Translations only
1901-2000
1901
O dear one,
I know that You love me.
I understand that in Your heart,
sympathy for me resonates.
I wish to move according to Your words.
I want to speak out without doubt.
Hundreds of obstructions approach me,
eventually all dilemmas are overcome.
I know that I am a mere particle of Yours.
You are great, ever new.
To attain You,
I ever weave new webs of hope.
1902
O Lord,
I wanted You to come
in the beauty of the crimson dawn
but instead,
You arrived on a black new moon night,
and removed all darkness.
You did not show Yourself on happy days
but came during a night of misery -
all alone, without telling me, unseen -
traversing a path studded with thorns.
With love, I had made decorations
and practiced hundreds of melodies for You.
All my presentations were wasted,
because at those times, You did not come.
But then, beyond all reason and logic,
You graciously appeared on the scene -
on that dark and gloomy night.
1903
O charioteer of light!
Do not just watch, speak too!
Towards whom, do You continue rushing?
On whose wounds, do You apply ointment?
Piercing through gaps of darkness,
Your chariot rushes on without pause.
The seven horses, clad in seven colours;
with their horseshoes,
shatter all stones on their way.
All bear the same destination,
for, can there be any other charioteer?
You recognise the path.
You know the chariot.
Hence, everyone depends upon You.
1904
In this sweet spring-time month,
You kindled fire inside my heart.
With a smile,
You awoke my sleeping heart
from its long slumber.
Inertial drowsiness had intensly laid upon me.
With the warmth of Your divine love,
You broke that static mood.
By Your mercy, I am awake
and, in the hope of attaining Your grace, I live.
O eternal friend,
in this universe, You are incomparable.
You remain beyond space and time -
in the firmament of my mind.
1905
I was absent-minded..
why, I do not know.
Which stealer of mind had snatched away my mind?
On a winter night,
silently and in isolation,
secretly,
He came to make me know
(everything there is to know).
I never wanted to give my mind.
Intense infatuation surrounded me.
A rope of illusion tied me.
Yet, that all this was but His delusive play (liila'),
I knew.
He did not want anything,
and yet, He took away my I feeling,
my essence of life.
Then, that newly-bloomed physical body,
surrounded by subtlety of consciousness,
became lost in infinity.
1906
O Lord, it is impossible to forget You.
The more I try to forget,
the more my longing intensifies.
I remain decorated in Your form,
keeping Your mark on my forehead.
In the light of Your flame,
my life floats on as if dancing.
You are the intoxication in my garden
and the quivering in the stream.
Ideating on and thinking of You
is the sole endeavour of my life.
1907
Who is that You -
embodiment of effulgence,
emerging from beyond the dark ocean?
Breaking asunder the rampart of obstacles,
You illuminate the world.
In the mirror of illusion,
You witness the mental states
of those who existed in the past
and of those who are present now.
There exists no closer entity than You.
In the rhythm of ideation,
with rise and fall,
You make all dance,
O embodiment of rhythm!
All-knowing entity from time immemorial,
You convey the messages of endlessness.
Outside You exists no other entity.
All come from You,
and finally will again merge in You.
You are the recollection of all,
O embodiment of consciousness!
1908
O tiny dewdrop,
in you the whole world is reflected.
In you,
the vast ocean can be recognised.
Within the small,
the great exists -
in decorations of atoms and molecules.
Nothing is there that would restrict attaining You.
In beauty, attributes and all actions,
in the silvery adornment of nebulas,
surrounded by infinity,
at the terminal climax of dhya'na and dharan'a',
You appear to us in countless rhythms.
1909
O Lord, come a bit closer
and smile a little.
I know You can remove
the darkness of my penance.
Come to me like a strip of moon.
I know this darkness is not forever.
Whatsoever mental agonies appear,
they come and go hundreds of times.
This pitch- black ocean of darkness
will leave with its head low in defeat,
for, it is the divine effulgence that You love.
But I will not accept defeat at any cost.
To Your lotus feet only,
will I remain holding on.
Whatever people may say,
whatever may happen,
I shall remain pure and smiling,
for, You are my beginning and my end.
1910
In an intense dream,
surrounding You,
I created a legendary fairy tale.
At that time, the formless one
began forming,
in oscillating mental waves,
the blue of the sky.
I would speak out secret events
in the smiling light of my mind.
My tears,
melting into the dark decoration of my eyes,
continued creating songs.
In an impluse, they were poured
into distant heavenly light.
You behaved unconprehensively,
Your activities and thoughts
remained beyond my understanding.
While performing my ritualistic worship,
You suddenly appeared to me with a smiling face.
1911
O Lord,
You came on the shore of this melody.
The enchanting tune of Your flute,
filled in me a new rhythm.
An upward pull
made the stream (of my life) dance.
In emotinal upsurges
my heart's tides expanded.
You smiled and looked,
and controlled with an arrow of flowers.
That floral arrow pierced
from world to world.
You are present in love,
You dance in songs.
By flooding the earth,
You win the hearts of all.
1912
O Lord, why I do love You,
I am unable to understand.
I am unable to know myself.
To forget You, is extremely difficult.
In the morning flower,
I see Your image,
which, in the crimson illusion,
all are searching for.
Whatever I think or do not think,
all has been flooded in Your form.
Whatsoever frightening things may cover You,
by whatever unknown name I shall call You,
whatever delusive mystery may deceive me,
I remove all obstructions,
taking my final shelter in You alone.
1913
O Lord,
You have scattered Yourself throughout the world.
You never want anything,
but keep on giving everything.
There is none as open-handed
and generous as You.
As father, mother,
brother and protector,
amidst all,
You remain in everyone's life,
maintaining Your identity secret.
You do not want name and fame
but rather grant name and fame to others.
By qualifying others,
You keep Yourself hidden.
