Deep Darkness Dancing

Poem 3, from Mystical Poems of Jnaneshwar

‘Jaya Jaya…’ music and vocals by Sheila Diggs “Sampada”.  All rights reserved. 

Turned my mind,

came to see

his deep darkness

dancing.

This lovely form,

dark and priceless,

hence I speak

in pure-speak.

Lord of the great goddess,

dark, fathomless,

everything has become

an offering.

our thoughts

Jnaneshwar often speaks of Vitthal’s darkness. Of course, first of all this is a reference to his dark, black form. Of all the depictions of Krishna’s form, none are quite as consistently straight black as Vitthal’s. However, the constant and consistent reference to his dark form by Jnaneshwar must also be seen as a veiled reference to his being pure mystery. The God-head, pure consciousness, is ever present and yet is always a wondrous mystery. There is nothing in Him that can be captured, whether in words or image. He is anarvachaneeya, beyond speech and beyond description. He is also just beyond the darkness of deep sleep, in the form of turya, the fourth state, or rather, he is turya-teeta, beyond the fourth. He can’t be approached except through darkness. That darkness leads directly to Him, the light of all.

Some versions of this poem insert the word “vyoma,” space or void, before the penultimate “offering.” In that case the last line would read literally, “therefore everywhere void offered.” The syntax, like many verses of Jnaneshwar, is ambiguous, and many meanings are possible. The last line could then very well be interpreted as: “the dark, unfathomable form fills everything. It is like the void. It fills the void. Everything we do is void and is an offering to that void.”