Adoration and Prayer

Adoration and Prayer

[1]

(Dohā)

Two cakora birds and two moons; two bees and two lotuses. Two cātaka birds and two beloved clouds; two fish and two waters. Both are the supporting abode of love, and both are its cherished object. Both are lover and beloved; each finds happiness in the Other's happiness. Absorbed in savoring divine līlā, They are Mahābhāva and Rasarāja. They bestow rasa upon one another, arranging wondrous and beautiful play. They eternally and simultaneously possess infinite, mutually contrary qualities. Beyond speech and profoundly inconceivable, They are glorious and filled with beauty. Again and again I bow to the feet of Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava. The one Reality assumes two bodies, an eternal, boundless ocean of rasa.

[2]

(Dohā)

Her beautiful limbs churn the mind of Him who churns the mind of Cupid. The bees of Śyāma's eyes forever drink the nectar of Her lotus face. His nose forever longs for the fragrance of Her limbs. His body forever yearns to touch Her honey-filled form. His ears forever long to hear Her words, filled with honey and rasa. Hari remains eager for them, abandoning every thought of dignity.

Continuation of [2]

Hari's tongue grows intensely restless to taste the honeyed rasa of Her sweet remnants, forsaking even the bounds of revealed scripture that are so difficult to relinquish. Millions upon millions of suns and moons are abashed when they behold the radiance of Her nails. I bow to those pure lotus feet of Rādhā, the very source of bliss.

[3]

(Tune: Lāvanī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

The nectar-ocean of Her pure beauty grows forever fresh. Her honeyed sweetness fills it continually with ever-new rasa. Within Her, new and incomparable devotional moods arise without end. Matchless waves surge ever anew, never coming to rest. Even Bhagavān Himself immerses there and is never satisfied. Though He is rasa embodied, He drinks Her rasa like one overcome with longing. She remains wholly unaware of the joy of Her own form and noble qualities. She has not the least pride in Her pure beauty or honeyed sweetness. She always regards Herself as lowly and impure in every way. She goes on giving, while considering it utterly base to take for Herself. Such is Śyāma's beloved: virtuous, magnanimous, and the embodiment of renunciation. Again and again I bow to the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā.

[4]

(Rāga Kedāra; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Rare, supremely self-renouncing, and pure, She is the great ideal and embodiment of divine love. Śrī Rādhā is Mahābhāva embodied, and Bhagavān is governed by Her love. She has not the slightest desire for Her own happiness, nor any delusion, attachment, intoxication, or pride. Her life is wholly offered at Her beloved's feet, and all the world's opposing conditions are alike to Her. She never considers the acceptance or rejection of liberation or bondage, detachment or enjoyment. Her beloved's happiness alone inspires Her perpetually in every action. Each particle of dust from the feet of the supremely pure and love-filled Śrī Rādhā is a mine of rasa. May She accept the guileless salutation of this insignificant person.

[5]

(Dohā)

Again and again I bow to the feet of Śrī Rādhārānī. By a sidelong glance of grace from Her, Nandakumāra is delighted. At the touch of the dust of Her feet, Śyāma loses all outward awareness. I bow to those particles of foot-dust, mines of sweet rasa. For the sight of Her feet, Ghanaśyāma remains forever restless. May my mind dwell at those feet through all eight watches of the day. The bee-like eyes of Mohana hover around those lotus feet. My mind forever longs to behold them. At the mere sound of the syllable "Rā," Mohana is overwhelmed. May that name, "Rādhā," dwell forever within my mind.

[6]

(Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Kaharvā)

I bow to Śrī Rādhā's feet, pure, supremely generous, dispellers of fear, grief, and ignorance, and bestowers of loving devotion.

[7]

(Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Again and again I entreat the feet of Śrī Rādhārānī: destroy the craving for sense objects and awaken divine love within me. Your compassion is immeasurable, unceasing, unfathomable, and boundless. Generous and causeless, it forever rains upon me. Grant me direct experience at once, so that every impurity may disappear and Nandakumāra, the condensed form of supreme bliss, may be pleased with me. May I lie forever beneath Your feet, secured within the court of love. May I receive love and the essential bliss of the lotus feet of You both.

[8]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

I bow to Rādhā's immaculate lotus feet, the abode of every joy, for whose touch Śyāma remains forever filled with longing. Glory to the mistress of Śyāma, the supremely pure mine of rasa. At Her feet Mādhava, the treasure of love, offers Himself again and again.

[9]

(Rāga Māṇḍ; Tāla: Kaharvā)

She is forever the rasa-filled essence of life for rasika Śyāma. I ceaselessly bow to the sacred dust of Her lotus feet. Glory to the Lady who sports in the bowers and dispels Śyāma's anguish. The mere shade of Her body instantly removes the fever of desire from His mind.

[10]

(Rāga Toḍī; Tīntāla)

I bow to the sacred dust of Rādhā's feet, so lovingly served by Śyāma, supremely holy, and destructive of the threefold afflictions. It is incomparable and supreme, its glory immeasurable, awakening longing in gods and sages. It readily unites one with the rare, all-attractive, rasika Kṛṣṇa, the concentrated form of rasa.

[11]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Consider Lakṣmī's beautiful form, her sweet character and graciousness, and the blessed purity of her līlā and loving sweetness, born from her gentle nature. She dwells upon the breast of the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, forever immersed in an ocean of love, and gods and sages remain constantly engaged in her worship and service. Yet even that Lakṣmī, with all her beauty and virtues, cannot equal Rādhā. May Rādhā grant me the incomparable, supreme gift of the dust of Her lotus feet.

[12]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Śrī Hari forever sings His virtues before Śrī Rādhā, remaining ever greedy for Her rasa, though He is rasa embodied and its very mine. With a heart filled with love, He forever hears, reflects upon, and meditates on Her. The moment He hears the name "Rādhā," He forgets all awareness of His body. The bees of His eyes perpetually drink honey from Her sweet lotus face. Beholding the gentle smile upon Her lips, He remains delighted and thrilled with ecstasy. She is Hari's supreme Self and His eternal life-breath. Forgetting Himself, Bhagavān remains forever under Her sway. May naturally compassionate Rādhikā bestow Her great mercy and forever grant this fallen person the dust of Her feet.

[13]

(Rāga Mālakośa; Tīntāla)

O mistress, cherished daughter of Vṛṣabhānu! Beloved of Kṛṣṇa, whose life is centered wholly in Kṛṣṇa, O Kṛṣṇā, daughter of Kīrtidā! Eternal sovereign of the bowers and the rāsa dance, filled with rasa and its very foundation, supreme rasika who attracts Rasarāja, flowing current of radiant rasa! Beloved of Hari, His hlādinī potency, and the root and life of Hari's līlā, keep me night and day as dust beneath Your sacred feet.

[14]

(Dohā)

Śrī Rādhā, now grant me loving attachment to the dust of Your feet, so that dispassion may arise toward enjoyment both here and hereafter. May even the spell of liberation be dispelled and every disease of worldly existence be cut away. May my bond with the feet of You both remain forever.

Continuation of [14]

Whatever You wish, O Rādhā-Mādhava, do with me. May the natural inclination of Your hearts become my only desire. If there is any work of service suited to me, whether small or great, grant it to me and extend Your grace. May I forever lie beneath Your feet and touch their dust. Serving as the maid who wipes Your feet, may I forget the entire moving and unmoving world.

[15]

(Rāga Māṇḍ; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Bestow Your grace, Śrī Rādhikā; again and again I entreat You. May pure and sweet remembrance, auspicious and filled with essential joy, remain within me. May reverence increase continually and faith grow stronger each day. May every breath that remains in this life now be offered without reserve.

[16]

(Rāga Khamāja; Tīntāla)

O compassionate, supremely generous mistress, accept me as the servant of the servant of Your foot-maid! Let me sweep forever every thorn and fallen flower from the path to the bower. Each morning let me cleanse Your sacred courtyard and brush away every current of dust. Hidden from You both, let me watch Your exquisite play with Your beloved. May I gaze forever and receive some indication of service to perform. May my longing to serve Your feet increase endlessly and without bound. May every limb remain forever and irresistibly offered in service. May no other thirst ever awaken and no other thought arise. May not the least sense of "mine" remain, and may ego be reduced to ashes. May every action of mine accord only with the wish of Your heart. May Your happiness alone remain forever the support of my life.

[17]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tīntāla)

Rādhājū, let Your mercy flow upon me today. Grant me love for the dust of the feet of Your own beloved. At once remove every hope for and attachment to the poisonous rasa of sense objects. Quickly destroy every desire for worldly enjoyment or liberation. Grant me service as the servant of Your servant's servant. Keep me forever in the secluded bower as Your chosen sweeper.

[18]

(Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Condemnable and low, utterly fallen, we are slaves to sensory pleasure, dwelling night and day in the hellish ocean of sense objects. As a worm in hell foolishly takes delight in hell, so we lie in the hell of enjoyment and call it merriment. We have no conception of divine rasa and no feeling of renunciation. Our sorrowful minds forever delight in corrupt, tasteless, and empty rasa. O Rādhā, sovereign of the rāsa dance and complete abode of rasa! O greatly glorious One, boundless mine of Śyāma's happiness! You dispel sin and suffering and swiftly remove every calamity. You bestow supremely divine rasa, the pure fifth goal of human life. Though we are utterly unworthy and corrupt in understanding in every way, O naturally merciful One, purify these fallen people. Supremely generous Lady, grant us this boon now: may we receive the place of the maid of a mañjarī's maid.

[19]

(Rāga Vasanta; Tāla: Kaharvā)

O Rādhā, O beloved of Śyāma, we are exceedingly fallen, lowly souls. Our minds are attached to enjoyment, stained by desire, absorbed in illusion, and perpetually impure. Your rare court of rasa is supremely pure, divine, and made of spiritual consciousness. Even sages, seers, knowers, and yogīs possess no right of entry here. How, then, can fallen creatures such as we enter it? Crooked at heart, we have merely fashioned an attractive outward costume of a lover of God. Yet Rādhā, hear this deeply piteous cry, filled with helplessness: let us lie in one corner from which we may behold Your court of rasa. Or entrust us with the pure work of cleaning shoes and sweeping the floor. At the mere touch of its particles of dust, all our sins will surely be destroyed. Our hypocrisy will depart, and then we will receive the slightest particle of Your grace, through which even we will become fit to dwell in the realm of Your feet. Whatever we may be, O mistress, we are forever Your servants. Mercifully remove our faults and then grant us a dwelling beneath Your feet. O naturally compassionate lover of the lowly, bestow such a gift of affection that the bee of our life may be blessed by drinking honey from Your lotus feet.

[20]

(Dohā; Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Kaharvā)

O Rādhikā, mistress of Śyāma, bestow the gift of Your grace. May our ears forever hear the sweet flute and Your honey-filled voice. May the bees of our eyes forever drink the nectar of Your lotus feet. May every pure limb ceaselessly perform the highest service.

Continuation of [20]

May the tongue forever receive the rare remnants of food You have tasted. May speech continually savor the rasa of Your names and virtues. May the mind remain ceaselessly absorbed in You through all eight watches of the day. Remembering Your enchanting form, may every other memory disappear. May divine love for You increase every moment without end. May all personal desires be stilled and every concern for gain and preservation forgotten. May even the thought of enjoyment or liberation vanish as waves of love surge high. Sweet remembrance of Rādhā-Mādhava instantly shatters worldly existence.

[21]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Tīntāla)

Śrī Rādhā, beloved of Kṛṣṇa and source of every auspicious blessing, forever and unceasingly grant me the sacred dust of Your feet. May all the world's dualities disappear and every pain be destroyed. May my life both here and hereafter remain forever suited to Your service. O Goddess, by Your grace may Śrī Śyāma bestow His grace, and may the crown jewel of devotion arise for the lotus feet of You both. You two, Mahābhāva and Rasarāja, are the abode of compassion. Accept me as Your own and ceaselessly bestow immaculate rasa.

[22]

(Rāga Īmana; Tīntāla)

Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, the divine Couple, are Mahābhāva and Rasarāja. Show compassion to this lowly one and remain enthroned within my heart. Grant pure and exclusive love for Your lotus feet. May my service be directed to the Lord's happiness, and may this pure life be blessed.

[23]

(Rāga Bilāsa Toḍī; Tīntāla)

If one desires the grace of Rādhājū, body and mind should remain forever eager for the service of Rādhā's beloved. Rādhikā is the very root of Mādhava's happiness, so remain always under Her guidance. Ceaselessly follow the direct path of bringing happiness to Her. Keep your heart perpetually absorbed in serving the lotus feet of Rādhā. In this way, delight Śyāma through service to Rādhā that brings Him happiness. When Śyāma is pleased, receive the compassion of Queen Rādhikā and gain the sweet opportunity to serve the divine Couple in a secluded bower.

[24]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Though He is forever fanned by the fluttering hem formed by Rādhā's sidelong glances, an unbroken stream of perspiration still flows from His body. Though He dwells eternally within the supremely beautiful radiance of Rādhā's limbs, He remains forever agitated, His mind longing for ever-new play. Though He perpetually drinks the sweet nectar-rasa of Rādhā's gentle smile, Bhagavān Himself, eternally filled with rasa, remains forever unsatisfied. Though He sports ever anew and gracefully in the nectar-ocean of Rādhā's beauty, His heart is never filled; His boundless longing increases at every moment. Such is He whose life is centered in Rādhā, who is filled with and attached to Rādhā. May my devoted heart remain forever absorbed in His lotus feet.

