(1)
rūpera gaurava kena bhāi
anitya ei kalevara, kabhu nāhi sthira-tara
śamana āile kichu nāi
ei aṅga śītala ha’be, aṅkhi spanda-hīna ra’be
citāra āgune ha’be chāi
O brother, why take pride in physical beauty? This body is temporary and never truly permanent. When death arrives, nothing will remain. These limbs will grow cold, the eyes will cease to move, and the fire of the funeral pyre will reduce everything to ashes.
(2)
ye saundarya hera, darpaṇete nirantara
śva-śṛgālera ha’be bhojana
ye bastre ādara kara’, yeba ābharaṇa para’
kathā sabe ra’hibe takhana?
The beauty you constantly admire in the mirror will become food for dogs and jackals. The garments you cherish and the ornaments you wear – where will they all be then?
(3)
dārā suta bandhu sabe, śmaśāne tomāra la’be
dagdha kari’ gṛhete āsibe
tumi kā’ra ke tomāra, ebe bujhi dekha sāra
deha-nāśa avaśya ghaṭibe
Your wife, children, relatives, and friends will carry you to the cremation ground. After burning your body, they will return home. Whose are you, and who truly belongs to you? Consider this carefully – the destruction of the body is inevitable.
(4)
su-nitya-sambala cāo hari-guṇa sadā gāo
hari-nāma japaha sadāi
ku-tarka chāḍiyā mana, kara’ kṛṣṇa ārādhana
vinodera (kedārera) āśraya tāhāi
If you seek an eternal treasure, then always sing the qualities of Hari. Constantly chant hari-nāma. O mind, give up false arguments and worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa. That alone is Bhaktivinoda’s shelter.*
* Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (77.7.45) says:
kim etair ātmanas tucchaiḥ saha dehena naśvaraiḥ
anarthair artha-saṅkāśair nityānanda-rasedidheḥ
What benefit can there be, for the self, which is an ocean of eternal bliss, from these insignificant and perishable things, beginning with the temporary body? Though they appear valuable, they are in fact anarthas.