You are beyond this world
but I remain bounded
in its three arenas.
Bliss is to be found at Your shelter only.
1914
O Lord, do You belong to only those who love You?
If that was so,
why do sinners look upon You also?
The air provides life to all without discrimination.
The sky chants a never-ending song into all ears.
The (sun's) sweet illuminations do not consider defects,
they belong to all.
Amidst all great ones,
You are the greatest.
Of all living and non-living entities,
You are the quintessence of life.
You are maintainer
and guardian of orphans,
You protect the world,
You are the Lord of all.
1915
O Lord, for You alone,
continuously tears flow from my eyes.
Why do not You come close
and think about me in Your mind?
Why do not You smile in beautiful decoration,
but prefer to stay afar?
Do not You know that I am Yours,
though You belong to all?
O essence of essences,
remaining amidst atoms,
You enact Your divine play.
1916
Whose smile is this?
Whose flute is this?
Floating about,
ever making all swing in rhythm?
In the garden of Vraja,
it merges hearts into hearts.
Touching the dust of Your feet,
the female deer scatters love.
Flowers blossom layer after layer..
and I too, say: "I love You."
1917
O dearest one!
Churning the heavenly garden,
I found You.
O sweetest one!
I found You in the moonlight,
in a heavenly realm
within the bamboo grove.
You are the black decoration mark on my eyes.
You came to destroy my worldly attachments (moha).
Ideating on You,
a new morning arises
and all dirt is removed.
Fogetting You,
no proper desire is to be cultivated,
nor is the understanding
of intellect or intuition.
By Your grace,
I became sheltered.
O purest effulgence!
1918
O Lord, I like to think about You.
Why is that? Tell me.
What sort of hope is this,
what audacity of Yours,
that lets me wander to and fro
between desire and non-achievement?
Why do You not come close?
Why do You stay afar?
Why do You call me
with Your indistinct presence
and an unfamiliar gesture?
You keep me floating in the sky
like the pollen of flowers.
What a delusion of Yours is this?
O my dear one!
The stream floats towards the ocean,
the meteorite rushes on towards the earth's atmosphere.
Likewise, do I desire to merge in You...
under the impulse of meditation,
under the impulse of my dhya'na -
do not You know this?
1919
O Lord!
I love You.
Why - I do not know.
The ego that pulls me away from You,
I do not pay heed to.
In the morning I collect bakul flowers for You.
With flowers have I decorated my chignon.
I continue dancing around You.
Into my mind no one else ever enters.
Of the ocean, I am the tide,
for, You are my moon.
Remaining distant,
You observe and smile.
In the flow of Your ideation,
I smilingly cry.
Do not You understand this?
1920
At the bank of the blue lake
lay a garden of campa' flowers.
In the lake,
a white water lily bloomed.
It was at that time
that I sat in the garden.
The swans flew over,
crossing country to country.
Leaving their nests,
they came to where they had left from.
In what counter-revolution, (I do not know).
In the deep recesses of the human mind
such a nest resides, calling secretly.
Return back,
with a peaceful mind,
for, evening has already settled.
1921
O grand artist!
Won't You come into my life?
Carrying the load,
days are passing by.
Will this monotony never end?
Every day the sun rises and again sets.
There is no variety in experience.
Eating and sleeping go as routine.
Neither interval nor pause is to be found.
O ever new one!
Bring novelty
and provide momentum to my life.
Grant me Your song
on the path of movement -
and fulfill my desire.
1922
O Lord!
When shall You come?
I continue counting days and time,
in the hope of Your arrival.
With tears, have I cleansed the path
You would arrive on.
Ages after ages pass by
containing innumerable painful memories.
Many an expectation has fallen prematurely,
as mere buds only.
But I am determined to attain my cherished goal.
Time merges into a new period
while the external world moves within
and, in the flow of Your divine play,
I silently lose myself.
1923
O Lord!
Take me with You!
Which unknown destination
are You heading for?
Why is it that my boat,
under the pull of Your flow,
wishes to sail upward?
I have finished conducting purchases and sales,
have cleared all accounts of assets and liabilities.
My boat floats unto Your colourful heaven.
When the tide came,
neither oarsman not steer men were present.
This evening,
all have prepared their equipment,
ready to depend on You only.
1924
O Lord!
Even if You do not love me,
never shall I forget You.
O companion for all time to come!
I shall keep on calling You,
I shall continue expecting You.
I shall float in the distant sky
and scatter pollen of love.
With songs shall I fill my throat.
In rhythms, melodies and modes of tunes,
in the tinkling strings of my viin'a',
You shall be attained.
1925
O Lord!
By Your touch, stones melt.
Why then, should not my heart melt too?
By Your joy, the world becomes intoxicated,
intense distress and hunger vanish.
Why then, should not my heart be melted?
I shall not reach out for anything,
for, Your touch bestows everything.
I shall not take anything,
for, I wish You may take me.
When offering my "I" feeling
I take Your shelter
and from my eyes tears are shed in abundance.
Whatever You wish to do, do it.
I shall not oppose.
Whatever You may desire, maintain that thought.
I shall not worry.
Just keep me in Your mind,
and mercifully look at me.
Do not break this thread of love.
1926
O Lord!
Come in the darkness of this black night.
Illuminate my heart,
kindle my lamp with the stick of love
and awaken humanity.
Without You, this darkness will not leave
nor can humanity be awakened.
Please, come into everyone's subtlest meditation (dhya'na).
Come also into the crudest layers of everyone's mind.
I long for You in the darkness of dungeons.
I search for You throughout my life.
Your loving smile is an ocean of heavenly nectar,
destroying entirely all darkness.
1927
Why do you gaze on with tearfilled eyes?
Wipe out your tears.
Why precipitate the clouds untimely?
Follow my words
and tell me what happened.
