Pages
-
Recent Posts
RSS Feedburner
Twitter
- A Scholar's Desk wp.me/p5HSj-vZ 6 days ago
Categories
- A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
- Africa
- Arcanam
- avataras
- avatari
- bhakti yoga
- bhaktisiddhanta saraswati
- chaitanya mahaprabhu
- chaitanya mahaprabhu birthplace
- chanting japa
- chanting japa on beads
- chanting on beads
- Chowpatty Temple
- chowpatty temple
- eastern philosophy
- forms of lord krishna
- gaura purnima
- General
- Go Raksha
- hare krishna maha mantra
- incarnations of lord krishna
- India
- ISKCON
- ISKCON Chowpatty
- ISKCON Jhb North
- ISKCON Mayapur
- ISKCON South Africa
- jananivas prabhu
- japa mala
- japa meditation
- Journal
- jurisprudence
- Jyotish
- lord chaitanya
- lord chaitanya's birthplace
- lotus feet
- Mantra Meditation
- mantra meditation
- mukunda charan das
- prabhupada tirthas
- pure ghee
- pure vegetarian
- purusa-avataras
- Quotes
- Radhanath Maharaja
- rama navami
- Ramayana
- Realizations
- Recipes
- sanatana dharma
- Spiritual Life
- sri caitanya mahaprabhu
- sri hanuman
- Srimad Bhagavatam
- The Burning Man
- the disciplic succession
- Uncategorized
- Vedic City Project
- Vegetarianism
- western philosophy
- Writing
- Yoga
June 2012 M T W T F S S « May 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 Useful Links
config.
- Watch videos at Vodpod.
- Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare
Archives
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- March 2009
- November 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- March 2008
- January 2008
- October 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
Sitemeter
Feedburner
-
Hits
- 30,240 hits
Blog at WordPress.com. — Theme: Connections by www.vanillamist.com.
7 October, 2007 at 4:52 am
To see a world in a grain of sand
and heaven in a wild flower -
to hold infinity in the palm of your hand
and eternity in an hour
(William Blake)
29 December, 2008 at 5:15 am
IN A DARK WOOD
The atmosphere is peaceful
in Goloka Vrindavan -
The flute-song passes
over courtyards where
young girls stand still as stone…
-
The trees are ripe with metaphors,
Novel scenes, poetic words,
Whisper secret revelation
Of young love in separation
For these are the Crying Girls of Vraja
And this is the state, the state of Divine Love
‘It’s late at night My dear girls,
Late at night in this dark grove,
Wild animals come out at night,
Please go home. Leave this place behind you’
For these are the Crying Girls of Vraja
And this is the state, the state of Divine Love
Lord Krishna loves the Crying Girls of Vraja
aslisya va pada ratam pinastu mam
adarsanam mama hatam karotu va
yatha tatha vidhato lampato
mat prana-nathas tu se eva naparah
All alone, here in this Dark Wood,
‘Where did You go?’
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
18 July, 2009 at 1:44 pm
The gopis had forsaken everything to meet with their lotus-eyed Lord, Krishna. They went into Vrindavan forest in the dead of night.
They were so attracted by the sound of His flute-playing, but when they reached Him, He said, ‘It is late at night, My dear girls. Wild animals are out at night. Please go back home, back to your husbands.’
The gopis were devastated. Their love for Krishna was unparallelled. We have risked everything to be with You; and now You are turning us away!?
These are the crying girls of Vraja and this is the state of divine love.
-
‘The gopis are so fortunate that they can see and think of Krishna 24 hours a day, beginning from their milking the cows or husking the paddy or churning the butter in the morning. While engaged in cleaning their houses and washing their floors, they are always absorbed in thought of Krishna’ [p.395]
Krishna, out of affection, told the gopis: ‘You were accustomed to loving Me from the very beginning of your lives’
How the inhabitants of Mathura, Nanda and Yashoda, the gopis, the gopas and the devotees remembered Krishna: ”Here Krishna was playing in this way. Here Krishna was blowing His flute. Krishna was joking with us in this way, and Krishna was embracing us like this’. This is called lila-smarana, and it is the process of associating with Krishna. Those in the most exalted position of devotional service and ecstasy can live with Krishna always by remembering His pastimes. Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura has given us a transcendental literature entitled Krsna-bhavanamrta, which is full with Krishna’s pastimes. Exalted devotees can remain absorbed in Krsna-thought by reading such books. Any book of krsna-lila, even this book, Krsna, or our Teachings of Lord Caitanya, is actually solace for devotees feeling separation from Krsna’ [KB p.416]
27 March, 2010 at 2:02 pm
Inspired by Siva Rama Swami’s ‘Venu Gita’ (‘The Flute Song’).
29 December, 2008 at 5:21 am
RUKMINI’S DETERMINATION
Rukmini is young
and fine -
the child-bride
of Lord Krishna
She was prepared to die
of austerities to achieve Lord Krishna
She went to the Temple of Durga
to win the favour of Lord Krishna,
‘O, let Krishna be my husband!’
Rukmini’s determination
So hard to define -
Grave as eternal time,
the child-queen of Lord Krishna
Ornaments
and beautiful jewels.
Who could ever describe
the beauty
of Rukmini?
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
29 August, 2009 at 3:23 pm
‘Princess Rukmini, the daughter of King Bhismaka, was actually as attractive as fortune itself because she was as valuable as gold both in color and value’
(A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Srimad Bhagavatam 3.3.3 purport)
‘She was the reservoir of all transcendental qualities: intelligence, auspicious physical features, liberal-mindedness, exquisite beauty and righteous behaviour’ ['Krishna Book Vol 1', p.495]
‘My dear Uddhava, kindly let us know whether Krishna sometimes thinks of us while in the midst of the highly enlightened society girls in Mathura. We know that the women and girls of Mathura are not village women. They are enlightened and beautiful. Their bashful smiling glances and other feminine features must be very pleasing to Krishna. We know very well that Krishna is always fond of the behaviour of beautiful women. It seems, therefore, that He has been entrapped by the women of Mathura. My dear Uddhava, will you kindly let us know if Krishna sometimes rememvers us while in the midst of other women?’ [KB, p.439]
On the gopi’s love for Krishna:
‘Uddhava minutely studied the transcendental abnormal condition of the gopis in their separation from Krishna, and he thought it wise to repeat again and again all the pastimes the gopis enjoyed with Him’ [Krishna Book 1, p.441]
‘Uddhava’s messages and instructions saved the gopis from immediate death’ [KB, p.44]
7 March, 2009 at 2:29 pm
DANCE OF THE RAIN
Never was there a time
when you or I did not exist
nor in the future
shall any of us ever
cease to be
Her iron fist
beats my face,
with pride of lions,
aggressive grace -
In the heartland of love’s
bittersweet memory
Bittersweet, Bittersweet
Ever heard the wild beasts
running on the plains?
Dance of the Rain,
nostrils and manes -
In the heartland of love’s
bittersweet memory
Bittersweet, Bittersweet
Have you heard the wild beasts
running on the plains?
Of aeroplanes,
mortal remains -
and I’m lost in the womb of bhum-bhum-bhumi
I’m lost in the womb of bhum-bhum-bhumi -
I’m lost in a world of lovelessness
Never was there a time
when you or I did not exist
nor in the future
shall any of us ever
cease to be
I’m lost in the womb of bhum-bhum-bhumi
In a desert
hardened by age:
blood, sweat, idolatry
A show of conventions:
the circus tents
collapsed on us,
white alabaster palaces
And I’m lost in her world
She laughs softly
as she glances
over the berg-top
O, the Dance of our Sister!
the Dance of the Rain!
