ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 105a, 105b

JK/NKK 105a
lal bà dra:yès kapàsi-poSècè sàtsày,
kö:Di tà du:ny körnàm yatsày lath     |
tàyè yèli khö:rnàm zö:yiji tàyè,
bovàry va:nà göyèm alö:nzày lath     |

I, Lalla, set out,
hoping to bloom
like a cotton flower.
The cleaner and
the carder gave me
hard blows,
When they spun me into yarn,
they stretched it tight,
hanging it on the
weaver's loom.

JK/NKK 105b
dvaby yeli chö:vànas dvaby-kany pèThày,
saz tà sa:ban màtshànam yatsày     |
sàtsi yèli phirànam hani-hani kö:tsày,
adà lali mè prö:vàm parama-gath     ||

When the washerman
pounded me on
the laundry stone,
he scrubbed me
hard with soap.
When the tailor
worked his scissors,
piece by piece,
then I, Lalla,
reached the highest
state.

Note: Lalla tells us here that she began her spiritual journey "hoping to bloom like a cotton flower," which sounds easy, natural, maybe even lyrical. Instead, her continued progress was hard, bruising, and she had to be remade, reshaped, to reach the "highest state." She quickly dispenses with romanticism and vain imaginings, giving us the hard truth that we are going to have to do some re-engineering of self to reach Self.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 128

JK/NKK 128
yimày Sè tsè timày Sè mè,
Sya:màgala: tsè byôn tö:This     |
yuhôy bènàbi:d tsè tà mè,
tsà Sèn sva:mi: bà Sèyi möSis     ||

You and I have the same six
O Blue-Throated Lord,
yet separated from you,
I have suffered.
This is the difference
between you and me:
you are the master
of the six,
while I have
forgotten them.

Note: I used to believe that the "six" that Lalla referred to were the six chakras. But apparently she was referring to the six attributes of the Lord (omniscience, etc.), which for us embodied ones are manifested instead as six "kañcukas," or limitations.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 123

JK/NKK 123
kunyar-ay bozak kuni no rozakh,
kuniran kôrnam hunya:ka:r     |
kunày ö:sith dvan hund jang gom,
suy berang gom körith rang     ||

If you understand oneness,
you won't live anywhere.
This oneness has made me
nothingness.
Though I am one,
the conflict of two
continues.
He who is without color,
has dyed me
in colors.

Note: Shivamaya, Shiva's power of illusion, causes the world to resemble a giant cosplay party. We are given our rôles, and we play them. One dresses as a pirate, another as a president, but it does not indicate, or change, who we really are. One who is wise, will still possess wisdom, and a fool will still be a fool.

Behind all of this sporting, all these disguises, there is really only Shiva.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 131

JK/NKK 131
tsày di:và gartas tà darti: srazakh,
tsày di:và ditith kranzan pra:n     |
tsày di:và Thani rôstuy vazakh,
kus za:ni di:và con parima:n     ||

You, O God, bring forth
the earth and all its life.
You, O God, have given
life to our bones.
You, O God, resonate
without sound.
Who, O God,
can know
your measure?

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 83

JK/NKK 83
tà:ri salil khôTà tày tà:re,
hèmi tri gay bina:bin vimarSa:     |
tsaitany rav ba:ti sab same,
Sivamay tsara:tsar zag paSa:     ||

Cold congeals water
into ice and snow.
Reflecting, you see
the difference and
non-difference of
the three forms.
When the sun of
consciousness shines,
all are the same,
and the world of
moving and
unmoving things
is seen to be
only Shiva.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