In the soft blue sky
swans fly far off.
They do not cry,
they do not shiver with fear.
But then, by whom
has this swan of mine,
been given pain?
In life, innumerable storms appear.
Numerous peacefully resting nests fall off.
Fill the sky with hope,
and move on with courage -
towards that eternal nest.
1928
O morning sun!
The divine game (liila') of Your beauty
makes the ocean (of life) overflow restlessly.
The awakening of a mere particle in it
makes millions of nebulae sing in the sky.
O You, so skilled in creating forms!
What is this creation of Yours?
With the nectarial ocean of love,
You have filled the world.
Although You are formless,
You have become form,
and in the form of thoughts,
You dance on.
In playing that divine game (liila'),
You ave no equal.
You make the world
forever cry and smile.
Even after contemplating You in deep thought,
I fail to make an estimation of You.
I merely came to feel Your touch
and for a wee bit of Your love.
1929
Feelings search for language
and language searches melodies.
Towards an world beyond thought,
do feelings rush.
Around Your ankle bells,
do melodies dance.
You came in the light and rhythm of love.
With a tinkling,
You intoxicated my bewildered heart.
What for You descended,
I am now able to realise.
You dance on without pause,
ever removing all afflictions.
1930
O Lord!
You came into fold on this very earth.
And filled the sky with moonlight.
I do not know when You shall come again.
Your poured sweetness into my life.
You won my mind.
You did not consider time.
You came with a smiling face,
and looked at me eye to eye,
You touched my heart with Yours,
and bestowed everything.
Whatever auspicious exists,
it is all You.
Inauspiciousness can have no quarter in You.
Even in greatest fear,
non-benevolence won't stand before You.
1931
O Lord!
With what expectation
did You kindle fire
in the deep recess of my mind?
Making it bloom
like a garden in spring.
You never desire anything.
You never leave any wont unfulfilled.
Produce a little gesture,
tell me what for it all happened.
You smilingly came into the garden of pala'sh trees.
You looked on from below the sha'lmalii tree.
Your eyes lingered on towards the mango buds,
and filled the air with feeling.
O unknown traveler!
You do not remain unrecognised.
In the silent recess of the mind,
You ever come and go.
In search of You
I started flying in the sky,
ever streching out my wings.
For, it is not merely the sky
that I want close to me.
1932
O Lord!
After a long time,
I found You in my home.
Please stay,
and illuminate my mind.
I shall not let You go.
I have forgotten in how many eras of penance
the darkness of my mind was wiped away.
This sa'dhana of dark nights
has brought the crimson dawn to my doorstep.
Let this morning remain forever,
and keep me absorbed in bliss day by day.
By Your touch,
Let my mind linger on in heavenly bliss.
1933
O dear Lord!
You, who is revered by all,
come into the depth of my mind!
Come with Your sweet feet.
Expecting Your arrival,
I have remained awake.
I have sat down in silent penance.
Break this silence
and bring new expressions!
Pour softness into my dry heart!
My history,
the story of my agonies,
are all recorded
in You mental mirror.
All my defects and qualities
are known to You.
By pardoning my mistakes
You pull me close.
Grant me the raga'tmika' devotion of total surrender,
and take me across that limitless ocean.
1934
O Lord,
I keep on carrying You message,
ever engaging myself in Your work.
Whatever belongings I may have
are indeed Yours.
This fact,
I keep on singing in perfect tune.
In the great sky,
like a dust particle,
I came,
and attained You in the firmament of my mind.
O dear Lord!
At the root of my coming and going,
of my smiling and crying,
ever remains Your mercy.
I know, that without You
my existence will not hold.
I merely produce tinklings
on the strings of Your viin'a'.
In experiencing
Your campa' flower-like touch,
I offer my salutation to You.
1935
O Lord!
The garland which I prepared for You
has gradually been drying out.
You did not come to wear it.
My days have passed by in vain.
I do not find the effulgent sun pleasent anymore
and the air no longer seems refreshing.
The darkness of my mind is deepening further.
Days and nights meaninglessly flow by.
There is no harm
in not being able to get hold of You,
nor if You do not wish to look at me.
But, should You consider me a meager,
then dissolve my all
into a particle of Your grace.
1936
O Lord!
With what kind of fragrant vibration
did You come into my mind?
With silent footsteps,
You secretly opened up
colourful petals of various hues.
In the past,
I knew or understood (intellectually)
but never cherished
to attain You closely (in my heart).
But You Yourself came to me
and, providing fulfillment to my mind,
pulled me unto You.
I know that You love me,
for, You have brought me close to You.
Although You spring forth from time immemorial,
I am limited in time.
Nonetheless You accepted me.
1937
O Lord,
I do not know
how many ages came and went
while I remained sitting and waiting for You.
I forget days, dates and time,
I forget who came and when,
but I do not forget You.
Due to the fall of ochre dust in summer,
many bamboo groves have downhearted.
The impact of the flood of heavy rains
has uprooted and floated away innumerable homes.
I am unable to keep count of it.
In the soft moonlight of winter,
with the fragrance of shefa'lii flowers,
nectar flows.
The colours of love in my life seem to fade,
and yet, I cannot think of anything but You.
1938
O Lord,
if I ever become tired
on the path of movement,
provide enthusiasm to me.
During the intervals of work,
if worries come peeping up,
remove them.
If due to greed for the honey of flowers,
insects come into my mental garden,
and intense rains paint the blue of my sky,
come with a soft smile
and awaken my consciousness.
All power is Yours,
I am emaciated.
O granter of liberation!
I am at Your shelter.
Expecting Your grace,
I am counting days.
Kindly kindle the lamp of hope.
1939
I am a nightingale of the floral garden.
I do not talk to anyone,
I sing my song and raise my melody.