She is our sister,
our silvery sister,
our watery sister,
our heavenly sister
The Dance of the Rain
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
4 June, 2009 at 2:12 pm
DEAD SOULS
Someone take these dreams away,
That point me to another day -
A duel of personalities,
That stretch all true reality
They keep calling me, keep on calling me
When figures from the past stand tall
And mocking voices ring the halls -
Imperialistic House of Prayer,
Conquistadores who took their share
They keep calling me, keep on calling me
Another day, another time -
These dreams won’t stop or rectify -
They pour into a living sea,
Which draws me and keeps calling me
Calling me, calling me this time…
(From the song lyrics of ‘Dead Souls’, words written by Ian Curtis, lead singer of Joy Division. The third stanza is from an unreleased version of the song. Did he get the title from Nikolai Gogol’s novel ‘Dead Souls’?. Anyway quite an intense, interesting song. Still remember the lyrics. I’ll put ‘Passover’ in next time. In her biography ‘Touching From A Distance’ his widow, Deborah, mentions that Ian was interested in studying History and Divinity. This interest manifested in interesting ways in his poetic song lyrics.
23 April, 2010 at 11:09 am
THE RAGE OF ACHILLES (From Homer, ‘The Iliad’)
‘Rage – Godess, sing the rage of Peleus’s son Achilles,
murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,
hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls,
great fighters’ souls, but made their bodies carrion,
feasts for the dogs and birds,
and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end.
Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed,
Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles’
17 May, 2012 at 3:30 am
YOU AND WHOSE ARMY? (KINGDOM OF HEAVEN)
Come on, come on
You think you drive me crazy
Come on, come on
You and whose army?
You and your cronies
Come on, come on
Holy Roman Empire,
Come on if you think,
You can take us all on
You and whose army?
You and your cronies
You forget so easily –
We ride tonight
Ghost horses, ghost horses
(Thom Yorke, Radiohead)
17 June, 2009 at 5:01 pm
SOME/ONE
You’re not high-heeled,
custom-made, made for this,
eloquent, elegant, hit-or-miss;
star-struck, out-of-luck,
out on a limb –
Luis Vitton
animal skin
some/one
a person,
not void -
you’re a person,
not void
you’re someone
who knows
someone who feels
You’re not dead-beat, dead-meat,
dead-or-alive, dead-on-arrival,
full fathom five -
You’re not carefree,
careworn, couldn’t care less -
you’re spirit-soul
this body’s your dress
You’re
some/one
some/one
someone like you,
like me…
some/one
one/some
someone
you’re a person,
not void –
a person,
not void
some/one
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
17 June, 2009 at 5:07 pm
WITHIN
True love lies within,
The core of your heart -
It was always there -
But you never cared…
True love lies within
Is this where the tables turned?
Is this where the lyres burned?
Where they dressed Christ like a king?
With a sceptre, crown and ring?
True love never ends
and never begins -
True love never ends
and never begins
Dressed in blue silk,
She holds her son -
Naked and bruised:
‘What have you done?’
Within
True love lies within,
The core of your heart -
When rightly reposed,
love houses a rose
Within
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
26 July, 2009 at 4:16 am
nitya siddha krishna-prema,
sadhya kabhu-naya,
sravanadi suddha-citte,
karaye udaya
‘Love of God is eternally situated in your heart. It is awakened by the process of chanting and hearing His glories.’
It was always there, but you never cared…
27 April, 2010 at 12:35 pm
Love of Krishna is not something to be gained from another source. It is awakened when the heart is purified by hearing and chanting.
23 June, 2009 at 3:33 pm
‘Avenues all lined with trees/
Eden’s garden left for thieves’
(Ian Curtis, unpublished lyrics)
27 June, 2009 at 4:12 pm
I NEED TIME
Twenty-four hours is not enough
Time for me, my lotus-eyed Lord -
Twenty-four-seven Three-sixty-five,
Eight million four hundred thousand lives
I need time
Time I am destroyer of worlds -
Destroyer of worlds
Seven days on the Ganges shore,
Seven dog-days I need more -
Seven years times seven times
Seven million billion lives
I need time
Don’t waste my time
Time I am destroyer of worlds -
Destroyer of worlds
I tried rhyme
I tried crime
Lyrical lines
You’re just in time,
You’re just in time,
You’re just in time…
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
(This is a song about Maharaja Parikisit and his meeting with Sukadeva Goswami on the Ganges shore)
18 July, 2009 at 1:28 pm
DEAD MAN WALKING (Dedicated to His Holiness Bhakti Tirtha Swami)
Received notification
August 5th
The doctor’s answer,
diagnosis cancer -
tough love manifesting
as God’s gracious gift
I can’t seem to distinguish
the wood from the trees
I see your army
is coming for me,
I try to run,
but I freeze
Woke up this morning
from the strangest dream
I saw a poet
in a forest,
he spoke to me
about heavenly things
‘Just try to love God,’
is all that he said:
‘You’re a dead man walking
amongst the dead’
Fools rush in
where angles fear to tread
‘Follow your angels’, he said
‘You’re a dead man walking
amongst the dead’
I’m – a – dead man – walking
amongst the dead…
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
18 July, 2009 at 1:34 pm
ADVENT
Earth was confused -
Demoniac kings
Had misused
Her
She took the form
Of a cow,
With tears in her eyes,
She approached Brahma
Who sat at the shore of the Ocean of Milk,
Who sat at the shore of the Ocean,
The Milk Ocean
Reciting the Ancient Prayers,
From the core of his heart,
Lord Vishnu Appeared
Transmitting the message
From the core of his heart -
Transmitting the message
From the Spiritual Sky
To our ear drum…
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
12 February, 2011 at 8:32 am
Calm as I walk
under the trees
this fine Summer’s
day
Scars spin around
on their tracks
Stations of the Cross
21 July, 2009 at 9:55 am
Hare Krishna
Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna
Hare Hare
Hare Rama
Hare Rama
Rama Rama
Hare Hare
22 July, 2009 at 10:04 am
‘The vase, reconstructed, houses the elusive rose’ (Sylvia Plath)
22 July, 2009 at 10:19 am
JOURNEY OF THE HEART
Better than mother’s love,
a voice whispers, ‘Listen.
Listen to the promptings
of your heart. Listen to
the voice that you forgot’
Listen
From the valleys
to the cities
of the plains,
I remain
a wanderer,
just following my inner call,
just following the will of the Lord
Of rapine and the ever-swelling
scourge of crime -
I have a problem with this,
Oh, I have a problem with this
Embezzlement, embattled president,
his face is everywhere -
Tell me has he got a heart?
Tell me has he got a heart?
I have a problem with this
25 July, 2009 at 8:32 am
LORD DESPAIR
Let us go, then,
you and I –
the city-limits
never seem to end
No one is here,
just you and I, dear,
see the heart
behind the face -
of Lord Despair
We’re moving fast,
red-brick and empty lots -
our vizors reflect
a world of rejects,
everywhere
Every dog has his day,
everyone has his price,
his way to make you pay,
in this place
Fools rush in
where angels fear to tread,
I see dead men walking
amongst the dead
Let us go,
you and I,
to that most intimate place:
the heart behind the face
of Lord Despair
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
12 February, 2011 at 10:46 am
Let us go then, you and I,
to the heart of our emotions
29 July, 2009 at 5:40 pm
THE WHITE GODDESS
Sink or swim in the light of pure love of Godhead
We were so close like best friends or brothers,
We were so close and from different mothers -
Exult in the light of pure – love – of – Godhead,
Sink or swim in the light of pure love of Godhead
I’m just a man sitting in a corner,
hoping to pass just one glass of water -
I’m not a bear sitting on a dark ledge,
Or a fake flower in the hands of the Goddess
Why did you let me go?
Why won’t you let me grow?
The path of love is superior to knowledge,
You left your father’s house for the spiritual college -
Seeing my weakness, seeing my failings,
Tying me down and hurting my feelings
I am an eternal servant of Krishna -
Hoping to get just a little bit closer,
I’m an ax handle in the hand of my Master -
I’m not this body which is made up of matter
Why did you let me go?
Why do you hurt me now?
