Come, Let Us Go For A Walk, O Mind

Ramprasad Sen 1718 (Halisahar) – 1775



Come, let us go for a walk, O mind,
to Kali, the Wish-fulfilling Tree,
And there beneath It gather the four fruits of life.
Of your two wives, Dispassion and Worldliness,
Bring along Dispassion only, on your way to the Tree,
And ask her son Discrimination about the Truth.

When will you learn to lie, O mind,
in the abode of Blessedness,
With Cleanliness and Defilement on either side of you?
Only when you have found the way
To keep these wives contentedly under a single roof,
Will you behold the matchless form of Mother Shyama.

Ego and Ignorance, your parents,
instantly banish from your sight;
And should Delusion seek to drag you to its hole,
Manfully cling to the pillar of Patience.
Tie to the post of Unconcern the goats of Vice and Virtue,
Killing them with the sword of Knowledge if they rebel.

With the children of Worldliness, your first wife,
plead from a goodly distance
And, if they will not listen,
drown them in Wisdom's sea.
Says Ramprasad: If you do as I say,
You can submit a good account,
O mind, to the King of Death,
And I shall be well pleased with you
and call you my darling.

[Translated from Bengali by Elizabeth U. Harding]

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Submitted on May 13, 2011

Modified on April 27, 2023

1:03 min read
83

Quick analysis:

Scheme ABCDBX ADEFXX XXXGEX CGXBFXXEH H
Closest metre Iambic pentameter
Characters 1,135
Words 212
Stanzas 5
Stanza Lengths 6, 6, 6, 9, 1

Ramprasad Sen

Sadhak Rāmprasād Sen was a Shakta poet and saint of eighteenth century Bengal. His bhakti poems, known as Ramprasadi, are still popular in Bengal—they are usually addressed to the Hindu goddess Kali and written in Bengali. Stories of Ramprasad's life typically include legends and myths mixed with biographical details. It is said that, Ramprasad was born into a Tantric family, and showed an inclination towards poetry from an early age. He became a disciple of Krishnananda Agamavagisha, a Tantric scholar and yogi. Ramprasad became well known for his devotional songs, eventually becoming the court poet for the king Krishna Chandra of Nadia. His life has been the subject of many stories depicting his devotion to, and relationship with, Kali. Ramprasad's literary works include Vidyasundar, Kali-kirtana, Krishna-kirtana and Shaktigiti. Ramprasad is credited with creating a new compositional form that combined the Bengali folk style of Baul music with classical melodies and kirtan. The new style took root in Bengali culture with many poet-composers combining folk and raga-based melodies, mixing every common style of music from classical to semi-classical and folk. more…

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