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Meditate on Kali! Why be anxious? by Ramprasad (Ramprasad Sen) (1718? - 1775?) Timeline English version by Rachel Fell McDermott Original Language Bengali Yoga / Hindu : Shakta (Goddess-oriented) 18th Century Meditate on Kali! Why be anxious? The night of delusion is over; it's almost dawn. The sun is rising, dispelling thick nets of darkness, and lotuses are blooming thanks to Siva at the top of your head. The Vedas throw dust in your eyes; blind too the six philosophies. If even the planets can't fathom Here who will break up these fun and games? There are no lessons between teacher and student in a market of bliss. Since She owns the actors, the stage, and the play itself who can grasp the truth of the drama?      A valiant devotee who knows the essence -- he      enters that city. Ramprasad says, My delusion is broken; who can bundle up fire?     -- from Singing to the Goddess: Poems to Kali and Uma from Bengal, Translated by Rachel Fell McDermott Amazon.com	Themes   Bliss   Dawn   Fire   Lotus   Night 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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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

Notice how Ramprasad's iconoclasm comes through with his lines stating that "The Vedas throw dust in your eyes; blind too / the six philosophies..." He mocks the endless intellectual "fun and games," the constant conceptualization that keep us blind to what is "Here." Even studying sacred texts, even the holy Vedas, can make us blind if we study as a way to separate us from the vast present moment.

If we fixate on the separate objects -- the actors, the stage, the play -- then we are caught in that objectified notion of a fragmented reality. But when we recognize that She (Kali, the Divine) "owns" actors, stage, and play, that they are not separate but a whole single production, then we start to see the essence.

Of course, that realization sets everything on fire...

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2009 by Ivan M. Granger.
All other material is copyrighted by the respective authors, translators and/or publishers.