A charity case

(2070)  Tumi eso amar mane

You please come into my psyche,
Inside all my musings.
I'm seeking You in every deed
That finding may always succeed.

Under rays of morning sun, I look to You only,
That no fear of gloomy darkness I may receive.
Everything of my mind, no more let it be;
Replace it with ambrosia in totality.

In Your presence, I have only hankered;
Never did I think about what I have offered.
I have gone on begging, I have only taken;
Kindly make me indigence-free.

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The bough of mango tree

(2069)  Keman man bujhi na tomar

I fathom not what kind of mind is Thine;
You keep on neglecting even the known person.
Ever I cry bitterly, holding hope in bosom,
That You look on with opened eyes.

Bent by its load, the bough of mango tree,
How much it has studied the quality of pliancy!
Still more stooped down than it please make me;
Bathe me in the dust from Your feet.

So remain neglecting me, no harm is there in it;
Bear in mind, I proclaim no prayer on this.
But only guard me near, Your eyes do not cover;
That pain You gave, make me disremember.

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In the autumn of my days

(2068)  Sharada nishiithe jyotsna mayate

Late at night in Autumn, neath the magic of moonlight,
Please say, Whose words stay awake within psyche?
Who is He, that Unknown One, heeding not proscription?
He departed, bearing off my shame and fear.

Won't He return, won't He look back;
Doing so, will He enter mind again?
Oh won't He weave a web of words again
To vanquish heart with fresh thinking?

I remain alive for His sake, hope orbiting Him,
Both crying and laughing without any reason.
In tunes ever new, full of wounded pride,
Untimely, I go on singing.

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Let me tell a secret

(2067)  Niil akashe cale bhese

Upon a blue sky floats adrift,
A white-cloud raft.
Amid the grass below is woven
A crowd of kush and kash.

Autumn declares: "I did appear,
Bracing and cool, a frosty kissing.
By my side, those who happen,
Them also I made to wag.

"I've brought night-jasmine with me,
A tray of flowers, fragrance-brimming.
On silent nights, hush-hush this is
To wreathe a choral garland."

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Love is the way

(2066)  Saungii amar priya amar

My Companion, my Adored,
You've remained eternally.
Your love, a celestial song;
You have made the mind replete.

From what source of prosperity,
Had You arrived on stream unseen?
And by which passage compelling
Have You gone forth?

To intellect You're incognito;
But by thought, oh, You get known.
Only one who finds Your abode,
Grace You've bestowed on that person.

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My tolerant Master

(2065)  Tumi kon atiite more pathiyechile

In which ancient past had You dispatched me
On a circumambulation of Creation?
Until now that orbit did not finish;
Days pass, ages elapse.

From You I have come, and I will go to Thee;
Yet Yourself forgotten, by matter am I frenzied.
That action for which I came to keep on doing,
Due to my neglect, it did not get done.

Though failings are countless, You continue to forgive;
At my face You gaze, despite knowing my hundred sins.
Yes, You cherish and with smiling eyes take notice...
You make me mend my ways on stream of compassion.

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In comparison

(2064)  Jyotsna rate canderi sathe

On a moonlit night with just the moon along,
You I have thought about, You I have found,
In only Your rhythm, in only Your song.

Light upon the darkness You alone pour;
Ourselves, we bring whets of ebon.
With all sincerity You adore;
While, among us, all is devious...
At mouth we say one thing; and in deeds, another–
Pots of poison without candor.

Only You know how to love,
As You deem everyone Your own person.
You fetch near those who are distant;
Friend or foe, You don't make distinction.

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If You were to look at me

(2063)  Tava asa patha cahiya

Gazing at Your path of advent,
I am sitting, counting, counting days.
Floating on a wind that's diffident,
I go on contemplating Your traits.

Your active nature, it cannot be fathomed;
Though You've been evident, what is Your manner!
You don't grant embrace, and such is Your ethic:
You don't even look at my face.

