Bhishma Pitamah, warrior fierce and monk exalted
An ascended ascetic, whose life could not be faulted
Granted by Gods, boon of immortality, of death by wish
Yet so deep became his anguish, life he chose to relinquish
How all this came to pass is depicted in the epic, Mahabharata
Suffice to say, he could not bear to see his soul defiled by stigma
Thereby voluntarily choosing to suffer upon a bed of arrows to atone
Karmic consequences of injustice by ego identity sown, he alone did own
Quest for immortality, in effect a seeking of our ego identity to unify with soul
Encased in this mind-body, feeling limited and bound, we wish to be whole
Thus we yearn for life eternal, bliss ineffable and wisdom unimaginable
We already are that who we so seek, ego veiling cognition spherical
Deluded that we are this organic fleeting form, fear spirals arise
Imaginary identity hypnotises soul, resisting joy and surprise
Oh weary pilgrim, know we are immortal but this body not
Divine aligned, bliss suffused, exit narrow thought slots
Shrouded by fears and desires, ego flounders hither and thither
Whilst soul luminous has no questions, itself being the answer