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

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ THE POEMS OF LALLA OF KASHMIR GB101

GB101
dihaci lari da:ri-bar troparim,
pra:nà-tsu:r roTum ta dyutàmas dam     |
hridayici kyu:Thàri-andar goNDum,
omaki cobàka tulàmas bam     ||

I closed the doors and
windows of my body,
I seized the prana-thief
(breath) and controlled him.
In the jail of my heart
I tied him up,
and I whipped him
with OM.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ

A page from my notes on the Kashmiri text of Lalla's poems

The above photo is a page from my notes on the Kashmiri text of Lalla's poems. There are about thirty of these pages, most of them equally densely marked with my corrections and notes. When I recently took the project up again (I like to think that it was at Lalla's own urging), I was amazed at the huge amount of preparatory work I had already done, years earlier. I had done so much, in fact, that you'd think I could just turn the crank and spit the translations out. Lalla, though, saw to it that it would never be that simple, either for me or for anyone else. Apart from being a fine poet, she was an amazing spiritual teacher. I may have the roughly 150 poems of the planned collection translated within a few months (at this pace, I will), but I'll still have years of work to do.

ॐ नमः शिवाय ॐ