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To be born in a human body is rare,
Don’t throw away the reward for your past good deeds. Life passes in an instant—the leaf doesn’t go back to the branch. The ocean of rebirth sweeps up all beings hard, Pulls them into its cold-‑running, fierce, implacable currents. Giridhara, your name is the raft, the one safe passage over. Take me quickly. All the awake ones travel with Mira, singing the name. She says with them: Get up, stop sleeping—the days of life are short. - Mirabai Translated by Jane Hirshfield Unbreakable, O Lord, Is the love that binds me to You:
Like a diamond, it breaks the hammer that strikes it. My heart goes into You as the polish goes into the gold. As the lotus lives in its water, I live in You. Like the bird that gazes all night at the passing moon, I have lost myself dwelling in You. O my Beloved — Return. - Mirabai Translated by Jane Hirshfield In my travels I spent time with a great yogi. Once he said to me,
“Become so still you hear the blood flowing through your veins.” One night as I sat in quiet, I seemed on the verge of entering a world inside so vast I know it is the source of all of us. - Mirabai Translated by Daniel Ladinsky |
Mirabai
1498-1546 Mirabai was a mystic poet and saint of India. She was born into a royal family around 1498 in Rajasthan, India. The Sanskrit name Mira means deep lake or ocean, and Bai means a respected woman of great depth. Mirabai was well-educated in music, religion, and politics and known for her unwavering devotion to God and to bhakti (devotional) traditions. She was disinterested in material wealth and social conventions. She became famous across northern India for her inspirational poetry, music, and bhajan songs. She would join people from lower castes in the temples to play devotional music, sing, and dance in the ecstatic joy of God's Love. Books:
Love Poems from God
By Daniel Ladinsky ©2002 Mystic Poet: Mirabai Available from: Amazon and other book sellers 
Mirabai: Ecstatic Poems
Versions By Robert Bly and Jane Hirshfield ©2004 Mystic Poet: Mirabai Available from: Amazon and other book sellers 
Women in Praise of the Sacred
Edited By Jane Hirshfield ©1994 Mystic Poet: Mirabai Available from: Amazon and other book sellers |
| Sounds of Devotion | Mirabai |