Here is another meditation from Mala of the Heart, this one from Tukaram of India. 

I spend a lot of time with teenagers, both the ones in my home and the ones in my classroom. I sometimes wish to share the guidance inherent in this poem with them, and maybe with everyone else, too, but then everyone would know the secret of teaching.

 

I could not lie anymore so I started to call my dog
“God.”
First he looked
confused,

then he started smiling, then he even
danced.

I kept at it: now he doesn’t even
bite.

I am wondering if this
might work on
people?

***

Tukaram (1608-1649) was born in a small village in western India to a family that sold produce. When he was thirteen, both his parents died, leaving him responsible for supporting his remaining family. Years later, after losing his first wife and children to famine, Tukaram retreated within and began to receive visits from Krishna. In the dream state he also received instructions to write divine poetry. His writings led to persecution by Brahmin priests and pundits. Tukaram became increasingly God absorbed, retreating to caves in the hills near his village and singing and dancing in the streets. He is said to have walked off alone one day, never to be seen again.

Biographical information respectfully quoted from Mala of the Heart: 108 Sacred Poems, edited by Ravi Nathwani and Kate Vogt.