Kirtan Guide

Avatāra Sāra

by Śrīla Lochan Dās Ṭhākur
    1
    • avatāra sāra    gorā avatāra
    • keno nā bhajili tā̐re
    • kori nīre vāsa gelo nā piyāsa
    • āpana karama phere
    • The incarnation of Śrī Gaura is the most excellent of all incarnations. Why haven’t I worshipped Him? It is as if I was surrounded by water but denied myself a drink, returning to my own fruitive activity.

  • 2
    • kaṇṭa-kera taru    sadāi sebili (mana)
    • amṛta pā’bāra āśe
    • prema-kalpataru    śrī gaurāṅga āmāra
    • tāhāre bhabili biṣe
    • I chewed the thorns of the tree of worldly life and considered the blood that flowed through my mouth to be nectar. When offered the fruits of the wish-fulfilling tree of ecstatic love of Lord Gaurāṅga, I rejected them, thinking them to be poison.

  • 3
    • saura-bhera āśe    palāśa śuṅkili (mana)
    • nāsāte paśilo kīṭa
    • ‘ikṣu-daṇḍa’ bhāvi’    kāṭha chuṣili (mana)
    • kemone pāibi miṭha
    • Desirous of smelling a sweet scent, I sniffed at what I thought to be a fragrant flower. Alas, that flower was odourless like the palāśa flower and instead an insect flew up my nose and bit me. Thinking material life to be sweet like sugarcane, I tried to taste its nectar. Instead, it was like chewing dry wood. In this way all my attempts at enjoyment were false.

  • 4
    • ‘hāra’ boliyā    golāya parili (mana)
    • śamana kiṅkora sāpa
    • ‘śītala’ boliyā    āguna pohāli (mana)
    • pāili bajara-tāpa
    • Admitting defeat, wasted and worn out, I await the snake of death. Declaring it to be cool and soothing, I have embraced the fire of material life, only to suffer intense misery, as if struck by lightning.

  • 5
    • saṁsāra bhajili    śrī-gaurāṅga bhulili
    • nā śunili sādhura kathā
    • iha-parakāla    dukāla khoyāli (mana)
    • khāili āpana māthā
    • Worshipping my family and my material life, I forgot Lord Gaurāṅga and didn’t listen to the instructions of the saints. Now in my final days, I realise I have died twice, for not only am I leaving this mortal body, but I am also dead while living, having wasted my life in material indulgence.