Transiit, Non Periit

A poem by Sri Aurobindo

Transiit, Non Periit

Not in annihilation lost, nor given
To darkness art thou fled from us and light,
O strong and sentient spirit; no mere heaven
Of ancient joys, no silence eremite
Received thee; but the omnipresent Thought
Of which thou wast a part and earthly hour,
Took back its gift. Into that splendour caught
Thou hast not lost thy special brightness. Power
Remains with thee and the old genial force
Unseen for blinding light, not darkly lurks:
As when a sacred river in its course
Dives into ocean, there its strength abides
Not less because with vastness wed and works
Unnoticed in the grandeur of the tides.

Part IV : Calcutta and Chandernagore (1907-1910) > Short Poems Published in 1909 and 1910

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NOTES FROM EDITOR

1909 or earlier. This sonnet to Rajnarain Bose, Sri Aurobindo's maternal grandfather and a well-known writer and speaker, was first published at the beginning of Atmacharit, Rajnarain's memoirs, in 1909. As mentioned in the note beneath the title, Rajnarain died in September 1899. Sri Aurobindo may have written the poem anytime between 1899 and 1909; but since there are no drafts among his Baroda manuscripts, and since the poem belongs stylistically with those of 1909, it seems likely that it was written close to the date of the publication of that book. Quite possibly it was written especially for the book in 1909. The Latin title means: “He has gone beyond, he has not perished.”

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Selected Poems of Sri Aurobindo

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