It is not only the soul’s heart that aches for God. But
God’s heart that also aches for the soul…
Today, on this waxing moon,
beautiful festivities will unfold in India, and all around the world, where with
burning fire lamps and scented flowers, incense and the beating of drums,
people will congregate in the thousands singing “Radhe Radhe! Jaya Sri Radhe!” to celebrate the appearance of the Supreme
Feminine Divine, known as Radha in Sanskrit.
Radha is the key to Krishna, or the
Supreme Divine’s heart. She models the ultimate immersion of the soul in Divine
Love.
Radha’s pure love is so attractive that it drives God mad with longing!
Radha is characterized as one that
is fully absorbed in incessantly adoring Divinity, as her name suggests, coming
from the Sanskrit verb root ‘radh’,
meaning: “to worship”, or “to adore”.
Radha’s adoring love is so pure and
powerful that she is celebrated for bringing God under her control, melting his
heart with one of her amorous, sidelong glances. Radha's love is therefore is known as "greater than Krishna!".
In the mood of the bhakti
tradition, this poem describes Krishna longing like a madman for Radha’s love, as He tries to see Her, to get closer to Her, to clamp His eyebrows to Her eyebrows.
GIVE ME LOVE
The Ballad of the Madman
Every
night He draws a full moon for meeting You
He
makes lakes of flowers to bloom
And
He paints many dawns in the skies
For
remembering the lotus of Your eyes
He
cries: Radhe Radhe where are you?
In
many dresses He comes in a disguise
As
the gardener or the laundry-man wife
To
touch your garments or to garland You
wanders
from the ghats (ponds) to the kunds (gardens)
He
calls : Radhe Radhe where are You?
Roves
the roads rummaging every part
Waiting to
see You walk down the path
His
friends mock Him when you pass
He
pales and drops His flute and sash
His
voice chokes : Radhe Radhe let me see You!
The
night He stands behind the tree,
keen
to see His Dream unseen
when
You bathe upstream, He swims
where
flowers and water flow from Your skin
He
despairs: Radhe Radhe where are You?
Roams
restless through the groves and the lands
crying
up the hill and on the river banks
Mudded
and maddened, rolls in the sands,
as
a Beggar of Your love and dancer in Your hands
He
pleas: Radhe Radhe give Me Your love!
~
 |
| ~Radha's Lotus Feet in Krishna's hands~ |
Madhava Lata Dasi: “Though I am originally from Italy, today I live in India in the very South, in the State of Kerala where I own a small hotel named the Paradesh Inn facing the Arabian Ocean. For 6 months it is open and our customers are mostly Yogi/Yogini who retreat in this area every year for weeks of full immersion. (For video of hotel click here) I follow Bhakti Yoga and writing poems is part of my meditation on Krishna, since I draw inspiration for my poems from the many books I read about Him. I usually publish my poems on my blog here.
~If you are interested in seeing your poetry appear in this blog, or submitting a poem by a woman that has inspired you, please click here for submission guidelines. I greatly look forward to hearing from you!~
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