Poetic RenderingWhat worth is this life of mineif I lock away what I possessand offer nothing to those in need?If my hands refuse to give,would it not be betterthat they…
Poetic Rendering“Come near, come closer,”the true sharanas call.Some step forward shyly,a hand over the mouthnot from pride,but from the softness of little learning,simple lives, simple words.Yet their faint whispersshine with…
Poetic RenderingSome flaunt itfor the world to see.Some wear the Lingabecause they were told to,others because they were scolded into it.But to wear itwithout inner firelike a marriage thread without…
Poetic Rendering“They shared food with all kinds of peopleof every caste, every manner, every way,” they say,“and so they lost their religion.”Tell me, thencan such ones be called bhaktas?Can they…
Poetic RenderingIf a jangama arrives wrapped in silk,you bow and call him holy.If another comes in tattered cloth,you turn away and call him low.To see difference where none existsthat is…
Poetic RenderingWhen they declare"This jangama is superior,that one mediocre,this one inferior"my heart burns with protest,my spirit flames with outrage.Can there truly be,O Koodalasangamadeva,such a thing asa fortunate or ordinary jangama?…
Poetic RenderingCan one place glowing embers on the headand hope to escape the burn?Can one chew grain mixed with stonesand not shatter the jaw?So toothose who mock or scorn the…
Poetic RenderingWith a bowl of milk in one hand,and a staff of discipline in the other,the Jangama comes to me as fatherfeeding with love,guiding with firmness.He is the living shrine…
Poetic RenderingWhy wait? Why wander in delay?Before this body hardens like unripe fruit,taste the sweetness of truth now.Life is a spark hidden in a dying emberbefore it cools to ash,…