One without a second

(1594)  Bakul tarur chaye

Neath the shade of bakul tree,^[1]
Oh Who art Thou that appeared,
Flowers scattering?

Not a word You spoke with anybody;
On a golden throne You had been,
With sweet notes in hues of spring,
Suffusing psyche.

Is there anywhere that I will find a peer,
Who makes colored both the sides, out and in,
With brush-stroke on mental cranny,
The spring having smeared?

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Divine messenger

(1593)  Jharana ami ucchala jaladhara

Cataract, I am a cataract, a surging water-stream;
Mountain's message, melted tidings,
A sweet clamor, I convey to the sea.

Myself any obstacle cannot impede;
No demonic prison can ever suppress me;
Being lively I go on, as if in a frenzy.

From no prohibition do I ever fear;
Parched throats with liquid nectar let me fill...
Surging water's murmuring, I dance on, bondage-free.

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I'd been looking, but looking elsewhere

(1592)  Bhevechi bheve cali ami

I have thought, I go on thinking
Day and night about Thee.
I have admitted, and I know You recognize,
That vanquished is my pensive heart and mind.

As I don't walk a path that's true,
So curvature I run counter to.
The arcs had bound me with blind ties;
Now warily I set them aside.

From close range, I don't find nearby;
I look outside, but I don't gaze in mind.
So now You came with pomp of king;
All gloomy darkness, far-off making.

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You may or may not love me, but You never leave

(1591)  Tomar tare jiivan bhare

Because of You my life is filled;
I have gone on singing hymns...
Let there be no splendid rhythm,
Let there be no settled practice.

Hey the dreamy yearning's Deity,
Speak not on maya of mortality.
You fathom my anxiety
At core of heart love-smeared.

On nights of sorrow and mornings of glee,
You have played a game with me.
Through all the giddiness of psyche,
Atop liila You float constantly.

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He is surpassing strange...

(1590)  Asibe na tumi jadi

He will come... when you are not
Watching the path... only then, why?
To smile, when you've forgot...
So why keep calling day and night?

The south wind, blowing it goes on;
When summoned, it does not respond.
Love knows, but system ignores...
So why for Him singing of songs.

The bumblebee, into each ear she states:
Love gives; love does not take.
All those acquainted with Him...
They say His maya is impassable.

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Some random questions...

(1589)  Jeo na ektu thako

Do not go, please stay a bit;
I've something more to speak.
You need not mind my words,
But what's the harm to hear?

Why do flowers go on dropping?
Why do garlands of love wither?
What's the cause that bestirs
These thoughts that I keep hidden.

In fall, the night-jasmines come;
In winter, loti do not blossom.
'Gainst a lovely blue sky
Glides a flight of cranes, what hope calling?

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Who am I kidding?

(1588)  Candanasurabhi makha

Glazed by sweet scent of sandalpaste,
Oh, Who are You that came today,
Kohl traced upon Your eyes,
Asking nothing from my side?

I declared: "Yourself I don't recognize;
That we've met, it does not spring to mind.
But I have taken resolve inwardly
On throne building in lonely retreat."

Then You replied: "You do know Me;
With Me is your intimacy.
Since ancient times long out of mind,
Assuming countless shapes, I have arrived."

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Why am I tongue-tied?

(1587)  Mananikuinje puinje puinje

At psyche's arbor, in hive after hive,
I know not why the bumblebees arrive and retire.
Upon a vernal breeze, in mind's blue sky,
That flight of geese does not spread wing, oh why?

Through sound and touch I've wanted Him;
Upon a sky sweetly smiling, in a fragrance bodiless.
I've wanted Him with screwpine's strong emotions...
The tree of my yearning, why is it not flower-filled?

Through tastes embodied I have wanted Him,
On a balsam's sluggish wind.
I've wanted Him, both breathing out and breathing in;
For the urge to express in words, He alone is motivation.

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My Before and After

(1586)  Tomar tarei mala gantha

Just for You garland is threaded,
Thinking is about You only..
You are in the mental casket,
Sweetness overflowing.

The daytime brings Your message;
Comes Your tenderness with the night's magic.
Dawn and dusk are cadence sweet,
A song of Thee with melody practiced.

Without You there is no one else;
Even ere the beginning, we find Yourself.
And at the end of the end You laugh constantly,
Hey Deity of the distant Heaven.

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I will never quit

(1585)  Jadi katha nahi kay sara nahi dey

Should He speak no word, give no response,
Still calling Him I will go on.
If feet to hold He permits not,
At foot-dust I will set eyes on.

So many days proceed, much made to weep;
The nights go by, tears made to stream....
Yet I am not defeated, never do I cease;
To His ear I will transmit my innermost feelings.

As lofty as may come the obstacle,
Even a mountain insurmountable,
On kick of foot with thundering ruin,
Pulverizing it, I will be victorious.

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Chicanery?

(1584)  Pahar beye jharna dheye

Rushing downhill a cascade,
Toward which person does it race?
You who know that, please do say.
Inside of mind's jewel-case,
Whose portrait rises night and day?
With mind, what is this shell-game!

