Book Six. The Book of Fate
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Book Six: Canto I The Word of Fate
He sings of the toils of men, the mystery of joy behind pain and of the lotus-heart of love. As he is chanting, Savitri walks in with a swift and radiant tread. A halo of wonder and joy surrounds her. Narad looks at her with an inner gaze and knows all, but he holds back his knowledge and asks her whence she has brought the glory that shines around her. Surely she has been to some brighter countries than those of earth and has imbibed the joy of those celestial haunts of the gods ! He speaks of her beauty and her radiant happiness, but wonders if the earth’s doom will allow them to remain safe. The King catches the ominous note of doubt in Narad’s query and asks if dark adversity must visit his fair child of light and felicity, But Narad does not answer. He looks into the unseen future and then asks, as if unknowing, where Savitri has been and whom she has met that she should carry such glory in her heart and paradise in her eyes. The King narrates how Savitri has been on a quest to find her lord and companion. He asks her to reveal her choice. Savitri replies in a calm voice that she has chosen Satyavan, son of Dyumathsena, King of Shalwa, now in exile. She has met him in the forest and has made her choice. Aswapathy looks within himself and sees a heavy shadow looming above the name but chased by a stupendous light. He felicitates his daughter and approves of her choice. Narad is about to speak, but the King appeals to him not to reveal the danger awaiting them in the future and impose the ordeal of foreknowledge on mere mortal men. He asks him to speak only if he can thereby loosen the grip of Fate. Narad remains silent. The queen is alarmed. She asks the heavenly sage to give his blessings to this union of love and not to bring into being the danger they all feared, by speaking of it. Yet if danger does lurk on the happy path of her Savitri, then he must speak so that they could turn aside and avoid the hazard. Narad replies slowly that future knowledge only adds to pain but cannot help in avoiding Fate. The queen is still more upset and she accuses the Godhead of the unchanging Law, she bemoans the sorry course of Love in this world and the dominant play of grief in human life. She entreats Narad not to hide the truth of what lies in store for her child. Narad speaks highly of Satyavan, and describes his greatness but adds that he has only twelve more months to live. The queen cries out in pain complaining against the mockery of grace which gives largely but allows death to snatch away the gifts. She asks Savitri to go forth once again and choose another for her mate. But Savitri declines to change her decision. She affirms the strength of her spirit’s will against the law of Fate. The queen appeals to her not to be too visionary and lose sight of the hard realities of life. Love is transient, all life is a play on the stage of the world. She reminds Savitri that she is after all human and not of the gods who alone can talk with impunity as she does. She should follow calm reason which is given as a guide to man and not be caught in the wild goose chase of Love. Savitri is adamant and refuses to yield. She now knows who Satyavan is, who she herself is and why she is here on earth. She has been born to be with Satyavan.
In
silent bounds bordering the mortal’s plane Narad, the celestial sage from Vaikuntha, the paradise of the gods, comes chanting across the vasts of luminous peace, to the borders of Silence surrounding the plane of the mortals
Attracted
by the golden summer-earth It is summer and the earth looks to him like a shining bowl placed atilt on a table of the Gods, gyrating as if it were moved by an unseen guiding hand to catch the warmth and light of the physical sun much smaller than the suns of other skies above. Attracted by it, he passes it from the happy tracts of the Gods to this small world of struggle and search, grief and hope, where the never-ending game of life and death is played.
Across
an intangible border of soul-space Through the subtle realms, he descends from the planes of Mind into the domain of Matter filled with the constructions of the Inconscience and the scene of the workings of a blind unconscious, mechanical Force.
Below
him circling burned the myriad suns: As he descends into this physical universe, Narad beholds the blazing galaxies of suns he feels the impact of the first ripples of the waves of Ether; then he experiences the joy of touch caused by movement in the primal Air. The secret Spirit of this universe draws its mighty breath in this Air.
Contracting
and expanding this huge world
He
felt a sap of life, a sap of death; He then feels the touch of the current of life and the current of death. Plunging into the dense trance of physical Matter and its obscure Unity-for this unity of Matter is not a conscious unity-he enters into identity with the mute Spirit in the inconscient Matter.
