Story of Lalleshwari and translation of some of her poems.

[Guest guest]

I read the story of Lalleshwari (I think this was in Wikipedia) and

thought I'd share it.

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Biography

 

Lalleshwari was born in Pandrethan (ancient Puranadhisthana) some

four and a half miles to the southeast of Srinagar [9]. She married

at age twelve, but her marriage was unhappy and she left home at

twenty-four to take sanyas (renunciation) and become a disciple of

the Shaivite guru Siddha Srikantha (Sed Bayu).

 

Many legends and stories remain about Lalla. One in particular tells

of how Lalla, who ignored the normal convention of dress, choosing to

wander around naked, was teased by several children. A nearby cloth

merchant scolded the children for their disrespect. Lalla asked the

merchant for two lengths of cloth, equal in weight. That day as she

walked around naked, she wore a piece of cloth over each shoulder,

and as she met with respect or scorn, she tied a knot in one or

another. In the evening, she brought the cloth back to the merchant,

and asked him to weigh them again. The cloths were equal in weight,

no matter how many knots were in each. Respect and scorn have no

weight of their own.

 

Her poems (called vakhs) have been translated into English by Richard

Temple, Jia Lal Kilam, Coleman Barks, and Jaishree Odin

 

 

Sayings of Lalleshwari

 

My heart I parched as farmers parch the grain

And from that fire there came a wondrous boon

And Shiva in a flash I did obtain

 

I, Lalla, entered through the door of the garden of my mind

And saw Shiva and Shakti united into one, O joy!

There I became immersed in the lake of nectar

And died even while I was still alive

What will now death do unto me ?

And then I, Lalla, attained the supreme state.

 

We have been in the past

In future also we shall be

Forever the sun rises and sets

Forever Shiva creates and dissolves and creates again.

 

Practice constantly to absorb the manifested,

The world of form merges into the void

The void dissolves, the One ineffable remains-

This is the truth to learn, O Batta!)

 

The mind-horse gallops over the skies,

Momently traverses a million miles.

Consciousness-bridle will hold it in check,

Control the wings of the airs that go up and down.

 

Shiva is the horse, Keshava the saddle,

And Brahma becomes the stirrup.

The yogi through his yoga will come to know,

Which God will dare to mount this horse

 

The unimpaired sound, the void of the sky,

The One with no name nor family nor caste,

Just the Self-aware Sound and the Dot eternal

That God alone will mount this horse.

 

The mind-horse I reined in and put on course,

Holding him still with the ten air-channels.

The mystic moon melted and downwards flowed.

And the void was absorbed into the void!

 

 

 

Sivaya Namah