Father knows best

(1497)  Tumi ki bhule gecho amay

Have You gone and forgot me, Lord;
So now You never come?
Why, after giving hope, desperation You beget;
Having made a promise, do You renege?

New and newer hope, ever and again You grant;
You make me tempted to obtain the moon in hand.
At the last minute, then You halt and vanish;
My condition, why don't You consider?

From time out of mind I am but a pilgrim;
On Your path I walk, and You are the destination.
Look in my direction, keep overlooking flaws;
Devotional struggle, please make it fruitful.

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Everybody knows

(1496)  Tumi manke kere nite jano go

Oh, You know how to snatch the mind.
So river and vista, star and nebula,
They do sing Your love song.

On honey of a mild breeze is drunkenness with Thee;
With redolence of flowers are Your words of interdiction.
From cuckoo's trilled greeting to fantail of peacock-call,
Your sweetness, oh, it is falling.

On this Earth You exist, Lord, and therefore
Nowhere is anybody helpless or without companion.
A wee speck of Your grace is always getting emanated;
Ah, this fact is renowned throughout the world.

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Floating on high tide of grace

(1495)  Tomay bhalabasi, ajana acena tumi

In love with You am I–
You are strange, unrecognized;
Identified is the sweet smile.

In the womb of unknown mother,
To me You gave shelter.
In the love of obscure father,
I was set up on arrival.

In the desert's scorching heat,
You did bring the shade of tree.
In food and drink, necessities,
I am swimming in kind mercy.

In each state of mine, You are there,
Right beside me.

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Holding on to one thing only

(1494)  Surabhita pavane maneri madhuvane

On a fragrant wind in the mind's pleasure garden,
Ruler of my psyche, please arrive in secret.
No one will know of this soul's goal in meditation,
Silently frequenting that recess hard to reach.

A garland strung I am keeping at the foot of musing's altar,
Sandalpaste I am smearing on its flowers' every petal.
I am sitting quietly, drowsiness I've kept ignoring
In ecstatic contemplation prior to Your coming.^[1]

Incense, candles, sacred art– none of them will be used;
Your heart to hold, having resolved, selfless adoration will do.
Through meditation, incantation, and devotion, love's passion,
I will become painted by Your pulsating vibration.

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I will find You

(1493)  Rupe rage ele bhuvan bharale

With form and color You arrived; and You filled the world.
For what reason did You go and stay behind a curtain?
Holding back You came, and standoffish You left...
Just like a stranger, an unfamiliar person.

Maybe You don't wish to be well assimilated;
And so You've taken to seeking a safe haven.
Your mind never wants, Lord; but my mind desires...
Tween these two appetites, You must know a compromise.

You're the maker of the universe and its controller;
You're the arbiter of truth and its firmament.
To lay hidden from the truth You simply won't succeed...
So why do You try to accomplish such a thing?

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Burning time

(1492)  Raktima prate alo jhara hate

At crimson morning, with light-dripping hands,
You had come, being compassionate.
In two eyes the honeyed smile had been;
And the sweet flute was upon rosy lips.

Just arrived, You said: "I go;
For lingering, I've no scope.
I have no temporal bondage–
How will you hold in time's vessel?"

I said: "Take me with;
Please make me timeless.
Bringing me outside of time,
Know that Your work is done fine."

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Go inside

(1491)  Tomay khunje beriyechi

I have roamed in search of You,
Through wilderness and atop mountain...
Mid the gloom on night of new moon,
With lampstand of ghee-flame.

Everybody says: "Not here, not here–
Why do you seek in vain?
His abode is over there...
Why don't you go to that holy place?"

The temple having entered, I observe
Such wondrous articles of worship!
Devout laity is there and also clergy,
But the Worshiped One has gone off where?

Searching at heart's core, I perceive
Oh my, You are in hiding!
No priest is there or any worshiper,
Not even a wicker tray, laden with flowers.

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His boundless grace

(1490)  Alor dhara nece cale

The stream of light keeps on dancing
On this dusty Earth.
The Lord of Splendor has appeared
In everybody's heart.

