Ramakrishna - Is there anyone in the universe
Ivan M. Granger May 16th, 2008
Is there anyone in the universe,
by Ramakrishna
English version by Lex Hixon
Is there anyone in the universe,
among heavenly or earthly beings,
who can understand what Kali is?
The systems of all traditions
are powerless to describe Her.
Is Mother a feminine being
or greater than Being itself?
Chanting Her transforming Name –
OM KALI OM KALI OM KALI,
empowers Lord Shiva,
Who is transcendent Knowledge,
to drink the negativity of all beings,
turning His Throat dark blue.
Without Her protection
such poison would be deadly,
even to the highest Divinity.
More than Creator and creation,
Mother is sheer Creativity
beyond the notion of duality.
Universe and Father-God
are thrilling glances
from Her seductive Eyes.
Always pregnant with ecstasy,
She gives birth to manifest Being
from Her Womb of primal Awareness,
nursing it tenderly at Her Breast,
then playfully consumes Her Child.
The world dissolves instantly
upon touching Her white Teeth,
attaining the realization
of Her brilliant Voidness.
The various Divine Forms
that manifest throughout history
take refuge at Her Lotus Feet.
The Essence of Divinity,
the Great Ground of Being,
lies in ecstatic absorption
beneath Her red-soled Feet.
Is Mother simply a Goddess?
Does She need a male consort
to protect or complete Her?
The cycle of birth and death
bows reverently before Her.
Is She simply naked
or is She naked Truth?
No veil can conceal Her.
Her naked radiance slays demons
not with weapons but with splendor.
If Mother is a conventional wife,
why is She dancing fiercely
on the breast of Shiva?
Her timeless play destroys
conventions and conceptions.
She is primal purity,
Her ecstatic lovers are purity.
Purity merges into purity,
with no remainder.
I am totally inebriated
by Her wine of timeless bliss.
The wine cup is Her Name –
OM KALI OM KALI OM KALI.
Those drunk on ordinary wine
assume I am one of them.
Not everyone will encounter
the dazzling darkness
called Goddess Kali.
Not everyone can consciously receive
the infinite treasure of Her Nature.
The foolish mind refuses
to perceive and accept
that She alone exists.
Even the noble Lord Shiva,
most enlightened of beings,
can barely catch a glimpse
of Her flashing crimson Feet.
The wealth of world-emperors
and the richness of Paradise
are but abject poverty
to those who meditate on Her.
To swim in a single Glance
from Her three Cosmic Eyes
is to be immersed
in an ocean of ecstasy.
Not even Shiva, prince of yogis,
can focus upon Her dancing Feet
without falling into trance.
Yet the worthless lover
who sings this mad song
aspires to conscious union with Her
during waking, dream, and deep sleep.
— from Great Swan: Meetings with Ramakrishna, by Lex Hixon
/ Photo by katmere /
I thought this poem would nicely round out our our week of celebrating the Great Mother, a poem dedicated to the Goddess Kali.
There is so much I could comment on here, but somehow it feels irreverent to add more words to Ramakrishna’s ecstatic outpouring.
I am totally inebriated
by Her wine of timeless bliss.
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Ramakrishna
India (1836 - 1886) Timeline |
The great 19th century saint Ramakrishna is loved the world over. His simplicity, directness, charm, and divine madness often inspire comparisons with St. Francis of Assisi.
Ramakrishna was the guru of Swami Vivekananda, one of the first popularizers of Hindu spirtuality in the West.
Ramakrishna’s poems were spontaneously composed songs of spiritual ecstasy, often incorporating verses from popular devotional songs and poetry, especially lines from Ramprasad and Kamalakanta.
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Thank you, Ivan,
and for the opportunity to offer my comment. May you regain full health with your next breath.
This is the Creative Mother I know.
I have lived it all my life.
There is nothing more to say.
I return for more thrashing under Her blood red feet.
Ramakrishna’s question is etched in my worthless being.
There is a reason why She dances on Shiva, of the Blue Throat,
in a supreme Act of purification.
Forget what the guru knows.
Three times She cries,
Purify! Purify! Purify!
OM KALI!
Om Namaha Shivaya
~
jm
Read about Ramakrishna at Hindupedia, the Hindu Encyclopedia