The One Self

All are deceived, do what the One Power dictates,
Yet each thinks his own will his nature moves;
The hater knows not ’tis himself he hates,
The lover knows not ’tis himself he loves.

In all is one being many bodies bear;
Here Krishna flutes upon the forest road,
Here Shiva sits ash-smeared, with matted hair.
But Shiva and Krishna are the single God.

In us too Krishna seeks for love and joy,
In us too Shiva struggles with the world’s grief.
One Self in all of us endures annoy,
Cries in his pain and asks his fate’s relief.

My rival’s downfall is my own disgrace:
I look on my enemy and see Krishna’s face.

Notes on Text
1945 – 47. One handwritten manuscript, undated, but in the almost illegible handwriting of the late 1940s.