a poem by Kadamba Kanana Swami
I climbed a mountain and reached the top
through step by step austerity
I� can no longer �be a common man
because I made vows before GodThis world is no longer mine to enjoy
it never was anyway, only thought it was
I�ve taken to the renounced order of lifeYet the world does not leave me
I �m still here
What do I not hear and see of mundane lust and greed,
envy, politics and many sinful ways?
Where unscrupulous men and women of great beauty
burn in the flames
Does it touch me? Sometimes, but not enough to sway me
I am fixed in my waysI remain on this mount closer to my Lord
To give meaning to the vow is the first prerequisite
Krsna where are you?
I chant Your Name and read the Bhagavata, following Sri Rupa�s pathYears ago after leaving my parents home
I sang the following song;
�I am nothing but a stranger always around
I am nothing but a seeker for what I never found�
What happened after that�����.
Who am I now?I joined a movement
did I���.?
I joined Prabhupada
Yes, I did!
I joined Lord Caitanya
Yes, I did!
Did I join ISKCON?
to some extent
I� am the property of my Spiritual Master
Yes, I am proud to say so
Did I become part of a tradition?
I am not sure what it isI want my vows, I want this mountain
it suits the stranger that I really am
I don�t belong in this world
yet I am right here now in the thick of it
I �m not hiding in a cave, I�m ready to deal with anyone
Oh Gaura Nataraja, Lord of dancers
Oh Vrndavana Natabara, most wonderful dancer of Vrndavana
You dance on my tongue, dance in my heart, dance in my life
I am seeking for youThis is the age of Sri Krsna Caitanya
to fulfill His purpose is the only meaning to life
between what I have done and who I am
very little I have achieved, I am running out of time
Bless me, oh bless me Vaisnavas
I wish to be a saintly man, always deeply relishing
the wonderful mercy of� Sri Caitanya
maybe I can do a little service?
Although my mind is always lamenting, how difficult it is.
but Lord this weak kali yuga man with no will-power whatsoever
stands before the amazing horizons of your wonderful nature
even I can not fail to become overwhelmedDear Krsna, I want to know more of You, do more for You
what taste is there in anything else?
Dear Sri Krsna Caitanya I depend on Your instructions
and Your mercy where I fall short
Pure bhakti� is all I have faith in
may I never get lost
Please give me love of God