Poetic RenderingThe Vedas trembled in their scrolls,the shastras faltered, speechless and bare.All their thinkers, turning and turning,found no path into living truththeir words collapsedfor want of experience.And the coming of…

Poetic RenderingIn the thick jungle of this worldly lifethere are indeed tigers,there are indeed bearsdangers seen and unseen at every turn.But the Sharana walks unshaken.Even where others tremble,his steps do…

Poetic RenderingThe sunlight rising is the life-breath of the lotus;The moon’s cool glow is the life-breath of the water-lily.So too, within this fragile body,the meeting-place of devotion and awarenessis the…

Poetic RenderingCan I call the all-embracing Siriyalaa devotee who offered even his only sona mere merchant?Can I call Sharana Machideva, radiant in truth, a washerman?Can I call Sharana Kakkaya, pure…

Poetic RenderingBeneath the festive garlands, the sacrificial lamb grazes, unaware.Unknowing of the knife that awaits its throat, the feast that demands its flesh.Was it born for this purpose? Was its…

Poetic RenderingBehold the golden bangle that circles the wristit shines for all to see,yet it cannot be passed from hand to hand.See the armlet shaped to one man’s measurewhat fits…

Poetic RenderingWhen cream blends with jaggeryand becomes one crystal of sweetnessjust so are these Vachanas:the river of truth flowing unbrokeninto the ocean of being.Yet turning away from this stream,they dig…

Poetic RenderingThe milk belongs to the calfits mouth has already claimed it.The river belongs to the fishendlessly it drinks what it lives within.The fragrance of a blossom belongs to the…

Poetic RenderingThe serpent, coiled like a curving script,always slips back into its waiting hole.The winding river restless, shimmeringfinds its way at last to the ocean’s boundless heart.So too, O Kudalasangamadeva,no…