When did I get time in the I-me-mine of life
to sit somewhere a while to think about
the good and bad in what I did, said, believed
The day my consciousness awoke
I found myself standing in the fair of the world
where every one is lost in delusion
where every one is caught up in their own give and take
For a while, I was astounded, confounded, dumbfounded --
Where am I? What do I do here? Which way do I go?
But then the force of a torrent, as if, swept me away
And I, too, found myself floating with the tide
As if the tumult outside was less
That inside too emotions worked up a storm
What I did, was what needed to be done out of compulsion
What I said was what burst out of the mind
When did I get time in the I-me-mine of life
to sit somewhere a while to think about
the good and bad in what I did, said, believed
As much as the fair was glittering, gaudy and gay,
the mind had equal measures of weakness
The more I wished to gather
the more limited I found the reach of my hands
The more I longed to stay still,
equally stronger was the force of the tide
Buying and selling can be done with a cold heart
But this was snatch and grab in a stampede
Now I am asked -- what can I say?
What pride did I come scattering on the path
What such priceless gem did I find
On which I bestowed my life, my mind?
It was a matter of fate, don't credit or blame me
What I thought gold, turned out to be dust
What I thought was a tear, turned out to be a pearl
When did I get time in the I-me-mine of life
to sit somewhere a while to think about
the good and bad in what I did, said, believed
Much as I might forget, meander or delude myself,
there is a destination somewhere that beckons me
No matter how my feet stumble on ground high and low
I find it coming near me each and every moment
I am blessed by destiny in many ways
but I am more indebted than anything for
the incessant grinding away of the mills of time
whether the skies rain hail or the earth spews out embers
Where I stood yesterday is not the place where I stand now
Tomorrow it would be difficult to find me at the same place
Measure it if you will, but it alters with a mere touch of
the boundaries of nations and time
The world can give on me a verdict such as it likes
But in the unbroken journey,
I pass through yet another facet of life
When did I get time in the I-me-mine of life
to sit somewhere a while to think about
the good and bad in what I did, said, believed
[Pathetic, literal, hurried translation by Sundeep Dougal.]