Days of sweetness come and go,
leaving behind hues in my mind.
In this golden brightness,
sanctified by love,
I sing for You
my golden songs.
I know You well.
For You,
I weave a golden web.
Through that web,
no gold is seen.
Yet, inside the mind
buds of campa' bloom.
1940
O Lord,
why are You scared
of coming close to me?
While You are fully absorbed in sweetness,
I am just a dry stone.
So, may I get influenced by it?
O Lord of all!
You are infinite
and beyond form,
whereas I am limited and perishable.
Do never ever hesitate before me.
You have given me my form
taking it from Your own form.
Then, what is there with me
to scare You?
The stick of my life and death
is in Your hands.
I am just a ball for You to play with.
Everybody in the world knows this.
And since my mind
continously dances around You,
I am unable
to stay away from You anyhow.
1941
O formless one,
in the hope of attaining Your touch,
I keep on floating in the ocean of forms.
My mental bee is intoxicated
with intense love this spring.
Into the line of beauty that You sketched,
You filled life.
There is life in beauty,
and there is beauty in life, in this world,
this absolute truth is apparent.
This world of forms consists of light and shade.
Within it, big and small exist.
And within it, good and bad are bound.
The great space reflects itself
in the firmament of mind.
1942
O Lord,
come into my mind,
come into my contemplation!
O controller of the divine play,
resonant with rhythm,
come into my life!
Come into the garland of my feelings,
come into my floral tray (bouquet).
Come into the beautiful canopy of my sweet garden.
Nothing is unknown to You,
You recognise everyone in this world.
All facts and internal agonies
remain threaded in Your songs.
1943
Who came into this heavenly garden,
absorbed in sandal fragrance?
Who came bathed in dewdrops,
with a face covered by the moonlight?
The sunflower says it wants to look up,
other than that, it wants nothing.
To that entity,
due to which the world survives
I offer my mind, heart and soul.
The bakul tree sings from the core of its heart:
"My flowers are fragrant due to His love."
That entity I accept in my mind,
and pull close to me.
For Him I keep my heart filled with sweetness.
1944
O Lord,
in which formless world,
did You remain,
before descending into the world of forms?
Thus coming,
over leaves, flowers and buds, and greenness,
You poured out sweetness.
The physical and divine worlds
are unable to hold
this effulgence of Your beauty.
In my overflowing and restless heart,
what an experience have You brought about?
Those who know the greatness of Your name,
understand the glory of Your love.
To them,
You provide the fragrance of Asti, Bha'ti and Ánanda.
1945
O Lord,
in the blue lake,
for an unknown period of time,
You bloomed in the mirror of my mind.
In the form of a soft mental lotus,
You filled my outside and inside.
O entity from an unknown realm,
You remain ever recognised.
You do not heed to any obstruction.
In intuition, this is known.
O Lord of all pilgrimage,
At Your feet
again and again
I offer my salutation.
Amongst our own ones,
You are the closest,
You are absolutely my own
and You are my nearest one.
Crowned with smiling and sweet cam'pa' flowers,
You diffuse Yourself into hundreds of streams.
1946
I was sitting head bowed,
alone, in intense darkness.
From the golden divine arena,
spreading its wings,
the divine angel told me:
"I am with you not just two times, but always.
You were never alone,
do not you know me as your eternal companion?"
The divine angel further told me:
"Do not become frenzied by agony,
You might forget me,
but I will never forget you,
even should you forget me,
I will never ignore you.
I have kept you merged in my mind
and retained you carefully.
I shall never neglect you even if by mistake."
1947
O Lord,
I love You in the depth of my mind,
so that no one would know of it.
I love You in the blue sky of the moonlit night,
as the wings of the swan,
so that no one would understand it.
O king of mind,
stay in my mind!
O emperor of the world,
destroy all darkness!
Coming and going secretly,
introduction and dialogue taking place secretly,
there would be nothing to exhibit to the world.
I do not want drums of victory
but soft ankle bell
and hard stones,
striking within tubular and hollow rings
and producing sweet sounds.
1948
O King of my mind,
why do You stay afar?
Come close, stay within my mind.
You are the diamond
and You are the diamond's glow.
With Your formless implement
You kindle light.
With conch and bell sounds
and with ghee lamps,
I tried to please You,
but I did not find composure in my mind.
Today, come,
and with Your own hands,
in Your own way,
teach me how Your a'ratii is to be conducted.
I have been thinking so much of You ages after ages,
I tried to worship You
through hundreds of customary rituals.
Today, I am tired of it all,
and accepting defeat,
I ask You for mercy,
that Your trumpet may ever sound in my heart.
1949
O Lord,
You poured the impulse of vivacity
into the ocean of Your songs.
That is why I see
that the stream of Your love
essentially never terminates.
My companions at the shore warned me
about the over accumulation of quicksand.
I did not find boats
nor home for me to stay at.
I remained sitting and forgetting myself,
on the side of blind attachments.
Today, You lifted my burden onto Your boat.
1950
O Lord,
You came
and removed the darkness of my mind.
You wiped out all disappointment
and kindled the lamp of hope in my life.
Knowingly or unknowingly,
in my mind,
I love You.
Today, in isolation,
You made me Your own.
You do not want anything;
neither have I done anything for You.
I do not know anything about my own self,
and yet, You nevertheless poured out love.
1951
O Lord,
You came with green decorations
and scattered Yourself onto this earth.
You filled softness into flowers and buds,
into living and nonliving beings.
O Shya'm,
You have no comparison.
I love You with all my heart.
By the sweet and charming
enchantment of Your love,
my lamp became kindled.
I do not want anything from You.
Those who possess You, have everything.
In the kaostubha gem of my heart,
You glow timelessly.
1952
O Lord,
You came in the dark night
and kindled my lamp.
