JK/NKK 72
akuy omka:r yus na:bi dare,
kumbày brahma:nDas sôm gare |
akuy maanthàra yus tsètas kare,
tas sa:s manthàra kya:h kare ||
He who carries in his navel the sacred OM,
forming through kumbhaka a bridge to brahmarandhra,
keeping in his consciousness this mantra alone,
what are, to him, a thousand mantras?
Note: Kumbhaka is the yogic practice of retention of the breath. As to "brahmarandhra," I have seen it defined as "the anterior fontanelle of the brain," as the sahasrara (thousand-petaled lotus), which is above the top of the head, and as "near the sahasrara." In any case, it appears to be associated with the "thousand-petaled lotus."
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ
JK/NKK 63
SiSiras vuth kus raTe,
kus bvake raTe va:v |
yus pö:ntsh èndryay tsaTith tsaTe,
suy raTe gaTe rav ||
Who can stop
winter's icy dripping?
Who can hold
the wind in his hand?
He who has cut
the five senses
down to size,
that one,
in the midst of darkness,
can seize the sun.
Note: I must apologize to my fellow feminists for the use of non-inclusive language, but that is what Lalla used. The pronoun in the last of Lalla's lines is "suh" (he), not "soh" (she). In some of the other poems I have managed to use a non-specific "they," but it didn't work here.
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ
JK/NKK 3
talà chuy zyus tay pèThà chukh natsa:n.
vantà ma:li man kithà patsa:n chuy |
soruy sômbrith yaty chuy mvatsa:n,
vantà ma:li ann kithà rotsa:n chuy
Beneath you is a pit, you're dancing on top.
Tell me, Sir, how trusting is your mind?
All you've amassed will stay behind.
Tell me, Sir, does your food taste good?
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ
JK/NKK 94
omka:r yèli layi ônum,
vuhi kôrum panun pa:n |
Se vôt trö:vith sath ma:rg rôTum,
tèli lal bà vö:tsàs praka:Sastha:n ||
When I absorbed the sacred OM,
I made of myself an ember bright.
Six paths traversed, the seventh I took,
Then I, Lalla, reached the place of light.
Note: Since the word "sath" in the third line of Lalla's quatrain can mean either "seventh" or "true," a double meaning is possible. The word "Se" ("six") at the beginning of the line leads us to believe that "seventh" is the intended meaning. In this case, Lalla would be referring to the "six chakras" located inside the body, and the seventh, the sahasrara (thousand-petaled lotus), located twelve finger-breadths above the top of the head. It is the sahasrara that is the place of illumination, so all of this fits. The alternative interpretation would be exclusively sectarian in a way that would not fit with Lalla's teaching.
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ
JK/NKK 84
ase pvande zvase za:me,
nèthày sna:n kare ti:rthan |
vàhàry vàhàras nônuy a:se,
niSè chuy tà parza:ntan ||
He laughs, sneezes, coughs, and yawns.
He's always bathing at holy shrines.
He's naked all throughout the year.
Recognize Him--he's very near.
ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ
