Sweet Adolescence
The essence, the essence,
Sweet adolescence!
Their glances, Their dances, His flute!
Oh how they wonder,
how love-play could plunder,
And make them all mad for its fruit!
Uncover, uncover,
The heart of each lover,
Their sweet holding hands in the glade!
Praising the trees, the birds and the bees,
And stopping to swing in the shade!
The essence, uncover,
The sweetness, the lover,
The tears that roll from Her eyes!
Like lotus born dew-drops,
A freshness so new, stops
Her choked up voice with sighs!
Oh blissful, oh blissful
Their sweet loving tryst, full
Of joking and teasing words
Of gestures and winks
And honey wine drinks
And love-argumentative birds!
Blue-Hue Lover True
Oh You of hue of blue!
Oh sweet lover, true!
Oh You whose smile is sweet,
May I serve Your lotus feet?
May I ever taste that relish
As You and Radha embellish
Your pastimes in the groves
Your hearts like treasure troves?
Oh You of hue of gold,
Increasing a million fold!
Oh You whose heart is sold
To the lover, whom You scold...
Whose lips are sweetly smiling
In sarcasm, while compiling
An army of witty phrases
To take love through all its phases...
Whose sighing makes You stutter
Whose heart's as soft as butter..
Melting in anticipation
Of Your lover's separation...
Oh You whose heart of valor
Gives the golden lotus, pallor
Though Her chastity is unshakable
You break the bond, unbreakable!
Oh sweet lovers, when You're seen
Your blue-gold lustre... turns to green
The wondrous forest glade
As You rest within its shade!
May I one day see Your faces
Overwhelmed with love, in places
Where poetic parrots prattle
And Your friends are doe-eyed cattle!
WHERE?
Where is the creeper?
Where is the tree?
Locked in embrace?
Where can they be?
Where did the great dancer,
suddenly go?
Whose flute song once melted
and made the stones flow?
Where are the gopis
Whose large lotus eyes
Saturate hearts with
the rain of their cries?
Where are the sakhas
Whose laughter and mirth
And reckless wrestles
Once massaged the earth?
The forest of Vraja,
Once knew their faces
Like millions of moons
Brightening millions of places.
Where are the peacocks
With love-choked cries,
Whose dances once gladdened
The sweet couple's eyes?
Where are the gopas,
Where are the glades
The kundas, the kunjas
For love escapades?
Great bhaktas still
See you all, in their hearts
But I am not great
In such loving arts.
I am truly bereft
Unlike them...
When You left...
I have never once tasted
Your love, I am wasted...
But Your love alone
Will give me a chance...
Upon this lost soul
Please cast Your kind glance.
Hopeless Aspirations
My dear sweet Krsna, I offer this day
To You, each thought, in every way
May I remember You, minute to minute
With every thought, may You be in it!
My dearest Radha, Your sidelong glance,
Upon my broken form, may it dance!
So I think of You, minute to minute
Always Your service, may I be in it!
My cherished love objects, so full of kindness,
Cure my eyes, distressed by blindness,
Unable to see You, what is the use,
Of seeing illusion, 'tis but a ruse!
My cherished love objects, please look my way
Cherishing hope, I humbly pray,
Oh the pathway of my eyes, be in it,
Moment to moment, minute to minute!
Oh Krsna, when Radha was rightfully furious
That Your behavior was truthfully- spurious,
You begged at Her feet... again and again...
Hoping that She would notice Your pain....
You told Her that You can't live without Her,
That of Kindness and Mercy, no one could doubt Her,
How could She not even look at Your head,
Prostrated upon the path She would tread?
In desperation, Your appeals all ignored,
Ever forgetting that You are the Lord,
You humbly beg Her devoted maidservant,
To place before Her, Your appeal- so fervent.
With tears in her eyes, that dasi approached
Manini Swamini, with words of reproach,
Pitifully telling of Krsna's plight,
That He staggers around like a madman tonight...
That he utters Your name... stutters Your name...
Rolls on the ground... in utmost shame...
Without seeing You, He has no sight,
Blinded by love, He spends this night...
Seeing Her maidservant, choked up with feeling,
With tears in her eyes, and on the ground kneeling,
Soft hearted Radha could no longer bear it,
And all of Her anger, could no longer spare it.
