Love without cause

(1950)  Tumi esechile, maner andhar dure sariye dile

You had come;
The dark of mind You cast afar.
Dejection having expunged,
You lit hope's lamp inside heart.

Knowing or not knowing it,
In the mind just You I've wanted.
Only now, in this isolation,
Me You took, making Yours.

You did not ask for a thing,
And for You I did nothing.
Myself I knew not a bit,
But still love You lavished.

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His love is now and always

(1949)  Ganer sagare dhelecho

In song's ocean You have poured
Emotion of Your heart.
So I see no termination;
Constant is the flow of love.

By the shore a chum had said:
"Good enough was the quicksand...
Upon ship mayhap I got no berth;
Perhaps I got not my compartment."

I had waited, my own self forgotten,
At the bank of blind attachment.
Presently You took and stowed
My load on Your boat.

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Diamond in the rough

(1948)  Maner raja kena dure rayecho

Oh Mind-Ruler, why have You kept remote?
At core of my psyche, please do come close.
You are a diamond, and its radiance also;
Though in shapeless attire, set Your light afire.

Through bell and conch shell and lamp of ghee,
Having set out to appease, I found naught in psyche.
Now please come Yourself and by Your own means,
Teach me by which deeds occurs árati.

For how many ages upon You have I thought?
Via countless formal rites have I sought.
Now defeat I am conceding; mercy I implore
That Your bugle may resound inside the heart.

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No one else need know

(1947)  Tomare ceyechi maneri gahane

I have wanted You at only the mind's recess;
Apprised will be no one else.
On a moonlit night, against the vast blue sky
Nobody will divine a crane's feathers.

King of Psyche, at mind's core You will dwell;
Cosmic Emperor, You will rid all the darkness.
Visiting in secret, intimate in private,
There won't be anything falsely demonstrative.

I don't pray for drums of triumph, rather, a mild jingle;
Amid all that is harsh, I request a bangle and an anklet.
In the language quiet, in the discourse of the deaf,
Worldliness won't be able to persist.

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You've got a Friend...

(1946)  Ghor timire matha nata kare

In darkness dense, my head bent,
I had sat, feeling lonely.
From a golden heaven, wings having spread,
An angel says: "Morn and eve, I accompany.

"You are not alone, no, never had you been;
I am your lasting companion, don't you know Me?
Heaven's angel, inside mind I reside;
Melancholy one, don't be worried.

"Though You forgot Me, yourself I will not forget;
You did not recollect, yet to the side I won't set.
I stay mingled with the mind, painstakingly I provide;
Even by mistake, I do not neglect."

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Both inside and outside of me

(1945)  Niil sarovare ajana prahare

At some obscure hour on a blue pond
In mind's mirror You had blossomed.
Hey the Psychic Lily soft and tender,
Having filled me, You are both outside and in.

Ever recognized are You of uncharted place;
Acknowledged or not, You are known by name.
Hey Ruler of Holy Sites, salute at feet
I offer Thee frequently.

More than soul You are one's own self,
The principal kinsman, person most honest.
Venerated by smiling, sweet magnolia,
Upon myriad streams, You've got scattered.

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His greatness

(1944)  Kon arup lokete chile

In which formless realm had You been
Ere stooped You down to form-sphere?
With blooms and leaves, buds and greenery,
Sweetness You did lavish.

This, the splendor of Your shapes,
Not earth nor heaven can contain.
The swollen heart overflowing,
Oh what feelings You delivered!

Those who've known Your name's greatness,
They have understood the glory of Your love.
As for existence, development, and bliss,^[1]
To them their fragrance You furnished.

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Who does not love Him!

(1943)  Nandana vane ke ele

Who arrived at the Garden of Eden,
Coated by sandal fragrance,
Bathed in snow's pure water,
Face veiled with moonlight?

The sunflower, looking skyward it declares:
"Except for Him there is naught that I crave.
To Him my mind I have given, to Him my life I have given,
On this earth staying alive only for Him."