17 May, 2012 at 4:11 am
Keeping me in your tow
Prostitute-minds on the altar of science
Your soul’s become a kitchen appliance
Is this what you wanted? Is this your eden?
Strip-malls and cars of consumable freedom?
14 August, 2009 at 7:36 am
CHRYSALIS
Look out of the darkness, now,
It’ a new day, friend -
Dreams out of the darkness, now,
Into a newborn day, you see,
He wants to get out, somehow -
These prison walls must break,
He wants to get out, somehow -
These dreams must end
Trapped, in a cage, somehow -
There seems no escape from it -
Entombed, in a chrysalis,
when will his day of freedom come?
When will he be free?
He wants to see the free light and the spirit -
And the force that lies within it
Look out of the stasis, now -
It’s a living world, my friend,
Move into new spaces, now -
Safe, in a chrysalis, before
You want to get out, somehow -
These prison walls have got to break,
You want to get out, somehow -
These dreams must end
Trapped, in a cage, somehow -
There seems no escape from it,
Entombed, in a chrysalis,
When will your day of freedom come?
When will you be free?
He wants to see the free light and the spirit -
To see the free light and the spirit -
And the force that lies within it…
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
14 August, 2009 at 7:40 am
‘The need of the spirit soul is that he wants to get out of the limited sphere of material bondage and fulfill his desire for complete freedom. He wants to get out of the covered walls of the greater universe. He wants to see the free light and the spirit. That complete freedom is achieved when he meets the complete spirit, the Personality of Godhead’
(His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, ‘Srimad Bhagavatam’ Canto 1.2.8 purport)
5 April, 2010 at 4:15 pm
‘But more importantly, I saw that I had built a wall around my heart. I would not let myself feel. I was pissed off and I was angry and I was ashamed, thinking that I had betrayed him. But then I saw that he was right there with the wall of my heart, in the wall, on both sides of the wall; the wall meant nothing to him. I saw that he hadn’t really left me, and I was feeling all this stuff I wouldn’t previously let myself feel. And then I saw that I could take this wall down, this external wall, and let him stand in its place’
(Krishna Das on his guru Neem Karoli Baba, from Steven Rosen’s book ‘The Yoga Of Kirtan’, p.26
27 April, 2010 at 12:32 pm
If we develop our relationship with Krsna, we will forget so-called friendship, society and love. We want that forgetfulness.
‘Because he realizes that he is spirit and Krsna is the Supreme Spirit, he knows that his intimate relationship should be with Krsna, not with this body’ (Srila Prabhupada, ‘Nectar Of Devotion’, p.32)
How do we get out of the darkness of Maya? In the dark we are scared of snakes and scorpions. As soon as it is light, however, we know there are no snakes and scorpions. We get out of the dark by seeing the light. This is achieved by chanting the Hare Krishna mantra and by hearing about Krishna.
28 April, 2010 at 8:42 am
Seeing The Free Light And The Spirit:
‘The duty of sages and saints is to go from door to door and thus enlighten the householders in spiritual knowledge. Householder life is compared to a dark well. In a dark well the frog cannot see the free light of the open sky. The dark well of householder life kills the soul. One should therefore get out of it so that he may see the light of spiritual vision. Saints and sages mercifully try to uplift fallen souls from the dark well of householder life. An enlightened householder [ie. not in the well] therefore takes pleasure in the appearance of such saints and sages at his house’ (SP, ‘Light Of The Bhagavata’, p.46)
‘The forgetful householder life of the conditioned soul is a soul-killing dark well’ (SP, ‘LOB’, p.51)
(See also: SB 6.1.52 and SB 3.21.31 purport)
14 August, 2009 at 8:00 am
PROTECTIVE FEELINGS (In loving memory of Evelyn Nance Osborne, 1929-2004)
She closed her eyes,
I was surprised,
She left this morning
She closed her eyes,
I’d really like
to have you near me
She went away,
Where to? Can’t say -
She died this morning
Can you hear me?
Hear me calling out.
‘Oh, Lord please hear me!’
Her eyes are closed,
Her soul’s reposed,
In the hands of Yamaraja
Everything she ever knew,
Everyone she cared about -
Everything she held as true,
proves false, now, as her time runs out
Our idols crushed -
Ideals, defeated -
In the web of time -
Lifetimes repeated
The state of mind
at the time you die,
determines your next life
She closed her eyes,
I was surprised
to hear their story
Offered a prayer
beside her bed -
life’s fruitless glory
I want to cry -
We never die -
Only this body
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
28 April, 2012 at 10:10 am
A MESSAGE FROM GOD
I’m sick of staring at your miserable face -
this phenomenal world gets me down,
I want to leave this town,
don’t you know we passed the town
It overwhelms me,
it overpowers me –
turn down the radio,
internet and dvd
and dance in my mind
Life feels like torture when you face death -
Will the fever come down?
With the very last breath?
A compact with the devil,
I see your heart break.
Is this what it’s like,
with everything at stake?
I had a vision
of how things could be
I had a vision
now it has gone
What is this?
A message from God?
16 August, 2009 at 3:19 pm
LOVE IN A VOID
Someone
please come,
I’m dumb,
lame and
ill-advised
Someone’s
loved ones
died yesterday -
It was the latest news
Where do they go?
Where do they go?
When they die,
Oh my!
Heaven
was fun -
hell was a drag,
Now I’m back
on earth
Where the prophets pray,
the children play,
in a world of their own
I feel high,
I feel light,
I feel loved -
Love in a void
Bliss suns,
Pink suns,
Bright purple ones…
On a mild red, raptured heart
Where do you go?
Where do you go?
When you go away?
Oh,
Up and down,
around around -
I’m here again
I feel high,
I feel light,
I feel loved
How many times
you’ve been around -
the wheel of birth and death?
Death in every breath
Love in a void
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
29 August, 2009 at 3:33 pm
PATHFINDER
I was in a dark wood,
Feeling misunderstood -
One foot on land -
One foot on water
I was in a bad space,
Bereft of divine grace -
Midway through life,
Gave Kali no quarter
A believer, a believer, a be-lieve-er
Europe or India,
India or America -
I need a leader
With good credentials
Searched in the crowd,
I tried to make you out -
‘You’re a good kid,
I think you got potential’
A believer, a believer, a be-lieve-er
Oh, when will you give me your answer?
I’m hoping,
I’m waiting,
I’m waiting
And hoping
For your answer…
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
3 September, 2009 at 3:18 pm
SPIRITUAL FIELDS
Lost and found,
underground -
sunflower fields
shine in the sun
Prabhupada lived
in this little hut -
Spiritual Fields
Matchless gifts,
Twenty-six,
Second Avenue,
New York City
He lived in this
little room -
Spiritual Fields
Fields of opportunity,
Fields of self-discovery,
Fields of immortality,
Fields of true recovery
He looks through the grid
at the sunflower fields -
Spiritual Fields
Come and play with us,
Come and stay with us -
Spiritual Fields
Death is the seed
from which we grow
Spiritual Fields
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
11 September, 2009 at 8:37 am
FORCEFIELD
Yes,
You are lost in this world
Friend,
Time will beat you
in the end
Forcefield
(behind the glass)
Forcefield
(a mirror-mask)
Watching life
before
a forcefield
And you think you are so clever now -
And you think you have it all worked out
Friend,
you’re so wrong,
detached,
yet dragged along
Watching the world through a forcefield
12 September, 2009 at 12:59 pm
CXXIX
Th’ expense of spirit in a waste of shame
Is lust in action, and till action lust
Is perjur’d murd’rous, bloody, full of blame,
Savage, extreme, rude, cruel, not to trust,
Enjoy’d no soone but despised straight,
Past reason hunted, and no sooner had,
On purpose laid to make the taker mad;
Mad in pursuit, and in possession so,
Had, having, and in quest to have, extreme,
A bliss in proof, and prov’d, a very woe,
Before, a joy propos’d; behind, a dream.
