Aug 23 2019
Rasakhan – Enchanted
Enchanted
by Rasakhan
English version by Shyamdas
I put my fingers in my ears
to block the sound
whenever Krishna gently plays His flute!
Declares Raskhan,
“It happens when enchanter Mohan
climbs to the rooftop
to call His cows.
“I issue a warning to all the people of Braja.
Tomorrow, I will not be able to console them.
“O, friend! Having glimpsed His smile,
I cannot…
I cannot…
I will not
control my love.”
— from Treasure House of Love: Poems of Rasakhan, Translated by Shyamdas
/ Image by vishalmisra /
Today is Krishna Jayanti or Krishna Janmashtami in the Hindu calendar, the day celebrating the birth of Krishna. Naturally, I thought we should select a poem in honor of Krishna…
Krishna is often depicted standing in a relaxed posture holding a flute to his lips. Think of Krishna as the pied piper of India, but it is lost souls he calls to himself.
I put my fingers in my ears
to block the sound
whenever Krishna gently plays His flute!
When you think about it, this opening line can be read in two different ways. On the surface, Rasakhan (speaking as Radha, the cowherd girl who loves Krishna) seems to be petulantly blocking out the music of Krishna’s flute, not wanting to come when called. Of course, even this implies that the Lord’s music is so enchanting that the only way not to be drawn by it is to try to block it out. This hints that we are already hooked by the call of God, that union is inevitable, and we can only temporarily put it off.
But there is another, esoteric way to read this, as well. The flute of Krishna is the quiet tone heard deep within the base of the skull when we sit in silent, devoted meditation and prayer. It is this whisper in the inner ear that draws us to deepest union with the Eternal. Understood this way, Rasakhan could actually be describing a yogic technique of blocking out sound and quieting the external senses in order to better hear Krishna’s call within.
Declares Raskhan,
“It happens when enchanter Mohan
climbs to the rooftop
to call His cows.
We hear the flute when Mohan, another name for Krishna, climbs to the rooftop. In the language of yoga, this “rooftop” can be understood as a reference to the skull in general or, more specifically, the crown chakra.
“O, friend! Having glimpsed His smile,
I cannot…
I cannot…
I will not
control my love.”
I love those lines! That’s the passion felt by a true lover of God! “I cannot… I cannot… I will not control my love.”
=
Website Fixes
The reason there was no poem email last week was that I was focused on fixing some technical issues with the Poetry Chaikhana website. It turned out to be a more challenging undertaking than I first imagined, but everything should be running smoothly once again.
|
||||
| Treasure House of Love: Poems of Rasakhan | ||||
|
Rasakhan
India (1534? – 1619?) Timeline |
Like Kabir and a few other celebrated poet-saints of India, Rasakhan melded within himself both Islam and Hinduism.
He was born to a wealthy Muslim family in India, possibly near Delhi. His birth name was Saiyad Ibrahim, and he later took the spiritual name Rasakhan. He is said to have had a good education and he spoke both Hindi and Persian (Farsi).
Most of his poems are ecstatic bhakti songs exploring the love between Radha and Lord Krishna, written in the Hindi language.
Rasakhan also translated the Srimad Bhagavatam (one of the great scriptures in the Krishna bhakti tradition) into Persian
Hello Ivan,
I love this poem by Rasakhan, the artwork by vishalmisra & the Ghandi haiku posters.
Your comments helps understand . It balances the prevalent media
focus on violence & destruction. Reminds me too of the universality of ‘the call’, as when
Christ says , ‘I have chosen you, you have not chosen me’. So many ways to unblock the ears!
Many thanks & happy weekend to you too.
In the West, we tend to need trumpets to hear the sound of the Divine.
Hi Ivan
I’ve just been ‘nudged’ to Br.David Steindl-Rast’s haiku page on the Gratefulness.org website
& thought to share it, if you don’t already know of it. Cheers
Like a crystal…the Haiku shows us some important aspects of our human world gathered together and reflected as if in one brief sparkling flash. ~ Br. David Steindl-Rast
Shri Krishna,
most attractive prince,
very first soul on earth,
Shri Vishnu,
first great ruler,
ever worshiped one, and
Shri Brahma,
all knowledge full,
who is shown thousand arms,
how all of them are related and
how these have got mixed up,
Who are the cows and
What is the significance of
Sweet sound of the flute,
these things are to be
rightly understood.