,s,,dhan   ,,the ,,realisation ,,of     
,,life   ,by  ,rabindranath ,tagore     
,author of ',gitanjali'   #aiaf    ,to  
,ernest ,rhys    ,author's ,preface     
,perhaps it is well for me to explain   
that the subject-matter of the papers   
published in this book has not been     
philosophically treated1 nor has it been
 approached from the scholar's point of 
view4  ,the writer has been brought up  
in a family where texts of the          
,upanishads are used in daily worship2  
and he has had before him the example of
 his father1 who lived his long life in 
the closest communion with ,god1 while  
not neglecting his duties to the world1 
or allowing his keen interest in all    
human affairs to suffer any abatement4  
,so in these papers1 it may be hoped1   
western readers will have an opportunity
 of coming into touch with the ancient  
spirit of ,india as revealed in our     
sacred texts and manifested in the life 
of to-day4  ,all the great utterances of
 man have to be judged not by the letter

 but by the spirit--the spirit which    
unfolds itself with the growth of life  
in history4  ,we get to know the real   
meaning of ,christianity by observing   
its living aspect at the present        
moment--however different that may be1  
even in important respects1 from the    
,christianity of earlier periods4  ,for 
western scholars the great religious    
scriptures of ,india seem to possess    
merely a retrospective and archlogical  
interest2 but to us they are of living  
importance1 and we cannot help thinking 
that they lose their significance when  
exhibited in labelled cases--mummied    
specimens of human thought and          
aspiration1 preserved for all time in   
the wrappings of erudition4  ,the       
meaning of the living words that come   
out of the experiences of great hearts  
can never be exhausted by any one system
 of logical interpretation4  ,they have 
to be endlessly explained by the        
commentaries of individual lives1 and   
they gain an added mystery in each new  

revelation4  ,to me the verses of the   
,upanishads and the teachings of ,buddha
 have ever been things of the spirit1   
and therefore endowed with boundless    
vital growth2 and ,i have used them1    
both in my own life and in my preaching1
 as being instinct with individual      
meaning for me1 as for others1 and      
awaiting for their confirmation1 my own 
special testimony1 which must have its  
value because of its individuality4  ,i 
should add perhaps that these papers    
embody in a connected form1 suited to   
this publication1 ideas which have been 
culled from several of the ,bengali     
discourses which ,i am in the habit of  
giving to my students in my school at   
,bolpur in ,bengal2 and ,i have used    
here and there translations of passages 
from these done by my friends1 ,babu    
,satish ,chandra ,roy and ,babu ,ajit   
,kumar ,chakravarti4  ,the last paper of
 this series1 ,realisation in ,action1  
has been translated from my ,bengali    
discourse on ,karma-yoga by my nephew1  

,babu ,surendra ,nath ,tagore4  ,i take 
this opportunity of expressing my       
gratitude to ,professor ,james ,h4      
,woods1 of ,harvard ,university1 for his
 generous appreciation which encouraged 
me to complete this series of papers and
 read most of them before the ,harvard  
,university4  ,and ,i offer my thanks to
 ,mr4 ,ernest ,rhys for his kindness in 
helping me with suggestions and         
revisions1 and in going through the     
proofs4  ,a word may be added about the 
pronouncing of ,sdhan3 the accent falls 
decisively on the first 1 which has the 
broad sound of the letter4    ,,contents
   ,i4 ,,the ,,relation ,,of ,,the      
,,individual ,,to ,,the ,,universe ,,ii4
 ,,soul ,,consciousness ,,iii4 ,,the    
,,problem ,,of ,,evil ,,iv4 ,,the       
,,problem ,,of ,,self ,v4 ,,realisation 
,,in ,,love ,,vi4 ,,realisation ,,in    
,,action ,,vii4 ,,the ,,realisation ,,of
 ,,beauty ,,viii4 ,,the ,,realisation   
,,of ,,the ,,infinite    ,i   ,,the     
,,relation ,,of ,,the ,,individual ,,to 

,,the ,,universe   ,the civilisation of 
ancient ,greece was nurtured within city
 walls4  ,in fact1 all the modern       
civilisations have their cradles of     
brick and mortar4  ,these walls leave   
their mark deep in the minds of men4    
,they set up a principle of divide and  
rule in our mental outlook1 which begets
 in us a habit of securing all our      
conquests by fortifying them and        
separating them from one another4  ,we  
divide nation and nation1 knowledge and 
knowledge1 man and nature4  ,it breeds  
in us a strong suspicion of whatever is 
beyond the barriers we have built1 and  
everything has to fight hard for its    
entrance into our recognition4  ,when   
the first ,aryan invaders appeared in   
,india it was a vast land of forests1   
and the new-comers rapidly took         
advantage of them4  ,these forests      
afforded them shelter from the fierce   
heat of the sun and the ravages of      
tropical storms1 pastures for cattle1   
fuel for sacrificial fire1 and materials

 for building cottages4  ,and the       
different ,aryan clans with their       
patriarchal heads settled in the        
different forest tracts which had some  
special advantage of natural protection1
 and food and water in plenty4  ,thus in
 ,india it was in the forests that our  
civilisation had its birth1 and it took 
a distinct character from this origin   
and environment4  ,it was surrounded by 
the vast life of nature1 was fed and    
clothed by her1 and had the closest and 
most constant intercourse with her      
varying aspects4  ,such a life1 it may  
be thought1 tends to have the effect of 
dulling human intelligence and dwarfing 
the incentives to progress by lowering  
the standards of existence4  ,but in    
ancient ,india we find that the         
circumstances of forest life did not    
overcome man's mind1 and did not        
enfeeble the current of his energies1   
but only gave to it a particular        
direction4  ,having been in constant    
contact with the living growth of       

nature1 his mind was free from the      
desire to extend his dominion by        
erecting boundary walls around his      
acquisitions4  ,his aim was not to      
acquire but to realise1 to enlarge his  
consciousness by growing with and       
growing into his surroundings4  ,he felt
 that truth is all-comprehensive1 that  
there is no such thing as absolute      
isolation in existence1 and the only way
 of attaining truth is through the      
interpenetration of our being into all  
objects4  ,to realise this great harmony
 between man's spirit and the spirit of 
the world was the endeavour of the      
forest-dwelling sages of ancient ,india4
  ,in later days there came a time when 
these primeval forests gave way to      
cultivated fields1 and wealthy cities   
sprang up on all sides4  ,mighty        
kingdoms were established1 which had    
communications with all the great powers
 of the world4  ,but even in the heyday 
of its material prosperity the heart of 
,india ever looked back with adoration  

upon the early ideal of strenuous       
self-realisation1 and the dignity of the
 simple life of the forest hermitage1   
and drew its best inspiration from the  
wisdom stored there4  ,the west seems to
 take a pride in thinking that it is    
subduing nature2 as if we are living in 
a hostile world where we have to wrest  
everything we want from an unwilling and
 alien arrangement of things4  ,this    
sentiment is the product of the         
city-wall habit and training of mind4   
,for in the city life man naturally     
directs the concentrated light of his   
mental vision upon his own life and     
works1 and this creates an artificial   
dissociation between himself and the    
,universal ,nature within whose bosom he
 lies4  ,but in ,india the point of view
 was different2 it included the world   
with the man as one great truth4  ,india
 put all her emphasis on the harmony    
that exists between the individual and  
the universal4  ,she felt we could have 
no communication whatever with our      

surroundings if they were absolutely    
foreign to us4 ,man's complaint against 
nature is that he has to acquire most of
 his necessaries by his own efforts4    
,yes1 but his efforts are not in vain2  
he is reaping success every day1 and    
that shows there is a rational          
connection between him and nature1 for  
we never can make anything our own      
except that which is truly related to   
us4  ,we can look upon a road from two  
different points of view4  ,one regards 
it as dividing us from the object of our
 desire2 in that case we count every    
step of our journey over it as something
 attained by force in the face of       
obstruction4  ,the other sees it as the 
road which leads us to our destination2 
and as such it is part of our goal4  ,it
 is already the beginning of our        
attainment1 and by journeying over it we
 can only gain that which in itself it  
offers to us4  ,this last point of view 
is that of ,india with regard to nature4
  ,for her1 the great fact is that we   

are in harmony with nature2 that man can
 think because his thoughts are in      
harmony with things2 that he can use the
 forces of nature for his own purpose   
only because his power is in harmony    
with the power which is universal1 and  
that in the long run his purpose never  
can knock against the purpose which     
works through nature4  ,in the west the 
prevalent feeling is that nature belongs
 exclusively to inanimate things and to 
beasts1 that there is a sudden          
unaccountable break where human-nature  
begins4  ,according to it1 everything   
that is low in the scale of beings is   
merely nature1 and whatever has the     
stamp of perfection on it1 intellectual 
or moral1 is human-nature4  ,it is like 
dividing the bud and the blossom into   
two separate categories1 and putting    
their grace to the credit of two        
different and antithetical principles4  
,but the ,indian mind never has any     
hesitation in acknowledging its kinship 
with nature1 its unbroken relation with 

all4  ,the fundamental unity of creation
 was not simply a philosophical         
speculation for ,india2 it was her      
life-object to realise this great       
harmony in feeling and in action4  ,with
 mediation and service1 with a          
regulation of life1 she cultivated her  
consciousness in such a way that        
everything had a spiritual meaning to   
her4  ,the earth1 water and light1      
fruits and flowers1 to her were not     
merely physical phenomena to be turned  
to use and then left aside4  ,they were 
necessary to her in the attainment of   
her ideal of perfection1 as every note  
is necessary to the completeness of the 
symphony4  ,india intuitively felt that 
the essential fact of this world has a  
vital meaning for us2 we have to be     
fully alive to it and establish a       
conscious relation with it1 not merely  
impelled by scientific curiosity or     
greed of material advantage1 but        
realising it in the spirit of sympathy1 
with a large feeling of joy and peace4  

,the man of science knows1 in one       
aspect1 that the world is not merely    
what it appears to be to our senses2 he 
knows that earth and water are really   
the play of forces that manifest        
themselves to us as earth and           
water--how1 we can but partially        
apprehend4 ,likewise the man who has his
 spiritual eyes open knows that the     
ultimate truth about earth and water    
lies in our apprehension of the eternal 
will which works in time and takes shape
 in the forces we realise under those   
aspects4  ,this is not mere knowledge1  
as science is1 but it is a preception of
 the soul by the soul4  ,this does not  
lead us to power1 as knowledge does1 but
 it gives us joy1 which is the product  
of the union of kindred things4  ,the   
man whose acquaintance with the world   
does not lead him deeper than science   
leads him1 will never understand what it
 is that the man with the spiritual     
vision finds in these natural phenomena4
  ,the water does not merely cleanse his

 limbs1 but it purifies his heart2 for  
it touches his soul4  ,the earth does   
not merely hold his body1 but it        
gladdens his mind2 for its contact is   
more than a physical contact--it is a   
living presence4  ,when a man does not  
realise his kinship with the world1 he  
lives in a prison-house whose walls are 
alien to him4  ,when he meets the       
eternal spirit in all objects1 then is  
he emancipated1 for then he discovers   
the fullest significance of the world   
into which he is born2 then he finds    
himself in perfect truth1 and his       
harmony with the all is established4    
,in ,india men are enjoined to be fully 
awake to the fact that they are in the  
closest relation to things around them1 
body and soul1 and that they are to hail
 the morning sun1 the flowing water1 the
 fruitful earth1 as the manifestation of
 the same living truth which holds them 
in its embrace4  ,thus the text of our  
everyday meditation is the ,gayathri1 a 
verse which is considered to be the     

epitome of all the ,vedas4  ,by its help
 we try to realise the essential unity  
of the world with the conscious soul of 
man2 we learn to perceive the unity held
 together by the one ,eternal ,spirit1  
whose power creates the earth1 the sky1 
and the stars1 and at the same time     
irradiates our minds with the light of a
 consciousness that moves and exists in 
unbroken continuity with the outer      
world4  ,it is not true that ,india has 
tried to ignore differences of value in 
different things1 for she knows that    
would make life impossible4  ,the sense 
of the superiority of man in the scale  
of creation has not been absent from her
 mind4  ,but she has had her own idea as
 to that in which his superiority really
 consists4  ,it is not in the power of  
possession but in the power of union4   
,therefore ,india chose her places of   
pilgrimage wherever there was in nature 
some special grandeur or beauty1 so that
 her mind could come out of its world of
 narrow necessities and realise its     

place in the infinite4  ,this was the   
reason why in ,india a whole people who 
once were meat-eaters gave up taking    
animal food to cultivate the sentiment  
of universal sympathy for life1 an event
 unique in the history of mankind4      
,india knew that when by physical and   
mental barriers we violently detach     
ourselves from the inexhaustible life of
 nature2 when we become merely man1 but 
not man-in-the-universe1 we create      
bewildering problems1 and having shut   
off the source of their solution1 we try
 all kinds of artificial methods each of
 which brings its own crop of           
interminable difficulties4  ,when man   
leaves his resting-place in universal   
nature1 when he walks on the single rope
 of humanity1 it means either a dance or
 a fall for him1 he has ceaselessly to  
strain every nerve and muscle to keep   
his balance at each step1 and then1 in  
the intervals of his weariness1 he      
fulminates against ,providence and feels
 a secret pride and satisfaction in     

thinking that he has been unfairly dealt
 with by the whole scheme of things4    
,but this cannot go on for ever4  ,man  
must realise the wholeness of his       
existence1 his place in the infinite2 he
 must know that hard as he may strive he
 can never create his honey within the  
cells of his hive2 for the perennial    
supply of his life food is outside their
 walls4  ,he must know that when man    
shuts himself out from the vitalising   
and purifying touch of the infinite1 and
 falls back upon himself for his        
sustenance and his healing1 then he     
goads himself into madness1 tears       
himself into shreds1 and eats his own   
substance4  ,deprived of the background 
of the whole1 his poverty loses its one 
great quality1 which is simplicity1 and 
becomes squalid and shamefaced4  ,his   
wealth is no longer magnanimous2 it     
grows merely extravagant4  ,his         
appetites do not minister to his life1  
keeping to the limits of their purpose2 
they become an end in themselves and set

 fire to his life and play the fiddle in
 the lurid light of the conflagration4  
,then it is that in our self-expression 
we try to startle and not to attract2 in
 art we strive for originality and lose 
sight of truth which is old and yet ever
 new2 in literature we miss the complete
 view of man which is simple and yet    
great1 but he appears as a psychological
 problem or the embodiment of a passion 
that is intense because abnormal and    
because exhibited in the glare of a     
fiercely emphatic light which is        
artificial4  ,when man's consciousness  
is restricted only to the immediate     
vicinity of his human self1 the deeper  
roots of his nature do not find their   
permanent soil1 his spirit is ever on   
the brink of starvation1 and in the     
place of healthful strength he          
substitutes rounds of stimulation4      
,then it is that man misses his inner   
perspective and measures his greatness  
by its bulk and not by its vital link   
with the infinite1 judges his activity  

by its movement and not by the repose of
 perfection--the repose which is in the 
starry heavens1 in the ever-flowing     
rhythmic dance of creation4  ,the first 
invasion of ,india has its exact        
parallel in the invasion of ,america by 
the ,european settlers4  ,they also were
 confronted with primeval forests and a 
fierce struggle with aboriginal races4  
,but this struggle between man and man1 
and man and nature lasted till the very 
end2 they never came to any terms4  ,in 
,india the forests which were the       
habitation of the barbarians became the 
sanctuary of sages1 but in ,america     
these great living cathedrals of nature 
had no deeper significance to man4  ,the
 brought wealth and power to him1 and   
perhaps at times they ministered to his 
enjoyment of beauty1 and inspired a     
solitary poet4  ,they never acquired a  
sacred association in the hearts of men 
as the site of some great spiritual     
reconcilement where man's soul has its  
meeting-place with the soul of the      

world4  ,i do not for a moment wish to  
suggest that these things should have   
been otherwise4  ,it would be an utter  
waste of opportunities if history were  
to repeat itself exactly in the same    
manner in every place4  ,it is best for 
the commerce of the spirit that people  
differently situated should bring their 
different products into the market of   
humanity1 each of which is complementary
 and necessary to the others4  ,all that
 ,i wish to say is that ,india at the   
outset of her career met with a special 
combination of circumstances which was  
not lost upon her4  ,she had1 according 
to her opportunities1 thought and       
pondered1 striven and suffered1 dived   
into the depths of existence1 and       
achieved something which surely cannot  
be without its value to people whose    
evolution in history took a different   
way altogether4  ,man for his perfect   
growth requires all the living elements 
that constitute his complex life2 that  
is why his food has to be cultivated in 

different fields and brought from       
different sources4  ,civilisation is a  
kind of mould that each nation is busy  
making for itself to shape its men and  
women according to its best ideal4  ,all
 its institutions1 its legislature1 its 
standard of approbation and             
condemnation1 its conscious and         
unconscious teachings tend toward that  
object4  ,the modern civilisation of the
 west1 by all its organised efforts1 is 
trying to turn out men perfect in       
physical1 intellectual1 and moral       
efficiency4  ,there the vast energies of
 the nations are employed in extending  
man's power over his surroundings1 and  
people are combining and straining every
 faculty to possess and to turn to      
account all that they can lay their     
hands upon1 to overcome every obstacle  
on their path of conquest4  ,they are   
ever disciplining themselves to fight   
nature and other races2 their armaments 
are getting more and more stupendous    
every day2 their machines1 their        

appliances1 their organisations go on   
multiplying at an amazing rate4  ,this  
is a splendid achievement1 no doubt1 and
 a wonderful manifestation of man's     
masterfulness which knows no obstacle1  
and which has for its object the        
supremacy of himself over everything    
else4  ,the ancient civilisation of     
,india had its own ideal of perfection  
towards which its efforts were directed4
  ,its aim was not attaining power1 and 
it neglected to cultivate to the utmost 
its capacities1 and to organise men for 
defensive and offensive purposes1 for   
co-operation in the acquisition of      
wealth and for military and political   
ascendancy4  ,the ideal that ,india     
tried to realise led her best men to the
 isolation of a contemplative life1 and 
the treasures that she gained for       
mankind by penetrating into the         
mysteries of reality cost her dear in   
the sphere of worldly success4  ,yet1   
this also was a sublime achievement1--it
 was a supreme manifestation of that    

human aspiration which knows no limit1  
and which has for its object nothing    
less than the realisation of the        
,infinite4  ,there were the virtuous1   
the wise1 the courageous2 there were the
 statesmen1 kings and emperors of       
,india2 but whom amongst all these      
classes did she look up to and choose to
 be the representative of men8  ,they   
were the rishis4  ,what were the rishis8
  ,they who having attained the supreme 
soul in knowledge were filled with      
wisdom1 and having found him in union   
with the soul were in perfect harmony   
with the inner self2 they having        
realised him in the heart were free from
 all selfish desires1 and having        
experienced him in all the activities of
 the world1 had attained calmness4 ,the 
rishis were they who having reached the 
supreme ,god from all sides had found   
abiding peace1 had become united with   
all1 had entered into the life of the   
,universe4 ,footnote3 _/9999            
,samprpyainam rishayo jnatripath        

,krittmn vtargh praanth   t sarvagam    
sarvatah prpya dhrh   ,yukttmnah        
sarvamvvianti4 99_/   ,thus the state of
 realising our relationship with all1 of
 entering into everything through union 
with ,god1 was considered in ,india to  
be the ultimate end and fulfilment of   
humanity4  ,man can destroy and plunder1
 earn and accumulate1 invent and        
discover1 but he is great because his   
soul comprehends all4  ,it is dire      
destruction for him when he envelopes   
his soul in a dead shell of callous     
habits1 and when a blind fury of works  
whirls round him like an eddying dust   
storm1 shutting out the horizon4 ,that  
indeed kills the very spirit of his     
being1 which is the spirit of           
comprehension4  ,essentially man is not 
a slave either of himself or of the     
world2 but he is a lover4  ,his freedom 
and fulfilment is in love1 which is     
another name for perfect comprehension4 
,by this power of comprehension1 this   
permeation of his being1 he is united   

with the all-pervading ,spirit1 who is  
also the breath of his soul4  ,where a  
man tries to raise himself to eminence  
by pushing and jostling all others1 to  
achieve a distinction by which he prides
 himself to be more than everybody else1
 there he is alienated from that        
,spirit4  ,this is why the ,upanishads  
describe those who have attained the    
goal of human life as peaceful          
,footnote3 ,praanth and as              
at-one-with-,god1 ,footnote3 ,yukttmnah 
meaning that they are in perfect harmony
 with man and nature1 and therefore in  
undisturbed union with ,god4  ,we have a
 glimpse of the same truth in the       
teachings of ,jesus when he says1 ,it is
 easier for a camel to pass through the 
eye of a needle than for a rich man to  
enter the kingdom of ,heaven--which     
implies that whatever we treasure for   
ourselves separates us from others2 our 
possessions are our limitations4  ,he   
who is bent upon accumulating riches is 
unable1 with his ego continually        

bulging1 to pass through the gates of   
comprehension of the spiritual world1   
which is the world of perfect harmony2  
he is shut up within the narrow walls of
 his limited acquisitions4  ,hence the  
spirit of the teachings of ,upanishad   
is3 ,in order to find him you must      
embrace all4  ,in the pursuit of wealth 
you really give up everything to gain a 
few things1 and that is not the way to  
attain him who is completeness4  ,some  
modern philosophers of ,europe1 who are 
directly or indirectly indebted to the  
,upanishads1 far from realising their   
debt1 maintain that the ,brahma of      
,india is a mere abstraction1 a negation
 of all that is in the world4  ,in a    
word1 that the ,infinite ,being is to be
 found nowhere except in metaphysics4   
,it may be1 that such a doctrine has    
been and still is prevalent with a      
section of our countrymen4  ,but this is
 certainly not in accord with the       
pervading spirit of the ,indian mind4   
,instead1 it is the practice of         

realising and affirming the presence of 
the infinite in all things which has    
been its constant inspiration4  ,we are 
enjoined to see whatever there is in the
 world as being enveloped by ,god4      
,footnote3 ,ivsyamidam sarvam yat kicha 
jagaty jagat4  ,i bow to ,god over and  
over again who is in fire and in water1 
who permeates the whole world1 who is in
 the annual crops as well as in the     
perennial trees4  ,footnote3 ,yo dv'gnau
 y'psu y' vivambhuvanamviva ya shadhishu
 y  vanaspatishu tasmai dvya namnamah4  
,can this be ,god abstracted from the   
world8  ,instead1 it signifies not      
merely seeing him in all things1 but    
saluting him in all the objects of the  
world4  ,the attitude of the            
,god-conscious man of the ,upanishad    
towards the universe is one of a deep   
feeling of adoration4  ,his object of   
worship is present everywhere4  ,it is  
the one living truth that makes all     
realities true4  ,this truth is not only
 of knowledge but of devotion4          