You arrived on a cloudy night.
You came into my fold,
bestowing auspiciousness.
When my home was illuminated
with plenty of light,
with a shining luster,
You came straight away
without even announcing Yourself.
Today, I had lost everything,
and created my own stone prison.
I called You with tearfilled eyes.
Hearing my call,
You immediately came to my hut.
1953
O Lord,
by the touch of Your vivacity,
light was kindled in my world.
Everything appeared pleasing,
beaming with the joy of love.
I was alone in a corner of my house,
crying secretly.
That lamentation of mine proved fruitful
when You came smiling.
You wiped away my tears,
and told me:
"I am yours, do not cry.
With efforts, move forward towards perfection".
1954
Darkness has now come,
so kindle light!
This darkness is unbearable.
Pour whatever is possible to mix into humanity,
and wish to all more and more benevolence.
Many ages have passed by
in dogmatic and inertial thinking.
Perfect and profound knowledge
shall now enter the desert mirage.
Nothing ancient will persist,
only what is ever new shall be brought about.
The evening malatii flower smiles to awaken hope.
You are ignoring majority,
do not You know that humanity is burning?
Forgetting the agony of the past,
call all with raised hands,
and see Your victory banner flying high.
1955
Floating along the current of pollen,
who knows what the bee whispered
into the ears of the flower?
It could have been a story of love
or it could have been
an unmindful narration of agony.
The papiha' bird sings of that story.
Hearing its song,
the bee smiles and joins in.
And although afflicted with pain,
the mental bee sings His immortal glory.
Overwhelmed and surcharged with His honey,
it rushes unto Him only.
1956
O guide on my path,
come into fold
in the illumination of contemplation (dhya'na),
appear like a pearl in its shell,
appear in the depths of my consciousness.
Nothing like sin nor piousness remains,
into that past I do not wish to look.
To attain a wee bit of Your grace only,
I aspire,
in each moment of my life.
O Lord, I am but a meager instrument of Yours.
All my feelings rest in You.
To surround You only is the vital essence of my life,
which overflows into a range of directions.
1957
O Lord,
my mind tells me that You will come,
that You will not stay afar,
that You will come within my reach.
After observing all,
my heart now understands
that real bliss lies in thinking of You.
The way I love You
it is impossible to get satisfaction from anything else.
In it, You too become satisfied,
taking me along
and silently continuing You divine play.
If I did not exist,
it would impose inconvenience on You.
If drops were not there,
would the ocean exist?
Taking me along on Your illusive divine game
is Your festivity since time immemorial.
1958
O Lord,
what is the use of my constant thinking of You,
of my meditating on You,
if You do not appear in my home?
Come and tell me
whether I should remember You
whether I have to remember You,
and how I am to do it.
I kept burning
the lamp of my hopes,
and beautifully arranged
my garland of flowers.
In a solitary garden,
I kept my mental flowers full of sweetness.
What I should do and what not,
only You are to tell me.
Impart to me the mantra of surrender.
In seclusion,
in meditative posture,
I long to catch hold of You.
1959
O flute player,
when did You secretly come
into the recess of my mind?
By the charm of Your dance and song,
You intoxicated my mind.
There is no end to Your form.
When thinking of Your attributes,
I fail to make an estimation of them.
Due to Your skill in performing the divine illusive play,
You are worshipped throughout the world.
I will not waste any time,
I will certainly attain You,
in the thread of love,
in the depth of ideation
in the sweet flow of ra'ga'tmika' devotion.
1960
O embodiment of kindness,
after such a long time
You came into my floral garden
with a smiling face.
All my latent aspirations and love
today became fruitful in Your effulgence.
Whatever I wanted, I achieved,
whatever I did not demand, that too, I was given.
In the congregation of ideation,
into my thought waves,
You appeared to me face to face,
O embodiment of mercy!
O Lord,
there is neither beginning nor end to You at any time.
Yet, due to foolishness,
I keep searching Your terminus.
You are the Lord of all time to come,
You are with and without form,
O embodiment of the divine play!
1961
O Lord,
filling my life with colourful dreams,
who are You,
who came?
I do neither recognise nor know You,
yet You nevertheless came to me
and filled me with colours.
I think of You day and night.
I love You in my heart during times of lonelyness.
I float in Your floral pollen,
in the water of Your beauty.
O dearest,
most adorable one,
my existence remains tightly bound within You.
You are my object and my means.
You came to me intimately.
1962
O Lord,
You came with the pollen of colourful flowers
in the soft breeze,
like an uninvited guest.
When thinking of those
who love You,
and of those who love You not,
of those who have forgotten You,
and of those who have not forgotten You,
You do not feel sorrowed
but instead pour out the sweetness of Your mind.
I too do love You
without properly knowing or understanding You.
You came in front of me
with incomparably beautiful adornments.
O intensified consciousness,
You flew the flag of mercy into the blue sky.
1963
O Lord,
why should You carry the entire load alone?
Place something on my head too,
as per the capacity You granted me.
My strength is but Your strength.
Due to Your force I move forward on the path.
My intellect is also really Yours.
My pains and pleasures center around You only.
I have no other than You.
All are friends in happy days.
In times of distress, I find only You.
My survival and end lies within You only.
......................................................
Why should You carry all the burden alone?
Please allot something on my shoulders too,
whatever capacity You have given me, O Lord.
I speak with Your strength,
I move with Your power.
My intellect is also Yours.
All my dances and songs surround You.
Nobody is mine except You.
Everybody is friend in good days,
in pain I find only You.
My life and death is only with You.
1964
O Lord,
You came
removing all drowsiness,
pouring out sweetness
and silently merging into my life.
I did not understand
that I did not know a thing.
I remained seated
with my eyes glued to themselves.
By Your touch,
eloquence comes to the dumb.
