Poem - 17 November 2017, 15:00

meeting God in a Lake, Cosmic Cat and Cosmic Dog and other Divine Poems

Meeting God at the Lake

In my 61 years around the sun
I encountered God four times
At least I thought it was God
But could never be sure

The first time I met God
I had taken magic mushrooms
And had gone to a lake
And soon was tripping inside my head

Lost in inner space
Zoning out tuning in
Dropping down the proverbial rabbit hole

And then in the middle of my madness
I felt oneness with the universe
My body melted away
And I joined the universe

All bonderies dropped away
And I knew that the universe
Was alive and I was part of the Cosmos

And the Cosmos was part of me
And I wondered at that moment
If I was face to face with God
I asked God to reveal himself to me
And nothing happened

Just laughter as the whole universe
Burst into laughter
And the madness began to fade
And I slowly came down from the high
And became aware of myself

And I was no longer one
With the universe

I felt profoundly moved by the experience
Felt that I had achieved perhaps nirvana
Or felt the presence of God

The feeling faded over time
And I resume my quest to find God
But knew that I would never again
Come so close to the divine essence
Of the very Universe

The Cosmic Cat from Berkeley

I next encountered the divine
Many years later in Berkeley, California
I had gone home to be with my Mother
While taking leave from my job
in the Foreign Service

I had two weeks there by myself
My wife came later
near the end of the trip

Every morning I woke up
Had my coffee, and breakfast
Did yoga while listening to music

And looking out at the garden
Then spoke to my mother
Who was sliding into dementia
Day by day losing her reason
Then I would go out

And explore the city
Go to a museum

Go to one neighborhood
And just be there

Rediscovering the Bay area
After years of being away

Having dinner with old friends
Seeing movies etc

Every morning a black cat came to visit
The cat was friendly and waited for me

And then would join me in my morning rambles
Following me to the bus stop

I stated talking to the black cat
He looked at me with the spark of divinity
In his dark eyes

I called him the cosmic cat
He seemed to like that

He would look at me
And I opened up to me
Told the cat all my dark secrets
As I walked the streets
Of the old neighborhood

Every morning and every evening the cat
Would be there to greet me

And to carry out our endless conversation
Then I had to leave

And in our final conversation
I asked the cosmic cat

Say, Cat are you just a cat
Or are you a demonic cat
Are you possessed by God
Or by Satan

The cat looked at me
And I realized that God
Was indeed residing in the cat

But that god was residing everywhere
All I had to do was open my mind
And the rest would follow

So I said Good bye to the cosmic cat
And he purred and came up to me

And I felt the comforting presence
Of the divine spirit of God

As I said goodbye to the cosmic cat
And said goodbye to my mother
As this was the last time
That we would be able to really talk

I told my mother about the cosmic cat
She smiled and said that the cat
was there for me and her
to comfort us both in our hour of need

and that the cat was indeed
a cosmic cat

The Cosmic Dog from Goa

My final time with God
Happened a year latter
I was staying down in Goa
With my wife
Enjoying being with her
After our reconciliation

We stayed at the Taj Mahal Goa
Living like Kings and Queen
Just for a few days
High up on a hill

Overlooking the beach
Every morning I went down to the beach
And did yoga by the water

While contemplating life
And every morning
I saw the same dog
Not just a dog

But a cosmic dog
Filled with the divine spark of God
And the dog recognized me

And spoke to me and I knew
That God was present once more
In the face of the that cosmic dog

Kindred spirit
perhaps to the cosmic cat
that had save my soul
in Berkeley so long ago

I told the dog everything
And he just looked at me

With those soulful eyes of his
And I knew he knew that I knew
That he was possessed by God

God had sent him to me
To make sure that I was on the right path
That the reconciliation that God had promoted
Was on track that I was back with my wife

And that everything was the way it should be
Again I asked God whether he was Jesus or Allah
Or Brahmin or Ganesh or Buddha

God the cosmic dog just stared at me
I finally asked him directly

Say if you are God the God of Jesus
Bark once

The Dog looked at me and barked
I said well if you are Allah bark twice

The dog barked twice
Well are you buddha then bark three times if yes

The god dog barked three times

Hmm well are you Satan
The dog growled at me

And I knew I had gone too far

Finally I was at peace
And for the next three days

The God Dog was my constant companion
And I knew God for the final time
In my life