Kagga 144
D. V. Gundappa · 1887–1975 · from the Kannada original
Transliteration
vAyuvam kANbanAr? tatkriyeya kANanAr?mAyeyantaparIkSHyasattvadIkSHyakRutirAyanam kANalAgade mantriyeDesArvadEyArthiyolu nInu – MANKUTIMMA
Interpretation
The real truth is visible only to the one who takes the effort to sharpen his senses such that they can pierce through the illusion that is all around us
Reality & illusion are two sides of the same coin…one doesn’t exist without the other…it is just that we perceive one much more easily than the other
We don’t see air; but we all certainly see the impact that air has…so the impact that is visible cannot be possible without the air that is not seen
Mankutimma, similarly what we see & perceive readily is nothing but the impact that the Real Truth has on the Universe…this impact, which is the Illusion is the measurable manifestation of the immeasurable Truth…however, just like a petitioner cannot get the appropriate decision if he goes to a minister just because he cannot get access to the king; similarly if we rely only on our perception of illusion without taking the effort to unearth the Truth, you will continue to just meander through your life and not really progress through it.
Did this poetry & its translation speak to you?