At home the mind won't abide;
Suggestive is the air and sky.
Effusive is mind all the time;
For Him unknown, it does aspire!

Mind's peacock on blue firmament,
Fantail outspread, it romps and grins;
In cadence, beat, alliteration,
Consciousness it emits.

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Awakening

(1583)  Malayanile ke go tumi ele

On vernal breeze, oh Who did come;
You gave a shake to every branch.
Of mind all that had been amassed,
Its dust shook off, You smeared with love.

Those lives that had been sluggish,
Those minds that had been wretched...
Ridding all distortions,
Them You did embellish.

For Truth I had never searched,
Always trailing fear did I shirk...
But You aroused courage, You infused vigor;
You made me understand a human being's work.

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Love is my Beloved

(1582)  Nayaner mani hiiraker khani

Jewel of the eyes,^[1] a diamond mine,
The purest sandalpaste in Paradise,
For You, there is no come or go, no wane or decay;
The sea of love's dominance, You are its range.

In which bygone time had You smiled inside of psyche?
Nowhere is that found in theory or in writing.
I only know that You exist, You are holding dear;
Excluding You, worthless is my everything.

You are in the fire and the wind, and in the blue azure,
In the planet and the star, and in the black collyrium.
A jeweled sweetness, suffusing affection,
You have scattered far and wide, beyond all measure.

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All opposites He reconciles

(1581)  Cande joyare phule madhukare

Twixt moon and high tide, bloom and bee,
Such love You've been infusing!
With water on the bud of flower blossoming,
You have lavished Eden's honey.

There's no entity in any location,
Banished far away or disinherited.
Taking one and all in combination
You have built the universe!

The star holds dear Earth's infant,
And child wants near the star distant.
Twixt a sky of perfect blue and the vernal breeze
You have sung in a monsoon melody.

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The suspense is killing me

(1580)  Ajana pathik alakar katha

Unknown Traveler, Heaven's dictates,
Once having come near, kindly explain.
From dark-cloudy nebula a tiny grain
Floats away to which strange place?

What I keep witnessing, is only that okay;
And what I do not see, is all of it vain?
Which one is truth, which one is sham...
What was in past, it has got scrapped.

What resides in scripture, is it not man-made;
And what's not in scripture, is the same thing base?
Root of questioning and root of reply,
Please do provide, seated in the mind.

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When with spring He arrives

(1579)  Niilakashe alo bhase

Light floats upon a blue sky;
On such a day, Who comes to mind?
Ashok and palash beside,
Affliction forgotten, woodlands smile.

Floral pollen drifts upon a restless wind,
And peacock-calls sing out with rustling impassioned.
The jangled thoughts gripped in His anklets' chime,
Having banished pain, Who filled up life?

With stibnite upon eyes comes memory's whisper,
Dispelling what's made black and painting well in color,
Hope goes a-floating
In slow-stepping^[1] cadence, beat after beat.

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Love is enough

(1578)  Canpar kali tomay bali

Magnolia bud, to you I speak:
Please do not come a wee bit near.
Cast fragrance and watch while in hiding;
Do not come in reach.

The flower garden's ficus tree,^[1]
Its nature is long, straight, and sweet.
The banyan's^[2] main propensity
Is monsoon-water's welcoming.

Sea-of-forms' most precious thing,
Inner voice upon a gold-stream,
At core of heart missed it's getting...
The fountain-spout, motive sincere.

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Have I not waited long enough; is my nectar not sweet enough?

(1577)  Tomare ceyechi phota phule ami

Like a flower in full bloom I have yearned for Thee
On a forest avenue, myself full of honey;
But the bumblebee of psyche, it moves on a-humming
With a wistful wish unruly.

Hour after hour, they proceed...
Minute and second fade into infinity;
But You did not appear, nor a word did you speak;
I am flooded by a shower of tears.

Oh Callous One, of what sort is Your acquaintance!
Why make sport with this my heart?
The pain You did not grasp, nor words did You hear;
The daytime passes on the wings of a flight of geese.

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Now I am mindful of Your sport

(1576)  Ke go lukiye chile

Oh the One Who'd been concealed
Inside psyche, not informing me...
You're the stone of the philosophers,
But to me You'd been forgotten.

I had believed that I am without guardian;
Day and night, I had wept...
But with today's experience,
You let me know that You have got me covered.

Hey, my Nearest,
You are my Dearest...
Of me You are the quintessence;
Taking my heart, You had made sport.

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You have been warned

(1575)  Tomari ashay din kete jay

In hope of You only, my days go by
Throughout many decades... don't You realize?
Oh my Bosom Friend, lacking sweetness,
You are callous, and I know not why!

Many flowers blossom, many flowers drop down;
With a water-torrent arrives a cloud.
You don't come, You don't comprehend the pain;
In Your mind allowing mine, You do not associate.

A very loving moon, with magic radiant,
A nectar ultra-sweet, surpassing the palate...
Even with this moon honey does not carry on,
Should it be that near to me He appeared not.

