Vibuthi

With mastery over air, water, fire, sand,

As Swami waves His graceful hand,

He converts the Celestial light into matter,

The assertions of atheists would surely shatter.

Vibhuthi, the ambrosia in solid state,

Immortalizing us from any impending fate,

Praised in the Brihad Jabala Upanishad,

That all sins would come to shed.

Sacred ash that appears in all variety,

Cubical, powdery, grainy, at times flaky,

Swami's Vibuthi found in myriad colours,

Palatable even in multiple flavours.

White, yellow, purple and intermediate shades,

Sweet, saline, bitter, sometimes the taste fades,

Previously, when Baba was in Shirdi,

He distributed sacred ash from udi.

Divine medicine for all the illness,

Spiritually brings forth absolute stillness,

Forehead smeared with white smooth ash,

Leads all illusions to steeply crash.

Vibuthi saves from oncoming dangers,

Including the evil deeds of unnoticed strangers,

As its holy fragrance enters the mind,

Fountain of bliss one shall find.

~ Raja Sekhar Ganta ~

(From his book "108 Heart Beats")