Here's your Daily Poem from the Poetry Chaikhana --
Enchanted By Rasakhan English version by Shyamdas
I put my fingers in my ears
 / Photo by . Guechal / |
| ============ Thought for the Day: Everything is an exercise ============ | Here's your Daily Music selection --  Chris Rael & Deep Singh Tunnel Ragas |
Hi Omss -
Rasakhan (also written Raskhan) is another embodiment of the fascinating melding of different religions and cultures we sometimes find in eclectic India. He was both a Muslim and a follower of Krishna.
He was born to a wealthy Muslim family in India, possibly near Delhi. Different sources give different estimates for when Rasakhan lived. We're pretty safe to say that he lived and wrote in the 1600s.
His birth name was Saiyad Ibrahim, and he later took the spiritual name Rasakhan.
He is said to have had a good education and he spoke both Hindi and Persian (Farsi).
Yet, even with his Muslim upbringing, most of his poems are ecstatic bhakti songs exploring the love between Radha (the soul) and Lord Krishna (God), written in the Hindi language.
Rasakhan also translated the Srimad Bhagavat (one of the great scriptures in the Krishna bhakti tradition) into Persian.
--
Krishna is often depicted standing in a relaxed posture holding a flute to his lips. Think of Krishna as the pied piper of India, but it is lost souls he calls to himself.
I put my fingers in my ears
to block the sound
whenever Krishna gently plays His flute!
When you think about it, this opening line can be read in two different ways. On the surface, Rasakhan (speaking as Radha, the cowherd girl who loves Krishna) seems to be petulantly blocking out the music of Krishna's flute, not wanting to come when called. Of course, even this implies that the Lord's music is so enchanting that the only way not to be drawn by it is to try to block it out. This hints that we are already hooked by the call of God, that union is inevitable, and we can only temporarily put it off.
But there is another, esoteric way to read this, as well. The flute of Krishna is the quiet tone heard deep within the base of the skull when we sit in silent, devoted meditation and prayer. It is this whisper in the inner ear that draws us to deepest union with the Eternal. So, understood this way, Rasakhan could actually be describing a yogic technique of blocking out sound and quieting the external senses in order to better hear Krishna's call within.
Declares Raskhan,
"It happens when enchanter Mohan
climbs to the rooftop
to call His cows.
We hear the flute when Mohan, another name for Krishna, climbs to the rooftop. Again, in the language of yoga, this can be understood as a reference to the skull in general or, more specifically, the crown chakra.
"O, friend! Having glimpsed His smile,
I cannot...
I cannot...
I will not
control my love."
Love those lines! That's the passion felt by a true lover of God! "I cannot... I cannot... I will not control my love."
Ivan
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Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2010 by Ivan M. Granger.
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