Non Dualistic Hymn

When not absorbed in communion with the Absolute, Non – dualists show a very exalted spirit of adoration for the personal aspect of the Divine. 

Consider the following hymn.

I bow to Thee the everlasting cause of the world;

I bow to Thee Pure Consciousness, the Soul that sustains the whole universe;

I bow to Thee who art One without duality, who does bestow liberation;

I bow to the, Brahman, the all pervading Attributeless Reality;

Thou art the Refuge, the only object of adoration;

Thou art the only Cause of the universe, the Soul of everything that is;

Thou art the world’s Creator, Thou its preserver and Destroyer;

Thou art the immutable Supreme Lord, the Absolute;

Thou art unchanging Consciousness,

Dread of the dreadful! Terror of the terrible;

Refuge of all beings! Purity of purifiers!

Thou alone dost rule over those in high places,

Supreme over the supreme, the Protector of protectors,

Almighty Lord, who art made manifest as the form of all, yet art thyself un-manifest and indestructible;

Thou art the imperceptible of the senses, yet art the very Truth:

Incomprehensible, imperishable, all-pervading, hidden and without form;

O Lord! O Light of the universe! Protect us from harm.

On that one alone we meditate; that one is the soul object of our worship!

To that alone, the non dual Witness of the universe we bow.

In that one who alone exists and who is our sole eternal Support, we seek refuge,

The self dependent Lord, the Vessel of Safety in the ocean of his world.

However,

An advanced Non dualist realizes the inadequacy of ritual worship, as is evidence in the following hymn.

How can I ever invoke the All pervading Absolute?

How give a seat to That which is the one support of all?

How can one bring offerings to That whose nature is Pure Awareness,

Or purify that which is ever pure?

Why should one bath with water that which is ever free from stain,

Or offer clothes to that which holds the universe in Itself?

What is the use of flowers for One insensitive to smell?

How can perfume be pleasing to Him who is all beauty’s source?

Futile are offerings of food for One who is forever satisfied!

How can one circumambulate Him who is boundless in all directions?

How contrive to salute Him who is one without a second?

How can hymns be pleasing to That which the Vedas cannot reveal?

How can one wave lights before the Self luminous Lord, the All pervading Reality,

And how, as an image, can He be installed who stands complete within and without?

Therefore it is that perfect knower of Brahman,

always and under all conditions Commune with the Lord through contemplating  his total identity with Him.