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Kulakundalini, Goddess Full of Brahman, Tara

by Ramprasad (Ramprasad Sen)
(1718? - 1775?) Timeline

English version by
Rachel Fell McDermott

Original Language
Bengali

Yoga / Hindu : Shakta (Goddess-oriented)
18th Century

Kulakundalini, Goddess Full of Brahman, Tara --
You are inside me.
You are inside me, Ma
     in the muladhara, the sahasrara,
          and the wish-granting manipura.
The Ganges flows to the left, the Yamuna to the right;
in their midst streams the Sarasvati
               where Siva and Sakti shine.
Meditating on You like this
          a ruby-red snake sleeping
          coiled around the Lord Self-Born
a man is blessed.

In each glorious lotus
     Muladhara, svadhisthana, manipura at the navel,
     anahata, and visuddha
You incarnate as letters
     v to s, be to l, d to ph, k to th,
          sixteen vowels at the throat,
               and h and ks between the eyebrows.
My teacher was firm with me;
he told me to think of You like this in my body.

Brahma and the four gods, and Dakini and her five saktis
inhabit the ascending lotuses, supported underneath
by an elephant, a crocodile, a ram, an antelope, and a second elephant.
If you hold your breath
          you can know Her
               and hear the buzzing hum
of a drunken bee.
Earth, water, fire, and air dissolve immediately
when you sound "yam," ram," "lam," "ham," and "haum."

Then cast me
a compassionate glance --
          I keep being reborn!
Your feet alone drip nectar.
You are Sakti, cosmic sound,
and Siva the dot in "Om"
          full of nectar like the moon.
Who can cleave the One Self?

Ritual worship, controversies over dualism and nondualism
these don't bother me,
for the Great Mistress of Time tramples Time.
Once sleep is broken
there's no more sleep, and the soul
will be turned into Siva. Could one like this
          even if reborn
drown anew in the senses?
Liberation adores him like a daughter.

Pierce the agna cakra;
dispel the devotee's despair.
Traveling past lotuses
     four, six, ten, twelve, sixteen, and two
     to the thousand-petaled flower at the top of the head
the female swan unites with Her handsom amde
          in the residence of the Lord.
Hearing Prasad's words,
the yogi floats in a sea of bliss.

 

 

-- from Singing to the Goddess: Poems to Kali and Uma from Bengal, Translated by Rachel Fell McDermott

Amazon.com

 

Themes

  Birth, Rebirth
  Bliss
  Fire
  Freedom
  Garden


Recommended Books


Devoted to the Goddess : The Life and Work of Ramprasad, by Malcolm Mclean
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, by M. (Sri Mahendra Gupta) / Translated by Swami Nikhilananda
Grace and Mercy in Her Wild Hair: Ramprasad Sen - Selected Poems to the Mother Goddess, Translated by Leonard Nathan / Clinton Seely
Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna, by Lex Hixon
Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar, by Elizabeth U. Harding

More >>

 

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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2011 by Ivan M. Granger.
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