All this the world well knows, yet none knows well
To shun the heaven that leads men to this hell.
William Shakespeare – Sonnets
12 September, 2009 at 1:16 pm
RESTORATION OF THE ICON
An eternal affair,
of repeated birth and death;
Of warm delights in nature’s arms,
and no reprieve for the condemned
souls who’ve entered her networks
of desire – vaulted – ushered in -
souls under skin – a blazing cage of fire -
And I’m with you
(And I don’t know what to do)
Did she murmur a prayer?
A reprieve for the condemned?
Upon her lover’s arms
memory of heaven’s charms
And I don’t know if I can make it
hmm – on my own –
No, I don’t known if I can make it
anymore
I’m here with you
(and we don’t know quite what to do)
I guess all good things must end -
here’s to good times spent with you, dear friends;
Of the souls who’ve entered
her networks of desire -
leaving us no choice:
follow the angels or
fry in the fire
And I’m with you
(In our moment of truth/our involvement with truth/we’re all under Your roof)
This body’s a beautiful combination of ugly parts,
Just a beautiful combination of ugly parts -
It was a beautiful conversation,
a – real – work – of – art -
And I don’t know if I can make it – anymore,
No, I don’t no if I can take it – the further I go,
The further I go, the less I know -
The higher I go, so narrow the road…seems
for a soul entangled
in the networks of desire
Fools rush in where angels fear to tread,
I’ve learnt my lesson, now,
in a wasteland of regret;
Of the souls who’ve entered
her networks of desire -
enjoyer and enjoyed,
eternal victims of that witch called Maya
Hey, we don’t know what to do
Just a beautiful combination of beau-tiful parts -
The restoration of the icon,
The lost form of God
And what if all these fantasies were real?
What if this suffering was part of the deal?
And the cancer ravages his body – but not his soul,
And the caretakers minister to his body – but not his soul
This is the end my beautiful friend,
This is the end beautiful friend…
The end of our affair
of repeated birth and death…
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
3 October, 2009 at 3:26 pm
YOUR LOVER
I want to love You like a lover
loves her paramour
and holds You in her anxious arms
forevermore
I want to love You like a mother
loves her child
and if, one day, You stole the butter,
I’d just smile
A convict,
A convert,
In the world of pain,
the world of hurt,
take me away,
to a better place,
of love, love, love
You have a face
that mirrors could not describe -
You have a form
that chisels could not divide
I want to love You
like the most intimate friend,
and play with You in fields
that never end…
A convict,
A convert,
in the world of pain,
in the world of hurt,
take me away,
to a better place,
a world of love, love, love
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
3 October, 2009 at 3:36 pm
In Krishna consciousness, it is possible to love God as a friend, parent or lover. Krishna is the perfect lover who can reciprocate with our soul’s innermost desires. Therefore He is called ‘akhila-rasamrta-murti’, ‘the perfect embodiment of all loving relationships’.
‘All the relatives of the Lord are His devotees only, and they are situated in different transcendental mellows as friends, parents and lovers. The Lord derives transcendental pleasure by accepting services from His various grades of devotees, who are situated in various grades of rasas. These transcendental rasas are pervertedly reflected in the material atmosphere, and thus the spiritual living being, out of ignorance only, vainly seeks the same bliss in matter’
A.C Bhaktivedanta Swami – Light Of The Bhagavata p.71
The living entity is ananda-maya bhyasat, naturally pleasure-seeking. Real pleasure exists in spiritual rasa. In material existence, however, we seek pleasure in matter and do not experience the higher taste or spiritual rasa.
28 October, 2009 at 4:04 pm
In a desert, hardened by age,
surprised if I can do anything at all
31 October, 2009 at 1:24 pm
SECRET
a secret to keep,
like time,
dark and deep -
where do we go?
who really knows?
a deathless dream,
a sleepless sleep -
in birth and death,
O weep and weep!
17 May, 2012 at 4:07 am
I’m not a stone -
I have a voice
I’m spirit-soul
made up of choice
Love or lust?
Who really knows?
This is the world
of soft death-blows
31 October, 2009 at 1:30 pm
A MODEST PROPOSAL
An eye for an eye,
A tooth for a tooth,
A claw for a fork,
A foot for a hoof,
Some animals were human,
In their past lives -
You are what you eat,
In the future desired
Absolute is sentient,
Thou has proved,
Impersonal calamity,
Thou has moved
An eye for an eye,
A tooth for a tooth,
A modest proposal:
Children for food?
It might be better
If the whole world were blind -
Who wants to see
with envious eyes?
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
31 October, 2009 at 1:37 pm
The English satirist Johnathan Swift wrote a satirical essay called ‘A Modest Proposal’. In this essay, he proposed a satirical solution to the famine in Ireland – children for food. We are allowing the wholesale slaughter of animals to go on without considering the consequences – to the animals and ourselves. In this way, we are killing our own souls. Hare Krishna.
24 November, 2009 at 6:26 pm
In one dream, my father was asking me what I wanted to do with my life. Bono Vox was some distance down a dust-road. I quoted Coleridge to my father: ‘In Xanadu did Kublai Khan a stately pleasure dome decree…’ and walked off…I wanted to follow in Bono’s footsteps. It was something like James Dean. Rebel archetypes.
24 November, 2009 at 6:33 pm
HATS
1996. Another dream. I was standing on a beach. The water was blue, that deep blue colour of toilet freshener (for want of a better description). Some horses were dancing in a circle on the tide-line. A woman, somewhat older than myself, in a rain-jacket, was watching the scene. There were a whole lot of hats in the sea, being washed onto the shore by the tide. One hat was a soldier’s hat, one hat was a Mad Hatter’s hat etc. The hats all represented some designation, some kind of label in this world. It seemed that I had a choice of which hat to wear (or how to identify myself). I chose none. I was not going to be pigeon-holed into a designation.
In so doing, I was realizing my dharma as an aspiring devotee of Krishna. That goes beyond these temporary designations or upadhis. Only I didn’t know that at the time.
24 November, 2009 at 6:41 pm
‘Candy says:
I’d like to know completely,
What others so discreetely,
talk about
I’d like to watch the blue bird fly,
over my shoulder -
I’d like to watch them pass me by,
maybe when I’m older -
What do you think I’d see,
If I could walk away from me’
Lou Reed – ‘Candy Says’
9 December, 2009 at 5:06 pm
PURGATORY
I love you still,
even as you are -
watching the boys through my window -
estranged, in the car.
I love you still,
even as you are -
shattering tumult
that sprays and chills -
bloodied heels under evening-star
Doctored these seams,
beginning to cut,
tried to sever the cord,
our viaduct -
A device I could not resist
They go deep, now, deep;
as waves effervesce -
shouldered in shades
beneath the green -
senses scattered and scarred,
young hearts pristine…
Still estranged…
in the car -
and our dormant love
bleeds still,
even as you are
9 December, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Wrote that when I was fifteen or sixteen. It’s about isolation, death, youth, my mother, teenage angst and whatever you, or I, or anyone else, would like to read into it.
15 April, 2010 at 5:44 am
CONDITION
The sunlight taunts me more -
not for that you know the sadness
of your predicament, but that you care…
Immutable congress of friends -
a lyric that lasts for ever,
sequential to all ends
Matters of state are matters of weight:
Leaning over the balustrade,
I seek not shade, nor display -
I was sorry a long time ago
Innocence is the absence of tragedy;
tragedy is the absence of innocence;
Innocence of Eternal Absence is Tragedy
The sunlight taunts me more,
not for that you know
(Another high school poem. I think I read a little Eliot then, black. Harrison Ford, ‘Presumed Innocent’, the courtyard scene – was added later)
14 December, 2009 at 12:14 pm
I WOULD DIE FOR YOU
I’m not a woman,I’m not a man -
I am something you will never understand
I’ll never beat you, I’ll never lie,
And, if you’re evil, I’ll forgive you by and by
For you, I would die for you -
Darling if you want me to
I’m not your lover, I’m not your friend,
I am something you will never comprehend -
No need to worry, no need to cry -
I’m your messiah and you’re the reason why
Coz you, I would die for you
You’re just a sinner I am told,
Be your fire when you are cold -
Make you happy when you’re sad,
Make you good when you are bad
I’m not a human, I’m a dove -
I’m your conscience, I am love
14 December, 2009 at 12:16 pm
Lyrical lines by Prince. My mother gave me the album ‘Purple Rain’ for Christmas, in 1984. She really liked the song ‘Purple Rain’. I liked ‘Take Me With You’, this one and ‘When Doves Cry’. ‘I Would Die 4 You’ seems to have a more conscious message than the others. The words are great.
