The True Nobility

Poetic RenderingDo not fault me, O Lord,for this noble birth I did not choose.You have placed me among Your saintsKakkayya, Channayya, Dasayyaand what weight has lineage before such light?Will Kakkayya…

Bhakta - Maheswara MAHESHWARA

The Two Suns of Devotion

Poetic RenderingThe morning sun warms the skinthe noon sun scorches it.So it is with devotion, O Lord:worship of the Linga begins soft and sweet,but service to the jangamaburns away every…

Maheshwara - Bhakta Pranalingi - Bhakta Sharana - Bhakta

The Law of Spiritual Consequence

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…

Bhakta - Maheswara MAHESHWARA

The Moth and the Flame of Truth

Poetic RenderingLike a washerman thrashing clotheshe cannot keep,so I once lashed at life’s illusionsbeauty, wealth, the lure of land and soil.Blind to You, O Koodalasangamadeva,I fed upon shadows.Only in You…

Maheshwara - Bhakta BHAKTA

The Breath That Outweighs All Offerings

Poetic RenderingA sword in one hand,flesh in the other,lips stained with liquorcan such a one claim the Linga?No, the Linga they wearrests only on the surface,not within the heart.I call…

Maheshwara - Bhakta Aikya - Bhakta BHAKTA

The Two Hands of Grace

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…

Pranalingi - Bhakta Sharana - Bhakta Aikya - Bhakta

The Urgency of Now

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,…

Prasadi - Aikya Bhakta - Aikya Maheshwara - Aikya

The All Consuming Radiance

Poetic RenderingWherever I turn my eyes,Your radiance meets me first.In joy, in sorrow,in the quiet chambers of thoughtonly You shine.How can darkness standbefore the face of the sun?So too, when…

Prasadi - Aikya Bhakta - Aikya Maheshwara - Aikya

The Cosmic Body of God

Poetic RenderingWherever I turn,only You shine before me.Eyes of every creature are Your eyes,faces in all directions are Your face.The hands that hold the world,the feet that steady the earthall…

Bhakta - Maheswara MAHESHWARA

The Alchemy of Self Surrender

Poetic RenderingLet me see myself as foe or friend whichever truth You show me.If I stand against Your sharanas,let that be my undoing;if old, stubborn thoughts cling to me,burn them…