Last week, on my doorstep, I found, Lalla Unveiled: The Naked Voice of the Feminine, a book of poems by the 13th century Kashmirian poet, Lalla, with new translations by Jennifer Sundeen. Lalla was a wandering ascetic, mystic, seer, and prophet who danced through the streets reciting her poetic quatrains.
To know the Self is a boat towed upon the ocean.
When will God ferry me across?
The rope is frayed, the clay pot uncooked, the water ebbs.
My soul is yearning to go home.
I share the arrival of this new book with you not only because I love listening to the words of this ancient Kashmirian sister, but I painted watercolors for this edition.
Married at twelve into a family, abused by her mother-in-law and husband, Lalla endured their harsh treatment for years. A spiritual seeker, Lalla knew there had to be a way out of her suffering. In her early twenties, she ran away from her husband’s household and met the yogi Sed Bayu who became her teacher. Once she completed her studies, Lalla set out on her own, a lone woman—husbandless, penniless, and homeless, but with the knowledge that the divinity resides within each of us.
Slay your inner demons: lust, anger, desire,
Or their arrows will destroy your soul instead.
In meditation, with careful thought, feed them stillness and silence.
Then see they truly have such little hold.
Lalla tore off the binding cloth of the society to which she was born. Thread by thread she remade herself from within. A rebel and a seeker, she gave up the comforts of hearth and home to wander, always loving and always teaching. She didn’t follow a prescribed path or religion but discovered her own truths from within her own body.
Then the washermen beat and dashed me on the stone
And rubbed me with clay and soap to whiten me
Then the tailor cut me piece by piece
Now, as finished cloth, I have found my way at last to Freedom.
Jennifer Sundeen, a yogi and healer, and mother of three daughters, is the founder of Durga Studio, Durga’s Red Tent, and Goddess Pilgrimages. She brings this background to her translations of Lalla’s quatrains, recognizing in some of them specific instructions for repeating mantras and practices of controlling the breath.
Thoughts are a wandering horse speeding across the sky.
In the twinkling of an eye they travel a hundred thousand miles.
The bridle of Self-Realization is knowing how to rein in these thoughts.
Controlling the breath will steady the chariot’s wheel.
Coleman Barks, the eminent translator of Rumi, Hafiz, as well as a book of Lalla’s poetry wrote, “Jen Sundeen is dancing and singing along with Lalla, in the same wisdom, the same joy!”
In these days when we are torn apart by acts of aggression and hatred, it is comforting to read the words of a woman who lived through patriarchal persecution, personal betrayal, and social tumult to find freedom and peace, on her terms, in her own way.
She who knows herself as all others,
She who knows no difference between night and day,
She who knows herself as not separate,
She is the one who truly sees God.
In July, I will be offering a watercolor painting session, Lalla’s Lake. It is said that one day Lalla was late returning home with the family’s water jug because she stopped to meditate at the local shrine. Her husband, suspecting her of infidelity, struck the jug balanced on her head. The jug shattered to bits, but the water remained in the shape of the jug. Lalla went inside, filled the empty containers, and poured the remaining water outside. This water became a lake, and was known as Lalla’s Lake all over Kashmir. We’ll dip our brushes into the pond at Old Frog Pond Farm and let Lalla’s poetry inspire our painting.
There will be a Zoom launch on Saturday, June 20 at 5pm ET. Information to join this event can be found here and you can also order a copy of the book.