14 December, 2009 at 12:29 pm
Favourite passages in western fiction. I like James Joyce’s ‘Ulysses’ beach episode: ‘ineluctable modality of the visible: thought through my eyes’. Wonderful stream-of-conscious imagery of the beach and his impressions thereon. I visited Sandycove and saw the Martello Tower in 1991. Also, Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’, especially the chapter called ‘Riddles In The Dark’. Bilbo defeats Gollum at riddles with the simple question, ‘What’s in my pockets?’ ‘What’s in my pocketses?’, Gollum hisses back. But he can’t answer (even though it is his precious ring that is in Bilbo’s pocketses), and he is defeated. Then, of course, ‘Winter Trees’, ‘Ariel’ and ‘The Colossus’ by Sylvia Plath. And Nikolai Gogol’s desk-clerk in the short story, ‘The Overcoat’. The protaganist is robbed of his one-and-only valuable possession in an empty town square at night. What else? Hamlet’s soliloquy in the graveyard. Or, Ophelia’s madness. Or Eugene Marais’ ‘Winternag’ or ‘Die Dans Van Die Reen’ or Ingrid Jonkers ‘Ek Loop Met Hulle’. Or the wonderful period prose of JM Coetzee’s ‘Foe’. Or the fearsomeness of ‘Lord Of The Flies’ or ‘The Wasp Factory’ by Iain Banks. I think all of these writers, and more, have helped shape my own writing, perceptions and expression.
Existential Writers:
Camus, The Outsider; Dostoevsky, The Idiot, The Brothers Karamazov, and Crime and Punishment; Yukio Mishima, The Sea Of Fertility, Sun and Steel, Thirst for Love and Forbidden Colours; Milan Kundera, The Unbearable Lightness of Being and The Farewell Party; James Joyce, Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Dubliners, Ulysses and Finnegan’s Wake; J.M. Coetzee, Foe, Waiting For The Barbarians, The Master of St. Petersburg and Age of Iron; Sylvia Plath, Crossing The Water, Ariel, Johnny Panic and The Bible of Dreams, The Bell Jar and Journals; Schopenhauer’s Essay on Suicide; Nabokov’s biography of Nikolai Gogol. Robert Graves, The White Goddess. Most of these writers had problems.
Western Philosophy:
Plato, The Republic; Diogenes, Kant; Nietsche, Genealogy of Morals, Thus Spake Zarathustra, Twilight of the Gods and Beyond Good and Evil; Wittgenstein, Tractatus logicus-philosophicus; Foucault, The Order of Things, Madness and Civilization, Ethics and Discipline and Punish.
Satire:
Juvenal. Pre-established congruence between Classical Rome and present-day western world (post-modern view).
Swift. ‘A Modest Proposal’ and Gulliver’s Travels.
Burroughs.
14 December, 2009 at 12:32 pm
Oh, I stopped reading fiction when I joined the Temple in 1997. A strict diet of Srimad Bhagavatam and Caitanya Caritamrita. I did, however, read Hamlet around 2001. Interesting and philosophical, but it gave me a headache (same applies if I try to listen to Joy Division or any other ‘mundane’ music).
14 December, 2009 at 12:36 pm
They are all like ink drawings.
Restoration of the Icon required, I’m afraid
18 December, 2009 at 9:32 am
EMBASSIES (Hatfield, Pretoria, 28 October 2005)
I walk down the streets
coated with soft, purple
flowers, well-kept lawns,
the pavements of dawn
Avenues of the wealthy
who represent the poor
I see nice cars and servants,
steep driveways
and fences
A cur,
foraging through
the dirt-bins
It occurs,
we are living
in a garden
with walls
separating us
from each other
ALL SYSTEMS IN PLACE
I want to take over your country.
Is it about being aggressive enough
and having a little money?
Or popular support?
I want to. But I’ll have to wait
until the systems are in place:
study abroad, live in a resort
and patiently, patiently wait…
18 December, 2009 at 9:37 am
UNCOMMON STREETS (To Srila Prabhupada)
Are the common streets of Calcutta any less potent than the halls and places where you preached abroad?
I guess they have significance
and potency because here
is where you chanted
under a tree; or here
is where you practised
severe austerity
in a dim-lit, grimy loft
in New York City slums;
here is where you banged the drum;
or danced to the beats of one you taught
Are these halls and scholar’s desks of more value than the confidential streets and homes of your childhood?
Your glories are unfolding
in a weave of divine symmetry,
O, Prabhupada! Are the uncommon streets of Calcutta any less than these?
18 December, 2009 at 9:46 am
From THE FALL OF EAGLES (Robert Graves)
‘Who groans beneath the Punic curse
And strangles in the strings of purse,
Before she mends must sicken worse.
Her living mouth shall breed blue flies,
And maggots creep about her eyes.
No man shall mark the day she dies’
19 December, 2009 at 3:14 pm
PRAYER TO LORD NRSIMHADEVA (from BTG article, I do not know who the author is)
My faith is in Your feet and the nails of Your toes, Lord Nrsimhadeva; Please protect me.
My faith is in Your pillar-like legs and lotus petal-like chest, Lord Nrsimhadeva; Please direct me.
My faith is in Your arms and Your razor-sharp claws, Lord Nrsimhadeva; Please destroy my obstacles.
My faith is in Your mane and roaring red mouth, Lord Nrsimhadeva; Please vanquish my fears.
My faith is in Your gnashing teeth and Your burning golden eyes, Lord Nrsimhadeva; Please give me strength.
I am confused, Lord Nrsimhadeva;
I place myself beneath Your feet.
Please dispel my confusion.
I am sad, Lord Nrsimhadeva;
I beg You to stamp out my sadness.
I am frightened, Lord Nrsimhadeva;
I beg You to take me in Your lotus hands
and destroy my fears with Your all-powerful claws.
I am in illusion, Lord Nrsimhadeva;
Please let Your glaring effulgence
Destroy my illusions.
My dear Lord Nrsimhadeva, I am afraid;
I depend upon You, I take shelter of You,
Without You I cannot exist.
Let me take shelter under Your feet,
Let Your roar tell me what I should do,
Protect me with Your slashing claws.
Only You can help me.
My faith lies only in You.
7 January, 2010 at 11:56 am
STORM THROUGH THIS
Shift
breathe
dance
Storm
through
this
9 January, 2010 at 11:23 am
PASSOVER (Ian Curtis song lyrics)
Moving along in our God-given ways,
safety is sat by the fire -
Sanctuary from these feverish smiles,
left with a mark on the door
Is this the gift that I wanted to give?
Forgive and forget’s what they teach -
Or, pass through the deserts and wastelands once more
and watch as they drop by the beach
9 January, 2010 at 11:27 am
We were going on very nicely, but then a problem arose. It challenged the essence of our being. What am I to do? People change for no reason at all. I, myself, might change…for no reason at all.
This is the crisis. Danger. Uncertainty. A breakdown of love and trust. Feverish smiles.
The angel of death passes our marked door. Or we watch our problems drown like the Egyptian army in the Red Sea.
And we are left with the question: ‘What will come next?’