From its core innermost sings the bakul tree:
"Out of love for Him, a sweet scent my blooms carry.
Him I revere in psyche, Him I draw near to me,
Storing sweetness in my heart on account of Him only."

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Don't stop there

(1942)  Eso mane eso dhyane

Please enter the mind, arrive inside meditation;
Rhythmically resonant, oh Bearer of Liila.^[1]
Into life please come.

Come into my garland of mental states;
Come into my floral wicker-tray.^[2]
Enter mind's pleasure garden,
Under its lovely pavilion.

For You there is nothing that's a mystery;
All persons in the universe are known to Thee.
Everybody's story, heartcore's agony,
Is strung upon a song.

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In this world we are touched by the Supreme

(1941)  Ruper sagare bhasiya calechi

In an ocean of form I've gone swimming
Hoping for Your formless touch...
Like a bee of mind neath that spell of love
Who has risen frenzied on this spring month.

The stripe of form You have started sketching,
Inside that Your life You have been infusing.
In form there is life, in life there is form;
To one who drifts in the world, this truth is the core.

The world of form, it comes with both light and shade;
In that only is the tiny, in that only is the great.
Bound to just that are wrong and right;
The heavens float on that mind-sky.

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I am not a threat

(1940)  Bhay pao kena asite

Why do You fear to appear;
Why do You fear to come near?
Yourself dabbed by speck of love; a dry stone, me...
Is it lest I influence Thee?

You are infinite, transcendent, everybody's Master;
Finite, I am limited; never do You need to dread.
You have given form to me with only Your form, then
From me what is there to fear?

Life and death's magic wand, in Your hand it is;
I am a ball to play with, the whole world knows it.
Please don't ever stay remote for any reason;
Mind, it frolics inside of You only.

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In love with the sun

(1939)  Ami gulbagicay bulbuli

In a rose garden, I am the bulbuli.
Talk I don't, but I am also with speech...
I croon, and I put forth melody.

Daytimes come and go, sweetness on strings of rhyme;
In my mind, they leave behind colored dyes.
As love's repayment, under the sun gold-dripping^[1]
Golden songs I sing.

I know your words, fashioned well;
For all of you I knit a golden mesh.
That netting's gold does not get seen...
A champak bud is made to bloom in psyche.

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Only by Your grace

(1938)  Calar pathe prabhu klanti jadi ase

On journey, Lord, if come fatigue,
Please do furnish zeal.
In flocks, at breaks between deeds,
Should there come misgivings,
You remove them please.

Coveting the floral nectar, insects,
Should they enter psyche's garden...
Dense rains like in monsoon season,
Should they darken the blue heavens...
You please come with a smile genial
And elicit consciousness.

Yours is the power, I am feeble;
Savior, I am Your dependent.
With desire for grace the days I number,
Please ignite a lamp of expectation.

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Love-blind

(1937)  Tomari ashe base base

In hope of You only, having waited and waited,
Ages come and go; how many I don't know.
Days-dates-moments and who comes long ago
I go on neglecting; about You I don't forget.

Upon the duststorms, reddish-brown, of summer,
Many a bamboo grove, it slumps downhearted.
From the monsoon flood-bursts of rainy season,
Lodgings float away; how many I don't reckon.

Under the soft moonlight of autumn,
Nectar drifts on pollen of night-jasmine.
In my lifetime, love makes me swoon;
I think of not a thing but You.

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Petals of many colors

(1936)  E kii surabhita spandane

Oh what is this fragrant throbbing...
You appeared inside of psyche!
Underneath silent feet, well-received,
Colored petals You let spread privately.

Before, I was not knowing, I did not realize...
I was not wanting to find You nearby.
But You came on Your own, mind You made replete;
Myself You drew into Your vicinity.

You dote on me, that I know;
I too have been drawing close.
I am time-delimited, while You have no beginning;
Still, in spite of that, You've received me.

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Okay but

(1935)  Ogo prabhu tava lagi

Oh Lord, on Your account,
The garland strung gets dried up.
You did not come, You wore it not...
And so my days pass without purpose.

Morning sun does not bring light,
And gusts of wind do not feel right,
And even darker is the dark of mind;
Like the days and nights, they suffer.