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When hope is all but lost

(1574)  Nispatra vanabhumi

Leafless the forest,
Without blossom, on the day You came...
Fresh reddish leaves You infused;
On withered branch You made flowers bloom.

The hope that has been fading,
The language that's been losing speech...
To that expectation in clusters aplenty,
You brought loquacity.

The river that's evaporated,
Gotten lost in the arid wilderness...
Having brought Phalgu's undercurrent,^[1]
That dried-up stream, You made it run.

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Irresistibly magnetic

(1573)  Ratnapradiip hate niye

Bearing in hand a jeweled lantern,
Who are You that came, oh Peerless One?
With steadfast gaze You are watching,
Every instant looking my direction.

On Your body splendor is an ornament;
To You belongs the luster of the universe.
On a sidelong glance comes such fascination;
It is an attraction unequaled!

Love limitless is at Your core;
To Your virtue is the cosmic song.
For Your service there is such an eagerness;
It is like ambrosia, filled with purpose!

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Self-Promotion

(1572)  Rater kalo alo kare

Dark of night making bright,
Who came, oh Who arrived?
Magic's kohl traced upon eyes,
The whole world He drove wild!

With notes of mind-thrilling flute,
Heart-filling song having diffused...
Pulverizing all that's crude,
A tune He played in Deepak Raag.^[1]

Throughout the universe He has no peer,
His impact in the seven spheres...^[2]
Only He is Truth, and He alone is effort holy;
This precious fact He made known.

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Lord and devotee sing alike

(1571)  Tandra nave jadi

When drowsiness descends,
You please abolish it.
The never-ending weariness,
With motivation refill it.

I have come by your wish;
I have been in love with this earth.
I have beamed with the beauty of a flower;
In song, please do sing of just this.

You are blossom, I am pollen;
You are sandal, I am water.
Commixed with you only,
Let me forever be...
Look at me, eyes unblinking.

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It serves His divine purpose

(1570)  Kar katha sada bhavo sunayana

Fair-eyed maiden, of Whom do you think always?
Toward Whose arrival path are your eyes kept trained?
Who is that mind-thief Who, robbing you, has taken,
Taken your heart, so distant having stayed.

There is nothing, nothing that you crave;
Ever you have wished to give yourself away.
What you have wanted, just that has taken shape;
He has made off with, to some other place.

Today, you go about, singing your story,
So that a piece of remote heart is mixed there.
The load of yon heart, the soul's fiddle-string,
On tears it does float, from sphere to sphere.

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Perhaps now I am ready

(1569)  Baso amar ghare ogo prabhu

Oh Master, please be seated in my home;
Flowers have bloomed at my grove.
You never came to my abode,
Bearing feet crimson those.

With aroma of magnolia garden
Giving out celestial flow of ambrosia,
Having coated honey of mind-flowers,
I have strung a peerless garland.

With a psyche pure and clean from reverie and telling beads,
The house I have decorated through profuse austerity.
On cooling rains and smiling neep,
My hope swings to and fro, an earring.

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You can't go

(1568)  Cale jabe je tumi

Oh You Who would leave,
Kept where, do tell me...
Snow that has gone and melted,
It will fall, I know, as torrent.

In winter leafless are the trees,
But blooms will blossom in the spring...
Dawn-crimson is the kumkum;
Such eastern-sky subterfuge!

Lost would I surely get;
This forest is so dense...
But You show the objective,
Lest my effort not persist.

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For my sins

(1567)  Ami kusuma parage rayechi

I have bided inside flower pollen;
I've allowed filling with nectar.
Having agitated life's ocean,
In rhythm I've become loquacious.

A song I sing in the strain of somewhere exotic;
Its lyrics I attain by musing on the Infinite.
Upon a flawless face in the Garden of Eden,
I've become aware of a ruinous blemish.

Into blossom's ear some words I tell;
Within lovely essence of nectar I dwell.
In fire and wind, in the bright azure heavens,
I have recognized the One Who is ever novel.

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Not a fair trade

(1566)  Bholo na amare tumi

Thou, You don't forget me,
But I go on forgetting Thee.
I do not fail to take Your gift;
I keep neglecting to give first.

On glitter of good cheer's light-beams,
Yourself I do not happen to see.
But on my nights of sorrow, bitterly I weep,
Having asked You to relieve the grief.

In happiness a web of logic I create;
I say: No faith have I in future states.
To You, Providence, credence I don't pay;
But when in pain, I pray: Come right away!

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He stands out

(1565)  Vajrakathora kusumakoraka

A flower bud stern as thunder,
To You, the Bow-Wielder,^[1] let homage be offered.
Like unto Mount Kailash, crowned by the moon...
I ascribe all attributes to You.

Lord, You are Supreme Spirit, You are to be worshiped,
You are the refuge of any troubled people.
Outside the reach of time but stationed in time-limited...
Honor to the tranquil Master Of All Animals.

Owner of every gem but totally renunciant,
You are the emerald's brightly shining splendor.
Root-cause of the universe, the cosmos at present...
Give respect to Shiva, Master of Those Who Are Born.

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