The Brave Pedestrian

May 27, 2006: I have arrived at my worldview after about twenty-two years of seeking, and quite a few visions and experiences of different sorts. I’m 40 years old, by the way. I have become convinced of one thing: Sleep is the same thing as death. Our lives are on twin tracks – the track of sleep/death, and the one that our conscious mind inhabits when we are awake. When alive, our conscious mind has a daily biological need to take a dip in the sea of our permanence. If we deprive ourselves of this need, it becomes so compelling that we may doze off even at the steering wheel, and become a danger to our lives! But after we have slept our fill, our conscious mind feels the urge to re-emerge into the “outside” world in which we live and work. This sort of straddling the twin tracks, or swinging of the pendulum, consitutes our lives. Our lives also have a bigger swinging of this pendulum. After we have been “in this world” for a sufficiently long time, we submit to the urge to r...

The Embrace – Companion of the night, Solace from the day, Protect me from the light, Whisk me far away. Wrap me in your arms, Hold me for a while, Let me shut my eyes, I’ve walked a weary mile. My shoulders hurt, my muscles ache, Heal my body with your touch ’til the sun rises, don’t let me wake, In your embrace, let me sleep much. Caress my hair with a tender hand, Kiss my forehead gently; Heal my body of all its wounds; Heal me physically, mentally. Shield me from the dazzling sun, As you move farther away. Let there be night in my eyes, Though the rest of the world sees day. Kiss me awake with a parting breath, I’m strong enough to brave the light. Oh, younger brother of death! Do embrace me tonight. By Lavya Krishnaraj Rao  (My dottir) March 5, 2012