1

Lift the heart up to Govinda, lift the heart up to Govinda,

Lift the heart up to Govinda, O foolish mind!

When thou art at death’s door,

The rules of grammar which you are trying to master will be of no avail!

2

Fool! Give up this insatiable desire for Wealth,

Be wise and develop serene content;

Be satisfied and happy with the fruits of your own labor.

3

Enticed by woman’s beauty, her bosom and the region of the navel,

Do not allow yourself to be lost;

They are only forms of mere flesh,

Think of them as such every time you look at them.

4

The water drop upon the lotus leaf trembles.

So too is life, precarious and unstable.

Know it is to be in the grip of disease and anxiety,

And smitten with sorrow.

5

As long as you are able to earn,

So long will your kinsfolk be attached to you.

After that, when you body has become infirm,

Not one will speak to you even in your home.

6

People at home concern themselves about your welfare

So long as there is breath in your body.

When the life breath takes leave of your body,

Even the wife is afraid of the corpse.

7

Childhood passes away in play, thoughts of love engage youth.

The old man worries about the fate of his children and his wife.

His whole life is spent in some anxiety or another.

At no stage does man turn his mind to God.

8

Who is your beloved? Who is your son?

Very strange is this family bond.

Whose are you? Who are you? Whence did you come?

Brother mine, reflect on the truth of this all.

9

The company of the good roots out all attachment.

When there is no attachment, there is no delusion.

When delusion vanishes, the mind is steady.

A steady mind makes for perfection while yet in this body.

10

When youth is gone, where is room for sport in lust?

Where is the lake when the water has dried up?

When wealth is gone, where are the kinsfolk?

When the Truth is known, where is the worldly bond?

11

The pleasure and riches of worldly life are delusive appearances.

Realizing their impermanence, prepare for renunciation.

The wise have warned that renunciation requires maturity of mind.

The renunciation of the immature will only make them objects of ridicule.

12

Dusk and Dawn, Day and Night,

Winter and Spring come and dance, then leave.

Thus while Time plays, life flies by unobserved,

Yet desire does not leave us, but holds us in its grip.

13

Crazy man! Foolish man!

Why bother over wife and wealth?

Do you not know that in all the three worlds it is good company

Is the only boat which bears icu safely across the sea of life?

14

The ascetic with the matted hair,

Renunciates with shaven heads,

Wearers of the saffron robes all have eyes but do not see.

These are disguises made to cheat the world and fill the belly.

15

The body has worn itself out;

Toothless and white haired.

The old man goes about supported by a cane,

Yet he holds tight his bundle of desires.

16

Sitting at the fire or under the warming sun,

Sleeping at night with knees for a pillow,

Holding out the hands for alms, living under trees;

Yet he still is not freed from the grip of desires.

17

A man may bathe in holy Ganga or in the sea,

Observe all austerities, or make lavish gifts of his belongings.

Yet all faiths agree that none of these will bring liberation,

Not even in a hundred lives if he does not find true knowledge.

18

Who can take a man’s happiness,

If that happiness lies in living in the open temples

Or under trees, lying on the ground and wrapped in skins,

Giving up every possession and enjoyment?

19

Whether one is practicing Yoga or enjoying some delight,

Whether in the company of others or completely alone,

If one’s mind finds joy in communion with Brahman,

Such a one is truly happy indeed.

20

Just a little study of Bhagavad Gita,

Drinking a drop of water from the Ganga,

Even a casual worship of Murari –

These will deliver you from debate with death.

21

Taking birth after birth and dying time and again,

Coming through the mother’s womb time after time,

It is difficult to cross this ocean of repeated birth and death.

Save me from this, Oh merciful Lord!

22

Wearing rags found in the streets, walking beyond good and bad,

Not concerned with earning merit or tempted to commit evil,

Lost in meditation the Yogi takes joy in the Supreme,

Playing like a child or like a divine madman.

23

Who are you? Who am I? Who is my father and mother?

Reflect on this and you will realize that the world and it’s worries

Are but the anxieties of a bad dream,

Then you can free yourself from such a nightmare.

24

Within you and me, and everywhere there is but one God.

Unable to stand me you get angry at me in vain.

See your self in all things.

Forsake this false sense of otherness from beings everywhere.

25

Do not think in terms of friend or foe; nor kith and ken.

Waste not your strength on enmity nor friendship.

If you wish to realize speedy union with the Supreme,

Be of equal mind with each and every one.

26

Free yourself from lust, anger, greed and delusion.

Meditate upon who you are and ask yourself "Who am I"

The fool who fails to understand the self

Is bound to suffer hell on earth and self-torture.

27

Sing the Lord’s Song and chant His Thousand Names!

Continuously meditate upon the Mother’s Son.

Turn the mind to the company of the good,

Give you wealth away to those who truly need it.

28

One easily takes to gratification of the senses,

Then comes forth pain and disease!

Even seeing that death ends all,

Men still do not give up their sinful ways.

29

Wealth makes for your undoing, remember this!

Truly I say there is no happiness in the pursuit of wealth.

The wealthy come to fear their own children.

This has happened again and again.

30

Control the senses, regulate the breath,

Discern between the transient and the eternal.

Japa, meditation merging the conscious with unconscious,

See to these things with great care.

31

Put all your trust in the lotus feet of your Guru,

Freed from the chains of death and rebirth,

With your senses and your mind controlled,

You will see God living within your heart.

AUM SHANTI SHANTI SHANTIHI AUM