With rays made in a heady dream,
The light-cascade falls beaming.
All darkness is dispelled by light,
Externally and on the inside.

Amid the gloom, light's tremors,
Is Shiva's dancing in dark's bosom.
Dhurjati,^[1] matted locks unloosed today,
He came to grant embrace.

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Even for deplorables

(1489)  Tumi tamasar sagare jyoti anile

You brought luster to gloom's ocean;
Into dark earth, You infused effulgence.
You painted the flower's petals;
In her bosom You dispensed nectar.

When You arrived on chariot of colors seven,
With the clouds You brightened daybreak's fringes.
Misgivings of living beings You dismissed;
In consequence, everybody's love You did win.

Those who were drowned in blind ignorance,
Fast asleep to humanity's foundation they had been.
Their slumber You shattered, their heart You awakened;
So You became the monarch of mentality cosmic.

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Sama

(1488)  Tomare bhalabase je jan

The person who holds You dear,
Can she remain tranquil?
For the sake of gaining Thee,
She drops, exuding tears.

Daytime or nighttime, leaving or arriving,
Weeping or smiling, night of the wedding,
With His proximity, all become identical;
And everybody drifts on essence of nectar.

She gets fastened by the cord of love,
Like that between the moon and chukor.^[1]
Round and round she's bound to whirl,
At moonlit night's love-tryst.

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The life of a flower

(1487)  Phuleri raja esecho

You have come, oh Ruler of the flowers;
Today, why are You in the floral garden?
Has a flower yearned for You,
And to that have You been obedient?

A flower looks in Your direction;
With two eyes, You also look upon it.
This mutual observation, this familiarity,
Ever it is dressed in fresh clothing.

For a brief span of time a flower blossoms;
Afterward, in the dust she sprawls.
Her coming-and-going is only momentary;
Yet, with a smile, she rises up dancing.

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Within and without

(1486)  E kii madhurata pavane

What is this sweetness on the wind;
What is this ecstasy in contemplation!
In what melodies does the bird sing;
What is this love in worldly sphere!

Lord, You've suffused the universe
With Your color, form, and music;
Everywhere You've dispersed
Your glamor with affection.
On tune after tune You float along
To Your own rhythm and song.

Come into my heart with smile sweet,
With magic flute resounding.
And why keep out of sight inside of psyche;
Please appear in song and dance before me!

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Longing for what must be

(1485)  Eso eso eso, eso amar prane mane

Please come... arrive, arrive;
Come into my heart and mind.
With Your fondness and devotion, and Your floral pollen,
Gladdened am I every moment.

Resonate inside of me the sound of Your anklets;
Make me bloom with Your tender, ambrosial liquid.
Your undetected splendor, Your eternal love...
With their vibration they must bring heaven's kingdom.

From experience I am learning: there is nothing except You;
At my core I am grasping: there is no "I" in me too.
Through Your goodwill and Your beauty, Your pleasant touch,
In Your song the mortal world has been absorbed.

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Fading into Him

(1484)  Tumi eka chile koti koti hale

Unattended You had been, then You became billions;
With contours You got scattered.
You Who'd been ineffable sank into name and form;
You came within realm of detection.

You'd been giving expectation over many ages;
Fulfilling that expectation, You descended.
You arrived within psyche, You arrived within heart...
You brought with You acquisition, more than needed.

The unmanifest condition is upheld by Your liila,
Well-achieved through Your echoing vibrations.
With Your cadence and song in everybody's mind and heart,
Dancing to Your many beats, they all depart.

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Into Infinity

(1483)  Mukta vihaga bhese jay

The free bird moves along, carried aloft...
She knows not on what current, wherefrom it has come
And whereto it does run, run, run.

In which corner of the firmament the trip began
And where appeared its conclusion...
All of this, who even knows or understands;
To learn that, who really wants, wants, wants?

This bird exists within the mind of everybody,
Known or unknown, silently, inscrutably...
This bird, constantly He holds her dear;
At first, releasing her is the need, need, need.

The goose, into transcendence she does fly, fly, fly.