With the end of her sari, She wiped her eyes,
In shaking voice, She began to chastise
Trying to punish Him with utmost scathing,
While He delighted in this scornful bathing,..
A little poem for big heroes, and also something to mediate on for people who abused children traumatically and are now regarded as great devotees.
Innocence's Inner Sense
They say I should forgive you,
and that all should be forgotten,
If only I could- release inside,
That stench, so rare and rotten!
If Krsna gives forgetfulness...
Why not, then, to me?
Why can't He let me start afresh?
Why can't He set me free?
The scenes return like phantoms,
- flitting back to haunt me,
It sometimes feels- I'm there again,
helpless, as you taunt me.
You sing, you “chant”, you dance, you rant,
“A great devotee”, reckoned...
As if the past were just a blast,
and over in a second....
Actions come and go like dreams,
but their reactions stay,
A seed of rot, inside you,
that will never go away.
Krsna says that He is Time,
your future, and your past,
Durvas did not get over Him,
His chakra, coming fast.
You took nothing real from me-
Though they say you cost my innocence,
I only gained from all that pain,
I never lost my inner-sense...
If Krsna gives forgetfulness,
while giving none to me,
If the past is still so raw and real,
then it could only be...
He doesn't forget
and He won't forgive
what you once did to me...
It is said that when Radha and Krsna meet in the forest, the glow from Her golden complexion mixes with the glow from His sapphiric complexion, turning the whole forest green. So that's why the forest is very attractive when it appears green- it's the glow from Radha and Krsna, meeting together.
When the winter of their separation arrives, Krsna leaves and the blue glow departs, leaving Radha looking for Him in the forest, with the leaves showing only Her golden hue, with also some redness, feeling Her fever of separation, and then falling down out of sympathy for Her condition.
They will stay like that, until Radha and Krsna meet again, and celebrate their blue-gold complexions combining again with green shoots and brilliant fragrant blossoms.
If you go down to the woods today,
You're in for a big surprise
Muralidhara playing His flute today,
Enchanting them all with His eyes!
Enchanting them all with His sweetness of form,
His glances, His dances, His play!
His joking, evoking their laughter and smiles,
His cunning, His running away!
Their desperation,
Their calling aloud
Their hopeless lament
That they were too proud...
His coming back
More lovely than Ever!
Dancing around
In the Forest, forever.
When all is lost
And the heart is tossed
In agony, turn
And for Him, yearn...
Eons of sadness
His smiles destroy
With all of Their kindness-
Our greatest joy!
Hi smiles are sweetness,
Sly and coy,
Just love Him dearly
The cowherd boy!
His eyes are cunning,
In Their glance,
His form is stunning,
In its dance,
The cows are running,
In a trance,
To love Him dearly,
At every chance.
His words are clever-
Astonishing!
Her words are ever-
Admonishing!
When waves of sweetness
Upon Them bring,
Just love Them dearly,
And of Them, sing!
His gait is dashing
In its grace!
Emotions flashing
On His face!
Or sometimes thrashing
For Her embrace
To love Him dearly
In every place!
In the forest,
By creepers, swathed,
By the river,
In moonlight, bathed,
With waves of sweetness,
Full of joy,
They love Him dearly,
Their cowherd boy!
"If ignorance is bliss, then
It's folly to be wise!"
And so He hides His Godhood from
Their loving, lotus eyes!
They look at Him through tears...
They cannot look away...
A charming little boy who gets
More charming every day!
The cowherd boys all mock Him,
Claiming they are faster,
Knock Him down and wrestle Him,
The Universe's Master!
The gopis all defeat Him, with
The movements of their eyes,
In love-filled blissful kunjas, where
It's folly to be wise!
In dharma, they are all condemned
They know it to be true,
Forsaking all, they take the call
For pastimes, ever-new!
A Plea For the Protection of Innocents in ISKCON
So much pain, so much pain
So much innocence, lost!
For their gratification
No estimation, your cost!
How did you survive?
You hung together, clung together,
Or alone, you numbed the pain
Which seemed to last forever.
