Kundalini Splendor

Mirabai was a saint/poet who lived in India many centuries ago. She rejected the society's prescribed roles of wife and mother, left her husband (a prince), and went dancing along the roads, chanting her poetry. From an early age, she was a devotee of the god Krishna, whom she considered to be her friend, lover, teacher, and husband. Her poems are still cherished and spoken aloud by the people of India. This is a poem I wrote dedicated to her. Her situation as social outcast, one who "gives all for love," reinds me of the plight of many of us who find ourselves outside conventional norms when we are smitten with love for the goddess (Kundalini) within.

The Besotted Follower

To dance in this field of radiance,

what will I give?

My good name and reputation,

all taken from me.

Family and friends,

all turned away.

My tattered robe

with mud for its hem--

o, no, haven't seen it for years.

Yet still I dance,

turning this way and that,

following the inner currents,

celebrating the hidden bliss,

my only partner

Krishna and his silver flute,

the music heard only by those

willing to be shattered

again and again,

ravished by sweetness,

torn by joy.

(from A Cloth of Fine Gold)

(Image from Poet Seers)