There's no harm if You don't grant embrace,
Or if You gaze no more upon my face;
At least dole out a speck of grace,
Though viewing me as trivial.

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Otherwise not worth a cent

(1934)  Tomar varata baye jai

I go on carrying Your tidings;
With Your work I keep myself busy.
My everything is on account of You only;
These are the words well-formed I continue singing.

On stellar sky, like mote of dust, I have arrived;
On mental sky, hey my Love, Yourself I've acquired.
My going and coming, my weeping and laughing;
At their root is Your compassion only.

But for You I don't exist– this fact I perceive;
On strings of Your viina, a jangle I bring.
Your champak-touch, gauging scope of novelty,
Having felt that, I proclaim respectful greetings.

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My Lord, so sweet

(1933)  Maneri gahane madhura carane

Into depths of my mind, with honeyed feet
Please come, oh Beloved, revered by everyone.
Expecting Thee, alert am I seated,
In this self-discipline of silence.

The silence You dash, You bring grandiloquence;
Into a glum life, fine gentleness You dispense.
The history of me, my ballad of distress,
In Your looking glass is its portrait.

My faults and my virtues, You know each one;
So draw me close, to my sins granting pardon.
Upon me do confer the purest devotion^[1]
To traverse a shoreless ocean.

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Do stay but don't stop

(1932)  Anek diner pare, tomare pelum ghare

After days aplenty
I discovered You in home.
Please stay at my abode, having lit up psyche;
Far away I won't give You leave to go.

I know not how the penance of many ages
Made my dark-moon night get distanced.
But the night-meditation, it has fetched
Sun at dawn to doorstep.

This morn, that for whole life it remain
And keep me glad throughout each day,
By Your touch, in delight let sway
Mind and heart always.

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To what effect His advent?

(1931)  Phaguner upavane maner gahan kone

In a springtime garden, at a remote psychic niche,
With which hope a fire You ignited?
Not a thing did You desire,
But not tiny was what's left behind...
And not a thing You told, even by hint.

To a smiling palash arbor You'd come with loving geste.
And neath silk-cotton trees they had peered a-frequent,
Mango buds, both eyes trained in Your direction...
Into the air You infused imagination.

Oh the Unknown Traveler, You are never unfamiliar;
In a lonely niche of mind, You reside, forced to go often.
To find You, I fly up to the sky, wings outspread;
Your not wanting to be close, I look to the heavens.

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I am He

(1930)  Dhara dile dharatale

To the surface of the earth You resigned;
You went on filling with moonlight.
You will return, but when I do not know;
When... I do not know.
Sweetness in abundance You supplied;
You took control of the mind.
Right or wrong time... You did not note.

With a smiling face You had arrived
Maintaining contact eye to eye.
Touching life with Your life,
Oh what did You not bestow!

Anything that is benign, You are that only;
To what is harmful, never are You sparing.
You have moved, evil subduing;
Vacillate in fear You don't!

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His love makes all things right

(1929)  Bhav khunjechilo bhasa

Mood had searched for speech,
And speech had craved melody.
Mental state races past imagination,
And tune capers round about Your anklets.

You arrived with love's effulgence,
And with cadence You did fill.
With a jangle You delighted,
And the heart had been bewildered.

I have got acquainted with Thee
And the why You've come descending.
Dancing You go on incessantly,
Having distanced any misery.

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The supreme shelter and protector

(1928)  Arun tomar ruperi liilay

Morning Sun, with your divine play of form only,
A surging ocean starts overflowing.
One speck of that form rises from sleep,
And ten million of the sky's nebulae sing.

Hey Makeup Artist, what is this you are doing!
You have filled the world with love's sea.
Into form and yet transcendent you are stooping;
You have gone dancing in the study of beauty.

In Liila's game your peer is not there;
You make the three realms^[1] laugh and cry constantly.
Musing on that state, I don't attain profundity:
Sheltered I've arrived, dependent on mercy.

