Savitri Fascicle: Book Four, Canto Two (1950)

7/24/2019 Savitri Fascicle: Book Four, Canto Two (1950)

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S VITRI

SEI ORDBISDO


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S A V I T R I

Legend and a Symbol

[ B o o k I V C a n t o I I ]

S R I A U R O B I N D O


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P U B L I S H E R S :

S R I A U R O B I N D O A S H R A M

P O N D I C H E R R Y

ll Rights Reserved

First Published in 1950

S R I A U R O B I N D O A S HRA M P R E S S P O N D I C H E R R Y

P R I N T E D N I N D I A

521 7 50 500


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BOOK FOUR

ook of Birth and Q uest


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C A N T O TWO

T HE GROWTH OF TH E FLAME

LAND of mountains and wide sun-beat plains

A n d

giant rivers pacing to

vastseas,

A

field

of creation and spiritual hush,

Silence swallowing life s

acts

into the

deeps,

O f thought s transcendent climb and heavenward leap,

A brooding

wor ld

of reverie and trance,

Fi l led

w i t h

the mightiest works of God and man.

Where Natureseemeda dream of the Divine

A n d beauty and

grace

and grandeur had their home,

Harboured the childhood of the incarnate Flame.

Over her watched

mil lennial

influences

A n d

the

deep godheads

of a grandiose past

Looked on her and saw the future sgodheadscome

As i f this magnet drew their powers unseen.

Earth s brooding wisdomspoketo her s t i l l breast;

Mou nt ing f r om mind s last peaks to mate

w i th

gods.

M a k i n g

earth s bri l l iant thoughts a springing board

To dive into the cosmic vastnesses,

The knowledge of the thinker and the

seer

Saw the unseen and thought the unthinkable,

Opened the enormous doors of the unknown,

Rent Man s horizons into inf inity.

A

shoreless sweep was lent to the mortal sacts.

A n d art and beauty sprang

from

the human depths;

Nature and soul vied in nobil ity.

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S A V I T R I

Ethics the human keyed to imitate heaven;

The harmony of a

rich

culture s tones

Refined thesenseand magnified its reach

To

hear

the unheard and glimpse the invisible

A n d

taught the soul to soarbeyond things known

Insp i r ing life to greaten and break its bounds.

Aspir ing

to the Immortals imscen wor ld .

Leaving earth s

safety

daring wings of M i n d

Bore her

above

the trodden fields of

thought

Crossing the mystic

seas

of the Beyond

To live oneagleheights near to the Sun.

There wisdom sits on her eternal throne.

A l l

her

hfe s

turns led her to symbol doors

A d mit t ing

to

secret Powers

that were her

k in ;

Adept of

t ru th , initiate

of

bhss,

A

mystic acolyte trained in Nature s school,

Aware of the marvel of created things

She

laid

the

secrecies

of her heart s

deep

muse

U p o n

the altar of the Wonderful;

H er

hours were

ritual

in a timeless fane ;

H er acts became gestures

of sacrifice.

Invested w i th a r hy tn m of higher

spheres

The word was used as a hieratic

means

For the

release

of t h e imprisoned

spirit

Into

communion w i th its comrade gods.

Or

it helped to beat out new

expressive

forms

O f

that which labours in the heart of

l ife.

Some immemorial Soul in men and things,

Seekerof the Unknown and the Unborn

Carry ing

a

l ight

f rom the Ineffable

To rend the veil of the last mysteries.

Intense philosophies pointed earth to heaven

Or on foundations broad as cosmic

Space

Upraised the earth-mind to superhuman heights.

Overpassing lines that

please

the outward

eyes

But

hide the sight of

that

which lives

w i th in

Sculpture and pamting concentrated

sense

U p o n

an inner vision s motionless

verge.

Revealed

a figure of the invisible,

Unveiled

all Nature s meaning in a f orm,

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B O O K

IV

C A N T O I I

(O r

caught into a body the Divine .