['Passover' is a beautiful, cathartic song, by the great lyrical genius Ian Curtis from album 'Closer' by Joy Division]
11 January, 2010 at 12:00 pm
LOVE HOPE WORK
PRAY SEE LIVE
LAUGH CRY FEEL
BLESS DREAM REACH
SOAR SHARE RISE
WORK RISK DO
CLASP PEACE GRACE
GOD HANDS FEET
DANCE LOVE LAUGH
HOPE LIVE LOOK
FORGIVE BREATHE
WORK BLESS HEAL
KISS NURTURE
LOVE KNEEL ASK
HOPE END FEAR
27 January, 2010 at 1:55 pm
A,B,C,D,E
Rings on each finger -
A diamond on each tooth,
You’re surely living proof
Of what it takes to be the singer
E, F, G, H, I
Say ‘Hello’ to all you guys -
Touring coast-to-coast,
Living like a ghost,
‘Yo! Give “The King” the cordless mike!’
30 January, 2010 at 6:06 pm
So this is permanence -
Love shattered pride,
What once was innocence,
Turned on its side
It now hangs over me,
Marks every move -
Deep in the memory,
What once was love
(from Twenty Four Hours, Ian Curtis)
31 January, 2010 at 5:07 pm
WORLD LEADER PRETEND (Michael Stipe, REM)
I sit at my table
and wage war on myself -
It seems like it’s all, it’s all for nothing;
I know the barricades,
and I know the mortar in the wall breaks,
I recognize the weapons,
I’ve used them well,
fitted them myself.
Chorus:
This is my mistake,
Let me make it good -
I raised the wall,
and I will be the one to knock it down…
I’ve a rich understanding of my finest defences;
I proclaim the claims are left unstated,
I demand a rematch,
I decree a stalemate,
I divine my deeper motives -
I recognize the weapons,
I’ve practiced them well,
I fitted them myself
It’s amazing what devices you can sympathize (empathize)
Chorus
This is my world…
and I am world leader pretend;
This is my life and this is my time -
I have been given the freedom to do as I see fit -
It’s high time I razed the walls that I’ve constructed
It’s amazing what devices you can sympathize (empathize)
Chorus
You fill in the mortar,
You fill in the harmony,
You fill in the mortar -
I raised the wall,
and I’m the only one…
I will be the one to knock it down
1 March, 2010 at 5:20 am
Jaya Sri Krishna Caitanya
Prabhu Nityananda
Sri Advaita, Gadadhara,
Srivasadi Gaura-bhakta-vrinda
12 March, 2010 at 6:28 pm
YOU AND I
I’m the fool,
You’re the prudent -
You’re the teacher,
I’m the student
You are meek,
I’m defiant -
I am rigid,
You are pliant
I’m trying,
You’re sighing -
You’re the law,
I’m the crime -
I’m the jester,
You’re the king,
I’m the hand
You’re the ring
You are virtue,
I am weakness -
You’re the cure,
I’m the sickness
I say black,
You say white -
You’re the day,
I’m the night
You are rich,
I am poor -
You’re the room,
I’m the door
I am iron,
You are gold -
You were bought,
I was sold
27 March, 2010 at 2:16 pm
Instincts that can still betray us,
A journey that leads to a sun,
Soulless and bent on destruction,
Struggle between right and wrong
‘Heart and Soul’- Joy Division
6 April, 2010 at 1:33 pm
TURN UP THE SOUND/HERBISTMANOTH (TONIGHT)
tonight
it’s quiet -
white noise around
the lights -
they flicker -
and they fade
the lights -
they flicker -
and they fade
tonight
tonight
it’s quiet -
no-one around
we’re fine -
she says -
and holds
her ground
the slightest noise
reveals your mind -
subtle realms -
that leave us blind
tonight
it’s cold -
it’s dark -
gunfire –
a shot -
a shot -
in the alley -
blue lights -
assassins
in disguise -
no police
tonight
tonight, tonight
the lights -
they flicker -
and they fade
oh, turn off the sound -
turn up the sound,
moving round,
and round,
and round…
tonight
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
7 April, 2010 at 1:15 pm
MADHURASTAKAM (Sri Vallabhacarya)
adharam madhuram vadanam madhuram
nayanam madhuram hasitam madhuram
hrdayam madhuram gamanam madhuram
madhuradhi-pater akhilam madhuram
vacanam madhuram caritam madhuram
vasanam madhuram valitam madhuram
calitam madhuram bhramitam madhuram
madhuradh-pater akhilam madhuram
venur madhuro renur madhurah
panir madhurah pado madhurah
nrtyam madhuram sakhyam madhuram
madhuradhi-pater akhilam madhuram
gitam madhuram pitam madhuram
bhuktam madhuram suptam madhuram
rupam madhuram tilakam madhuram
madhuradhi-pater akhilam madhuram
karanam madhuram taranam madhuram
haranam madhuram samitam madhuram
vamitam madhuram samitam madhuram
madhuradhi-pater akhilam madhuram
gunja madhura mala madhura
yamuna madhura vici madhura
salilam madhuram kamalam madhuram
madhuradhi-pater akhilam madhuram
gopi madhura lila madhura
yuktam madhuram bhuktam madhuram
hrstam madhuram slistam madhuram
madhuradhi-pater akhilam madhuram
gopa madhura gavo madhura
vastir madhura srstir madhura
dalitam madhuram phalitam madhuram
madhuradhi-pater akhilam madhuram
27 April, 2010 at 2:22 pm
The ‘Madhurastakam’ is a beautiful description of the sweetness of Lord Krishna:
His lips are sweet, His face is sweet, His eyes are sweet, His smile is sweet, his heart is sweet, His gait is sweet. Everything about my Lord of Sweetness is sweet.
His voice is sweet, his character is sweet, His attire is sweet, His speech is sweet, His movements are sweet, His wandering is sweet. Everything about my Lord of Sweetness is sweet.
His flute is sweet, His foot-dust is sweet, His hands are sweet, His feet are sweet, His dancing is sweet, His friendship is sweet. Everything about my Lord of Sweetness is sweet.
His singing is sweet, his drinking is sweet, His eating is sweet, His sleeping is sweet, His beauty is sweet, His tilak is sweet. Everything about my Lord of Sweetness is sweet.
His deeds are sweet, His acts of deliverance are sweet, His stealing is sweet, His amorous play is sweet, His yawning is sweet, and even His chastisements are sweet. Everything about my Lord of Sweetness is sweet.
His garland of gunja is sweet, His garland is sweet, His Yamuna River is sweet, and her waves, water and lotuses are all sweet. Everything about my Lord of Sweetness is sweet.
His gopis are sweet, His pastimes are sweet, His paraphernalia and ornaments are sweet, His food is sweet, His delight is sweet, His embrace is sweet. Everything about my Lord of Sweetness is sweet.
His gopas are sweet, His cows are sweet, His staff is sweet, His creation is sweet, His defeating of demons is sweet, and His bestowal of fruits is sweet. Everything about my Lord of Sweetness is sweet.
Madhuram, madhuram, madhuram, madhuram
Madhuram, madhuram, madhuram, madhuram
Madhuradhi-pater akhilam madhuram
15 April, 2010 at 5:54 am
THESE DAYS
Morning seems strange
almost out of place,
searched hard for you
and your special ways
these days,
please stay
‘These Days’ – Joy Division
16 April, 2010 at 3:25 pm
‘This is the way the world ends:
Not with a bang, but a whimper’
‘The Hollow Men’ – T.S. Eliot
17 April, 2010 at 4:17 pm
CATHEDRAL (A PRAYER FOR THE WHOLE WORLD)
(Inspired by Rodin’s ‘Cathedral’)
Close your eyes -
What do you see?
What would you say
if you could speak
to the whole world?
Twist your wrists
and turn your fingers -
your hands have formed
a perfect Cathedral
Something you can sense -
Some things don’t make sense,
Things you see and touch,
things within your grasp
Arches and spires,
angels and windows -
The language of silence
stops with each heart-beat
Close your eyes -
What do you see?