He
beheld the cosmic Being at his task, He beholds the Universal Purusha at his work; his eyes scan the spaces, fathom the depths; his inner sight takes in the movements of the Soul in the Cosmos. He sees the ceaseless labour of the Gods who are building up the universal edifice. He looks upon the lives of men and beasts.
A
change felt upon the singer’s mood, As Narad surveys the scene below, a change comes over his mood. His chanting voice moved by rapture on seeing all God’s labour is now moved by compassion at the sight of the struggling life on earth. His theme changes. His song is no more of the unfading light, the oneness and unending bliss or the immortal love of the heavens; it is now a song of the Ignorance and the relentless Fate that rule the earth-world.
He
sang the name of Vishnu and the birth He sings the glory of the Name of Lord Vishnu and of the celestial world of joy-Vaikuntha. He sings describing the birth of the stars and the beginning of life and how with the advent of the soul the mute regions began to vibrate.
He
sang the Inconscient and its secret self, He sings of the Inconscient at the base of this material creation and its concealed self,-for even in the Inconscient the self is there though heavily veiled-of its effectuating power that builds without overt consciousness, of its occult mystery that is blind and yet faultless: He sings of the darkness of the universe yearning and growing towards the Light eternal, [1] of the presence of Love that broods in the obscure depths of existence waiting for an articulate response from the heart of man, of death that slowly moves up the ladder of Immortality in order to change itself into life everlasting. [2]
[1]tamaso
ma jyotirgamaya (Brihadaranyaka
Upanishad)
He
sang of the Truth that cries from Night’s blind deeps, He sings of the Truth that calls for release from the depths of Nescience in which it is hidden, of the creative Intelligence that is concealed in the heart of Nature, of the Truth-Idea that works itself out through all the mute states of Nature, of the miraculous work of the transforming powers of Nature, of life that is dormant in all apparently lifeless things from stone to the suns, of the subtly conscious mind that is awake in life which is yet to develop the outer mind, of the consciousness that is emerging in the animal and in man.
He
sang of the glory and marvel still to be born, He sings of the glory and the wonder still to be revealed on earth; of the emerging Godhead casting of its last veil: of physical bodies transformed into divine forms; of life turned into bliss; of immortal joy joining immortal power; of heart directly feeling another heart-without the necessity of any mediation of sense-of mind becoming directly aware of another mind; of the delight that enters when all dividing walls crumble down; of the transformation of the human into the divine and the ecstasy of it all.
And
as he sang the demons wept with joy As Narad sings of this glorious fulfilment to be the demons-hosts of anti-Divine beings-weep with joy. For, with the announced approach of the plenary manifestation of God, they now foresee the end of their horrid task of opposition, see in sight their own defeat, which they had so long secretly longed for but in vain, a hope for release from the doom which indeed they had chosen of their own accord,-when they had decided to deviate from the Divine Law and set themselves against it-and anticipate a sure return into the One Divine Being from whom they had originally issued at the commencement of the manifestation.
He
who has conquered the immortals’ seats,
As
might a lightning streak, a glory fell Thus does Narad who has won a place in the kingdom of the Gods and become a divine Man come down to the earth of the humans. Like a flash of lightning, with his unusual face revealing mature joy, he darts down towards the earth till his rapt eyes looking across the luminous cloud catch sight of Aswapathy’s palace rising up towards the sky in Madra.
There
welcomed him the sage and thoughtful king, There in the palace Narad is warmly welcomed by King Aswapathy, wise and thoughtful. By the side of the king is the queen, royal in mien, beautiful, intense and at the same time wise, aspiring high like the Flame on the sacrificial altar soaring upwards through the luminous, sanctified air. She is the human mother of Savitri-the divine Mother of Savitri is the Supreme Divine Creatrix.
There
for an hour untouched by the earth’s siege For a while, free from earthly cares and preoccupations, they sit listening to the rhythmic and uplifting voice of the sage as he chants of the toils of men, of the strivings of gods for the earth, of the joy that is hidden behind the strange veil of pain. Narad draws attention to the role of the Gods who are missioned to work for the earth. He points out that pain is not the final answer. Behind the mask of pain is the face of joy.