I keep hearing tales of Your loving kinship;
But at time of action, I see the opposite.
Fondness, does even one person call it...
A rock motionless (like You) on an esplanade?

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Our Savior works stealthily

(2062)  Tumi esechile nava varata dile

You had come; a new message You delivered–
A lantern You set alight, and You made conscious.
Those who had been asleep, Yourself they'd forgotten;
Having wakened them, You imparted inspiration.

Whenever the darkness comes down over Earth,
Doctrines of humanity wallow in the dust.
By only Your mercy comes awakened consciousness;
And having aroused, You provide implication.

Hey You Beyond Gloom, the Avatar of Compassion,
Never do You speak of Your own actions.
Silently You go on staying, You hide at heart's core;
Due to any obstruction, You don't ever pause.

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What I offer

(2061)  Ganer bhela bhasiye dilum

I cast adrift a raft of song,
Directed at the sea of music.
Near to You it would travel,
By Your heart's enticement.

Neglecting differences of self and other
Is the song's own litter;
That same crib, to the cosmic cradle
I affixed it, intermingled.

Hey Beloved mine, fit for worship,
At all times to be remembered,
Grant the way of Your effulgence
To this gift of wretchedness.

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Outside or in?

(2060)  Tumi priiti dhele dile kon vane

On which arbor did You bestow love,
A floral grove or a mental one?
Awakening, flower-buds have blossomed;
To beat after beat they dance, oblivious.

Full of Your honey are their petals;
They have chosen You as partner.
Heart's longing and cordial affection
They're diffusing every second.

As to pollen of the mind, when You did come,
It is kissing psychic sky at Your touch.
Amid the infinite, it has gotten scattered,
Like wind-chime notes of great import.

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Make my life complete

(2059)  Tumi andhar ghare mor ogo priya

Oh You, my Darling, in a gloomy house,
A lantern please do kindle.
In the dark, a chair is spread out;
Spying it, kindly be seated.

For Your sake, eyes full of rapt eagerness
Are on watch throughout many ages.
Having satisfied their entire ambition,
With smiling face, please look on.

In Your proximity, there is no little-or-big;
From craving-and-gaining, there's not any anguish.
Of You going wholly missing, I don't have a phobia;
So You please varnish with sweetness.

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What's real

(2058)  Jani nako tomay ami

Yourself I don't discern,
But You discern me.
You are veiled by Liila's curtain;
Like the daylight, I am clear.

In Your Liila with its light and shade,
You are in spate...
I go on praying for Your grace;
I want to know reality.

Those who be within Thee,
Accepting You, they have been in ecstasy...
Your firmament and Your wind,
Embodied by love's splendid beams.

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Does it even matter why?

(2057)  Ami bhuli tomare

Yourself I forget,
But You do not forget me.
Your earth, Your effulgence,
They have given me a place to dwell.

From which dawn-time of Creation
Have You furnished me a residence?
Upon Your lap, blue-green and tender,
Now, today, I found myself.

Hey Ruler of All Things, the Supreme Shelter,
Is a purpose known for Your acquaintance?
Both am I Yours, and You are mine;
In the world, this fact is the essence.

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Don't be stubborn

(2056)  Tomake peyeo pai na kena

Even after finding You, why don't I achieve?
Please arrive inside the mind
That You reside in all my deeds.

I survive only for Your sake;
In Your work alone I have remained.
Bearing Your wreath of songs,
In their thought I've been absorbed.
Do come close and still more close,
The language of heart You know!
Please show grace; give up the Liila,
Just as though You be not incomprehensible.

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We call too early when not ready

(2055)  Tumi ele prabhu ei abelay

At this late hour, Lord, You came...
All the day, Yourself I've invited,
Opening the gate in vain.

My invitation, did You not manage to hear it;
Maybe though hearing it, You did not listen.
Anyway, with tired lap,^[1] You fell into slumber...
Arriving in darkness, the reply You gave.

Perhaps my hope, it was inordinate;
For getting You, there was no merit.
I have been calling You, on mercy reliant;
Out of compassion, You came and then went away.

