ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 14

JK/NKK 14
ha: tsyata: kavà chuy lôgmut parà mas,
kavà gôy apàzis pazyuk bront     |
dàSi-bôz vaS kôrnakh par-darmas,
yinà-gatshanà zyanà-marànas kront     ||

O Mind, why have you gotten drunk
on foreign wine?
Why have you put the unreal
before the real?
Lack of wisdom has put you
on an alien path,
and the ordeal of
coming and going,
birth and death.

Note: This poem contains tricky symbolism and double meanings. The wordplay is extremely clever, and makes the translator's job harder. I've tried to translate on the level that makes for the best poetry. What Lalla is suggesting here is that she was, for a time, seduced by alien (probably theistic/dualistic) doctrine. There is other evidence that this may have been the case, because in another poem she says that she has read (and is still reading) the Bhagwad Gita. Lalla's work (which has been claimed by Hindus, Sufis, and Buddhists) goes beyond the sectarianisms of her day, but I think it is closest to Kashmiri Shaivism. That she intended it to be universal is indicated by the words, in another poem:

     "mo za:n hyond tà musalma:n," Forget about "Hindu" and "Muslim,"

because "Shiva lives everywhere" and "the sun shines on all alike." Too bad this tolerant attitude is not coming into play today.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