The Heart of the Cave

About the Book

In 1977 Bob Eaton traveled to the Himalayas, India to visit Swami Shyam, his spiritual and meditation guide whom he had first met in 1971. He little knew how absorbed he would become in his teacher’s presence, how much he would open to his own Self, and that this process would continue unabated until the present, growing deeper and more complete with the passage of time. “Finally, there is no separate identity to realize some separate, higher existence. All is One. This is the path the ancient sages took, and they left their words as a sign and inspiration. This is still going on.” Brijendra reveals in his poetry that the path of higher awareness is not something that existed only in the past, and it is not something only available in a small valley in the Himalayas where he has followed it. It is available today and for all of us who are ready to begin, wherever we are. His poetry creates the moment of Self-recognition in the reader, encouraging the awareness: “I am more than I think I am. I am infinite, indivisible Self.”

The poems of The Heart of the Cave are a selection capturing many of the transitions and openings into the spirit that Brijendra has passed through while doing his saadhnaa, or practice. But they are more than that—they stand as an affirmation of the pervasive reality of the Self, and in addition they attest to the validity of meditation as the means to attune our awareness to the source of our mind, body, and heart. In the poem When I am Melted, he says,

In the heart of the cave

Of the cave of the heart,

In the heart of the cave

At the back of all light,

In the heart of the cave

Where caves never are,

I am melted.

With Oneness as its underlying theme, Brijendra’s poetry explores and expresses the journey from ego to egolessness, reveling in the Oneness that permeates the entire process. Along the way, he expresses some of the questioning, even frustration, the highs and lows of the journey. The reader gathers a clear sense that the use of the first person perspective in many of the poems is really the perspective of all human beings. We all are making this journey towards Self-knowledge: the searching is ours, the finding is ours, and the underlying Oneness is our own.

Crafted in sound, cadence, form, meaning, imagery, and held together with deep insight, these poems touch the pervasive vastness of the Self of life, not denying life’s dance, but always reaching deeper than the mere surface. The poet knows all as his Self—the dance of the waves of life upon the waters of Self—the waves no different from the water, life not separate from the Eternal Source. Fulfilling the author’s conviction that, at its best, poetry is a direct medium of the true Self, these poems elevate our minds to a recognition of our own highest being.

About the Author

Bob Eaton, known to many around the world as Brijendra, speaks of himself, and of all, as pure consciousness. He expresses that we are one, indivisible, pure consciousness and that we can tap into and live this Vision of Oneness. A Canadian, born in England and educated in the United States, he has spent his adult life with sages in consistent Self-inquiry and meditation. In 1977 this “profound and joyful pursuit” took him to the Himalayas where he has lived, studied, and practiced in the presence of his spiritual and meditation guide. Bob Eaton speaks and writes about meditation and the Vision of Oneness.