Maya

Translation of Guha’s Bengali poem “Maya”

What you want to eradicate
Unbeknownst to you at every step, 
Sucks your life-energy,
And burrows deep inside, 
Leaving you clueless every time;
All effort to fight it is futile,
Your defeat is certain.

If ever this feeling arises in the core of your being,
Pulsating in your heart, resonating in every neuron- 
“I am an ordinary creature of Nature,
I know of no existence other than the physical”
Then perhaps, what made you restless,
Kept you tied to the savage, cyclical maze of living,
Will dry up and dissolve into nothingness.

The outcome of this fearlessness is devastating;
Shattering the veil of tinted glass,
The “You” as you know yourself,
Will be stripped naked,
And brought face-to-face with you.

Cover photo: Guha in Kolkata, November 2013 by Radhika Venugopal