‘Like an Elephant Out of Control’

Mind

They searched and searched, searched some more—
it just kept disappearing.
After all that search, when they couldn’t find it,
they gave up and said, ‘Beyond.’

(Kabir: Linda Hess and Shukdev Singh)

What if Ram had not chased the deer
and Sita not been abducted by Ravan?
There is nothing to be got out of this, Rahim,
what is to be shall be.

(Rahim: Mustansir Dalvi)

Mind, you never lost this delusion.
No wonder Kali won’t even look at you.
You claim to know the three worlds are
But an embodiment of Ma
But who’d guess you do the way you
Embody her in shapes of clay to pray to!
She’s the one who adorns the earth with
Such priceless gold and gems
Aren’t you ashamed of dressing her up
In such cut-price ornaments?
She’s the one who lavishes the earth
With delicious food of every kind
Aren’t you ashamed of offering her
Sundried rice and soaked gram?
Don’t you know she’s the one
Looking after the earth so tender-lovingly?
Then why on earth do you insist on offering her
The sacrificial goat, the buffalo and the ram?
Prasad says, bhakti is nothing but adoration.
Your showy pujas may impress folks
But Ma won’t take your bribes!

(Ramprasad Sen: Sampurna Chattarji)

Lord, it’s up to you
To discipline my mind.
You live in me.

It’s like an elephant out of control.
It goes crazy again and again.
It’s like mercury, never contained,
always slipping away.

You live in me.

It’s like a deer in the wilderness.
The more you try to catch it,
the more it runs away.
It’s like a wild wind at play.

You live in me.

Like the ocean, it takes in everything.
You have to look after it, god on the hill.
Tell it to come to you.

You live in me.

(Annamacharya: V Narayana Rao and David Shulman)

Hiralal, you never went to Moti’s shop
All you ever bought were brass farthings!
Mind, distracted by all that jazz
You lost what’s really rich
The stakes were high
You lost them all
Weep all you like
You’ll never heal

You’re thinking beforehand
Of what’s behind you
Sure
That’s how it’s meant to be
What rules
Past deeds
The mind’s fine
Palate

So you made a profit!
Good for you!
That’s such a useful skill.
What a waste
Lalon says
All this coming
And
Going

(Lalon Fakir: Sampurna Chattarji)

Listen carefully,
Neither the Vedas
Nor the Qur’an
Will teach you this:
Put the bit in its mouth,
The saddle on its back,
Your foot in the stirrup,
And ride your wild runaway mind
All the way to heaven.

(Kabir: A. K. Mehrotra)

Seeing is one thing,
looking is another.
If both come together,
that is god.

If you look for an elephant,
he comes as an elephant.
If you look for a tree,
he’s a tree.
If you look for a mountain,
he’ll be a mountain.
God is what you have in your mind.

If you look for empty space,
he appears as space.
If you look for an ocean,
he’ll be an ocean.
If you look for a city,
he will come as a city.
God is what you have in your mind.

If you think of the god on the hill,
married to the goddess,
that’s who you’ll see.
What you look for
is the god in you.
What you see
is the god out there.
God is what you have in your mind.

(Annamacharya: V Narayana Rao and David Shulman)