HKB
of the mind for answers And hunger of the heart for life, the heart Thrown to the dogs of thought. What shall we do? I see a way, have hope.
The blessed Lord Says, ye deluded by unwisdom say: This day is won, this purpose gained, this wealth Made mine, to-morrow safe--behold My enemy is slain, I am well-born-- O ye deluded ones, slaves of desire, Self-satisfied and stubborn, filled with pride, Power, lust and wrath--haters of me, the gate Of hell is triple, bitter is the womb In which ye sink deluded, birth on birth, These not renouncing. But O soul attend, Yield not to impotence, shake off your fears, Be steadfast, balanced, free from hate and anger, Balanced in pleasure and pain, and active, Yet disregarding action's fruits--be friendly, Compassionate, forgiving, self-controlled, Resolute, not shrinking from the world, But mixing in its toils as fate may say; Pure, expert, passionless, desire in leash, Renouncing good and evil, to friend and foe, In fame and ignominy destitute Of that attachment which disturbs the vision And labor of the soul. By these to fix Eyes undistracted on me, the supreme And Sole Reality. And O remember Thou soul, thou shalt not sin who workest through Thy Karma as its nature may command. Strive with thy sin and it shall make the muscles, And strength to take thee to another height. But cleave to the practice of thy soul forever, Also to wisdom better still than practice, To meditation, better still than wisdom, To renunciation, better than meditation, Beholding Me in all things, in all things Me who would have you peace of soul attain, And soul's perfection.
Well, I say here lies Profounder truth and purer than the words That Jesus spoke. Let's take forgiveness: Forgive your enemies, he said, and bless Them even that hate you. What did Jesus do? Did he forgive the thief upon the cross, Who railed at him? He did forgive the hands Who crucified him, but he had a reason: They knew not what they did; well, as for that Who knows the thing he does? Did he forgive Judas Iscariot? Did he forgive Poor Peter by specific words? You see In instances like these the idealist, Passionate and inexorable who sets up His soul against the world, but do you see The esoteric wisdom which takes note Of the soul's health, just for the sake of health, And leaves the outward recompense alone?
Yes, what has Jesus done but make a realm Of outward law and force to strain and bind The sons of men to this thing and to that, Bring the fanatic and the dogmatist In every neighborhood in America. And radical with axes after trees, And clergymen with curses on the fig trees? And even bring this Kaiser and his dream Of God's will in him to destroy his foes, And launch the war therefor, to make his realm And Christian culture paramount in time. When all the while 'tis clear life does not yield Proof positive of exoteric things. Why the great truth of life is this, I think: The soul has freedom to create its world Of beauty, truth, to make the world as truth Or beauty, build philosophies, religions, And live by them, through them. It does not matter Whether they're true, the significant thing is this: The soul has freedom to create, to take The void of unintelligible air, or thought The world at large, and of it make the food, Impulse and meaning for its life. I say Life is for nothing else, truth is not ours; That only ours which we create, by which We live and grow, and so we come again By this path of my own to India.