',namonamah1'--we bow to him everywhere1
 and over and over again4  ,it is       
recognised in the outburst of the       
,rishi1 who addresses the whole world in
 a sudden ecstasy of joy3 ,listen to me1
 ye sons of the immortal spirit1 ye who 
live in the heavenly abode1 ,i have     
known the ,supreme ,person whose light  
shines forth from beyond the darkness4  
,footnote3 rinvantu vive amritasya putr 
ye divya dhmni tasthuh vedhametam       
purusham mahntam ditya varam tamasah    
parastt4  ,do we not find the           
overwhelming delight of a direct and    
positive experience where there is not  
the least trace of vagueness or         
passivity8  ,buddha who developed the   
practical side of the teaching of       
,upanishads1 preached the same message  
when he said1 ,with everything1 whether 
it is above or below1 remote or near1   
visible or invisible1 thou shalt        
preserve a relation of unlimited love   
without any animosity or without a      
desire to kill4  ,to live in such a     

consciousness while standing or walking1
 sitting or lying down till you are     
asleep1 is ,brahma vihra1 or1 in other  
words1 is living and moving and having  
your joy in the spirit of ,brahma4      
,what is that spirit8  ,the ,upanishad  
says1 ,the being who is in his essence  
the light and life of all1 who is       
world-conscious1 is ,brahma4  ,footnote3
 ,yachyamasminnk tjmay'mritamayah       
purushah sarvnubhh4  ,to feel all1 to be
 conscious of everything1 is his spirit4
  ,we are immersed in his consciousness 
body and soul4  ,it is through his      
consciousness that the sun attracts the 
earth2 it is through his consciousness  
that the light-waves are being          
transmitted from planet to planet4  ,not
 only in space1 but this light and life1
 this all-feeling being is in our souls4
  ,footnote3 ,yachyamasminntmani        
tjmay'mritamayah purushah sarvnubhh4    
,he is all-conscious in space1 or the   
world of extension2 and he is           
all-conscious in soul1 or the world of  

intension4  ,thus to attain our         
world-consciousness1 we have to unite   
our feeling with this all-pervasive     
infinite feeling4  ,in fact1 the only   
true human progress is coincident with  
this widening of the range of feeling4  
,all our poetry1 philosophy1 science1   
art and religion are serving to extend  
the scope of our consciousness towards  
higher and larger spheres4  ,man does   
not acquire rights through occupation of
 larger space1 nor through external     
conduct1 but his rights extend only so  
far as he is real1 and his reality is   
measured by the scope of his            
consciousness4  ,we have1 however1 to   
pay a price for this attainment of the  
freedom of consciousness4  ,what is the 
price8  ,it is to give one's self away4 
,our soul can realise itself truly only 
by denying itself4  ,the ,upanishad     
says1 ,thou shalt gain by giving away   
,footnote3 ,tyaktna bhujthh1 ,thou shalt
 not covet4 ,footnote3 ,m gridhah  ,in  
,gita we are advised to work            

disinterestedly1 abandoning all lust for
 the result4  ,many outsiders conclude  
from this teaching that the conception  
of the world as something unreal lies at
 the root of the so-called              
disinterestedness preached in ,india4   
,but the reverse is true4  ,the man who 
aims at his own aggrandisement          
underrates everything else4  ,compared  
to his ego the rest of the world is     
unreal4  ,thus in order to be fully     
conscious of the reality of all1 one has
 to be free himself from the bonds of   
personal desires4  ,this discipline we  
have to go through to prepare ourselves 
for our social duties--for sharing the  
burdens of our fellow-beings4 ,every    
endeavour to attain a larger life       
requires of man to gain by giving away1 
and not to be greedy4  ,and thus to     
expand gradually the consciousness of   
one's unity with all is the striving of 
humanity4  ,the ,infinite in ,india was 
not a thin nonentity1 void of all       
content4  ,the ,rishis of ,india        

asserted emphatically1 ,to know him in  
this life is to be true2 not to know him
 in this life is the desolation of      
death4  ,footnote3 ,iha cht avdit atha  
satyamasti1 nacht iha avdit mahat       
vinashtih4  ,how to know him then8  ,by 
realising him in each and all4          
,footnote3 ,bhtshu bhtshu vichintva4    
,not only in nature but in the family1  
in society1 and in the state1 the more  
we realise the ,world-conscious in all1 
the better for us4  ,failing to realise 
it1 we turn our faces to destruction4   
,it fills me with great joy and a high  
hope for the future of humanity when ,i 
realise that there was a time in the    
remote past when our poet-prophets stood
 under the lavish sunshine of an ,indian
 sky and greeted the world with the glad
 recognition of kindred4  ,it was not an
 anthropomorphic hallucination4  ,it was
 not seeing man reflected everywhere in 
grotesquely exaggerated images1 and     
witnessing the human drama acted on a   
gigantic scale in nature's arena of     

flitting lights and shadows4  ,on the   
contrary1 it meant crossing the limiting
 barriers of the individual1 to become  
more than man1 to become one with the   
,all4 ,it was not a mere play of the    
imagination1 but it was the liberation  
of consciousness from all the           
mystifications and exaggerations of the 
self4  ,these ancient seers felt in the 
serene depth of their mind that the same
 energy which vibrates and passes into  
the endless forms of the world manifests
 itself in our inner being as           
consciousness2 and there is no break in 
unity4  ,for these seers there was no   
gap in their luminous vision of         
perfection4  ,they never acknowledged   
even death itself as creating a chasm in
 the field of reality4  ,they said1 ,his
 reflection is death as well as         
immortality4  ,footnote3 ,yasya         
chhymritam yasya mrityuh4  ,they did not
 recognise any essential opposition     
between life and death1 and they said   
with absolute assurance1 ,it is life    

that is death4  ,footnote3 ,prno        
mrityuh4  ,they saluted with the same   
serenity of gladness life in its aspect 
of appearing and in its aspect of       
departure--,that which is past is hidden
 in life1 and that which is to come4    
,footnote3 ,nam astu yat nam astu       
paryat4  ,prn ha bhtam bhavyacha4  ,they
 knew that mere appearance and          
disappearance are on the surface like   
waves on the sea1 but life which is     
permanent knows no decay or diminution4 
,everything has sprung from immortal    
life and is vibrating with life1        
,footnote3 ,yadidan kicha praa ejati    
nihsritam4 for life is immense4         
,footnote3 ,prno virt4  ,this is the    
noble heritage from our forefathers     
waiting to be claimed by us as our own1 
this ideal of the supreme freedom of    
consciousness4  ,it is not merely       
intellectual or emotional1 it has an    
ethical basis1 and it must be translated
 into action4  ,in the ,upanishad it is 
said1 ,the supreme being is             

all-pervading1 therefore he is the      
innate good in all4  ,footnote3         
,sarvavyp sa bhagavn tasmt sarvagatah   
ivah4  ,to be truly united in knowledge1
 love1 and service with all beings1 and 
thus to realise one's self in the       
all-pervading ,god is the essence of    
goodness1 and this is the keynote of the
 teachings of the ,upanishads3 ,life is 
immense6  ,footnote3 ,pro virt4    ,,ii 
,,soul ,,consciousness   ,we have seen  
that it was the aspiration of ancient   
,india to live and move and have its joy
 in ,brahma1 the all-conscious and      
all-pervading ,spirit1 by extending its 
field of consciousness over all the     
world4  ,but that1 it may be urged1 is  
an impossible task for man to achieve4  
,if this extension of consciousness be  
an outward process1 then it is endless2 
it is like attempting to cross the ocean
 after ladling out its water4  ,by      
beginning to try to realise all1 one has
 to end by realising nothing4  ,but1 in 
reality1 it is not so absurd as it      

sounds4  ,man has every day to solve    
this problem of enlarging his region and
 adjusting his burdens4  ,his burdens   
are many1 too numerous for him to carry1
 but he knows that by adopting a system 
he can lighten the weight of his load4  
,whenever they feel too complicated and 
unwieldy1 he knows it is because he has 
not been able to hit upon the system    
which would have set everything in place
 and distributed the weight evenly4     
,this search for system is really a     
search for unity1 for synthesis2 it is  
our attempt to harmonise the            
heterogeneous complexity of outward     
materials by an inner adjustment4  ,in  
the search we gradually become aware    
that to find out the ,one is to possess 
the ,all2 that there1 indeed1 is our    
last and highest privilege4  ,it is     
based on the law of that unity which is1
 if we only know it1 our abiding        
strength4  ,its living principle is the 
power that is in truth2 the truth of    
that unity which comprehends            

multiplicity4  ,facts are many1 but the 
truth is one4  ,the animal intelligence 
knows facts1 the human mind has power to
 apprehend truth4  ,the apple falls from
 the tree1 the rain descends upon the   
earth--you can go on burdening your     
memory with such facts and never come to
 an end4  ,but once you get hold of the 
law of gravitation you can dispense with
 the necessity of collecting facts ad   
infinitum4  ,you have got at one truth  
which governs numberless facts4  ,this  
discovery of truth is pure joy to       
man--it is a liberation of his mind4    
,for1 a mere fact is like a blind lane1 
it leads only to itself--it has no      
beyond4 ,but a truth opens up a whole   
horizon1 it leads us to the infinite4   
,that is the reason why1 when a man like
 ,darwin discovers some simple general  
truth about ,biology1 it does not stop  
there1 but like a lamp shedding its     
light far beyond the object for which it
 was lighted1 it illumines the whole    
region of human life and thought1       

transcending its original purpose4      
,thus we find that truth1 while         
investing all facts1 is not a mere      
aggregate of facts--it surpasses them on
 all sides and points to the infinite   
reality4  ,as in the region of knowledge
 so in that of consciousness1 man must  
clearly realise some central truth which
 will give him an outlook over the      
widest possible field4  ,and that is the
 object which the ,upanishad has in view
 when it says1 ,know thine own ,soul4   
,or1 in other words1 realise the one    
great principal of unity that there is  
in every man4  ,all our egoistic        
impulses1 our selfish desires1 obscure  
our true vision of the soul4  ,for they 
only indicate our own narrow self4 ,when
 we are conscious of our soul1 we       
perceive the inner being that transcends
 our ego and has its deeper affinity    
with the ,all4  ,children1 when they    
begin to learn each separate letter of  
the alphabet1 find no pleasure in it1   
because they miss the real purpose of   

the lesson2 in fact1 while letters claim
 our attention only in themselves and as
 isolated things1 they fatigue us4      
,they become a source of joy to us only 
when they combine into words and        
sentences and convey an idea4           
,likewise1 our soul when detached and   
imprisoned within the narrow limits of a
 self loses its significance4  ,for its 
very essence is unity4  ,it can only    
find out its truth by unifying itself   
with others1 and only then it has its   
joy4  ,man was troubled and he lived in 
a state of fear so long as he had not   
discovered the uniformity of law in     
nature2 till then the world was alien to
 him4  ,the law that he discovered is   
nothing but the perception of harmony   
that prevails between reason which is of
 the soul of man and the workings of the
 world4  ,this is the bond of union     
through which man is related to the     
world in which he lives1 and he feels an
 exceeding joy when he finds this out1  
for then he realises himself in his     

surroundings4  ,to understand anything  
is to find in it something which is our 
own1 and it is the discovery of         
ourselves outside us which makes us     
glad4  ,this relation of understanding  
is partial1 but the relation of love is 
complete4 ,in love the sense of         
difference is obliterated and the human 
soul fulfils its purpose in perfection1 
transcending the limits of itself and   
reaching across the threshold of the    
infinite4 ,therefore love is the highest
 bliss that man can attain to1 for      
through it alone he truly knows that he 
is more than himself1 and that he is at 
one with the ,all4  ,this principal of  
unity which man has in his soul is ever 
active1 establishing relations far and  
wide through literature1 art1 and       
science1 society1 statecraft1 and       
religion4  ,our great ,revealers are    
they who make manifest the true meaning 
of the soul by giving up self for the   
love of mankind4  ,they face calumny and
 persecution1 deprivation and death in  

their service of love4 ,they live the   
life of the soul1 not of the self1 and  
thus they prove to us the ultimate truth
 of humanity4  ,we call them ,mahtms1   
the men of the great soul4  ,it is said 
in one of the ,upanishads3 ,it is not   
that thou lovest thy son because thou   
desirest him1 but thou lovest thy son   
because thou desirest thine own soul4   
,footnote3 ,na v ar putrasya kmya putrah
 priy bhavati1 tmanastu kmya putrah priy
 bhavati4  ,the meaning of this is1 that
 whomsoever we love1 in him we find our 
own soul in the highest sense4  ,the    
final truth of our existence lies in    
this4  ,paramtm1 the supreme soul1 is in
 me1 as well as in my son1 and my joy in
 my son is the realisation of this      
truth4  ,it has become quite a          
commonplace fact1 yet it is wonderful to
 think upon1 that the joys and sorrows  
of our loved ones are joys and sorrows  
to us--nay they are more4  ,why so8     
,because in them we have grown larger1  
in them we have touched that great truth

 which comprehends the whole universe4  
,it very often happens that our love for
 our children1 our friends1 or other    
loved ones1 debars us from the further  
realisation of our soul4  ,it enlarges  
our scope of consciousness1 no doubt1   
yet it sets a limit to its freest       
expansion4 ,nevertheless1 it is the     
first step1 and all the wonder lies in  
this first step itself4  ,it shows to us
 the true nature of our soul4  ,from it 
we know1 for certain1 that our highest  
joy is in the losing of our egoistic    
self and in the uniting with others4    
,this love gives us a new power and     
insight and beauty of mind to the extent
 of the limits we set around it1 but    
ceases to do so if those limits lose    
their elasticity1 and militate against  
the spirit of love altogether2 then our 
friendships become exclusive1 our       
families selfish and inhospitable1 our  
nations insular and aggressively        
inimical to other races4  ,it is like   
putting a burning light within a sealed 

enclosure1 which shines brightly till   
the poisonous gases accumulate and      
smother the flame4 ,nevertheless it has 
proved its truth before it dies1 and    
made known the joy of freedom from the  
grip of darkness1 blind and empty and   
cold4  ,according to the ,upanishads1   
the key to cosmic consciousness1 to     
,god-consciousness1 is in the           
consciousness of the soul4  ,to know our
 soul apart from the self is the first  
step towards the realisation of the     
supreme deliverance4  ,we must know with
 absolute certainty that essentially we 
are spirit4  ,this we can do by winning 
mastery over self1 by rising above all  
pride and greed and fear1 by knowing    
that worldly losses and physical death  
can take nothing away from the truth and
 the greatness of our soul4  ,the chick 
knows when it breaks through the        
self-centered isolation of its egg that 
the hard shell which covered it so long 
was not really a part of its life4      
,that shell is a dead thing1 it has no  

growth1 it affords no glimpse whatever  
of the vast beyond that lies outside it4
  ,however pleasantly perfect and       
rounded it may be1 it must be given a   
blow to1 it must be burst through and   
thereby the freedom of light and air be 
won1 and the complete purpose of bird   
life be achieved4  ,in ,sanskrit1 the   
bird has been called the twice-born4    
,so too the man who has gone through the
 ceremony of the discipline of          
self-restraint and high thinking for a  
period of at least twelve years2 who has
 come out simple in wants1 pure in      
heart1 and ready to take up all the     
responsibilities of life in a           
disinterested largeness of spirit4 ,he  
is considered to have had his rebirth   
from the blind envelopment of self to   
the freedom of soul life2 to have come  
into living relation with his           
surroundings2 to have become at one with
 the ,all4  ,i have already warned my   
hearers1 and must once more warn them   
against the idea that the teachers of   

,india preached a renunciation of the   
world and of self which leads only to   
the blank emptiness of negation4  ,their
 aim was the realisation of the soul1   
or1 in other words1 gaining the world in
 perfect truth4 ,when ,jesus said1      
,blessed are the meek1 for they shall   
inherit the earth1 he meant this4  ,he  
proclaimed the truth that when man gets 
rid of his pride of self then he comes  
into his true inheritance4  ,no more has
 he to fight his way into his position  
in the world2 it is secure for him      
everywhere by the immortal right of his 
soul4  ,pride of self interferes with   
the proper function of the soul which is
 to realise itself by perfecting its    
union with the world and the world's    
,god4  ,in his sermon to ,sdhu ,simha   
,buddha says1 ,it is true1 ,simha1 that 
,i denounce activities1 but only the    
activities that lead to the evil in     
words1 thoughts1 or deeds4  ,it is true1
 ,simha1 that ,i preach extinction1 but 
only the extinction of pride1 lust1 evil

 thought1 and ignorance1 not that of    
forgiveness1 love1 charity1 and truth4  
,the doctrine of deliverance that       
,buddha preached was the freedom from   
the thraldom of ,avidy4  ,avidy is the  
ignorance that darkens our              
consciousness1 and tends to limit it    
within the boundaries of our personal   
self4  ,it is this ,avidy1 this         
ignorance1 this limiting of             
consciousness that creates the hard     
separateness of the ego1 and thus       
becomes the source of all pride and     
greed and cruelty incidental to         
self-seeking4  ,when a man sleeps he is 
shut up within the narrow activities of 
his physical life4  ,he lives1 but he   
knows not the varied relations of his   
life to his surroundings1--therefore he 
knows not himself4  ,so when a man lives
 the life of ,avidy he is confined      
within his self4  ,it is a spiritual    
sleep2 his consciousness is not fully   
awake to the highest reality that       
surrounds him1 therefore he knows not   

the reality of his own soul4  ,when he  
attains ,bodhi1 i4e4 the awakenment from
 the sleep of self to the perfection of 
consciousness1 he becomes ,buddha4      
,once ,i met two ascetics of a certain  
religious sect in a village of ,bengal4 
,can you tell me1 ,i asked them1 wherein
 lies the special features of your      
religion8  ,one of them hesitated for a 
moment and answered1 ,it is difficult to
 define that4  ,the other said1 ,no1 it 
is quite simple4  ,we hold that we have 
first of all to know our own soul under 
the guidance of our spiritual teacher1  
and when we have done that we can find  
him1 who is the ,supreme ,soul1 within  
us4  ,why don't you preach your doctrine
 to all the people of the world8 ,i     
asked4  ,whoever feels thirsty will of  
himself come to the river1 was his      
reply4  ,but then1 do you find it so8   
,are they coming8  ,the man gave a      
gentle smile1 and with an assurance     
which had not the least tinge of        
impatience or anxiety1 he said1 ,they   

must come1 one and all4  ,yes1 he is    
right1 this simple ascetic of rural     
,bengal4  ,man is indeed abroad to      
satisfy needs which are more to him than
 food and clothing4  ,he is out to find 
himself4  ,man's history is the history 
of his journey to the unknown in quest  
of the realisation of his immortal      
self--his soul4  ,through the rise and  
fall of empires2 through the building up
 gigantic piles of wealth and the       
ruthless scattering of them upon the    
dust2 through the creation of vast      
bodies of symbols that give shape to his
 dreams and aspirations1 and the casting
 of them away like the playthings of an 
outworn infancy2 through his forging of 
magic keys with which to unlock the     
mysteries of creation1 and through his  
throwing away of this labour of ages to 
go back to his workshop and work up     
afresh some new form2 yes1 through it   
all man is marching from epoch to epoch 
towards the fullest realisation of his  
soul1--the soul which is greater than   

the things man accumulates1 the deeds he
 accomplishes1 the theories he builds2  
the soul whose onward course is never   
checked by death or dissolution4  ,man's
 mistakes and failures have by no means 
been trifling or small1 they have strewn
 his path with colossal ruins2 his      
sufferings have been immense1 like      
birth-pangs for a giant child2 they are 
the prelude of a fulfilment whose scope 
is infinite4  ,man has gone through and 
is still undergoing martyrdoms in       
various ways1 and his institutions are  
the altars he has built whereto he      
brings his daily sacrifices1 marvellous 
in kind and stupendous in quantity4 ,all
 this would be absolutely unmeaning and 
unbearable if all along he did not feel 
that deepest joy of the soul within him1
 which tries its divine strength by     
suffering and proves its exhaustless    
riches by renunciation4  ,yes1 they are 
coming1 the pilgrims1 one and           
all--coming to their true inheritance of
 the world2 they are ever broadening    

their consciousness1 ever seeking a     
higher and higher unity1 ever           
approaching nearer to the one central   
,truth which is all-comprehensive4      
,man's poverty is abysmal1 his wants are
 endless till he becomes truly conscious
 of his soul4  ,till then1 the world to 
him is in a state of continual flux-- a 
phantasm that is and is not4  ,for a man
 who has realised his soul there is a   
determinate centre of the universe      
around which all else can find its      
proper place1 and from thence only can  
he draw and enjoy the blessedness of a  
harmonious life4  ,there was a time when
 the earth was only a nebulous mass     
whose particles were scattered far apart
 through the expanding force of heat2   
when she had not yet attained her       
definiteness of form and had neither    
beauty nor purpose1 but only heat and   
motion4 ,gradually1 when her vapours    
were condensed into a unified rounded   
whole through a force that strove to    
bring all straggling matters under the  

control of a centre1 she occupied her   
proper place among the planets of the   
solar system1 like an emerald pendant in
 a necklace of diamonds4  ,so with our  
soul4  ,when the heat and motion of     
blind impulses and passions distract it 
on all sides1 we can neither give nor   
receive anything truly4  ,but when we   
find our centre in our soul by the power
 of self-restraint1 by the force that   
harmonises all warring elements and     
unifies those that are apart1 then all  
our isolated impressions reduce         
themselves to wisdom1 and all our       
momentary impulses of heart find their  
completion in love2 then all the petty  
details of our life reveal an infinite  
purpose1 and all our thoughts and deeds 
unite themselves inseparably in an      
internal harmony4  ,the ,upanishads say 
with great emphasis1 ,know thou the     
,one1 the ,soul4  ,footnote3 ,tamvaikam 
jnatha tmnam4  ,it is the bridge leading
 to the immortal being4  ,footnote3     
,amritasyaisha stuh4  ,this is the      

ultimate end of man1 to find the ,one   
which is in him2 which is his truth1    
which is his soul2 the key with which he
 opens the gate of the spiritual life1  
the heavenly kingdom4  ,his desires are 
many1 and madly they run after the      
varied objects of the world1 for therein
 they have their life and fulfilment4   
,but that which is one in him is ever   
seeking for unity--unity in knowledge1  
unity in love1 unity in purposes of     
will2 its highest joy is when it reaches
 the infinite one within its eternal    
unity4 ,hence the saying of the         
,upanishad1 ,only those of tranquil     
minds1 and none else1 can attain abiding
 joy1 by realising within their souls   
the ,being who manifests one essence in 
a multiplicity of forms4  ,footnote3 kam
 rpam bahudh yah karti 99 99 tam        
tmastham y anupayanti dhrh1 tshm sukham 
vatam ntarshm4  ,transcriber's note3    
,the above footnote contains the 99 mark
 in the original printed version4  ,this
 has been retained as is4  ,through all 

the diversities of the world the one in 
us is threading its course towards the  
one in all2 this is its nature and this 
is its joy4  ,but by that devious path  
it could never reach its goal if it had 
not a light of its own by which it could
 catch the sight of what it was seeking 
in a flash4  ,the vision of the ,supreme
 ,one in our own soul is a direct and   
immediate intuition1 not based on any   
ratiocination or demonstration at all4  
,our eyes naturally see an object as a  
whole1 not by breaking it up into parts1
 but by bringing all the parts together 
into a unity with ourselves4  ,so with  
the intuition of our                    
,soul-consciousness1 which naturally and
 totally realises its unity in the      
,supreme ,one4  ,says the ,upanishad3   
,this deity who is manifesting himself  
in the activities of the universe always
 dwells in the heart of man as the      
supreme soul4  ,those who realise him   
through the immediate perception of the 
heart attain immortality4  ,footnote3   

sha dv vishvakarm mahtm sad jannm hriday
 sannivishtah4 ,hrid mansha             
manasbhiklript ya tad viduramritst      
bhavanti4  ,he is ,vishvakarma2 that is1
 in a multiplicity of forms and forces  
lies his outward manifestation in       
nature2 but his inner manifestation in  
our soul is that which exists in unity4 
,our pursuit of truth in the domain of  
nature therefore is through analysis and
 the gradual methods of science1 but our
 apprehension of truth in our soul is   
immediate and through direct intuition4 
,we cannot attain the supreme soul by   
successive additions of knowledge       
acquired bit by bit even through all    
eternity1 because he is one1 he is not  
made up of parts2 we can only know him  
as heart of our hearts and soul of our  
soul2 we can only know him in the love  
and joy we feel when we give up our self
 and stand before him face to face4     
,the deepest and the most earnest prayer
 that has ever risen from the human     
heart has been uttered in our ancient   

tongue3 ,o thou self-revealing one1     
reveal thyself in me4  ,footnote3       
virvrmaydhi4  ,we are in misery because 
we are creatures of self--the self that 
is unyielding and narrow1 that reflects 
no light1 that is blind to the infinite4
  ,our self is loud with its own        
discordant clamour--it is not the tuned 
harp whose chords vibrate with the music
 of the eternal4  ,sighs of discontent  
and weariness of failure1 idle regrets  
for the past and anxieties for the      
future are troubling our shallow hearts 
because we have not found our souls1 and
 the self-revealing spirit has not been 
manifest within us4  ,hence our cry1 ,o 
thou awful one1 save me with thy smile  
of grace ever and evermore4  ,footnote3 
,rudra yat t dakshinam mukham tna mm phi
 nityam4  ,it is a stifling shroud of   
death1 this self-gratification1 this    
insatiable greed1 this pride of         
possession1 this insolent alienation of 
heart4 ,rudra1 ,o thou awful one1 rend  
this dark cover in twain and let the    