The upsurge of Your love
flashes into liveliness in living beings.
In the desert mirage,
new adornments of greenness appear,
and become embodied in songs.
In Your ideation
all feelings of smallness float away,
and in Your rhythm and dance,
language and melody overflow.
In Your love
and Your ideative pull,
inertia turns into consciousness.
1965
O Lord,
I have no good qualities,
and possess all bad ones.
Yet, You nevertheless came to me,
and bestowed Your grace.
You unperturbedly bestowed Your mercy.
By Your own attributes,
You indebted me,
and made me understand what is mercy.
None attains You by dint of their own strength;
a white ant cannot bind a mammoth.
I understand my own incapability and deficiency
and realise Your grace in hundreds of ways.
From You,
O Lord,
I will not seek anything.
Other than You,
I know none.
You make me surmount
all obstructions in my preparations,
O Lord, time and again.
1966
O Lord,
I came innumerable times,
I loved much,
I cried and smiled for You.
My intellect does not know of it,
intuition also fails to realise it.
Why this coming and going?
Again and again?
From time immemorial, in Your rhythm,
immeasurable bliss floats adrift.
None can stop it,
as all revolve around You in circles.
O Lord of all divinities,
Your glory surpasses all history.
All points of logic,
reasoning and scriptures,
fade away in the waters of Your mercy.
1967
O Lord,
tell me what the ultimate motivating force on this path is.
I cannot see any beginning nor I do I find any end.
Who could explain this to me?
Which entity existed within the ocean of consciousness
as the initial point of the principle of "cause and effect"?
At the starting point's location
is situated its ending point too.
All movements are to be found in the middle only.
Philosophy or science,
whatever may be its name,
show restless humanity
a way of obtaining peace.
I know for sure that the creator of this path (or system)
will not allow anyone to fall behind.
1968
O Lord,
clouds after clouds come,
and so does melody after melody.
I do not know You;
and yet, You keep coming
and again floating away.
You love only from a distance,
come close to me in person.
You look on with loving eyes,
and play with sweet anklebells.
You are the greatest consciousness in the universe
whereas I am but a small balloon in the realm of thought.
I keep on burning in the lamp of time
maintaining an unknown stream compressed in my heart.
1969
O Lord,
You came,
loved,
and merged
into universal vivacity.
Have You forgotten
those who accepted You,
or those who did not admit You?
By briging about smallness in the small pond,
You stayed outside the line of demarcation.
When the flood came, limitations were torn down
and all merged into the great ocean.
Remove, with firm hands,
the malice existing between man and man,
the mean mind that brings about hollowness.
and create a single human society.
1970
O Lord,
You came into my mental garden
at the time when I was unmindfully sitting in it.
You looked at me,
but no one knows
what I may have been thinking of.
Between You and me,
no diehard obstruction prevailed.
And yet, I could not approach You,
but due to vanity, remained far.
Your face was peaceful,
my pair of eyes was full of tears.
And yet, I could not wipe away these tears,
I could not merge in You.
1971
O human beings,
at the invitation of bliss,
why do you sit alone and cry?
With vital impulse
like radiations of flowers,
why do not you mix with all?
Everything overwhelmes with joy and smile,
like dancing waves on the sea.
Even atoms and molecules
are restless with ideation.
What for do you keep yourself away?
There is no need to entertain hopelessness.
The creator of the universe,
is your own too.
Know that the smiling supreme consciousness
also loves you.
1972
O Lord,
what for do You keep on singing Your songs,
deafening the whole world?
You come and go,
and, with infinite compassion,
smile and lovingly look upon all.
Yet, nobody sees You.
By Your songs,
the whole world vibrates.
It resonates
with the sweetness of Your tune, rhythm & melody.
When You are close
my love for You rises.
Yet, I still won't merge in You.
Your coming and going
Your love,
Your sweet smile,
are all heart touching.
You are the cosmic mind.
You destroy darkness.
In each atom and molecule of my heart
I hold You.
1973
O Lord,
when I found You in my feelings,
all my agonies were removed.
You look at me even if I do not wish to accept You.
I see that You filled my mind with love.
O great consciousness since time immemorial,
who possesses the intellect to understand You?
Only with apt intuition,
can You be understood,
since intellect and intuition
merely result from You.
I have never given You anything,
I have only taken,
and found more than I desired.
When I offered Your items back to You,
You filled me with adornments in exchange.
1974
O Lord,
I may be able to understand a little about You,
yet, I am unable to articulate whatever it is I may know.
Philosophy and science do not know what You are.
That is why
the question of articulation does not arise.
No one knows,
where the origin of life lies.
Situated beyond all limitations,
it is impossible to know it.
You remain intoxicated within
all that is bound and measureable.
Yet, our ego does not give up.
It is natural,
for the meager to call itself small.
This is not modesty.
It is natural.
O divinity,
so why don't You bestow Your grace upon us?
1975
O Lord,
You promised that You would sing songs for me,
mentioning all my mental agonies,
mentioning all the winter nights,
all the spring mornings
and all the sweetness of fruits and flowers.
There is nothing old in Your songs,
in them I find only what is new in newer forms.
In rhythms and melodies,
new facts about ever new events
constantly flow about.
O Lord of all pilgrimage,
life of the world,
amongst the great,
You are the greatest.
You glorify particles,
by pouring into them the generosity of Your heart.
1976
O Lord,
You came
in the intense darkness
without being called
and awakened me.
You told me
that there was a lot of work left to carry out today
and told me to sleep
only after the work had been finished,
as time was passing by quickly.
You reminded me
that the duration of daytime is limited
and that each moment
is bound by measurements.
Occasions once gone,
never return,
but vanish behind the periphery of time.
You further told me
that the movement
goes through the three biting teeth of time,
passing through a fixed track,
as if following the threads of a garland.
