Love Poetry.

A reader wrote to enquire about poetry in our tradition, which expresses the idea of prema - the pure love for God which we mentioned yesterday. Thank you for your questions, dear reader.

Out of the many, many such poems available, here are two verses from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's Shikshastakam. These are translations from the original Sanskrit:

"Feeling separated from You, a moment seems like twelve years or more. Tears are flowing from my eyes like torrents of rain, and I feel all vacant in the world in Your absence."

"I know no one but Krishna as my Lord, and He shall remain so, even if He handles me roughly by His embrace or makes me brokenhearted by not being present before me. He is completely free to do anything and everything, for He is always my worshipful Lord, unconditionally

By the way, Lord Chaitanya's festival-day, Gaura-Purnima is approaching - on the 3rd March. A date for your diary!

Belfast Hare Krishna Temple.