[25]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Glory to the son of Vasudeva and Devakī! Glory to the cherished son of Yaśodā and Nanda! Glory to the destroyer of the hosts of demons, the soothing sandalwood of loving hearts! His graceful brows, sidelong glance, and lotus eyes shower rasa. His enchanting face shatters the pride of Cupid and draws the minds of sages and paramahaṃsas.

Continuation of [25]

Upon His crimson lips rests the flute, and His lovely, gentle, nectar-sweet smile steals all awareness. A tilaka adorns His brow, and His curling locks crush the pride of swarms of bees. He wears a necklace of guñjā berries, the shining Kaustubha, and a garland of fragrant flowers. Drinking again and again the intoxicating nectar of His beauty, all the people and maidens of Vraja are enchanted. Glory to the son of Vasudeva and Devakī! Glory to the cherished son of Yaśodā and Nanda! Glory to the destroyer of the hosts of demons! All glory to the soothing sandalwood of loving hearts!

[26]

(Rāga Kāliṅgaḍā; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Glory to the life of Rādhikā, Rādhā's companion, the concentrated consciousness filled with Rādhikā! Glory to Rādhā's treasure and very limb, Rādhā's life-breath and Rādhikā's heart! Glory to Rādhā's companion and lover, the exquisite thief of Rādhikā's heart! Glory to Him whose mind clings to Rādhikā, the captivating crown of Rādhā's heart! Glory to the fulfiller of Rādhā's heart, the Lord of Rādhikā and the One whom Rādhā worships! Glory to Him intent on pleasing Rādhā's heart, for whom Rādhā is both the means and the goal! Glory to the support of the lives of all gopīs, gopas, cowherd boys, and cattle! Glory to Govinda, delight of the gopīs, generous and complete Existence-Consciousness-Bliss!

[27]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

O complete Brahman! O supreme bliss! Eternal foundation of all! O Puruṣottama, supreme Lord, infallible and generous beyond compare! Lord of the universe, sustainer and all-pervading master of the universe, unborn and imperishable Bhagavān! Supreme Self and Self of all, purity itself, both knowledge and realized wisdom! O son of Vasudeva and Devakī, O Kṛṣṇa, beloved child of Yaśodā and Nanda! Lord of the Yadus, Vraja, and the cows; lifter of Govardhana; O Gopāla!

Continuation of [27]

You are my sole refuge, and You alone are the essence of happiness. You are my one and only all; You alone give living form to my life. How great and exalted You are, how rare, divine, and glorious! Yet, O wise Lord, forgetting all Your divinity, You embraced insignificant me.

[28]

(Rāga Māṇḍ; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Condensed Existence and Consciousness, utterly complete, supreme love and bliss; Lord of the universe, son of Vasudeva, Govinda, delight of Nanda. Glory to Hari, son of Yaśodā and foremost son of Devakī, the sun for the lotus of Rādhā's heart, the enchanting bee of sweetness. May speech be devoted to singing His qualities, and the ears absorbed in hearing them. May the mind remain intent on contemplating His beautiful form, and the body subject to His service. May body, mind, and intellect remain wholly offered to Him, devoted to Him alone. Attaining their natural fulfillment, may my life become blessed.

[29]

(Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Kaharvā)

O Mādhava, grant me constant contemplation of Your feet, which destroy every affliction and are a sweet, pure mine of ultimate happiness. Abandoning all else, may I worship You always with pure delight throughout the eight watches of the day. May I remain continually silent and repeat Your sweetest name. May my mind and senses experience Your touch at every moment. May worldly honor, pride, possessiveness, elation, and resentment disappear. You alone are my love, understanding, and destination; may these become boundless and exclusive. May my heart, filled with feeling and joined to You, make my life blessed.

[30]

(Rāga Jaṅgalā; Tāla: Kaharvā)

O Mādhava, make me too Your sakhī and keep me by Your side. I shall delight You greatly, inventing new ways each day. I shall dance and sing and make a joyous commotion. Laughing, I shall make You laugh by displaying ever-new charms. With mineral designs, flowers, and leaves I shall richly adorn every sweet limb of Yours, leaving all the others amazed at the sight. I shall always perform the service that pleases Your heart, my own heart filled with zeal and joy. At the honey-sweet shock of bliss, every imagined sorrow will shatter. I shall offer You sweet rasa while remaining forever unattached myself. The thought of taking anything from You will never arise. May Your love fill my heart and send up endless waves. Beyond this I shall never trouble You by asking for anything.

[31]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the transcendent embodiment of rasa, and Rādhā, the embodiment of mahābhāva, bestow pure love; show immense compassion and remove every obstacle. May true renunciation arise, and may life be offered at Your holy feet. May desire for the world's enjoyments vanish, and may everything be offered naturally. May all my possessive love now become fixed upon the divine Couple's form. May exclusive attachment and pure affection arise, and may the heavy darkness of delusion and weariness disappear.

[32]

(Dohā)

I bow to the two pure lotus feet of Him whose head is adorned with a peacock feather, the radiant foundation of rasa and support of all the worlds. I bow to Rādhā's lotus feet, the embodiment of mahābhāva, the supremely pure mine of love, great and worshiped even by Her Beloved.

[33]

(Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Again and again I bow to Rādhā and Mādhava's lotus feet. Through causeless grace I have received this supremely auspicious opportunity. I am utterly poor and helpless, my understanding impure, forever a slave to sense objects. With what face can this fallen one offer a plea, though his heart brims with joy? Both of You are naturally friends of the lowly, compassionate without cause. Remember Your renown as removers of distress and make me blessed. Remove every difficult obstacle and make me fit to belong to You. Grant me the joyous fortune of serving the dust of Your feet. A beggar for love, I have come and fallen at Your door. O boon-giving divine Couple, bestow Your own pure love upon me. The divine Couple, Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, remove the whole burden of sorrow. Come, everyone, and lovingly proclaim Their victory!

[34]

(Rāga Paraj; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Śrī Rādhā and Mādhava, the divine Couple, are mahābhāva and the sovereign of rasa embodied. They are the supremely worshipful Deities of pure lovers, ever-new and incomparable. Infinitely more enchanting than Cupid, Their form captivates the minds of sages and yogīs. May the Lord of the worlds and sovereign of the gods dwell forever in the temple of my heart.

[35]

(Rāga Māṇḍ; Tāla: Kaharvā)

I bow to the lotus feet of the divine Couple, Rādhā and Mādhava. May They dwell forever in my heart, which surges with joy. Quickly remove every crooked thought and grant me noble understanding, so that my attention may remain fixed each day upon Your lotus feet.

Continuation of [35]

O Rādhā and Mādhava, accept me as Your servant. Abandoning all else, may I serve You always, knowing this to be the essence of every essence. O Rādhā and Mādhava, recognize this witless one as Your own. Through Your natural grace, keep me forever absorbed in Your service. O Rādhā and Mādhava, fill the whole of my life. May this joy make me blossom as I wander, forgetful of morning and evening. May I behold Your form forever in body, mind, and understanding. Absorbed in You, may I always serve the utterly incomparable dust of Your feet. May I sink into the boundless ocean of loving rasa at Rādhā and Mādhava's feet and never emerge again into the external world.

[36]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

The cherished Girl and Boy are our very life, She who sports in the rāsa and He who delights in it, a golden creeper entwined around a tamāla tree. Rādhikā is filled with the rasa of mahābhāva, and dark Śyāma is the connoisseur and sovereign of rasa. In every limb abides incomparable, immeasurable sweetness of form and qualities. Each is a cātaka bird longing for the other, each the beloved rain cloud; each is a bee and the other a lotus. Both are lover and beloved, and each touches the other's beautiful body. Śyāmā and Śyāma are my supremely worshipful, pure all-in-all. May I forever serve Their enchanting lotus feet.

[37]

(Rāga Sāraṅga; Tāla: Rūpaka)

I bow to the sweet, cherished Girl and Boy, the limitless and vast, divine and incomparable ocean of the rasa of beauty. His body is a dark cloud, the flute rests gracefully in His hand, and a tender smile adorns His lips. A crown and peacock feather shine upon His head, and His lovely eyes are mines of rasa. She possesses eternal, peerless, inconceivable qualities and is an enchanting treasury of beauty. Rādhā's form is the glorious captor of Madanamohana's heart.

Continuation of [37]

A moonlike ornament shines upon Her head, Her eyes enchant, and a gentle smile rests upon Her face. Her hands are painted with henna, and Her body is adorned with divine ornaments and garments. In a beautiful forest graced by trees, creepers, tender leaves, flowers, and peacocks, Śyāma and Rādhā stand joyfully beneath a kadamba tree, the abode of bliss.

[38]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

May Bhagavān Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava naturally shower grace upon us and grant this auspicious boon, that we may reject every enjoyment. May we effortlessly renounce all enjoyments of this world and the next. May neither the delights of celestial realms nor the pure prospect of liberation entice us. May we remain a tiny mañjarī in a bower of Vraja, our very being made of service, an utterly insignificant and lowly maidservant of the sakhīs' own maidservants. May the dust of those sakhīs and mañjarīs' feet forever fall upon us, fulfilling our lives and continually making us fit for service.

[39]

(Rāga Māṇḍ; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Śrī Rādhikā steals the treasure of Mohana's heart, bestows happiness beyond compare, is composed of bhāva, and is the very form of the ocean of bliss. Her incomparable, glorious form captivates the hearts of sages and seers. She is rasa itself within the ocean of Kṛṣṇa-rasa, an abode of transcendent joy. I am poor and helpless, my understanding impure, mounted upon a false path, a deluded fool forever deeply attached to painful enjoyments. O divine Couple, treasury of grace, show me Your generous compassion. May I continually receive the privilege of serving the dust of Your feet.

[40]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Today I offer this plaintive prayer at the feet of the divine Couple, Śyāmā and Śyāma. Listen, compassionate Lady and merciful Lord, embodiment of mahābhāva and sovereign of rasa! O moon of Gokula, beloved of the gopīs, dear to Rādhā, fountainhead of bliss, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss thirsting for the rasa of Her river of divine nectar! May I hear Your auspicious glory and daily sing Your names, fame, and qualities. Abandoning every pride, may I serve both pairs of lotus feet forever. O crown jewel of Kṛṣṇa's beloveds, filled with rasa; O rasa-filled Lord; O Śyāmā and Śyāma, may Your grace rain without cease upon this fallen soul. Remember Your own renown and always keep this wretch in Your refuge. May this worn body, life-breath, and mind never forget You even for a moment.

[41]

(Dohā)

Śrī Rādhā and Mādhava, the divine Couple, are a mine of divine form and qualities. May I ceaselessly sing those qualities, immersed in love. May I daily utter the names Rādhā and Govinda, sweetly and gently in a high voice while streams of rasa flow from my eyes. Show mercy to this fallen one and accept me. May I lie forever beneath Your feet, proclaiming Your victory. May I look upon no one else, and may no one else look upon me. May I forever behold only You two everywhere.

[42]

(Rāga Jaṅgalā; Tāla: Tīntāl)

O Rādhā and Mādhava, grant me a place at Your feet. Keep me as Your maidservant and bestow an opportunity to serve. I am utterly foolish and know nothing of the skill of service. Upon this lowly new maidservant, pour out two boundless oceans of love.

Continuation of [42]

The lovely dust of Your lotus feet will dispel all my ignorance. Awakened to knowledge, I shall become a radiant maidservant filled with rasa. Keeping before me the great ideal of Rādhā's sakhī-mañjarī, I shall follow in her footsteps and daily perform service in due order. I shall sweep the bower and clean Your footwear. Bringing a fragrant fan, I shall gently waft a pleasant breeze. Each day I shall behold the captivating smiles of You both. That alone will be my wage; that alone my spotless reward.

[43]

(Tune: Lāvanī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

O Śrī Rādhā and Mādhava, supremely generous Ones, hear this plea of mine. O purifying Lords, show boundless grace and give me a place at Your feet. May I forget the whole world and retain only the beloved memory of You. May I hear nothing of worldly affairs and listen only to Your conversations. May no awareness of enjoyments remain; may I see Your face everywhere, smiling ever so sweetly and daily producing immeasurable, otherworldly joy. May Your dear name, filled with sweet divine rasa, remain forever upon my tongue. May Your lovely image, a treasury of exquisite beauty, dwell within my mind. May I serve You with my body and with every sense in great delight. In the bower of service, may I especially clean Your slippers and spittoon. Becoming the lowliest personal attendant of Your feet, may I serve forever. May I remain absorbed in lovingly serving the pollen of the lotus feet of the divine Beloved and Her Beloved.

[44]

(Rāga Śivabhairava; Tāla: Tīntāl)

May the bee of my mind dwell forever at Rādhā and Mādhava's lotus feet. Renouncing every deception and pretense, may it remain intoxicated by ceaselessly drinking the nectar of rasa. May my tongue remain continually absorbed in the rasa of Your sweet names, līlās, and qualities. May my ears remain always intent on hearing those qualities and names, like fish immersed in water.

Continuation of [44]

May my eyes forever behold everywhere the glorious sweetness of Your form. May my sense of smell be blessed by daily receiving the enchanting fragrance of the Lord's body. May my sense of touch continually receive Their great and auspicious contact. O Bhagavān, naturally make my life forever sweet and filled with rasa in this way.

[45]

(Rāga Yaman; Tāla: Kaharvā)

O divine Couple, Śrī Rādhā and Mādhava, show immense grace, so that I may continually drink the nectarean rasa of love. May I remain even-minded amid opposites, and may every inequality disappear. May all my possessiveness rest forever only in Your lotus feet. Abandoning every perishable enjoyment, may my mind continually remember Your sweet and captivating names, form, and qualities. All glory to Śrī Rādhā! All glory to Mādhava, dark as a rain cloud! Glory to pure love, filled with surrender and the eternal abode of happiness!

