Carpe Diem Ghost Writer #15, ''Kabir the Indian poet-saint'' by Kuheli

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Ofcourse in this new month of CDHK we will have the Ghost Writer posts on Wednesdays. Today (July 2nd) we have a wonderful Ghost Writer post by Kuheli of Kajori. She has chosen to write a GW-post about Kabir an Indian poet, saint ... I think it is a wonderful GW-post. Thank you Kuheli for sharing this wonderful post with us here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai.
Have fun, be inspired and share your inspired haiku on the post by Kuheli with us all.

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In this edition of ghost post I’m going to introduce a prominent literary master of the Indian tradition - the poet-saint Kabir.

Kabir ... Indian poet-saint

He (1440–1518) is considered one of the foremost mystic poets in India. Legend says he was born to a Hindu Brahmin widow but was adopted by childless Muslim weavers named Niru and Nimma, who supposedly found him afloat a giant lotus leaf in the Lahara Tala lake, adjacent to the holy city of Varanasi.

He was influenced by Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs alike. He promulgated oneness with God, embracing the Hindu concept of jivatma (individual soul) as being directly linked to paramatma (universal or supreme soul). Kabir focused on common fundamentals of organized religion, such as love and devotion, as well as weaknesses. He delivered this message of tolerance and understanding between the faiths through his dohas (couplets) and songs. Kabir’s idea of loving God with devotion appealed to both Hindu Bhakti as well as Muslim Sufi concepts and practices.

Sharing with you a song of Kabir saab translated by Rabindranath Tagore in 1915 for SONGS OF KABÎR.

O How may I ever express that secret word?
O how can I say He is not like this, and He is like that?
If I say that He is within me, the universe is ashamed:
If I say that He is without me, it is falsehood.
He makes the inner and the outer worlds to be indivisibly one;
The conscious and the unconscious, both are His footstools.
He is neither manifest nor hidden, He is neither revealed nor unrevealed:
There are no words to tell that which He is.

And here goes my try to craft a haiku from the above song:

on the dark night

how may i call you?

rain moon

© Kuheli

I’m very sure saint Kabir saab will inspire you in your life too. Share your inspired haiku with us here at Carpe Diem Haiku Kai. Bye for now. Namoskar.

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What a wonderful post and what a gorgeous ''song'' ... it inspired me to write the next haiku:

deep silence
only the sound of the breeze -
awakening

awakening
at last - Lotuses start blooming
in the old pond

© Chèvrefeuille

Awesome ... I think I have caught the essence of the poem by Kabir .... and now it is up to you my dear haijin, visitors and travelers.

Credits: Purple Lotus by Sydney Smith

This Ghost Writer post is open for your submissions tonight at 7.00 PM (CET) and will remain open until July 4th at noon. I will try to post our next episode later on. That will be the first Chiyo-Ni haiku for this month. Which one? At this moment I don't have made my choice .... so it will be a surprise.
!! PS. I am behind with commenting ... will catch up a.s.a.p. Sorry guys !!

Carpe Diem Ghost Writer #13, Kuheli of Kajori

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Here it is (finally) our 13th Ghost Writer post. I am a bit late, but that you could have read in the update earlier. I am at work now and have a little moment to do what I had to do ... posting Kuheli's Ghost Writer post.

Kuheli has written a wonderful post about Chiyo-Ni, one of the most famous clasical haiku-poetesses. I can recal that we had her as our featured haiku-poet in February 2013. I remember that I started than with the following haiku:

taoraruru hito ni kaoru ya ume no hana

the flowering branch of the plum
gives its scent
to him who broke it off

© Chiyo-Ni

Here is Kuheli's post. Have fun, be inspired and share your haiku inspired on Chiyo-Ni with us all. Thank you Kuheli for this wonderful post.

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Hi friends,

Myself Kuheli and I’m not a haiku poet. Don’t be surprised but it’s the truest fact of me. After a long wandering I have found haiku – it has that exact essence what I was looking for – to keep me connected to my root, NATURE. I always do have a fascination of language. Every thing has its own words to express its feelings (if we can use that particular word). A sparrow can’t talk to me in English or any other ‘our’ language – they can ‘chirp’ only. Simple!

But why on the earth I need to observe sparrow or think about them? ‘coz we all are sharing the same space – we all, with our individuality, are a significant part of a SINGLE nature. And ignoring this fact means put your own foot on cutter.  

OK, now let me introduce Chiyo-ni or Fukuda Chiyo-ni (1703 - 1775) - she is considered one of the foremost women haiku poets.

 

 

She showed a childhood gift for poetry and had already gained fame for her haiku while she was still a teenager. Her early haiku were influenced by Basho and his students, though as a haikai poet in later period she developed her own unique style but her verses were mostly dealing with nature.  In later period of her life, around 1755 Chiyo-ni became a Buddhist nun.

And here goes my pick from Chiyo-ni’s garden -

suzushisa ya / suso karamo fuku / yabu tatami

the coolness
on the bottom of her kimono
in the bamboo grove

© Chiyo-ni

Very clear and natural picture - isn’t it? Now let me try to write one or two haiku as in the same spirit:

splash!
by the pond
a frog jumps into

incense
in layers of her *saree
evening rituals

© Kuheli S


OK one should never stop to try difficult and new things. Bye for now. Let this beautiful verse of Chiyo-ni inspire you and keep you connected with nature.  I do appreciate your time and patience.

Namoskar

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Well ... I hope you all did like this Ghost Writer post and I hope it inspired you to write wonderful haiku.

Here is my humble response on this wonderful post by Kuheli:

morning glories -
geisha in her silken kimono
rustles along them

© Chèvrefeuille

Credits: Geisha (photo by Greg Elms)

This episode of our Ghost Writer post is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until June 20th at noon (CET). I will (try to) post our new episode, Creek, later on.

 

Carpe Diem's Tan Renga Challenge #33, Kuheli's "the lotus bloomed"

Dear Haijin, visitors and travelers,

Another week has gone by and we are already in our first days of May and on our way through the rich history of Legends, Myths, Saga and Folktales, but we have also our weekly Tan Renga Challenge.

This week's Tan Renga is started with a haiku written/composed by Kuheli of Kajori, Only One Life which she wrote in response on our Tagore Distillation. As I read her haiku I was in awe and fell in love with this wonderful haiku. I am glad that Kuheli gave me permission to use her haiku for our Tan Renga Challenge.

The goal of the Tan Renga Challenge is to write/compose a second stanza (7-7) towards a given haiku (first stanza 5-7-5) as a completion or continuation of the scene which is painted in the first stanza. As you know I am not of the straight rules so your second stanza don't has to be 7-7 syllables, but if you will use that rule ... well feel free ....

Credits: Lotus Flower

the Lotus bloomed
before the summer breath
and now I wake up

© Kuheli

A beauty don't you think so too? Well ... the challenge is on ... write a second stanza (of two lines) towards this haiku and complete or continuate the haiku and it's scenery.

Here is my attempt to write a second stanza towards this haiku by Kuheli:

the Lotus bloomed
before the summer breath
and now I wake up            (Kuheli)

deep down inside of my heart
I realise that life is short              (Chèvrefeuille)

Hm ... I am not completely satisfied with this completion ... I used the Lotus for my inspiration to write that second stanza ... a Lotus is such a spiritual flower, it's life is short, to short is our life to learn all and everything what the Lotus learns us.

This Tan Renga Challenge is NOW OPEN for your submissions and will remain open until May 9th 11.59 AM (CET). For now have fun, be inpsired and share your completed Tan Renga with us all here at our Haiku Kai. !! I hope you all like our new logo for the Tan Renga Challenge !!