Then come and kneel in the presence of the Being…
Of the One, venerated since the dawn of time
In this natural ‘cave’, offered to meditators
In this cave next to the bank of the Ganges.
Where you look at the water…silent and strange
In its eternal flow, precious flow,
To come at last to close your eyes…
The rhythm of thoughts touches the Great Silence.
Imbued with the memory and benevolence
Of her who in the cave sits: Nani Ma,
Whom I consider as a mother to me.
Many were her hours of meditation on Being.
When simply, his Master had said to him:
Go to the cave, learn to meditate thoroughly([3]).
He added no further instruction:
No further explanation was needed.
So she spent many years there
Alone with the Alone, united in thought,
Friends and comrades were not allowed.
This great master was absolutely right:
The cave by its silence and inspiration.
Promptly teaches all meditation.
And you will need no further lessons.
Did not one of the desert fathers once say
To one who wanted to learn to meditate always:
“Go and sit in the cave…Meditate will teach you”.
Cell for devotees and spiritual seekers
This is what the cave is, and this is its call.
Between it and the water of the Ganges is a love story
That the sacred drops of water in their story always
Silently tell in their flow.
Just as the grains in the sleeping sands do
Whose glow reflects the setting sun to us.
O sacred cave([4]):
I love the peace in the soul you have brought me
Calmness in the mind, openness in the heart
Relief of breath and comfort elsewhere
Blessed be he who dwelt in you,
Prayed and meditated within you
Over the decades, in the Self!
Your blessed little walls and your carved rock
Captured your calm… and your bliss
Blessed are you then, O beloved Cave:
Thou hast preserved for generations
Many feelings, praises and devotion
The walls still resound with the beautiful vibrations
That you offer to each one, devotee or visitor
Sincerely become devout seekers
Of peace, of life, of its acceptance
Peace in their souls, by Your blessing!
Dr Lwiis Saliba
(Rishikesh/India on 29/04/2011)
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[1] -Nani Ma is an Indian ‘sage’ of British origin. She was born in England on 2 May 1948. She came to India in 1971. She was a student (disciple) of the sage Mastram Baba whom she met in Rishikesh, and lived in his Ashram. I was a humble disciple of this sage and visited her several times at her Ashram on the way to Gangotri, the source of the Ganges.
[2] -{Enter by the narrow gate. How wide is the gate and how easy is the path that leads to destruction. And what of those who follow it. But how narrow is the gate and how difficult the way to life. And how few there are who go through it} (Matthew 7:13-14).
[3] -He simply said to her, without having learned to meditate beforehand: Go and meditate in the cave. Because yoga teaches yoga, as Nani Ma says and repeats. This is what we mentioned about her earlier in another book.
[4] -In our Traveller’s Diary No. 34, 26 April 2011, p. 54, we described this cave as follows: ‘It is a natural cave cut into the rock on the banks of the Ganges. Inside, it smells of holiness and contemplation. I had the opportunity to meditate in it. It cannot accommodate more than one person. But the rock, the clay is a good insulator, you don’t feel the heat or the cold outside. But above all, it preserves the frequencies and vibrations. Whoever meditates there will feel the impact of those who have gone before him to meditate there. This is an exceptional effect. On its floor is a small mat on which the meditator sits and an image of the wise Guru Mastram Baba. Indeed, this cave teaches meditation automatically and naturally, even if one has never practiced it.
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