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Only a pit stop on the greater journey

(1927)  Kena sajal cokhe ceye acho

Eyes wet, why are you staring?
Mop away the tears, mop away the tears.
Why have you gone around, rain falling untimely;
Heed my words: What had come about; do say please!

Upon just a sky, azure-blue and temperate,
Flights of geese glide afar to farther still.
Neither do those geese cry nor quake with fear;
In this My goose, in her, who infused grief?

Into many lifetimes comes a gusty rainstorm;
Many a tranquil nest, it does sail off.
But on sky having relied, you be firmly confident;
Go ahead boldly toward the nest everlasting.

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Brightening everybody's psyche

(1926)  Eso kajal rater andhare

Please arrive in the dark of ink-black night,
Having made hearts bright...
With love's matchstick having lit this lamp mine,
Wakening human kindness.

Without You this ignorance will not get lifted;
Excluding You, humanity will not be awakened.
For cosmic weal, in everybody's meditation do appear
As the sterling tier of worldliness.

I have wanted You in the darkness of a prison,
Throughout life Yourself I have sought;
Your smile, sweet and bright, heaven's nectar heaped,
It will dispel all sorts of gloominess.

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The love is not enough

(1925)  Tomar parashe pathar gale jay

At Your touch a stone gets overcome with emotion.
So this heart of mine, will it not melt?
Upon Your delight, the world grows intoxicated;
Away go the hard times and darkness dense.

All I want is that You grant Your contact please.
I won't take anything more; rather, You take me.
To give my sense of "I", Your refuge to assume,
My eyes, in profusion have they wept.

Go and do what You wish; not a thing do I speak.
Devise what You contrive; nothing do I think.
Just keep me in mind, look on with eyes of compassion;
Your thread of affection, kindly never rend.

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Deeper and deeper still

(1924)  Amay jadi bhalo na baso

If You don't hold me dear,
Yourself I will not forget;
I will go on calling.
You're the colleague everlasting;
On just Your assurance,
Yourself I will not forget.

Upon the sky remote, I will go floating;
To love's pollen I will give a scattering.
I will carry, up to throat filling,
Song's exquisite elegance.

To the cadence in each mode of music;
On the strings of a viina, in their jangle;
In the sweet rise-and-fall of the heart dormant,
With You attainment happens.

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The ride of my life

(1923)  Amay niye calle tumi

You departed, taking me
To someplace unknown, to someplace unknown.
Why does my boat that is tugged downstream
Upstream want to go?

Buying-and-selling having finished,
Give-and-take accounts having settled,
Your boat will get rowed
To a fair Arcadia.

When the high tide had come in,
No oarsman or tillerman had there been;
Now at twilight I am ready and equipped,
Rescued, upon You reliant.

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And still I get lost

(1922)  Tumi kabe asbe bale

Oh You, having said You'll return a long time back,
Hours and days I am counting ever since.
Shedding tears on Your arrival path,
Thereby do I keep bathing it.

Age after age, they pass away;
Many a memory fills me with pain.
Many hopes like blooms to fall are made,
Yet unperturbed at my cherished goal I gaze.

One block of time fades into another;
The outer world moves within.
Filled up with the flavor of Your liila,
Dumbstruck, myself I'm defeated.

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You tailor my clothing

(1921)  Jiivane amar he rupakar

Into my life, hey Couturier,
Won't You enter, won't You enter?
Always bearing my load, days will transpire;
And the trip, won't there be an end to it?

Daily the sun rises, and it will decline;
There's no variety in what is realized.
Food and sleep carry on in the same style;
Any stop or pause, it does not persist.

Hey the Ever-New, You convey novelty;
To my life You contribute tendency.
And Your song You provide along the journey
To complete an exploration.

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I must go home

(1920)  Niil se sarovarer tiire

At the edge of that blue mere
There had been one champak arbor.
On the water a red lily, it had bloomed,
While I'd sat inside the garden.

Flights of geese are on the wing,
Having crossed lands far and near.
To which cozy nest left empty
Was every return?

In a deep recess of human psyche,
That nest invites secretly:
"Please come back, mind appeased;
It's been twilight time enough!"

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