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Light of my life

(1482)  Khadyot majhe tumi candera alo

Within the firefly You are light of the moon;
That is why I have been cherishing You.
Disseminating luster, making everybody bright,
You remove the darkness, inside and outside.

Utter gloom had surrounded the realm uncreated;
From the gloom was getting spewed gloom into darkness.
Upon that very gloom You applied ointment of light–
Even now You keep pouring out sweetness of life.

In that inauspicious realm when there was not a thing,
Birth or death, day or night, which of them would be?
Lord, You alone dwelt in that realm beyond bounds of time–
You will remain; You will go on pouring out more light.

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What You are to me

(1481)  Tomare ceyechi puspamadhuriite

Yourself have I wanted
In the sweetness of a flower;
Spreading-bakul by the path,
The black bee loves that.
I have obtained Thee
In the shade of a tree...
On the way, stricken by summer's heat,
A pilgrim comes with that hope only.

The import You keep offering, Lord,
It never lets me stay indoors.
Unto far azure mind races off,
Desirous of that love.

Eternally, You're the One Most Dear,
Bondage-free Epitome.^[1]
Everybody comes and goes by Your mercy,
Dances all around Thee.

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Troublemaker

(1480)  Ele klesh kare eta din pare

You came, making trouble, after very many days,
For whose sake, do say, for whose sake?
With You, You brought life's warm ardor...
Lovingly, oh Beloved, suffused with love.

Those who'd been in winter's long hibernation,
Who'd been living as if dead in extreme inertia,
Them You tapped with the wand of resurrection...
Doing good, You shattered their slumber.

On slighted ones who had been unconscious,
Who had not realized the human right to live,
You applied compassion, and eyes You opened...
Irreversibly, oh Beloved, always and forever.

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It's a delight

(1479)  Ruper pasaray tumi esecho

With a load of forms You have come.
With fruits and blooms, with leaves and shoots,
Yourself You have strewn in forms innumerous.

Amid desert-wilderness with the golden sands,
With shafts of green beauty in the garb of grass,
Outside and inside, with a graceful presence,
Your shape-collection, it has filled the earth.

Whenever we are gazing in any direction,
Without You there is nothing else.
In both light and gloom, constantly You have been,
With Your own forms and flow, engrossed in Yourself.

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No protest allowed

(1478)  Ogo priya kena base balukabelar pare

My darling, why sit on the seashore sandy?
I will take you home with Me.

Don't say "I won't go", for I won't listen;
Any pretext– I won't hear it...
My will, it shall be respected;
Inside, your seat is reserved!

By every pebble if My feet will be pricked,
And from prickly grass burrs they will burn...
Oh wife, what thing by Me won't be endured;
This pain, to whom do I tell it!

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We are His garland

(1477)  Phuler saje tumi ele

In floral garb You did come
To thrill the mind with divine sport,
With heady scent of sandalwood,
With wreath of song in rhythmic verse.

To get lost there is no taboo;
Mind does not wish to go inside of room.
From what narcotic and in hope of Whom,
Everybody dances on a forest-avenue?

Beckoning, the bakul and parul gesticulate;
With perfume, the magnolia buds intoxicate.
On lonesome days, toward path they gaze,
Having strung a garland for Your sake.

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Dreaming and awake

(1476)  Svapne raca alakate

In a dream composed in Heaven,
Who are You that came on night so pleasant...
Honeyed visage, candied movement,
Flute of sweetness in hand.

Cotton resin on a night moonlit,
Flash of light, having brought with,
You gave embrace on my eyelids,
With undying music.

Awake, I sense a southern wind,
It blows on, breeding sense of detachment...
Smiling face beyond comparison
Rises upon every atom.

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And yet He graces me

(1475)  Phuler vane bhomra elo gunguniye

In a floral jungle the bumblebee came a-humming;
Please state the reason, please state the reason.
In a corner of the mind, a light-ray appeared,
Glittering, just glittering.

In the lantern was no kerosene;
Not even a wick to ignite was there...
Why a flame was kindled there also,
Who really knows, who really knows?