Th e architecture o f the Infinite

Discovered here its inward-musing shapes

Captured into wide breadths of soaring stone:

Music brought down celestial yearnings, song

Held

the merged heart absorbed in rapturous depths,

L inkm g

the human

w i th

the cosmic cry ;

Th e

wor ld-interpreting

movements of the

dance

Moulded

idea and mood to a rhy th m ic

sway

A n d po sture; crafts m inut e in subtle lines

Eternised a swift m oment s mem ory

O r

show ed in a carving s

sweep,

a

cup s

design

The underlying patterns of the unseen:

Poems i n largeness castl ike m oving worlds

A n d

metres surging

w i th

th e

ocean s

voice

Translated by grandeurs locked i n Nature s heart

But thrown now into a crowded g lory o f

speech

Th e beauty and su blimity o f her formsj

The passion of her moments and her moods

Li f t ing

the human word

near

to the

god s.

M an s

eyes

could look

into

the inner realms;

His

scrutiny discovered num ber s law

An d organised the motions of the

stars.

Mapped out the visible fashioning of the wor ld .

Questioned the process of his thoughts or made

A

theorised diagram of

m i n d

an d life.

These things she took in as her nature s food.

Butthese alone could i l l not her wide Self:

A

human seeking l imited by its gains.

To her they

seemed

the great and early

steps

Hazardous of a young discovering

spir it

W h i c h

saw not yet by its own native

l ight ;

It tapped the universe w i th testing knocks

Or stretched to find T r u t h - m i n d s divining rod,;

A

growing out there was to numberless

sides.

But not the w idest

seeing

o f thr soul ,

Not

yet the

vast

d i rect imm ediate touc h .

Nor

yet the art and wisdom of the

Gods.

A

boundless knowledge greater than man sthough t ,

A happiness

too high for heart and

sense

[

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S A V I T R I

Locked in the w or ld and yearning forrelease

She felt in her;

wait ing

as yet for

form.

I tasked for objects aroundwh ich to grow

An d natures strong to

bearw i thout

recoil

The splendour of her native royalty,

Her

greatness and hersweetnessand her bliss,

Her m ight topossessand hervastpower to love:

Earth made a stepping-stone to conquer heaven.

The soul saw beyondheaven s l imit ing boundaries,

M eta great

l ight from

the Unknowable

An d dreamed of a transcendent action s sphere.

Aware of the universal Self in all

She

turned

to Uving hearts and human forms;

H er

soul s reflections, complements, counterparts,

Theclose out lying portions of her being

Divided

f rom

her by walls of body and m ind

Yet to her spir i t bound by ties divine.

Overcoming invisible hedge and masked defence

And the lonehness

that

separatessoul

from

soul,

She wished to make all one immense embrace

T h a t

she

m i g h t

house in it all

l iving

things

Raised

into

a splendidpoint of seeing

l ight

Outof division s

dense

inconscient cleft,

And

make them one w i t h God and wor ld and her.

Only a few responded to her call:

Still

fewer

felt

the screened

divinity

And strove to mate its godhead w i t h their own.

Approaching w i t h some kinship to her heights.

Uplifted

towards luminous

secrecies

Orconscious of some splendour hiddenabove

They leaped to find her in a moment s flash.

Glimps inga l i ght in a celestial vast.

But

could not keep the vision and the power

An d fell back to life s

dull

ordinary tone.

A

mind

daring heavenly experiment,

Growmg towards bome

largeness

they fek near.

Test ing

the unknown s bound

w i th eager

touch

They

s t i l l

were prisoned by their human grain:

They could not keep up w i th her tireless step;

Too small andeagerfor her large-paced wi l l ,

Four]


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B O O K I V C A N T O I I

To o n arrow to lookw i t h the unbo rn Infinite s gaze

Their nature weary grew of things too great.

For even th e close partners of her thoughts

W h o could havewalked th e nearest to her ray.

Worsh ippe d th e power and hgh t they fe lt in her

But could not m atch the measure of h er soul.

A f r iend and yet too great wh ol ly to know ,

She walked in their front towards a greater l ight .

T h e i r leader and queen over their hearts and souls.

One close to th eir bosoms, yet divine and far.

Admir in g an d amazed they saw her stride

Attempt ing w i t h a godlike rush and leap

Heights for their human stature too remote

Or w i t h a slow great many-sided toil

Pushing towards aims they hardly could conceive;

Yet forced to be the satellites of her sun

Th ey m oved unable to forego her l ight,

Desiring they clutched at her w i t h outstretc h ed hand: .

Or fol lowed stumbling in the paths she made.