[46]

(Tune: Lāvanī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

He is pure, eternal Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, forever liberated and supremely independent, yet He accepted the bondage of a cord around His belly and became dependent upon Yaśodā. In every drop of the immeasurable ocean of His being, boundless universes remain immersed. Who could cross that ocean and reach its far shore? No limit can ever be assigned to the limitless One. No end can be found to the eternal, infinite, complete mass of consciousness. He accepts desire, anger, greed, fear, weeping, and bondage, and makes them divine by taking them into His own nature. This is no imagination, sentimental fantasy, play of māyā, or transient pretense. It is the rasa-filled Lord's true tasting of the pure and sacred nectar of loving rasa.

Continuation of [46]

In Hari, who is mastered by pure love, mutually contrary qualities dwell together forever. That is why all His wondrous deeds are so extraordinary. Neither liberated knowers nor accomplished yogīs can fathom Him; they naturally drown in the vast ocean formed by Śyāma's beauty. Only those who become wholly His through love-filled surrender can taste the supreme savor of this sweet, divine rasa of Bhagavān. Therefore those greatly blessed gopīs and cowherds, whose lives are offered entirely, continually taste the rare nectar of divine rasa. Nandalāla, supreme connoisseur of rasa, never abandons Vraja. He delights all His own people and forever makes them blessed. Countless salutations to the sacred particles of dust from the feet of those lovers, subject to whose love Hari performs His exquisitely sweet līlā.

[47]

(Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Kaharvā)

I bow to the hearts of the gopīs, where Hari keeps Himself hidden, never leaving even for the blink of an eye, for He regards them as supreme happiness. I bow to the tender minds of the gopīs, into which Hari's own mind has merged. Hari's mind has become the gopīs' mind and forever acts as it pleases them. I bow to the gopīs' pure attachment, by which Hari is controlled. Becoming eternally indebted and losing His lordship, He attains supreme joy. I bow to the gopīs' affection, which forever serves the dust of Hari's feet. Before its manifestation of Bhagavān's own nature, every lesser rasa vanishes. I bow to the gopīs' bhāva, which exists solely for the Beloved's happiness. Breaking every bridge of social restraint, it increases from moment to moment. I bow to the gopīs' supreme vow, entirely free of desire for personal happiness. Ever absorbed in serving their Beloved, they preserve the true dharma of fidelity. I bow to the gopīs' intimate love, which truly attracts Hari and forcibly draws even the minds of sages during meditation.

Continuation of [47]

I bow to the gopīs' names, which Hari calls through His flute. Hari Himself repeatedly sings them and finds delight. I bow to the gopīs' forms, absorbed within Hari's eyes. They never leave His vision and enchant Him more at every moment.

[48]

(Rāga Paraj; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Śrī Lalitā is a graceful sakhī of exquisite beauty, her limbs radiant like yellow gorocanā. She dwells in a lightning-colored bower and wears lovely garments the hues of a peacock's tail. Skilled in magical arts, she daily offers supremely delicious betel. Expert in floral art, she fashions beautiful flower houses and canopies. Sakhī Viśākhā is lightning-hued and lives in a cloud-colored bower. Her splendid dress shines like starlight, and her mind is forever absorbed in Śyāma's lotus feet. She anoints the lovely limbs with camphor and other fragrant substances. She paints many delightful motifs and vines upon every limb. Citrā's bodily luster resembles saffron, and her splendid garments shine like glass. Her bower is the hue of pollen; all her beautiful limbs are exceedingly radiant. With many wondrous garments and ornaments she creates beautiful adornments. Through gestures she communicates in the languages of many lands. Pure sakhī Indulekhā dwells in an auspicious, bright-white bower. Her bodily luster resembles yellow orpiment, and her blissful dress is the color of pomegranate blossoms. She dances with ever-new, enchanting, and extraordinary gestures. Master of the art of song, she is a celebrated and glorious cowherd beauty of Vraja. Campakalatā's luster resembles a campaka blossom, and her bower is the color of refined gold. Upon her pure body she wears lovely garments the hue of a blue-throated bird. Filled with eager delight, she continually waves the yak-tail fan with her generous lotus hand. Expert at games of dice, she makes beautiful adornments through many arts. Sakhī Raṅgadevī dwells in an exceedingly charming bower dark in hue. Her luster shines like lotus pollen, and her splendid garments are the color of hibiscus blossoms.

Continuation of [48]

She daily applies exquisite red yāvaka dye to the divine Couple's hands and feet. Deeply devoted to festivals and vows, she is pure, skilled in arts, and an abode of beauty. Sakhī Tuṅgavidyā shines greatly; her luster is like the moon and her body like saffron. She wears beautiful yellow garments, and her crimson bower is filled with fresh love. She serves ceaselessly and most delightfully with song and instruments. Learned in ethics, drama, music, and sacred theory, she is an enchanting teacher of rasa. Sakhī Sudevī is golden in complexion and wears beautiful coral-colored garments. Her lovely bower is turmeric-yellow and dispels every worldly desire. She renders enchanting service with pure, sacred, fragrant water and gloriously braids the hair of the graceful, cherished Rādhā.

(Dohā; Rāga Māṇḍ; Tāla: Kaharvā)

The eight sakhīs forever render supremely exclusive service to the divine Couple, Rādhā and Mādhava, and thereby bless their lives. Again and again I bow at their lotus feet. May they show compassion and grant me enchanting love for the dust of the divine Couple's feet.

[49]

(Tune: Lāvanī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Between Brahman and Brahman's eternal Power there is never the slightest difference. Whatever Brahman is, You are the same; the two are eternally and certainly nondifferent. (1) Without power, no possessor of power could ever retain that identity. Without the possessor of power, power itself could have no incomparable abode. (2) Power is the life of the possessor of power, and the possessor of power is the life of power. Each exists through the other; otherwise both would be lifeless. (3) The development of the universe can never arise independently from consciousness-only Brahman. Every kind of manifestation occurs only through reliance upon the supreme Power. (4) She is the supremely excellent and complete transcendent Power, the causal form of the universe. Therefore Hari, Hara, Brahmā, and all the gods worship Her. (5)

Continuation of [49]

Set the world aside: even the distinct existence of those three gods has the eternally complete principle of Power as its sole cause. (6) Without Power, Śiva becomes a corpse; Viṣṇu becomes no Viṣṇu, bereft of Ramā. If Brahman's Power were absent, the Creator would become helpless and weak. (7) Without Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa is only half; without Sītā, Rāma is utterly bereft. No one can be a god if deprived of the power of divinity. (8) No Bhagavān can be conceived as devoid of divine majesty. In the same way, one bereft of Power is regarded as equal to the dead. (9) Governance of the universe, pure and unobstructed Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, creation, preservation, dissolution, agency over the world, and eternal unfathomable lordship (10) are present distinctly in the two, yet this entails not the slightest inconsistency. In essence and true nature, the two are eternally, continuously, and unshakably one. (11) The one becomes two: Power and the ground of Power, forever absorbed in līlā. They create many sports and delight deeply in beholding one another. (12) You are neither male nor female nor neuter, but beyond them all. Yet You forever pervade all; You Yourself are both the sacred man and woman. (13) You are primordial Nature, Rādhā; You are Durgā, Lakṣmī, and auspicious Sāvitrī. You are Sarasvatī, Gaṅgā, and Tulasī, divine Power incomparable in every way. (14) You are Svāhā, Svadhā, Dakṣiṇā, Ṣaṣṭhī, Manasā, Puṣṭi, Tuṣṭi, and Svasti. Nothing exists anywhere without You; You are both nonbeing and being. (15) O Goddess filled with the nectar of compassion, supremely noble-minded and infinitely generous, quickly expand Your grace by granting me the dust of the feet of Your Rādhā form. (16)

[50]

(Rāga Sūhā; Tāla: Tīntāl)

I bow to Hari's purifying lotus feet, adored by Brahmā, Śiva, the gods, sages, and seers, whose remembrance destroys every mass of sin. Touched by the pollen of those lotus feet, Gautama's wife again became a purified lady. Touched by the pollen of those lotus feet, the water of the heavenly Gaṅgā washes away sins day and night.

Continuation of [50]

Those lotus feet forever shine in the pure heart-temple of Bhūmi and Lakṣmī. Filled with the rasa of love, those lotus feet shine upon the breasts of Vraja's young women. Those lotus feet dwell continually and most joyfully within the hearts of devotees and saints. Like a miser's treasure, may those lotus feet dwell forever in the core of my heart.

[51]

(Rāga Jaijaiwantī; Tāla: Jhūmrā)

His four radiant arms bear the Sudarśana discus, conch, mace, and lotus. A lovely crown and beautiful yellow garment adorn Him, and His lotus eyes are filled with splendor. Upon His chest are the mark of the sage's foot and the Kaustubha gem; a lovely garland hangs from His neck. Again and again I bow to Śrī Viṣṇu's feet, which grant supreme happiness.

[52]

(Rāga Kalyāṇa; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Sanskrit

I bow to Nārāyaṇa, Hṛṣīkeśa, Govinda whose banner bears Garuḍa, to Vāsudeva, Hari, Kṛṣṇa, and Keśava.

[53]

(Dohā)

Again and again I bow to Śrī Gaṇapati, the Guru, and Śāradā, all distinct forms and appearances of Parabrahman. Then I remember the feet of the exalted Guru, bestower of the desired fruit, who carries us across the exceedingly difficult ocean of worldly existence.

[54]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Rūpaka)

I bow to Viṣṇu, support of the universe, Lord of the worlds, the gods, and Ramā, whose lovely form is peace itself; the lotus-eyed remover of impurity, bestower of the auspicious state; dark as a blue rain cloud, lotus-naveled, resembling the sky, His heart adorned by Bhṛgu's footprint and the Kaustubha, and by a necklace of pearls.

Continuation of [54]

His four arms are adorned with conch, discus, mace, and lotus. He wears yellow silk, and every sacred limb is generous and gracious. Reclining upon the bed of Śeṣa, immeasurable yet accessible through a yogī's meditation, He removes the painful fear of worldly existence, the changeless refuge of the refuge-less.

[55]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tāla: Dhumālī)

The supreme Guru brings one into union with Rāma. He is exceedingly generous, beautiful, auspicious, and grants the desired fruit. My broken, battered boat lies caught in the fearsome current of the river of existence. All glory to You, O Lord and treasury of mercy! Carry me quickly to the farther shore.

[56]

(Rāga Gārā; Tāla: Dādrā)

Glory to the Lord! Glory to the compassionate Lord! Supreme Guru, supremely worshipful, supreme God of gods! In every way this servant has come and fallen into the refuge of Your feet. Poor, helpless, and impure in understanding, I nevertheless hope for refuge. My sins are boundless, yet I am a beggar for mercy. Knowing me afflicted, keep me in Your shelter, O destroyer of accumulated sin. Master, forgive all my faults up to this moment. Make me such that I never again travel a false path. Whether fit or unfit, even though wholly undeserving, I am nevertheless Yours; now rescue me. Everyone calls me Yours, and my own mind says the same. O Lord, make that statement true and end all the weariness of worldly existence.

Continuation of [56]

Do not look toward me; look only to Your own nature. O Hari, firmly keep me forever beneath Your sandals. Why should I repeat myself? You know every secret. All glory, all glory to the compassionate Lord!

[57]

(Rāga Māṇḍ; Tāla: Kaharvā)

My life and life-breath are forever offered into You. You alone are my foundation; You alone are supreme blessedness. You are my highest destination and immeasurable love. Come at once and rescue me from the torment of separation.

[58]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

O Giridhara, show me grace. I have fallen miserably into the well of delusion; O Lord, remove my anguish. My mind is deeply impure, my understanding forever unsteady, and my attachment is burdened by sin and faults. All my senses remain absorbed in corrupt objects, abandoning every restraint. I try to deceive the indwelling knower and conceal my terrible wrongdoing. Becoming a counterfeit saint, I weave a deception and display my supposedly spotless character. My mind burns in the fires of desire and anger and finds not a moment's peace. Outwardly I appear exceedingly calm and perform a pretense of equanimity. Possessiveness and delusion cling to trivial worldly things, and my mind is trapped in them. It never rests in Rāma even for a moment but wanders like a ghost. My countless terrible faults and sorrows pervade every pore of my being. Without Your compassion, no one else can make them disappear.

[59]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Beloved, come if You wish as a sudden, attacking tempest, or as the five annihilating winds roaring terribly. Come as the gentle, fragrant Malaya breeze, a pure mine of happiness, or as the serene moon, O Bhagavān, showering nectar. Seeing Your many fearsome and beautiful forms, O foundation of the universe, may I recognize You at once and never fail to behold You in any disguise. O supreme dancer, You freely perform līlā in ever-new forms. With bowed head, may I remain surrendered to the dust of Your feet and receive the bliss of līlā at every moment.

[60]

(Tune: Lāvanī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Day and night, trees and creepers, flowers and fruit, sun and moon, and twinkling stars: through every object at every moment, Beloved, You continue giving to me. There is no end to how much You have given and are still giving. However much You give, my thirst is not quenched; I forever say, "Give me more, more." My mind is never filled and my expectations are never satisfied. Even after receiving so much, I neglect it and remain forever dejected. I continually blame You and point out faults. I am never grateful and never find contentment. Even so, Lord, You do not forget me for a single moment. You neither tire nor become annoyed, but remain true to Your nature and keep giving. You count not the slightest fault or offense and favor me without cause. Only You are equal to Yourself in incomparable nobility; only You equal Yourself in boundless generosity. Whatever You give is filled with endless sweet nectarean rasa, powerful enough to extinguish every flame in the world.

