Man the Mediator

A poem by Sri Aurobindo


The Dumb Inconscient

The dumb Inconscient drew life's stumbling maze;
     A night of all things, packed and infinite,
It made our consciousness a torch that plays
     Between the abyss and a supernal Light;

It framed our mind a lens of segment sight,
     Piecing out inch by inch the world's huge mass,
And reason a small hard theodolite
     Measuring unreally the measureless ways.

Yet is the dark Inconscient whence come all,
     The self-same Power that shines on high unwon;
Our night shall be a sky purpureal,
     The torch transmute to a vast godhead's sun.

Man is a narrow bridge, a call that grows,
His soul the dim bud of God's flaming rose.

Man the Mediator

A dumb Inconscient drew life's stumbling maze,
    A night of all things, packed and infinite:
It made our consciousness a torch that plays
    Between the Abyss and a supernal Light.

Our mind was framed a lens of segment sight
    Piecing out inch by inch the world's huge mass,
And reason a small hard theodolite
    Measuring unreally the measureless ways.

Yet is the dark Inconscient whence came all
    The self-same Power that shines on high unwon:
Our Night shall be a sky purpureal,
    Our torch transmute to a vast godhead's sun.

Rooted in mire heavenward man's nature grows,—
His soul the dim bud of God's flaming rose.



Part VII : Pondicherry (Circa 1927-1947) > Sonnets from Manuscripts (Circa 1934-1947)   




How to read the color-coded changes below? 1. SABCL version : lines with any changes & specific changes 2. CWSA version : lines with any changes & specific changes

Sri-Aurobindo/books/collected-poems/man-the-mediator.txt CHANGED
@@ -1,15 +1,15 @@
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- The Dumb Inconscient
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- The dumb Inconscient drew life's stumbling maze;
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- A night of all things, packed and infinite,
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+ Man the Mediator
2
+ A dumb Inconscient drew life's stumbling maze,
3
+ A night of all things, packed and infinite:
4
4
  It made our consciousness a torch that plays
5
- Between the abyss and a supernal Light;
6
- It framed our mind a lens of segment sight,
5
+ Between the Abyss and a supernal Light.
6
+ Our mind was framed a lens of segment sight
7
7
  Piecing out inch by inch the world's huge mass,
8
8
  And reason a small hard theodolite
9
9
  Measuring unreally the measureless ways.
10
- Yet is the dark Inconscient whence come all,
11
- The self-same Power that shines on high unwon;
12
- Our night shall be a sky purpureal,
13
- The torch transmute to a vast godhead's sun.
14
- Man is a narrow bridge, a call that grows,
10
+ Yet is the dark Inconscient whence came all
11
+ The self-same Power that shines on high unwon:
12
+ Our Night shall be a sky purpureal,
13
+ Our torch transmute to a vast godhead's sun.
14
+ Rooted in mire heavenward man's nature grows,—
15
15
  His soul the dim bud of God's flaming rose.

NOTES FROM EDITOR

Circa 1934. Four handwritten manuscripts and one typed manuscript.