Within the body lies the essence which the Vedas and the Puranas are seeking. <br />Within this body exists the entire Universe, so the sagacious Saints say. <br />Recluses, ascetics and monks are searching for Him in variegated garbs. <br />Rishis, munis and avdhoots lay stress on scriptures and holy books. <br />The learned of the world, puffed up with pride in their scholarly traditions, remain deluded by their erudition. <br />They delude the world through the practice of pilgrimage, fasting and charity; <br />They glorify bathing in holy waters and their gollowers bear the evil consequences. <br />They get lost in rituals and external observances and never can reach the destination. <br /> <br />Such is the state of people in this world <br />Who keep revolving in the cycle of eighty-four. <br />Only the Saints have attained the Ultimate, O Tulsi, <br />They obtain liberation who realize this truth. <br />The pedantic are engrossed in the practice of traditions, <br />And evermore, in their ego, are they enslaved by delusion <br /> <br />[Translation by S. L. Sondhi]<br /><br />Goswami Tulsidas<br /><br />http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/truth-lies-within/
