A Prayer IF thou must give something Give me the undying lamp, the lamp of thy Love: And silently shalll bow down and quietly depart. Give to my beggar heart the touch of thy Light, May it bloom like a morning flower on my bosom! O Mother, thy seat bounded by the moon and the stars is spread in the vast stilled spaces! And yet afar from there, oh, touch the earth's heart and pour down thy Grace! Let my soul, drowned here in loud noises, listen to the music, The music of silence filling my whole being: May the world with eyes wide open see Peace come down unending: O pour out the delight that shall enliven my journey, The l

VEDIC HYMNS Hymn to Indra RIGVEDA Mandala I: Sukta 84 (I) O INDRA, the delightful wine (Soma) has been pressed out for thee, most powerful art thou and the smiter of foes. May this Indra-Power fill thee even as the sun fills the firmament with its rays. (2) The twin bright carriers bring near unto us lndra of indomi­table might and also the Hymns of the seers and the sacrifices of men. (3) Take thy seat in the chariot, O slayer of Vritra the Coverer, the twin bright steeds have been yoked by the Supreme Word; may the stones, pressing out the wine of Delight by their perfect utterances, turn thy happy mind downward here. (4) O lndr

Great Time WHO art Thou, in the, vast Finite, Thou flowest, Great Time, from the Beginningless towards the Endless? ¹ I have seized your intent,² mighty Spirit of Time! Now the sky, irridescent in the cataract of sun-rays Created the magic city of limpid Eve-tide; I wandered along river banks seeking to attune my heart-strings To the murmur and music of life voiced by her rippling waves: Night infinite descended with silent steps Casting the shadow of her coronet Upon the wide sky, flinging the hem of her robe, Laying down the soft darkness upon earth's expanse. Her eyes lost in thought, In this vast Night, plunged in the contemplation of t

The Bride of Brahman RIGVEDA Mandala X: Sukta 109 (1) OF the stain in Brahman the first to speak were: God Varuna the Vast (shoreless), the Wind-God Matarishvan, Vayu, who blows away even a stronghold, The violent God, Agni, the Goddess Water (Apah), mother of Delight: these are the first-born by their power of Truth. (2) King Soma was the first to lead out Brahman's bride once again, – he had no hesitation. Varuna and Mitra followed suit. And Agni as the su­preme priest took her hand and led on. (3) “You can seize her body by the hand, she is the bride of Brahman”, they said: "She was not meant for the missioned messenger; ev

Hymn of Aspiration RIGVEDA Mandala X: Sukta 57 (I) LET us not turn away from the Path nor from the Sacrifice, O Indra, nor from those who pressed the wine of Immorta­lity. Let not our enemies stand in between. (2) That weft which fulfils the Sacrifice extends towards the Gods. That we call, to That we move. (3) The Mind we now call by the Soma (immortal) drink that voices the Godhead, and by the thought-powers of the Fathers. (4) May the Mind come back to you again for the right Will, for the right Knowledge, for the right living and for the uninterrupted vision of the Sun. (5) May the Fathers give back to us again,

Other Hymns and Prayers Page – 235 Page – 236 Page – 237 Page – 238 Page – 239

THE FIFTH SUKTA The present sukta also tells us that we are to conquer all the terrestrial powers with the help of pure delight and establish in pure mind the foundation of Truth, the concrete mani­festation of Force, Knowledge and the Good, the manifold fullness and perfection of Indra. The diversity in the creation is a profound and sublime Truth. So the sadhaka also has to manifest in his being and nature this immensely diverse play. The manifoldness of Form is revealed consciously through the mind. When the true mental being awakes, all the formations lose their divided and mortal nature and appear as immortal, cadences and expressions of the Truth. That is why the menta

Hymns and Prayers THE seeker, the seeking and the sought are the three limbs that go to the making of the Quarternary – the Four Norms or Objects of life – the Right Law, Interest, Desire and Liberation (Dharma, Artha, Kama, Moksha). Seekers have different natures; therefore different ways of seeking have been prescribed, and the goal sought is also different for each. But even if the outer view sees many goals, the inner vision understands that the goal sought is one and the same for all seekers: it is self-fulfilment. In the Upanishad Yajnavalkya explains to his wife that all is for the self. The wife is for the self, wealth is for the self, love is for the self, happines

Who Seeks Holy Places? WHO seeks holy places Gaya and Ganga and Prabhas and Kashi and Kanchi and all, If I can tell to the end the countless count of the name of Kali? What need has one of rituals, if all the three holy hours one utters the name of Kali? The rituals pursue him in vain and find him not. Neither charity nor benevolence nor rites have any room in his consciousness. He has done the sacrifice of the passions at the golden feet of the Divine Mother. Who can know the infinite power of the name, Kali? The God of gods, the great God, Mahadeva himself sings multiple-tongued praises to her. Page-59