Poetic RenderingWhat worth are brothers, kin, or family ties?If they are not joined with the Linga,they are strangers to me.Clinging devotion to blood and lineageleads only to hell,O Koodalasangamadeva. The…

Poetic RenderingA house abandoned by its masteronly a stray dog slips in and out of such a place.I will not enter any dwellingwhere You, O Kudalasangama-deva, do not reside.This body…

Poetic RenderingIn places unseen and unknown,if they call us dull or foolish,let us look within and askwhy?They beckon us with no offering of worth,yet rejoice in belittling us.Let that be…

Poetic RenderingThey bend low before the horse-traderbecause his coins glitterbut when they see the saint in tattered cloth,they turn away saying, “We have no time.”Such is the wisdom of this…

Poetic RenderingThe sheep wanders in the sugarcane fieldyet knows nothing of sweetnessit nibbles the dry leavesand walks away satisfied.Only the great elephantpresses the cane and drinks its essence.So too, O…

Poetic RenderingKudalasangama is the giver,and the receiver as well.What value is our offeringwe who, like insects trapped in a well,exchange crumbs and call it generosity?He nourishes the threefold cycle:birth, existence,…

Poetic Rendering“Do not hunt with the bow,” they say,yet they build grand halls on ivory pillars.The world’s tongue is ever double condemnation its custom.Such is their way of work, O…

Poetic RenderingAcross Jambudweepathis land of nine vast divisionspeople speak of two sovereign powers:one that frightens with the cry, “You will be destroyed!”and another that rises with the vow, “I shall…

Poetic RenderingOffer your body in devoted service to the Guru,Offer your mind in pure surrender to the Linga,Offer your wealth in sacred sharing with the Jangama.But if after making these…

Poetic RenderingAs the rattle of beads on a dancer's ankletall noise, no musicso is the company of the hollow.And the Gunja seed, bright and uniform,used to weigh gold and gems:can…