Kabe Ha’be Bolo

(1) kabe ha’be bolo se-dina āmār (āmār) aparādha ghuci’, śuddha nāme ruci, kṛpā-bale ha’be hṛdoye sañcār (2) tṛṇādhika hīna, kabe nije māni’, sahiṣṇutā-guṇa hṛdoyete āni’ sakale mānada, āpani amānī, ho’ye āswādibo nāma-rasa-sār (3) dhana jana āra, kobitā-sundarī, bolibo nā cāhi deho-sukha-karī janme-janme dāo, ohe gaurahari! ahaitukī bhakti caraṇe tomār (4) (kabe) korite śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāma uccāraṇa, pulakita deho gadgada bacana baibarṇya-bepathu ha’be saṅghaṭana, nirantara netre ba’be aśru-dhār (5) kabe navadwīpe, suradhunī-taṭe, gaura-nityānanda boli’ niṣkapaṭe nāciyā gāiyā, berāibo chuṭe, bātulera prāya chāriyā bicār (6) kabe nityānanda, more kori ‘doyā, chārāibe mora viṣayera māyā diyā more nija-caraṇera chāyā, nāmera hāṭete dibe adhikār (7) kinibo, luṭibo, hari-nāma-rasa, nāma-rase māti’ hoibo bibaśa rasera rasika-caraṇa paraśa, koriyā mojibo rase anibār (8) kabe jībe doyā, hoibe udoya, nija-sukha bhuli’ sudīna-hṛdoya bhakativinoda, koriyā binoya, śrī-ājñā-ṭahala koribe pracār

1) When, O when, will that day be mine? When will you give me your blessings, erase all my offences and give my heart a taste [ruci] for chanting the Holy Name in purity? 2) When will I taste the essence of the Holy Name, feeling myself to be lower than the grass, my heart filled with tolerance? When will I give respect to all others and be free from desire for respect from them? 3) When will I cry out that I have no longer any desire for wealth and followers, poetry and beautiful women, all of which are meant just for bodily pleasure? O Gaura Hari! Give me causeless devotional service [bhakti] to your lotus feet, birth after birth. 4) When will my body be covered with goose bumps and my voice broken with emotion as I pronounce Krishna's name? When will my body change colour and my eyes flow with endless tears as I chant? 5) When will I give up all thought of the world and society to run like a madman along the banks of the Ganges in Navadvipa, singing and dancing and sincerely calling out the names of Gaura and Nityananda? 6) When will Nityananda Prabhu be merciful to me and deliver me from the enchantment [maya] of the sense objects? When will he give me the shade of his lotus feet and the right to enter the market place [nama-hatta] of the Holy Name? 7) When will I buy, borrow or steal the ecstasies of the Holy Name? When will I lose myself in the intoxication of the Holy Name? When will I immerse myself in the nectar of the Holy Name after grasping the feet of a saint who constantly relishes the flavours [rasa] of devotion? 8) When will I feel compassion for all living beings [jibas]? When will I forget my own pleasure in genuine humility? And when will I, Bhaktivinode, meekly go from door to door, preaching your message of love?