Post by madanmohandas on Oct 6, 2019 10:39:11 GMT -6
This was one of my first attempts at a coherent (to myself) versification, adhering to the measure of iambic pentameter lines, apart from the occasional slip and trip. Verse 8 is the one where it is obvious I'm struggling with the meaning.
Dear mind, to you I humbly supplicate,
To give up arrogance of high estate,
Extraordinary love to cultivate
For teacher, and the holy pasture land,
For cowherds, pious, and the brahman band,
My secret mantra, and the name divine,
And refuge with the loving pair benign. 1
Do not to vice and virtue pay much heed,
As have in ancient scripture been decreed,
Nay, rather serve within Vrndavan’s grove
Radha and Krishna, overwhelmed with love;
And always consider Sachi’s dear son
The same as Nanda’s son, for they are one;
That to Mukunda my teacher is dear;
O mind, to you this is my humble prayer. 2
Should you in Vraj, with love, desire to dwell
From birth to birth, O mind, hear what I tell;
And if you long the loving pair to serve,
These are the ways and means you must observe;
Fondly recall and bow reverence due
To Svarup, Rupa, and his elder too,
And all the blest society who stay
In Vraja, worshipping through all the day. 3
Forsake the harlot Vain-talk, who by stealth
Deprives you of your intellectual wealth;
Of soul’s emancipation hear no more,
Which tigress-like your being will devour;
And even forsake love for Lakshmi’s lord,
Who draws you to his heaven for reward;
Nay, rather, O my mind, I do implore
That Radha-Krishna only you adore,
For they confer on those who worship them
Of their own love supreme the rarest gem. 4
The wayside thieves, Desire and his train,
The noose of vain endeavours, causing pain,
Have flung about my neck, and so I die;
O mind, to save us you must loudly cry
For succor to the guardians of the way,
The devotees of Baka’s enemy,
And they will surely rescue you from grief,
And enlarge you, affording swift relief. 5
O foolish mind, wherefore do you allow
Dissembling and hypocrisy to grow?
Which scorches and deprives us both of bliss,
Like bathing in a stream of donkey’s piss!
Nay, rather take your bath in that bright sea,
Ambrosial love for Gandharva and he
Who lifted up a mountain with his hand;
This is, O mind, what you should understand;
Do this, and then the sure result will be
The highest joy to you and bliss to me. 6
As long as you preeminence desire,
For honours and distinction still aspire,
Which like a base born shameless wench within
Your bosom dances, tainting it with sin,
How can that pure love sanctify your heart,
While she plays there, refusing to depart?
Mind, with deference you must always serve
The favorites of the lord without reserve,
And they will banish her without delay,
So love within your heart can find its way. 7
Just as the worst of recreants am I
He by his grace my heart can rectify;
Just as he does on me mercy bestow,
Sweet nectar of his love supreme to know;
Just as in worship of Gandharva fair
He prompts me to engage with loving care;
Just so, O mind, while in the cowherd land,
To him who held a mountain on his hand,
Call out in plaintive tones and broken voice,
That you may worship thus, and so rejoice. 8
O mind consider what I now shall say,
And heed the mystery that I convey;
My queen is mistress of Vrndavan’s lord,
And he by Vraja’s empress is adored;
Lalita is their confidante most dear,
Their teacher, Visakha, without a peer;
Remember too that merely by the sight
Of that dear lake wherein they take delight,
And Govardhan, of holy mounts the king,
The ecstasy of love’s rapture can bring. 9
Hari’s belovéd Radhika adore,
O mind, in contemplation, I implore;
Whose charming beauty shines with dazzling rays,
Rati, Gauri, Lila with envy blaze;
The power of whose fortune puts to shame
Sachi, Lakshmi, Satya of noble fame;
And even Vraja’s cowherd damosels,
Of whom the fair Chandravali excels,
Are cast aside by her superior grace,
And all their pride of beauty does efface. 10
O mind, in blest Shri Rupa’s company,
Drink the five nectars of divinity;
To worship, and to meditate, and hear
Their wondrous deeds, and with a heart sincere,
To bow in reverence, and pass each day
Making by holy Govardhan your stay.
