‘A Marvel of Contradictions’

Praise

He cannot be proved, for He is uncreated;
He is without matter, self-existent.
They that serve shall honoured be,
O Nanak, the Lord is most excellent.

Praise the Lord, hear them that do Him praise.
In your hearts His name be graven,
Sorrows from your soul erase
And make your hearts a joyous haven.

The Guru’s word has the sage’s wisdom,
The Guru’s word is full of learning,
For though it be the Guru’s word
God Himself speaks therein.

Thus run the words of the Guru:
‘God is the destroyer, preserver and creator,
God is the Goddess too.
Words to describe are hard to find,
I would venture if I knew.’
This alone my teacher taught,
There is but one Lord of all creation,
Forget Him not.

(Guru Nanak: Khushwant Singh)

Were I given a hundred thousand tongues instead of one
And the hundred thousand multiplied twenty-fold,
A hundred thousand times would I say, and say again,
The Lord of all the worlds is One.
That is the path that leads
These the steps that mount,
Ascend thus to the Lord’s mansion
And with Him be joined in unison.
The sound of the songs of Heaven thrills
The like of us who crawl, but desire to fly.
O Nanak, His grace alone it is that fulfills,
The rest mere prattle, and a lie.

(Guru Nanak: Khushwant Singh)

Simple parrot
imprisoned in your cage,
come here, I will give you
milk and honey to drink,
as much as you wish,
if you will speak for me just once
the sweet name of the Lord who wears the bright young
moon,
king of Tonipuram by the sea,
where the beach is strewn
with clustered coral and pearls!

(Sambandar: Indira Viswanathan Peterson)

Origin of rapture
Wellspring
of wisdom
Ambrosial, abundant
Rim
of the rimless horizon
Terminus
of the four Vedas —

your feet,
Mother Abhirami

that crown the head
of the Lord
who whirls
through swirling forests
of white ash.

Your feet.

(Abhirami Bhattar: Arundhathi Subramaniam)

He used the golden bow
of Mount Meru
to decimate
three great cities

and he slayed the elephant
despatched to annihilate the world,

then donned its hide
as his mantle.

But you
you scarred
this warrior’s body

with your breasts,

great Goddess,
you whose golden hands
wielding a bow of sugarcane
and flower-tipped arrows

are lodged
forever
in my heart.

(Abhirami Bhattar: Arundhathi Subramaniam)

The Lord at Play

1

Worker of miracles
magical dwarf,
and killer of the demon
named Honey,

only you can tell us:

becoming fire, water, earth,
sky, and wind,

becoming father, mother,
and all the children too
and all others
and all things unnamed,

the way you stand there,
being yourself—

what’s it all about?

2

O lord unending
wearing honey flowers
and basil leaf
in your hair

tell us this:

as moon
as sun
as the amazing numberless stars

as darkness
and as torrents of rain

as honor
as shame

and as death
with his cruel eyes

how fantastic
can you get?

3

You do stunts
with your chariots

the discus your weapon:

tell us how

managing every one of the four ages
becoming every little thing in them

harmonious now
now quite contrary

you stand there

a marvel
of contradictions!

(Nammalvar: A. K. Ramanujan)