XI
Where are thy parents and thy grand-parents?
Can anyone tell thee about them now?
Where are those who were thy friends and kinsmen
Who loved thee as much as their own dear lives?
Who will tell thee how they are faring now?
Thou canst not know it, hard as thou mayst try.
Where wast thou and whither dost thou go?
Who art thou? And how is it that thou art here?
And hast thou ever reflected on this
That thou too wilt have to go where they have gone?
What dost thou carry to help thee on the way?
What will take thee smoothly across this life?
Perhaps thou hast no time for all these thoughts.
Infinite will be thy misery there.
Thou canst still find a remedy: Chant the Name!
And thou wilt conquer death, says the Lord’s servant, Sitaram.

XII
There’s no pain but joy in chanting the Name.
Thy loved Lord will be pleased; chant constantly.
Constant chanting will dispel all darkness.
It will flood thy soul with light. The dividing line
Between friend and foe, pleasure and pain will fade.
Thou wilt see thy Lord in the midst of all.
If Death comes opening his cruel jaws
Thou wilt not be afraid to look at him.
With the Name on thy lips thou wilt smilingly
Embrace thy loved Lord in the form of Death.
The three gates of hell—lust, anger and greed—
Will shrink before thee, made powerful by the Name.
Like waves the whole world will merge itself
In the sea of joy and be one with it.
Don’t let the briefest moment run to waste.
Chant Rama, Rama, the Lord’s servant, Sitaram!