Best Friends Forever

(295)  Eso eso bandhu mama

Come, please come, my abiding friend;
It's been ages, years and years.
How this neglect happened
And why it was... explain that to me.

How many days have come and gone,
Notes lost in countless songs.
After such a long time, You've taken pity;
With stream of nectar, blessings now trickle.

How many have been the cycles of seasons,
Ebbs and flows in the current of existence.
Advents and exits of so many things
Came to pass all around me.

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Leap of faith

(294)  Tumi esechile manera kamale

You appeared on the lotus of my mind,
Producing a flood of light in countless streams,
And stirring, within my mental mansion,
Fresh surges in a novel rhythm.

Don't go, don't go—
Remain nearby;
Sustain Your cadence and dance.
My brimming heart, beholding Thee,
Finds voice in waves of melody.

Bereft, bereft—
I live in dread of being
A deposed king, no crown on his head.
In my mute solitude, ever stay with me;
To You, fervently will I sing.

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Always and only

(293)  Tomakei ami bhalobasiyachi, juge juge bare bar

Only You have I loved,
Age after age, time and again.
I have loved without knowing You
And without wanting to know another.

On His effulgence the cosmos sails;
With His light everyone sparkles.
To know or understand Him—
No one has such intellect.

On His inspiration, everyone races;
With His impulse, all come alive.
He is inside the mind, exquisitely attired—
One cannot help but crave only Him.

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Alone?

(292)  Kal ratrite jhar baye geche

Last night a storm raged
In the grove of tuberoses...^[1]
And, with it, also in my mind.
You neither came, nor glanced back at me;
You remained inattentive.

Flower buds, from storm's injury,
Are dropping prematurely;
The fragrance of their blossoms
Has been washed away by moonlight.
Alas, You did not come.
Neglecting me, distracted by whom
And in which place were You?

My mental lyre, beaten by the storm,
Its strings have got broken—
All its flourish, where has it gone?
Alas, You did not come.
Neglecting me, in what uncharted land
Were You secluded?

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Sea of love

(291)  Ajana atithi janite narinu

Unknown Visitor,^[1] I fail to understand
Why You came or why You went...
Enveloping my dreams with heady fragrance
Beguiling me with Your sweet, loving liila.

On Your alluring smile, I brim with emotion;
With Your sweet loveplay, my whole life I fill.
Eager is my heart to attain Thee,
The One Who floats in and out mysteriously.

I realize there's no end to Your amorous games;
You have many enticing arts— that too I know.
On an ocean of liila You set adrift
My body and mind each and every minute.

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When you're in love

(290)  Tava cetanay sabai jegeche

Everyone has been made conscious of Thee.
Engrossed with Thee, the world is replete;
The world is replete.

With Your music, everyone is enthused,
Enraptured by Your rhythms and tunes.

By Your touch, a tiny stick comes to life;
You are the first and last word of Creation.
The delight You bring to everyone's mind
Obliterates all pain.

Lord, You exist, so the universe exists;
Transcending all boundaries, You are limitless.

I have come like a flower bud in a river;
In Your divine flow I proceed floating.
By my very nature, both outer and inner,
I am totally lost in Thee.

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Second chances

(289)  Amara jiivane tumi esechile

You came into my life,
Before my eyes, Lord, before my eyes.
On a gentle breeze with floral fragrance,
Stately fell Your divine feet,
Your divine feet, Lord, Your divine feet.

Though I had nothing, still You came;
You dampened my arid desert-heart.
All my qualities You washed away
With a shower of unmerited grace,
With that shower, Lord, with that shower.

In mad vanity regarding qualities Thine,
I had cast Thee far from me.
Today, once more, Thou hast come in my penury,
On the plea of a tear-drenched heart,
My humble plea, Lord, my humble plea.

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Senseless grace

(288)  Kata kal pare peyechi tomare

After so very long, I have found You,
Having awaited many lifetimes.
For eons, I've watched Your path of arrival,
Lingering in anticipation of Thee.

You'd forgotten that calling out to You there's
One person chanting Your name over and over in dhyán.^[1]
When that struck Your mind, then
You came prancing on rosy feet.

By virtue of sádhaná,^[2] I cannot attain You;
On me, You applied unmerited Grace.
By Your grace, I found You;
You have satisfied my yearning.

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On a wave of nectar

(287)  Cand ae akashe bhalabasa vatase

Yon moon is in the sky; love is in the air.
Who art Thou Who comes dancing toward me?
With the garden fragrance making my heart burst,
Who art Thou Who smiles while looking at me?

Today, rapt by music is the streaming spring,
Pon which the moon sheds her sweet smile.
In this dreamy atmosphere, Who art Thou in fresh attire,
Loving everyone so very much?

The flood of moonlight shatters boundaries;
The tuberose^[1] arbor is entranced.
Today, my heart brims with abounding joy;
Who art Thou Who always rides a wave of nectar?

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His eyes

(286)  Tare go peyechi

Oh I have got Him
Privately in my life,
In my life.
In my silent hours, the Unseen God
Let me hold Him in my heart,
In my heart.

I did not realize how close was He;
Unaware, I'd sung His glory.
His light acquainted me
With the One residing in mind secretly,
Secretly.

Oh, how does He bind me with a flowerstrand;
For what purpose does He capture my soul?
In the recesses of my mind, His eyes—
A delightful flow of color and form, they bring,
They do bring.

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Only Thee

(285)  Tumi maner kamal mane phute thako

You are the psychic lotus, blossoming in mind;
Sing to me amid my thoughts.
Day and night, You are always awake;
You remain ever bright.

In my mental vineyard,
Bumblebees buzz in swarms.
They all come seeking Your nectar;
It is You Who quenches their thirst.

Today, the longing of my heart was satisfied;
My devotion obtained glamorous attire.
On You converged all my fervent desires;
It is You Who fulfills my life.

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