Kagga 190
D. V. Gundappa · 1887–1975 · from the Kannada original
Transliteration
amRutakaNavam maRtyamRudghaTadi baytarisivimRushabudhdhige mOhadupanEtraviDisisAmrAjyamadhyadali durbhikSHavAgipudukamrateyo namrateyo? – MANKUTIMMA
Interpretation
Among the several dichotomies that man comes across is that of mortality & immortality
The Creator has created the human species implanting an immortal soul inside a mortal body…and not making this self-evident to man
As a result of this, man sets the wrong priorities & pursues the wrong pleasures of life – those that please his body rather than the ones that enhance his soul or his thought process
Mankutimma, unless you realise that it is the thought process in your soul that differentiates you from other species, you will be no different than any one of them. Not realising that it is the enhancement of your soul that will help you evolve, your search for pleasures of body will restrain your mind that has to be potentially free thinking. It is this limitation that makes you feel inadequate despite not being so; feel perennially unsatisfied. You need to hone your senses to understand what is your true objective in life – growth & evolution of body or soul. It is almost as though the Creator is challenging you…how you respond to that will determine whether you progress or not.
Did this poetry & its translation speak to you?