(1)
sādhu-saṅga nā haila hāya
gela dina akāraṇe kari’ artha-uparjana
paramārtha rahila kathāya
Alas! I never attained the association of sādhus. My days passed uselessly in the pursuit of wealth, while the true wealth of spiritual life remained neglected and forgotten.
(2)
suvarṇa kariyā tyāga, tuccha loṣṭre anurāga
durbhāgera ei to lakṣaṇa
kṛṣṇetara saṅga kari’, sādhu-jane parihari’
mada-garbe kāṭānu jīvana
Rejecting gold, I became attached to worthless clods of earth. Such is a symptom of misfortune. Abandoning sādhus, I associated with those turned away from Kṛṣṇa, and passed my life intoxicated by pride and arrogance.
(3)
bhakti-mudrā-daraśane, hāsya karitāma mane
bātulatā baliyā tāhāya
ye sabhyatā śreṣṭha gaṇi’, hārāinu cintāmaṇi
śeṣe tāhā rahila kathāya
When I saw the external marks of bhakti, I laughed within my heart, considering them to be signs of mere fanaticism. Proud of what I thought was refined culture and sophistication, I cast aside a cintāmaṇi jewel. And now, where has that worldly refinement gone?
(4)
jñānera garimā-bale, bhakti-rūpa su-sambale
upekṣinu svārtha pāśariyā
duṣṭa jaḍāśrita-jñāna, ebe haila antardhāna
karma-bhoge āmāke rākhiyā
Forgetting my true self-interest, I took pride in material knowledge and neglected the great treasure of bhakti. Now that wicked knowledge, founded upon matter, has vanished, leaving me only to suffer the reactions of my own karma.
(5)
ebe yadi sādhu-jane, kṛpā kari’ e durjane
dena bhakti-samudrera bindu
tā’ haile anāyāse, mukta hañā bhava-pāśe
pāra hai e saṁsāra-sindhu
If now the sādhus bestow their mercy upon this wicked person and grant me but a single drop from the ocean of bhakti, then I shall easily become freed from the bondage of material existence and cross beyond the ocean of birth and death.