He is the One in many

by Namdev

English version by Nirmal Dass
Original Language Hindi

He is the One in many,
countless are His shapes and forms.
He pervades all that exists;
wherever I look, He is there.
But very few perceive this reality,
for Maya ever enchants us
with her multiple reflections
of color and alluring beauty.

Everything is Gobind,
Gobind is everything.
Nothing that exists
is without Gobind:
the one thread strings
innumerable beads --
Prabhu Himself is the thread,
the threader, the threaded.

River and waves,
foam and bubbles
have all their being
within water itself.
This play of things
is the sport of Parbhama.
The One cannot be thought
different from the other.

Hope is a lie
and desire a mere dream --
yet both are construed
as actual reality.
But when my guru
gave me his holy wisdom,
I awoke from my dream
and my heart yielded.

Namdeva says,
Behold Hari's creation;
ponder upon it
with all your heart,
and you will see
that in every pore,
in every living thing,
there is only the one Murari.

-- from Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, Translated by Nirmal Dass

| More Poems by Namdev | Next Poem >>


View All Poems by Namdev



Recommended Books: Namdev

Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth Namdev, His Mind and Art: A linguistic Analysis of Namdev's Poetry Hindi Padavali of Namdev



He is the One in