The One Whom I never contemplated
And anticipated not one bit...
Why then is He come today,
Calling me this way, calling me this way?

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Gladiator

(1474)  Kata dine ankhir jale

Eyes in tears how much longer
Will it be till my quest for You is over?
Can You say how much longer
Ere this night of sorrow comes to an end?

I've forgotten in what ancient past,
I've set out upon Your path.
How many are the ages that have passed
I know not... will many more elapse?

With liila done like this do You wish
That ever crying, rambling I perish?
The cosmic sport, such a fell game it is–
Do say, one day will it be finished?

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Come my Lord

(1473)  Tumi parvat ami upalakana

You are the mountain, I am a stone's particle;
I exist underneath Your shelter.
Along the two sides of Your river,
Lying in a bed of sand, I have lived on.

Please tell me, when will You appear?
My desire unrequited, will it be fulfilled?
Abed and dreaming, awake or asleep,
Your thoughts, I have gone on contemplating.

Golden twilight far removes itself;
The dark-of-night's shadow thickens.
Oh Nightlord, please make haste and come–
A living being breaks down in terror.
I am but Your moonlight's tiny speck;
I dance on the current of Your kindness.

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Palamu

(1472)  Van paharer deshe

In the land of hills and forests,
Mind unbridled races
Unto blue sky faraway.

Koel River, from shore to shore,
You pour love with water crimson.
My Palamu you preserve
With life's ardent breath.

Palamu is my lover,
Cordial, simple, respectable.
With floral color and devotion,
Everyone it dotes upon.

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Mother-of-pearl

(1471)  Chilum svapane tomari dhyane

In a dream I had been in Your meditation;
A tune You'd composed, oh One full of songs.
With an oyster-shell on the seashore,
Even now that song skips along.

On the shell falls radiant
That song when lit by sun.
You went, breaking sleep, daytime having proclaimed;
Having furnished fearlessness, You have gone away.

Expectantly I have remained waiting;
Your return, I have kept entreating.
Once more You will come, You will teach a song;
And You will root out gloom, oh One full of love.

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His ankle bells ring in a dream...

(1470)  Gharer andhar alo kare

My room's gloom brightening,
On that night You had appeared
In setting of a heady dream,
Ankle bells to make ring, to make ring.

I had been in slumber deep,
Like one blind, thronged by inert things;
With gentle hand touching me,
Myself You awakened to that love infatuating.

I had been confined by petty self-seeking,
A prison of stone I had been creating;
You shattered that penitentiary;
With light-beams fresh You painted me.

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Progress

(1469)  Kon ajana desher priya pariveshe

In some unknown realm's cordial setting,
I have sensed in You the love supreme.
Its location, time, and name I'm forgetting;
In my mind is You, the One And Only.

In that country was not fog of obscurity;
No deceit was there, no prattle of false things.
A stream of nectar, it had kept on flowing,
Having washed Your feet, Lord Most Holy.

In that country was not hurtfulness or cruelty;
No cold malice was there, no blood-thirsty enmity.
With crimson light beams, there had kept on dancing,
Like a peacock's call, the progressive speed.

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Broadminded

(1468)  Svapane dekhechi tumi asiyacho

In dream I have seen that You were coming,
Ridding all that's dark.
Amid cogitation You have plastered color,
Giving love in mind and heart.

Black vapor had surrounded me;
I could not see outside of it.
Then in a trice the mist was split;
A stream of light came floating in.

Adopting egoism with its lowly thinking,
Captive I had been in a prison of selfishness.
In my very thinking, its girth You expanded,
Bringing it to an ambit, ambit that is cosmic.

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He assumes all misfortune

(1467)  Tumi amar bhalo ceyechile

My welfare You had craved;
You asked nothing in exchange.
On righteous path You'd told to proceed;
No oblation did You take from me.

At nighttime, fearful of the dark,
Lamplight in hand, always with me You had walked.
You have shown the way, You have borne my misery;
But You touched not my offering.

In storm and cyclone, amid strikes of lightning,
You'd protected me like a banyan tree.
On Your head, You've endured all rain and hurricane;
You did not let me get swept away.

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