Poetic RenderingFor the sake of petty gains,I have squandered treasures beyond measurethis much, at least, I now understand.Unaware of the fountain of devotion within,my mind has chased illusionsand strayed into…

Poetic RenderingDecorate the pumpkin as you please,paint it, garland it, worship itwill its inner rot depart?Never.Give the Linga to onewhose heart is weak,whose mind has no resolvewill the light of…

Poetic RenderingThey boast of lineage,and speak of another’s sinthus sharing in it,smearing their own hands with the same dirt.What worth is devotion by birth?What worth are rituals without true bhakti?When…

Poetic RenderingThey sit before the Linga in show of prayer,yet their hearts wander into idle talk and deceit.It is like lurking in tall grass, to strike the innocent deer cruel,…

Poetic RenderingBy thinking of the red serpent,will the black snake turn red?By recalling the wealthy,will the poor man become rich?By remembering a pauper,will the rich lose his gold?If memory alone…

Poetic RenderingSearch in shallow ponds and wellsyou will gather only pebbles and shells.Dive into the deep ocean,and the hidden pearls will shine.So too, when we roam among the shallow-hearted,we find…

Poetic RenderingIf a servant fails his master, the master's name is shamed. O Lord, make me a servant who does not fail. Make me an unbreakable vessel, O Koodalasangamadeva, So that in this…

Poetic RenderingTo birth, she came as a mother, an illusion so keen,In the attachment’s guise, as daughter unseen.As a spouse in the union, illusion weaves tight,In every role, illusion cloaks…

Poetic RenderingI placed my vow before You:my body is Yours,my mind is Yours,my wealth is Yours.O Lord, keep me truelet me not slip again into the old deceit.Again I vowed:the…

Poetic RenderingI know nothing of measure or melody,no rhythm flows from my untutored hands.I am unskilled in the scales of earth and sky,a stranger to the arts that others claim…