saving beam of thy smile of grace strike
 through this night of gloom and waken  
my soul4  ,from unreality lead me to the
 real1 from darkness to the light1 from 
death to immortality4  ,footnote3 ,asatm
 sadgamaya1 tamasm jytirgamaya1 mrityrma
 mritangamaya4  ,but how can one hope to
 have this prayer granted8  ,for        
infinite is the distance that lies      
between truth and untruth1 between death
 and deathlessness4  ,yet this          
measureless gulf is bridged in a moment 
when the self revealing one reveals     
himself in the soul4  ,there the miracle
 happens1 for there is the              
meeting-ground of the finite and        
infinite4  ,father1 completely sweep    
away all my sins6  ,footnote3           
,vishvnidva savitar duratni parsuva4    
,for in sin man takes part with the     
finite against the infinite that is in  
him4  ,it is the defeat of his soul by  
his self4  ,it is a perilously losing   
game1 in which man stakes his all to    
gain a part4  ,sin is the blurring of   

truth which clouds the purity of our    
consciousness4  ,in sin we lust after   
pleasures1 not because they are truly   
desirable1 but because the red light of 
our passions makes them appear          
desirable2 we long for things not       
because they are great in themselves1   
but because our greed exaggerates them  
and makes them appear great4  ,these    
exaggerations1 these falsifications of  
the perspective of things1 break the    
harmony of our life at every step2 we   
lose the true standard of values and are
 distracted by the false claims of the  
varied interests of life contending with
 one another4  ,it is this failure to   
bring all the elements of his nature    
under the unity and control of the      
,supreme ,one that makes man feel the   
pang of his separation from ,god and    
gives rise to the earnest prayer1 ,o    
,god1 ,o ,father1 completely sweep away 
all our sins4 ,footnote3 ,vishvni dva   
savitar duritni parsuva4  ,give unto us 
that which is good ,footnote3 ,yad      

bhadram tanna suva41 the good which is  
the daily bread of our souls4  ,in our  
pleasures we are confined to ourselves1 
in the good we are freed and we belong  
to all4  ,as the child in its mother's  
womb gets its sustenance through the    
union of its life with the larger life  
of its mother1 so our soul is nourished 
only through the good which is the      
recognition of its inner kinship1 the   
channel of its communication with the   
infinite by which it is surrounded and  
fed4  ,hence it is said1 ,blessed are   
they which do hunger and thirst after   
righteousness3 for they shall be filled4
  ,for righteousness is the divine food 
of the soul2 nothing but this can fill  
him1 can make him live the life of the  
infinite1 can help him in his growth    
towards the eternal4  ,we bow to thee   
from whom come the enjoyments of our    
life4  ,footnote3 ,namah sambhavya4  ,we
 bow also to thee from whom comes the   
good of our soul4  ,footnote3 ,namah    
ankaryacha4  ,we bow to thee who art    

good1 the highest good ,footnote3 ,namah
 ivyacha1 ivatarya cha41 in whom we are 
united with everything1 that is1 in     
peace and harmony1 in goodness and love4
  ,man's cry is to reach his fullest    
expression4  ,it is this desire for     
self-expression that leads him to seek  
wealth and power4  ,but he has to       
discover that accumulation is not       
realisation4  ,it is the inner light    
that reveals him1 not outer things4     
,when this light is lighted1 then in a  
moment he knows that ,man's highest     
revelation is ,god's own revelation in  
him4  ,and his cry is for this--the     
manifestation of his soul1 which is the 
manifestation of ,god in his soul4  ,man
 becomes perfect man1 he attains his    
fullest expression1 when his soul       
realises itself in the ,infinite being  
who is vih whose very essence is        
expression4  ,the real misery of man is 
in the fact that he has not fully come  
out1 that he is self-obscured1 lost in  
the midst of his own desires4  ,he      

cannot feel himself beyond his personal 
surroundings1 his greater self is       
blotted out1 his truth is unrealised4   
,the prayer that rises up from his whole
 being is therefore1 ,thou1 who art the 
spirit of manifestation1 manifest       
thyself in me4  ,footnote3 virvrmaydhi4 
,this longing for the perfect expression
 of his self is more deeply inherent in 
man than his hunger and thirst for      
bodily sustenance1 his lust for wealth  
and distinction4  ,this prayer is not   
merely one born individually of him2 it 
is in depth of all things1 it is the    
ceaseless urging in him of the vih1 of  
the spirit of eternal manifestation4    
,the revealment of the infinite in the  
finite1 which is the motive of all      
creation1 is not seen in its perfection 
in the starry heavens1 in the beauty of 
flowers4  ,it is in the soul of man4    
,for there will seeks its manifestation 
in will1 and freedom turns to win its   
final prize in the freedom of surrender4
  ,therefore1 it is the self of man     

which the great ,king of the universe   
has not shadowed with his throne--he has
 left it free4 ,in his physical and     
mental organism1 where man is related   
with nature1 he has to acknowledge the  
rule of his ,king1 but in his self he is
 free to disown him4  ,there our ,god   
must win his entrance4  ,there he comes 
as a guest1 not as a king1 and therefore
 he has to wait till he is invited4  ,it
 is the man's self from which ,god has  
withdrawn his commands1 for there he    
comes to court our love4  ,his armed    
force1 the laws of nature1 stand outside
 its gate1 and only beauty1 the         
messenger of his love1 finds admission  
within its precincts4  ,it is only in   
this region of will that anarchy is     
permitted2 only in man's self that the  
discord of untruth and unrighteousness  
hold its reign2 and things can come to  
such a pass that we may cry out in our  
anguish1 ,such utter lawlessness could  
never prevail if there were a ,god6     
,indeed1 ,god has stood aside from our  

self1 where his watchful patience knows 
no bounds1 and where he never forces    
open the doors if shut against him4     
,for this self of ours has to attain its
 ultimate meaning1 which is the soul1   
not through the compulsion of ,god's    
power but through love1 and thus become 
united with ,god in freedom4  ,he whose 
spirit has been made one with ,god      
stands before man as the supreme flower 
of humanity4  ,there man finds in truth 
what he is2 for there the vih is        
revealed to him in the soul of man as   
the most perfect revelation for him of  
,god2 for there we see the union of the 
supreme will with our will1 our love    
with the love everlasting4  ,therefore1 
in our country he who truly loves ,god  
receives such homage from men as would  
be considered almost sacrilegious in the
 west4  ,we see in him ,god's wish      
fulfilled1 the most difficult of all    
obstacles to his revealment removed1 and
 ,god's own perfect joy fully blossoming
 in humanity4  ,through him we find the 

whole world of man overspread with a    
divine homeliness4  ,his life1 burning  
with ,god's love1 makes all our earthly 
love resplendent4 ,all the intimate     
associations of our life1 all its       
experience of pleasure and pain1 group  
themselves around this display of the   
divine love1 and from the drama that we 
witness in him4  ,the touch of an       
infinite mystery passes over the trivial
 and the familiar1 making it break out  
into ineffable music4  ,the trees and   
the stars and the blue hills appear to  
us as symbols aching with a meaning     
which can never be uttered in words4    
,we seem to watch the ,master in the    
very act of creation of a new world when
 a man's soul draws her heavy curtain of
 self aside1 when her veil is lifted and
 she is face to face with her eternal   
lover4  ,but what is this state8  ,it is
 like a morning of spring1 varied in its
 life and beauty1 yet one and entire4   
,when a man's life rescued from         
distractions finds its unity in the     

soul1 then the consciousness of the     
infinite becomes at once direct and     
natural to it as the light is to the    
flame4  ,all the conflicts and          
contradictions of life are reconciled2  
knowledge1 love and action harmonized2  
pleasure and pain become one in beauty1 
enjoyment and renunciation equal in     
goodness2 the breach between the finite 
and the infinite fills with love and    
overflows2 every moment carries its     
message of the eternal2 the formless    
appears to us in the form of the flower1
 of the fruit2 the boundless takes us up
 in his arms as a father and walks by   
our side as a friend4  ,it is only the  
soul1 the ,one in man which by its very 
nature can overcome all limits1 and     
finds its affinity with the ,supreme    
,one4 ,while yet we have not attained   
the internal harmony1 and the wholeness 
of our being1 our life remains a life of
 habits4  ,the world still appears to us
 as a machine1 to be mastered where it  
is useful1 to be guarded against where  

it is dangerous1 and never to be known  
in its full fellowship with us1 alike in
 its physical nature and in its         
spiritual life and beauty4     ,,iii    
,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,evil   ,the      
question why there is evil in existence 
is the same as why there is             
imperfection1 or1 in other words1 why   
there is creation at all4  ,we must take
 it for granted that it could not be    
otherwise2 that creation must be        
imperfect1 must be gradual1 and that it 
is futile to ask the question1 ,why we  
are8  ,but this is the real question we 
ought to ask3 ,is this imperfection the 
final truth1 is evil absolute and       
ultimate8  ,the river has its           
boundaries1 its banks1 but is a river   
all banks8 or are the banks the final   
facts about the river8  ,do not these   
obstructions themselves give its water  
an onward motion8  ,the towing rope     
binds a boat1 but is the bondage its    
meaning8  ,does it not at the same time 
draw the boat forward8  ,the current of 

the world has its boundaries1 otherwise 
it could have no existence1 but its     
purpose is not shown in the boundaries  
which restrain it1 but in its movement1 
which is towards perfection4  ,the      
wonder is not that there should be      
obstacles and sufferings in this world1 
but that there should be law and order1 
beauty and joy1 goodness and love4  ,the
 idea of ,god that man has in his being 
is the wonder of all wonders4  ,he has  
felt in the depths of his life that what
 appears as imperfect is the            
manifestation of the perfect2 just as a 
man who has an ear for music realises   
the perfection of a song1 while in fact 
he is only listening to a succession of 
notes4  ,man has found out the great    
paradox that what is limited is not     
imprisoned within its limits2 it is ever
 moving1 and therewith shedding its     
finitude every moment4  ,in fact1       
imperfection is not a negation of       
perfectness2 finitude is not            
contradictory to infinity3 they are but 

completeness manifested in parts1       
infinity revealed within bounds4  ,pain1
 which is the feeling of our finiteness1
 is not a fixture in our life4  ,it is  
not an end in itself1 as joy is4  ,to   
meet with it is to know that it has no  
part in the true permanence of creation4
  ,it is what error is in our           
intellectual life4  ,to go through the  
history of the development of science is
 to go through the maze of mistakes it  
made current at different times4 ,yet no
 one really believes that science is the
 one perfect mode of disseminating      
mistakes4  ,the progressive             
ascertainment of truth is the important 
thing to remember in the history of     
science1 not its innumerable mistakes4  
,error1 by its nature1 cannot be        
stationary2 it cannot remain with truth2
 like a tramp1 it must quit its lodging 
as soon as it fails to pay its score to 
the full4  ,as in intellectual error1 so
 in evil of any other form1 its essence 
is impermanence1 for it cannot accord   

with the whole4 ,every moment it is     
being corrected by the totality of      
things and keeps changing its aspect4   
,we exaggerate its importance by        
imagining it as a standstill4  ,could we
 collect the statistics of the immense  
amount of death and putrefaction        
happening every moment in this earth1   
they would appal us4  ,but evil is ever 
moving2 with all its incalculable       
immensity it does not effectually clog  
the current of our life2 and we find    
that the earth1 water1 and air remain   
sweet and pure for living beings4 ,all  
statistics consist of our attempts to   
represent statistically what is in      
motion2 and in the process things assume
 a weight in our mind which they have   
not in reality4  ,for this reason a man1
 who by his profession is concerned with
 any particular aspect of life1 is apt  
to magnify its proportions2 in laying   
undue stress upon facts he loses his    
hold upon truth4  ,a detective may have 
the opportunity of studying crimes in   

detail1 but he loses his sense of their 
relative places in the whole social     
economy4  ,when science collects facts  
to illustrate the struggle for existence
 that is going on in the kingdom of     
life1 it raises a picture in our minds  
of nature red in tooth and claw4  ,but  
in these mental pictures we give a      
fixity to colours and forms which are   
really evanescent4  ,it is like         
calculating the weight of the air on    
each square inch of our body to prove   
that it must be crushingly heavy for us4
  ,with every weight1 however1 there is 
an adjustment1 and we lightly bear our  
burden4  ,with the struggle for         
existence in nature there is            
reciprocity4  ,there is the love for    
children and for comrades2 there is the 
sacrifice of self1 which springs from   
love2 and this love is the positive     
element in life4  ,if we kept the       
search-light of our observation turned  
upon the fact of death1 the world would 
appear to us like a huge charnel-house2 

but in the world of life the thought of 
death has1 we find1 the least possible  
hold upon our minds4  ,not because it is
 the least apparent1 but because it is  
the negative aspect of life2 just as1 in
 spite of the fact that we shut our     
eyelids every second1 it is the openings
 of the eye that count4  ,life as a     
whole never takes death seriously4  ,it 
laughs1 dances and plays1 it builds1    
hoards and loves in death's face4  ,only
 when we detach one individual fact of  
death do we see its blankness and become
 dismayed4  ,we lose sight of the       
wholeness of a life of which death is   
part4  ,it is like looking at a piece of
 cloth through a microscope4  ,it       
appears like a net2 we gaze at the big  
holes and shiver in imagination4  ,but  
the truth is1 death is not the ultimate 
reality4  ,it looks black1 as the sky   
looks blue2 but it does not blacken     
existence1 just as the sky does not     
leave its stain upon the wings of the   
bird4  ,when we watch a child trying to 

walk1 we see its countless failures2 its
 successes are but few4  ,if we had to  
limit our observation within a narrow   
space of time1 the sight would be cruel4
  ,but we find that in spite of its     
repeated failures there is an impetus of
 joy in the child which sustains it in  
its seemingly impossible task4  ,we see 
it does not think of its falls so much  
as of its power to keep its balance     
though for only a moment4  ,like these  
accidents in a child's attempts to walk1
 we meet with sufferings in various     
forms in our life every day1 showing the
 imperfections in our knowledge and our 
available power1 and in the application 
of our will4  ,but if these revealed our
 weakness to us only1 we should die of  
utter depression4  ,when we select for  
observation a limited area of our       
activities1 our individual failures and 
miseries loom large in our minds2 but   
our life leads us instinctively to take 
a wider view4  ,it gives us an ideal of 
perfection which ever carries us beyond 

our present limitations4 ,within us we  
have a hope which always walks in front 
of our present narrow experience2 it is 
the undying faith in the infinite in us2
 it will never accept any of our        
disabilities as a permanent fact2 it    
sets no limit to its own scope2 it dares
 to assert that man has oneness with    
,god2 and its wild dreams become true   
every day4  ,we see the truth when we   
set our mind towards the infinite4  ,the
 ideal of truth is not in the narrow    
present1 not in our immediate           
sensations1 but in the consciousness of 
the whole which give us a taste of what 
we should have in what we do have4      
,consciously or unconsciously we have in
 our life this feeling of ,truth which  
is ever larger than its appearance2 for 
our life is facing the infinite1 and it 
is in movement4  ,its aspiration is     
therefore infinitely more than its      
achievement1 and as it goes on it finds 
that no realisation of truth ever leaves
 it stranded on the desert of finality1 

but carries it to a region beyond4      
,evil cannot altogether arrest the      
course of life on the highway and rob it
 of its possessions4  ,for the evil has 
to pass on1 it has to grow into good2 it
 cannot stand and give battle to the    
,all4 ,if the least evil could stop     
anywhere indefinitely1 it would sink    
deep and cut into the very roots of     
existence4  ,as it is1 man does not     
really believe in evil1 just as he      
cannot believe that violin strings have 
been purposely made to create the       
exquisite torture of discordant notes1  
though by the aid of statistics it can  
be mathematically proved that the       
probability of discord is far greater   
than that of harmony1 and for one who   
can play the violin there are thousands 
who cannot4  ,the potentiality of       
perfection outweighs actual             
contradictions4  ,no doubt there have   
been people who asserted existence to be
 an absolute evil1 but man can never    
take them seriously4  ,their pessimism  

is a mere pose1 either intellectual or  
sentimental2 but life itself is         
optimistic3 it wants to go on4          
,pessimism is a form of mental          
dipsomania1 it disdains healthy         
nourishment1 indulges in the strong     
drink of denunciation1 and creates an   
artificial dejection which thirsts for a
 stronger draught4  ,if existence were  
an evil1 it would wait for no           
philosopher to prove it4  ,it is like   
convicting a man of suicide1 while all  
the time he stands before you in the    
flesh4  ,existence itself is here to    
prove that it cannot be an evil4  ,an   
imperfection which is not all           
imperfection1 but which has perfection  
for its ideal1 must go through a        
perpetual realisation4  ,thus1 it is the
 function of our intellect to realise   
the truth through untruths1 and         
knowledge is nothing but the continually
 burning up of error to set free the    
light of truth4  ,our will1 our         
character1 has to attain perfection by  

continually overcoming evils1 either    
inside or outside us1 or both2 our      
physical life is consuming bodily       
materials every moment to maintain the  
life fire2 and our moral life too has   
its fuel to burn4  ,this life process is
 going on--we know it1 we have felt it2 
and we have a faith which no individual 
instances to the contrary can shake1    
that the direction of humanity is from  
evil to good4  ,for we feel that good is
 the positive element in man's nature1  
and in every age and every clime what   
man values most is his ideals of        
goodness4  ,we have known the good1 we  
have loved it1 and we have paid our     
highest reverence to men who have shown 
in their lives what goodness is4  ,the  
question will be asked1 ,what is        
goodness2 what does our moral nature    
mean8  ,my answer is1 that when a man   
begins to have an extended vision of his
 self1 when he realises that he is much 
more than at present he seems to be1 he 
begins to get conscious of his moral    

nature4  ,then he grows aware of that   
which he is yet to be1 and the state not
 yet experienced by him becomes more    
real than that under his direct         
experience4  ,necessarily1 his          
perspective of life changes1 and his    
will takes the place of his wishes4     
,for will is the supreme wish of the    
larger life1 the life whose greater     
portion is out of our present reach1    
most of whose objects are not before our
 sight4  ,then comes the conflict of our
 lesser man with our greater man1 of our
 wishes with our will1 of the desire for
 things affecting our senses with the   
purpose that is within our heart4  ,then
 we begin to distinguish between what we
 immediately desire and what is good4   
,for good is that which is desirable for
 our greater self4  ,thus the sense of  
goodness comes out of a truer view of   
our life1 which is the connected view of
 the wholeness of the field of life1 and
 which takes into account not only what 
is present before us but what is not1   

and perhaps never humanly can be4  ,man1
 who is provident1 feels for that life  
of his which is not yet existent1 feels 
much more that than for the life that is
 with him2 therefore he is ready to     
sacrifice his present inclination for   
the unrealised future4  ,in this he     
becomes great1 for he realises truth4   
,even to be efficiently selfish one has 
to recognise this truth1 and has to curb
 his immediate impulses--in other words1
 has to be moral4  ,for our moral       
faculty is the faculty by which we know 
that life is not made up of fragments1  
purposeless and discontinuous4  ,this   
moral sense of man not only gives him   
the power to see that the self has a    
continuity in time1 but it also enables 
him to see that he is not true when he  
is only restricted to his own self4  ,he
 is more in truth than he is in fact4   
,he truly belongs to individuals who are
 not included in his own individuality1 
and whom he is never even likely to     
know4  ,as he has a feeling for his     

future self which is outside his present
 consciousness1 so he has a feeling for 
his greater self which is outside the   
limits of his personality4  ,there is no
 man who has not this feeling to some   
extent1 who has never sacrificed his    
selfish desire for the sake of some     
other person1 who has never felt a      
pleasure in undergoing some loss or     
trouble because it pleased somebody     
else4  ,it is a truth that man is not a 
detached being1 that he has a universal 
aspect2 and when he recognises this he  
becomes great4  ,even the most          
evilly-disposed selfishness has to      
recognise this when it seeks the power  
to do evil2 for it cannot ignore truth  
and yet be strong4  ,so in order to     
claim the aid of truth1 selfishness has 
to be unselfish to some extent4  ,a band
 of robbers must be moral in order to   
hold together as a band2 they may rob   
the whole world but not each other4  ,to
 make an immoral intention successful1  
some of its weapons must be moral4  ,in 

fact1 very often it is our very moral   
strength which gives us most effectively
 the power to do evil1 to exploit other 
individuals for our own benefit1 to rob 
other people of their rights4  ,the life
 of an animal is unmoral1 for it is     
aware only of an immediate present2 the 
life of a man can be immoral1 but that  
only means that it must have a moral    
basis4  ,what is immoral is imperfectly 
moral1 just as what is false is true to 
a small extent1 or it cannot even be    
false4  ,not to see is to be blind1 but 
to see wrongly is to see only in an     
imperfect manner4  ,man's selfishness is
 a beginning to see some connection1    
some purpose in life2 and to act in     
accordance with its dictates requires   
self-restraint and regulation of        
conduct4  ,a selfish man willingly      
undergoes troubles for the sake of the  
self1 he suffers hardship and privation 
without a murmur1 simply because he     
knows that what is pain and trouble1    
looked at from the point of view of a   

short space of time1 are just the       
opposite when seen in a larger          
perspective4  ,thus what is a loss to   
the smaller man is a gain to the        
greater1 and vice versa4  ,to the man   
who lives for an idea1 for his country1 
for the good of humanity1 life has an   
extensive meaning1 and to that extent   
pain becomes less important to him4  ,to
 live the life of goodness is to live   
the life of all4  ,pleasure is for one's
 own self1 but goodness is concerned    
with the happiness of all humanity and  
for all time4  ,from the point of view  
of the good1 pleasure and pain appear in
 a different meaning2 so much so1 that  
pleasure may be shunned1 and pain be    
courted in its place1 and death itself  
be made welcome as giving a higher value
 to life4  ,from these higher           
standpoints of a man's life1 the        
standpoints of the good1 pleasure and   
pain lose their absolute value4         
,martyrs prove it in history1 and we    
prove it every day in our life in our   

little martyrdoms4  ,when we take a     
pitcherful of water from the sea it has 
its weight1 but when we take a dip into 
the sea itself a thousand pitchersful of
 water flow above our head1 and we do   
not feel their weight4  ,we have to     
carry the pitcher of self with our      
strength2 and so1 while on the plane of 
selfishness pleasure and pain have their
 full weight1 on the moral plane they   
are so much lightened that the man who  
has reached it appears to us almost     
superhuman in his patience under        
crushing trails1 and his forbearance in 
the face of malignant persecution4  ,to 
live in perfect goodness is to realise  
one's life in the infinitive4  ,this is 
the most comprehensive view of life     
which we can have by our inherent power 
of the moral vision of the wholeness of 
life4  ,and the teaching of ,buddha is  
to cultivate this moral power to the    
highest extent1 to know that our field  
of activities is not bound to the plane 
of our narrow self4  ,this is the vision

 of the heavenly kingdom of ,christ4    
,when we attain to that universal life1 
which is the moral life1 we become freed
 from the bonds of pleasure and pain1   
and the place vacated by our self       
becomes filled with an unspeakable joy  
which springs from measureless love4    
,in this state the soul's activity is   
all the more heightened1 only its motive
 power is not from desires1 but in its  
own joy4  ,this is the ,karma-yoga of   
the ,gita1 the way to become one with   
the infinite activity by the exercise of
 the activity of disinterested goodness4
  ,when ,buddha mentioned upon the way  
of realising mankind from the grip of   
misery he came to this truth3 that when 
man attains his highest end by merging  
the individual in the universal1 he     
becomes free from the thraldom of pain4 
,let us consider this point more fully4 
,a student of mine once related to me   
his adventure in a storm1 and complained
 that all the time he was troubled with 
the feeling that this great commotion in

 nature behaved to him as if he were no 
more than a mere handful of dust4  ,that
 he was a distinct personality with a   
will of his own had not the least       
influence upon what was happening4  ,i  
said1 ,if consideration for our         
individuality could sway nature from her
 path1 then it would be the individuals 
who would suffer most4  ,but he         
persisted in his doubt1 saying that     
there was this fact which could not be  
ignored--the feeling that ,i am4  ,the  
,i in us seeks for a relation which is  
individual to it4  ,i replied that the  
relation of the ,i is with something    
which is not-,i4  ,so we must have a    
medium which is common to both1 and we  
must be absolutely certain that it is   
the same to the ,i as it is to the      
not-,i4  ,this is what needs repeating  
here4  ,we have to keep in mind that our
 individuality by its nature is impelled
 to seek for the universal4  ,our body  
can only die if it tries to eat its own 
substance1 and our eye loses the meaning

 of its function if it can only see     
itself4  ,just as we find that the      
stronger the imagination the less is it 
merely imaginary and the more is it in  
harmony with truth1 so we see the more  
vigorous our individuality the more does
 it widen towards the universal4  ,for  
the greatness of a personality is not in
 itself but in its content1 which is    
universal1 just as the depth of a lake  
is judged not by the size of its cavity 
but by the depth of its water4  ,so1 if 
it is a truth that the yearning of our  
nature is for reality1 and that our     
personality cannot be happy with a      
fantastic universe of its own creation1 
then it is clearly best for it that our 
will can only deal with things by       
following their law1 and cannot do with 
them just as it pleases4  ,this         
unyielding sureness of reality sometimes
 crosses our will1 and very often leads 
us to disaster1 just as the firmness of 
the earth invariably hurts the falling  
child who is learning to walk4          

