JANUARY 1 2017

On this Sunday,
first day of the year,
I give you me
in this moment,
neither too much
nor too little,
eyes wide,
nothing to hide,
with every hope
and every fear
in place
as we face
another year.
Good luck,
my friends,
to all of us,
and may God
bless this
tattered
and tortured
world.
Amen.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 87

JK/NKK 87
latan hund ma:z la:ryom vatan,
akiy hö:vnam akiciy vath     |
yim yim bozan tim konà matan,
lali röT Satan kuniy kath     ||

I wore out the soles
of my feet on the roads,
then One showed me
just one path.
Whoever hears this,
why shouldn't they
become mad for it?
Out of hundreds,
I, Lalla, seized
a single word.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 28

JK/NKK 28
tsa:lun chu vuzamalà tà traTai,
tsa:lun chu mandinyan gaTàka:r     |
tsa:lun chu pa:n-panun kaDun graTay,
hètà, ma:li, santu:S va:tiy pa:nay     ||

Patience is to endure
thunder and lightning,
patience is (to bear) darkness
at midday.
Patience is being ground up
in the mill.
Be content, dear,
it will come
by itself.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 98

JK/NKK 98
dama:dam kôrmas daman-ha:le,
prazàlyom di:ph tö naneyam za:th     |
andaryum praka.S nèbar tshôTum
gaTi rôTum tà körmas thaph     ||

I slowed the breath
in the bellows-pipe,
the lamp blazed brightly
and showed me my Self.     |
The inner light shone forth,
and in the darkness
I seized it,
and held it tight.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 80

JK/NKK 80
za:nà ha: na:Didal manà röTith,
tsöTith vöTith kuTith kli:S     |
za:nàha: adà astà rasa:yèn göTith,
Siv chuy kru:Th tày tsen vvapàdi:S     ||

Had I known
how to control
the inner pathways
with the mind,
tearing, binding, and cutting
the kleshas (obstacles to Yoga),
then I would have known
how to prepare
the magical elixir.
Shiva is hard to attain,
so take heed.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 52

JK/NKK 52
tsèttà tvarag gagànà bramà-vôn,
nimiSì aki tshanDi yu:zanà lach     |
tsaitanya vagi bvadi ra:Tith zôn,
pra:n apa:n sandö:rith pakhàcy     ||

The mind-steed speeds
through the sky,
covering a hundred
thousand leagues
in the blink
of an eye.
One who is wise
grasps the reins
of consciousness,
clipping the wings
of prana and apana.

Note: Prana and apana are upward and downward flows of vital energy, corresponding to inhalations and exhalations of the breath.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR JK/NKK 51

JK/NKK 51
pavan pu:rith yus ani vage,
tas bva na: spa:rSi nà bvachi tö treS     |
tiy yas karun antiH tage,
samsa:ras suy zèyi nech     ||

One who can
control the mind
by controlling the breath,
that one
will not be touched
by hunger and thirst.
One who can do this
up to the end,
fortunate is their birth
in the world.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