Your turning wrists
have formed a Cathedral
Block your ears -
Turn off the sound -
A voice in your heart
mouths a prayer for the whole world
27 April, 2010 at 8:00 am
Metal blinds -
steel rooms –
Razor-wire
no admission
Walls of ignorance -
I need contrition
Lotus-like eyes
I am breathless
Hands like arches
of your cathedral
It hurts me to see
the state of this world
candlelight
of the inner sanctum
23 April, 2010 at 11:24 am
A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM (Edgar Allan Poe)
Take this kiss upon the brow!
And, in parting from you now,
Thus much let me avow -
You are not wrong, who deem
That my days have been a dream:
Yet if hope has flown away
In a night, or in a day,
In a vision, or in none,
Is it therefore the less gone?
All that we see or seem
Is but a dream within a dream.
I stand amid the roar
Of a surf-tormented shore,
And I hold within my hand
Grains of the golden sand -
How few! Yet how they creep
Through my fingers to the deep,
While I weep – while I weep!
O God! Can I not grasp
Them with a tighter clasp?
O God! Can I not save
One from the pitiless wave?
Is all that we see or seem
But a dream within a dream?
23 April, 2010 at 11:25 am
One of my favourites when I was in high school.
27 April, 2010 at 7:40 am
CORRUPTION OF VIRTUE
I’m lord Despair in the never-ending night,
You’re my only hope when all my hope is gone -
I’m a patchwork man in a dreamy neverland,
You’re my saving grace when all my grace is gone
I’m lord Despair in the never-ending night,
A blackened rose when all my red is gone -
No hope for love in this gothic paradise,
You’re my only hope when all my hope is gone
I only want to be with you, my Lord -
Yes, I only want to be with you, my Lord
27 April, 2010 at 7:44 am
ETERNITY
light drizzle outside
feeling all sad
in my cage
wish you would express
yourself somehow
separation
of an actor off-stage
O Master!
with your vision I could see
for your vision holds
eternity
(Srila Prabhupada’s Disappearance Day, October 1998)
27 April, 2010 at 7:51 am
THE SEARCH
I searched for You – all over
Through wastes and plains – all over
Ways straight and strange – all over
I searched for You
‘Did your search bear fruit?’
‘Did you find your truth?’
‘Did you find the root?’
All over, I searched for you
27 April, 2010 at 8:03 am
THESE FEET
We’re two travellers
travelling around
and these feet
keep me moving ’round
We’re two travellers
travelling around -
in the hearts of Siva
and Laxmi we are found
We’re two travellers
travelling the earth -
and These feet
keep me free from birth
27 April, 2010 at 8:10 am
NEEDFUL THINGS
You reckon ill who leave me out
When Me you fly, I am the wings -
I am the doubter and the doubt,
I am the song lord Siva sings
Appears the dark clouds never lift,
Waiting for you and your special gifts;
Waiting for you and the joy you bring,
This is my prayer for needful things
You reckon ill who say that Vaishnavas die
When they are living in sound -
Vaishnavas die to live and living try
To spread the Holy Names around
Appears the dark clouds never lift,
Waiting for you and your special gifts;
Waiting for you and the joy you bring,
This is my prayer for needful things
27 April, 2010 at 8:19 am
‘If every man helps his neighbour, then who needs help’
Graffiti on a wall in Salt River, Cape Town
12 May, 2010 at 12:13 pm
VICTIM
Your real intentions
hide behind words
that are cast out easily -
like a fisherman’s net
in the sea
In the sky,
the moon eclipsed
thinks himself
unchanged
It’s the tendency of the victim
to want to shift the blame
Your real intentions
hide behind a wall
of projected thoughts -
which you, earnestly,
hold to be true
How could you possibly think
I’d want to share your view?
4 June, 2010 at 7:59 am
SATI RITE
My heart beats fast,
my husband’s lost -
Sati rite
The lick of flames,
a thousand names -
Sati rite
Everything I ever knew,
Everyone I cared about,
Everything I held as true,
Proves false now as my time runs out
My bones, my hair, my skin
are soon fine ash -
in the Sati rite
21 July, 2010 at 4:37 am
The Sati Rite is no longer applicable in our times, just like the modern-day ‘caste-system’ is a perversion of ‘daivi-varnashram’ or ‘divine social engineering’ in the modern age. Two wrongs don’t make a rite.
29 October, 2010 at 2:16 am
Beautiful poetry Mukunda Charan…did you write most of them?
29 October, 2010 at 6:37 am
Yes. Thank you. The ones I didn’t write I credited the authors.
How are you, Suvarna?
1 December, 2010 at 8:05 pm
HIDDEN SWEETNESS
It’s snowing
and it’s quiet -
From the dark,
undying light
No way of knowing
Your heart -
We wake to a
world of white
I need good advice -
Warm hands
to melt the ice
Serene and quiet -
Your love is like the silence
Walk on snow
Watch love grow -
From white-cold
a golden glow
Tell me now
I want to know -
Is this as far
as we go?
I’m going back
to loving arms
a Summer smile
and silence
I need good advice -
Warm hands
to melt the ice
Serene and quiet,
Your love is like the silence
Copyright – Mukunda Charan
12 February, 2011 at 8:26 am
WE LIVE IN COLOUR
A world of grey
greets us today -
I’d stay and pray,
But I miss my mother
I live and die
I live in white
I live in black
I live in colour
A world of souls
goes to the polls
In God we trust
Now dust forever
I live in black
I live in white
I live in grey
I live in colour
You live
in a sepulchral world -
of black and white
12 February, 2011 at 10:43 am
ONE MORE TIME
One more taste
One more touch
One last peek
And bite the dust
One more time
One more ride
One more trip
One last kick
This is it
One more time
Our lifetime
Smacks of crime
Karmic seeds -
Future deeds
One more time
Now we live
Now we die
Never asked:
‘Who am I?’
One more time
18 February, 2011 at 3:35 am
CONCERNED
I am concerned about you
About the places you might go,
the things that you migh do,
as new horizons will unfold
as you begin your life anew
I am concerned
About the choices you might make,
about the pressures that could break -
of each and every mistake
I am concerned about you
15 April, 2011 at 12:06 pm
CRIMINAL
This is the story
of my life -
sounds like
The Sorrows Of Werther
This is the story-line
and plot -
Charlotte was betrothed
to Werther’s best friend
(The whole world is a prison:
Who threw away the key?)
Criminal desires won’t set you free
You took me in
to your game,
I played
your game -
I’ll never be the same
Maya is eight-armed -
Yeah, she’s armed
and dangerous -
If her weapons don’t get you
her tiger will
(Wages of sin
for a lifetime of shame)
Criminal desires won’t set you free
29 April, 2011 at 10:12 am
YOU KNOW THE ANSWER
On all sides
betrayal
I ask, ‘Who is?’
All fingers point to me
On all sides
- confirmation -
of former wrongs,
reactions in the world of karma
Why?
Only you know the answer
On all sides
- tests -
- regrets -
- victories -
betrayal
confirmation
tests
I am hoping for the best
12 May, 2011 at 2:16 pm
TOUGH QUESTIONS (THE UNDESERVANT)
Why do you cry?
Why do you sigh?
You are breaking my heart
into pieces
I’m on the floor-
this offering is Yours;
No will of iron
or deep feelings
Come on, don’t cry -
Why do you lie
on – a – bed – of – nails?
Be happy
I am not your rival -
I am your servant
(undeservant – that’s me)
11 July, 2011 at 3:54 am
I AM YOUR DOG (To Cadby)
I am there when you get home,
waiting for you all alone
I am happy
I am sad
I am good
I am bad
I console you when you’re down
I wait for you
when you leave town
If you leave me, on a plane,
For your return I will remain
I am playful
I am cute
I am sulky
I am rude
I’m excited when we walk
I listen to you when you talk
I am hungry
I am moody
I am loyal
I am broody
Light your candle –
Go to bed -
You are my human
relative
I look to you with liquid eyes,
anticipate your next surprise –
But my instincts make it hard
to know that I’m a child of God
I have no manners
don’t mind me, please -
I’m a connoisseur
of cheeze
I love my bath
and guard my food,
sometimes fiercely –
‘Is that understood?’
