XXX. STRENGTH WITHIN ONESELF

Crying Kālī's name, plunge deep, my Mind, down in the unfathomed shining sea of thy heart. Never empty of gems is that sea, though diving twice or thrice thou gainest nought. Conquer thy passionate heart,[126] and plunge! Make way to the very depths of the essential well that is thyself![127] In the Waters of Knowledge fruits the Pearl of Strength,[128] my Mind! By devotion[129] thou shalt obtain it, if thou keep the word of Śiva in memory.[130]

Like crocodiles, the Six Passions lurk greedy for prey, they wander ever. Smear thy body with the ochre of good conscience,[131] the scent will keep them far from thee.

Countless gems and jewels lie in those waters!

[51]

Rāmprasād says: Leap in, and thou shalt gather gems in heaps.

A difficult poem, crammed with allusion and conceit and with reference to Purāṇic mythology, Tantric teaching and folklore.

FOOTNOTES:

[126] Holding the breath, as divers do. There is also a reference to the Yōga philosophy, which enjoins the practice of suppressing breathing, as an aid to escape from the body's thraldom.

[127] Literally, '(Holding thy breath) dive to the side of Kulakuṇḍalinī.' Kulakuṇḍalinī is Śakti seated in the Mūlādhāra (the first 'lotus'—above the rectum, below the sacro-coccygeal plexus), coiled up like a serpent in three-and-a-half spirals. The devotee awakens this Śakti from sleep and draws her up through the Sushumṇā; (the central passage of the spinal cord) and enjoys Divine Bliss; for this Śakti is she who dances the Eternal Dance and is the Source (or Giver) of Bliss (Ānanda). The puzzled Western reader may recollect how strangely physical were many of our European metaphysical and psychological theories, with their fanciful locations of feelings and passions in this and that organ. The Indian Yōga philosophy emphasises this essential truth, that concentration of thought is needed, to worship and find God; but some of the physical methods by which it teaches us to attain that concentration are based on grotesque theories of physiology and lead to suppression of vitality and to semi-imbecility.

[128] The Pearl of Śakti (Kālī).

[129] Bhakti.

[130] 'If he follows the Tāntric discipline (Śiva is the speaker in the Tantras).

[131] Turmeric, smeared on the body, is supposed to keep off crocodiles. Rāmprasād means, 'Adopt the yellow robes of an ascetic and all passions will leave you.'