"The Cowboy & The Indian" by Damon Leigh

***

Member of The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers & The Songwriters Guild of America
Member of Nashville Songwriters Association International & Tennessee Songwriters Association International
1996 & 1997 International Society of Poets "International Poet of Merit" Award Winner & "Poet of the Year" Nominee
Elected by the Board of Directors of The National Library of Poetry to The International Poetry Hall of Fame (1997)


*Dedicated to the eternal memory of my immortal beloved Gurudeva,*
*His Holiness, Sri Paramhansa Yogananda (1893 - 1952)*
*Author of Autobiography of a Yogi and Founder of Self-Realization Fellowship*

*** I bought a book of raffle tickets
With charity for those in want
And won a trip from Waco Texas
To India's subcontinent ***
By way of Dallas o'er the North Pole
Without a clue what I might find
I'd heard Calcutta has a Black Hole
Yet found there nothing of the kind ***
I came upon a sacred temple
The ancient shrine of Jagannath
Existing since nine thousand BC
Before Atlantis' final bath ***
I met a swami called The Guru
In his garden we took a walk
He cited scripture from The Vedas
I hushed my mouth and let him talk ***
Deep in my soul his ideas set me burning
Ablaze in the light of his mystic revelations
No one departs life without returning
Believe true believers in reincarnation ***
He asked me if I'd heard of yoga
I shrugged my shoulders as I said
"I knew this gal once from El Paso
She used to stand upon her head" ***
"Life's puzzle comes in many pieces"
He said "This science makes it whole
And by its practice you'll discover
The deepest secrets of your soul" ***
I asked if I could be his student
He did not hedge nor hesitate
But started with the hardest lesson
To teach me how to meditate ***
"This isn't all that complicated"
He promised me to my surprise
"But then again it's not that easy
To just sit still and close your eyes" ***
Deep in my soul his ideas set me burning
Ablaze in the light of his mystic revelations
No one departs life without returning
Believe true believers in reincarnation ***
We sat down for about an hour
I tried to see the Astral Light
Reflecting back between my eyebrows
But all appeared as dark as night ***
"Don't be discouraged by this failure
Success is sure to come in time
Nonsensical as all this may seem
With patience it becomes sublime" ***
He lectured long on metaphysics
From before birth to beyond death
Instructed me in pranayama
"To still the senses kill the breath" ***
I learned to chant to tune the world out
And not allow my thoughts to roam
Repeating often with devotion
The superconscious sound of OM ***
Deep in my soul his ideas set me burning
Ablaze in the light of his mystic revelations
No one departs life without returning
Believe true believers in reincarnation ***
He posed the notion Hell and Heaven
Begin and end with state of mind
"Our karma's bounty we must harvest
And bitter fruit yields no sweet wine ***
Don't fret that you're not yet perfected
You'll surely get another chance
Your consciousness must wax to cosmic
Before you sit out of this dance" ***
He quoted from the Bhagavad-Gita
The song of pure enlightenment
Then sent me homeward on my journey
With sound advice sincerely meant ***
"The supreme goal of Kriya Yoga
Is human suff'ring to erase
Prescribe your Self such cultivation
To leave this world a better place" ***
Deep in my soul his ideas set me burning
Ablaze in the light of his mystic revelations
No one departs life without returning
Believe true believers in reincarnation ***
I'm back home on the plains of Texas
But nothing 'bout me's quite the same
Where once I struggled for survival
There's no wild horse now I can't tame ***
Although I was a barroom brawler
A cowboy with bad attitude
My macho ego's now much smaller
Replaced by bliss and gratitude ***
I'd never called myself religious
No pilgrim on salvation's path
I gave no thought to consequences
Nor God's almighty righteous wrath ***
I bless my Hindu monk who taught me
To free my Divine Soul from strife
By giving love to all my neighbors
As Christ and Krishna lived their lives ***
Deep in my soul his ideas set me burning
Ablaze in the light of his mystic revelations
No one departs life without returning
Believe true believers in reincarnation ***
I left the sagebrush for The Sages
To India by fate was sent
Breathed in the wisdom of the ages
And thereby changed my heart's content ***
You may have doubts about my story
But no tall Texas tale I've spun
I testify by all that's holy
Life like an endless river runs ***
Deep in my soul his ideas set me burning
Ablaze in the light of his mystic revelations
No one departs life without returning
Believe true believers in reincarnation ***