કીર્તન મુક્તાવલી
Translation
(1) Saral vartave chhe sāru re manvā
This verse is from Nishkulanand Swami’s Bhakti-Nidhi, part of Nishkulanand Kavya. Bhakti being the subject, Nishkulanand Swami describes how a devotee with bhakti for God behaves. First characteristic is that he is saral, meaning he is straight-forward, agreeable and simple at all times in front of God and the Sant. He folds his hands and never says ‘no’. He is not stubborn when God or the Sant ask him to do something. He considers all of their words as beneficial and abides by them.
Saral vartave chhe sāru re manvā, saraḷ vartave chhe sāru,
Mānī eṭlu vachan māru re...
To behave as agreeable to God and the Sant is a great thing. Believe these words of mine.
Man karma vachane mānne melī, kāḍhya abhimān bā’ru,
Hāth joḍī hājī hājī kartā, kedī na bagḍe te tāru re. 1
(1) Cast away your ego of the mind, body, and speech. Kick your arrogance out. Say ‘yes’ ‘yes’ and nothing of yours will be ruined.
Ākad nar lākaḍ sūkā sam, ene vaḷvā ūdhāru,
Tene tāp āpī ati tīkho, samu kare chhe sutāru re. 2
(2) An obstinate man who refuses to adjust is like a dry branch that is difficult to bend (it will break rather than bend). To straighten a bent branch, a carpenter applies heat.
Ānkḍo vānkḍo vīnchhīnā sarkho, evo na rākhvo vāru,
Dekhī drage koī dayā na āṇe, paḍe māthāmā penjāru re. 3
(3) One should not keep anger that stings (when provoked). When a scorpion is spotted, no one shows pity. They will beat it with shoes (penjāru).
Ānkḍo can be defined as anger and as the stinger of a scorpion.
Hetnā vachan dhārī laīye haiye, shu kahīe vātu hajāru,
Nishkuḷānand nij kāraj karvā, rākhīe nahi andhāru re. 4
(4) Behold these beneficial words in your heart. How many ways can this be said? In order to fulfill your goal (of liberation), do not remain immersed in the darkness (of ignorance).