When Beauty Transcends Māyā A philosophical reading of a Marathi poem on illusion, light, and inner awakening

 

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When Beauty Transcends Māyā

A philosophical reading of a Marathi poem on illusion, light, and inner awakening

📺 Poem performance (YouTube):
https://youtu.be/XUKEZPNCMaI?si=f-4UDH9ynw0hnUOO

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Poem Excerpt (as shared)

Marathi

सुहास्य तुझे मनास मोही  
जशी न मोही सुरा सुराही  

तुझ्या लोचनी या प्रकाश विलसे  
जयासी लोभे बघ चंद्रिका ही  

तव यौवनाचा वसंत बहरे  
जयासी लोभे बघ कोकिळ हा.

Hindi

तेरी मुस्कान मेरे मन को मोह लेती है  
जैसे मदिरा की सुराही किसी को नहीं लुभाती  

तेरी आँखों में यह प्रकाश चमकता है  
जिसे देखकर चाँदनी भी ललचाती है  

देखो, तेरे यौवन का वसंत ऐसा बहर रहा है  
जिसे देखकर कोयल भी ललचाती है

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Beyond Romance: A Poem About Consciousness

At first reading, this poem appears to be a gentle ode to beauty — smile, eyes, youth, spring.
But a closer, contemplative reading reveals something deeper: a quiet philosophical discrimination between illusion and truth, intoxication and awareness, borrowed glow and inner light.

This is not merely poetry of attraction — it is poetry of विवेक (discernment).

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Wine as Māyā — the Worldly Web of Enchantment

“जशी न मोही सुरा सुराही”

Wine (सुरा) here is symbolic. It stands for माया — सांसारिक मोह-जाल:

• pleasures that numb awareness
• success that intoxicates
• comfort that dulls inquiry
• desires that promise fulfillment but deepen dependence

In Indian philosophy, माया does not enslave through suffering — it enslaves through pleasure. Wine offers elevation without awakening.

The poet makes a bold reversal:
the beloved’s smile captivates more deeply than wine ever could.

This is crucial.

It implies a form of beauty that does not intoxicate the senses, but awakens the mind.
Not escape — but presence.
Not indulgence — but clarity.

True beauty does not make you forget yourself;
it brings you back to yourself.

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Moonlight as Chamak-Damak — Borrowed Brilliance

“जयासी लोभे बघ चंद्रिका ही”

Moonlight here is not mystical. It is reflected light — luminous, attractive, yet not its own.

This becomes a powerful metaphor for सांसारिक चमक-दमक:

• glamour
• fame
• power
• cities glowing at night

Think of Las Vegas seen from an airplane — dazzling, hypnotic, unreal.
From a distance it seduces; from within, it often feels hollow.

The poet suggests that even this shimmering worldliness is outshone by the self-luminous light in the beloved’s eyes.

The world shines.
Consciousness illumines.

Moonlight dazzles perception.
Inner light transforms awareness.

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Youth as Spring — Harmony, Not Possession

“तव यौवनाचा वसंत बहरे”

Youth here is not eroticized. It is likened to spring (वसंत) — a cosmic phase of alignment.

Spring is not something nature desires; it is something nature responds to.
The koel does not chase spring — its song arises naturally when spring arrives.

Likewise, this youth is not an object to consume, but a state of effortless becoming — where life flows in tune with itself.

This is not desire.
This is resonance.

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A Quiet Teaching Hidden in Poetry

When read as a whole, the poem gently guides the reader through three levels:

Symbol	Represents
Wine	Māyā — pleasure that clouds awareness
Moonlight	Chamak-damak — glamour that deceives perception
Smile & eyes	Inner luminosity — awareness that awakens
Spring	Harmony — life in alignment

The poet is not rejecting the world.
He is ranking realities.

Not everything that attracts deserves surrender.
Not everything that shines deserves trust.

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Why This Poem Matters Today

We live in an age of:

• dopamine-driven attention
• curated brilliance
• endless sensory stimulation

This poem whispers an ancient reminder:

That which intoxicates is not always valuable.
That which dazzles is not always true.
Only that which deepens awareness is worthy of reverence.

In that sense, this poem is not about a person alone —
it is about learning to recognize truth amid illusion.

And that, perhaps, is its most enduring beauty.

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