,nevertheless it is the same firmness   
that hurts him which makes his walking  
possible4  ,once1 while passing under a 
bridge1 the mast of my boat got stuck in
 one of its girders4  ,if only for a    
moment the mast would have bent an inch 
or two1 or the bridge raised its back   
like a yawning cat1 or the river given  
in1 it would have been all right with   
me4  ,but they took no notice of my     
helplessness4  ,that is the very reason 
why ,i could make use of the river1 and 
sail upon it with the help of the mast1 
and that is why1 when its current was   
inconvenient1 ,i could rely upon the    
bridge4  ,things are what they are1 and 
we have to know them if we would deal   
with them1 and knowledge of them is     
possible because our wish is not their  
law4  ,this knowledge is a joy to us1   
for the knowledge is one of the channels
 of our relation with the things outside
 us2 it is making them our own1 and thus
 widening the limit of our self4  ,at   
every step we have to take into account 

others than ourselves4 ,for only in     
death are we alone4  ,a poet is a true  
poet when he can make his personal idea 
joyful to all men1 which he could not do
 if he had not a medium common to all   
his audience4  ,this common language has
 its own law which the poet must        
discover and follow1 by doing which he  
becomes true and attains poetical       
immortality4  ,we see then that man's   
individuality is not his highest truth2 
there is that in him which is universal4
  ,if he were made to live in a world   
where his own self was the only factor  
to consider1 then that would be the     
worst prison imaginable to him1 for     
man's deepest joy is in growing greater 
and greater by more and more union with 
the all4  ,this1 as we have seen1 would 
be an impossibility if there were no law
 common to all4  ,only by discovering   
the law and following it1 do we become  
great1 do we realise the universal2     
while1 so long as our individual desires
 are at conflict with the universal law1

 we suffer pain and are futile4  ,there 
was a time when we prayed for special   
concessions1 we expected that the laws  
of nature should be held in abeyance for
 our own convenience4  ,but now we know 
better4  ,we know that law cannot be set
 aside1 and in this knowledge we have   
become strong4 ,for this law is not     
something apart from us2 it is our own4 
,the universal power which is manifested
 in the universal law is one with our   
own power4  ,it will thwart us where we 
are small1 where we are against the     
current of things2 but it will help us  
where we are great1 where we are in     
unison with the all4  ,thus1 through the
 help of science1 as we come to know    
more of the laws of nature1 we gain in  
power2 we tend to attain a universal    
body4 ,our organ of sight1 our organ of 
locomotion1 our physical strength       
becomes world-wide2 steam and           
electricity become our nerve and muscle4
  ,thus we find that1 just as throughout
 our bodily organisation there is a     

principle of relation by virtue of which
 we can call the entire body our own1   
and can use it as such1 so all through  
the universe there is that principle of 
uninterrupted relation by virtue of     
which we can call the whole world our   
extended body and use it accordingly4   
,and in this age of science it is our   
endeavour fully to establish our claim  
to our world-self4  ,we know all our    
poverty and sufferings are owing to our 
inability to realise this legitimate    
claim of ours4 ,really1 there is no     
limit to our powers1 for we are not     
outside the universal power which is the
 expression of universal law4  ,we are  
on our way to overcome disease and      
death1 to conquer pain and poverty2 for 
through scientific knowledge we are ever
 on our way to realise the universal in 
its physical aspect4  ,and as we make   
progress we find that pain1 disease1 and
 poverty of power are not absolute1 but 
that is only the want of adjustment of  
our individual self to our universal    

self which gives rise to them4  ,it is  
the same with our spiritual life4  ,when
 the individual man in us chafes against
 the lawful rule of the universal man we
 become morally small1 and we must      
suffer4  ,in such a condition our       
successes are our greatest failures1 and
 the very fulfilment of our desires     
leaves us poorer4  ,we hanker after     
special gains for ourselves1 we want to 
enjoy privileges which none else can    
share with us4  ,but everything that is 
absolutely special must keep up a       
perpetual warfare with what is general4 
,in such a state of civil war man always
 lives behind barricades1 and in any    
civilisation which is selfish our homes 
are not real homes1 but artificial      
barriers around us4  ,yet we complain   
that we are not happy1 as if there were 
something inherent in the nature of     
things to make us miserable4  ,the      
universal spirit is waiting to crown us 
with happiness1 but our individual      
spirit would not accept it4  ,it is our 

life of the self that causes conflicts  
and complications everywhere1 upsets the
 normal balance of society and gives    
rise to miseries of all kinds4  ,it     
brings things to such a pass that to    
maintain order we have to create        
artificial coercions and organised forms
 of tyranny1 and tolerate infernal      
institutions in our midst1 whereby at   
every moment humanity is humiliated4    
,we have seen that in order to be       
powerful we have to submit to the laws  
of the universal forces1 and to realise 
in practice that they are our own4  ,so1
 in order to be happy1 we have to submit
 our individual will to the sovereignty 
of the universal will1 and to feel in   
truth that it is our own will4  ,when we
 reach that state wherein the adjustment
 of the finite in us to the infinite is 
made perfect1 then pain itself becomes a
 valuable asset4  ,it becomes a         
measuring rod with which to gauge the   
true value of our joy4  ,the most       
important lesson that man can learn from

 his life is not that there is pain in  
this world1 but that it depends upon him
 to turn it into good account1 that it  
is possible for him to transmute it into
 joy4  ,the lesson has not been lost    
altogether to us1 and there is no man   
living who would willingly be deprived  
of his right to suffer pain1 for that is
 his right to be a man4 ,one day the    
wife of a poor labourer complained      
bitterly to me that her eldest boy was  
going to be sent away to a rich         
relative's house for part of the year4  
,it was the implied kind intention of   
trying to relieve her of her trouble    
that gave her the shock1 for a mother's 
trouble is a mother's own by her        
inalienable right of love1 and she was  
not going to surrender it to any        
dictates of expediency4  ,man's freedom 
is never in being saved troubles1 but it
 is the freedom to take trouble for his 
own good1 to make the trouble an element
 in his joy4  ,it can be made so only   
when we realise that our individual self

 is not the highest meaning of our      
being1 that in us we have the world-man 
who is immortal1 who is not afraid of   
death or sufferings1 and who looks upon 
pain as only the other side of joy4  ,he
 who has realised this knows that it is 
pain which is our true wealth as        
imperfect beings1 and has made us great 
and worthy to take our seat with the    
perfect4  ,he knows that we are not     
beggars2 that it is the hard coin which 
must be paid for everything valuable in 
this life1 for our power1 our wisdom1   
our love2 that in pain is symbolised the
 infinite possibility of perfection1 the
 eternal unfolding of joy2 and the man  
who loses all pleasure in accepting pain
 sinks down and down to the lowest depth
 of penury and degradation4  ,it is only
 when we invoke the aid of pain for our 
self-gratification that she becomes evil
 and takes her vengeance for the insult 
done to her by hurling us into misery4  
,for she is the vestal virgin           
consecrated to the service of the       

immortal perfection1 and when she takes 
her true place before the altar of the  
infinite she casts off her dark veil and
 bares her face to the beholder as a    
revelation of supreme joy4     ,,iv     
,,the ,,problem ,,of ,,self   ,at one   
pole of my being ,i am one with stocks  
and stones4  ,there ,i have to          
acknowledge the rule of universal law4  
,that is where the foundation of my     
existence lies1 deep down below4  ,its  
strength lies in its being held firm in 
the clasp of comprehensive world1 and in
 the fullness of its community with all 
things4  ,but at the other pole of my   
being ,i am separate from all4  ,there  
,i have broken through the cordon of    
equality and stand alone as an          
individual4  ,i am absolutely unique1 ,i
 am ,i1 ,i am incomparable4  ,the whole 
weight of the universe cannot crush out 
this individuality of mine4  ,i maintain
 it in spite of the tremendous          
gravitation of all things4  ,it is small
 in appearance but great in reality4    

,for it holds its own against the forces
 that would rob it of its distinction   
and make it one with the dust4  ,this is
 the superstructure of the self which   
rises from the indeterminate depth and  
darkness of its foundation into the     
open1 proud of its isolation1 proud of  
having given shape to a single          
individual idea of the architect's which
 has no duplicate in the whole universe4
  ,if this individuality be demolished1 
then though no material be lost1 not an 
atom destroyed1 the creative joy which  
was crystallised therein is gone4  ,we  
are absolutely bankrupt if we are       
deprived of this specialty1 this        
individuality1 which is the only thing  
we can call our own2 and which1 if lost1
 is also a loss to the whole world4  ,it
 is most valuable because it is not     
universal4  ,and therefore only through 
it can we gain the universe more truly  
than if we were lying within its breast 
unconscious of our distinctiveness4     
,the universal is ever seeking its      

consummation in the unique4  ,and the   
desire we have to keep our uniqueness   
intact is really the desire of the      
universe acting in us4  ,it is our joy  
of the infinite in us that gives us our 
joy in ourselves4  ,that this           
separateness of self is considered by   
man as his most precious possession is  
proved by the sufferings he undergoes   
and the sins he commits for its sake4   
,but the consciousness of separation has
 come from the eating of the fruit of   
knowledge4 ,it has led man to shame and 
crime and death2 yet it is dearer to him
 than any paradise where the self lies1 
securely slumbering in perfect innocence
 in the womb of mother nature4  ,it is a
 constant striving and suffering for us 
to maintain the separateness of this    
self of ours4  ,and in fact it is this  
suffering which measures its value4     
,one side of the value is sacrifice1    
which represents how much the cost has  
been4  ,the other side of it is the     
attainment1 which represents how much   

has been gained4  ,if the self meant    
nothing to us but pain and sacrifice1 it
 could have no value for us1 and on no  
account would we willingly undergo such 
sacrifice4  ,in such case there could be
 no doubt at all that the highest object
 of humanity would be the annihilation  
of self4  ,but if there is a            
corresponding gain1 if it does not end  
in a void but in a fullness1 then it is 
clear that its negative qualities1 its  
very sufferings and sacrifices1 make it 
all the more precious4  ,that it is so  
has been proved by those who have       
realised the positive significance of   
self1 and have accepted its             
responsibilities with eagerness and     
undergone sacrifices without flinching4 
,with the foregoing introduction it will
 be easy for me to answer the question  
once asked by one of my audience as to  
whether the annihilation of self has not
 been held by ,india as the supreme goal
 of humanity8  ,in the first place we   
must keep in mind the fact that man is  

never literal in the expression of his  
ideas1 except in matters most trivial4  
,very often man's words are not a       
language at all1 but merely a vocal     
gesture of the dumb4  ,they may         
indicate1 but do not express his        
thoughts4  ,the more vital his thoughts 
the more have his words to be explained 
by the context of his life4 ,those who  
seek to know his meaning by the aid of  
the dictionary only technically reach   
the house1 for they are stopped by the  
outside wall and find no entrance to the
 hall4  ,this is the reason why the     
teachings of our greatest prophets give 
rise to endless disputations when we try
 to understand them by following their  
words and not be realising them in our  
own lives4  ,the men who are cursed with
 the gift of the literal mind are the   
unfortunate ones who are always busy    
with their nets and neglect the fishing4
  ,it is not only in ,buddhism and the  
,indian religions1 but in ,christianity 
too1 that the ideal of selflessness is  

preached with all fervour4  ,in the last
 the symbol of death has been used for  
expressing the idea of man's deliverance
 from the life which is not true4  ,this
 is the same as ,nirvnna1 the symbol of 
the extinction of the lamp4  ,in the    
typical thought of ,india it is held    
that the true deliverance of man is the 
deliverance from avidy1 from ignorance4 
,it is not in destroying anything that  
is positive and real1 for that cannot be
 possible1 but that which is negative1  
which obstructs our vision of truth4    
,when this obstruction1 which is        
ignorance1 is removed1 then only is the 
eyelid drawn up which is no loss to the 
eye4  ,it is our ignorance which makes  
us think that our self1 as self1 is     
real1 that it has its complete meaning  
in itself4  ,when we take that wrong    
view of self then we try to live in such
 a manner as to make self the ultimate  
object of our life4  ,then we are doomed
 to disappointment like the man who     
tries to reach his destination by firmly

 clutching the dust of the road4  ,our  
self has no means of holding us1 for its
 own nature is to pass on2 and by       
clinging to this thread of self which is
 passing through the loom of life we    
cannot make it serve the purpose of the 
cloth into which it is being woven4     
,when a man1 with elaborate care1       
arranges for an enjoyment of the self1  
he lights a fire but has no dough to    
make his bread with2 the fire flares up 
and consumes itself to extinction1 like 
an unnatural beast that eats its own    
progeny and dies4  ,in an unknown       
language the words are tyrannically     
prominent4 ,they stop us but say        
nothing4  ,to be rescued from this      
fetter of words we must rid ourselves of
 the avidy1 our ignorance1 and then our 
mind will find its freedom in the inner 
idea4  ,but it would be foolish to say  
that our ignorance of the language can  
be dispelled only by the destruction of 
the words4  ,no1 when the perfect       
knowledge comes1 every word remains in  

its place1 only they do not bind us to  
themselves1 but let us pass through them
 and lead us to the idea which is       
emancipation4  ,thus it is only avidy   
which makes the self our fetter by      
making us think that it is an end in    
itself1 and by preventing our seeing    
that it contains the idea that          
transcends its limits4 ,that is why the 
wise man comes and says1 ,set yourselves
 free from the avidy2 know your true    
soul and be saved from the grasp of the 
self which imprisons you4  ,we gain our 
freedom when we attain our truest       
nature4  ,the man who is an artist finds
 his artistic freedom when he finds his 
ideal of art4  ,then is he freed from   
laborious attempts at imitation1 from   
the goadings of popular approbation4    
,it is the function of religion not to  
destroy our nature but to fulfil it4    
,the ,sanskrit word dharma which is     
usually translated into ,english as     
religion has a deeper meaning in our    
language4 ,dharma is the innermost      

nature1 the essence1 the implicit truth1
 of all things4  ,dharma is the ultimate
 purpose that is working in our self4   
,when any wrong is done we say that     
dharma is violated1 meaning that the lie
 has been given to our true nature4     
,but this dharma1 which is the truth in 
us1 is not apparent1 because it is      
inherent4  ,so much so1 that it has been
 held that sinfulness is the nature of  
man1 and only by the special grace of   
,god can a particular person be saved4  
,this is like saying that the nature of 
the seed is to remain enfolded within   
its shell1 and it is only by some       
special miracle that it can be grown    
into a tree4  ,but do we not know that  
the appearance of the seed contradicts  
its true nature8  ,when you submit it to
 chemical analysis you may find in it   
carbon and proteid and a good many other
 things1 but not the idea of a branching
 tree4 ,only when the tree begins to    
take shape do you come to see its       
dharma1 and then you can affirm without 

doubt that the seed which has been      
wasted and allowed to rot in the ground 
has been thwarted in its dharma1 in the 
fulfilment of its true nature4 ,in the  
history of humanity we have known the   
living seed in us to sprout4  ,we have  
seen the great purpose in us taking     
shape in the lives of our greatest men1 
and have felt certain that though there 
are numerous individual lives that seem 
ineffectual1 still it is not their      
dharma to remain barren2 but it is for  
them to burst their cover and transform 
themselves into a vigorous spiritual    
shoot1 growing up into the air and      
light1 and branching out in all         
directions4  ,the freedom of the seed is
 in the attainment of its dharma1 its   
nature and destiny of becoming a tree2  
it is the non-accomplishment which is   
its prison4  ,the sacrifice by which a  
thing attains its fulfilment is not a   
sacrifice which ends in death2 it is the
 casting-off of bonds which wins        
freedom4  ,when we know the highest     

ideal of freedom which a man has1 we    
know his dharma1 the essence of his     
nature1 the real meaning of his self4   
,at first sight it seems that man counts
 that as freedom by which he gets       
unbounded opportunities of self         
gratification and self-aggrandisement4  
,but surely this is not borne out by    
history4  ,our revelatory men have      
always been those who have lived the    
life of self-sacrifice4  ,the higher    
nature in man always seeks for something
 which transcends itself and yet is its 
deepest truth2 which claims all its     
sacrifice1 yet makes this sacrifice its 
own recompense4  ,this is man's dharma1 
man's religion1 and man's self is the   
vessel which is to carry this sacrifice 
to the altar4  ,we can look at our self 
in its two different aspects4  ,the self
 which displays itself1 and the self    
which transcends itself and thereby     
reveals its own meaning4  ,to display   
itself it tries to be big1 to stand upon
 the pedestal of its accumulations1 and 

to retain everything to itself4  ,to    
reveal itself it gives up everything it 
has2 thus becoming perfect like a flower
 that has blossomed out from the bud1   
pouring from its chalice of beauty all  
its sweetness4  ,the lamp contains its  
oil1 which it holds securely in its     
close grasp and guards from the least   
loss4  ,thus is it separate from all    
other objects around it and is miserly4 
,but when lighted it finds its meaning  
at once2 its relation with all things   
far and near is established1 and it     
freely sacrifices its fund of oil to    
feed the flame4  ,such a lamp is our    
self4  ,so long as it hoards its        
possessions it keeps itself dark1 its   
conduct contradicts its true purpose4   
,when it finds illumination it forgets  
itself in a moment1 holds the light     
high1 and serves it with everything it  
has2 for therein is its revelation4     
,this revelation is the freedom which   
,buddha preached4  ,he asked the lamp to
 give up its oil4  ,but purposeless     

giving up is a still darker poverty     
which he never could have meant4  ,the  
lamp must give up its oil to the light  
and thus set free the purpose it has in 
its hoarding4  ,this is emancipation4   
,the path ,buddha pointed out was not   
merely the practice of self-abnegation1 
but the widening of love4  ,and therein 
lies the true meaning of ,buddha's      
preaching4  ,when we find that the state
 of ,nirvna preached by ,buddha is      
through love1 then we know for certain  
that ,nirvna is the highest culmination 
of love4  ,for love is an end unto      
itself4 ,everything else raises the     
question ,why8 in our mind1 and we      
require a reason for it4  ,but when we  
say1 ,i love1 then there is no room for 
the why2 it is the final answer in      
itself4  ,doubtless1 even selfishness   
impels one to give away4  ,but the      
selfish man does it on compulsion4      
,that is like plucking fruit when it is 
unripe2 you have to tear it from the    
tree and bruise the branch4  ,but when a

 man loves1 giving becomes a matter of  
joy to him1 like the tree's surrender of
 the ripe fruit4  ,all our belongings   
assume a weight by the ceaseless        
gravitation of our selfish desires2 we  
cannot easily cast them away from us4   
,they seem to belong to our very nature1
 to stick to us as a second skin1 and we
 bleed as we detach them4  ,but when we 
are possessed by love1 its force acts in
 the opposite direction4  ,the things   
that closely adhered to us lose their   
adhesion and weight1 and we find that   
they are not of us4  ,far from being a  
loss to give them away1 we find in that 
the fulfilment of our being4  ,thus we  
find in perfect love the freedom of our 
self4  ,that only which is done for love
 is done freely1 however much pain it   
may cause4  ,therefore working for love 
is freedom in action4  ,this is the     
meaning of the teaching of disinterested
 work in the ,gta4  ,the ,gta says      
action we must have1 for only in action 
do we manifest our nature4  ,but this   

manifestation is not perfect so long as 
our action is not free4  ,in fact1 our  
nature is obscured by work done by the  
compulsion of want or fear4  ,the mother
 reveals herself in the service of her  
children1 so our true freedom is not the
 freedom from action but freedom in     
action1 which can only be attained in   
the work of love4  ,god's manifestation 
is in his work of creation and it is    
said in the ,upanishad1 ,knowledge1     
power1 and action are of his nature     
,footnote3 ,svbhvik jnna bala kriycha42 
they are not imposed upon him from      
outside4  ,therefore his work is his    
freedom1 and in his creation he realises
 himself4  ,the same thing is said      
elsewhere in other words3 ,from joy does
 spring all this creation1 by joy is it 
maintained1 towards joy does it         
progress1 and into joy does it enter4   
,footnote3 nanddhyva khalvimni bhtni    
jyant1 nandna jtni jvanti1              
nandamprayantyabhisamvianti4  ,it means 
that ,god's creation has not its source 

in any necessity2 it comes from his     
fullness of joy2 it is his love that    
creates1 therefore in creation is his   
own revealment4  ,the artist who has a  
joy in the fullness of his artistic idea
 objectifies it and thus gains it more  
fully by holding it afar4 ,it is joy    
which detaches ourselves from us1 and   
then gives it form in creations of love 
in order to make it more perfectly our  
own4  ,hence there must be this         
separation1 not a separation of         
repulsion but a separation of love4     
,repulsion has only the one element1 the
 element of severance4  ,but love has   
two1 the element of severance1 which is 
only an appearance1 and the element of  
union which is the ultimate truth4      
,just as when the father tosses his     
child up from his arms it has the       
appearance of rejection but its truth is
 quite the reverse4  ,so we must know   
that the meaning of our self is not to  
be found in its separateness from ,god  
and others1 but in the ceaseless        

realisation of yoga1 of union2 not on   
the side of the canvas where it is      
blank1 but on the side where the picture
 is being painted4  ,this is the reason 
why the separateness of our self has    
been described by our philosophers as   
my1 as an illusion1 because it has no   
intrinsic reality of its own4  ,it looks
 perilous2 it raises its isolation to a 
giddy height and casts a black shadow   
upon the fair face of existence2 from   
the outside it has an aspect of a sudden
 disruption1 rebellious and destructive2
 it is proud1 domineering and wayward2  
it is ready to rob the world of all its 
wealth to gratify its craving of a      
moment2 to pluck with a reckless1 cruel 
hand all the plumes from the divine bird
 of beauty to deck its ugliness for a   
day2 indeed man's legend has it that it 
bears the black mark of disobedience    
stamped on its forehead for ever2 but   
still all this my1 envelopment of avidy2
 it is the mist1 it is not the sun2 it  
is the black smoke that presages the    

fire of love4  ,imagine some savage who1
 in his ignorance1 thinks that it is the
 paper of the banknote that has the     
magic1 by virtue of which the possessor 
of it gets all he wants4  ,he piles up  
the papers1 hides them1 handles them in 
all sorts of absurd ways1 and then at   
last1 wearied by his efforts1 comes to  
the sad conclusion that they are        
absolutely worthless1 only fit to be    
thrown into the fire4  ,but the wise man
 knows that the paper of the banknote is
 all my1 and until it is given up to the
 bank it is futile4  ,it is only avidy1 
our ignorance1 that makes us believe    
that the separateness of our self like  
the paper of the banknote is precious in
 itself1 and by acting on this belief   
our self is rendered valueless4  ,it is 
only when the avidy is removed that this
 very self comes to us with a wealth    
which is priceless4  ,for ,he manifests 
,himself in forms which ,his joy        
assumes4  ,footnote3 nandarpamamritam   
yadvibhti4  ,these forms are separate   

from ,him1 and the value that these     
forms have is only what his joy has     
imparted to them4  ,when we transfer    
back these forms into that original joy1
 which is love1 then we cash them in the
 bank and we find their truth4  ,when   
pure necessity drives man to his work it
 takes an accidental and contingent     
character1 it becomes a mere makeshift  
arrangement2 it is deserted and left in 
ruins when necessity changes its course4
  ,but when his work is the outcome of  
joy1 the forms that it takes have the   
elements of immortality4  ,the immortal 
in man imparts to it its own quality of 
permanence4  ,our self1 as a form of    
,god's joy1 is deathless4  ,for his joy 
is amritham1 eternal4  ,this it is in us
 which makes us sceptical of death1 even
 when the fact of death cannot be       
doubted4  ,in reconcilement of this     
contradiction in us we come to the truth
 that in the dualism of death and life  
there is a harmony4  ,we know that the  
life of a soul1 which is finite in its  

