O Meher, Your lover is restless — at least sometimes hear him,
At least sometimes ask him what he wants,
at least sometimes ask him what he is pleading for.
O Beloved, You are a flower; You are also its fragrance and color.
You are the garden and its Gardener; at least sometimes manifest.
You are not the garden where there are thorns.
I am searching for that garden of only one flower,
at least sometimes shower Your grace so I can find it.
You are not that flower whose fragrance ever diminishes.
O Beloved, open the bud of my heart, at least sometimes fill it
with the fragrance which always remains fresh.
You are not that flower which withers —
You are that flower which eternally blooms.
What a wonderful smile You have;
At least sometimes fill the flower of my heart with that smile.
You are not that flower whose color will fade.
I am searching for that flower, at least sometimes give it to me.
O Meher, I have dedicated myself at Your feet;
You are my life and everything for me.
Let your color and fragrance at least sometimes fill my heart.
How is it possible for tears to utter anything? *
The ocean has been filled with their drops. *
O Beloved, listen to the language of my tears *
and at least sometimes have mercy on me. *
I am the branch of the garden's tree
which has been chopped down.
What should I do now? I am infinitely restless;
O Beloved, at least sometimes come and be with me.
This love is now causing my ruin —
O Beloved, have mercy on Bhau;
Murder him this very moment —
O Beloved, this will be his cure.
This ghazal was given by Meher Baba to Bhau Kalchuri.
Originally it was in Hindi; Bhau translated it into English.
Asterisks (*) denote four lines composed by Bhau; the rest are Baba's.
POEMS TO AVATAR MEHER BABA, pp. 34-35, ed. Ben Leet & Steve Klein
1985 © Manifestation Inc.
According to Bhau's commentary on Ghazal 155:
The garden where there are thorns symbolizes creation.
That garden of only one flower symbolizes the Beloved's abode.
The branch of the garden's tree which has been chopped down symbolizes the lower self that is gradually destroyed.