You also told me
that this life is merely like an inn,
allowing for a little rest on the path only.
This fact must be borne in mind
and not be forgetten.
...............................................
O Lord!
Without being called,
You came in the intense darkness
and awakened me.
You told me that there was much work left to do today.
You told me to sleep only after the work had been finished
as time was passing by rapidly.
You reminded me that the duration of daytime is limited
and that each moment is bound by measurements.
Occasions once gone, never come back,
they vanish behind the periphery of time.
You further told me that movement
goes through the three biting teeth of time,
following a fixed track,
like a threaded garland.
You also told me that this life is merely like an
inn (guesthouse),
allowing for a little rest on the path.
This fact must be borne in mind and must not be forgotten.
1977
O Lord,
Krs'n'a,
Shya'ma Ra'y,
I found You,
in the sweetness of life.
You kindled the light of intuition
and awakened the consciousness
in my dark heart.
O life of all,
You are the great life,
You provide shade to the sun heated mind.
In this movement
You grant honour,
on the path of revolution,
in the world of Vraja.
I found You in the desert mirage,
and also in soft succulence.
I ever keep You with me,
in life and death,
and in the restlessness of life's existence.
1978
O Lord,
on that night,
under the moderate moonlight,
I saw You in my mental garden.
You were smiling with a sweet face,
churning the sweetness of flowers.
Whatever attractive in the world evolves,
whatever good or adorable appears,
finds its base in You only,
is located within You.
In the depth of hearts,
all cherish You.
And I too, am Yours.
O creator of beauty,
do not cast aside my love.
To garland You,
I have kept a floral garland
carefully preserved within me throughout my life.
1979
O Lord,
I know You,
You do not consider love.
I am unable to think in which way
You would melt into my tears.
What is it You want?
Tell me.
Why do You flash smiles from a distance only?
Why does the joy providing cradle
make one cry?
Tell me today in a straight and uncrooked way.
I know, I know,
I understand the custom.
I did not learn to leave stubbornness.
I would stay close and continue loving.
I do not think the way You want me to.
1980
O Lord,
I do not know,
what it is You want.
But I know a little
about what You gave me.
I never offered anything to You.
I always kept extending my own hands
to obtain more and more.
You sent me to this earth with a human form.
You certainly must have had
specific plans and programs
for me to carry out.
I do not know
what expectations You had,
nor do I want to know.
I know only that I wasted my life
in useless altercations and lethargies.
Due to my ignorance,
the precious time of this human life
went by in vain.
Awareness did not come into my mind
at the proper moment.
My days passed by
in self-indulgent activities and entertainments.
Today, I sit in the desert and count the stars.
1981
O Lord,
at the sandy shore of my life,
I looked at You,
in the crimson current of the morning sun
and the evening's red hue.
In exchange of offering my own mind,
I desired Your mind.
But I did not get
whatever it was I wanted.
I now understand
that there was mistake in this desire.
I do not want anything anymore.
Simply bestow on me whatever may be there.
My mental deer flows tears,
into my forest's river,
into the point we would merge with one another.
1982
O Lord,
who are You,
who came this way,
on this untimely moment?
What for did You come,
where were You,
why did You love me?
After bestowing a cursory touch,
You left to an unknown world,
with green and tender leafs on Your body,
the southern sandal breeze blowing with vivacity,
O embodiment of song,
with dance and rhythm,
You appeared as a heavenly form.
I am not acquainted with You,
nor do I have time to think of You.
O entity beyond time,
and embodiment of the divine game,
in seclusion, You keep smiling.
1983
Time is over;
the pastime of sports and games has ended.
I shall return home.
My days pass by
as if on the wings of a swan,
that spread out
to return to its nest.
Coming and going takes place
within a measured periphery only.
Wishes and achievements
last only for a limited period of time.
Leaving it all,
I shall row my boat.
For, the infinite ocean calls me.
I cannot say:
"I shall not go,
wherever others are present,
I shall stay".
Lord Bhaerava calls in a very loud voice,
His call is intense.
1984
O Lord,
You say that You are love,
but I do not find its proof
in actual life.
Why are there thorns in the floral garden?
Why do petals whither away?
The dense and dark clouds
cover the beauty of the moonlight.
Why does the hunter rush, with delusive visions
after the wild deer?
In life's expressions,
why does the dark shadow of time (death) dance?
And onto where
does the charming and intoxicating rainbow vanish?
1985
O dearest one,
for You,
my whole life,
I continue singing my song.
You are ever new.
Your melodies, rhythm and tunes,
have intoxicated the universal vivacity.
The flow of life rhythmically dances on
and within it,
the tune of Your song resonates.
The fragrance that is absorbed with intoxication,
contains Your love.
Amidst the waves of the ocean,
in beautiful and formless adornments,
in intensely prolongued melodies,
Your creation's wealth dances.
1986
O Lord,
only You know,
when You came,
into the deep recess of mind.
Nobody else knows it.
When searching science and philosophy,
I could not find a reply anywhere.
The burning power within fire,
the pearl within the shell,
the absolute devotion within the human mind,
who has given all that in secrecy?
Why did You bring about this world,
and attached it to pain and pleasure?
Why did You hide the answer to all that within You only.
1987
At the end of the dark night,
a flower blooms in my mental garden.
That soft flower swings
inside a hidden cradle.
It blooms for You,
to provide You with satisfaction and pleasure.
You know..., my "I" feeling,
is restless with Your vibration.
You are mine,
O Divinity;
You know the entire events of my core.
All my mental agony,
my tear-filled story,
lies within the resonance of Your dance.
1988
O Lord,
You came to my home
because of missing the path.
I called You so much,
I cried so much for You,
but You did not come,
but instead remained oblivious.
The wave of my voice
resonates in the distant air in the blue sky.
