Lalleshwari Poems

In life I sought neither wealth nor power,
Nor ran after the pleasures of sense.
Moderate in food and drink,
I lived a controlled life,
...

This counsel to the body give, O Soul:
Wear only such clothes as ward off cold;
Eat only to satisfy your hunger;
...

You will not know peace of mind
if you a kingdom gain,
Nor will you gain content or rest
if you give it away.
...

He who wields the sword a kingdom gains;
Paradise is gained by penance and alms.
...

What was it you had sown which should have borne a rich harvest?
You had but tanned a carcass hide,
shaped and stretched it taut on pegs,
...

Now I saw the hearth ablaze,
Now I saw not fire nor smoke.
Now I saw the Pandava Mother,
Now she was but a potters' aunt
...

When Siddhanath applied lotion to my eyes,
the cataracts that covered them dissolved.
I saw an astonishing sight.
...

With a rope of loose-spun thread am I towing
my boat upon the sea.
Would that God heard my prayer
and brought me safe across!
...

Playfully, you hid from me.
All day I looked.

Then I discovered
I was you
...

I traveled a long way seeking God,
but when I finally gave up and turned back,
there He was, within me!
...