expression and infinite in its          
principle1 must go through the portals  
of death in its journey to realise the  
infinite4  ,it is death which is        
monistic1 it has no life in it4  ,but   
life is dualistic2 it has an appearance 
as well as truth2 and death is that     
appearance1 that my1 which is an        
inseparable companion to life4  ,our    
self to live must go through a continual
 change and growth of form1 which may be
 termed a continual death and a         
continual life going on at the same     
time4  ,it is really courting death when
 we refuse to accept death2 when we wish
 to give the form of the self some fixed
 changelessness2 when the self feels no 
impulse which urges it to grow out of   
itself2 when it treats its limits as    
final and acts accordingly4  ,then comes
 our teacher's call to die to this      
death2 not a call to annihilation but to
 eternal life4  ,it is the extinction of
 the lamp in the morning light2 not the 
abolition of the sun4  ,it is really    

asking us consciously to give effect to 
the innermost wish that we have in the  
depths of our nature4  ,we have a dual  
set of desires in our being1 which it   
should be our endeavour to bring into a 
harmony4  ,in the region of our physical
 nature we have one set of which we are 
conscious always4 ,we wish to enjoy our 
food and drink1 we hanker after bodily  
pleasure and comfort4  ,these desires   
are self-centered2 they are solely      
concerned with their respective         
impulses4  ,the wishes of our palate    
often run counter to what our stomach   
can allow4  ,but we have another set1   
which is the desire of our physical     
system as a whole1 of which we are      
usually unconscious4  ,it is the wish   
for health4  ,this is always doing its  
work1 mending and repairing1 making new 
adjustments in cases of accident1 and   
skilfully restoring the balance wherever
 disturbed4  ,it has no concern with the
 fulfilment of our immediate bodily     
desires1 but it goes beyond the present 

time4  ,it is the principle of our      
physical wholeness1 it links our life   
with its past and its future and        
maintains the unity of its parts4  ,he  
who is wise knows it1 and makes his     
other physical wishes harmonise with it4
  ,we have a greater body which is the  
social body4  ,society is an organism1  
of which we as parts have our individual
 wishes4  ,we want our own pleasure and 
license4  ,we want to pay less and gain 
more than anybody else4  ,this causes   
scramblings and fights4  ,but there is  
that other wish in us which does its    
work in the depths of the social being4 
,it is the wish for the welfare of the  
society4  ,it transcends the limits of  
the present and the personal4  ,it is on
 the side of the infinite4  ,he who is  
wise tries to harmonise the wishes that 
seek for self-gratification with the    
wish for the social good1 and only thus 
can he realise his higher self4  ,in its
 finite aspect the self is conscious of 
its separateness1 and there it is       

ruthless in its attempt to have more    
distinction than all others4  ,but in   
its infinite aspect its wish is to gain 
that harmony which leads to its         
perfection and not its mere             
aggrandisement4  ,the emancipation of   
our physical nature is in attaining     
health1 of our social being in attaining
 goodness1 and of our self in attaining 
love4  ,this last is what ,buddha       
describes as extinction--the extinction 
of selfishness--which is the function of
 love1 and which does not lead to       
darkness but to illumination4 ,this is  
the attainment of bodhi1 or the true    
awakening2 it is the revealing in us of 
the infinite joy by the light of love4  
,the passage of our self is through its 
selfhood1 which is independent1 to its  
attainment of soul1 which is harmonious4
 ,this harmony can never be reached     
through compulsion4  ,so our will1 in   
the history of its growth1 must come    
through independence and rebellion to   
the ultimate completion4  ,we must have 

the possibility of the negative form of 
freedom1 which is licence1 before we can
 attain the positive freedom1 which is  
love4  ,this negative freedom1 the      
freedom of self-will1 can turn its back 
upon its highest realisation1 but it    
cannot cut itself away from it          
altogether1 for then it will lose its   
own meaning4  ,our self-will has freedom
 up to a certain extent2 it can know    
what it is to break away from the path1 
but it cannot continue in that direction
 indefinitely4  ,for we are finite on   
our negative side4 ,we must come to an  
end in our evil doing1 in our career of 
discord4  ,for evil is not infinite1 and
 discord cannot be an end in itself4    
,our will has freedom in order that it  
may find out that its true course is    
towards goodness and love4  ,for        
goodness and love are infinite1 and only
 in the infinite is the perfect         
realisation of freedom possible4  ,so   
our will can be free not towards the    
limitations of our self1 not where it is

 my and negation1 but towards the       
unlimited1 where is truth and love4 ,our
 freedom cannot go against its own      
principle of freedom and yet be free2 it
 cannot commit suicide and yet live4    
,we cannot say that we should have      
infinite freedom to fetter ourselves1   
for the fettering ends the freedom4  ,so
 in the freedom of our will1 we have the
 same dualism of appearance and         
truth--our self-will is only the        
appearance of freedom and love is the   
truth4  ,when we try to make this       
appearance independent of truth1 then   
our attempt brings misery and proves its
 own futility in the end4  ,everything  
has this dualism of my and satyam1      
appearance and truth4  ,words are my    
where they are merely sounds and finite1
 they are satyam where they are ideas   
and infinite4  ,our self is my where it 
is merely individual and finite1 where  
it considers its separateness as        
absolute2 it is satyam where it         
recognises its essence in the universal 

and infinite1 in the supreme self1 in   
paramtman4  ,this is what ,christ means 
when he says1 ,before ,abraham was ,i   
am4  ,this is the eternal ,i am that    
speaks through the ,i am that is in me4 
,the individual ,i am attains its       
perfect end when it realises its freedom
 of harmony in the infinite ,i am4      
,then is it mukti1 its deliverance from 
the thraldom of my1 of appearance1 which
 springs from avidy1 from ignorance2 its
 emancipation in ntam ivam advaitam1 in 
the perfect repose in truth1 in the     
perfect activity in goodness1 and in the
 perfect union in love4  ,not only in   
our self but also in nature is there    
this separateness from ,god1 which has  
been described as my by our             
philosophers1 because the separateness  
does not exist by itself1 it does not   
limit ,god's infinity from outside4  ,it
 is his own will that has imposed limits
 to itself1 just as the chess-player    
restricts his will with regard to the   
moving of the chessmen4 ,the player     

willingly enters into definite relations
 with each particular piece and realises
 the joy of his power by these very     
restrictions4  ,it is not that he cannot
 move the chessmen just as he pleases1  
but if he does so then there can be no  
play4  ,if ,god assumes his rle of      
omnipotence1 then his creation is at an 
end and his power loses all its meaning4
  ,for power to be a power must act     
within limits4  ,god's water must be    
water1 his earth can never be other than
 earth4  ,the law that has made them    
water and earth is his own law by which 
he has separated the play from the      
player1 for therein the joy of the      
player consists4  ,as by the limits of  
law nature is separated from ,god1 so it
 is the limits of its egoism which      
separates the self from him4  ,he has   
willingly set limits to his will1 and   
has given us mastery over the little    
world of our own4  ,it is like a        
father's settling upon his son some     
allowance within the limit of which he  

is free to do what he likes4  ,though it
 remains a portion of the father's own  
property1 yet he frees it from the      
operation of his own will4 ,the reason  
of it is that the will1 which is love's 
will and therefore free1 can have its   
joy only in a union with another free   
will4  ,the tyrant who must have slaves 
looks upon them as instruments of his   
purpose4  ,it is the consciousness of   
his own necessity which makes him crush 
the will out of them1 to make his       
self-interest absolutely secure4  ,this 
self-interest cannot brook the least    
freedom in others1 because it is not    
itself free4  ,the tyrant is really     
dependent on his slaves1 and therefore  
he tries to make them completely useful 
by making them subservient to his own   
will4  ,but a lover must have two wills 
for the realisation of his love1 because
 the consummation of love is in harmony1
 the harmony between freedom and        
freedom4  ,so ,god's love from which our
 self has taken form has made it        

separate from ,god2 and it is ,god's    
love which again establishes a          
reconciliation and unites ,god with our 
self through the separation4  ,that is  
why our self has to go through endless  
renewals4  ,for in its career of        
separateness it cannot go on for ever4  
,separateness is the finitude where it  
finds its barriers to come back again   
and again to its infinite source4  ,our 
self has ceaselessly to cast off its    
age1 repeatedly shed its limits in      
oblivion and death1 in order to realise 
its immortal youth4  ,its personality   
must merge in the universal time after  
time1 in fact pass through it every     
moment1 ever to refresh its individual  
life4  ,it must follow the eternal      
rhythm and touch the fundamental unity  
at every step1 and thus maintain its    
separation balanced in beauty and       
strength4  ,the play of life and death  
we see everywhere--this transmutation of
 the old into the new4  ,the day comes  
to us every morning1 naked and white1   

fresh as a flower4  ,but we know it is  
old4  ,it is age itself4  ,it is that   
very ancient day which took up the      
newborn earth in its arms1 covered it   
with its white mantle of light1 and sent
 it forth on its pilgrimage among the   
stars4  ,yet its feet are untired and   
its eyes undimmed4  ,it carries the     
golden amulet of ageless eternity1 at   
whose touch all wrinkles vanish from the
 forehead of creation4  ,in the very    
core of the world's heart stands        
immortal youth4  ,death and decay cast  
over its face momentary shadows and pass
 on2 they leave no marks of their       
steps--and truth remains fresh and      
young4  ,this old1 old day of our earth 
is born again and again every morning4  
,it comes back to the original refrain  
of its music4  ,if its march were the   
march of an infinite straight line1 if  
it had not the awful pause of its plunge
 in the abysmal darkness and its        
repeated rebirth in the life of the     
endless beginning1 then it would        

gradually soil and bury truth with its  
dust and spread ceaseless aching over   
the earth under its heavy tread4  ,then 
every moment would leave its load of    
weariness behind1 and decrepitude would 
reign supreme on its throne of eternal  
dirt4  ,but every morning the day is    
reborn among the newly-blossomed flowers
 with the same message retold and the   
same assurance renewed that death       
eternally dies1 that the waves of       
turmoil are on the surface1 and that the
 sea of tranquillity is fathomless4 ,the
 curtain of night is drawn aside and    
truth emerges without a speck of dust on
 its garment1 without a furrow of age on
 its lineaments4  ,we see that he who is
 before everything else is the same     
to-day4 ,every note of the song of      
creation comes fresh from his voice4    
,the universe is not a mere echo1       
reverberating from sky to sky1 like a   
homeless wanderer--the echo of an old   
song sung once for all in the dim       
beginning of things and then left       

orphaned4  ,every moment it comes from  
the heart of the master1 it is breathed 
in his breath4  ,and that is the reason 
why it overspreads the sky like a       
thought taking shape in a poem1 and     
never has to break into pieces with the 
burden of its own accumulating weight4  
,hence the surprise of endless          
variations1 the advent of the           
unaccountable1 the ceaseless procession 
of individuals1 each of whom is without 
a parallel in creation4  ,as at the     
first so to the last1 the beginning     
never ends--the world is ever old and   
ever new4  ,it is for our self to know  
that it must be born anew every moment  
of its life4  ,it must break through all
 illusions that encase it in their crust
 to make it appear old1 burdening it    
with death4  ,for life is immortal      
youthfulness1 and it hates age that     
tries to clog its movements--age that   
belongs not to life in truth1 but       
follows it as the shadow follows the    
lamp4  ,our life1 like a river1 strikes 

its banks not to find itself closed in  
by them1 but to realise anew every      
moment that it has its unending opening 
towards the sea4  ,it is a poem that    
strikes its metre at every step not to  
be silenced by its rigid regulations1   
but to give expression every moment to  
the inner freedom of its harmony4  ,the 
boundary walls of our individuality     
thrust us back within our limits1 on the
 one hand1 and thus lead us1 on the     
other1 to the unlimited4  ,only when we 
try to make these limits infinite are we
 launched into an impossible            
contradiction and court miserable       
failure4  ,this is the cause which leads
 to the great revolutions in human      
history4  ,whenever the part1 spurning  
the whole1 tries to run a separate      
course of its own1 the great pull of the
 all gives it a violent wrench1 stops it
 suddenly1 and brings it to the dust4   
,whenever the individual tries to dam   
the ever-flowing current of the         
world-force and imprison it within the  

area of his particular use1 it brings on
 disaster4  ,however powerful a king may
 be1 he cannot raise his standard or    
rebellion against the infinite source of
 strength1 which is unity1 and yet      
remain powerful4  ,it has been said1 ,by
 unrighteousness men prosper1 gain what 
they desire1 and triumph over their     
enemies1 but at the end they are cut off
 at the root and suffer extinction4     
,footnote3 ,adharmnaidhat tvat tat      
bahdri payati tatah sapatnn jayati      
samlastu vinayati4  ,our roots must go  
deep down into the universal if we would
 attain the greatness of personality4   
,it is the end of our self to seek that 
union4  ,it must bend its head low in   
love and meekness and take its stand    
where great and small all meet4  ,it has
 to gain by its loss and rise by its    
surrender4  ,his games would be a horror
 to the child if he could not come back 
to his mother1 and our pride of         
personality will be a curse to us if we 
cannot give it up in love4  ,we must    

know that it is only the revelation of  
the ,infinite which is endlessly new and
 eternally beautiful in us1 and which   
gives the only meaning to our self4     
,v   ,,realisation ,,in ,,love   ,we    
come now to the eternal problem of      
co-existence of the infinite and the    
finite1 of the supreme being and our    
soul4 ,there is a sublime paradox that  
lies at the root of existence4 ,we never
 can go round it1 because we never can  
stand outside the problem and weigh it  
against any other possible alternative4 
,but the problem exists in logic only2  
in reality it does not offer us any     
difficulty at all4  ,logically speaking1
 the distance between two points1       
however near1 may be said to be infinite
 because it is infinitely divisible4    
,but we do cross the infinite at every  
step1 and meet the eternal in every     
second4  ,therefore some of our         
philosophers say there is no such thing 
as finitude2 it is but a my1 an         
illusion4  ,the real is the infinite1   

and it is only my1 the unreality1 which 
causes the appearance of the finite4    
,but the word my is a mere name1 it is  
no explanation4  ,it is merely saying   
that with truth there is this appearance
 which is the opposite of truth2 but how
 they come to exist at one and the same 
time is incomprehensible4  ,we have what
 we call in ,sanskrit dvandva1 a series 
of opposites in creation2 such as1 the  
positive pole and the negative1 the     
centripetal force and the centrifugal1  
attraction and repulsion4 ,these are    
also mere names1 they are no            
explanations4  ,they are only different 
ways of asserting that the world in its 
essence is a reconciliation of pairs of 
opposing forces4  ,these forces1 like   
the left and the right hands of the     
creator1 are acting in absolute harmony1
 yet acting from opposite directions4   
,there is a bond of harmony between our 
two eyes1 which makes them act in       
unison4  ,likewise there is an          
unbreakable continuity of relation in   

the physical world between heat and     
cold1 light and darkness1 motion and    
rest1 as between the bass and treble    
notes of a piano4  ,that is why these   
opposites do not bring confusion in the 
universe1 but harmony4  ,if creation    
were but a chaos1 we should have to     
imagine the two opposing principles as  
trying to get the better of each other4 
,but the universe is not under martial  
law1 arbitrary and provisional4  ,here  
we find no force which can run amok1 or 
go on indefinitely in its wild road1    
like an exiled outlaw1 breaking all     
harmony with its surroundings2 each     
force1 on the contrary1 has to come back
 in a curved line to its equilibrium4   
,waves rise1 each to its individual     
height in a seeming attitude of         
unrelenting competition1 but only up to 
a certain point2 and thus we know of the
 great repose of the sea to which they  
are all related1 and to which they must 
all return in a rhythm which is         
marvellously beautiful4  ,in fact1 these

 undulations and vibrations1 these      
risings and fallings1 are not due to the
 erratic contortions of disparate       
bodies1 they are a rhythmic dance4      
,rhythm never can be born of the        
haphazard struggle of combat4  ,its     
underlying principle must be unity1 not 
opposition4  ,this principle of unity is
 the mystery of all mysteries4  ,the    
existence of a duality at once raises a 
question in our minds1 and we seek its  
solution in the ,one4  ,when at last we 
find a relation between these two1 and  
thereby see them as one in essence1 we  
feel that we have come to the truth4    
,and then we give utterance to this most
 startling of all paradoxes1 that the   
,one appears as many1 that the          
appearance is the opposite of truth and 
yet is inseparably related to it4       
,curiously enough1 there are men who    
lose that feeling of mystery1 which is  
at the root of all our delights1 when   
they discover the uniformity of law     
among the diversity of nature4  ,as if  

gravitation is not more of a mystery    
than the fall of an apple1 as if the    
evolution from one scale of being to the
 other is not something which is even   
more shy of explanation than a          
succession of creations4  ,the trouble  
is that we very often stop at such a law
 as if it were the final end of our     
search1 and then we find that it does   
not even begin to emancipate our spirit4
  ,it only gives satisfaction to our    
intellect1 and as it does not appeal to 
our whole being it only deadens in us   
the sense of the infinite4  ,a great    
poem1 when analysed1 is a set of        
detached sounds4  ,the reader who finds 
out the meaning1 which is the inner     
medium that connects these outer sounds1
 discovers a perfect law all through1   
which is never violated in the least2   
the law of the evolution of ideas1 the  
law of the music and the form4  ,but law
 in itself is a limit4  ,it only shows  
that whatever is can never be otherwise4
  ,when a man is exclusively occupied   

with the search for the links of        
causality1 his mind succumbs to the     
tyranny of law in escaping from the     
tyranny of facts4  ,in learning a       
language1 when from mere words we reach 
the laws of words we have gained a great
 deal4  ,but if we stop at that point1  
and only concern ourselves with the     
marvels of the formation of a language1 
seeking the hidden reason of all its    
apparent caprices1 we do not reach the  
end--for grammar is not literature1     
prosody is not a poem4  ,when we come to
 literature we find that though it      
conforms to rules of grammar it is yet a
 thing of joy1 it is freedom itself4    
,the beauty of a poem is bound by strict
 laws1 yet it transcends them4  ,the    
laws are its wings1 they do not keep it 
weighed down1 they carry it to freedom4 
,its form is in law but its spirit is in
 beauty4  ,law is the first step towards
 freedom1 and beauty is the complete    
liberation which stands on the pedestal 
of law4 ,beauty harmonises in itself the

 limit and the beyond1 the law and the  
liberty4  ,in the world-poem1 the       
discovery of the law of its rhythms1 the
 measurement of its expansion and       
contraction1 movement and pause1 the    
pursuit of its evolution of forms and   
characters1 are true achievements of the
 mind2 but we cannot stop there4  ,it is
 like a railway station2 but the station
 platform is not our home4  ,only he has
 attained the final truth who knows that
 the whole world is a creation of joy4  
,this leads me to think how mysterious  
the relation of the human heart with    
nature must be4  ,in the outer world of 
activity nature has one aspect1 but in  
our hearts1 in the inner world1 it      
presents an altogether different        
picture4  ,take an instance--the flower 
of a plant4  ,however fine and dainty it
 may look1 it is pressed to do a great  
service1 and its colours and forms are  
all suited to its work4  ,it must bring 
forth the fruit1 or the continuity of   
plant life will be broken and the earth 

will be turned into a desert ere long4  
,the colour and the smell of the flower 
are all for some purpose therefore2 no  
sooner is it fertilised by the bee1 and 
the time of its fruition arrives1 than  
it sheds its exquisite petals and a     
cruel economy compels it to give up its 
sweet perfume4  ,it has no time to      
flaunt its finery1 for it is busy beyond
 measure4  ,viewed from without1        
necessity seems to be the only factor in
 nature for which everything works and  
moves4  ,there the bud develops into the
 flower1 the flower into the fruit1 the 
fruit into the seed1 the seed into a new
 plant again1 and so forth1 the chain of
 activity running on unbroken4  ,should 
there crop up any disturbance or        
impediment1 no excuse would be accepted1
 and the unfortunate thing thus choked  
in its movement would at once be        
labelled as rejected1 and be bound to   
die and disappear post-haste4  ,in the  
great office of nature there are        
innumerable departments with endless    

work going on1 and the fine flower that 
you behold there1 gaudily attired and   
scented like a dandy1 is by no means    
what it appears to be1 but rather1 is   
like a labourer toiling in sun and      
shower1 who has to submit a clear       
account of his work and has no breathing
 space to enjoy himself in playful      
frolic4  ,but when this same flower     
enters the heart of men its aspect of   
busy practicality is gone1 and it       
becomes the very emblem of leisure and  
repose4  ,the same object that is the   
embodiment of endless activity without  
is the perfect expression of beauty and 
peace within4  ,science here warns us   
that we are mistaken1 that the purpose  
of a flower is nothing but what is      
outwardly manifested1 and that the      
relation of beauty and sweetness which  
we think it bears to us is all our own  
making1 gratuitous and imaginary4  ,but 
our heart replies that we are not in the
 least mistaken4  ,in the sphere of     
nature the flower carries with it a     

certificate which recommends it as      
having immense capacity for doing useful
 work1 but it brings an altogether      
different letter of introduction when it
 knocks at the door of our hearts4      
,beauty becomes its only qualification4 
,at one place it comes as a slave1 and  
at another as a free thing4  ,how1 then1
 should we give credit to its first     
recommendation and disbelieve the second
 one8 ,that the flower has got its being
 in the unbroken chain of causation is  
true beyond doubt2 but that is an outer 
truth4  ,the inner truth is3 ,verily    
from the everlasting joy do all objects 
have their birth4  ,footnote3 nanddhyva 
khalvimni bhtni jyant4  ,a flower1      
therefore1 has not its only function in 
nature1 but has another great function  
to exercise in the mind of man4  ,and   
what is that function8  ,in nature its  
work is that of a servant who has to    
make his appearance at appointed times1 
but in the heart of man it comes like a 
messenger from the ,king4  ,in the      