A philosophy, distorted
To excuse the perpetrator,
"It's your karma", "Be forgiving"
"Don't see the faults, or be a hater!"
"Just be tolerant, just like a tree!"
"Everything happens, by Krsna's will"
Yet when His devotees are put in trouble,
He is ready, with claws, to kill!
Though Arjuna was forgiving,
A higher factor was at play,
That when devotees are put in trouble,
It's simply cowardice to turn away!
Our loving master, Prabhupada,
Defined "forgiveness"..thus...
To forgive those small transgressions
Made only against us!
For all others, all our brothers
All our sisters, however small,
To protect them, and never neglect them,
We give our all, for 'tis our call.
Prayer to Prabhupada's Lotus Feet
Those feet performed many a feat..
Walking along a New York street...
Gathering hippies and making them happies...
Those lotus feet, they can't be beat!
Those feet performed many a feat-
Dancing to the mrdanga beat
In ecstasy, show us how
To love Lord Krsna, here and now!
Those feet performed many a feat
Leading Lord Jagannatha down the street-
To tumultuous kirtan, all over the world
As Caitanya's victory flag unfurled.
Those feet will perform the greatest feat
When following them, we reach the sweet..
And ever fresh, dearmost Friend
who loves us deeply, and without end.
Where are you, where are you
Devotee friend?
I pray to Krsna,
That you will mend,
Cos when we Humptys, all on the wall, fall
Not all the King's horses and all the King's men-
But Krsna can put us together again.
Where are you, where are you
Devotee friend?
Krsna's test
May seem never to end
When life gets tough
And you can't pretend
You're doing well,
Just don't ever let
Yourself forget
That He is your friend!
Where are you, where are you
Devotee friend?
I wish that our friendship
Will never end!
If troubles assail you
As troubles do,
Never forget
They are our troubles too
And never forget
We are here, with you!
We rely on Radha, and calling out to Her, through Her holy name. When I first heard there were resolutions being passed in ISKCON limiting the chanting of Her name, I wrote this poem to Radha:
Oh dear Radha,
I call upon Your name
And with whatever resolution passed
I hope I'll do the same...
Oh dear Mother
For a long time I've been lost
On paths of deepest darkness
Till Your loving name, I crossed
Universes took birth and died
And Brahmas came and went
Without Your loving lovely glance
It was misery, ill-spent.
Scorched by maya's mischief
A poison that was sweet,
We lay our charred and broken forms
Upon Your Lotus Feet.
Your smiling Diety says it all
Your mercy can't be bound
But those who call upon Your Name
With love and faith, it's found
Not by by resolutions
Nor by Brahma's dissolutions
Boundless mercy has no bounds
We shun it, in confusion.
Our only hope- to You, we call
Please help us out,
Please break our fall.
No Matter!
( A Prayer for Facebook Sanga)
No matter what we say or do-
Paste, Copy or Delete,
We only want to use this all
To reach Your Lotus Feet!
No matter what he or she
Wrote about, or thought,
It was over about- reaching You,
That we became distraught!
No matter on this forum,
No *matter" may there be,
No mater-ial motives in-
But only love for Thee!
No matter our opinions,
May we never be neglectful,
Of Vaisnava's tender feelings,
May we always be respectful!
Dear Krsna, You're within our hearts,
So when we are confused,
Enlighten our discussions,
May they never be abused!
Dear Krsna, we give You, all
Our thoughts, our dreams, hoping
To see Your sweet smile shining through
The darkness, enveloping.
Self Deception
I have my guru, he's enough,
I don't need to read this kind of stuff!
I do my service, I'm in good standing,
I'm happy with my understanding.
Who I am in the lila, I have no clue,
Don't tell me what I have to do!
I'm a mother of four, how could I have time?
I'm a simple devotee, this is too sublime!
Just by serving in ISKCON, you're guaranteed
To go to Krsna, there is no need
To take the guidance of acaryas wise,
These guys are sahajiyas- in disguise!
All I wannabe is
a Prabhupadanuga!
That's the same anyway
As raganuga,
This is all just
"Gopi bhava stuff"
I have my guru, I have enough,
Everything prabhu is in Krsna hands
When He's ready, I'll understand,
Besides this world is but a dream,
(Row, row your boat, down by the stream...)
