Thou art the Creator,
Thou alone art my friend;
Thou, O Lord, art all-pervading.
True meditation revealeth Thee
in all Thy perfection;
And the snares of illusion
are rendered ineffective.
Vast and vicious is this mesh of illusion,
Whose intricate tentacles suck one dry.
Sing with all thy heart, the Name of the Lord;
It costs thee nothing, O Nama,
to repeat His Name.
*
~ Namdev
1 comment:
Namdev was a Sikh poet. The Sikhs have an interesting religious tradition. They are often described as a mix of Islam and Hinduism, in that they retain many of the Hindu beliefs and customs, yet they are not poly-theistic. They believe in one God and reincarnation is not part of their beliefs. Because Sikh men wear beards and turbans they are often mistaken for Arabs. But in fact they tend to come from the regions of India and Sri Lanka.
This poem is a high praise for the holy name of the one true God. I thought it was wonderful to fit it with a picture of the infant Christ, the eternal Logos of Creation sleeping sweetly in his bed.
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