,rmyana1 when ,st1 forcibly separated   
from her husband1 was bewailing her evil
 fate in ,ravana's golden palace1 she   
was met by a messenger who brought with 
him a ring of her beloved ,rmachandra   
himself4  ,the very sight of it         
convinced ,st of the truth of tidings he
 bore4  ,she was at once reassured that 
he came indeed from her beloved one1 who
 had not forgotten her and was at hand  
to rescue her4  ,such a messenger is a  
flower from our great lover4            
,surrounded with the pomp and pageantry 
of worldliness1 which may be linked to  
,ravana's golden city1 we still live in 
exile1 while the insolent spirit of     
worldly prosperity tempts us with       
allurements and claims us as its bride4 
,in the meantime the flower comes across
 with a message from the other shore1   
and whispers in our ears1 ,i am come4   
,he has sent me4  ,i am a messenger of  
the beautiful1 the one whose soul is the
 bliss of love4  ,this island of        
isolation has been bridged over by him1 

and he has not forgotten thee1 and will 
rescue thee even now4  ,he will draw    
thee unto him and make thee his own4    
,this illusion will not hold thee in    
thraldom for ever4  ,if we happen to be 
awake then1 we question him3 ,how are we
 to know that thou art come from him    
indeed8  ,the messenger says1 ,look6  ,i
 have this ring from him4  ,how lovely  
are its hues and charms6  ,ah1 doubtless
 it is his--indeed1 it is our wedding   
ring4  ,now all else passes into        
oblivion1 only this sweet symbol of the 
touch of the eternal love fills us with 
a deep longing4  ,we realise that the   
palace of gold where we are has nothing 
to do with us--our deliverance is       
outside it--and there our love has its  
fruition and our life its fulfilment4   
,what to the bee in nature is merely    
colour and scent1 and the marks or spots
 which show the right track to the      
honey1 is to the human heart beauty and 
joy untrammelled by necessity4  ,they   
bring a love letter to the heart written

 in many-coloured inks4  ,i was telling 
you1 therefore1 that however busy our   
active nature outwardly may be1 she has 
a secret chamber within the heart where 
she comes and goes freely1 without any  
design whatsoever4  ,there the fire of  
her workshop is transformed into lamps  
of a festival1 the noise of her factory 
is heard like music4  ,the iron chain of
 cause and effect sounds heavily outside
 in nature1 but in the human heart its  
unalloyed delight seems to sound1 as it 
were1 like the golden strings of a harp4
  ,it indeed seems to be wonderful that 
nature has these two aspects at one and 
the same time1 and so antithetical--one 
being of thraldom and the other of      
freedom4  ,in the same form1 sound1     
colour1 and taste two contrary notes are
 heard1 one of necessity and the other  
of joy4  ,outwardly nature is busy and  
restless1 inwardly she is all silence   
and peace4  ,she has toil on one side   
and leisure on the other4  ,you see her 
bondage only when you see her from      

without1 but within her heart is a      
limitless beauty4  ,our seer says1 ,from
 joy are born all creatures1 by joy they
 are sustained1 towards joy they        
progress1 and into joy they enter4  ,not
 that he ignores law1 or that his       
contemplation of this infinite joy is   
born of the intoxication produced by an 
indulgence in abstract thought4  ,he    
fully recognises the inexorable laws of 
nature1 and says1 ,fire burns for fear  
of him 7i4e4 by his law72 the sun shines
 by fear of him2 and for fear of him the
 wind1 the clouds1 and death perform    
their offices4  ,it is a reign of iron  
rule1 ready to punish the least         
transgression4 ,yet the poet chants the 
glad song1 ,from joy are born all       
creatures1 by joy they are sustained1   
towards joy they progress1 and into joy 
they enter4  ,the immortal being        
manifests himself in joy-form4          
,footnote3 nandarpamamritam yad vibhti4 
,his manifestation in creation is out of
 his fullness of joy4  ,it is the nature

 of this abounding joy to realise itself
 in form which is law4  ,the joy1 which 
is without form1 must create1 must      
translate itself into forms4  ,the joy  
of the singer is expressed in the form  
of a song1 that of the poet in the form 
of a poem4  ,man in his rle of a creator
 is ever creating forms1 and they come  
out of his abounding joy4  ,this joy1   
whose other name is love1 must by its   
very nature have duality for its        
realisation4  ,when the singer has his  
inspiration he makes himself into two2  
he has within him his other self as the 
hearer1 and the outside audience is     
merely an extension of this other self  
of his4  ,the lover seeks his own other 
self in his beloved4  ,it is the joy    
that creates this separation1 in order  
to realise through obstacles of union4  
,the amritam1 the immortal bliss1 has   
made himself into two4 ,our soul is the 
loved one1 it is his other self4  ,we   
are separate2 but if this separation    
were absolute1 then there would have    

been absolute misery and unmitigated    
evil in this world4 ,then from untruth  
we never could reach truth1 and from sin
 we never could hope to attain purity of
 heart2 then all opposites would ever   
remain opposites1 and we could never    
find a medium through which our         
differences could ever tend to meet4    
,then we could have no language1 no     
understanding1 no blending of hearts1 no
 co-operation in life4  ,but on the     
contrary1 we find that the separateness 
of objects is in a fluid state4  ,their 
individualities are even changing1 they 
are meeting and merging into each other1
 till science itself is turning into    
metaphysics1 matter losing its          
boundaries1 and the definition of life  
becoming more and more indefinite4      
,yes1 our individual soul has been      
separated from the supreme soul1 but    
this has not been from alienation but   
from the fullness of love4  ,it is for  
that reason that untruths1 sufferings1  
and evils are not at a standstill2 the  

human soul can defy them1 can overcome  
them1 nay1 can altogether transform them
 into new power and beauty4  ,the singer
 is translating his song into singing1  
his joy into forms1 and the hearer has  
to translate back the singing into the  
original joy2 then the communion between
 the singer and the hearer is complete4 
,the infinite joy is manifesting itself 
in manifold forms1 taking upon itself   
the bondage of law1 and we fulfil our   
destiny when we go back from forms to   
joy1 from law to the love1 when we untie
 the knot of the finite and hark back to
 the infinite4  ,the human soul is on   
its journey from the law to love1 from  
discipline to liberation1 from the moral
 plane to the spiritual4 ,buddha        
preached the discipline of              
self-restraint and moral life2 it is a  
complete acceptance of law4  ,but this  
bondage of law cannot be an end by      
itself2 by mastering it thoroughly we   
acquire the means of getting beyond it4 
,it is going back to ,brahma1 to the    

infinite love1 which is manifesting     
itself through the finite forms of law4 
,buddha names it ,brahma-vihra1 the joy 
of living in ,brahma4  ,he who wants to 
reach this stage1 according to ,buddha1 
shall deceive none1 entertain no hatred 
for anybody1 and never wish to injure   
through anger4  ,he shall have          
measureless love for all creatures1 even
 as a mother has for her only child1    
whom she protects with her own life4    
,up above1 below1 and all around him he 
shall extend his love1 which is without 
bounds and obstacles1 and which is free 
from all cruelty and antagonism4  ,while
 standing1 sitting1 walking1 lying down1
 till he fall asleep1 he shall keep his 
mind active in this exercise of         
universal goodwill4  ,want of love is a 
degree of callousness2 for love is the  
perfection of consciousness4  ,we do not
 love because we do not comprehend1 or  
rather we do not comprehend because we  
do not love4  ,for love is the ultimate 
meaning of everything around us4 ,it is 

not a mere sentiment2 it is truth2 it is
 the joy that is at the root of all     
creation4  ,it is the white light of    
pure consciousness that emanates from   
,brahma4  ,so1 to be one with this      
sarvnubhh1 this all-feeling being who is
 in the external sky1 as well as in our 
inner soul1 we must attain to that      
summit of consciousness1 which is love3 
,who could have breathed or moved if the
 sky were not filled with joy1 with     
love8  ,footnote3 ,ko hyvnyt kah prnyt  
yadsha ka nand na syt4  ,it is through  
the heightening of our consciousness    
into love1 and extending it all over the
 world1 that we can attain              
,brahma-vihra1 communion with this      
infinite joy4  ,love spontaneously gives
 itself in endless gifts4  ,but these   
gifts lose their fullest significance if
 through them we do not reach that love1
 which is the giver4  ,to do that1 we   
must have love in our own heart4  ,he   
who has no love in him values the gifts 
of his lover only according to their    

usefulness4  ,but utility is temporary  
and partial4  ,it can never occupy our  
whole being2 what is useful only touches
 us at the point where we have some     
want4  ,when the want is satisfied1     
utility becomes a burden if it still    
persists4  ,on the other hand1 a mere   
token is of permanent worth to us when  
we have love in our heart4  ,for it is  
not for any special use4  ,it is an end 
in itself2 it is for our whole being and
 therefore can never tire us4  ,the     
question is1 ,in what manner do we      
accept this world1 which is a perfect   
gift of joy8  ,have we been able to     
receive it in our heart where we keep   
enshrined things that are of deathless  
value to us8  ,we are frantically busy  
making use of the forces of the universe
 to gain more and more power2 we feed   
and we clothe ourselves from its stores1
 we scramble for its riches1 and it     
becomes for us a field of fierce        
competition4  ,but were we born for     
this1 to extend our proprietary rights  

over this world and make of it a        
marketable commodity8  ,when our whole  
mind is bent only upon making use of    
this world it loses for us its true     
value4  ,we make it cheap by our sordid 
desires2 and thus to the end of our days
 we only try to feed upon it and miss   
its truth1 just like the greedy child   
who tears leaves from a precious book   
and tries to swallow them4  ,in the     
lands where cannibalism is prevalent man
 looks upon man as his food4  ,in such a
 country civilisation can never thrive1 
for there man loses his higher value and
 is made common indeed4  ,but there are 
other kinds of cannibalism1 perhaps not 
so gross1 but not less heinous1 for     
which one need not travel far4  ,in     
countries higher in the scale of        
civilisation we find sometimes man      
looked upon as a mere body1 and he is   
bought and sold in the market by the    
price of his flesh only4  ,and sometimes
 he gets his sole value from being      
useful2 he is made into a machine1 and  

is traded upon by the man of money to   
acquire for him more money4 ,thus our   
lust1 our greed1 our love of comfort    
result in cheapening man to his lowest  
value4  ,it is self deception on a large
 scale4  ,our desires blind us to the   
truth that there is in man1 and this is 
the greatest wrong done by ourselves to 
our own soul4  ,it deadens our          
consciousness1 and is but a gradual     
method of spiritual suicide4  ,it       
produces ugly sores in the body of      
civilisation1 gives rise to its hovels  
and brothels1 its vindictive penal      
codes1 its cruel prison systems1 its    
organised method of exploiting foreign  
races to the extent of permanently      
injuring them by depriving them of the  
discipline of self-government and means 
of self-defence4  ,of course man is     
useful to man1 because his body is a    
marvellous machine and his mind an organ
 of wonderful efficiency4  ,but he is a 
spirit as well1 and this spirit is truly
 known only by love4 ,when we define a  

man by the market value of the service  
we can expect of him1 we know him       
imperfectly4  ,with this limited        
knowledge of him it becomes easy for us 
to be unjust to him and to entertain    
feelings of triumphant                  
self-congratulation when1 on account of 
some cruel advantage on our side1 we can
 get out of him much more than we have  
paid for4  ,but when we know him as a   
spirit we know him as our own4  ,we at  
once feel that cruelty to him is cruelty
 to ourselves1 to make him small is     
stealing from our own humanity1 and in  
seeking to make use of him solely for   
personal profit we merely gain in money 
or comfort what we pay in truth4  ,one  
day ,i was out in a boat on the ,ganges4
  ,it was a beautiful evening in autumn4
  ,the sun had just set2 the silence of 
the sky was full to the brim with       
ineffable peace and beauty4  ,the vast  
expanse of water was without a ripple1  
mirroring all the changing shades of the
 sunset glow4  ,miles and miles of a    

desolate sandbank lay like a huge       
amphibious reptile of some antediluvian 
age1 with its scales glistening in      
shining colours4  ,as our boat was      
silently gliding by the precipitous     
river-bank1 riddled with the nest-holes 
of a colony of birds1 suddenly a big    
fish leapt up to the surface of the     
water and then disappeared1 displaying  
on its vanishing figure all the colours 
of the evening sky4  ,it drew aside for 
a moment the many-coloured screen behind
 which there was a silent world full of 
the joy of life4  ,it came up from the  
depths of its mysterious dwelling with a
 beautiful dancing motion and added its 
own music to the silent symphony of the 
dying day4 ,i felt as if ,i had a       
friendly greeting from an alien world in
 its own language1 and it touched my    
heart with a flash of gladness4 ,then   
suddenly the man at the helm exclaimed  
with a distinct note of regret1 ,ah1    
what a big fish6  ,it at once brought   
before his vision the picture of the    

fish caught and made ready for his      
supper4  ,he could only look at the fish
 through his desire1 and thus missed the
 whole truth of its existence4  ,but man
 is not entirely an animal4  ,he aspires
 to a spiritual vision1 which is the    
vision of the whole truth4  ,this gives 
him the highest delight1 because it     
reveals to him the deepest harmony that 
exists between him and his surroundings4
  ,it is our desires that limit the     
scope of our self-realisation1 hinder   
our extension of consciousness1 and give
 rise to sin1 which is the innermost    
barrier that keeps us apart from our    
,god1 setting up disunion and the       
arrogance of exclusiveness4  ,for sin is
 not one mere action1 but it is an      
attitude of life which takes for granted
 that our goal is finite1 that our self 
is the ultimate truth1 and that we are  
not all essentially one but exist each  
for his own separate individual         
existence4  ,so ,i repeat we never can  
have a true view of man unless we have a

 love for him4  ,civilisation must be   
judged and prized1 not by the amount of 
power it has developed1 but by how much 
it has evolved and given expression to1 
by its laws and institutions1 the love  
of humanity4  ,the first question and   
the last which it has to answer is1     
,whether and how far it recognises man  
more as a spirit than a machine8        
,whenever some ancient civilisation fell
 into decay and died1 it was owing to   
causes which produced callousness of    
heart and led to the cheapening of man's
 worth2 when either the state or some   
powerful group of men began to look upon
 the people as a mere instrument of     
their power2 when1 by compelling weaker 
races to slavery and trying to keep them
 down by every means1 man struck at the 
foundation of his greatness1 his own    
love of freedom and fair-play4          
,civilisation can never sustain itself  
upon cannibalism of any form4  ,for that
 by which alone man is true can only be 
nourished by love and justice4  ,as with

 man1 so with this universe4  ,when we  
look at the world through the veil of   
our desires we make it small and narrow1
 and fail to perceive its full truth4   
,of course it is obvious that the world 
serves us and fulfils our needs1 but our
 relation to it does not end there4  ,we
 are bound to it with a deeper and truer
 bond than that of necessity4  ,our soul
 is drawn to it2 our love of life is    
really our wish to continue our relation
 with this great world4  ,this relation 
is one of love4  ,we are glad that we   
are in it2 we are attached to it with   
numberless threads1 which extend from   
this earth to the stars4  ,man foolishly
 tries to prove his superiority by      
imagining his radical separateness from 
what he calls his physical world1 which1
 in his blind fanaticism1 he sometimes  
goes to the extent of ignoring          
altogether1 holding it at his direst    
enemy4  ,yet the more his knowledge     
progresses1 the more it becomes         
difficult for man to establish this     

separateness1 and all the imaginary     
boundaries he had set up around himself 
vanish one after another4  ,every time  
we lose some of our badges of absolute  
distinction by which we conferred upon  
our humanity the right to hold itself   
apart from its surroundings1 it gives us
 a shock of humiliation4  ,but we have  
to submit to this4  ,if we set up our   
pride on the path of our                
self-realisation to create divisions and
 disunion1 then it must sooner or later 
come under the wheels of truth and be   
ground to dust4  ,no1 we are not        
burdened with some monstrous            
superiority1 unmeaning in its singular  
abruptness4  ,it would be utterly       
degrading for us to live in a world     
immeasurably less than ourselves in the 
quality of soul1 just as it would be    
repulsive and degrading to be surrounded
 and served by a host of slaves1 day and
 night1 from birth to the moment of     
death4  ,on the contrary1 this world is 
our compeer1 nay1 we are one with it4   

,through our progress in science the    
wholeness of the world and our oneness  
with it is becoming clearer to our mind4
  ,when this perception of the          
perfection of unity is not merely       
intellectual1 when it opens out our     
whole being into a luminous             
consciousness of the all1 then it       
becomes a radiant joy1 an overspreading 
love4 ,our spirit finds its larger self 
in the whole world1 and is filled with  
an absolute certainty that it is        
immortal4  ,it dies a hundred times in  
its enclosures of self2 for separateness
 is doomed to die1 it cannot be made    
eternal4  ,but it never can die where it
 is one with the all1 for there is its  
truth1 its joy4 ,when a man feels the   
rhythmic throb of the soul-life of the  
whole world in his own soul1 then is he 
free4  ,then he enters into the secret  
courting that goes on between this      
beautiful world-bride1 veiled with the  
veil of the many-coloured finiteness1   
and the paramatmam1 the bridegroom1 in  

his spotless white4  ,then he knows that
 he is the partaker of this gorgeous    
love festival1 and he is the honoured   
guest at the feast of immortality4      
,then he understands the meaning of the 
seer-poet who sings1 ,from love the     
world is born1 by love it is sustained1 
towards love it moves1 and into love it 
enters4  ,in love all the contradictions
 of existence merge themselves and are  
lost4  ,only in love are unity and      
duality not at variance4 ,love must be  
one and two at the same time4  ,only    
love is motion and rest in one4  ,our   
heart ever changes its place till it    
finds love1 and then it has its rest4   
,but this rest itself is an intense form
 of activity where utter quiescence and 
unceasing energy meet at the same point 
in love4  ,in love1 loss and gain are   
harmonised4  ,in its balance-sheet1     
credit and debit accounts are in the    
same column1 and gifts are added to     
gains4  ,in this wonderful festival of  
creation1 this great ceremony of        

self-sacrifice of ,god1 the lover       
constantly gives himself up to gain     
himself in love4  ,indeed1 love is what 
brings together and inseparably connects
 both the act of abandoning and that of 
receiving4  ,in love1 at one of its     
poles you find the personal1 and at the 
other the impersonal4  ,at one you have 
the positive assertion--,here ,i am2 at 
the other the equally strong denial--,i 
am not4 ,without this ego what is love8 
,and again1 with only this ego how can  
love be possible8  ,bondage and         
liberation are not antagonistic in love4
  ,for love is most free and at the same
 time most bound4  ,if ,god were        
absolutely free there would be no       
creation4  ,the infinite being has      
assumed unto himself the mystery of     
finitude4  ,and in him who is love the  
finite and the infinite are made one4   
,similarly1 when we talk about the      
relative values of freedom and          
non-freedom1 it becomes a mere play of  
words4  ,it is not that we desire       

freedom alone1 we want thraldom as well4
  ,it is the high function of love to   
welcome all limitations and to transcend
 them4  ,for nothing is more independent
 than love1 and where else1 again1 shall
 we find so much of dependence8  ,in    
love1 thraldom is as glorious as        
freedom4  ,the ,vaishnava religion has  
boldly declared that ,god has bound     
himself to man1 and in that consists the
 greatest glory of human existence4  ,in
 the spell of the wonderful rhythm of   
the finite he fetters himself at every  
step1 and thus gives his love out in    
music in his most perfect lyrics of     
beauty4  ,beauty is his wooing of our   
heart2 it can have no other purpose4    
,it tells us everywhere that the display
 of power is not the ultimate meaning of
 creation2 wherever there is a bit of   
colour1 a note of song1 a grace of form1
 there comes the call for our love4     
,hunger compels us to obey its behests1 
but hunger is not the last word for a   
man4 ,there have been men who have      

deliberately defied its commands to show
 that the human soul is not to be led by
 the pressure of wants and threat of    
pain4  ,in fact1 to live the life of man
 we have to resist its demands every    
day1 the least of us as well as the     
greatest4  ,but1 on the other hand1     
there is a beauty in the world which    
never insults our freedom1 never raises 
even its little finger to make us       
acknowledge its sovereignty4  ,we can   
absolutely ignore it and suffer no      
penalty in consequence4  ,it is a call  
to us1 but not a command4  ,it seeks for
 love in us1 and love can never be had  
by compulsion4  ,compulsion is not      
indeed the final appeal to man1 but joy 
is4  ,any joy is everywhere2 it is in   
the earth's green covering of grass2 in 
the blue serenity of the sky2 in the    
reckless exuberance of spring2 in the   
severe abstinence of grey winter2 in the
 living flesh that animates our bodily  
frame2 in the perfect poise of the human
 figure1 noble and upright2 in living2  

in the exercise of all our powers2 in   
the acquisition of knowledge2 in        
fighting evils2 in dying for gains we   
never can share4  ,joy is there         
everywhere2 it is superfluous1          
unnecessary2 nay1 it very often         
contradicts the most peremptory behests 
of necessity4  ,it exists to show that  
the bonds of law can only be explained  
by love2 they are like body and soul4   
,joy is the realisation of the truth of 
oneness1 the oneness of our soul with   
the world and of the world-soul with the
 supreme lover4     ,,vi   ,,realisation
 ,,in ,,action   ,it is only those who  
have known that joy expresses itself    
through law who have learnt to transcend
 the law4  ,not that the bonds of law   
have ceased to exist for them--but that 
the bonds have become to them as the    
form of freedom incarnate4  ,the freed  
soul delights in accepting bonds1 and   
does not seek to evade any of them1 for 
in each does it feel the manifestation  
of an infinite energy whose joy is in   

creation4  ,as a matter of fact1 where  
there are no bonds1 where there is the  
madness of license1 the soul ceases to  
be free4  ,there is its hurt2 there is  
its separation from the infinite1 its   
agony of sin4  ,whenever at the call of 
temptation the soul falls away from the 
bondage of law1 then1 like a child      
deprived of the support of its mother's 
arms1 it cries out1 ,smite me not6      
,footnote3 ,m m himsh4  ,bind me1 it    
prays1 oh1 bind me in the bonds of thy  
law2 bind me within and without2 hold me
 tight2 let me in the clasp of thy law  
be bound up together with thy joy2      
protect me by thy firm hold from the    
deadly laxity of sin4  ,as some1 under  
the idea that law is the opposite of    
joy1 mistake intoxication for joy1 so   
there are many in our country who       
imagine action to be opposed to freedom4
  ,they think that activity being in the
 material plane is a restriction of the 
free spirit of the soul4  ,but we must  
remember that as joy expresses itself in

 law1 so the soul finds its freedom in  
action4  ,it is because joy cannot find 
expression in itself alone that it      
desires the law which is outside4       
,likewise it is because the soul cannot 
find freedom within itself that it wants
 external action4  ,the soul of man is  
ever freeing itself from its own folds  
by its activity2 had it been otherwise  
it could not have done any voluntary    
work4  ,the more man acts and makes     
actual what was latent in him1 the      
nearer does he bring the distant        
,yet-to-be4  ,in that actualisation man 
is ever making himself more and yet more
 distinct1 and seeing himself clearly   
under newer and newer aspects in the    
midst of his varied activities1 in the  
state1 in society4  ,this vision makes  
for freedom4  ,freedom is not in        
darkness1 nor in vagueness4  ,there is  
no bondage so fearful as that of        
obscurity4  ,it is to escape from this  
obscurity that the seed struggles to    
sprout1 the bud to blossom4  ,it is to  

rid itself of this envelope of vagueness
 that the ideas in our mind are         
constantly seeking opportunities to take
 on outward form4  ,in the same way our 
soul1 in order to release itself from   
the mist of indistinctness and come out 
into the open1 is continually creating  
for itself fresh fields of action1 and  
is busy contriving new forms of         
activity1 even such as are not needful  
for the purposes of its earthly life4   
,and why8  ,because it wants freedom4   
,it wants to see itself1 to realise     
itself4  ,when man cuts down the        
pestilential jungle and makes unto      
himself a garden1 the beauty that he    
thus sets free from within its enclosure
 of ugliness is the beauty of his own   
soul3 without giving it this freedom    
outside1 he cannot make it free within4 
,when he implants law and order in the  
midst of the waywardness of society1 the
 good which he sets free from the       
obstruction of the bad is the goodness  
of his own soul3 without being thus made

 free outside it cannot find freedom    
within4  ,thus is man continually       
engaged in setting free in action his   
powers1 his beauty1 his goodness1 his   
very soul4  ,and the more he succeeds in
 so doing1 the greater does he see      
himself to be1 the broader becomes the  
field of his knowledge of self4  ,the   
,upanishad says3 ,in the midst of       
activity alone wilt thou desire to live 
a hundred years4  ,footnote3            
,kurvannvha karmni jijvishet atam samh4 
,it is the saying of those who had amply
 tasted of the joy of the soul4  ,those 
who have fully realised the soul have   
never talked in mournful accents of the 
sorrowfulness of life or of the bondage 
of action4  ,they are not like the      
weakling flower whose stem-hold is so   
light that it drops away before         
attaining fruition4  ,they hold on to   
life with all their might and say1 never
 will we let go till the fruit is ripe4 
,they desire in their joy to express    
themselves strenuously in their life and

 in their work4  ,pain and sorrow dismay
 them not1 they are not bowed down to   
the dust by the weight of their own     
heart4  ,with the erect head of the     
victorious hero they march through life 
seeing themselves and showing themselves
 in increasing resplendence of soul     
through both joys and sorrows4  ,the joy
 of their life keeps step with the joy  
of that energy which is playing at      
building and breaking throughout the    
universe4  ,the joy of the sunlight1 the
 joy of the free air1 mingling with the 
joy of their lives1 makes one sweet     
harmony reign within and without4  ,it  
is they who say1 ,in the midst of       
activity alone wilt thou desire to live 
a hundred years4  ,this joy of life1    
this joy of work1 in man is absolutely  
true4 ,it is no use saying that it is a 
delusion of ours2 that unless we cast it
 away we cannot enter upon the path of  
self-realisation4 ,it will never do the 
least good to attempt the realisation of
 the infinite apart from the world of   

action4  ,it is not the truth that man  
is active on compulsion4  ,if there is  
compulsion on one side1 on the other    
there is pleasure2 on the one hand      
action is spurred on by want1 on the    
other it hies to its natural fulfilment4
  ,that is why1 as man's civilisation   
advances1 he increases his obligations  
and the work that he willingly creates  
for himself4  ,one should have thought  
that nature had given him quite enough  
to do to keep him busy1 in fact that it 
was working him to death with the lash  
of hunger and thirst1--but no4  ,man    
does not think that sufficient2 he      
cannot rest content with only doing the 
work that nature prescribes for him in  
common with the birds and beasts4  ,he  
needs must surpass all1 even in         
activity4  ,no creature has to work so  
hard as man2 he has been impelled to    
contrive for himself a vast field of    
action in society2 and in this field he 
is for every building up and pulling    
down1 making and unmaking laws1 piling  

