God of tears

(419)  Kende kende kata daki

Many a time I call out in tears;
Can it be You are unable to hear?
Or perhaps You like to make me weep;
As You don't reply, that's how it seems.

The Shravan^[1] rains shower
Day and night without cease.
But, looking on, You smile indulgently;
Why such a hard heart You express?

A garland threaded with mind's flowers
I will drench in tears.
That garland I will give to Thee;
Let me see if it You will wear.

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Unseen and heard

(418)  Canderi sathe madhunishate

On a spring night in company with the moon,
The account of a lily stem's wishes
I will tell, unsleeping all the night.
In sweet lullaby on a gentle breeze,
To a fairy tale of dream
I'll now pay heed with all my heart.

Dreamland's messenger flew down and said:
"The lily stem's words float in the blue sky.
Scattered and told across the universe,
No longer can they stay unheard."

Ever afloat is the stream of dream,
A saga that mingles with formlessness.
In an arbor honeyed by lost minds,
A soundly sleeping bud will blossom.

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From darkness to light

(417)  Alor devata elo

The Lord of Light arrived;
Today, He appeared, He appeared.
Both hands banishing black mist,
He infused light;
He revealed, He revealed.

My beloved, in what far-off land was He;
Keeping hidden, He won me over.
Only His boundless love
Enfolded everyone;
He embraced, He embraced.

My captivation, I cannot conceal
Time and again my heart darts after Him.
In His songs and soothing melodies,
He cast light with many colors,
He brightened, He brightened.

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Wanting more than a glimpse

(416)  Prabhu tava asari ashe din cale jay

Lord, only awaiting You my days pass by;
Don't You know my plight?
Casting a glint of light, You go away;
Don't You feel my pain?

For You my heart, it yearns;
Coated with every fragrance, it sings.
But into dust all its sweetness turns;
Why that is so, please inform me.

My songs are sung to Your melody;
My eyes gaze in Your direction.
All my singing and all my seeking
Implore Your grace and compassion.

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Nothing more to say

(415)  Prabhu kii ar balibo ami

Lord, what more is there to say?
Life after life, from cradle to grave,
With me You remain.

From the very dawn of creation
You were with me every instant.
The mantra for progress that I chant,
I have learned it by Your grace.

Your song will I go on singing;
By no means and for no bar will I cease.

No matter how many meteor storms appear,
Even then my movement will not cease.
A traveler on the highway to infinity,^[1]
I crave Your grace and prostrate at Your feet.

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Courage

(414)  Karuna kare go krpa karo sabe

Kindly, bestow grace on all;
God, per Your nature, please show mercy.
Your effulgence is a waterfall,
Decontaminating everybody.^[1]

In water or on land, in caves or on mountains,
Ever You are pleased by our supplication.
All cognition is Your everlasting seat;
Lord, give us all the gift of fearlessness.

Whatever we perceive or do not perceive,
Everything is Your liila– that we concede.
With Your pulse, everyone is vibrated;
You are the undiminished Master of the Universe.

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Ruby of my mind

(413)  Harano diner sur bhese ase

Melodies of days gone by come floating
From time to time in the distant sky.
I see the long-lost ruby beaming gently,
Newly arrayed in a recess of my mind.

He is a festival of light at darkest night;
His effulgence everyone esteems.
A sapid waterfall on an arid path is He;
His water quenches every desire.
Remaining apart from Him is futile;
My heart always wants to keep near.

On rainy nights, our companion is He;
By all who've gone astray is He admired.
His stream of lustrous beauty brightly shines;
His holy splendor consumes all that is bleak.
Much as I want, I don't go near;
My trembling heart feels sweetly shy.

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Old lamps for new

(412)  Ke go tumi ele

Oh, Who are You that arrived
On the chariot of mind to thrill my psyche?
Oh, Who are You that gave a jolt
To my consciousness this very morning.

Along the path of effulgence You've come,
Absorbing all our common kindness.
Your own perfect kindness You've conferred;
You've come to fill the lives of all.

Along the path of melody You've come,
Absorbing all our common cadence.
Your own perfect cadence You've conferred;
You've come to sing a song to all.

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Harpstrings and lost melodies

(411)  Amar manete tumi esechile

Within my mind You had come
To scatter fragrance of unsung blossoms.
Within my heart You had arisen
To emanate songs of liberation.

Abounding on all sides of my footpath
Are coniferous plants, row after row.
My mind You've filled with another bloom;
Its name You do not tell.
Today, that thought, it inspires me
To go ahead in carefree dance.

Abounding on all sides of my thought path,
Are harpstrings and lost melodies.
My mind You've pleased with an unknown tune;
Its name You do not tell.
Today, that song, it heartens me
To cover my footpath with hope.

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Desert sands and forest thorns

(410)  Ogo samane cala pathik

Oh, Traveler in the lead,
Just once, please look back at me.
Look back just once, look back at me.
Without our ever being introduced,
Still I call You tearfully.

My stream has gotten lost
Amid the desert sands.
Heart breaking in anguish,
Mind races in search of Him.
That anguish is the story of my life;
It springs to mind, time after time.