Or longing w i t h their self of Ufe and flesh

They c l im g to her for heart s nourishment and s upp on :

The rest they could not see in visible l ight;

Vaguely they bore her inner mightiness.

Or bound by the sensesand th e longing heart.

Adoring w i t h a

turbid

human love,

They could not grasp the m ighty spirit she was

Orchange by closeness to be even as she.

Some

felt h er w i t h their souls an d

thri l led

w i th her ;

A

greamess

felt

near

yet beyond m ind s

grasp;

To see her was a summons to adore,

To be near her drew a high comm union s force.

So men worship a god too great to know,

To o h i g h , too

vast

to wear a l imit ing shape;

They feel a

Presence

and obey a m igh t.

Adore a love whose rapture invades their breasts;

To a divine ardour quickening the heart-beats,

A

law they follow greatening heart and

life.

Opened to a breath is the new diviner air.

Opened to man is a freer, happier wor ld:

He seesh i g h steps c l im bing to Self and Lig h t.

[Page Five]


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S A V I T R I

Her

divine parts the soul s allegiance called:

I t

saw, it

felt ;

it knew the deity.

Her w i l l was puissant on their nature s acts.

Her heart s inexhaustiblesweetnesslured

the i r

hearts,

A being they loved whose boundsexceededtheirs;

H er

measure they could not reach but bore her

t ouch .

Answering w i t h the flower s answer to the sun

They gavethemselves to her and asked no more.

One greater

than

themselves, too wide for

the i r

ken,

T h e i r

minds could not understand nor

w h o l ly

know,

T h e i rlives rephed to hers, moved at her words:

They felt a godhead and obeyed a

cal l .

Answered to her lead and did her work in the

wor ld ;

T h e i r

lives,

the i r

natures moved compelled by hers

As if the t r u th of their own largerselves

Put on anaspectof divinity

To exalt them to a

p i tch

beyond

their

earth s.

They

felt

a larger future meet

their

walk;

She held the i r hands, shechosefor themtheir paths:

They were moved by her towards great unknown things,

Taith dicw them auu the joy to feel themselves hers; .

They lived in her, they saw the

wo r ld

w i t h her

eyes.

Some turned

to her against

their

nature s bent;

Divided between wonder and revolt.

D r a w n

by her charm and mastered by her wi l l .

Possessed

by her, her

str iving

topossess.

Impatient

subjects,

their tied

longing hearts

Hugging the bonds closeof

w h i c h

they most complained.

M u r m u r e d at a yoke they

would

havewept to lose.

The splendid yoke of her beauty and her love:

Others

pursued her

w i t h

life s b l ind

desires

And

claiming all of her as their lonely own,

Hastened toengrosshersweetnessmeant for all.

As earth claims

l i ght

for its loneseparateneed

Demanding

her for

their sole

jealous clasp,

They asked

from

her movements bounded hke their own

A n d

to

their

smallness craved a l ike response.

Or

they repined

that

she

surpassed

their gr ip .

A n d

hoped to

b ind

her

closew i th

longing s cords.

Or finding her touch desired too suong tobear

[Page Six]


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B O O K

IV C A N T O

They blamed her for a tyrarmy they loved.

Shrank into themselves as

from

too b r ight a sun,

Yet hankered for the splendour they refused.

Angr i l y

enamoured of her

sweet passionate

ray

The

weakness

of their earth could hardly

bear,

They longed but cried out at the touch desired

Inapt to meet div inity so

close.

Intolerant of a

Force

they could not house.

Somedrawn unwiUingly by her divine sway

Endure it

l ike

asweetbut alien spell,

Unable to mount to

levels

too sublime

They yearn to draw her down to their own earth.

Or

forced to centre round her their

passionate

lives

They hoped to

b ind

to their heart s human needs

The glory andgrace that had enslaved their souls.

But

mid this

wo r ld these

hearts that answered her call

None could stand up her equal and her mate.

In vain she stooped to equal them w i th her heights,

Too pure that air was for small

souls

to breathe.

These comradeselvestoraise to her own wide breadths

Kcr heart desired and

i l l

w i th

her own power

T h a t a diviner

Force

might enter l ife,

breath of Godhead greaten human t ime.

