XXVIII. NEGLECTED OPPORTUNITY
Mind, thou dost not know how to farm. Thy fields remain untilled; hadst thou sown, a golden harvest had waved. Now make of Kālī's name a fence, that the yield may not be destroyed. Not Death himself[119] (O my Mind!) dare come nigh this fence, thy long-haired[120] [49]Fortress. Today or after a hundred centuries, thou knowest not when forfeiture[121] will come. Lo, to thy hand is the present time, Mind (O my Mind!). Ah, haste and gather harvest! Scatter now the seed thy teachers gave thee, and sprinkle it with the water of love.[122] And if alone (O my mind!) thou canst not do this, then take Rāmprasād with thee.[123] FOOTNOTES: [119] Yama, who comes, like Hermes, for the souls that are his. [120] Literally, 'She whose tresses are free.' Rāmprasād makes frequent play of fancy with the wild locks of Kālī, seeing in them the symbol of strength in freedom. In this passage, as in so many, there is a play on words that does not admit of translation. '(She) thy free-tressed, strong fence,' where the word for strong, śākta —is the same root as Kālī's name of Śakti. She, the Emancipated One, is Strength, says Rāmprasād; and there is no defence like freedom. Durga is a fortress, Durgā is the goddess. [121] Forfeiture—of life. [122] Bhakti —passionate, ecstatic devotion. [123] Throughout this poem, the 'Mind' represents the desiring part, wandering and ineffective. Take all I am, says the poet; and use the body as your servant, to accomplish your will. Even so, Francis of Assisi would speak of his body as 'Brother Ass,' the drudge of his will and mind.
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