And we're really in Goloka, we fell asleep
Gopas and gopis, In Maya's keep.
Dreaming we fell, and entered hell
But we're only here for a tiny spell...
Nitya is not really nitya at all
For those who believe that the jiva falls...
Time, I am!
Krsna, You say to us
Kalo 'smi!
But You sometimes pass so slowly!
With restless lazy glances at
This servant of Yours, so lowly!
Beloved, You say to us
Kalo 'smi!
As You gently heal all ills.
Drawing us in, assuredly
Sometimes against our wills.
Oh Sweet One, You say to us
Kalo 'smi!
Taking away it all-
Our strength, our power to think or do
Till helplessly, we fall.
Krsna, You say..
Kalo 'smi
And the ticking of the clock...
Wearing away our resistance to You
Like water, on a rock.
Puspanjali
May all that I do
All the debt I incur
Be in the service
Of Your lotus feet, Sir!
May You place those treasures
Where I can serve them-
In my heart, a place
Though I do not deserve them.
May I serve You with jasmine
Fragrant and sweet
Suitable for placing
At Your lotus feet.
May I serve You with campak
Golden in hue,
Like the face of Your dear One
Devoted to You.
Puspanjali 2
May each of these flowers
Form a soft seat
Suitable for placing
At Your Lotus feet
Not stony paths,
Whose ways are artless
Attractive to only
Those who are heartless!
Each of the petals
Were formed out of love
By a flower who saw You
Walking above
And begged the contact
Of Your lotus feet
Thinking her petals
A suitable seat!
May each of these flowers
Gold, blue and red,
Form a flower bed
Where You rest Your soft head,
Perfumed with care
And placed in Your hair
Then scattered around
Here and there...
The sakhis see You
In Their whorl of hearts
Their ornaments, flowers
Their glances, darts
They fashion from flowers
Sweet things for Your ears
With shapes made from petals
And eyes full of tears.
With voices choked
And hearts yoked
They sighed, they joked
When feelings evoked
Overwhelmed,
They cry and shiver
As the lotuses blossom
On Prema's river.
Heart's Appeal
Oh Mukunda, how could You give up these beauties?
Simply on the plea of dharmic duties?
When you told them to go, they looked at You tearfully
Through large lotus eyes, that glanced about fearfully.
One who is kind (as You're famous for)
Will always let in those who knock at His door!
Their hunger appeasing, their thirst he will slake
We think, Sir, You're making a massive mistake!
You are the Lord of the cows- and the senses
But their senses know no other defenses-
Running to You, how could You eschew
Those who know no other shelter but You!
How could You leave them- all alone?
Is Your heart only made of stone?
They should not obey a command that is cruel
In a place where love is the only rule!
Abandoning risk, love ruled the day
And Sri Krsna whisked them all away,
The clouds rained tears, and then turned white
Seeing them dance in that loveliest night.
Flute song...
-Belong!
Ever after...
Hear their laughter!
Cool moon...
Sakhis swoon!
When light is dim
They go to Him!
In cloudy cape,
You will escape...
Or in white,
In soft moonlight!
Peacock feather...
They wonder whether
They are dreaming
In nectar, streaming.
Dance Master
Dancing faster!
To feel His touch...
They tremble much!
Hear the beat...
Of dancing feet!
Each heart races,
For His embraces!
Song of flute...
The birds are mute...
The stones all melt,
With longing, felt...
Fly Into my thoughts!
Buzz away the darkness,
With all Your loving sports!
Oh bumblebee, bumblebee
Fly into my mind!
Where in its dark entanglement,
Your smiling face I'll find!
Oh bumblebee, bumblebee
Fly into my heart!
And melt its stone-like state, until
It shatters all apart!
Oh bumblebee, bumblebee
Don't leave me all alone!
When I have nothing else to love
Then make me all Your own.
Through Your mercy, God, we see!
Simply not by eating grain,
We'll see His feet, enormous gain!
At Your advent, the Gaura moon,
Is almost full, in blissful swoon,
Or almost wasting all away,
We feel your anguish, for which we pray.
Ekadasi, Ekadasi,
Keep us not in separation,
Never for bhukti,
Or the hell of mukti,
Only for bhakti,
Our preparation.
