SONGS FROM THE SOUL BY ANILBARAN ROY LONDON JOHN M. WATKINS 21, CECIL COURT, CHARRING CROSS ROAD, W. C. 2 First Published in 1939. Agents in India GITA PRACHAR KARYALAYA 108111, Monoharpooker Road. Kalighat, Calcutta. All Rights 'Reserved PRINTED IN INDIA BY THE JUPITER PRESS, MADRAS. SONGS FROM THE SOUL Follow your soul and not your mind, your soul that answers to the Truth, not your mind that leaps at appearances; trust the Divine Power and she will free the godlike elements in you and shape all into an expression of Divine Nature. SRI AURQBINDO TO THE DIVINE MOTHER

FAITH Faith, it is said, can move mountains, The great and difficult task of raising human nature into the divine can be accomplished only by genuine and living faith. A flame which flickers at every blast of wind cannot lead us very far. If we do not possess a living faith in our divine possibilities, we shall never rise above our human limitations. A faith which does not enter into every part of our being and does not influence all our life, all our thoughts and activities, a passive, weak and wavering faith is powerless to achieve anything great or glorious. We must then keep the torch of true and pure faith brightly burning in us at all times. Whenever doubts and misgiv

SINCERITY Afflicted by the sorrows of the world we earnestly pray for the Divine; but when the Divine comes to us we hesitate to accept it— such is the falsehood and contradiction in our earthly nature! The central being in us aspires to the divine life, but the different parts passionately cling to the earthly life, and obstinately refuse to give up the old ways and the old habits. We seek to open us to Thee, Mother, but ourmind brings in all sorts of rambling thoughts, which veil Thy presence from us. We seek immortal joy, yet our senses persistently pull us towards the poor, mixed, limited pleasures of the earth. We pray for heavenly light, but when it comes to us w

DIVINE PRESENCE Thou art always with me, Mother, Thou art inside my heart and above my head; if ever I do not feel or realise Thy presence, that is entirely my own fault, due to a still lingering play of the old nature in me Thou art not only with me, but Thou art also helping me always to realise Thy presence and by all means trying to draw me towards Thyself. Thou descendest into my mind in the form of luminous truths; Thou descendest into my work in the form of omnipotent will; Thou descendest into my heart, removing all dryness from it, flooding it with the divine joy of Thy love. External Nature, ever renewing its forms of beauty, indicates Thy play of

PRAISE AND BLAME When we depend on the estimation of others, we bring ourselves to their level. Regard for the opinion of people is a help in the lower scale of life, but it is a great obstacle when we would rise higher. It is the ego in us that hankers for praise -and is afraid of blame. When we seek the aggrandisement of our egoistic life, we try to please others and avoid their criticism. In doing so we may often have to give up the path of truth and accept that of falsehood. Those who would realise truth in their life must give up all. such selfish desire and self-seeking, and must be ready to accept with equality all the consequences of following the truth.