The Heart’s Measure

Poetic RenderingWhat worth in chanting the Vedas?What gain in hearing the Shastras?What fruit in endless penance and chants?All fade into dustif they do not touchthe heart of Kudalasangama. Basavanna’s timeless…

BHAKTA Prasadi - Bhakta

The Two Feasts: Hare and King

Poetic RenderingWhen a hunter returns with a hare,the whole village rushes forthhands outstretched, coins clinking,each eager for a share of the tiny feast.But when a king lies dead,no one steps…

Bhakta - Aikya AIKYA

From Herd Consciousness to Divine Civilization

Poetic RenderingWhat is a human,if Shiva’s light has not dawned within?In cow dung, countless tiny beings are borndoes that make them divine, O Lord?The herds of the forest stay together,the…

Bhakta - Prasadi PRASADI

The True Caste of the Heart

Poetic RenderingWhat if one is born in the lowest of castes,shunned by the world as untouchable?If he wears the Linga with steadfast devotion,he is the true noble onethe radiant Bhakta…

Sharana - Bhakta BHAKTA

My inner faults still cling

Poetic RenderingLike a dog that licks from a cooking pot but cannot lift it back to its place,so am II may recite the Shatsthala, but what have I truly done?My…

Maheshwara - Bhakta BHAKTA

The Stench and the Clay

Poetic RenderingDress a cow-dung Ganesha with champaca blossomsits fragrance will not enter him;the stench remains what it is.Bathe a clay idol in sacred watersdoes the mud lose its nature?It only…

Bhakta - Maheswara Pranalingi - Maheshwara MAHESHWARA

The Burden of the Unreal

Poetic RenderingThose who lack right conduct,whose hearts hold no true devotionI cast them aside. Their worship is mere weight,a hollow load upon the path.And those who toil in endless austeritiesyet…

Sharana - Bhakta BHAKTA

The True Measure of Worth

Poetic RenderingDo not let me praise myself,nor lend my ears to the slander of othersthis alone is Your dharma for me.If I call myself a bhaktayet hunger for honor and…

Bhakta - Maheswara MAHESHWARA

The Alchemy of Association

Poetic RenderingThe touch of the nobletheir company is sweet like nectar itself.The company of the ignobletheir presence is venom,a poison that seeps through the bones of the mind.Between these two…

Bhakta - Maheswara Sharana - Maheshwara MAHESHWARA

The Venom of Association

Poetic RenderingSeek the company of the nobletheir presence shapes and uplifts.Turn away from the company of the corruptfor what is a snake, however patterned or splendid,but poison wrapped in shimmering…