up heaps of material1 and incessantly   
thinking1 seeking and suffering4  ,in   
this field he has fought his mightiest  
battles1 gained continual new life1 made
 death glorious1 and1 far from evading  
troubles1 has willingly and continually 
taken up the burden of fresh trouble4   
,he has discovered the truth that he is 
not complete in the cage of his         
immediate surroundings1 that he is      
greater than his present1 and that while
 to stand still in one place may be     
comforting1 the arrest of life destroys 
his true function and the real purpose  
of his existence4  ,this mahat          
vinashtih--this great destruction he    
cannot bear1 and accordingly he toils   
and suffers in order that he may gain in
 stature by transcending his present1 in
 order to become that which he yet is   
not4  ,in this travail is man's glory1  
and it is because he knows it1 that he  
has not sought to circumscribe his field
 of action1 but is constantly occupied  
in extending the bounds4  ,sometimes he 

wanders so far that his work tends to   
lose its meaning1 and his rushings to   
and fro create fearful eddies round     
different centres--eddies of            
self-interest1 of pride of power4       
,still1 so long as the strength of the  
current is not lost1 there is no fear2  
the obstructions and the dead           
accumulations of his activity are       
dissipated and carried away2 the impetus
 corrects its own mistakes4  ,only when 
the soul sleeps in stagnation do its    
enemies gain overmastering strength1 and
 these obstructions become too clogging 
to be fought through4  ,hence have we   
been warned by our teachers that to work
 we must live1 to live we must work2    
that life and activity are inseparably  
connected4  ,it is very characteristic  
of life that it is not complete within  
itself2 it must come out4  ,its truth is
 in the commerce of the inside and the  
outside4  ,in order to live1 the body   
must maintain its various relations with
 the outside light and air--not only to 

gain life-force1 but also to manifest   
it4  ,consider how fully employed the   
body is with its own inside activities2 
its heart-beat must not stop for a      
second1 its stomach1 its brain1 must be 
ceaselessly working4  ,yet this is not  
enough2 the body is outwardly restless  
all the while4  ,its life leads it to an
 endless dance of work and play outside2
 it cannot be satisfied with the        
circulations of its internal economy1   
and only finds the fulfilment of joy in 
its outward excursions4  ,the same with 
the soul4  ,it cannot live on its own   
internal feelings and imaginings4  ,it  
is ever in need of external objects2 not
 only to feed its inner consciousness   
but to apply itself in action1 not only 
to receive but also to give4  ,the real 
truth is1 we cannot live if we divide   
him who is truth itself into two parts4 
,we must abide in him within as well as 
without4  ,in whichever aspect we deny  
him we deceive ourselves and incur a    
loss4  ,brahma has not left me1 let me  

not leave ,brahma4  ,footnote3  ,mham   
brahma nirkuryym m m brahma nirkart4    
,if we say that we would realise him in 
introspection alone and leave him out of
 our external activity1 that we would   
enjoy him by the love in our heart1 but 
not worship him by outward              
ministrations2 or if we say the         
opposite1 and overweight ourselves on   
one side in the journey of our life's   
quest1 we shall alike totter to our     
downfall4  ,in the great western        
continent we see that the soul of man is
 mainly concerned with extending itself 
outwards2 the open field of the exercise
 of power is its field4  ,its partiality
 is entirely for the world of extension1
 and it would leave aside--nay1 hardly  
believe in--that field of inner         
consciousness which is the field of     
fulfilment4  ,it has gone so far in this
 that the perfection of fulfilment seems
 to exist for it nowhere4  ,its science 
has always talked of the never-ending   
evolution of the world4  ,its metaphysic

 has now begun to talk of the evolution 
of ,god himself4  ,they will not admit  
that he is2 they would have it that he  
also is becoming4  ,they fail to realise
 that while the infinite is always      
greater than any assignable limit1 it is
 also complete2 that on the one hand    
,brahma is evolving1 on the other he is 
perfection2 that in the one aspect he is
 essence1 in the other                  
manifestation--both together at the same
 time1 as is the song and the act of    
singing4 ,this is like ignoring the     
consciousness of the singer and saying  
that only the singing is in progress1   
that there is no song4 ,doubtless we are
 directly aware only of the singing1 and
 never at any one time of the song as a 
whole2 but do we not all the time know  
that the complete song is in the soul of
 the singer8  ,it is because of this    
insistence on the doing and the becoming
 that we perceive in the west the       
intoxication of power4  ,these men seem 
to have determined to despoil and grasp 

everything by force4  ,they would always
 obstinately be doing and never be      
done--they would not allow to death its 
natural place in the scheme of          
things--they know not the beauty of     
completion4  ,in our country the danger 
comes from the opposite side4  ,our     
partiality is for the internal world4   
,we would cast aside with contumely the 
field of power and of extension4  ,we   
would realise ,brahma in mediation only 
in his aspect of completeness1 we have  
determined not to see him in the        
commerce of the universe in his aspect  
of evolution4  ,that is why in our      
seekers we so often find the            
intoxication of the spirit and its      
consequent degradation4 ,their faith    
would acknowledge no bondage of law1    
their imagination soars unrestricted1   
their conduct disdains to offer any     
explanation to reason4  ,their          
intellect1 in its vain attempts to see  
,brahma inseparable from his creation1  
works itself stone-dry1 and their heart1

 seeking to confine him within its own  
outpourings1 swoons in a drunken ecstasy
 of emotion4  ,they have not even kept  
within reach any standard whereby they  
can measure the loss of strength and    
character which manhood sustains by thus
 ignoring the bonds of law and the      
claims of action in the external        
universe4  ,but true spirituality1 as   
taught in our sacred lore1 is calmly    
balanced in strength1 in the correlation
 of the within and the without4  ,the   
truth has its law1 it has its joy4  ,on 
one side of it is being chanted the     
,bhaydasygnistapati ,footnote3 ,for fear
 of him the fire doth burn1 etc1 on the 
other the nanddhyeva khalvimni bhtni    
jyante4  ,footnote3 ,from ,joy are born 
all created things1 etc4  ,freedom is   
impossible of attainment without        
submission to law1 for ,brahma is in one
 aspect bound by his truth1 in the other
 free in his joy4  ,as for ourselves1 it
 is only when we wholly submit to the   
bonds of truth that we fully gain the   

joy of freedom4  ,and how8  ,as does the
 string that is bound to the harp4      
,when the harp is truly strung1 when    
there is not the slightest laxity in the
 strength of the bond1 then only does   
music result2 and the string            
transcending itself in its melody finds 
at every chord its true freedom4  ,it is
 because it is bound by such hard and   
fast rules on the one side that it can  
find this range of freedom in music on  
the other4  ,while the string was not   
true1 it was indeed merely bound2 but a 
loosening of its bondage would not have 
been the way to freedom1 which it can   
only fully achieve by being bound       
tighter and tighter till it has attained
 the true pitch4  ,the bass and treble  
strings of our duty are only bonds so   
long as we cannot maintain them         
steadfastly attuned according to the law
 of truth2 and we cannot call by the    
name of freedom the loosening of them   
into the nothingness of inaction4  ,that
 is why ,i would say that the true      

striving in the quest of truth1 of      
dharma1 consists not in the neglect of  
action but in the effort to attune it   
closer and closer to the eternal        
harmony4  ,the text of this striving    
should be1 ,whatever works thou doest1  
consecrate them to ,brahma4  ,footnote3 
,yadyat karma prakurvta tadbrahmani     
samarpayet4  ,that is to say1 the soul  
is to dedicate itself to ,brahma through
 all its activities4  ,this dedication  
is the song of the soul1 in this is its 
freedom4  ,joy reigns when all work     
becomes the path to the union with      
,brahma2 when the soul ceases to return 
constantly to its own desires2 when in  
it our self-offering grows more and more
 intense4  ,then there is completion1   
then there is freedom1 then1 in this    
world1 comes the kingdom of ,god4  ,who 
is there that1 sitting in his corner1   
would deride this grand self-expression 
of humanity in action1 this incessant   
self-consecration8  ,who is there that  
thinks the union of ,god and man is to  

be found in some secluded enjoyment of  
his own imaginings1 away from the       
sky-towering temple of the greatness of 
humanity1 which the whole of mankind1 in
 sunshine and storm1 is toiling to erect
 through the ages8  ,who is there that  
thinks this secluded communion is the   
highest form of religion8  ,o thou      
distraught wanderer1 thou ,sannyasin1   
drunk in the wine of self-intoxication1 
dost thou not already hear the progress 
of the human soul along the highway     
traversing the wide fields of           
humanity--the thunder of its progress in
 the car of its achievements1 which is  
destined to overpass the bounds that    
prevent its expansion into the universe8
  ,the very mountains are cleft asunder 
and give way before the march of its    
banners waving triumphantly in the      
heavens2 as the mist before the rising  
sun1 the tangled obscurities of material
 things vanish at its irresistible      
approach4  ,pain1 disease1 and disorder 
are at every step receding before its   

onset2 the obstructions of ignorance are
 being thrust aside2 the darkness of    
blindness is being pierced through2 and 
behold1 the promised land of wealth and 
health1 of poetry and art1 of knowledge 
and righteousness is gradually being    
revealed to view4  ,do you in your      
lethargy desire to say that this car of 
humanity1 which is shaking the very     
earth with the triumph of its progress  
along the mighty vistas of history1 has 
no charioteer leading it on to its      
fulfilment8  ,who is there who refuses  
to respond to his call to join in this  
triumphal progress8 ,who so foolish as  
to run away from the gladsome throng and
 seek him in the listlessness of        
inaction8  ,who so steeped in untruth as
 to dare to call all this untrue--this  
great world of men1 this civilisation of
 expanding humanity1 this eternal effort
 of man1 through depths of sorrow1      
through heights of gladness1 through    
innumerable impediments within and      
without1 to win victory for his powers8 

,he who can think of this immensity of  
achievement as an immense fraud1 can he 
truly believe in ,god who is the truth8 
,he who thinks to reach ,god by running 
away from the world1 when and where does
 he expect to meet him8  ,how far can he
 fly--can he fly and fly1 till he flies 
into nothingness itself8  ,no1 the      
coward who would fly can nowhere find   
him4  ,we must be brave enough to be    
able to say3 ,we are reaching him here  
in this very spot1 now at this very     
moment4  ,we must be able to assure     
ourselves that as in our actions we are 
realising ourselves1 so in ourselves we 
are realising him who is the self of    
self4  ,we must earn the right to say so
 unhesitatingly by clearing away with   
our own effort all obstruction1 all     
disorder1 all discords from our path of 
activity2 we must be able to say1 ,in my
 work is my joy1 and in that joy does   
the joy of my joy abide4  ,whom does the
 ,upanishad call ,the chief among the   
knowers of ,brahma8  ,footnote3         

,brahmavidmvaristhah4  ,he is defined as
 ,he whose joy is in ,brahma1 whose play
 is in ,brahma1 the active one4         
,footnote3 tmakrrha tmaratih kriyvn4    
,joy without the play of joy is no joy  
at all--play without activity is no     
play4 ,activity is the play of joy4  ,he
 whose joy is in ,brahma1 how can he    
live in inaction8  ,for must he not by  
his activity provide that in which the  
joy of ,brahma is to take form and      
manifest itself8  ,that is why he who   
knows ,brahma1 who has his joy in       
,brahma1 must also have all his activity
 in ,brahma--his eating and drinking1   
his earning of livelihood and his       
beneficence4 ,just as the joy of the    
poet in his poem1 of the artist in his  
art1 of the brave man in the output of  
his courage1 of the wise man in his     
discernment of truths1 ever seeks       
expression in their several activities1 
so the joy of the knower of ,brahma1 in 
the whole of his everyday work1 little  
and big1 in truth1 in beauty1 in        

orderliness and in beneficence1 seeks to
 give expression to the infinite4       
,brahma himself gives expression to his 
joy in just the same way4 ,by his       
many-sided activity1 which radiates in  
all directions1 does he fulfil the      
inherent want of his different          
creatures4 ,footnote3 ,bahudh akti yogt 
varnanekn nihitrtho dadhti4 ,that       
inherent want is he himself1 and so he  
is in so many ways1 in so many forms1   
giving himself4  ,he works1 for without 
working how could he give himself4  ,his
 joy is ever dedicating itself in the   
dedication which is his creation4  ,in  
this very thing does our own true       
meaning lie1 in this is our likeness to 
our father4  ,we must also give up      
ourselves in many-sided variously aimed 
activity4  ,in the ,vedas he is called  
the giver of himself1 the giver of      
strength4  ,footnote3  tmad balad4  ,he 
is not content with giving us himself1  
but he gives us strength that we may    
likewise give ourselves4  ,that is why  

the seer of the ,upanishad prays to him 
who is thus fulfilling our wants1 ,may  
he grant us the beneficent mind         
,footnote3 ,sa no buddhya ubhay         
samyunaktu41 may he fulfil that         
uttermost want of ours by granting us   
the beneficent mind4  ,that is to say1  
it is not enough he should alone work to
 remove our want1 but he should give us 
the desire and the strength to work with
 him in his activity and in the exercise
 of the goodness4  ,then1 indeed1 will  
our union with him alone be             
accomplished4  ,the beneficent mind is  
that which shows us the want 7swrtha7 of
 another self to be the inherent want   
7nihitrtha7 of our own self2 that which 
shows that our joy consists in the      
varied aiming of our many-sided powers  
in the work of humanity4  ,when we work 
under the guidance of this beneficent   
mind1 then our activity is regulated1   
but does not become mechanical2 it is   
action not goaded on by want1 but       
stimulated by the satisfaction of the   

soul4  ,such activity ceases to be a    
blind imitation of that of the          
multitude1 a cowardly following of the  
dictates of fashion4 ,therein we begin  
to see that ,he is in the beginning and 
in the end of the universe ,footnote3   
,vichaiti chnt vivamdau41 and likewise  
see that of our own work is he the fount
 and the inspiration1 and at the end    
thereof is he1 and therefore that all   
our activity is pervaded by peace and   
good and joy4  ,the ,upanishad says3    
,knowledge1 power1 and action are of his
 nature4 ,footnote3 ,svbhvikjnna bala   
kriy cha4  ,it is because this          
naturalness has not yet been born in us 
that we tend to divide joy from work4   
,our day of work is not our day of      
joy--for that we require a holiday2 for1
 miserable that we are1 we cannot find  
our holiday in our work4  ,the river    
finds its holiday in its onward flow1   
the fire in its outburst of flame1 the  
scent of the flower in its permeation of
 the atmosphere2 but in our everyday    

work there is no such holiday for us4   
,it is because we do not let ourselves  
go1 because we do not give ourselves    
joyously and entirely up to it1 that our
 work overpowers us4  ,o giver of       
thyself6 at the vision of thee as joy   
let our souls flame up to thee as the   
fire1 flow on to thee as the river1     
permeate thy being as the fragrance of  
the flower4  ,give us strength to love1 
to love fully1 our life in its joys and 
sorrows1 in its gains and losses1 in its
 rise and fall4  ,let us have strength  
enough fully to see and hear thy        
universe1 and to work with full vigour  
therein4  ,let us fully live the life   
thou hast given us1 let us bravely take 
and bravely give4  ,this is our prayer  
to thee4  ,let us once for all dislodge 
from our minds the feeble fancy that    
would make out thy joy to be a thing    
apart from action1 thin1 formless1 and  
unsustained4  ,wherever the peasant     
tills the hard earth1 there does thy joy
 gush out in the green of the corn1     

wherever man displaces the entangled    
forest1 smooths the stony ground1 and   
clears for himself a homestead1 there   
does thy joy enfold it in orderliness   
and peace4  ,o worker of the universe6  
,we would pray to thee to let the       
irresistible current of thy universal   
energy come like the impetuous south    
wind of spring1 let it come rushing over
 the vast field of the life of man1 let 
it bring the scent of many flowers1 the 
murmurings of many woodlands1 let it    
make sweet and vocal the lifelessness of
 our dried-up soul-life4  ,let our newly
 awakened powers cry out for unlimited  
fulfilment in leaf and flower and fruit4
    ,,vii   ,,the ,,realisation ,,of    
,,beauty   ,things in which we do not   
take joy are either a burden upon our   
minds to be got rid of at any cost2 or  
they are useful1 and therefore in       
temporary and partial relation to us1   
becoming burdensome when their utility  
is lost2 or they are like wandering     
vagabonds1 loitering for a moment on the

 outskirts of our recognition1 and then 
passing on4  ,a thing is only completely
 our own when it is a thing of joy to   
us4  ,the greater part of this world is 
to us as if it were nothing4 ,but we    
cannot allow it to remain so1 for thus  
it belittles our own self4  ,the entire 
world is given to us1 and all our powers
 have their final meaning in the faith  
that by their help we are to take       
possession of our patrimony4  ,but what 
is the function of our sense of beauty  
in this process of the extension of our 
consciousness8  ,is it there to separate
 truth into strong lights and shadows1  
and bring it before us in its           
uncompromising distinction of beauty and
 ugliness8  ,if that were so1 then we   
would have had to admit that this sense 
of beauty creates a dissension in our   
universe and sets up a wall of hindrance
 across the highway of communication    
that leads from everything to all       
things4  ,but that cannot be true4  ,as 
long as our realisation is incomplete a 

division necessarily remains between    
things known and unknown1 pleasant and  
unpleasant4  ,but in spite of the dictum
 of some philosophers man does not      
accept any arbitrary and absolute limit 
to his knowable world4  ,every day his  
science is penetrating into the region  
formerly marked in his map as unexplored
 or inexplorable4  ,our sense of beauty 
is similarly engaged in ever pushing on 
its conquests4  ,truth is everywhere1   
therefore everything is the object of   
our knowledge4  ,beauty is omnipresent1 
therefore everything is capable of      
giving us joy4  ,in the early days of   
his history man took everything as a    
phenomenon of life4  ,his science of    
life began by creating a sharp          
distinction between life and non-life4  
,but as it is proceeding farther and    
farther the line of demarcation between 
the animate and inanimate is growing    
more and more dim4  ,in the beginning of
 our apprehension these sharp lines of  
contrast are helpful to us1 but as our  

comprehension becomes clearer they      
gradually fade away4  ,the ,upanishads  
have said that all things are created   
and sustained by an infinite joy4  ,to  
realise this principle of creation we   
have to start with a division--the      
division into the beautiful and the     
non-beautiful4  ,then the apprehension  
of beauty has to come to us with a      
vigorous blow to awaken our             
consciousness from its primitive        
lethargy1 and it attains its object by  
the urgency of the contrast4  ,therefore
 our first acquaintance with beauty is  
in her dress of motley colours1 that    
affects us with its stripes and         
feathers1 nay1 with its disfigurements4 
,but as our acquaintance ripens1 the    
apparent discords are resolved into     
modulations of rhythm4  ,at first we    
detach beauty from its surroundings1 we 
hold it apart from the rest1 but at the 
end we realise its harmony with all4    
,then the music of beauty has no more   
need of exciting us with loud noise2 it 

renounces violence1 and appeals to our  
heart with the truth that it is meekness
 inherits the earth4  ,in some stage of 
our growth1 in some period of our       
history1 we try to set up a special cult
 of beauty1 and pare it down to a narrow
 circuit1 so as to make it a matter of  
pride for a chosen few4  ,then it breeds
 in its votaries affections and         
exaggerations1 as it did with the       
,brahmins in the time of the decadence  
of ,indian civilisation1 when the       
perception of the higher truth fell away
 and superstitions grew up unchecked4   
,in the history of sthetics there also  
comes an age of emancipation when the   
recognition of beauty in things great   
and small become easy1 and when we see  
it more in the unassuming harmony of    
common objects than in things startling 
in their singularity4  ,so much so1 that
 we have to go through the stages of    
reaction when in the representation of  
beauty we try to avoid everything that  
is obviously pleasing and that has been 

crowned by the sanction of convention4  
,we are then tempted in defiance to     
exaggerate the commonness of commonplace
 things1 thereby making them            
aggressively uncommon4  ,to restore     
harmony we create the discords which are
 a feature of all reactions4  ,we       
already see in the present age the sign 
of this sthetic reaction1 which proves  
that man has at last come to know that  
it is only the narrowness of perception 
which sharply divides the field of his  
sthetic consciousness into ugliness and 
beauty4  ,when he has the power to see  
things detached from self-interest and  
from the insistent claims of the lust of
 the senses1 then alone can he have the 
true vision of the beauty that is       
everywhere4  ,then only can he see that 
what is unpleasant to us is not         
necessarily unbeautiful1 but has its    
beauty in truth4  ,when we say that     
beauty is everywhere we do not mean that
 the word ugliness should be abolished  
from our language1 just as it would be  

absurd to say that there is no such     
thing as untruth4 ,untruth there        
certainly is1 not in the system of the  
universe1 but in our power of           
comprehension1 as its negative element4 
,in the same manner there is ugliness in
 the distorted expression of beauty in  
our life and in our art which comes from
 our imperfect realisation of ,truth4   
,to a certain extent we can set our life
 against the law of truth which is in us
 and which is in all1 and likewise we   
can give rise to ugliness by going      
counter to the eternal law of harmony   
which is everywhere4  ,through our sense
 of truth we realise law in creation1   
and through our sense of beauty we      
realise harmony in the universe4 ,when  
we recognise the law in nature we extend
 our mastery over physical forces and   
become powerful2 when we recognise the  
law in our moral nature we attain       
mastery over self and become free4  ,in 
like manner the more we comprehend the  
harmony in the physical world the more  

our life shares the gladness of         
creation1 and our expression of beauty  
in art becomes more truly catholic4  ,as
 we become conscious of the harmony in  
our soul1 our apprehension of the       
blissfulness of the spirit of the world 
becomes universal1 and the expression of
 beauty in our life moves in goodness   
and love towards the infinite4  ,this is
 the ultimate object of our existence1  
that we must ever know that beauty is   
truth1 truth beauty2 we must realise the
 whole world in love1 for love gives it 
birth1 sustains it1 and takes it back to
 its bosom4  ,we must have that perfect 
emancipation of heart which gives us the
 power to stand at the innermost centre 
of things and have the taste of that    
fullness of disinterested joy which     
belongs to ,brahma4  ,music is the      
purest form of art1 and therefore the   
most direct expression of beauty1 with a
 form and spirit which is one and       
simple1 and least encumbered with       
anything extraneous4  ,we seem to feel  

that the manifestation of the infinite  
in the finite forms of creation is music
 itself1 silent and visible4  ,the      
evening sky1 tirelessly repeating the   
starry constellations1 seems like a     
child struck with wonder at the mystery 
of its own first utterance1 lisping the 
same word over and over again1 and      
listening to it in unceasing joy4  ,when
 in the rainy night of ,july the        
darkness is thick upon the meadows and  
the pattering rain draws veil upon veil 
over the stillness of the slumbering    
earth1 this monotony of the rain patter 
seems to be the darkness of sound       
itself4  ,the gloom of the dim and dense
 line of trees1 the thorny bushes       
scattered in the bare heath like        
floating heads of swimmers with         
bedraggled hair1 the smell of the damp  
grass and the wet earth1 the spire of   
the temple rising above the undefined   
mass of blackness grouped around the    
village huts--everything seems like     
notes rising from the heart of the      

night1 mingling and losing themselves in
 the one sound of ceaseless rain filling
 the sky4  ,therefore the true poets1   
they who are seers1 seek to express the 
universe in terms of music4  ,they      
rarely use symbols of painting to       
express the unfolding of forms1 the     
mingling of endless lines and colours   
that goes on every moment on the canvas 
of the blue sky4  ,they have their      
reason4  ,for the man who paints must   
have canvas1 brush and colour-box4  ,the
 first touch of his brush is very far   
from the complete idea4  ,and then when 
the work is finished the artist is gone1
 the windowed picture stands alone1 the 
incessant touches of love of the        
creative hand are withdrawn4  ,but the  
singer has everything within him4  ,the 
notes come out from his very life4      
,they are not materials gathered from   
outside4  ,his idea and his expression  
are brother and sister2 very often they 
are born as twins4  ,in music the heart 
reveals itself immediately2 it suffers  

not from any barrier of alien material4 
,therefore though music has to wait for 
its completeness like any other art1 yet
 at every step it gives out the beauty  
of the whole4  ,as the material of      
expression even words are barriers1 for 
their meaning has to be constructed by  
thought4  ,but music never has to depend
 upon any obvious meaning2 it expresses 
what no words can ever express4  ,what  
is more1 music and the musician are     
inseparable4  ,when the singer departs1 
his singing dies with him2 it is in     
eternal union with the life and joy of  
the master4  ,this world-song is never  
for a moment separated from its singer4 
,it is not fashioned from any outward   
material4  ,it is his joy itself taking 
never-ending form4  ,it is the great    
heart sending the tremor of its thrill  
over the sky4  ,there is a perfection in
 each individual strain of this music1  
which is the revelation of completion in
 the incomplete4  ,no one of its notes  
is final1 yet each reflects the         

