He is the One in many - Namdev

He is the One in many,

countless are His shapes and forms.

He pervades all that exists;

wherever I look, He is there.

But very few perceive this reality,

for Maya ever enchants us

with her multiple reflections

of color and alluring beauty.

Everything is Gobind,

Gobind is everything.

Nothing that exists

is without Gobind:

the one thread strings

innumerable beads --

Prabhu Himself is the thread,

the threader, the threaded.

River and waves,

foam and bubbles

have all their being

within water itself.

This play of things

is the sport of Parbhama.

The One cannot be thought

different from the other.

Hope is a lie

and desire a mere dream --

yet both are construed

as actual reality.

But when my guru

gave me his holy wisdom,

I awoke from my dream

and my heart yielded.

Namdeva says,

Behold Hari's creation;

ponder upon it

with all your heart,

and you will see

that in every pore,

in every living thing,

there is only the one Murari.

---

Namdev [Nam Dayv, Namdeo, Namadeva, Shri Sant Namdev Maha] (c. 1270 – c. 1350) India

Translated  by Nirmal Dass

Source: Poetry Chaikhana