This is the direct means the love to gain
Of him who lifted up a high mountain,
And Radha, while engrossed in sweet amour,
Surrounded by companions in the bower. 11
Whoever these eleven stanzas sings
With a sweet voice, which from a pure heart springs,
That take the form of lessons to the mind,
All their desires accomplished sure will find;
And dwelling here in Gokul’s shady wood,
And emulating Rupa in his mood,
And keeping society with the good,
The rarest gem of worship shall receive,
And Radha-Krishna’s boundless love achieve. 12
Finis
Dear mind, to you I humbly supplicate,
To give up arrogance of high estate,
Extraordinary love to cultivate
For teacher, and the holy pasture land,
For cowherds, pious, and the brahman band,
My secret mantra, and the name divine,
And refuge with the loving pair benign. 1
Do not to vice and virtue pay much heed,
As have in ancient scripture been decreed,
Nay, rather serve within Vrndavan’s grove
Radha and Krishna, overwhelmed with love;
And always consider Sachi’s dear son
The same as Nanda’s son, for they are one;
That to Mukunda my teacher is dear;
O mind, to you this is my humble prayer. 2
Should you in Vraj, with love, desire to dwell
From birth to birth, O mind, hear what I tell;
And if you long the loving pair to serve,
These are the ways and means you must observe;
Fondly recall and bow reverence due
To Svarup, Rupa, and his elder too,
And all the blest society who stay
In Vraja, worshipping through all the day. 3
Forsake the harlot Vain-talk, who by stealth
Deprives you of your intellectual wealth;
Of soul’s emancipation hear no more,
Which tigress-like your being will devour;
And even forsake love for Lakshmi’s lord,
Who draws you to his heaven for reward;
Nay, rather, O my mind, I do implore
That Radha-Krishna only you adore,
For they confer on those who worship them
Of their own love supreme the rarest gem. 4
The wayside thieves, Desire and his train,
The noose of vain endeavours, causing pain,
Have flung about my neck, and so I die;
O mind, to save us you must loudly cry
For succor to the guardians of the way,
The devotees of Baka’s enemy,
And they will surely rescue you from grief,
And enlarge you, affording swift relief. 5
O foolish mind, wherefore do you allow
Dissembling and hypocrisy to grow?
Which scorches and deprives us both of bliss,
Like bathing in a stream of donkey’s piss!
Nay, rather take your bath in that bright sea,
Ambrosial love for Gandharva and he
Who lifted up a mountain with his hand;
This is, O mind, what you should understand;
Do this, and then the sure result will be
The highest joy to you and bliss to me. 6
As long as you preeminence desire,
For honours and distinction still aspire,
Which like a base born shameless wench within
Your bosom dances, tainting it with sin,
How can that pure love sanctify your heart,
While she plays there, refusing to depart?
Mind, with deference you must always serve
The favorites of the lord without reserve,
And they will banish her without delay,
So love within your heart can find its way. 7
Just as the worst of recreants am I
He by his grace my heart can rectify;
Just as he does on me mercy bestow,
Sweet nectar of his love supreme to know;
Just as in worship of Gandharva fair
He prompts me to engage with loving care;
Just so, O mind, while in the cowherd land,
To him who held a mountain on his hand,
Call out in plaintive tones and broken voice,
That you may worship thus, and so rejoice. 8
O mind consider what I now shall say,
And heed the mystery that I convey;
My queen is mistress of Vrndavan’s lord,
And he by Vraja’s empress is adored;
Lalita is their confidante most dear,
Their teacher, Visakha, without a peer;
Remember too that merely by the sight
Of that dear lake wherein they take delight,
And Govardhan, of holy mounts the king,
The ecstasy of love’s rapture can bring. 9
Hari’s belovéd Radhika adore,
O mind, in contemplation, I implore;
Whose charming beauty shines with dazzling rays,
Rati, Gauri, Lila with envy blaze;
The power of whose fortune puts to shame
Sachi, Lakshmi, Satya of noble fame;
And even Vraja’s cowherd damosels,
Of whom the fair Chandravali excels,
Are cast aside by her superior grace,
And all their pride of beauty does efface. 10
O mind, in blest Shri Rupa’s company,
Drink the five nectars of divinity;
To worship, and to meditate, and hear
Their wondrous deeds, and with a heart sincere,
To bow in reverence, and pass each day
Making by holy Govardhan your stay.
This is the direct means the love to gain
Of him who lifted up a high mountain,
And Radha, while engrossed in sweet amour,
Surrounded by companions in the bower. 11
Whoever these eleven stanzas sings
With a sweet voice, which from a pure heart springs,
That take the form of lessons to the mind,
All their desires accomplished sure will find;
And dwelling here in Gokul’s shady wood,
And emulating Rupa in his mood,
And keeping society with the good,
The rarest gem of worship shall receive,
And Radha-Krishna’s boundless love achieve. 12
Finis