That sound did not break Your sleep.
You remained deaf to it.
Whether or not You listen,
is Your wish.
If You pose deaf,
it is part of Your role in the divine game.
Do not forget to come by missing the path,
You came untimely, leaving Your schedule.
1989
O Lord,
why do You feel pleasure
in making others weep?
Do not You want to see happy, smiling faces?
This acquaintance between You and me
did not start only of a few ages ago.
From the womb of begininglessness,
You make one float into infinite time.
O the embodiment of kindness,
I recognise You.
You are the inexhaustible embodiment
of the divine play.
To make one smile and cry is part of Your drama.
You create everything knowingly.
1990
O Lord,
into the sky, the air and the fragrance of flowers
Your mercy floats smiling.
Day and night,
unable to see Your smiling eyes,
I experience the pangs of separation.
You are resonant in life.
You remain filled with unseen effulgence.
You are present in the sweetness of lost melodies,
scattering about fountains of light.
I am unable to understand You by any means.
I am unable to hold You
through whatever knowledge You have given me.
Tell me why
I am unable to retain my experiences
in the container of my life?
1991
O Lord,
beyond the horizon's extremity,
where the sky and the ocean meet,
in that vicinity,
do I long to meet You face to face.
In an upsurge of beauty, flow and colour
the sky descends and touches the ocean.
Within that, I long for shelter,
holding the beautiful garland of Your love.
I know it is not merely useless imagination.
I know You shall fulfill my desire.
You make the world dance
with ankle bells,
with rhythmic illusion,
on the play's stage.
1992
At that time the shiuli flowers had not yet dropped,
the night was still young.
Dawn had not yet peeped in,
at the time the sound of Your footsteps reverberated.
At the door I heard a tapping sound
and thought the same night had again come.
On that night You were scheduled to come,
the date had been fixed.
Yet, even knowing the date had come,
I was not prepared.
Although my house was ready,
my mind was not.
I did not leave my bed nor opened the door,
the sound stopped.
It disappeared with the assurance of again coming back.
1993
O Lord,
searching You,
my whole life passed by,
yet, You did not come near me.
I carefully picked flowers
and lovingly threaded my garland,
yet, in the sun's heat,
it withered away.
People say that You are ocean of mercy,
then why not fill my pot?
By placing ignorance and restlessness upon me,
You instead filled me with hollowness.
In the intense flow of Your divine game,
I have only one prayer:
There is no harm in You continuing Your game.
But if You do not understand other people's agony
and deepest feelings,
what is the beauty of Your game?
1994
O my dear one,
I know that in maintaining the hope of attaining You,
pleasure is to be found.
It remains up to Your wish
whether or not You come,
whether or not You love me.
Who can keep count
of how many flowers bloomed?
Of how many smiling lamps
daily become extinguished?
Of it, I do not keep any account
neither does anyone else.
I know this truth to pertain to only You.
I too, similarly bloomed without honour
and, like any unknown flower,
eventually dropped on the ground.
And yet, in that dropped pollen,
all the fragrance of my mind lies contained.
1995
O Lord,
what for did You come,
what for did You go away with a swing,
what for did You leave without announcement,
completely ignoring me?
Don't You have affection?
Don't You understand my agony?
Creating a colourful story,
where did You go?
Amongst all dear ones,
You are my dearest,
so why don't You remain in the core of my heart?
That which is furthermost inside
only deepens and deepens.
It does not move away.
I shall not forget You.
I shall not leave You.
I shall not wipe You
from the screen of my memory
under any circumstance.
Even should You not want,
even should You hide,
I shall maintain You in the jewel box of my mind.
1996
This spring,
into my floral garden,
with songs full of rhythm,
who is that coming to me individually?
All the hundreds of hidden facts of my mind,
I shall narrate to You, in person.
O stealer of mind, listen to my shy language,
it has lost and mislaid
all binding threads of rhythm and song.
You came into my floral garden,
into my mental garden.
All songs are sung in my mind only.
O life of all life,
You are the great life.
Whatever songs I rehearsed
throughout my life,
all centre around Your feet and ankle bells.
My everything I offer unto Your feet.
This is the sole desire of my mind.
1997
O Lord,
I dreamt that You secretly came to my home.
However, You did not break my sleep,
You did not speak to me,
Who knows what it was You observed.
How many flowers bloomed
in the garden that I decorated?
How many trees and creepers
were present in the colourful canopy?
How many juicy intensely sweet fruits
had carefully been placed there
that I saw on awakening?
I was unconscious
in deep sleep
in isolated silence,
and continued crying in my choked home.
If You would have called
and lifted at least once,
we would have been face to face intimately.
1998
The angel said,
"I brought flowers for You,
in person.
I loved, came close to You,
and kept You in my mind."
There is unlimited glory in a small flower,
vast greatness in a small particle.
He who has given this greatness and glory,
about Him I ever think of in my mind.
In a small mind,
the cosmos comes into fold,
and small nebulae
beautify the universe.
At the feet of those
bestowing recognition to the small,
the mind loses itself.
1999
O Lord,
it would have been good,
had I not recognised and loved You.
Then, I would not have allowed You
to enter into the depth of my mind
and into my home.
O dearest one,
I love You!
Strongly understand that You are mine.
Today, I think in that way for all.
What name shall I give to that love?
In my sky,
You are the only moon.
Innumerable stars exist only for namesake.
Let them fade away,
my moon will remain.
To You, I shall recount
the story of my core.
2000
If drowsiness should descend
at the call of inertia,
and listen to You,
then, with Your song,
wake me up.
I came to do Your work,
and decorated myself
in innumerable adornments.
So that Your grace
may ever remain in my mind.
So that, whenever I forget You,
I shall not fall.
Floating in Your grace,
I keep smiling, bathed in liberation.