Continuation of [60]

If my mind would take but one drop of that nectar and delight in it, all sorrows would disappear and I would attain Your blissful vision. Now show me grace Yourself; take away everything that occupies my mind. Through Your sweet and natural compassion, make me Your own.

[61]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Original Tāla)

Lord, grant me such a way of seeing that everywhere I may constantly behold Your sweet smile. Whatever change may occur, exceedingly small or great, beautiful or fearsome, gain or loss, happiness or sorrow, honor or dishonor, pleasant or unpleasant, health or illness, the ordinance of life or death, O Bhagavān, may I see You filling every experience of nature. May neither agitation nor elation, self-abasement nor pride arise. May I continually receive Your incomparable touch.

[62]

(Rāga Jait Kalyāṇa; Original Tāla)

Again and again, Lord, You come to the door of my heart's temple. You say, "Open the door and lovingly take Me inside." I remain silent, say nothing, and do not open the door of my heart. You knock again and call sweetly from outside. When You say, "Open it just a little," I reply, "Master, I am busy now. Come again later," and hurriedly bolt the door of my house. You come again and again I turn You away; this is my constant conduct. Yet, compassionate Lord, You never tire and endure rejection every time. Ocean of mercy, remove this crooked understanding and show me immense favor. Fallen and low, I forsake nectar and repeatedly drink deadly poison. True to Your naturally compassionate renown, O Lord, deliver me. Quickly rescue this human beast swept along in the powerful current of delusion.

[63]

(Rāga Joga; Tāla: Dīpacandī)

Without even being asked, Lord, You continually give me strength. You always sustain me and remain hidden, ceaselessly at my side. You grant fearlessness, perpetual well-being, and the gift of Your refuge. You grant auspicious thoughts, reflection, life, and noble deeds. O ocean of love, You grant love and selfless affection. You grant eternal and ultimate happiness, erasing every stain of sorrow. In return for all this, You desire only one thing: unwavering trust. I lack even that, yet You never become discouraged. Grant me trust Yourself and deliver me Yourself. Renowned purifier of the fallen and lover of the lowly, O supremely generous Lord!

[64]

(Rāga Bhūpāla Toḍī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Become everything for me: repetition, austerity, meditation, knowledge, and realized wisdom. Become my means and goal, sacrifice and vow, restraint and charity. Become my tranquility and self-control, faith, concentration, and pure yoga. Become my mind and understanding, ego and senses, and every enjoyment. Become the secret of my life-breath and the innermost meaning of life. Become my clothing and ornaments, food and drink, home and dharma. May I receive Your touch forever in everything and in every place. You are mine, You are mine in every way, O delight of my life!

[65]

(Rāga Bhinnaṣaḍja; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, erase all my intoxication and every kind of pride. Recognizing You, may my head bow at the feet of every living being. Even a caṇḍāla, jackal, or dog should be an object of my respect. May I forever behold only You, smiling gently, in everyone.

Continuation of [65]

May my only desire be the happiness, honor, and highest welfare of all. May I forget myself completely and retain no concern even for my body. May I forever worship You in everyone, serving and honoring each as is fitting. May the disposition to serve keep growing, and may the capacity for service increase. May another's sorrow become my sorrow, and may another possess the right to happiness. May another's welfare itself become my own, bringing an immeasurable experience of joy. May I always offer afflicted beings the gift of comfort and happiness. May I make a fitting sacrifice of myself to destroy their sorrow.

[66]

(Rāga Bihāga; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Compassionate Lord, crown jewel of generosity, grant me this boon: O Bhagavān, may I behold You in everyone and in every condition. In every sound may I forever hear only the singing of Your qualities. With my voice may I sing Your countless qualities and rasa-filled names. May all my senses forever thrill upon receiving Your sweet touch. May all my actions serve You alone and thereby attain excellence. May intellect, awareness, and mind remain forever absorbed solely in Your remembrance. Lord, may no thought, intention, or reflection ever be bereft of You. May everything remain constantly engaged in Your service alone. This is my prayer: may I remain forever immersed in the rasa of love for Your feet.

[67]

(Rāga Jaunpurī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

May everyone see their own Self in all, and may everyone see Bhagavān in all. May everyone seek the happiness and welfare of all, and may all desire everyone's good. For one another's welfare, may all mutually renounce their own advantage. May they protect the rights of others and give up demanding rights for themselves. Emerging from narrow limits, may the self expand throughout the universe. May the word self-interest come to mean only the welfare of the entire universe.

Continuation of [67]

May hatred, hostility, and violence be destroyed, and every false pride disappear. Upon the ground of renunciation, may all exchange pure love. May everyone be freed from mental and bodily affliction and attain supreme happiness and peace. May awareness of Bhagavān arise in all, and may the delusion of happiness in enjoyment end. Supremely compassionate and loving Lord, this is my repeated prayer: O supremely generous One, may all attain the rare refuge of Your feet.

[68]

(Rāga Kāfī; Tāla: Dīpacandī)

Beloved, may I call only to You and look only toward You. Offering myself at Your feet, may I sit carefree and enraptured. Lord, You alone are my all-in-all and the essence of every happiness. You are the life of my life, the Self of my self, the support of all that is supported. Good or bad, pleasure or pain, auspicious or inauspicious, I know nothing of these, Lord. You alone know; do everything Yourself and remain forever with me. May I never forget You; may remembrance alone be the essence of life. May no other feeling or thought ever enter awareness, mind, or understanding. May You alone forever occupy the entire realm of my heart. My one prayer is that in this world and the next You remain my sole companion.

[69]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

How insignificant are all beings and how great are You, yet what incomparable feeling is this? You hunger for love and eagerly seek love from everyone. You give wealth, fame, knowledge, power, strength, and honor, all so that somehow everyone may give You love. You take everything away and give hatred, adversity, disgrace, and insult. You strike mercilessly, desiring only that everyone love You, O Bhagavān.

Continuation of [69]

Lord of all lords, You have become an extraordinary and exalted beggar. O treasury of love, You forever seek love from high and low alike. How incomparable, unequaled, strange, and wondrous is this desire of Yours! Though an ocean of rasa, You become thirsty for rasa and drink it with a heart full of delight. Pouring out rasa and filling all with it, You Yourself drink its honey. Blessed is this thirst of Yours for rasa; blessed is Your knowledge of rasa. This is my prayer to You today, beggar for love and ocean of loving rasa: O connoisseur and sovereign of rasa, continue Your honey-sweet līlā of giving and drinking.

[70]

(Rāga Toḍī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

All my strength is exhausted; the power of effort has admitted defeat. All pride in self-exertion has shattered, and a plaintive cry bursts forth. O mighty One, source of strength, compassionate and supremely generous Lord, grant me strength and accept me as Your instrument. Quickly remove all darkness and spread divine radiance like the sun. Do whatever You wish, forever fearless and according to Your own will. Keep me submerged anywhere in any manner, or carry me to the farther shore, or leave me upon the swing in between and continue swinging me again and again. Make me the enjoyed and become the enjoyer; become my sustainer, Master. Let no objector remain to say yes or no; let the petty distortions of ego disappear. Then who will pray, in what manner, and to whom, O support of all? Becoming everything, sport forever freely within Yourself.

[71]

(Rāga Jūjarī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Whatever You wish, in whatever way You wish, do exactly that. Use me forever without obstruction according to Your heart's desire. May I never retain the least awareness of sorrow or happiness. May I always receive supreme joy in knowing that every wish of Your heart is fulfilled.

Continuation of [71]

Good or bad, all is forever good; whatever You conceive and ordain is Your highest, sweetest, most enchanting, and supremely beneficial gift. May no desire of any kind ever arise within my mind anywhere. Should one arise, Lord, pay it no heed and do not fulfill it. Beloved, this alone is my prayer and my daily request at Your feet: may every I and mine disappear, while exclusive love continually increases.

[72]

(Rāga Jogiyā; Tāla: Āḍā Cautāl)

O Hari, quickly remove the great delusion that happiness lies in enjoyment. Compassionate Lord, immediately erase every hope for that sorrow-producing happiness. May remembrance of Your sweet form, names, and qualities continue without cease. May I always see You in all and never forget You for a moment. May my possessive love rest in You alone, and may attachment and noble affection be for You alone. O supreme dancer, may my mind be bound by the cord of love to all four lotus feet. May I continually behold the sweet, captivating face that gives the joy of countless autumn moons. May I forever hear the supremely sweet flute notes that intoxicate sages' minds. O Lord of my heart, may I worship You through every action of body and mind. Natural friend and crown jewel of generosity, grant this boon to poor and helpless me.

[73]

(Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Bhagavān, grant us such strength that powerful sin and affliction never draw near. For another's happiness and welfare, may we naturally renounce our own happiness. May sacred feelings keep increasing, and may love for the Lord's feet arise.

Continuation of [73]

May not the slightest pride of mine remain in enjoyments. May Your great, sacred, sweet remembrance remain forever. May Your līlās, qualities, and holy name be the foundation of life. May every pore of my being forever proclaim Your victory.

[74]

(Rāga Bhūpālī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Master, how can I present my plea? Nothing within is hidden from You, the indwelling knower of all. Though deficient in every way and impure in understanding, I received Your highest grace. By Your own nature You gave me honor, vast fame, wealth, and prosperity. Throughout the world I came to be called a saint and attained the rank of an eminent devotee, yet remained continually ruled by desire and daily ran toward sense objects. Under the sway of gold and sensual pleasure, I naturally walked the wrong path day and night. Forgetting the Lord's supreme favor, I became such an ungrateful traitor. I am deeply crooked, ungrateful, lustful, a worm of hell and burden of sin. Look not toward me but toward Your own renowned nature, and rescue me, supremely generous Lord.

[75]

(Rāga Bahāra; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Now my one reliance is You. Bereft of devotion, absorbed in impurity, veiled by delusion, I am a slave of sense objects. Desire, greed, pride, and delusion dwell day and night, having made their camp in my heart. Death stands over my head, yet this low one gives it no thought and remains forever surrounded by disease. I speak daily of the highest good, yet remain deeply attached to enjoyments. Again and again I experience that none is so benevolent or so near as You. Even so, forgetting You, this wretch remembers the alien happiness born of desire. Now You alone are my support; apart from You, no one is mine. Mindful of Your vow and renown, compassionate Lord, continually move me through causeless grace. You alone, with immense affection, rescue me from the perilous ocean of existence.

[76]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, show me such immense grace that abandoning deceit and fraud, forsaking pride, I may become simple and worship You continually. Mercifully grant truth, detachment, realized wisdom, and love for Your feet. May life be offered in reality, and may delusion and ignorance disappear. May all possessive love rest forever at the Lord's feet, with pride only in being His servant. May the disposition of my mind remain equal amid mine and another's, gain and loss. May I continually behold You in all and always show respect. May I never harm or dishonor any living being. Free of attraction and aversion, may senses and mind serve without pride. Knowing You alone as supreme wealth, may I remain utterly possessionless forever.

[77]

(Rāga Bhūpālī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, grant me that beautiful place where I may sing the delightful song of Your inconceivable glory; where there is not the slightest awareness of honor or dishonor, no praise or blame, no ordinance of pleasant and unpleasant; where there are no riches, lands, or goods to divide, and no counterfeit curtain that falsely displays grandeur; where truth forever shines without an outward costume, and the pure nectarean rasa of love flows without end; where everything crude is swept away in the current of simple goodness, and the whole land is filled with feelings belonging to Bhagavān.

[78]

(Rāga Pūriyā; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Compassionate Lord, grant me servanthood. Moved by natural grace, friend of the lowly, make me Your servant. I am a mine of faults, my mind filled with filth, an utterly foolish rustic. I possess not the least fitness for service and no right to serve. With a tiny mouth I have asked for an exceedingly great thing, O treasury of grace. My one reliance is Your mighty renown, O sin-destroying Bhagavān. When the Lord accepts me among His own servants, all sin and affliction will burn to ashes in an instant.

[79]

(Rāga Jaṅgalā; Tāla: Kaharvā)

O my own, You are the life of my life, the life within life itself. Make me free of I and remove ego and pride. Make me wholly possessionless; take away this world and the next. Fill my heart with limitless light and remove the false display of darkness. O supreme dancer, dance as You please and make me dance according to Your heart. May Your active, uninterrupted authority be manifest over every particle of my being. Like a puppet, wholly consenting, silent, and without a word, may all my limbs and members dance, governed by the cord of the rasa of Your pleasure.

[80]

(Rāga Kāfī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

I am the servant of Hari's servant. Showing supreme favor, the Lord has fulfilled the longing of my heart. I possess neither body nor mind, wealth nor people; I am a servant of His feet. Who could be more fortunate than I, having found a dwelling at His lotus feet?

Continuation of [80]

I have no strength of spiritual practice; I am merely dust beneath the feet of servants of servants. This alone is my support and supreme strength; this alone is my life-giving root. Knowing me as the servant of His servants, a servant dear to Śrī Hari forgave all my offenses and kept me near His feet.

[81]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Kindle the fire of separation within my heart. Beloved, without You every moment passes like an age of sorrow. May attachment to enjoyment, desire, possessiveness, and all the world's flames burn away. May the enemy-host of beginning-and-ending enjoyments, the womb of every sorrow, disappear. May divine qualities awaken and my inner being be colored by passionate love for detachment. May union with You occur, and may the true fruit of human life be attained.

