Jibaner Sukh Maraner Dukh
Jibaner sukh maraner dukh
Michha maya kigo sakali
Hetha jato jani tato nahi jani
Tabu janibar akul pipasa
Hetha jato pai tato nahi pai
Andhar bhariya hriday akashe bijali
Translation
Is it all utterly false and illusory,
What I call happiness in life
And what I call suffering in death?
Here in this world, the more I know,
The more I do not know.
Knowledge-light and ignorance-night
Have equal hold on my life.
Yet I cherish an insatiable thirst for wisdom-light.
Here in my life, fulfilment and unfulfilment together live.
My heart-sky is all dark,
Yet I see there illumining flashes of lightning.
Sri Chinmoy, Illumination-Song and Liberation-Dance, part 3, Agni Press, 1981