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What's Your love all about?

(2054)  Tumi kata liila jano, kache je thake tare dure thelo

How much love-play do You know!
He who remains near, him You shove remote;
And he who fancies separation, him You pull close.

Upon sky, by dint of clouds, the moonlight You hide;
And on earth, with meteors the Dark Lord You invite.
With muddy water the sweet lotus You do coat;
And into a downcast heart You bring a glow of hope.

Having seen the sport, to see the Sportsman is my wish;
But why is the game's manner that I don't attain Him?
Amid cooing of the birds in a lonesome grove,
I stroll about searching; for what reason, You know.

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Mired in a quandary

(2053)  E pather shes kothay

Where is this path's end?
There is neither start nor finish.
From whence came it unto where it wends,
In what place is the conclusion?

Who is that Pioneer Who has stayed concealed;
So much do I seek, but Himself He does not reveal.
I know He is not far-distant, I know He is near;
For what reason does He prefer not to give in?

What He wishes, in plain talk He states not;
What makes Him appear, that too He proclaims not.
Under science or philosophy, He comes not.
Yet understanding with my intellect is requisite;
So, in absence of His mercy, there is no expedient.

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No reason for concern

(2052)  Karo nako kona abhiman

Take not any umbrage;
He will return.
On dark night, missing a moon,
Time and again He comes anew.

The ripe leaf gets shed at winter's onset;
In the spring it returns, tender and red.
Rays of the sun shroud a cloud's darkness;
Finding its light afresh, away the cloud moves.

Nobody is trifling, and that includes thee;
God's light to everybody you also receive.
Retain Him in psyche, engrave Him on memory;
He is with one and all, even when obscure.

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If I could only tie myself to You

(2051)  Eso mor ghare, eso ghare mor

Arrive at my dwelling;
To my house please come.
Night and day I think about You only;
In Your ideation I am absorbed.

No great learning or intellect have I;
No accretion of virtue is piled.
I simply love, I merely drift in thought;
Ever thinking, night becomes the dawn.

That fondness mine, it had been a reddish leaf;
It gained acquaintance as a leaf full-green.
That leaf, my Dear, with Your own hand do touch;
Having fastened it, please provide the thread of love.

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He lights up cosmic darkness

(2050)  Jyotsna tithite bakula viithite

On this moonlit lunar day, on a bakul-lane,
Scattered are Whose specks of love?
Who is He, the Artist that's embodied
Sweetness made from His thoughts.

What I never imagined, I see it also come to pass;
But what I think of frequently, that does not happen.
Such a cosmic game known, such a web woven...
A delightful fragrance, pregnant with purpose!

The Formless God, beyond voice-and-mind's reach,
The whole of Creation He has remained filling.
And He has let be strewn on gloom via light-beams
Splendor like a jeweled necklace for the enormous.

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Long as I can talk with Him

(2049)  Ekla base base vatayana pashe

Seated, seated by the window, feeling helpless,
I've been thinking only about Him.
Who's that Stranger, He Who loves in excess?
He veils my pain with sweetness.

In my idle hours when I'm lonesome,
I behold His love stained with crimson.
And also amid work is only His communion
When I contemplate His message.

He does not ignore me, even when I forget Him
Mid a twanging of viina-strings, only His.
In a hundred streams runs my existence,
A charming loquaciousness having awakened.

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No good reason to stay here

(2048)  Phire calo jai calo

Please go back, come on, let's go,
Return to your proper dwelling...
Vain is the reckoning of wanting and getting.
Who is the One behind, inviting where,
For Whose sake we gaze to the rear?

I have come, work to perform;
Delay is borne no more.
Sun is setting, it gets dark;
Beckoning, Who calls me?

Labor has no end; I find no end of path also.
Yet I've gone out to goad; I've been enrolled
To escort homeward those who must be steered.

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Is there another option?

(2047)  Jadi bhalabaso na

When You don't love,
Why do You summon?
Having traced kohl upon eyes,^[1]
In rain-clouds why do You hide?