[82]

(Rāga Vihāga; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, grant us this boon: offering body, mind, and all wealth, may we forever sing Your qualities. May we never ask You for happiness, prosperity, honor, or anything at all. May the immeasurable enjoyments of this world and the next never attract our attention. May loss and gain, blame and praise, honor and insult be equal; may happiness and sorrow, victory and defeat, bondage and liberation be equal. May we forever behold the embodiment of sweetness, the incomparable mine of rasa, and lovingly drink the nectarean honey of Your lotus feet.

[83]

(Rāga Yaman; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, remember Your own renowned nature. I am deeply fallen and devoted to evil deeds, honey upon my lips but darkness within my mind. Tormented by craving, miserly and grievously afflicted, I burn in the fever of desire. Even so, hope for sensual happiness does not leave me; all my efforts have failed.

Continuation of [83]

Now utter despair has spread over me and no other support remains. My one reliance is Your compassion, whether You slay me or carry me across.

[84]

(Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, grant me true love. Abandoning hypocrisy and false observances, may I worship You alone. May corrupt sensual desire burn away and natural detachment awaken in the mind. May supremely exclusive love for Your lotus feet arise.

[85]

(Rāga Khamāja; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Free us from pride in objects of enjoyment. Compassionate Lord, show grace and grant us this auspicious boon. Wealth, followers, position, authority, bodily pleasure, fame, worship, honor, high caste and lineage: may we regard them all like a flash of lightning. May we honor everyone and forever treat all with respect. Seeing only You within the afflicted, may we give them happiness. May we not gaze at lofty palaces or at the wealthy, but see the suffering who lie beside the road and regard them as ourselves. For the shelterless, orphaned, disabled, sick, poor, and ignorant, for the hungry and unclothed, may we sacrifice our lives. May we forever wipe away their burning tears, giving up our own happiness. May we never seek repayment or regard ourselves as benefactors. May we simply return to them what is theirs, never acting dishonestly. May we never call it charity or take pride and honor from it. You are in all, You are all, O Bhagavān, master of everything. May we experience this certainty every day and offer up every I and mine.

[86]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Mādhava, who is as unfortunate as I? I do not remember You even for the blink of an eye, and devotion has not awakened in my heart. My days pass in lamentation, and I burn continually in the fire of worry. Filled with fear and grief, I run and wander here and there. Attached to the world of enjoyment, I find nowhere a place of peace and happiness. Lord, now show Your natural grace and awaken the fire of separation from You. May I become a greatly fortunate, humble servant of Your lotus feet.

[87]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Lord, show grace and make me the servant of Your eternal servant. May I remain joyfully engaged in service and never become despondent. May I never contemplate enjoyments or become attached to sense objects. May devotion to the Lord's sacred feet continually increase within my mind. May I never slander anyone or behold another's faults. May I always speak nectar-filled words and never allow anger into my mind. May intoxication with authority never awaken, nor the slightest pride arise. May I regard myself lower than a blade of grass and remain forever humble and without conceit. May I never cause anyone pain or dishonor anyone even by mistake. May I never harm another's welfare but always offer happiness and benefit. May I never weep over my own sorrow or desire happiness for myself. May I remain forever content, absorbed in love for Your feet, and move through life carefree. May I feel neither attraction nor aversion toward any being, object, or circumstance. May no trace of worldly expectation or possessiveness remain in my heart. May I remain joyful in every condition and forever speak of Your līlā. May I always behold You in everyone, and may my life remain ever pure.

[88]

(Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, what an ungainly delusion this is! I had assumed it was gone and that I had become free of attachment. But it returned with its entire retinue and spread in every direction. The veil again covered my eyes and overwhelmed me. Confused, the fire of longing for enjoyment flared up. My former attraction and love for You no longer remained. Yet even now the hands of my heart rest upon Your tender feet, and, though somewhat faint, I still hear Your honey-sweet voice, Lord. From this arises boundless hope that You will never abandon me. At the sight of You, this immense delusion will become afraid and flee. Why then do You delay? Why do You not fulfill my hope? Lord, why do You not quickly destroy this army of delusion? Now dwell forever and completely within my heart. May delusion be uprooted entirely and never appear again.

[89]

(Tune: Lāvanī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

O refuge-giving Lord, I have come and fallen into Your shelter, holding firm faith within my mind and bearing immense hope. O my all-in-all, accept me as Your own immediately. Accept me in every way and fashion me into a good instrument. Kindle Your light within my life. Strike down and certainly drive away the age-old darkness. May the whole world shine with cooling light. May everyone's darkness disappear and a rare happiness arise in all.

Continuation of [89]

May life be illumined by this light of knowledge. May all ignorance be destroyed and the very body thrill with knowledge. Give Your own fragrance and make life aromatic. Fill the whole world with that beautiful perfume. Receiving its sacred fragrance, may the entire world become pure. May everyone's life become greatly fortunate, an abode of holiness. May Your glory awaken within every life. May life be devoted solely to singing Your fame. Adorn me with Your own beauty. Put to shame the worthless outward appearance of life with Your beautiful form. Through this beauty, may the entire world become beautiful. Through it alone, may the lovely temple of the mind blossom. May it be beautiful, filled with truth and happiness. May it be beautiful in body, mind, and speech.

[90]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

O operator of the instrument, support of all, make me Your instrument. May nothing of my own remain in me, and may every distortion of pride disappear. Then let every action of mine arise solely from Your heart. May every particle of me be filled with all Your qualities and conduct. Where despair has spread, may I carry hope. Where grief abounds, may I fill it with immeasurable otherworldly joy. Where offenses are countless, may I spread sacred forgiveness. Where darkness has descended, may I reveal an abode of light. Where hostility and hatred prevail, may I join hearts with the sacred thread of love. Where fear fills every step, may I spread irresistible fearlessness.

Continuation of [90]

Where attachment to enjoyment is intense, may I make all conduct filled with detachment. Where ignorance abounds, may I open the treasury of knowledge. May I do everything yet do nothing myself, like an insentient puppet. May Your līlā alone find expression in countless ways.

[91]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Remove pride, erase self-importance, and grant humility, O supreme giver. Remove ignorance, destroy vanity, and make me a knower of truth. May all sins and every affliction disappear; reveal Your form to me. In the moving and unmoving universe You alone are the highest truth; everything else is a dream. Sorrow and happiness are all Your forms; You alone pervade everything everywhere. May I behold You in all, there in birth and there in death. Lord, may I never forget You; become my awareness, mind, and understanding. Become the I itself, while nothing of me remains separate; may supreme purity arise.

[92]

(Rāga Jaṅgalā; Tāla: Kaharvā)

You are the supreme friend of the fallen and protector of the lowly. For one who has no one left, You become the intimate member of his own home. When one, despairing of the entire world and rejected by everyone, finds no shelter anywhere and comes into Your refuge, You remove his sin and anguish and joyfully embrace him. Giving him fearlessness, You purify him completely and make him Your own. You are everyone's causeless friend and the indwelling knower of all. You are the eternal Self of everyone and everyone's true Master. One who depends upon You and offers himself wholly to You is freed from every entanglement and sleeps forever in happiness. We lowly ones stand at Your door; we fallen ones lie at Your feet. Despised, we fought against You; sinful, we stubbornly upheld our pride.

Continuation of [92]

Where can we go? Who here will give us shelter as his own? Who would be so disgraced as to keep us and bear the mark of our infamy upon his head? You alone appear to be such a One, joining Your heart with everyone, remembering none of the past and fondling all within Your lap. Whoever trusts Your renown and comes with hope, even if a very great sinner, receives a place in Your lap. You do not send him back into the sorrow-filled ocean of existence. Meeting You, the graceful divine dancer, he attains eternal peace. Trusting in You and bearing this hope, we too have come into the shelter of Your feet. We shall certainly attain You, whatever may happen.

[93]

(Rāga Paraj; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Hari, take away every comfort and convenience; immediately seize wealth, followers, and honor. Erase rank, prestige, and authority; reduce false grandeur to dust. Take away pride in art, intellect, and learning; crush every conceit. Melt and immediately wash away immense possessiveness and attachment to sense objects. Lord, remove every veil and immediately clear every obstacle, so that Mohana's face may appear and I may experience the joy of eternal union. Make me wholly possessionless and fill my mind with the honeyed melody of the flute. Come dwell within my heart, filled with the nectarean rasa of love, and forever regard it as Your home.

[94]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Adversity is the radiance of compassion, and suffering, Lord, is Your blessing. Without doubt, the world's unfavorable circumstances culminate in happiness. Grant me this realization, Lord, and awaken this faith. May my mind remain forever at Your feet, the abode of blessedness.

Continuation of [94]

Forgetting everything else, may my life remain forever and unobstructedly joined to You, Lord. United with You eternally, may I remain fulfilled with no desire left in the mind. In every condition may I continually behold the smile upon Your face. May remembrance become the life of my life, and may You alone occupy my meditation.

[95]

(Rāga Vāṇeśrī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Break and reshape me, Lord, until I conform to Your heart. Do not mistakenly leave behind any obstructing object or circumstance. Immediately seize any wealth or reputation that poses even a slight obstacle. Resolve at once to destroy every such comfort. If the least desire ever arises anywhere in my mind that would obstruct this, compassionate Lord, destroy it immediately. Do not allow hands, feet, mouth, or mind to perform any act that would interrupt Your constant remembrance even for a moment.

[96]

(Rāga Śivarañjanī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

I did not joyfully and respectfully accept the Lord's ordinance. I continually sought to alter and enlarge it according to my own desire. The all-powerful, all-knowing, pure, supreme friend is the foundation of auspiciousness; every ordinance and intention of the Lord is certainly most auspicious. My mind says this but never truly accepts it. I am profoundly distrustful, foolish, unrestrained, a slave to enjoyment, and uncultivated. The ordinance cannot be avoided; helplessly, it must be undergone. Yet because of my resistant disposition, immense sorrow arises within the mind. If I honored every ordinance with complete faith, the Lord would immediately make me His own and Himself carry every burden.

Continuation of [96]

Free of anxiety, I would remain absorbed in worship and naturally attain peace, the essence of happiness. Victorious through the Lord's strength, I would see the whole world withdraw from my mind. Lord, I am poor and helpless, utterly low, impure, fallen, and an abode of sin. Mindful of Your renown, compassionate Lord, grant me faith and deliver me.

[97]

(Rāga Toḍī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Lord, do not remove sorrow; grant me strength to endure terrible suffering. Within sorrow, however, let me experience the happiness of Your grace and remain grateful. Do not give me comfort, Hari; instead remove the entire delusion of happiness in enjoyment. Forever beholding Your grace in everything, may my heart continually experience peace. May I never weep in sorrow or swell with pride in happiness. In both disguises, sorrow and happiness, may I recognize You and never forget. May not the slightest pride awaken within my mind during happiness. In suffering may I never harbor the least doubt about You, my Bhagavān.

[98]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Ever intent upon rescuing the distressed, natural friend, ocean of compassion, supremely generous; friend of the lowly, deliverer of the wretched, purifier of the fallen, boundless giver; refuge of the shelterless, wealth of the possessionless, remover of fear, immeasurable ocean of mercy: Lord, You alone are the support for one so completely fallen as I. Give this poor, helpless, shelterless one a place at Your sacred pair of feet. Bhagavān, quickly make me fearless and utterly pure in heart and conduct. May I serve daily with my body and forever sing Your qualities with my words. May all my senses engage in service and my mind meditate on You forever.

[99]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Lord, destroy petty self-interest and make my mind expansive now. May it accept that the interest of every living being is my own interest. May the boundary of the little I merge into the universal I pervading the whole cosmos. May the certainty that my welfare lies only in the welfare of all never waver. You fill every being, and all bodies are Yours. To worship anyone is to worship You, and everyone's affection is Your affection. Small and great, gods, demons, humans, animals, and birds are Your forms. Trees and mountains, rivers and streams, oceans, sky, and air bear that same form. You are fully present within the earth and pervade fire itself. You abide forever within the light of sun, moon, stars, and all things. You alone are the entire moving and unmoving universe; this is forever Your identity. You are certainly present in every direction, condition, and land. You are in every rasa and every form, in all that is seen and every act of seeing. You Yourself forever become the seer; within Yourself, You behold Yourself. You are dream, waking, and deep sleep, and You are the beloved fourth state. You assume the wondrous forms of past, future, and present. You come within all as life and death, meeting and separation. You conceal Your form within gain and loss, honor and insult. Beholding You forever in everyone, may I always honor all. Lord, show grace and grant me this beautiful boon today.

[100]

(Tune: Lāvanī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

As long as those who call me theirs remain in the world, You stand at a distance, smiling forever in Your singular way. As long as they surround me and keep me bound in delusion, You hesitate to call me openly Yours.

Continuation of [100]

As long as I call the world's beings and objects mine, I can never openly call You mine. As long as I fail to make You alone my own, the forest fire of mine, mine continually burns me. Show mercy and free me Yourself from this noose of delusion. Call me Yours in love-filled words and accept me. May I too understand that You alone and no one else are mine. May the entire encampment of māyā immediately leave my life.

[101]

(Tune: Lāvanī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

I am of no use in the world, merely a burden upon the earth. My one extraordinary good fortune is that I have received Your love. Yet this is simply Your pure and natural renown, Your innate disposition: You are the causeless friend of all and bestow sweet feeling upon everyone. Now show me this much grace, O supremely compassionate Master: may sweet remembrance of You become the one support of my life. May I forever sing of You and hear only the singing of Your qualities. May every pore of my being daily repeat Your sweet name, my Bhagavān.

