THE SECOND SUKTA The upward spirit, the conscious energising power, the aspiration-fire that resides at the root of all spiritual disci­plines as their fount and primal inspiration has been invoked in the first sukta. The present sukta throws light upon the different steps and rungs of that upward spiritual discipline. The Vedic spiritual discipline aims at Truth, the Right and the Vast. The ordinary life consists of body, life and mind. The trivial work, the insignificant inspiration Page-98 and enjoyment of life, the limited knowledge of the mind - man is aware of nothing beyond. But there is something above the body, life and mind. When one reaches that highe

THE FOURTH SUKTA The gradual progression of the spiritual discipline takes place by virtue of the bliss-power in the pure mind. It is with that power that a spiritual seeker overcomes all the obstacles and the downward pull of ignorance symbolised by Vritra and creates beautiful forms full of knowledge in the fullness of the Vast. In the first three riks the nectar-emitting light and pure thought-power of Indra have been invoked. Indra is a milch cow, that is to say, the inexhaustible source from which a seeker draws the nectar of immortality. But why? Because it is thus that a spiritual seeker can see the manifestation of the All-Blissful, in the Vast. In our normal

Just Be There Where You Are BE there where you have always been Fate is firm in its resolve, the will unbending. Nor far, nor near, always within sight, but beyond reach altogether; Without activity yet keeping interest. The flame is out, still neither hot nor cold. A luminous darkness, doors closed yet the breeze moving free: A river with no currents yet a silent tide moving up ... Field harvested, stacks of straw strewn over - the only comfort; Out of the watery tomb of the goddess floats up her cardboard coronet. Nothing is here yet something remains. An empty envelope With only the address written in the

A P P E N D I X - I November 24, 1926 EVEN before that date for some time past, Sri Aurobindo had been more and more withdrawing into himself and retiring within. An external sign of this became visible to us as his lunch hour shifted gradually towards the afternoon. We used to have our meal together and the Mother too ate with us, at the Library House, in the room now used by Ravindra as the fruit-room. There used to be about eight or ten of us. On the previous day, Sri Aurobindo came down to lunch when it was past four. We would naturally wait till he came. Then the great day arrived. In the afternoon, it was in fact already getting dark, all of us had gone out

ON UPANISHADIC THOUGHT Yama - Nachiketa (Katha Upanishad) VAJASRAVAS desired that he would give away all he had. He had a son named Nachiketas. As the boy saw the gifts being given, his heart was filled with respect and devotion, and he pondered: "The realm of undelight is his portion who makes a gift offering of kine that have drunk their last drop of water and eaten the last herb, have been sucked to the last drop of milk and have worn out their organs." So the boy said to his father, "To whom are you going to give me, father?" The father did not give an answer to the senseless question of his ignorant son. But the boy was insistent. . He a

Mute EVER in the heart's core rings a faint strain, The ringing of His hidden flute: Its dumb utterance evokes a sweet pain, The ardent desire of a burning love. In the moonlight haze, in the love-game, steps around me Brush past to avoid eyes meeting: Half-seen the body, foot-fall muffled, ­ The soul is ever athirst. In the dark a flickering smile, glimmering limbs, Some one unseen spinning around: Love binds my soul as if trapped in a prison, I am in search of the body, the golden mine of love. Lip to lip, hand in hand anon, A vain moment's thrill: Failure increases the greed, hopelessness sweetens the regret, Sorrowful am I

Hymn to Bhavani NOR father nor mother, nor friends nor brothers, Nor son nor daughter, nor servants nor master, Nor bride nor learning nor profession have I: Thou art the refuge, thou the sole refuge, O Bhavani! In this world, this shoreless ocean brimming with its dread suffering, I lie prostrate, full of desire, full of greed, full of delusion; For ever entangled I am in the meshes of Wrong movements: Thou art the refuge, thou the sole refuge, O Bhavani! I know neither benefaction nor meditation nor yoga, Nor do I know secret practices nor charms nor chants occult; I know not rites of worship, nor the process of renouncing: Thou art

MODERN BENGALI POEMS Release WILL the sun rise tomorrow? It is here now evening. Darkness spreads into every nook and corner, And in a blind rage drives onward a desperate cry. Night comes down the sky: Will the spell of darkness dissolve? New-moon Night is black. There is no mistaking; And the full moon even at stand-still With all its witchcraft cannot turn black. Oh, where is the heart kind to the poor? And where the generous soul? The honey-bee has ceased to hum and buzz: Only the chains jingle, fettering the honesty of the honest. Now it is time to journey back to you: Shall your eye ever turn to a helpl

THE THIRD SUKTA Life needs pure, calm and effectuating delight. It is through delight that knowledge, work and truth at revealed. The Page-100 more the inspiration of life-energy becomes divinely blissful and lasting, the more the aspirant is endowed with the pure intelligence, divine power and fulfilment, and at last he manifests in the waking consciousness the streams of the Vast, of direct sight and creation beyond mind and intelli­gence. In the present sukta there are four groups of three riks each, graded according to the spiritual progression. The first group begins with the invocation of the twin Riders. Who are these Riders? According to the narrat

THE SIXTH SUKTA The theme of this sukta is to awaken the power of Indra with the help of his followers, the Maruts. Who are the Maruts? We find in the Puranas that Vayu (the Wind-God) in the womb of Diti (the consciousness of duality) had been divided into forty-nine parts by the Lord Indra. As a result, the Maruts, sub-divisions or various forms of Wind, came into existence. We also know that Vayu is the life-energy and Indra is the divine mental being. Diti is the divided consciousness, the source of multiplicity. Aditi means the undivided, indivisible and infinite consciousness. When the wave of life-energy rises into the mind and expresses itself as multiple thoughts, it tur