Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol. 8

WHO art Thou, in the, vast Finite,

Thou flowest, Great Time, from the

Beginningless towards the Endless? ¹

I have seized your intent,² mighty Spirit of Time!

Now the sky, irridescent in the cataract of sun-rays

Created the magic city of limpid Eve-tide;

I wandered along river banks seeking to attune my heart-strings

To the murmur and music of life voiced by her rippling waves:

Night infinite descended with silent steps

Casting the shadow of her coronet

Upon the wide sky, flinging the hem of her robe,

Laying down the soft darkness upon earth's expanse.

Her eyes lost in thought,

In this vast Night, plunged in the contemplation of the supreme Void­

The dark Mother of the world in her stark ascetic mood lies in utter trance:

She draws deep into her bosom all creatures stilled in peace,

She plays her role of goddess Sleep,

Comes and silences the Life's noise in an unending quiet.

Now is the honeyed Banquet of stillness,

¹ Or

Who art Thou, O Great Time, carrying in Thy flow the vast Finite

From the Beginningless towards the Endless?

² Alternative: 'soul'.

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The crowded stars, like bees glowing, have flown out to feast and gathered in the heavens: ¹

The luminous amphora of cool ecstasy,

The moon floats up in the night bejewelled with stars.

In this moonlit darkness, this gleaming Night²

The immensity of that mood of mine³

I have drowned into this infinite Life

And have heard the music of Silence.

A vibrant sweetness rang in the soul,

The trance of the still world 4 broke,

Someone awoke at the touch of the luminous robe,

Some footfalls from far echoed into the heart.

Piercing the satiation and the massiveness of the Void

Dawn rises and colours the firmament with her smile: Even as a bewitching maid, delightfully radiant

Dances about in her joyous heart with frolicsome steps

Free in the mansions of her father.

Sweet and gentle their call

The birds communicate with each other ceaselessly

In their delightful tune,

The innumerable wild branches, robed in green,

The woodland dances in the Feast of Light:

Veiled behind the festive illumination

The hymn of delight I listened in the core of my heart

That vedic Rishis chanted drunk with the heavenly Soma

I realized the deep rapture that has bloomed

Into the Lotus-universe in the flow of the Infinte.

Mid-day was asleep laying his head upon the blue sky

Alone in the world's chamber:

¹ In the shorter version of this poem the following line is added after this:

'To smear with the rays of light the hearts of creatures.'

² In the shorter version the line reads like this:

'In this darkness illumined by dream-moonlight'.

³ In the shorter version the line reads as follows:

'The little human soul of mine'.

4 Alternative: 'Yogini'.

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There sounded in my heart the tremendous voice of tripleeternity

The great Mantra of the world-soul.

The soul satisfied, unifying unnumbered moods

Some high Creator, eternally calm, contemplates:

The Eternal Poet is pleased with his epic

The global rhythm of creation, Filled with felicity

He carries the Finite as the wonder form of the Infinite

And the endless universe circles towards the feet of its Lord.

His austerities fulfilled, the strong rays far flung,

In his heroic majesty, the sun is descending

From heaven's height, guided by the Law.

At the setting I have gathered in my heart the fulness of Peace,

I have drunk the honey of Life and emptied the goblet

The great Song of the Supernal has satiated my ears.

Such is the unstinted revel of each day,

A single day capturing the eternity of time,

O Life-Artist, Creator of forms,

Pouring All into a little it is your own figure you draw.

O Seer, in ever new souls you enjoy in various ways.

Under Thy control, in Thy mood the dancing Earth,

Its mind stilled, spreads its ecstasy:

What termless tameless dancing,

What unending rapture!

What a world-wide outburst, a tremendous explosion!

Carrying in the life-force days and nights and seasons and years

I have realised your mood, I have seen your body.

But which is Thy Self? What is that Fate

Compelling you to spin, O Mighty One, and to make the whole world spin!

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