About Your liila this have I fathomed;
In both light and shadow I've gone and frolicked.
As I've loved, so I've shed tears;
Love's pollen, why do You smear?

Howbeit, You can't be forgotten,
When one finds the Stone of Philosophers.
Transmuted into gold will I just be;
Tugged by Your name's tow, myself do keep.

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A book that is open

(2046)  Tumi eso amar ghare, kata jug dhare

You please come to my dwelling.
For ages so many,
With tears am I overflowing
To receive You gladly.

My all is in Your knowledge;
Nothing is hidden, there's no prohibition.
On a boundless sky, wings spreading open,
Due to You alone mind goes soaring.

I've no fear of public shame or disrepute;
Counting Thee as my own, I am loving You.
You are boundless, limitless in beauty and in virtue;
Having seen and mulled over, this I am understanding.

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Where mercy meets divinity

(2045)  Amar sakal asha bharasa tumi

You are my entire hope and sanctuary;
Toward You exclusively I've been racing.
You exist; and in consequence I am here;
On Your song only I have been in a frenzy.

At the root of all my thoughts,
Underneath the sea that can't be fathomed,
In cadence sways just Your presence;
That same "You" having sought, I've achieved.

Over snowcapped peak of a mountain,
With imposing-new, blue firmament,
Having suffused and surrounded everyone,
You do exist, and that I have conceived.

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Between us

(2044)  Tumi eso mor nilaye

You please come unto my dwelling;
Holding out a lamp for Thee,
I keep counting time expectantly.

Twixt You and me the acquaintance,
I know not how ancient it is.
I won't fathom that even when the age changes,
Or by way of any third party.

Close-knit, this relationship;
But in language it's not getting spoken.
In science and philosophy I don't discover
At any time these tidings.

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The curse of loving Him

(2043)  Kena danriye acho shir nata rekhecho

Why are you standing erect, but head you've kept bent?
Tell me who is He that burdens you with distress,
Who, after hearing you, has then given sadness,
Who did not understand you, that person hardhearted!

The two eyes have gone hidden by a tress;
A tender bud, at core, plundered has she fallen.
This your same affliction, this your lament,
How can it be cast away, kindly do tell.

As I surmise Who is your Dear, pay heed to my words:
That Heartless One, through tears all people He secures
By His strings of love, past imagination, never understood.

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You are my eternal love

(2042)  Hemante ei madhu mayate

In the season of prewinter, in this honeyed sorcery,
On a still and quiet night, Who are You that arrived?
You furnished no particulars, no word did You speak;
But a light You did lavish upon my dark night.

To call my own there had been nobody,
No one who was mopping tears of grief.
Silently, with both hands, eyes dry You made;
Right away You induced forgetting of pain.

Oh Who You are, Beloved One, till now I don't know it;
But psyche does not yearn to learn specifics.
I know just a little bit: You're with me I realize;
From past to future, beyond time, You will abide.

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Writing history

(2041)  Din cale jay kal bahe jay

Time flows onward, days go away;
Their reckoning who saves?
Against a backdrop without end or beginning,
Kindly say, who will create the history?

Round about You are my exits and arrivals;
Both in laughter and in tears lies my affection.
But I don't recognize You, toward Whom once again
I goad the ship of my existence.

Anything that I may do is erudition's vanity;
Yet, seated alone in mind own, I still conceive.
Nothing belongs to me; Yours is everything;
Having attained Thee, that is serenity.

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Spring arrives, and I cry

(2040)  Tomara manera katha

Your innermost thoughts,
Reports made of dream,
Please say to everyone
On the earth, in every ear.
But whatever You may tell, Love,
This fact, do take stock of it:
It will go on staying strung
In many songs, nary a limit.

On spring's advent the night weeps,
Her binding hopes, notwithstanding...
For the sake of mind's hearing
On an endless quest of Thee.

You please come time after time;
A namaskar will I provide...
In hundred lives, a hundred times,
Having forgot all pride.

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