[102]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

The designation devotee seems exceedingly dear, and devotion is naturally pleasing. The public remark, "This is a devotee," greatly delights the mind. The tongue too longs to sing the glories of devotee and devotion, but a devotee's way of life does not enter my life. Devotees abandon every worldly delusion and love You without interruption. Becoming connoisseurs of passionate detachment, they daily uphold the ways of rasa.

Continuation of [102]

Abandoning everything, they live among all while adopting a wondrous discipline. They behold You everywhere forever and never accept fear in any place. Seeing You within the temple of their minds, they rejoice at every moment. Only to delight You do they eat and drink, wake and sleep. They remain continually devoted to remembrance and waste not even a moment. Sprinkling the water of love, they wash Your lotus feet every day.

[103]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

A wolf puts on a sheep's skin and, deceiving the flock, devours it at once. Such was my condition in the world; I spread a web of deceit. I became a saint, renunciant, and devotee, while my mind remained attached to enjoyment. Like a heron, I pretended to meditate, closing my eyes and restraining my breath, while my gaze remained fixed upon the fish and I stayed forever absorbed in sense objects. I spoke beautiful words about love and discussed knowledge day and night. I proclaimed the greatness of detachment while plundering wealth, dharma, and very selfhood. Poor, bewildered, innocent beings regarded me as a living saint. My fraud never ended, while I maintained the appearance of a perfect holy man. Low as I was, I did not fear even for a moment and tried to overthrow reliance upon the Lord. At last I became bewildered in every way, and even escaping with my life became difficult. Then I departed, deeply dejected, every hope shattered. I am unfit to show my face; may everyone now forget me.

[104]

(Tune: Ghazal; Tāla: Dādrā)

Among all creation, none is as impure and unworthy as I. Filled with hundreds of thousands of sins, how can I show You my face? I never worshiped You, not even once by accident. I tormented Your servants; how can I come before You?

Continuation of [104]

I loved oppressors and joined them with full-hearted sincerity, while opposing the virtuous; how can I tell You what I did? I terrified the innocent and thoroughly plundered the helpless. I destroyed the honor of the just; tell me, what can I do now, and how? Forsaking Your service, O God, I chose shamelessness. Faithless, I spread slander; tell me, how can I save myself now? I extinguished all humanity and became utterly bloodthirsty. I took the lives of the voiceless; how could I not now be afraid? I spent my life in illicit intimacy and became completely shameless. How can I now ask forgiveness, and how can I escape punishment? Merciful Master, care for me now. Leaving the door of my Sustainer, how could I go to a stranger?

1. Association and fellowship. 2. Opposition.

[105]

(Tune: Lāvanī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Friend of the lowly, ocean of compassion, Master who naturally purifies the fallen, I am poor, helpless, tormented, fallen, turned from the true path and walking a false one. (Refrain) My life contains no steadfastness in dharma and no practice of virtuous action. Then talk of selfless action offered to the Lord is entirely futile. How can an impure heart discern the eternal from the transient? Without discrimination there is no detachment, and without detachment how can realized wisdom arise? Caught in desires for enjoyment, my life became enslaved to lust. (1) Friend of the lowly...

Continuation of [105]

Possessiveness and ego were never destroyed within my life. My possessiveness did not attach itself to the Lord's feet, nor did my ego become His servant. Possessiveness forever expanded toward the world's beings and objects. The sense of ego continually manifested through body, mind, and action. Intoxicated with I and mine, I cannot see my own defect. (2) Friend of the lowly...

There is not a trace of love in my heart, not even the seed of devotion. I deliver grand explanations, but the thing itself is absent from my own home. I say, "Place your faith in the Lord," while my own mind possesses neither courage nor trust. It remains constantly attached to and confident in sin, without the least remorse. Through body, mind, and speech I travel a sin-filled downward road. (3) Friend of the lowly...

I continually conceal my own unfathomable ocean of sin. Yet I make a dust-like sprout of another's fault into a mountain and announce it to everyone. I burn at the sight of another's happiness and find pleasure in another's pain. I dearly love slander and endure another's praise only with anguish. My life is contemptible; why should it not be bound for hell? (4) Friend of the lowly...

Assuming many disguises, I daily deceive people in many ways. My mouth continually proclaims methods of devotion and love, detachment and knowledge. Outwardly I appear disinterested, while remaining ever alert to fulfill my own interest. I stay engaged in means of sensual enjoyment and do not turn from them for a moment. So low am I, demon-minded, an evildoer and natural inhabitant of hell. (5) Friend of the lowly...

Now an unshakable certainty has arisen: I have no place anywhere. No refuge-giver other than You would keep someone like me. Despicable, lowest of men, worm of hell, my sins have no limit. Trusting, I have come and fallen at the Lord's feet; I possess no power of my own. Today, sinful yet exclusive, I follow the Lord's feet. (6) Friend of the lowly...

[106]

(Rāga Kalyāṇa; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, in what manner can I cry out? Utterly shameless, I am chief among the entire host of villains. Whatever faults may be counted in the world, I am the storehouse of them all. Extremely crooked, disgraced, lustful, an abode of impurity; fond of conflict, dwelling place of the age's corruption, deceitful and cruel in thought; supremely hateful, expert at seeing faults, treacherous, and practicing hypocrisy; devoid of mercy, violently proud, exceedingly unfortunate, wicked in conduct and thought; dissolute, greedy for sensual pleasure, avaricious for wealth, and a liar; a slanderer devoted to malicious speech, low, deeply conceited, and undiscerning. I teach knowledge and detachment to everyone and proclaim the essence of devotion. Describing sacred love, I deceive the world and shed false tears. I call myself, and have others call me, Your servant, advertising it among all. Yet my hope for pleasure clings to sense objects, forgetful of the Lord's grace. "Naturally trust His grace and cross the ocean of existence": thus I continually instruct everyone while giving no thought to my own mind. Just as a mother naturally fondles her filth-covered child, washing and wiping him with her own hands, taking him into her lap and increasing her love, so the naturally compassionate Lord, ocean of mercy, forgot every offense of a creature as low as I and showed boundless grace. For so great a sinner as I, no deliverance exists even in hell. Looking only to His own nature, the compassionate Lord will certainly rescue me. Hari, friend of the lowly and naturally the best of friends, remover of sin and supremely generous, boundless giver, grant knowledge, detachment, devotion, and love for Your feet.

[107]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, I am utterly unrestrained and low. A worm of hell, I lie forever in the mire of sin and anguish. I speak charmingly of devotion while distortions fill me within. I behave deceitfully even toward You, the indwelling knower. Moved by Your own nature, merciful Lord, seize my hand and rescue me. Compassionate One, make this low and fallen wretch, swept in the current of sin, one who has a Master.

[108]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

You alone are the treasure of my mind and the breath within my body. You are my one refuge and reliance; You alone are my faith. I am utterly poor in every way, unfit, powerless, and impure. I possess not the least strength or courage, no other support, and no spiritual means. I understand neither enjoyment nor liberation; I do not know what bondage is. Apart from You alone, no relationship of mine remains anywhere. I do not know what You are or how You are; I do not know the truth of Your being. "You are mine, mine alone": my sense of belonging rests solely in You. You forever delight in honoring the lowly and accepting them as Your own; such is Your natural, extraordinary, tender disposition. Moved by this very nature, You come running to the doors of the lowly. You lift and embrace them, accepting them as Your own people. A filth-covered infant cannot clean away his dirt in any manner. He does not even know what filth is but simply keeps calling for his mother. Naturally hearing the infant's plaintive cry, the loving mother comes at once, washes and wipes away the dirt with her own hands, then delights him with the nectar of her milk.

Continuation of [108]

In the same way You come and remove his sin and the three-pronged anguish. Pressing him to Your heart with a joyful face, You give the nectar of affection, root of happiness. You make him supremely pure and worthy of everyone's worship everywhere. Blessed is Your friendship toward the lowly; blessed is Your nature, crown of all! Even so, a human being does not become lowly and refuses to abandon pride. Therefore, O treasury of grace, he remains deprived of the nectar of grace. Awaken complete humility and make the ignorant one utterly free of pride. Compassionate Bhagavān, make him like an infant wholly dependent upon its mother, so that he may naturally discover the ocean of the nectar of grace, remain continually submerged within it, and forever drink its rasa.

[109]

(Rāga Bihāga; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Who else is as great an offender as I? I deceive the Lord, deceive others, and deceive myself: faithless in every way. I wander among enjoyments, forgetful of every consequence. Filled with sin and forever devoted to evil deeds, I abandon the dignity of humanity. My thoughts are impure and all actions foul, filled with possessiveness, intoxication, and pride. A servant of desire and greed, day and night I commit sin, thinking it beneficial. My mind has no fear of dharma and no knowledge of duty. I have forgotten Bhagavān, seer of all, who forever dwells within my heart. I never repeat Your name and never meditate upon You. Even when kicked, I return again and again like a dog. Lord, grant grace to this low, fallen wretch. Knowing me utterly shelterless, keep me at Your feet by whatever means.

[110]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

I am low and foolish, a mine of faults. My human birth passes entirely in vain, while I regard myself as intelligent. Children, wealth, sensual pleasure, rank, and prestige are momentary and impermanent, yet my mind remains trapped in these objects day and night, forgetful of eternal true happiness. I understand and daily instruct everyone that all enjoyments are wombs of sorrow, yet my own mind delights in them, abandoning union with Kṛṣṇa. Much time has passed sleeping, weeping, studying, eating, and playing. For wealth, followers, honor, and acclaim I remain forever anxious and distraught. With immense mercy Hari granted this exceedingly rare human birth. Forgetting the Lord and absorbed in enjoyment, I made it an abode of sin. Now, natural treasury of mercy, remember Your renown and accept me. Quickly draw me from the mud of sin and settle me among Your feet.

[111]

(Rāga Mālkauns; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Dark Lord, this temple of my mind is impure, broken, scattered, filled with mud, and crowded by every vile creature. There is not even room within it to stand. Where then could there be a seat or ritual sipping? What offering or ablution could occur? There is not one pure substance that I could present to You. I possess no graceful speech with which to show the least hospitality. There is no material for worship and not a trace of fitness. Falsely I roam as a priest, wearing a costume of deceit. How then can I invite You, this corrupt-minded abode of impurity within which an endless ocean of faults is surging? I possess no simple faith that would make me cry out in sorrow, and no exclusive surrender that would cause the treasury of compassion to open.

Continuation of [111]

I possess no humility that would produce a silent, plaintive cry and melt Your heart so that, naturally compassionate and generous, You would come running. You alone know; Master, do whatever appears right to You. Your character and nature are to love the lowly.

[112]

(Rāga Bhairava; Tāla: Tīntāl)

My entire life has passed in sinful activity. Caught day and night in delusion and possessiveness, I never worshiped Rāma with an attentive heart. I told people, "Worship Hari always," and assumed the costume of a saint, while intense desire for women and gold remained in my mind. Just as the mouth of a poison-filled vessel gains a false beauty from milk, so sacred narration of Hari appears lovely upon the mouth of my crooked heart. Supremely sinful, fallen, proud, deceitful, and dark in mind, I beg You, treasury of mercy, to remember Your renown and cast me now among Your feet.

[113]

(Rāga Bhairavī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

I possess no sanctum in which to install You, Lord, and no implements of worship with which to worship and delight You. My broken voice contains no nectar of melody that I could sing for You. There is no instrument that I could play sweetly before You, Lord. If You wish, come into this inn-like house, Lord. Come uninvited, bringing no thought of worship into Your mind. Magnify Your auspicious renown as deliverer of the lowly. Against all expectation, shower the nectar of grace upon this fallen one who has turned from Your feet.

[114]

(Rāga Paraj; Tāla: Kaharvā)

I never desired You, yet You desired me again and again. Uninvited, You entered my heart, granted Your vision, and showed immense love.

Continuation of [114]

In return for Your continual regard, You continually received rejection from me. Whenever I went far away, You extended Your arms and drew me back. How many times did You whisper, "Return; do not travel that road"? Even then I went on, and each time You ran after me to bring me back, Beloved. Smiling, You lifted the entire burden of this age-old offender and sinner. You raised me into Your lap and rescued me from the adversity I had made for myself.

[115]

(Rāga Śivarañjanī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

You forever gave me Your immense love and tender affection. I did not honor it but continually treated it with contempt. I am deeply ungrateful, low, the lowest of men, utterly deficient and impure in every way. The friend of the lowly saw no fault but accepted me, knowing me as a helpless servant. Just as a loving mother washes away her infant's filth and bathes him herself, so You, ocean of affection, purified me and removed impurity and anguish. My utter baseness is extreme; Your mercy is boundless and immeasurable. Moved by natural compassion, You burned my accumulation of sin to ashes. I attained the shelter of Your feet forever, and nectarean bliss spread in every direction. The sun of love has now risen, dispelling the terrible darkness of delusion and māyā.

[116]

(Rāga Vāgeśrī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Bereft of everything and alone in the forest, I stand uttering a lowly cry: "Friend of the lowly, crown jewel of friends, Lord of all, incomparable giver! I am deeply fallen, shattered by the poison of sense objects, strayed from the true path, and immeasurably low. I have no shelter or spiritual practice, and my heart is completely filled with limitless distortions. Firmly resolved and exclusive, I have come to Your door and taken refuge at Your feet. Purify me and make me Your own, O supremely generous Lord compelled by Your renowned nature!"