‘Where’s your boney?’
‘Where’s your toy?’
Bring it here -
‘What a good boy!!’
I am lonely when you go
I am happy when we grow
I was wild
In my pack before
The little dog
who guards your door
19 August, 2011 at 7:31 am
The Mystic (I Am Your Student)
dedicated to His Holiness Radhanath Maharaja
Leaving the wilderness of desire,
I can feel I’m getting higher -
On the mountain-peak of your shoulders:
Feeling younger, growing older
Were you here with me this time,
I would be a better person -
You could teach me how to love
and I would be your eager student
In the springtime of our joy,
All my sorrows are destroyed,
Looking outward, turning in -
Your compassion makes me think
I’m the fool
You’re the prudent
You’re the master,
I’m your student
I’m just a swimmer in your ocean,
Tasting nectar, spitting out poison;
In the shade of your garden
all my troubles are forgotten
You’re the witness,
You hold the key -
To my heart -
You set me free
19 September, 2011 at 4:56 am
FORGETFULNESS
We’ve forgotten how to use our hands,
We’ve forgotten the language of the heart -
We’ve lost ourselves in television,
We’ve lost ourselves in competition
We know each other’s net worth,
and we take another birth
I am not being true
if I think I am better than you
19 September, 2011 at 7:30 am
WORDS
Sound,
my old friend:
I am with you,
once again
I am word,
I am force -
At your service,
dutifully yours
A signature
across the sky,
friend;
Watch me love,
see me grow
In the confines
of your stage,
under the glowing
sun’s good gaze
You kept everything
from me…
But words
9 November, 2011 at 4:42 pm
DOMINO EFFECT
I write
so it counts,
I write
so it hurts
to paint words
somebody cut off my hands,
somebody ruined my plans
I write
to find
my voice,
I write
to veto,
make a choice
somebody stole my sky -
somebody never asked why?
I write
to chronicle
my death,
Who will be first?
domino effect
16 December, 2011 at 8:58 pm
MY NEWEST FRIEND (BLONDIE)
You’re fine,
I don’t even know you
but you’re okay
In the land of the blind
the one-eyed man is king,
if you get my drift?
I don’t even know you
but I think you are okay;
first impressions last,
first impressions fade away
Hey, blondie!
You’re not even blonde
but that’s okay
Your problem is that
you think everyone’s the same;
your problem is
you don’t have any shame
How can you compare ignorant
people to people in knowledge?
How can you compare people who
strive for perfection to fools?
‘We are never going
to see each other again’ -
‘Good luck, anyway’ -
“love of my life”
and newest,
dearest friend
27 January, 2012 at 12:40 pm
MACCLESFIELD (HEART OF THE POET)
Dedicated to Ian Curtis (1956-1980) and the Eternals
There is a park near the poet’s house.
A park, with lovely green lawns
and green mossy trees
There is a lake with two giant swans.
I’d like to meet him;
I’d like to see his other side,
his emerald-green heart
Watch a parade of fools – wiser than us -
laughing, passing us by the water’s edge
near the lush, green hills of Macclesfield
I would not find him
in the glass walls of the city
No
I hear his anguished cries
in the red-brick;
in what he wanted to be;
in the degradation of his quiet.
How nice it would be to take a stroll through the town,
walk the dog on the lawn
and just sit somewhere inside…
and talk…
Copyright – Mukunda Charan Das
30 January, 2012 at 7:11 am
I AM WORLD WEARY
Love you from a distance,
love you from up close;
When we were together
love was our fine rose
An academic exercise,
a dream that fades away -
Why could we not be happy
with the love that came our way?
31 January, 2012 at 2:35 pm
STREAM (OF CONSCIOUSNESS)
I cast, with my eyes of Adam, a hopeful look
towards the entrance of the mall
I long for my escape
How do I get out?
Anaesthetized
Love centre dawn
The other side of the mall
I call it the “Dark Side of the Moon”
It is a place I rarely go
5 April, 2012 at 2:08 am
DREAM
the angels are sleeping
but aware
of you
in mountains
smooth marble
ledges
thinking
‘he is one of us’
trapped in stone
trapped by desire
aware of evil
as we make progress
6 April, 2012 at 5:26 am
The novelty of writing an MA wore off. It became a job, just like anything else. Since most of the archival material were government records, it felt like I was studying law all over again – but in retrospect. I was struggling to synthesize my philosophical readings with my project on the slave trade. It was also very difficult to come up with a thesis – an argument or theory – based on the source material I was studying. I was breaking my head trying to figure out what it was I was trying to say. It took three months for my MA proposal to be accepted. My supervisor was encouraging, but exacting. Every meeting with him seemed to suggest starting everything over again.
The positive side of this experience was that it was sharpening my intellect and improving my ability to analyze. I started an exercise regimen to help me cope with the long hours in the archives or in front of the computer. I was trying to eat more healthily too. I wanted to kill my old self, in the Nietschean sense. I wanted to become a better person. I had studied ethics in order to understand why people acted in certain ways. Now I was beginning to establish a code of ethics for my own existence. I was like a Spartan, living myself out of history. Context and place were becoming very significant to me in terms of living in the present. I also felt that I was developing a better understanding of my past and my own life.
The professors were always saying, ‘Write! Write!’ I wanted to get the MA over with, so I obliged them. My spiritual awakening and my ethical approach to life gave me the strength to face that mammoth task. I would set my uncle’s shamrock rosary above my bed. It was from the six months he had spent in the seminary, training to be a Catholic priest. I was slowly becoming aware of my spiritual purpose. I had certain God-given abilities and it was my duty to work according to my talents, rather than pursuing things that were not really in my nature.
16 April, 2012 at 4:38 pm
POETIC
I don’t know why these feelings hurt so much,
to place so much importance in one person,
to feel so much with the heart
I don’t know if I want to go any further,
the trail has brought us this far,
to have it all shattered right away
I was happy in my own little world,
I was happy I wasn’t vulnerable,
like now, and now I have to build it all again
17 May, 2012 at 3:35 am
TRUTH AND BEAUTY
Where are you now, God’s beautiful child?
Where are you now, my beautiful one?
You went away…and I don’t know what to say
Down in the depths of some infernal dream -
Caught in the cogworks of a soulless machine
You went away, you went away
Where are you now, this treacherous night?
Where are you now, so silent and shy…in the rain?
(Yeah, I missed you, once again)
Where did you go? Where did you go?
Crossing the water,
Climbing the walls,
La belle dame sans mercy
has thee in her thrall
I guess you know
And I’m left here to wonder
17 May, 2012 at 4:32 am
HERE AM I
Here am I sitting in the sun -
Waiting, I’m waiting -
Will you ever come?
Where are you? Feeling blue?
Hope some day to find you
Laughing in eternal life
Hope some day to find you -
Some things are just so hard to find.
17 May, 2012 at 4:23 am
WESTERN DEEP LEVELS
Western Deep Levels.
City Deep.
Western Deep Levels.
Down to the sea.
City of Gold
Soldier’s keep
Where God
sent torture deep
City green
in a dream
each address
manifests
Relate
take time -
next take -
next time
Seize the fire,
crack the nod -
See the saints
walk with God
Relate
take time -
next take -
next time
30 May, 2012 at 3:30 am
PYRAMID SONG (Radiohead)
I jumped in the river and what did I see?
Black-eyed angels swam with me -
A moon full of stars and astral cars,
all the things I used to see -
All my lovers were there with me
all my past and futures,
and we all went to heaven in a little row boat -
there was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt
There was nothing to fear and nothing to doubt