A mystery play

(482)  Ogo prabhu tomar dekhi e kii liila

Oh Lord, while we observe Your stunning play,
Alone behind its screen, You lie in wait.

You gave the dark of night and its carnival of stars;
You gave the moon's smile that made restive our hearts.

You gave severe summers and a heat that burns;
You gave juhi jasmine^[1] and its fragrant garlands.

You gave thorn-filled gardens, hard to perambulate;
And, in them, You made the rose blossom at daybreak.

On Your own, how do You create so many games?

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Brahma

(481)  Tumi sabare saman bhalabasa

For all You have equal love;
You do service to everyone.
In every heart You manifest;
You fill each life with sweetness.

You are a festival of light in darkest night;
In summer heat, like running water You arrive.
On distressed hearts You pour honey;
Granting unearned mercy, You rescue many.

Entering every mind, You tend to heart's desire;
For no impediment do You ever retire.
You ferry us across the billowy sea;
You open eyes with the collyrium of learning.

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The look of love

(480)  Marmaviinay eki sur aji baje

Soul's violin now plays a single melody,
Day and night, in my lovesick heart:
Come, please come, oh, come to me.

From this tune's impact on my heart of hearts,
You are never far away, no longer very far.
In selfless service, there I peer within;
You lie hidden in my every action.

With heart's fervor, when I look along that line,
There I find no other form but Thine.
Transcendental Lord, let me embrace Your form,
In ever-new dance and song adorned.

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Together

(479)  Jorete harka name

Into a tiny stream a flood has plunged;
Upon our life a rapid descended.
Oh kinfolk, let's all move together;
Let's go forward as one.

We live collectively;
So no one we fear.
Together we dine,
As only together we shine.
Sharing both joy and grief,
We are steady in our ideal.

When brothers are estranged,
Their strength gets impaired.
When sisters fall into quarrel,
In the home, happiness won't dwell.
United we shall remain,
And bliss will prevail.

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Starlight

(478)  Akashe cumki gantha

In the heavens, foil is entwined;
There, the stars do shine.
In company of yon stars am I,
Awake throughout the night.
Awake at night I bide.

Due to gusts of wind that blow,
I fall to ground inside a palash grove.
Having gone soaring, I am stricken with grief;
At that time all are spurning me.
Again, that splendor of the stars,
From it I fetch anew a motley luster and hue.

Kettle drums resound all around,
And everyone's festooned in dance costume.
Having seen your Cho, I escape no more.
Why oh why did you neglect my plight?
You neither brought me home nor sent me away;
So tell me where I'll go today.
Now the Lord's my one refuge.
He's vigilant in these last hours of night,
Yonder in the eastern sky.

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His forest

(477)  Shal gachete tal damara tal gachete dhuna lo

Lo, on the shal tree is palmfruit, on the palm tree is resin;
On the palm tree is resin.^[1]
Oh, He has left heaven and descended.
How difficult was the feat, so hard a deed;
He's given Earth new trappings.

Dumbfounded, I can only gaze at Him;
At Him alone I gaze.
Unbearable is the pain when my heart holds Him not,
But I can't hold Him in the heart.
I feel no fear, feel no shame; only love I feel...
Lo, it is He Who has loved me.

Even blind to His measured rhythm, my heart does frolic;
My heart does frolic.
Even deaf to His melodic refrain, my monochord plays;
My monochord plays.

No, I won't go home;
By way of the forest, always I'll stay with Him alone.
Oh, I will stay always with Him alone;
I will remain with Him alone.

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Magic or Magician?

(476)  Vihan kale tale tale

In harmony with a morning melody,
On my way to the forest, You came.
You came to me along the footpath;
Swooping down like a kite,
You caught hold of my hand.

At that time, my bun ring came undone,
Making my crown of kadam^[1] fly off.
Unsolicited, why did You come?
Just to show me a familiar path?

With the magic of Your melodies, my heart was won;
With the rhythms of Your dance, my mind got lost.
For what purpose do You cultivate such friendship?
I don't ask for You; but, ignoring that, You come.

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Flower power

(475)  Halud gandar phul kanak canpar phul

Yellow marigold and gold magnolia,
Bring them, oh bring them to me;
Else, hair untied, day and night I'll weep.

My companions are all at the fair;
They went skipping along the way.
You neither let me go nor brought me flowers–
I won't touch your stove; on my ears I won't wear a ring.

For this, verdict will be rendered by our peerless God;
You gave me pain, and you did not bring a single flower.

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Breaking free

(474)  Toke gar kari nanad tui mor katha rakh

Respectfully, sister,^[1] mark my words;
I will give you a garland that I weave.
Yellow kolke and red shimul,
They've blossomed aplenty;
This is no time to stay indoors.

My jubilant mind to yon forest would go;
Please come with, as I won't go alone.

When the Wizard calls from forests and hills,
In what close abode can mind reside any longer?
Respectfully, sister, do me this mercy;
Take my hand, and let's go forth triumphantly.

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Lifegiver

(473)  Mor phulera vanete tumi esecho

Into my flower garden You have come,
Humming like a honeybee.
You knocked on the door of my heart
To awaken reception of consciousness.

The beauty of Your ruby lips,
Alluring with hue of the morning sun,
And Your stirring lyric craftsmanship
Raise a storm on recall's painted canvas.

Your broad smile and tender touch
Bring moisture to a heart that's dry.
Your eye-bewitching glance,
Packed with charm and grace, it's the breath of life.