Mind's bloom has gotten lost
Amid the forest thorns.
Eyes painted black with but illusion,
I languish in my quest at dark of dusk.
The pain of defeat is thorns' torture;
Can my mind ever be relieved?

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Sweet sorrow

(409)  Gan geye jai tomare tusite

I go on singing songs to please You
And to soothe my afflicted heart.

What was within reach is gone now.
To forget that lethal blow,
I go on singing songs to please You.

All that was mine is taken by the thief of time.
Today, to forget the agony of that loss,
With my tunes and with my tears,
That painful wound is washed away.

Today, my crown has dropped down;
I've shed all garb to bear the pain.

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Distracted

(408)  Tomare peyechi jiivaneri prate

At the dawn of life, I sensed You;
I recognized You as morn advanced.
At break of day, I saw You;
And I flushed with consciousness.

Within my mind, time and again, You appeared;
Gazing to all sides, though seeing You, I do not see.
My garland of love, painstakingly strung,
Has fallen withered from neglect.
The love that I have offered You
Will all be finished, all be lost–
All be lost on a barren course.

Within my heart, time and again, You danced;
But I do not hear that sound, that unstruck melody.^[1]
With my well-practiced and established tunes,
I have lain asleep, been neglectful.
The songs that I have offered You
Will all be finished, all unsung–
Unsung in the realm beyond speech.

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All for one and one for all

(407)  Manera majhare lukaye rayecho

You lie hidden within the mind,
But seeking in the mind, we do not find.
Stealthily, with everyone You are linked;
In the universal heart is Your seat.

In the floral fragrance of hectic Chaitra,^[1]
Your elegant sweetness sails along.
In the blue yonder and in the sea fire,^[2]
In the redness of a vermilion dot,
In the gray white of milk and the bright white of snow,
Where are You not diffused?

Oh, Limitless Deity, You don't permit containment;
Allowing enclosure would be to suffer limitation.

To catch You we must identify with You;
Then even a tiny I becomes infinite.
In the collective mind You are one in divers raiment;
In harmony with all, we sing ballads of Thee.

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Free at last

(406)  Ay rtur raja vasanta

Come spring, king of seasons,
Rock my mind.
Cast your bright moonlight,
And make the flower garden dance.

I brim with zeal
Mid colored blooms and their green leaves.
Every fiber of my being thrills
With the advent of mind's thief.

With kohl I paint my eyes
And see only the love that is.
I keep unkempt hair flying free,
Unruly in the southern breeze.

My heart brims with sweetness;
That alone I dispense.
Today has come life's steadfast friend
And prolonged weeping's end.

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Sweet sorrow

(405)  Ami jege achi diva rati

Day and night I'm on the qui vive
Only for Thee, only for Thee.
A garland of love I am stringing
Only for Thee, only for Thee.

Now my blooms are withering;
The petals droop in grief.
I but keep them moist with tears,
Assiduously, assiduously.

There's no light in my life presently–
Twixt moon and clouds, no hide and seek.
Days pass by but do not gaze at me;
Every hour, bitterly I weep.

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Partial and impartial

(404)  Phulera vanete parii esechilo

Into the garden a fairy had come
To drink ambrosia of the flowers.
In the heady air and thrilling sky,
Her golden wings were outspread.

Peeking out, all the flowers say:
"My nectar, it is so tasty;
From others, some is bitter, some is pungent;
Some is sour, some is foul on the tongue."
Choosing carefully the fairy is a connoisseur;
For her tray, she plucked the sweetest flowers.

No flower does the fairy treat with neglect;
To all equally she has given respect.
Even those flowers whose nectar she did not take,
She embraced as she left for the distant heavens.

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Only in spring?

(403)  Phagun masete phag niye kheli

In spring, I play with red powder;^[1]
I do not play with fire.
Fires of the forest I smother;
Fires of the mind I don't ignite.

At the still of night in the flower garden,
Stealthily I move, making fragrance emanate.
In floral nectar's every atom,
Silently I cordially associate.

All hearts, in light and shadow,
I fill with love at every instant.
By moonlight, with smile of an infant,
I always bring ambrosia's flow.
I never cheat anybody.

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Never forget

(402)  Alor oi jharnadharay

With that surging stream of effulgence,
Come, Lord, into my mind; please come.
By that golden downpour of song,
Lord, please be seated in my inner self.

In an ocean of utter darkness—
Clasping my hand, oh, take me beyond.
Let my tears of nothing but sorrow
Be infused with profound love.
With a compassionate flood of pearls,
Smile, Lord, smile inside my heart.

Hold me close and still closer;
Even by mistake, never let me forget.
With Your astounding flow of colors,
Give me no scope for delusion.

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Love of the collective

(401)  Nacera tale chande gane

In the rhythm of song and cadence of dance,
The world has become all-embracing.
With lost melodies of yesteryear,
Everyone was exuberant.

With eyes painted, bring your thread for garland;
And fill your basket with fragrant flowers.
Suffusing everyone with life's crimson color,
Imbue them with magnolia scent.

Now, with the splendor of effulgence,
Collective mind was taken as our mate.
Having found Heart's Thief nearby today,
Our mental pollen was entranced.

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