054 - songs
Dharmadeva
Namaskar
Prabhat Samgiita - Inner feeling of meditation
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The inner spirit and feeling of meditation can be expressed in a number of ways. Here are some examples from the songs of P R Sarkar. These are derived from the original Bengali and the inner meaning only, not a full translation, is given. They are in the classical Indian form of feeling a close association with the Cosmic Entity when practising meditation.
* Song 146:
In countless rhythms You came
dancing, dancing, laughing, laughing
with the resonance of Your sound
with the deep thoughts of Your heart
with the jingling of ankles on Your feet,
You came with the resonance of sound.
With the deep thoughts of Your heart,
with the jingling of ankles on Your feet,
You came oh Lord.
Bloom like a flower on the branch of a tree
Lord, fill it with fragrance
appear as the distant sky.
Please be the blue colour that encircles all,
That encircles all, oh Lord.
Surround me on all sides
in countless rhythms.
You came,
dancing, dancing, laughing, laughing.
* Song 241:
How close to me you are, I did not feel it before.
You were very near to me, why did I not call you?
You were in all my works,
in rhythms, songs and tunes.
That vina (music) is still sounding ?
I did not hear it before.
On the road of my life, in the dense darkness,
again and again, that memory comes into my mind.
With pain You kept Yourself away leaving me far behind.
Why did I not hold You in me heart then?
Why did I not keep You in my dhyana (meditation),
removing all hesitations?
* Song 1017:
You are the subject of my dhyana (meditation),
You are the beloved one of my life,
Oh, my most venerable One,
all my lives and deeds are only for You.
I want You always with me,
I want to be with You without any separation,
I know You are everything in my life,
The dearest and most adorable One.
Why are You so far?
Please let me know what I should do for You.
Please don't make me cry with the game of Your liila (divine play).
If You want me to cry for Your own happiness, let it be only for You.
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The following song by Jackson Browne is also a good reflection of the need for welfare and a neo-humanistic approach to social, civil and political life.
LOOKING EAST - Jackson Browne (1996)
Standing in the ocean with the sun burning low in the west
Like a fire in the cavernous darkness at the heart of the beast
With my beliefs and possessions, stopped at the frontier in my chest
At the edge of my country, my back to the sea, looking east
Where the search for the truth is conducted with a wink and a nod
And where power and position are equated with the grace of God
These times are famine for the soul while for the senses it's a feast
From the edge of my country, as far as you see, looking east
Hunger in the midnight, hunger at the stroke of noon
Hunger in the mansion, hunger in the rented room
Hunger on the TV, hunger on the printed page
And there's a God-sized hunger underneath the laughing and the rage
In the absence of light
And the deepening night
Where I wait for the sun
Looking east
How long have I left my mind to the powers that be?
How long will it take to find the higher power moving in me?
Power in the insect
Power in the sea
Power in the snow falling silently
Power in the blossom
Power in the stone
Power in the song being sung alone
Power in the wheatfield
Power in the rain
Power in the sunlight and the hurricane
Power in the silence
Power in the flame
Power in the sound of the lover's name
The power of the sunrise and the power of a prayer released
On the edge of my country, I pray for the ones with the least
Hunger in the midnight, hunger at the stroke of noon
Hunger in the mansion, hunger in the rented room
Hunger on the TV, hunger on the printed page
And there's a God-sized hunger underneath the questions of the age
And an absence of light
In the deepening night
Where I wait for the sun
Looking east
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