BHAJAN: VAISHNAVA JANA TO

Vaishnava jana to

Call only that one a true Vaishnava, who understands others’ pain,
who helps them in their suffering,
but has no arrogance in his heart. The one
who bows to everyone in the world,
and speaks ill of none,
who is unwavering in speech, action, and thought, truly blessed is his mother!
The one
who sees everyone as equal, and has given up desires,
who views another’s wife as mother, whose tongue does not lie,
who does not touch another’s wealth, who is not bound by illusory attachments,
whose detachment is firm,
and whose heart is immersed in Ram’s name. all places of pilgrimage are within his body.
The one
who is without greed or deceit,
who has subdued anger and lust, on seeing that one, says Narasainyo:
seventy-one generations are saved.
(translation Neelima Shukla-Bhatt)
“A Song in the Making of a Mahatma” Neelima Shukla-Bhatt Wellesley College