By: Mahathi

THE PRIEST

How fortunate you’re O our holy priest;
You stay always so nigh to Almighty.
Before the dawn, you bathe, and turn to east
To pray the Sun and Mother Gayathri.

You bathe the deities, apply sandal wood
Smooth paste, adorn with golden ornaments
And flowers…. what a joy and bliss you would
Enjoy in serving the Lord with commitment.

You touch Him, caress Him and feel His skin
And cosmic breath. You worship Him with love
And bless devotees graciously to win
Their faith in him and Lords of worlds above

Some curse the priests as fraud and God as false
But neither God nor priests care such catcalls.

JAI HANUMAN

(SRI SUNDARA KANDA IN BRIEF)

O Hanuman, your many feats I heard,
Some stunning and some funny too we awe!
It seems You flew miles thousand like a bird
Ov’r sea to reach the realm of great Lanka!

You subdued Lord, the huge ogre Lankini
And searched for Sita Ma the whole domain,
All hills and rills and trees during hours wee.
Sans fear, sans food, sans feeling thirst or pain.

And found atleast Ma Janaki, exchanged
Mamoirs. Didn’t stop with that. Destroyed that park
Of tall Ashoka trees and went ahead
To slay the fiends, as fled they to monarch.

To meet king Ravana you fought a fake
Combat and talked in great length to infuse
Some sense in him. But Ravana didn’t take
Your good advice, but went on to abuse.

King Ravana commanded his cronies
To burn your tail O Hanuman. But lo
You burnt the buildings tall and spires
As ran the demons crying and shrieking with woe.

I wonder O my Lord, how could you slew
Some sixty thousands ruthless demon lot
And bear the pain of burning tail, I rue!
Well, well, the benison of Ma you got!

And lo the armour of Shri Ram you had.
How could fire burn you O my Master brave?!
But soon you left the Lankan shores so glad
And narrated your adventures with rave.

Your monkey friends elated and so
Excited with beetle leaves donned you Lord
And praised with laughs and smiles your gritty show.
And all flew fast, Kishkindha reign, toward.

Those wo recite these poems will sure get blessed
By Hanuman and gain good health and zest.

MA SARASWATHI

The Kumkum red on her forehead is like
The nascent Sun who rose from behind hills
On Eastern side to start his daylong hike.
Her holy looks sure shatter human ills.

He rosy lips keep sounding ‘OM, OM, hum.
And lotus eyes spill divine grace on all.
Her golden anklets ring to veena’s strum
And flying long braid is like a snake on crawl.

O Vani Ma, your throne is lotus bloom,
Your words are Vedic runes, and your pious feet
Are our succour that shatter all the gloom.
To thee I bow with reverent heart beat.

Grant me wisdom O Ma Saraswathi.
Who else can bestow on me except thee!

MAY BE

May be I’m doing something very bad.
Unknowingly or knowingly, some wrong.
Then why my Lord, the Almighty is mad
At me and leading me towards swan song.

May be there’re lacunae in methods my
Of worship. Or may be there’s blasphemy
In my intone recitals or my cry
For help is sounding bitter like cacophony.

May be in my ennui and pangs of pain
I’m raising not my hands and dancing not
In total surrender. May be some vain
Rituals doing I’m with result naught.

They say He cares not pomp and opulence.
May be one day He feels my love immense.