infinite4  ,what does it matter if we   
fail to derive the exact meaning of this
 great harmony8  ,is it not like the    
hand meeting the string and drawing out 
at once all its tones at the touch8  ,it
 is the language of beauty1 the caress1 
that comes from the heart of the world  
straightway reaches our heart4  ,last   
night1 in the silence which pervaded the
 darkness1 ,i stood alone and heard the 
voice of the singer of eternal melodies4
 ,when ,i went to sleep ,i closed my    
eyes with this last thought in my mind1 
that even when ,i remain unconscious in 
slumber the dance of life will still go 
on in the hushed arena of my sleeping   
body1 keeping step with the stars4  ,the
 heart will throb1 the blood will leap  
in the veins1 and the millions of living
 atoms of my body will vibrate in tune  
with the note of the harp-string that   
thrills at the touch of the master4     
,,viii   ,,the ,,realisation ,,of ,,the 
,,infinite   ,the ,upanishads say3 ,man 
becomes true if in this life he can     

apprehend ,god2 if not1 it is the       
greatest calamity for him4  ,but what is
 the nature of this attainment of ,god8 
,it is quite evident that the infinite  
is not like one object among many1 to be
 definitely classified and kept among   
our possessions1 to be used as an ally  
specially favouring us in our politics1 
warfare1 money-making1 or in social     
competitions4  ,we cannot put our ,god  
in the same list with our summer-houses1
 motor-cars1 or our credit at the bank1 
as so many people seem to want to do4   
,we must try to understand the true     
character of the desire that a man has  
when his soul longs for his ,god4  ,does
 it consist of his wish to make an      
addition1 however valuable1 to his      
belongings8 ,emphatically no6  ,it is an
 endlessly wearisome task1 this         
continual adding to our stores4  ,in    
fact1 when the soul seeks ,god she seeks
 her final escape from this incessant   
gathering and heaping and never coming  
to an end4  ,it is not an additional    

object the she seeks1 but it is the     
nityo 'nitynm1 the permanent in all that
 is impermanent1 the rasnm rasatamah1   
the highest abiding joy unifying all    
enjoyments4  ,therefore when the        
,upanishads teach us to realise         
everything in ,brahma1 it is not to seek
 something extra1 not to manufacture    
something new4  ,know everything that   
there is in the universe as enveloped by
 ,god4  ,footnote3 hvsyamdiam sarvam yat
 kincha jagatynjagat4  ,enjoy whatever  
is given by him and harbour not in your 
mind the greed for wealth which is not  
your own4 ,footnoe3 ,tna tyaktna bhunjh 
m gidhah kasyasviddhanam4  ,when you    
know that whatever there is is filled by
 him and whatever you have is his gift1 
then you realise the infinite in the    
finite1 and the giver in the gifts4     
,then you know that all the facts of the
 reality have their only meaning in the 
manifestation of the one truth1 and all 
your possessions have their only        
significance for you1 not in themselves 

but in the relation they establish with 
the infinite4  ,so it cannot be said    
that we can find ,brahma as we find     
other objects2 there is no question of  
searching from him in one thing in      
preference to another1 in one place     
instead of somewhere else4 ,we do not   
have to run to the grocer's shop for our
 morning light2 we open our eyes and    
there it is2 so we need only give       
ourselves up to find that ,brahma is    
everywhere4  ,this is the reason why    
,buddha admonished us to free ourselves 
from the confinement of the life of the 
self4  ,if there were nothing else to   
take its place more positively perfect  
and satisfying1 then such admonition    
would be absolutely unmeaning4 ,no man  
can seriously consider the advice1 much 
less have any enthusiasm for it1 of     
surrendering everything one has for     
gaining nothing whatever4  ,so our daily
 worship of ,god is not really the      
process of gradual acquisition of him1  
but the daily process of surrendering   

ourselves1 removing all obstacles to    
union and extending our consciousness of
 him in devotion and service1 in        
goodness and in love4  ,the ,upanishads 
say3 ,be lost altogether in ,brahma like
 an arrow that has completely penetrated
 its target4  ,thus to be conscious of  
being absolutely enveloped by ,brahma is
 not an act of mere concentration of    
mind4  ,it must be the aim of the whole 
of our life4  ,in all our thoughts and  
deeds we must be conscious of the       
infinite4  ,let the realisation of this 
truth become easier every day of our    
life1 that none could live or move if   
the energy of the all-pervading joy did 
not fill the sky4  ,footnote3 ,ko       
hyevnyt kah prnyt yadesha kha nando na  
syt4  ,in all our actions let us feel   
that impetus of the infinite energy and 
be glad4  ,it may be said that the      
infinite is beyond our attainment1 so it
 is for us as if it were naught4  ,yes1 
if the word attainment implies any idea 
of possession1 then it must be admitted 

that the infinite is unattainable4  ,but
 we must keep in mind that the highest  
enjoyment of man is not in the having   
but in a getting1 which is at the same  
time not getting4  ,our physical        
pleasures leave no margin for the       
unrealised4  ,they1 like the dead       
satellite of the earth1 have but little 
atmosphere around them4 ,when we take   
food and satisfy our hunger it is a     
complete act of possession4  ,so long as
 the hunger is not satisfied it is a    
pleasure to eat4  ,for then our         
enjoyment of eating touches at every    
point the infinite4  ,but1 when it      
attains completion1 or in other words1  
when our desire for eating reaches the  
end of the stage of its non-realisation1
 it reaches the end of its pleasure4 ,in
 all our intellectual pleasures the     
margin is broader1 the limit is far off4
  ,in all our deeper love getting and   
non-getting run ever parallel4  ,in one 
of our ,vaishnava lyrics the lover says 
to his beloved3 ,i feel as if ,i have   

gazed upon the beauty of thy face from  
my birth1 yet my eyes are hungry still3 
as if ,i have kept thee pressed to my   
heart for millions of years1 yet my     
heart is not satisfied4  ,this makes it 
clear that it is really the infinite    
whom we seek in our pleasures4  ,our    
desire for being wealthy is not a desire
 for a particular sum of money but it is
 indefinite1 and the most fleeting of   
our enjoyments are but the momentary    
touches of the eternal4  ,the tragedy of
 human life consists in our vain        
attempts to stretch the limits of things
 which can never become unlimited1--to  
reach the infinite by absurdly adding to
 the rungs of the ladder of the finite4 
,it is evident from this that the real  
desire of our soul is to get beyond all 
our possessions4  ,surrounded by things 
she can touch and feel1 she cries1 ,i am
 weary of getting2 ah1 where is he who  
is never to be got8  ,we see everywhere 
in the history of man that the spirit of
 renunciation is the deepest reality of 

the human soul4  ,when the soul says of 
anything1 ,i do not want it1 for ,i am  
above it1 she gives utterance to the    
highest truth that is in her4  ,when a  
girl's life outgrows her doll1 when she 
realises that in every respect she is   
more than her doll is1 then she throws  
it away4 ,by the very act of possession 
we know that we are greater than the    
things we possess4  ,it is a perfect    
misery to be kept bound up with things  
lesser than ourselves4  ,this it is that
 ,maitrey felt when her husband gave her
 his property on the eve of leaving     
home4  ,she asked him1 ,would these     
material things help one to attain the  
highest8--or1 in other words1 ,are they 
more than my soul to me8  ,when her     
husband answered1 ,they will make you   
rich in worldly possessions1 she said at
 once1 then what am ,i to do with these8
  ,it is only when a man truly realises 
what his possessions are that he has no 
more illusions about them2 then he knows
 his soul is far above these things and 

he becomes free from their bondage4     
,thus man truly realises his soul by    
outgrowing his possessions1 and man's   
progress in the path of eternal life is 
through a series of renunciations4      
,that we cannot absolutely possess the  
infinite being is not a mere            
intellectual proposition4  ,it has to be
 experienced1 and this experience is    
bliss4  ,the bird1 while taking its     
flight in the sky1 experiences at every 
beat of its wings that the sky is       
boundless1 that its wings can never     
carry it beyond4  ,therein lies its joy4
  ,in the cage the sky is limited2 it   
may be quite enough for all the purposes
 of the bird's life1 only it is not more
 than is necessary4  ,the bird cannot   
rejoice within the limits of the        
necessary4  ,it must feel that what it  
has is immeasurably more than it ever   
can want or comprehend1 and then only   
can it be glad4  ,thus our soul must    
soar in the infinite1 and she must feel 
every moment that in the sense of not   

being able to come to the end of her    
attainment is her supreme joy1 her final
 freedom4  ,man's abiding happiness is  
not in getting anything but in giving   
himself up to what is greater than      
himself1 to ideas which are larger than 
his individual life1 the idea of his    
country1 of humanity1 of ,god4  ,they   
make it easier for him to part with all 
that he has1 not expecting his life4    
,his existence is miserable and sordid  
till he finds some great idea which can 
truly claim his all1 which can release  
him from all attachment to his          
belongings4  ,buddha and ,jesus1 and all
 our great prophets1 represent such     
great ideas4  ,they hold before us      
opportunities for surrendering our all4 
,when they bring forth their divine     
alms-bowl we feel we cannot help giving1
 and we find that in giving is our      
truest joy and liberation1 for it is    
uniting ourselves to that extent with   
the infinite4  ,man is not complete2 he 
is yet to be4  ,in what he is he is     

small1 and if we could conceive him     
stopping there for eternity we should   
have an idea of the most awful hell that
 man can imagine4  ,in his to be he is  
infinite1 there is his heaven1 his      
deliverance4  ,his is is occupied every 
moment with what it can get and have    
done with2 his to be is hungering for   
something which is more than can be got1
 which he never can lose because he     
never has possessed4  ,the finite pole  
of our existence has its place in the   
world of necessity4  ,there man goes    
about searching for food to live1       
clothing to get warmth4  ,in this       
region--the region of nature--it is his 
function to get things4  ,the natural   
man is occupied with enlarging his      
possessions4  ,but this act of getting  
is partial4  ,it is limited to man's    
necessities4  ,we can have a thing only 
to the extent of our requirements1 just 
as a vessel can contain water only to   
the extent of its emptiness4  ,our      
relation to food is only in feeding1 our

 relation to a house is only in         
habitation4  ,we call it a benefit when 
a thing is fitted only to some          
particular want of ours4  ,thus to get  
is always to get partially1 and it never
 can be otherwise4  ,so this craving for
 acquisition belongs to our finite self4
  ,but that side of our existence whose 
direction is towards the infinite seeks 
not wealth1 but freedom and joy4  ,there
 the reign of necessity ceases1 and     
there our function is not to get but to 
be4  ,to be what8  ,to be one with      
,brahma4  ,for the region of the        
infinite is the region of unity4        
,therefore the ,upanishads say3 ,if man 
apprehends ,god he becomes true4  ,here 
it is becoming1 it is not having more4  
,words do no gather bulk when you know  
their meaning2 they become true by being
 one with the idea4  ,though the ,west  
has accepted as its teacher him who     
boldly proclaimed his oneness with his  
,father1 and who exhorted his followers 
to be perfect as ,god1 it has never been

 reconciled to this idea of our unity   
with the infinite being4  ,it condemns1 
as a piece of blasphemy1 any implication
 of man's becoming ,god4 ,this is       
certainly not the idea that ,christ     
preached1 nor perhaps the idea of the   
,christian mystics1 but this seems to be
 the idea that has become popular in the
 ,christian west4  ,but the highest     
wisdom in the ,east holds that it is not
 the function of our soul to gain ,god1 
to utilise him for any special material 
purpose4  ,all that we can ever aspire  
to is to become more and more one with  
,god4  ,in the region of nature1 which  
is the region of diversity1 we grow by  
acquisition2 in the spiritual world1    
which is the region of unity1 we grow by
 losing ourselves1 by uniting4  ,gaining
 a thing1 as we have said1 is by its    
nature partial1 it is limited only to a 
particular want2 but being is complete1 
it belongs to our wholeness1 it springs 
not from any necessity but from our     
affinity with the infinite1 which is the

 principle of perfection that we have in
 our soul4  ,yes1 we must become        
,brahma4  ,we must not shrink to avow   
this4 ,our existence is meaningless if  
we never can expect to realise the      
highest perfection that there is4  ,if  
we have an aim and yet can never reach  
it1 then it is no aim at all4  ,but can 
it then be said that there is no        
difference between ,brahma and our      
individual soul8  ,of course the        
difference is obvious4  ,call it        
illusion or ignorance1 or whatever name 
you may give it1 it is there4  ,you can 
offer explanations but you cannot       
explain it away4  ,even illusion is true
 an illusion4  ,brahma is ,brahma1 he is
 the infinite ideal of perfection4  ,but
 we are not what we truly are2 we are   
ever to become true1 ever to become     
,brahma4  ,there is the eternal play of 
love in the relation between this being 
and the becoming2 and in the depth of   
this mystery is the source of all truth 
and beauty that sustains the endless    

march of creation4  ,in the music of the
 rushing stream sounds the joyful       
assurance1 ,i shall become the sea4  ,it
 is not a vain assumption2 it is true   
humility1 for it is the truth4  ,the    
river has no other alternative4  ,on    
both sides of its banks it has numerous 
fields and forests1 villages and towns2 
it can serve them in various ways1      
cleanse them and feed them1 carry their 
produce from place to place4  ,but it   
can have only partial relations with    
these1 and however long it may linger   
among them it remains separate2 it never
 can become a town or a forest4  ,but it
 can and does become the sea4  ,the     
lesser moving water has its affinity    
with the great motionless water of the  
ocean4  ,it moves through the thousand  
objects on its onward course1 and its   
motion finds its finality when it       
reaches the sea4  ,the river can become 
the sea1 but she can never make the sea 
part and parcel of herself4  ,if1 by    
some chance1 she has encircled some     

broad sheet of water and pretends that  
she has made the sea a part of herself1 
we at once know that it is not so1 that 
her current is still seeking rest in the
 great ocean to which it can never set  
boundaries4  ,in the same manner1 our   
soul can only become ,brahma as the     
river can become the sea4  ,everything  
else she touches at one of her points1  
then leaves and moves on1 but she never 
can leave ,brahma and move beyond him4  
,once our soul realises her ultimate    
object of repose in ,brahma1 all her    
movements acquire a purpose4  ,it is    
this ocean of infinite rest which gives 
significance to endless activities4  ,it
 is this perfectness of being that lends
 to the imperfection of becoming that   
quality of beauty which finds its       
expression in all poetry1 drama and art4
  ,there must be a complete idea that   
animates a poem4  ,every sentence of the
 poem touches that idea4  ,when the     
reader realises that pervading idea1 as 
he reads on1 then the reading of the    

poem is full of joy to him4  ,then every
 part of the poem becomes radiantly     
significant by the light of the whole4  
,but if the poem goes on interminably1  
never expressing the idea of the whole1 
only throwing off disconnected images1  
however beautiful1 it becomes wearisome 
and unprofitable in the extreme4  ,the  
progress of our soul is like a perfect  
poem4  ,it has an infinite idea which   
once realised makes all movements full  
of meaning and joy4 ,but if we detach   
its movements from that ultimate idea1  
if we do not see the infinite rest and  
only see the infinite motion1 then      
existence appears to us a monstrous     
evil1 impetuously rushing towards an    
unending aimlessness4  ,i remember in   
our childhood we had a teacher who used 
to make us learn by heart the whole book
 of ,sanskrit grammer1 which is written 
in symbols1 without explaining their    
meaning to us4  ,day after day we went  
toiling on1 but on towards what1 we had 
not the least notion4  ,so1 as regards  

our lessons1 we were in the position of 
the pessimist who only counts the       
breathless activities of the world1 but 
cannot see the infinite repose of the   
perfection whence these activities are  
gaining their equilibrium every moment  
in absolute fitness and harmony4  ,we   
lose all joy in thus contemplating      
existence1 because we miss the truth4   
,we see the gesticulations of the       
dancer1 and we imagine these are        
directed by a ruthless tyranny of       
chance1 while we are deaf to the eternal
 music which makes every one of these   
gestures inevitably spontaneous and     
beautiful4  ,these motions are ever     
growing into that music of perfection1  
becoming one with it1 dedicating to that
 melody at every step the multitudinous 
forms they go on creating4  ,and this is
 the truth of our soul1 and this is her 
joy1 that she must ever be growing into 
,brahma1 that all her movements should  
be modulated by this ultimate idea1 and 
all her creations should be given as    

offerings to the supreme spirit of      
perfection4  ,there is a remarkable     
saying in the ,upanishads3 ,i think not 
that ,i know him well1 or that ,i know  
him1 or even that ,i know him not4      
,footnote3 ,nham manye suvedeti no na   
vedeti vedacha4  ,by the process of     
knowledge we can never know the infinite
 being4 ,but if he is altogether beyond 
our reach1 then he is absolutely nothing
 to us4  ,the truth is that we know him 
not1 yet we know him4  ,this has been   
explained in another saying of the      
,upanishads3 ,from ,brahma words come   
back baffled1 as well as the mind1 but  
he who knows him by the joy of him is   
free from all fears4 ,footnote3 ,yato   
vcho nivartante aprpya manas saha nandam
 brahmao vidvn na vibheti kutachana4    
,knowledge is partial1 because our      
intellect is an instrument1 it is only a
 part of us1 it can give us information 
about things which can be divided and   
analysed1 and whose properties can be   
classified part by part4  ,but ,brahma  

is perfect1 and knowledge which is      
partial can never be a knowledge of him4
  ,but he can be known by joy1 by love4 
,for joy is knowledge in its            
completeness1 it is knowing by our whole
 being4  ,intellect sets us apart from  
the things to be known1 but love knows  
its object by fusion4  ,such knowledge  
is immediate and admits no doubt4  ,it  
is the same as knowing our own selves1  
only more so4  ,therefore1 as the       
,upanishads say1 mind can never know    
,brahma1 words can never describe him2  
he can only be known by our soul1 by her
 joy in him1 by her love4  ,or1 in other
 words1 we can only come into relation  
with him by union--union of our whole   
being4 ,we must be one with our ,father1
 we must be perfect as he is4  ,but how 
can that be8  ,there can be no grade in 
infinite perfection4  ,we cannot grow   
more and more into ,brahma4  ,he is the 
absolute one1 and there can be no more  
or less in him4  ,indeed1 the           
realisation of the paramtman1 the       

supreme soul1 within our antartman1 our 
inner individual soul1 is in a state of 
absolute completion4  ,we cannot think  
of it as non-existent and depending on  
our limited powers for its gradual      
construction4  ,if our relation with the
 divine were all a thing of our own     
making1 how should we rely on it as     
true1 and how should it lend us support8
  ,yes1 we must know that within us we  
have that where space and time cease to 
rule and where the links of evolution   
are merged in unity4  ,in that          
everlasting abode of the taman1 the     
soul1 the revelation of the paramtman1  
the supreme soul1 is already complete4  
,therefore the ,upanishads say3 ,he who 
knows ,brahman1 the true1 the           
all-conscious1 and the infinite as      
hidden in the depths of the soul1 which 
is the supreme sky 7the inner sky of    
consciousness71 enjoys all objects of   
desire in union with the all-knowing    
,brahman4  ,footnote3 ,satyam jnam      
anantam brahma yo veda nihitam guhym    

paramo vyoman so'nute sarvn kmn saha    
brahmaa vipashite4  ,the union is       
already accomplished4  ,the paramtman1  
the supreme soul1 has himself chosen    
this soul of ours as his bride and the  
marriage has been completed4  ,the      
solemn mantram has been uttered3 ,let   
thy heart be even as my heart is4       
,footnote3 ,yadetat hidayam mama tadastu
 hidayan tava4  ,there is no room in    
this marriage for evolution to act the  
part of the master of ceremonies4  ,the 
eshah1 who cannot otherwise be described
 than as ,this1 the nameless immediate  
presence1 is ever here in our innermost 
being4  ,this eshah1 or ,this1 is the   
supreme end of the other this2          
,footnote3 ,eshsya param gatih this     
,this is the supreme treasure of the    
other this2 ,footnote3 ,eshsya param    
sampat4 this ,this is the supreme       
dwelling of the other this2 ,footnote3  
,eshsya paramo lokah this ,this is the  
supreme joy of the other this4          
,footnote3 ,eshsya parama nandah        

,because the marriage of supreme love   
has been accomplished in timeless time4 
,and now goes on the endless ll1 the    
play of love4  ,he who has been gained  
in eternity is now being pursued in time
 and space1 in joys and sorrows1 in this
 world and in the worlds beyond4 ,when  
the soul-bride understands this well1   
her heart is blissful and at rest4  ,she
 knows that she1 like a river1 has      
attained the ocean of her fulfilment at 
one end of her being1 and at the other  
end she is ever attaining it2 at one end
 it is eternal rest and completion1 at  
the other it is incessant movement and  
change4 ,when she knows both ends as    
inseparably connected1 then she knows   
the world as her own household by the   
right of knowing the master of the world
 as her own lord4  ,then all her        
services becomes services of love1 all  
the troubles and tribulations of life   
come to her as trials triumphantly borne
 to prove the strength of her love1     
smilingly to win the wager from her     

lover4  ,but so long as she remains     
obstinately in the dark1 lifts not her  
veil1 does not recognise her lover1 and 
only knows the world dissociated from   
him1 she serves as a handmaid here1     
where by right she might reign as a     
queen2 she sways in doubt1 and weeps in 
sorrow and dejection4  ,she passes from 
starvation to starvation1 from trouble  
to trouble1 and from fear to fear4      
,footnote3 ,daurbhiksht yti daurbhiksham
 klet kleam bhayt bhayam4  ,i can never 
forget that scrap of a song ,i once     
heard in the early dawn in the midst of 
the din of the crowd that had collected 
for a festival the night before3        
,ferryman1 take me across to the other  
shore6  ,in the bustle of all our work  
there comes out this cry1 ,take me      
across4  ,the carter in ,india sings    
while driving his cart1 ,take me across4
  ,the itinerant grocer deals out his   
goods to his customers and sings1 ,take 
me across4  ,what is the meaning of this
 cry8  ,we feel we have not reached our 

goal2 and we know with all our striving 
and toiling we do not come to the end1  
we do not attain our object4  ,like a   
child dissatisfied with its dolls1 our  
heart cries1 ,not this1 not this4  ,but 
what is that other8  ,where is the      
further shore8  ,is it something else   
than what we have8  ,is it somewhere    
else than where we are8  ,is it to take 
rest from all our works1 to be relieved 
from all the responsibilities of life8  
,no1 in the very heart of our activities
 we are seeking for our end4  ,we are   
crying for the across1 even where we    
stand4  ,so1 while our lips utter their 
prayer to be carried away1 our busy     
hands are never idle4  ,in truth1 thou  
ocean of joy1 this shore and the other  
shore are one and the same in thee4     
,when ,i call this my own1 the other    
lies estranged2 and missing the sense of
 that completeness which is in me1 my   
heart incessantly cries out for the     
other4  ,all my this1 and that other1   
are waiting to be completely reconciled 

in thy love4  ,this ,i of mine toils    
hard1 day and night1 for a home which it
 knows as its own4  ,alas1 there will be
 no end of its sufferings so long as it 
is not able to call this home thine4    
,till then it will struggle on1 and its 
heart will ever cry1 ,ferryman1 lead me 
across4  ,when this home of mine is made
 thine1 that very moment is it taken    
across1 even while its old walls enclose
 it4  ,this ,i is restless4  ,it is     
working for a gain which can never be   
assimilated with its spirit1 which it   
never can hold and retain4 ,in its      
efforts to clasp in its own arms that   
which is for all1 it hurts others and is
 hurt in its turn1 and cries1 ,lead me  
across4 ,but as soon as it is able to   
say1 ,all my work is thine1 everything  
remains the same1 only it is taken      
across4  ,where can ,i meet thee unless 
in this mine home made thine8  ,where   
can ,i join thee unless in this my work 
transformed into thy work8 ,if ,i leave 
my home ,i shall not reach thy home2 if 

,i cease my work ,i can never join thee 
in thy work4  ,for thou dwellest in me  
and ,i in thee4  ,thou without me or ,i 
without thee are nothing4  ,therefore1  
in the midst of our home and our work1  
the prayer rises1 ,lead me across6  ,for
 here rolls the sea1 and even here lies 
the other shore waiting to be           
reached--yes1 here is this everlasting  
present1 not distant1 not anywhere else4