All I Was Doing
Was Breathing
The sixteenth-century Indian poet Mirabai was a
controversial figure during her lifetime. She was
revered by many, but others regarded her as dangerous
because she rebelled against the narrow social codes
of her day, particularly those relating to gender roles.
Her most controversial act was refusing either to im-
molate herself or to live the circumscribed life of a
widow upon her husband’s death. Instead, she de-
voted herself to worship of the god Krishna.
In “All I Was Doing Was Breathing,” Mirabai
describes what may have been one of her first en-
counters with Krishna, who is one of the best-loved
gods in Hinduism. Although she writes in a way that
suggests a meeting of human lovers, the relationship
is, in fact, a spiritual one, conducted between the
individual soul and God. Mirabai’s experience of
Krishna had such a powerful effect on her that she
cast aside her former life completely, believing that
she could not live for a moment outside the presence
of the god. The exact date of composition of “All I
Was Doing Was Breathing” is unknown. A modern
version of the poem is in Mirabai: Ecstatic Poems
(2004), a book that contains fifty poems attributed to
Mirabai, which are freely translated by Robert Bly
and Jane Hirshfield.
Author Biography
Mirabai (sometimes written as Mı ̄ra ̄ Ba ̄ı ̄) was a
sixteenth-century Indian saint, poet, and devotee of
Mirabai
1530
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