God on the Hill Quotes

“You say you want to bathe
when the waves subside.
Is there an end
to the endless mind?

You say,“Let me quench my thirst,
and then I’ll find the truth.”
Why should thirst be quenched?
How can you know truth?

Is there an end?

All the days you have a body,
why should longing cease?
How can you find joy?

Is there an end?

You say, “After I know what lies ahead,
I’ll forget what was before.”
Can you know what lies ahead?
How can you forget what was before?

Is there an end?

That goodness that comes of knowing
how to reach god—
you won’t find it
in your wildest dreams.

Is there an end?”
― Annamayya, God on the Hill: Temple Poems from Tirupati

“Tell him this one thing.
Distant rivers always reach the sea.

Being far is just like being near.
Would I think of him if I were far?
The sun in the sky is very far from the lotus.
From a distance, friendship is intense.

Distant rivers reach the sea.

The moment he looks at me, I look back at him. My face is turned only toward him.
Clouds are in the sky, the peacock in the forest. Longing is in the look that connects.

Distant rivers reach the sea.”
― Annamayya, God on the Hill: Temple Poems from Tirupati