Āhvāna
Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj
A poem introducing Sri Gaudiya Darshan originally published
in the very first issue, Sunday, 14 August 1955
jāgāte nikhila tamasāvṛta
supta jagata-jana
samudita āji gauḍa gagane
gauḍīya-darśan [1]
Sri Gaudiya Darsan has appeared today in the sky of Gauda to awaken all the sleeping souls of this world who are covered in darkness.
chhuṭe āya ore śāntira ḍāke
ābāla-vṛddha-nārī
abhimāna śudhu māyā-bandhana
oṣudha enechhi tā’ri [2]
“Hey! Come running!” Sri Gaudiya Darsan peacefully calls to the young and the old, the men and the women alike. “False egotism is the sole cause of bondage under Maya. We have brought the medicine to deliver you.
svarūpa tomāra nitya-chetana
paramānanda-maya
hāḍa-māṁsera thali ki kakhano
tāhāra adhāra haya? [3]
“Your true self is eternal, conscious and supremely ecstatic. How can this bag of flesh and bones ever be its proper place?
..
deha paribāra sonāra saṁsāra
rabe nāko chira-dina
saba chheḍe tor yete habe ore
tabe kena mati-hīna— [4]
“Your body, family, and ‘golden’ household life will not remain forever. Eventually you will have to leave all of it and move on. Hey! Why you are you unmindful of this?
śudhu ghuma-ghore, svapanera bhare
āmāra āmāra kari—
vṛthā jaḍa rase kāṭāicha kāla
māyā piśāchire bari’ [5]
“Simply dreaming drowsily, proclaiming, ‘Mine! Mine!’, You are spending your time engrossed in vain mundane pleasures, bound by the witch Maya.
kāntā ke tora? preyasīra rūpe
vāghinī śiyare jāge
putra ke tora? rakta śuṣichhe
‘bābā’ bali anurāge [6]
“Who is your wife? She is a tigress awake beside your head in the form of a lover. Who is your son? He affectionately calls you ‘father’ but simply sucks your blood.
bāndhava nahe dasyu dānava
saba udyama luṭe’—
niḥsva korechhe hāya vañchita!
tabu ki re chokha phoṭe [7]
“They are not your well-wishers. They are a thief and a demon who have stolen all of your energy and left you destitute. Alas! You have been deceived! Yet you do not open your eyes!
kata ghumāibi piśāchira kole
moha tamasāra ghore
chira-janamera bandhu re tora
bhikhārīra veśe dvare— [8]
“How long will you sleep in the lap of the witch Maya under the spell of her dark illusion? Your eternal friend is now at your door in the dress of a beggar.
ai ḍāke śon ākula parāṇe—
āya—deśe phire āya
ghūmābāra āra nāhi re samaya
kramaśaḥ‑i belā yāya [9]
“‘Listen,’ he calls with an eager heart, ‘Come! Come back to your homeland! There is no more time to sleep! Gradually time is passing.
e bhava sāgara ha’te habe pāra
akūla pāthāra-maya
yemani taraṇī hok tabu, āmi
kāṇḍārī—nāhi bhaya [10]
“‘We must cross the boundless expanse of this ocean of material existence. Let your boat (your body) be as it may. Regardless, I am your captain—have no fear.
śoka bhaya tāpa vidūrita kari
prajñānāloka diyā
karma-jñānera moha vināśiyā
rakhiba svarūpe niyā— [11]
pūrṇānanda chinmaya-dhāme,
labhibe āpana dhana
gandhe yāhāra sajjana-gaṇa
mugdha-pāgala hana [12]
“‘I will drive away all of your lamentation, fear, and suffering with the light of transcendental knowledge. I will destroy the illusion of the pursuits of worldly enjoyment and liberation. I will establish you within your true self and take you to the supremely ecstatic spiritual abode. There you will realise your own natural wealth, the scent of which astonishes and maddens the sadhus.
kṛṣṇa-charaṇa kamalera madhu
niravadhi pāna kari
ānande nachibe svajanera sane
mukhe bali hari hari [13]
“‘There you will perpetually drink the honey of the lotus feet of Sri Krishna and dance in ecstasy in the company of your true friends, calling out, “Hari!” “Hari!”’”