Kuchh sunaa tum ne ajab chaalen meri chaalaakiyaan
Behijaabaanaa karishme laadharrak be baakiyaan
Hast thou ever heard of the lively games I play, fraught with cunning wiles,
Of miracles that abound without restraint, of dauntless expressions of my Will
Rind maston kaa Shaihanshaah hoon mujhe pakrro koyi
Mujhe pakrro, mujhe pakrro, mujhe pakrro koyi,
I am the Lord of all those intoxicated in Love!
Catch me, catch me, come and catch me, if you can!
Seena zori aur chori, chherr chhaarr athkeliyaan
Chutkiyaan seene men bhartaa hoon, mujhe pakrro koyi
Vain and imperious, and with a little thievery, I vex and tease,
I fill the heart with piercing caresses, come and catch me if you can!
Khaa ke maakhan bhag gayaa, main bhag gayaa
Maar haathhon pe haath jaataa hoon, mujhe pakrro koyi.
Partaking of thy butter, I run away, I run away!
Striking thy hands with mine, I run away, come and catch me if you can!
Nat gayaa, vo nat gayaa, par nat ke jaayegaa kahaan
Mooh to phero ye kharaa hoon, lo! Mujhe pakrro koyi
Oh, he has run away, he has run away! But where can he go?
Look behind thee, I am standing here! Come and catch me if you can!
Haan, karorron aib zulm aifaal nek aimaal zisht,
Mujh men mussavar hain dauzak, maikadaa bahisht
Yes, millions of guiles, acts of oppression, goodness and righteousness
Lie within me, as heaven and hell, worship and licentiousness
Maar denaa, jhoot baknaa, chori yaari aur sitam
Kul jahaan ke aib rindaanaa pare karte hain ham
Slaying, duplicity, piracy, wanton friendship and torment
All the sins of the capricious world lie within me no end
Dasto paao gosho deedaa misle dastaanaa utaar
Huliyaa soorat ko mitaataa hoon mujhe pakrro koyi!
The physical form of hands and feet, ears and eyes, I remove, like gloves worn,
My present self I do transform as I please, come and catch me if you can!
Ai zameen ke baadshaaho pandito parhezgaaro,
Ai police, haakimo, muddayiyo, ai mere yaaro
O thou kings, and pandits, and believers orthodox!
O thou rulers, police and the accused, O my dear friends!
Lo raaz khufiyaa ko bataa dete hain ham
Apne hee moon se aaj ikraar karte hain ham
Let me tell you, myself, the secret that is hidden from all,
With my own mouth let me come and confess it all!
Khwaa chori se khwaa yaari se khapaa letaa hoon main
Sab kee malkiyat ko makboozaat ko aur shaan ko
Through thievery, or through deceit, I take by force,
The wealth and title, the honour and the glory of all!
Ye sitam yaaro hargiz bhee to main saih saktaa naheen
Ghaire khud ke zikr ko va naam ko va nishaan ko
There is one hurt that I never can bear, O my friends,–
The mention, or the name, or the sign, of anyone, other than myself!
Aate aate mujh talak main hee to tum ho jaaoge
Aap ko jakrro agar chaaho mujhe pakrro koyi
By the time thou come to me thou shall turn into ME,
Catch hold of thyself, if thou willst catch hold of me!
Here was the variegated face of God that existed in the world. A face that was apparent and hidden at the same time. The face of God hiding Himself and revealing Himself at the same time. God in all his creation and all his destruction, God in all that is wicked and all that is good; God, playing with human feelings and emotions, creating a craving for Him in the hearts of men, running away and hiding Himself in turns, appearing and disappearing at will, answering prayers and becoming silent, being imperious and impious in turns, mocking the greatness and wealth of the world, laughing at its laws and orthodoxy–and finally taking away everything from man in the form of Death. It was the Viraat Roop that Lord Krishna had revealed to Arjuna on the battlefield of the Mahabharat, where the worst and the best, the most evil and the most righteous, stood side by side. Where everything existed in the Lord and the Lord existed in everything. And the words of Lord Krishna rang out:
Yo maam pashyati sarvatr mayi pashyati
Tasyaaham na pranashyaami sa cha me na pranashyati
He who sees me in everything and everything in Me
Is never separate from Me, nor I from him
There is also God telling man of a hurt imposed upon Him, which He cannot bear – the hurt of being relegated to second place in the world. Indeed, if man gives place to anything or anyone else in his heart other than God, he shall be inevitably inviting a heartbreak. This is so because all persons and things in the world are perishable except God, and, therefore, the happiness associated with them is also perishable. There is only one imperishable in the world and that is God, and therefore it is in the interest of man to give the prime place in his heart only to God.
The last verse of this beautiful poem reveals the ultimate secret. As man comes closer and closer to God he finds his heart becoming more and more purified. And in the end when he reaches God, he merges into God. His quest is at an end. He finds God within himself!
Shri Nathji explained this beautifully in his verse:
O He, after whom I ran from place to place,
Suddenly, I found him sitting in my heart–face to face!
Another favourite verse of Shri Nathji that described the union of man with God was:
Samundar men katraa fanaa ho gayaa
Fanaa ho ke laa-intahaa ho gayaa
The drop of water perished in the ocean,
And perishing, it became of infinite dimensions
Shri Nathji would say: “Whenever you give your heart to the things of the world, the things either go away or cease to give you the happiness they originally gave. And when your heart breaks, you cry out: ‘O God!’ Your heart calls out to God! It is then that you realise that the heart was meant for God in the first place, and should not have been given to the perishable things of the world.
Phir kaheen se laa usse kyonki barri daulat hai ye
Ye zindagi kyaa jo dil begaanaye paihlu huaa
Bring it back again, for it is a great treasure of thine,
Of what worth this life if the heart be given to someone else!”