The Almanac of the Supreme by Harry Chitrakar Kottler

[Chitrakar and Savitri]

Success is not a rhino;
it needn’t be a ton.
All you need is a simple thing;
you need to see the sun.

Congratulations and best wishes!
Don’t think it’s all success.
Detect the roots of ignorance.
The roots are your distress.

You think that you are vulnerable.
You’re driven by desire.
You wonder how you will survive
if God begins to tire.

You’re looking for the angles,
the ways to get ahead.
You want insurance from every fear
you put into your head.

Congratulations and best wishes!
Pretend for once you’re dead.
Do not pretend you’re superman.
You’re murdered in your bed.

The cops are looking over you
They say, “This one’s a corpse.”
And you are watching over them,
saying, “I’m still here!”, of course.

You aren’t dead.
You have survived.
You’re in another place.
You look and say about the corpse,
“That mug is not my face.”

Your grand illusions all have fled.
They’ve gone in one fell swoop.
Your greatest fear has come to pass
and you’re still in the loop.

Congratulations and best wishes!.
Grow a bit somehow.
Grasp the motor of your heart.
Implant the idea… NOW!

Now is what is important;
not the death of breath.
Now is what you really need;
not some grand success.

Cold cash is important;
It butters all your bread.
But inter it in a coffin
if it messes with your head.

Practical decisions
are practical; it’s true.
But you are not pragmatic
if you think that you are you.

If you think that you’re your body
you’ll ponder at your grave.
You’ll lament,
“I sold my soul!
I was my body’s slave.”

You’re the master’s violin,
but you just bought the case.
Now the case is in the earth
and you’re devoid of grace.

Now is what you’re looking for.
Now is what you need.
Dragnet’s got your body.
Pretend that you’ve been freed.

Now look at your circumstances.
Are you worried about your bills?
Cramming your life with artifacts?
Are you worried about the frills?

Simple happy moments
are all you ever need.
Why follow other pathways?
Why say, “I must succeed”?
Dramatics are dramatics.
Confusion is confused.
Addicts act like addicts.
But truth is what is true.

You cannot buy a rose bud
at a store that sells dried beans.
You cannot have life’s flowers
if you focus on your means.

Focus instead on your inner heart.
Focus instead on God.
With that inner focus
you will handle all life’s cards.

You will not be a sucker.
You will not be a fool.
You’ll trouble not for petty things.
You will not beg for gruel.

You’ll look into the almanac
and discover there’s a place
where mysteries can still be found.
It’s in the realm of grace.

It’s not in the statistics:
Who smoked the most cigars?
It’s not even in the winner’s box:
Who drove the fastest cars?

It’s not even
in the list of Presidents.
It’s not even
in the list of kings.
It’s not anywhere
in that silly book
of things and things and things.

You’ll look into a different almanac
called
“The Almanac of the Supreme”,
and read on every single page,
“This life is but a dream,

and you’re the dreamer dreaming
on the Transient Express,
and you’re the dreamer dreaming
in gladness or distress,

and you’re the dreamer dreaming
in Tokyo or in Rome,
and you’re the dreamer dreaming
a haiku or a tome,

and you’re the dreamer dreaming
whether here or there or there,
and you’re dreamer dreaming
with or without care.”

And then you’ll stop your dreaming
of anything but God.
And then you’ll stop your scheming;
It isn’t very hard.

You’ll say a prayer forever.
You’ll say it through your life.
You’ll say, “God bless this moment
and stop my mental strife.”

You’ll smile and forget sadness.
You’ll smile and forget pain.
You’ll smile and forget madness.
You’ll smile and forget stains.

You’ll be a real live person;
not waiting ‘til you’re dead.
You’ll travel in the world of now;
not somewhere in your head.

..............................


With love and respect,

Chitrakar and Savitri

[anandchitra]

C&S
I have no words to describe this most touching and beautiful poem from you. Each and every word is so true and packed with meaning
I have been reading this over for a few hours now and will continue to read over time.
You have described as if a journey which it is, our life
Your points about playing dead is very true.. you have conveyed it in a humor style.
That line about the mug face is funny

The line is perfect about holding lifes motor and realizing all we have is NOW.

[ketaki2097]

CnS, lovely poem. Loved each and every verse. Lot of things to think on. I will come back and read it again.

[shaila45]

CnS, lovely poem. Although I did not get everything. Whatver partly I understood was wonderful, worth reading. I am logging in after a long time. I need to go through all your collection.