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Humble and proud

(472)  Tumi amare cao na iha jani

You don't require me, that I know;
But, for You, I count the time.
Ready and waiting is a throne,
If, by mistake, You do arrive.

Wove on heartstring is my garland,
Exuding sweet scent of sandalwood.
My tray is arrayed with items of homage;
Both night and day, I remain alert.

Ever I remember Your righteous decrees;
With Your glory I feel so proud.
As I would offer my all at Your feet,
Beside Your path I've come, bowed.

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Madhumalainca

(471)  Purnima rate niirave nibhrte

On a full-moon night, silently and secretly,
You came into my flower grove.
Your divine nectar appeased the hunger;
It adorned the Earth with blooms and fruits.

You scattered the touch of life;
You animated the inanimate.
With abundant pollen, heart's fragrance
You lavished on the buds of everyone.

On all particles You emitted light.
From the atom came three diatoms,^[1]
And in mind-stuff was brought vibration.
With the music scale that you had sung,
You smiled in a sweet flower garden.^[2]

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My lord, my beloved

(470)  Prabhu amar priya amar

My lord, my beloved,
You are everyone's favorite.

In darkness gloomy, on earth asleep,
You've aroused new, new melodies.
In the grace of flora, in the fragrance of vigor,
You've made emanate the finest nectar.

On faces sad and mute, in bosoms despair-broke,
You've suffused the effulgence of hope.
You've supplied language, You've eased the yearning;
You've brought sweetness, revitalizing our lives.

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Lowering expectations

(469)  Tumi nahi ele pare

After You don't come,
I won't say a word.
I call You all the time,
Not getting Your reply.

Only Your sweet smile,
That's what I like to see.
Had I received Your touch but brief,
I would have pledged my everything.

A love that's steeped in honey,
Dreamy but ringed by delusion...
In such a drunken stupor,
There I'd ever be free.

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Free-range girls

(468)  Mora mukta bhumir meye

We are the girls of an unprejudiced land.
In mountains and hills, beside rapids,
Beside rills, in song and dance we whirl.

With kadam and palash we play,
All the livelong day...
In the cool shade of mahuwa on the plains.

We travel winding, woodland trails;
We weave garlands into our braids.
At our rhythm and our song,
With mental satisfaction
The forest deer gaze on.
We are God's daughters.

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On His stream of light

(467)  Alor pathik ese geche

The Radiant Wayfarer's arrived,
Abolishing the gloom.
He's shattered the prison walls,
Removing lethargy.

Inertia of a hundred eons,
He banished in a trice.
At once, clouds disappear;
Light emerges, shining bright.

All of You who keep afar,
Discard the bond of distance.
Do come, oh, do come near;
Riding the stream of merriment.

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Up and down

(466)  Diner pare ratri ase

After day comes the night,
Just as woe attends delight.
Union entails separation
Insofar as Your liila.

I proceed in dance and song,
Keeping time with Your rhythm.
Suddenly, I miss a beat;
I lag behind, oh Speedy One.
Having regained inspiration,
Moved again, I am addicted.

Tinged with merry laughter,
Days pass by, illuminated.
Suddenly, darkness descends;
Wailing, I am ruined.
Tenderly, You wipe my eyes;
You make my life bright.

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Take me

(465)  Tumi krpa karo more

Lord, be merciful to me;
I love You dearly.

With the last vestige of light;
This is Your sweet and gentle night.
In the pitch dark on the other side,
Enter my heart, making it bright.

Replete with the beat of Your melody
And inclined toward illumination,
My overflowing life has been emptied.
Come, You Who filled my world with song.

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He rids the world

(464)  Varasar rate tumi esechile, vajrakanthe dhvaniya

On a stormy night You came,
Amid the sound of thunder.
Lightning falling with pouring rain,
Your war cry spread around the world.

Weighty mountains of corruption,
Stood not the impact of Your stream.
Those who blacked out earth's effulgence,
They were washed away somewhere.

Rousing splits among human beings,
Tender hearts they did wither.
Friendly winds they poisoned with their sins,
But they were banished afar.

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We two

(463)  Maner vyatha mani jane

My mind's pain only my mind knows;
Intimate, it's concealed.
Should I ever want to sing it,
I'd open up alone.

In public, anything I sing,
It's not my secret thought.
In private, everything that's sung,
Only we two will hear.

The heart can apprehend heart's words;
They don't get heard outside.
You are present, and so am I–
There's no one else on earth.

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Not without Him

(462)  Ami caridike dekhi notun haoya

On all sides I sense a new atmosphere,
Having new color and a new feel.
Oh, has He appeared; is He not here?
Tell me, tell me, tell me please.

Now, in forests and hills, a host of flowers
Was moved to dance, whiling away the time.
Today, my mind wants not to go indoors...
Oh, who is this magician that has arrived?

I've braided my hair with kadamba blossoms;
Yellow oleander I dangle on my ears.
Today, only alongside Him will I go home;
Before that, I won't leave; no, I won't leave.

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With open arms

(461)  Tumi kahar tare acho base

For whom are you waiting
On a lonesome shore,
Please do tell me?
I ply a boat of form,
In the formless sea;
I don't neglect anyone.

Steering a ship in the stream of time
Has no start and has no end.
When it was begun, when it will be done–
Neither is known to science.
Only going forward is My wont;
I never stop.

At day's end fatigue sets in;
All return to their home.
Travelers, weary and hoping for a ferry,
Arrive beside the coast.
With My boat I'm always prepared;
I'm never late.

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