Life of My Life

Meera looked to the Hindu figure Krishna as her husband, and won the respect of India with her verse.

You are the life of my life,
O Krishna, the heart of my heart.
There is none in all the three worlds
Whom I call my own but you.

You are the peace of my mind;
You are the joy of my heart;
You are my beauty and my wealth.

You are my wisdom and my strength;
I call you my home, my friend, my kin.

My present and future are in your hands;
My scriptures and commands come from you.
Supreme teacher, fountain of wisdom,
You are the path and the goal,
Tender mother and stern father too.

You are the creator and protector,
And the pilot who takes me across
The stormy ocean of life.

From God Makes the Rivers to Flow by Eknath Easwaran, founder of the Blue Mountain Center of Meditation, copyright © 1991; republished by permission of Nilgiri Press, Tomales, California.