[117]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Some call me a saint; others call me a great loving devotee. What I was, how I was, and what and how I am now: You know it all. I am filled with countless wrongs, faults, and corrupt feelings, crushed by attachment, desire, anger, hypocrisy, intoxication, pride, delusion, and possessiveness. I forever conceal my faults and bring disgrace upon the garb of a saint. Profoundly restless, I am a terrible, endlessly burning furnace of worry. Lord, ocean of compassion and purifier of the fallen, You are everyone's friend and naturally generous. For the sake of Your renown, You remain ever ready to deliver the fallen. Friend of the lowly, greatly fallen and utterly helpless, I lie at the edge of Your feet. Remove every fault and make me Your own pure and peaceful servant.

[118]

(Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Beloved, not even by mistake did I love You, yet You continued to cherish me of Your own accord. Each time I rejected Your love. I ran far away, and You extended Your hands, caught me, and brought me back. Again and again You said, "Do not travel that road." I stubbornly continued, while You kept running behind me. You bore the immense burden of this age-old offender and sinner. Within the sorrow I created myself, You took and sustained me in Your lap.

[119]

(Rāga Māṇḍ; Tāla: Kaharvā)

Filled with anger, delusion, pride, and sin, I installed conceit in my heart. I regarded everyone as insignificant and insulted all. Deceiver of the Lord, deceiver of the world, deceiver of myself, abode of sin, caught in the senses' objects, I remain forever a slave to enjoyment.

Continuation of [119]

Lover, knower, devotee, or saint: these are exceedingly remote from me. Deluded, I am a worm of hell, engaged in sin day and night. No one in this world is as fallen or sinful as I. Why speak of heaven's enjoyments? I have no place even in hell. I daily accept service from everyone and deliver fraudulent instruction, while no trace of saintliness exists anywhere within my heart. May the vessel of my sin burst and everyone regard me with disgust. May I undergo every bitter consequence of my own conduct. Compassionate Lord, grant me this boon, through which my sins may be cut away and supreme welfare arise.

[120]

(Rāga Jaṅgalā; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Receiving the exceedingly rare human birth, I did not worship Bhagavān. I remained continually steeped in false enjoyments, imagining them to be happiness. I accepted sensual pleasure as the sole goal of life. From this, ever-new diseases of body and mind naturally kept increasing. The fever of desire continually grew, with possessiveness, attachment, delusion, intoxication, and pride. Self-awareness was lost, madness spread, and all knowledge disappeared. Only a world filled with attraction and aversion came to dwell within my mind. Hundreds of thousands of distortions causing terrible downfall arose in my life. I regarded sin as virtue and certain destruction as great advancement. Driven by greed, anger, hatred, and violence, delight awakened within this fallen one. A terrible fire began burning in my heart and all peace vanished. Hypocrisy became the support of life, and immeasurable, seemingly indelible weariness spread. The evening of life has arrived, and this life's final hour has come. Even then awareness has not awakened and the snare of delusion has not broken. Lord, show grace now to this low, strayed one, naturally generous Lord. Taking me into the shelter of Your feet, deliver this fallen one now.

[121]

(Rāga Deśa; Tāla: Tīntāl)

There is no end to my sin.

Extremely greedy for sensory pleasure, having lost every restraint of family honor, performing vile deeds and acting as an oppressor, there is no sin I can deny. There is no end... (1)

Called a learned devotee in the world, receiving bodily pleasures of every kind, maintaining a relationship solely with enjoyment: is this not the expansion of sin? There is no end... (2)

I babble about divine love, while the fire of desire blazes fiercely within my heart and the current of sin does not stop for a moment. Is this not corruption? There is no end... (3)

I proclaim myself "Caitanya," adorn myself as a lover, and shed tears of rasa, while my mind remains dry toward Hari's rasa. Is this not wicked conduct? There is no end... (4)

Falsely I sing, falsely I weep, falsely I lose all awareness, and falsely I fall unconscious. Is this not false conduct? There is no end... (5)

At times I strut as the "Tathāgata," continually crying, "Suffering, suffering," while my mind strings together an unbroken chain of sensual happiness. Is this not the spread of deception? There is no end... (6)

Continuation of [121]

At times I make myself an incarnation, openly having my feet worshiped in grand fashion and devising fraud and disguise of every kind. Is this not hypocritical conduct? There is no end... (7)

Creating a pretense, I deceive the world. Even great sin does not trouble my mind, and I feel no anguish for Hari's welfare. Is this not demonic conduct? There is no end... (8)

Indwelling Lord, You behold everything. Nothing is hidden from You, Master. Lustful, I deceive even You; there is no rustic fool like me. There is no end... (9)

I naturally commit sin continually and never fear in any way, yet You are forgiveness embodied, destroyer of evil deeds. Is this not boundless grace? There is no end... (10)

No one else as low as I has lost every auspicious current, yet none is compassionate like You; no such giver exists in the world. There is no end... (11)

I am forever Your offender, yet I remain exceedingly dear to You. You have never forgotten me. Is this not wondrous affection? There is no end... (12)

I continually receive Your love and continually eat what You have given, yet I forever travel in the opposite direction without the least reflection. There is no end... (13)

Continuation of [121]

I am low and my faults have no end, yet Your forgiveness is abundant, never diminishing in the least; it has no farther shore. There is no end... (14)

You never tire of showing grace. You personally lift those who have fallen, take their hands, and lead them upon the true path. No foundation of love equals You. There is no end... (15)

You uphold Your sacred renown, forget every fault, and stroke my head. Taking me into Your lap, You cherish me forever. Is this not unfathomable love? There is no end to my sin. There is no end... (16)

[122]

(Rāga Paraj; Tāla: Kaharvā)

How can I take Your name, and how can I spread its joy? I want it to remain covered while my own name is publicized. I say, "Day and night I sing only Your name," but using it as a screen, I continually spread my own name. I forever cover the speech of sages and seers, and even Your own words. Placing my speech before them, I proclaim it the unshakable truth. Cutting out lines written by You, I write my own words over them, as though striking them with the vaunted glory of my writing skill. Lowering the names of everyone else, I hold my own name high. Stealing others' beauty, I adorn my worthless self richly. Silencing everyone's melody, I naturally want only myself to be heard. Therefore I slander all and daily increase my sin through falsehood.

Continuation of [122]

Lord, remove this most terrible calamity born of my name. Extend Your own hand and rescue me immediately from infatuation with reputation. Then may Your true name spread throughout the world through my life, so that together with all beings I too may reach Your supreme abode.

[123]

(Tune: Ghazal)

This impure life of mine is filled with sins, yet, Sustainer, Your gaze never rested upon those sins. You always looked mercifully upon this sinner. You seated me lovingly beside You and never rejected me. You said, "Child, every sin of your uncomprehending self is forgiven. For you the road of My mercy is forever open." How can I thank You, Master? I am Your servant. Keep me fallen at Your feet and continue saying, "You are My servant."

[124]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

I am filled with boundless faults, devoid of faith, devotion, and sacred feeling. Without spiritual discipline, ceaselessly absorbed in impurity, my restless mind remains corrupt. Yet You are my mother, full of maternal affection, pure and governed by love. I am a bad son, but receiving Your affection, how can I remain destitute? Compassionate, You forever keep me in Your own lap. Forgetting this, I foolishly imagine delight within worldly enjoyments. For this very reason, sin and suffering can surround and sport with me. Mother, remove this covering so that auspicious joy may forever increase.

[125]

(Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Kaharvā)

May Rāmabhadra, the eternal supreme truth and embodiment of ultimate happiness, conscious, stainless, beginningless, unborn, imperishable, unmoving, and incomparable, whose forms are all forms, who transcends all, is filled with līlā, and is the root of all, remain forever favorable to His servant.

[126]

(Rāga Deśa; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Make life into music. Through the strings of the lute of my heart, let everyone hear a honey-sweet melody. With the honeyed rasa of my life, make every life tender and full of rasa. Through my joy-filled laughter, make everyone laugh amid sorrow. Lord, bless my happiness by joining it with everyone's pain. Give all a place upon the bank of the river of nectarean rasa flowing from Your lotus feet.

[127]

(Rāga Jaijaiwantī; Tāla: Jhūmrā)

Bowing at Your feet, I now set myself to Your work. Today I am appointed to obey Your command. Remain within me and keep hold of my reins. Continue warning this utterly unrestrained, restless mind. Seeing the indwelling knower present within, may the mind become watchful. The moment a sinful desire arises, may it burn away in shame. Whatever cries of living beings I hear throughout the day, may my mind regard them as songs of Your qualities and rejoice in immense happiness. Hari, You alone pervade everything; this entire universe exists within You. With my inner being filled by this feeling, may I meet all while beholding You. Whatever conduct I perform through my senses at every moment, may I act only as Yours and solely to delight You.

[128]

(Rāga Tilaṅga; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Hari, now my one reliance is You. I possess no means of knowledge or devotion, and see no detachment in my heart. I never tire of carrying sin, and my mind is a servant of sense objects. All the senses remain constantly absorbed in enjoyment, beyond my control. Powerful enemies such as desire, anger, pride, and greed surround me. Though suffering greatly, I lie helpless with no way to escape. I tested every relative; not one remained near in the hour of adversity. Compassionate friend of the lowly, show mercy and save this boat sinking in the waters of existence.

[129]

(Rāga Vāṇeśrī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, remember Your own renowned nature. You have taken the name deliverer of the fallen; do not forget it now. Who in the world is more fallen than I, chief among sinners? Searching out sin throughout the world, I committed so much that it cannot be counted. Writing and recording my sins, Citragupta became exhausted and defeated. Even then their end did not appear; reflecting, he laid down his pen. Until now You have rescued many fallen ones; now cast Your veil over me. Preserve the honor of Your name and do not lose credibility.

[130]

(Rāga Khamāja; Tāla: Dīpacandī) (Mārwāṛī dialect)

Lord, I am Yours, indeed Yours. Good or bad, crooked or lustful, whatever I am is Yours. If I am ruined, it is Yours that is ruined; You alone must reform me. If reformed, Lord, it is Yours that is reformed; I am never separate from You.

Continuation of [130]

Bad, bad, I am very bad, yet ultimately I am Your child. If I remain known as bad, it is Your name that will be spoiled. I am Yours, I shall sound only as Yours, and remain Yours, Yours alone! A fingernail cannot fall away from the finger; consider this Yourself. If my cause is lost, let it be lost; I have no concern for myself. My one great concern is that Your renown will be shamed. Do whatever seems fitting now, Lord; slay me or carry me across. If the thigh is uncovered, You Yourself will die of shame; consider this profound matter.

[131]

(Rāga Jogī; Tāla: Dīpacandī) (Mārwāṛī dialect)

Lord, I have come into Your shelter. Let me play whatever game pleases Your heart, in whatever manner You choose. The entire burden has left my mind and sorrow has vanished. Worry disappeared when I found support in Your great feet. All thought and concern now rest upon You. I have become carefree, inwardly filled with joy. Honor and disgrace are all Yours; I am merely called Your servant. The bee of my mind has gone and clung to Your lotus feet.

[132]

(Rāga Pīlū; Tāla: Dīpacandī) (Mārwāṛī dialect)

Lord, this maidservant has fallen into Your refuge. Quickly cut away my noose of birth and death within the ocean of existence. Lord, I have endured immense suffering. Wandering through eighty-four lakh births, I attained a human body. Erase this heap of sorrows.

Continuation of [132]

Lord, I committed many sins. Hope for worldly enjoyments gave me immense sorrow. Desire is utterly ruinous. Lord, I did not practice devotion. I squandered my lifetime thirsting for false enjoyments. Imperishable Lord, erase my sorrow now. Lord, all hope has now broken. Devotion to Your sacred feet alone is the life-restoring herb. May I remain forever thirsty for Your vision.

[133]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Tāla: Tīntāl) (Mārwāṛī dialect)

Lord, save me this time. (Refrain) I have become caught in a whirlpool's net; show me the path of escape. I lost the road and found darkness; reveal the way Yourself. You possess immense enthusiasm for delivering the suffering. Lord, tell me: who in the world suffers as I do? Master, I have endured immense hardship; now cut away the snare. My courage is gone and dharma too has slipped away; remove this calamity Yourself. Lord, I am deeply afflicted; delay no longer. Forgive Your servant's offense and grant me refuge.

[134]

(Rāga Pahāṛī; Tāla: Kaharvā) (Mārwāṛī dialect)

Where can I go now? Defeated, I have come into Your shelter. As long as wealth made a commotion in the house, brothers cast their shade over me. Many brothers-in-law and relatives appeared, each proclaiming a close kinship.

Continuation of [134]

Countless companions arose and displayed immense love. Each spoke more fervently than the last and called himself one life with me. Assemblies, societies, councils, and village courts seated me very high. They raised a great cry of praise and proclaimed me exceedingly wise. Everyone in the household and every relation delighted in me. With their words, all appeared ready to shed blood in place of sweat. Then Mother Lakṣmī showed grace by revealing her fickle form. Gathering up māyā, she removed the curtain of delusion. I became bitter to mother and father; my brothers' regard diminished. Brothers-in-law and relatives all departed, and no one came near. Of the many companions who called themselves one life with me, not one stood in the way. Instead, the world mocked me and called me a fool. Love broke, everyone's company ended, and all scattered. They turned up their noses as they spoke; the entire world became alien. Mistaking the world for the form of happiness, I remained deluded for many days. The secret was exposed, and everyone's real nature appeared openly. Every delusion disappeared, and my mind became fixed upon Your feet. Lord, You immediately gave this orphaned, fallen sinner a Master.

[135]

(Rāga Sāhanā; Tāla: Tevrā)

Compassionate friend of the lowly, accept this lowly one. Carry my sinking boat across the midstream. Lord, You are the purifier of the fallen, and I am the most fallen of all. Purify me; I have come and fallen into Your refuge. The entire world says that You honor the poor. Poor and orphaned, I am forever swept along in the current of sorrow.

