Category: The Jewelled Garden

This poem by the 17th C. CE Maharashtran poet Tukaram turns around the form of Panduranga, also known as Vithoba, an image of Krishna usually portrayed as a dark-skinned youth Continue Reading →

Nammalvar was a poet-mystic from the Tamil region of India, devoted to the worship of Vishnu. He is considered the greatest of the twelve Alvars, meaning one who dives deep Continue Reading →

Sant Tukaram (1608? – 1649 CE) was a low caste Hindu born in Maharashtra, and a follower of the Bhakt movement, devoted to Vithoba who was considered to be a Continue Reading →

Chiao Jan (730 – 700 CE) was a Tang dynasty Chinese student of Taoism, who became a Buddhist monk at the age of forty. He followed the Chan school, and Continue Reading →

For a note about the 13th c. CE mystic and poet Fakhruddin Iraqi, please see this post. His loveliness owns     a hundred thousand faces;gaze upon a different fair one     in every atom;for Continue Reading →

Isaac of Stella (ca. 1100 – ca. 1170 CE) was born in England, and after studying in Paris, joined the Cistercian Order. In 1147 he became the abbot of the Continue Reading →

Kul Himmet was a 16th century Turkish Sufi and poet, one of the great Alevi lyricists, but almost nothing is known about his life. He is said to have been Continue Reading →

These verses from ‘The Wine Ode’ by Ibn al-Farid describe something of the indescribable bliss of divine union. In memory of the beloved     we drank a wine;          we were drunk with it     before Continue Reading →

In India the awakening of Spring is observed by ‘Basant Panchami,’ and one of the Basant activities in the Punjab is the flying of kites – the core image of Continue Reading →

Ramprasad Sen (c. 1718 – c 1775) was a Bengali poet and mystic of the Shakta tradition, devoted to the goddess Kali. There are many stories told about his life Continue Reading →