And so they call it Liila

(1540)  Shukno patar nupur paye

Ankle-bells of dried leaves on its feet,
A gusty wind from the southwest has appeared,
Its clarion facing northeast
With music of calamity.

In company with beat of trees, persimmon and palmyra,
On that night the tuberoses
Fall demolished in great slaughter,
Under the grimace of Shiva Ferocious.

Keeping aloof from blame or praise,
The hurricane has run amuck, intoxication-swayed.
But inside the black clouds' many gaps,
Is the light-stream's chariot in single combat.

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To hold still more dearly

(1539)  Tumi ele prabhu

Lord You appeared,
You came, Lord, on splendor-stream,
With smile honeyed and enchanting,
To hold still more dearly.
Garland in hand I did not greet;
I did not ask to come and take a seat.

The lengthy night had been so gloomy,
That erstwhile gloom to consume psyche...
Lone and helpless, I did not invoke Thee;
I was not fit to vie formerly,
To hold still more dearly.

Through that same strait You have tarried;
You've said You have stayed beside me...
On each bank of life's stream,
In a hymn for each twinkling,
To hold still more dearly.

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Housecleaning

(1538)  Ajana pathik neve esecho

Unknown Traveler, descending You've arrived;
You have been so kind.
Dust removing and love filling,
You have made sin-free.

Intense gloom on the sky, ringed by the dark,
Dressed in string after string of stars,
Bearing a galaxy, upon the nebula
You have dispensed love.

Expressionless and lacking name or meaning
Were the mute for days and years aplenty.
By their rousing and love-coating,
You have built a world of beauty.

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Light everlasting

(1537)  O je asiimer gan geye jay

Oh the One Who goes on singing odes to infinity,
Who, for eternity, does keep on giving swing...
Oh the One stooped by love's load, oh that Noble One,
He pours ambrosial stream into the barren heart.

He tells: "At no time am I elsewhere;
Ever I am tied by strings of amity.
I dwell within psyche, I keep mind replete;
Absence of light, it sparkles with Me."

He tells: "No one is foreign to Me;
So I deem everybody family.
I just smile, just hold dear,
Neath moonlight, mid floral heaps...
From Me extreme darkness gets fear.

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He crept in...

(1536)  Maneri manane gopane gahane

Surreptitiously, in thought-depths of the mind,
You had arrived;
And no one knew of it.
You had brought along loads of ambrosia,
But that no one noticed.

You had bloomed with melody, tempo, and beat;
You'd spoken through raga and raginii.
Fast then slow, in music-measure secondary,
You had swelled in ecstasy.

By Your own hand You'd ignited wisdom's flame;
With love You'd let the zest for life pervade.
Dissension among humans, You'd sent far away;
Nectar You had made cascade.

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Jiiva jiivasya

(1535)  Kena ele aji ei asamay

Why came You at this hour inauspicious?
Toward a close time proceeds, oh Playful One.
Flower's petals, they have fallen,
Nectar of pericarp has dried up,
Heady fragrance has been lost...
The bumblebee does not hum; it does not hum.

Once the floral grove was colorful;
Teeming had been petals' nectar.
Heady fragrance was not frantic;
It was glamorous, yes, glamorous was it.

By Your touch, a dried-up river summons flood;
A withered bough persists, budded having become.
You have been of consequence; ambrosia You have lavished...
Life with life You have admixed, oh Avatar of Consciousness.

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It's a certainty

(1534)  Gan geye jai alo jvele jai

Singing songs, igniting light, I proceed;
No one in the world is foreign to Me.

I am the Unknown Pilgrim, My home in the Formless;
Dressed in My goods is the whole Creation.
For those who have no one, I am their support;
So into the empty heart, love I do pour.

Even though I am unknown, I don't remain far off;
With the mind impoverished, I am intimate.
Honey in the flower's bud, I keep it full;
I sparkle in the darkness.

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