Continuation of [135]

Free me from this poverty and make me one who has a Master. Having found a Lord like You, why should I still be called an orphan? When one is immeasurably thirsty and distraught, desiring a single drop of water, You are such an extraordinary quencher of thirst that You give him nectar and milk. All this boundless glory of Yours is true, Lord. Why then, all-pervading One, have I remained deprived until now? This is no longer fitting, Lord; show me grace. Free me from the bondage of sin and grant me eternal peace.

[136]

(Rāga Kakarā; Tāla: Rūpaka)

Friend of the lowly, ocean of grace, grant a drop of grace, Lord. Through that drop of grace, may my understanding become such that all its swift-moving tendencies go and merge in the Lord, just as every river and stream merges into the ocean. Whichever way I look, may I behold Śrī Rāma. Even when I close my eyes, may I see Ghanaśyāma's lotus face. Lord, grant this boon, that I may come and merge into You. As a wave merges in the ocean, grant me too a place within You. May every sorrow fall away and the petty boundary disappear. May the confusion of duality end and all be filled with bliss. May bliss be limitless; may bliss be complete bliss. May bliss be the bliss of Being and the bliss of Consciousness. May it be the bliss of bliss, bliss within bliss, bliss belonging to bliss, bliss and bliss alone.

[137]

(Rāga Kedāra; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, may my mind be shaken so deeply that all the poison of sense objects drains away and never covers it again. May every desire of the mind perish, and may it run nowhere else. Continually absorbed in beholding sweetness, may it find joy in Śyāma's form. As a lustful man desires a woman's company and a miser fixes his mind on wealth, so may it ceaselessly remember its Beloved and not forget even for a moment. May possessiveness toward the entire world fall away and sweet Śyāma's beauty alone delight it. Then may the mind become a bee tasting the rasa of His lotus face.

[138]

(Rāga Kedāra; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Great King, I have now attained fulfillment. You gave this poor one the refuge of Your feet; blessed is the One who honors the poor! I wandered through sky, water, and earth, assuming ever-new attire. Nowhere, Lord, did I find peace such as I have found today. In many forms I worshiped a vast assembly of gods. I pleased many wealthy and generous people, yet my purpose was not fulfilled. My broken ship was sinking in the ocean of sorrow. Suddenly I found the shore of Your feet, and sorrow's dominion ended.

[139]

(Rāga Bhīmapalāsī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, how can welfare arise now? This low life remains continually turned from the Lord's lotus feet. The deeply impure mind, anguished by another's happiness, seeks the supreme state. Truth, nonviolence, love, and compassion have all departed far away. The piercing arrow of hatred, disgust, and violence has entered the heart.

Continuation of [139]

Filled with a divisive understanding, the heart has become stone in every way. Forgetting the sense of shared selfhood, it forever sharpens the blade of hostility. The terrible ghost of desire has seized it, and the measure of dharma has vanished. Corrupt in both worlds, I have become an animal without tail or horns. I disregard śruti and smṛti and do not read the Purāṇas. Lord, You alone must now rescue this fallen, low, helpless one.

[140]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tāla: Kaharvā)

An offender stands at the Lord's door. He seeks justice, not forgiveness; punish him according to his fault. (1) If You wish to impose a fine, burn every self-interest to ashes. Do not allow any claim of one's own or mine to remain. (2) If You wish to imprison him, place him in the fetters of love. Keep him bound forever in the prison of Your feet. (3) If You wish to exile him, plunder his home and world. Quickly carry the offender beyond the ocean of existence. (4) Never allow him to return; let his useless self die. Let him be swept away there in the current of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. (5)

[141]

(Rāga Bhairavī)

When will that auspicious day and blessed hour come, when the māyā-bound mind becomes lowly, free of delusion and absorbed in the Lord's sacred feet? When will it become disgusted with the world's false matters? When will it recognize as terrible what it now regards as delightful? When will it place the dust of the Guru's feet upon its head? When will it resolutely slay enemies such as desire, anger, and greed? When will it dwell alone in the sacred land served by sages? When will all sin be destroyed by the holy current of the Gaṅgā?

Continuation of [141]

When will the powerful senses cease delighting in their objects? When will they learn to turn back and become established within? When will the piercing radiance of spiritual practice dispel all darkness? When will the mind turn from sense objects and attain pure devotion to Hari? When will the painful, powerful craving for wealth, followers, and position end? When will the noose of honor, acclaim, I, and mine break? When will this dream of delusion end, and when will the phenomenal deception be obstructed? When will supreme detachment manifest, and when will the mind attain unfathomable joy? When will false ego, cause of the fear of existence, be destroyed? When will the true nature appear and identification with the body cease? When will the face of the one infinite happiness that supports all appear? When will the mind learn to behold eternal nondifference amid every distinction? When will the reflection become the original, and when will the mere appearance in consciousness end? When will it dwell forever in innate bliss, stainless, unborn, and imperishable?

[142]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Bhagavān, make my understanding stainless. Remove the entire net of argument and pride in good judgment. Remove delusion, māyā, possessiveness, intoxication, envy, and false honor. Hari, remove corrupt desire, lustful thought, crooked understanding, and ignorance. Taking away hypocrisy, faults, and misconduct, grant simplicity. Remove the powerful longing for enjoyment, yoga, liberation, and heaven. Knowing me as Your own, make me a servant of Your lovely feet forever. Fill my heart with devotion and faith, and grant love. Never send me away from Your feet; erase awareness of worldly existence.

[143]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Bhagavān, make me devoid of clever intellect. Take away every power of argument and remove knowledge and realized wisdom. Remove civilization, education, culture, and the glory of the modern world. Remove pride in learning, wealth, and intoxication; Hari, remove every conceit. Free me from the burden of policy and fear, and grant simplicity. I desire neither enjoyment nor yoga, neither honor nor respect. Make me rustic and uncultivated, low as grass and utterly free of pride. Fill my heart with devotion and faith, and grant love. Ocean of love, submerge me within Yourself and erase every name and trace of me.

[144]

(Rāga Āsāvarī; Tāla: Tīntāl)

Lord, now rescue me. Lustful, crooked, difficult, devoured by Kali, vile, an abode of deception; deluded, loud-mouthed, crushed by immense pride, dull, impure in conduct; encircled by sense objects, beaten down, unsteady, filled with proliferating distortions; poor, sorrowful, ill-fated, difficult to overcome, fallen into misery, burdened by bad qualities; deeply muddy, fallen, hostile, shameless, and without substance; destitute, deprived of all Vedic and scriptural wisdom, forever chained to home and spouse. Refuge of the lowly, the śruti widely proclaims Your renown as destroyer of calamity. Hearing that sacred fame, I have now come to the door of the destroyer of sin.

[145]

(Raga Bhairavi - Tala Kaharava)

O You beyond all qualities, the refuge of every quality! O incomparable One who fills every comparison! O formless One, formed as every form! O eternal One, abode of peace! O unborn, primal, beginningless and flawless One! O infinite and imperishable One! O concentrated Existence-Consciousness-Bliss and knowledge, beyond duality, dwelling in every heart!

O auspicious, witnessing, pure, eternal One, detached from all, foundation of all! O temple of blessedness, beautiful, immaculate and gentle One, equal-minded and free from change! O indwelling Knower, innermost, stainless and unmoving, beyond calculation and without limit! O desireless Nara-Narayana, eternal, untainted, ever fresh and tender!

O dark as a new rain cloud, human in form yet formless, ocean-like in vastness! O impartial Lord, giver of joy to the saints, embodied Lord of divine play! O plenitude, all-pervading sovereign of the three worlds, Lord of the gods, Lord of maya, Bhagavan! O guardian of the guardianless, uplifter of the fallen, deliverer of souls, treasure-house of compassion!

O strength of the weak, refuge of those without refuge, compassionate Lord of the lowly! O generous giver, protector of the surrendered, tender guardian of those who seek shelter, keeper of Your people! O Keshava, ocean of mercy, tender and supremely loving Lord! Compassionate One, now grant us a place at Your two fear-dispelling feet.

Let us place upon our heads the dust of Your feet, adored by gods and sages and delighted in by Kamala. We shall become supremely happy and shall easily cross the ocean of becoming.

[146]

(Raga Bhimapalasi - Tala Kaharava)

O Lord, You alone are everyone's master; You alone are everyone's protector. O all-pervading One, You pervade the entire universe, assuming innumerable forms. You are the sky, water, earth and fire; You are the sun, moon and stars. All that moves and does not move abides in You; You alone are the pole star guiding everyone.

Continuation of [146]

O Lord, we are utterly foolish and ignorant people, drowning in the ocean of becoming. We do not practice even a little devotion to You; our impure minds remain deeply absorbed in sense objects. We never enter holy company and remain wholly immersed in the company of the wicked. Enduring terrible sorrow day and night, we remain far from true happiness.

You are the friend of the lowly and purifier of the world; we are profoundly low and fallen. We have no place anywhere in the world, so we have come to Your refuge. We lie at Your doorway and have offered body, mind and wealth to You. Now remove our suffering, O Hari, our Lord! We are disgraced and utterly miserable.

You must steer this broken boat across the ocean of becoming. Then, O Lord, You must lift us with Your own hands and seat us beside You. O refuge of the shelterless, Lord of the lordless, now You must grant us shelter. You must surely make us eternal servants of Your own feet.

[147]

(Raga Bhairavi - Tala Kaharava)

O Master, my sole support, foundation of my life! Relying upon Your causeless mercy, I have come and fallen at Your door. Where can I go in this world? Apart from You there is no giver of shelter. I wandered and tested everyone, found nothing, and lost my honor. Far from taking me in, no one would even meet my gaze. They did me the greatest good: they taught me the truth and shattered every false belief.

Continuation of [147]

I became hopeless and dejected, and lost all faith in the pleasures of the world. I discovered the true nature of those for whose sake I had squandered my life. Now I see no support other than You, like a crow released from a ship at sea that finds no other resting place. Compassionate One, have mercy! Quickly open the doors of Your sanctuary now. O Lord, show me a glimpse of Your graceful form and let me hear a few sweet words. May that supremely sweet divine voice resound through every pore, and may the strings of my heart sound with it, their own note merging into Yours. May my body thrill, and may every petal of the lotus of my pure heart unfold. Becoming bees at Your tender feet, may they forever revel there. May I become intoxicated and forget all awareness of body and mind. Then may I behold in every particle Your lovely form, dark as a fresh rain cloud. O Master, becoming Your servant, may I grow strong through Your strength. Knowing me as one of Your own, may sins and afflictions hide themselves in fear.

[148]

(Raga Bhimapalasi - Tala Kaharava)

If there were no fallen souls in the world, who would call You Purifier of the Fallen? Without the existence of the degraded, who would call You Uplifter of the Degraded? If there were no sinners, who would call You Deliverer of Sinners? Without the lowly, O Compassionate Lord of the Lowly, who would call You Friend of the Lowly? How can You forget the fallen, degraded, sinful and poor, and how can You turn away those through whom You earned these names? All four qualities are complete in me, so I possess a special claim. I am the means by which Your names may be preserved; in this way I too am Your benefactor.

Continuation of [148]

Even after all this, O Lord, if You do not remember me, forgive the offense, but how then will these names be protected? Hear this delirious cry and quickly deliver me now, O Lord. Do not abandon Your names: helplessness compels me to say this. You are known as the protector of the one who has no one. Why then, O Lord, do You hesitate so much to accept me? Your names are eternally meaningful: this is my firm conviction. Therefore purify me, O Lord, for I have no hope from anywhere else. I am holding tightly to Your feet and will not move away in any manner now. You may throw me aside if You dislike my lying here like this. But remember this, O Lord: if You reject me in this way, who will then call You refuge of the shelterless and Lord of the lordless?

[149]

(Raga Bilaval - Tala Tevara)

O Lord, how could I ever forsake Your feet?

These feet are supremely dear to me; not for an instant shall I turn away from them.

The Vedas, gods and sages proclaim the immeasurable glory of these feet. Your servant experiences it constantly and remains holding them day and night.

The instant their touch fell upon the stone, it became a beautiful woman, Ahalya, wife of the great sage. How could I possibly cast them aside?

For the shelterless there is no other refuge equal to these feet. If there is one, show it to me, and I shall run and seize it.

I shall not be driven away by any other means; do whatever can be done. As a bee in the world of water clings to nectar, I shall keep my mind fixed upon these feet.

[150]

(Raga Deshi Khamaj - Tala Punjabi Theka)

I have come seeking Your feet and taken refuge in You. Quickly grant me fearlessness, O Bihari!

I wandered astray through countless births. Now, O Murari, I shall not leave the Lord's feet.

None is as lowly as I, and no giver is Your equal. How perfectly matched our pair has proved!

I am fallen, and You are the Purifier of the Fallen. Uphold Your own renowned nature and purify me.

[151]

(Raga Deshi Khamaj - Tala Tritala)

After wandering through many births for many ages, I am exhausted. Now my one reliance is upon You.

Though crooked, attached to desire and sinful, I am nevertheless forever Your servant.

Where could I go after forsaking Your feet? I have taken refuge in the lotus feet of the Lord.

[152]

(Raga Bihag - Tala Tritala)

O Mohana, keep me beneath the dust of Your feet. I desire neither the station of a god, nor that of Indra or Brahma; cast liberation away. Keep all the furnishings of worldly happiness, for they cannot dispel sorrow. May worldly pleasure and pain, gain and loss be equal, and may my mind never burn over them. Ceaselessly beholding the abode of beauty, may body and mind forever melt in love.