Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol. 5

 

 

This time I have found the secret.¹

One who has the secret has taught me the secret. ²

I have found a man who comes from a land

       where there is no night.

Day or evening, both are equal to me now.

       Lo! Evening is a barren lady.

Sleep has fled, no more shall I sleep.

       I am awake through all the ages.

Now I have handed over sleep to him

to whom it belongs:

I have sent sleep to sleep.

I have mixed borax and sulphur and, like a goldsmith,

I have brought out the purest gold

And I shall scrub and clean the temple of jewel.

Prasad says: Devotion and Liberation

I carry on my head,

Now I know that Brahman is another name of Shyama,

       my Mother,

And I have abandoned all pious observances and practices.

 

(2)

 

A dark cloud has arisen in the sky within:

And my soul, like a peacock, dances about

in sheer merriment.

 

¹ This time I have found the heart of things.

² He who is the Heart of things has taught me the things of the heart.

 

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The earth with her eager lips cries, "mother, O mother",

       as in thunder roll

And the soft smile of love's ecstasy makes the

lightning gleam

And tears flow ceaselessly like ceaseless rains.

The rainbird, my heart, is now eased of all fear.

Not in this life nor in the next nor in lives hereafter,

Ramprasad says, no more shall he take birth

in a human womb.

 

(3)

 

O my mind! Are you in quest of That?

O insane that you are dwelling in a dark dungeon!

That is the very object of love, how can one

seize it without love?

O my mind, hold firm the third eye in front

with all your gathered power.

Within the chamber, there is a dark chamber,

Oh, when it dawns, That will go into hiding!

In all the visions of philosophy there was no vision of that

nor in all the scriptures and revelations.

The Enjoyer of the enjoyment in Devotion,

That swells ever in delight within the home.

In the quest of love, that is the supreme yogi

       doing yoga age after age.

When love arises, it seizes you even as a magnet

does a piece of iron.

Prasad says, I am in quest of That in the form of the Mother­ –

But do I break the secret and scatter it

under the open sky?

O my mind, rather try to understand through signs

       and signals.

 

(4)

 

My body is now my Mother's field

       What danger is there in it any more?

The Supreme Divine Himself is the wise sower

       And He has sown the seeds of His great Mantra.

 

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  All around the body, his Law has raised the fencing

       And my trust has given. it its firm supports.

What can time, the arch thief, do now?

       For the Timeless has become the Protector.

The six bullocks within saw and heard

       and have already bolted;

The sharp edge of the scythe that is the Mother's name

       has cut away all the sinful weeds,

Love and devotion are showering their fostering rains

       day and night. . .

O my friend, the four great fulfilments are the fruits

       that the Mother's bounteous Grace has yielded.

 

(5)

 

Her whole head of hair run loose, a belt of human figures

       round her waist the lady of beauty dances upon her lord:

The human ray and the solar ray blaze in her eyes,

       her face is the very orb of the moon.

Infant bodies shot with arrows dangle from her ears

               as ear rings;

       in her left hands a sword and a sundered head.

A right hand calls down safety and security:

 

       Oh! the dark beauty of her matchless body.

Ever in abandoned ecstasy lay her limbs,

       her laughter pours out streaming nectar.

All this is her self-robe: "Fear not! Fear not!" she proclaims,

       the youthful damsel, beloved of the Lord!

Be gracious to Prasad, 0 darling to my Lord,

       I have such fear of this ocean of a world!

You are the secret word that wipes away all suffering:

       your feet alone hold for me

               all the holy places of pilgrimage.

 

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