Reality the Beautiful

Here's a nice verse from the Bhāgavatam for your contemplation.  Some divine hand moved me to look at this closely and I was inspired to try make a poetic translation, as an exercise.

SB 2.1.36

वयांसि तद्व्याकरणं विचित्रं मनुर्मनीषा मनुजो निवासः ।

गन्धर्वविद्याधरचारणाप्सरः स्वरस्मृतीरसुरानीकवीर्यः ॥३६॥

vayāṁsi tad-vyākaraṇaṁ vicitraṁ
manur manīṣā manujo nivāsaḥ
gandharva-vidyādhara-cāraṇāpsaraḥ
svara-smṛtīr asurānīka-vīryaḥ

vayāṁsi—varieties of birds; tat-vyākaraṇam—vocables; vicitram—artistic; manuḥ—the father of mankind; manīṣā—thoughts; manujaḥ—mankind (the sons of Manu); nivāsaḥ—residence; gandharva—the human beings named Gandharvas; vidyādhara—the Vidyādharas; cāraṇa—the Cāraṇas; apsaraḥ—the angels; svara—musical rhythm; smṛtīḥ—remembrance; asura-anīka—the demoniac soldiers; vīryaḥ—prowess.

Reality the Beautiful

The birds show us the colors of His art;

The words of Manu show us His deep thought.

His dwelling place is all of human kind.

His music is the holy songs of angels,

His violence is the war of demon nations.

Not sure if I got it right here, so here's a more expanded version. 

The Lord’s hand is everywhere. His art is seen in all the colorful birds; their splendor reminds us of His perfect beauty. His thought is found in Manu’s law whose words remind us of His intelligence.  His home is humankind; for man is made in God’s image.

His musical rhythms may be heard in the songs of the Gandharvas (heavenly musicians), the Chinnaras and Vidyadharas (celestial singers, and dancers) and all the hosts of angels who surround Him.

Their music reminds us of the divine flute-song of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. His military might is seen in all the armies of the Asuras and warlike titans. Their violence reminds us of the awesome power of God.

Here's Prabhupāda's purport:

The aesthetic sense of the Lord is manifested in the artistic, colorful creation of varieties of birds like the peacock, parrot and cuckoo. The celestial species of human beings, like the Gandharvas and Vidyādharas, can sing wonderfully and can entice even the minds of the heavenly demigods. Their musical rhythm represents the musical sense of the Lord. How then can He be impersonal? 

His musical taste, artistic sense and standard intelligence, which is never fallible, are different signs of His supreme personality. The Manu-saṁhitā is the standard lawbook for humanity, and every human being is advised to follow this great book of social knowledge. Human society is the residential quarters for the Lord. This means that the human being is meant for God realization and association with God. This life is a chance for the conditioned soul to regain his eternal God consciousness and thus fulfill the mission of life. 

Mahārāja Prahlāda is the right type of representative of the Lord in the family of asuras. None of the living beings is away from the Lord's gigantic body. Each and every one has a particular duty in relation to the supreme body. Disruption in the matter of discharging the specific duty assigned to each and every living being is the cause of disharmony between one living being and another, but when the relation is reestablished in relation with the Supreme Lord, there is complete unity between all living beings, even up to the limit of the wild animals and human society.

 Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu displayed this living unity in the jungle of Madhya Pradesh, where even the tigers, elephants and many other ferocious animals perfectly cooperated in glorifying the Supreme Lord. That is the way to peace and amity all over the world.