VII THE POWER OF MANTRA The Power of Mantra. " The secret Self in all beings is not apparent, but it is seen by means of the supreme Reason; the subtle, by those who have the subtle vision." (Katha Upanishad, III. 12) 'WE HAVE SAID that the secret of Speech as a power is Rhythm, because rhythm is the central unifying element which gathers together all the perfection achieved; or it is by our sense of rhythm that it has been possible to bring all the other factors effectively together for a single harmonious purpose. Page-67 In all speech expression, and especially with poetry and all poetic expression, rhythm is the first thing w

Aspects of Modernism "Unity was the sheet-anchor of Science 'up to now. But the latest theories seem to break up the universe into a mass of independent constituents each acting for itself No doubt there is one Force still (if magnetism and electricity can be reduced to one formula as is sought to be done by Einstein), but it is a discontinuous unity in its manifestation at least. Science seems to be coming away from a materialistic Adwaita towards a restatement of the Sankhya idea." – SRI AUROBINDO . Every age has claimed to be modern and sought to establish its characteristic newness, the hall-mark that separates it from the preceding age. How then does the twentieth

THE QUEST AND THE GOAL   Man and the Gods   1   THE Earth symbolises and epitomises material Nature. It is the body and substance, the very personification, of uncon­sciousness-Ignorance carried to the last limit and concretised. It represents, figures the very opposite of the Reality at the summit. The supreme and original Reality is the quaternary: (1) Light, (2) Truth, (3) Love and (4) Life. They are the first and primal godheads with whom creation starts and who preside over the whole play of the manifestation. These gods that emanated out of the supreme consciousness of the Divine Mother as her fundamental aspects and personalities had automatically an absolute freedom

Hamlet : A Crisis of the Evolving Soul THE consciousness that rules over the tragedy of Hamlet, the destiny that works itself out in the play of the forces portrayed in that great drama, are the consciousness and the destiny of the human soul at a most fateful crisis, a crucial turning-point in the course of its evolution. The soul, lodged in the human embodiment, moves forward and upward, towards a greater and greater self-expression and self-expansion, a continual heightening and widening of its consciousness, a constant subli­mation and transfiguration of its mode of being and living. And in the progressive gradient so pursued, there are certain stages or level-crossings that can

Some Thoughts on the Unthinkable   GOD is not an autocrat – a despot like the Czar or the Shahan Shah, pedestalled high above and ruling over his subject-slaves according to his fancy and caprice, issuing ukases and firmans which suffer no delay or hindrance in their execution. God is, if he is at all to be compared to a king, more like a constitutional sovereign. He does not act as he chooses and pleases. There is a system, a plan, a procedure of governance; there are principles and laws and rules, and he abides by them. There are even agents and intermediaries, officers and servants – instruments through whom he works out his purpose. He is] the supreme dharmaraja, the lord and gua

The Fires of Dawn She is gone, her body ashes in the sea But not for me this brief candle of life Blown out before it joyously could yield Its full and perfumed offering of soul. I know beyond my knowing she is here And all my sorrow difficult to bear For one who is not dead but silently Stands a guardian presence at my side. She is aware of all my weaknesses And loans her strength that I might overcome The loneliness and emptiness I feel When in my dreams I see her features steal Across the fleeting visions of the night. I lie awake and think what might have been, The loveliness of moments without speech And love unchangin

For One Has Come The geese honk loudly and the bullfrogs croak, The nuthatch upside down breaks through a seed Securing it in a crevice of the oak, These songs of earth my substance and my mead. Drowsy summer indolent and free Pauses in its rush from bloom to breed Knowing this season of earthly gaiety Will pass and soon the Reaper will succeed Arriving with the touch of his wintry hand. "If only things forever could stay the same", She said as we walked upon the shifting sand By the surging sea no human force can tame. I know Spring shall return on rain-drop feet, And the soaring splendour of red-tailed hawks defy The Death i

Refreshed by Love This world is full of pain laced with grief But joy is stronger than sorrow, surviving loss Surviving even the harm of self deceit, Death can delay but never our joy defeat. We must learn to wait and look into ourselves Observing with the patience of the stars The flaws of our own making that we brought Into this life and the inner wars we fought. The wind sings even through our tears The rivers reach their arms toward the sea Life, with all its trials is one embrace, Enriching all, redeeming all by grace. O children of my soul draw near this hour Come meet my Mother and my Father know We have been slain as on

Beatitudes of Light I saw beauty burning brightly in her eyes Immaculate passion tinge her rose-like cheeks, She spoke in measures of the ancient wise And carried me to formidable peaks. Wisdom filled me with each passing glance Her touch, a lightness in me did wake, Her voice could take me deep into a trance And let me love for the Beloved's sake. All the joy this human heart could hold And all that comes within the soul's embrace, Rubies and diamonds and vaults of silver and gold I saw in the perfection of her face. And then one morn she softly slipped away Carried gently in the arms of Death Departing with the early light of day. I wa