Don't split my heart in two!
May You be my only care,
With All my love for You!
I have so many different loves
Of ragas, deep and dense,
But I have not yet seen Your face,
With softness, sweet and tense!
I cannot live with heart a-broken
By attachments pulled apart
Please pull me all together
By appearing in my heart!
Eons of sadness
His smiles destroy
With all of Their kindness-
Our greatest joy!
Hi smiles are sweetness,
Sly and coy,
Just love Him dearly
The cowherd boy!
His eyes are cunning,
In Their glance,
His form is stunning,
In its dance,
The cows are running,
In a trance,
To love Him dearly,
At every chance.
His words are clever-
Astonishing!
Her words are ever-
Admonishing!
When waves of sweetness
Upon Them bring,
Just love Them dearly,
And of Them, sing!
His gait is dashing
In its grace!
Emotions flashing
On His face!
Or sometimes thrashing
For Her embrace
To love Him dearly
In every place!
In the forest,
By creepers, swathed,
By the river,
In moonlight, bathed,
With waves of sweetness,
Full of joy,
They love Him dearly,
Their cowherd boy!
It's You that I want
It's You that I need
Only for You, Krsna
Let me have greed!
For chanting, for hearing
For dancing, for smearing
The dust from Your feet, Krsna
Let me have greed!
Offending Your dear ones
Kept me away,
Now, many a tear runs
Ruing that day!
If only Time could-
Be turned back, I
Would undo what I did
Now I only can cry!
So far away, so far away
I have kept You, Krsna
So far away!
Still, Your sweet grace
As golden Gauranga,
Despite my disgrace,
Will give me Your sanga!
Taking my mind
As Your own, Your possession
Making it full of
Loving obsession!
To love Her, to serve Her
Never to swerve, Her
Sweet lotus feet
I will serve in great fervor!
In dreaming, in waking
In waking, forsaking
All other thoughts
But for You, to be aching...
You find me... leave me...
In loving sadness...
Rolling on the ground
In loving madness!
Till, by Your sweet grace
And through Your sweet name
I'll see Your sweet face
And dance without shame...
Needless to say,
I am greed-less, but pray
To just taste once
this loving greed
And from all my
anarthas be freed!
To that end... I ask, I pray
To whoever is reading this,
on this day
Be my friend,
so He will be pleased
Be kind to me,
and I may be released.
By Chance, a Chaunce
By chance, a chaunce
Just jumped in my pot
There was no cook
For the curry we got.
The cook was invented
A long time ago
To explain the mysteries
That we now know.
Just another
Sad superstition
Like many another
Mad apparition!
By chance, a watch
Just came to be...
And here we are
Both you and me!
I can prove to you...
That my writing what's next
Is the laws of physics
Creating the text!
There's no intelligence
Behind my sweet rhyme
Left long enough, it
Can be caused by Time
It's true I deserve
No PhD
But my dear Dr Hawking,
That's too true for thee!
If intelligence does not
With matter combine
To produce what we see
Then renounce your degree!
Physics produced it,
A child of chance
Thrust in the meaningless
Cosmic Dance...
Oh mind! Think of...
Their sweet Bhauma lila
And nectar, drink of!
Oh eyes! Yearn to see...
Without foolish blinking!
Their sweet Bhauma lila
Its sweet nectar drinking!
Oh fool! Oh fool!
Why you forget?
With your foolish desires
You fuss and you fret!
Thousands of boons
Are of no use to me
May they all go away
And instead may I see..
Enthralled in their lila
Sweet Radha Govinda!
In the moonlit groves
In the forest of Vrinda!
Upon Her waves, with fragrant showers
Of cooling mist, that Malay sandal kissed
Making perfect, Your loving tryst.
Then Madhava, with loving thanks
Begins to dance upon your banks
With lovely Radha, Your sakhis surround You
Arm in arm, they then dance around You.
They then join hands, a circle creating
With You in the middle, dancing, rotating
Swooping down low, just to amaze them,
They do the same, while their maidservants praise them.
Bending backwards to the ground
Still rotating round and round
Or dancing even upside down
In oceans of bliss, their maidservants drown...