Although she leaned down to their littleness

Covering their lives w i th her strong

passionate

hands

And

knew by sympathy their needs and wants

And

dived in the shallow wave-depths of their lives

And

met and shared their heart-beats of grief and joy

And

bent to heal their sorrow and their pride,

Lavishing the might that was hers on her lone peak

To

l i f t

to it their aspiration s cry

An d

though she drew their

souls

into her

vast

An d

surrounded

w i th

the silence of herdeeps

And

held as the great Mother holds her own.

Only her earthlysurface bore their

charge

And iuixed its fire wi t i i their i i io i ta i i ty :

Her

greater self hved sole, unclaimed,

w i th in .

Oftener in dumb Nature s stir andpeace

A nearnessshe could feel serenely one;

The

Force

in her drew earth s subhuman broods;

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S A V I T R I

A n d to her sp irit s large and free d elig h t

She joined the ardent-hued magnificent lives

O f animal and bird and flower and tree.

T h e y

answered

to her w i th the simple heart .

I n

m an a dim disturbing somewhat l ives ;

I t knows but turns away

from

d iv ine L ight

Preferring the dark ignorance of the fall.

A m o n g the many who came drawn to her

Nowhere she

foimd

her partner of high tasks.

The comrade of her soul, her other self

W h o was made w i th her, l ike God and Nature, one.

Some

near

approached, were touched, caught

fire,

then failed.

Too great was her demand, too puie her force.

Th us Ught ing earth around her l ike a sun ,

Yet in her inmost sky an orb aloof,

A distance severed her

from

those most close.

Puissant, apart her soul as the gods five.

As ye t w i t h the great world she had no l ink;

I n

a small circle of young eager hearts.

He r s pir i t s ear ly re ign and hum an scho ol ,

fHer apprenticeship she made to life and death.

Content in her l i tt le garden of the godt;

As blossoms a f low er in an unvisited place.

Earth nursed, unconscious s t i l l , the inhabit ing f lame,

Yet som ething deeply st irre d and d imly k n e w ;

There was a movement and a

passionate

call ,

A rainbow dream, a hope

o

golden change;

Some

secret wing of expectation beat,

A grow ing sense of something new and rare

A n d

beautiful stole

across

the heart o f T im e .

Th en a faint whisper o f her touched the so i l .

Breathed l ike a hidden need th e soul divines;

Th e eye o f the great w o rld discovered he r, }

A wonder

l i fted

up its bardic voice.

A key t o a L i g h t st i ll kept in being scare.

Th e sun-w ord of an ancient m ystery s sense.

Her name ran murmuring on the hps of men

Exalted and

sweet

like an insp ired

verse

Struck

from

the epic lyre o f rum our s winds

Or sung l ike a chanted thought by the poet Fame.

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B O O K

I V C A N T O I I

But like a

sacredsymbol s

was that cult.

A d m i r e d ,

unsought, intangible to the grasp

He r beauty and flam ing strength

were

seen

afar

Lik e hg htn ing play ing

w i th

the fallen day,

A glory unapproachably divine.

T h e r e

came

to

join

her heart no

heart s

approach,

No transient earthly love assailed her calm.

No hero

passion

had the strength to seize;

N o

eyes

demanded her replying

eyes.

A Power w i th in her

awed

the imperfect f lesh;

The self-protecting

genius

in our clay

Div ined th e

goddess

in the wom an s

shape

A n d

drew back from a touch beyond its

k ind.

The earth-nature bound in the sense-life s narrow make.

T h e

hearts

of men are amorous o f clay-kin

A n d

bearnot spiri ts lone and h igh who bring

Fire- int imations

f rom the

deathless planes

To o vast fo r

souls

not born to mate

w i t h heaven.

Whoever is too

great

must lonely live,

Adored he walks in m ighty so l itude;

Vain

is his labour to

create

h i s kins .

H is only comrade is the Strength w i th in .

Thus was it for a while w i t h Savitri ,

A l l

worshipped marvellingly, none dared to claim.

Her m i n d sat high pouring i ts golden

beams,

Her heart was a crowded temple of delight.

A single lamp li t in perfection s

house,

A bright pure

image

in a

priestless

shrine.

Alone am id surroimding crowds she d we lt .

Ap art i n herse lf imt i l her hour of fate.

E N D O F C A N T O T W O

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Documents

Savitri Fascicle: Book Four, Canto Two (1950)