Nuruddin Rishi Verses - Part 1 "Love"
from Lalla to Nuruddin
translated from the Kashmiri by Ranjit Hoskote
Alone am I -
I yearn to be with my Friend.
Every moment I want to be with Him.
Without my Friend, flowers turn to thorns.
Wherever my friend is,
there is my Mecca.
Whoever starts a vigil at His door,
He offers His own nectar to drink.
A variety of plays -
Only one is the Director.
Whom He loves,
he is the one who attains.
Alike in the cold and the heat,
steadily engaged in practice,
lovers sacrifice themselves on His path
where the black bee is attracted to the flower.
He who absorbs this knowledge -
for him, the two are united.
He is near me
and I am near Him -
I found peace near Him.
Wrongly, I looked for Him
in the outer world.
I found my Friend in the inner world.
"Perform good deeds and observe spiritual discipline. Fool, listen with gratitude.
Lovers fasten your sandals. The fool's youth slipped away unnoticed."