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Surdas: A poem from Sur Sagar

Until you wake up to what you really are
you’ll be like the man who searches the whole jungle
for a jewel that hangs at his throat.

Oil, wick, fire: until they mingle in a cruse
they scarcely produce any light,
So how can you expect to dissipate the darkness
simply by talking about lamps?

You’re the sort of fool who sees your face
in a mirror, befouled by inky filth,
And proceeds to try to erase the blackness
by cleaning the reflection to a shine.

Surdas says, it is only now the mind can see –
No that so countless many days are lost and gone –
For who has ever recognized the brilliance of the sun
But by seeing it through eyes gone blind?

Surdas(Sur Sagar or ‘Ocean of Sur’)