He
sang to them of the lotus-heart of love
It
trembles at each touch, it strives to wake Narad sings to them of Love in the heart of things with its innumerable shoots of truth-yet inchoate, yet to blossom, for of pure love the issues are of unmixed truth-love being another facet of truth. Whatever the nature of appearances, however contrary, love lies dormant but alive in all things. At every impact it vibrates and tries to wake up. And surely one day this love shall hear the blissful call of God and there in the garden of Nature it shall bloom when she (Nature) is seized by her Lord, discovered at long last. Love shall bloom in full when Nature and God become one.
A
mighty shuddering coil of ecstasy
Out
of her Matter’s stupor, her mind’s dreams, As Narad sings the theme of Love and Truth a great shudder of ecstasy runs through the heart of the universe; Nature waking up from the dull sleep of Matter and the vague and futile dreams of the mind, looks upon the unveiled Face of God, her Beloved.
Even
as he sang and rapture stole through earth-time
A
happy wonder in her fathomless gaze, While Narad sings and the rapture of his voice spreads from the earth to the heavens, the hooves of Savitri’s chariot-steeds are heard and with an eager heart, Savitri hastens into the assembly hall. Her walk is radiant her deep gaze is full of happy wonder. The bright warmth of her love has changed her.
Her
eyes rich with a shining mist of joy Like one who returns from a heavenly embassy having succeeded in an assignment she is proud of, her eyes shine with a rich joy. As if carrying the sanction of the Gods to her new-found love and its bright unending duration, Savitri stands before her mighty father, Aswapathy, Eagerly looking for beauty in the world she has just discovered, transformed and new-made in the unearthly light in her heart, she beholds with a worshipful look the brilliant sweetness of the heavenly sage Narad, a rose a wondrous beauty.
He
flung on her his vast immortal look; Narad flings on her his vast divine look; his inner gaze encircles her with its light and he comes to know what has taken place, But he holds back this knowledge from his celestial speech and calls out.
…
"Who is this that comes, the bride, Who is ties flame-bright bride around whom the festive lights of marriage shine? From which range of woods or banks of moonlit waters dust thou bring this spell of enchantment in thy eyes?
Earth
has gold-hued expanses, shadowy hills The earth has bright-gold expanses, distant hills hide their indistinct peaks in the dark- ness of night, banks in the depths of the woods swoon with delight constantly ravished by the passionate waters of the flowing stream.
And
all these are mysterious presences
There
hast thou paused, and marvelling borne eyes Mysterious presences are there in all these places, making some immortal bliss of the spirit felt and they deliver the heart born on earth to a causeless joy. Thou must have paused in some such place and marvelled under the spell of a sight or heard with thy soul’s listening a voice that has enraptured thy life.
Or,
if my thought could trust this shimmering gaze, If I rightly gauge thy shining gaze, then surely I would say that the bliss thou hast tasted is not of the earthly kind. Thou hast been enveloped in realms that human eyes cannot bear.
Assailed
by trooping voices of delight Surely, invaded by surging voices of delight and seized amid the radiant gleams of faery woods, thou host been led to the slopes of the hill of Gundhamadan where the Apsaras-celestial damsels of joy-roam and thou hast joined their heavenly sports. Thou halt walked into the haunts of the gods, thy mortal bosom has vibrated with the speech of the immortals and thy soul has responded to a mighty Word from the Unknown.
What
feet of gods, what ravishing flutes of heaven What melody from the feet of the gods, what blissful notes of heaven’s music, which it seems thou continuest to hear, have fallen on thy surprised ear? Surely the gods gave thee some strange fruit of ecstasy to eat which has transported thee to mystic peaks of Bliss!
Reveal,
O winged with light, whence thou hast flown
The
empty roses of thy hands are filled O bird of light, reveal whence halt thou floated down to the earth with thy body in rhythm to the call of the coil ? Thy bare hands are filled with their own beauty-there is no need to beautify them with ornaments of beauty-and they thrill with the memories of a clasp by some other hands. Thy firm and deeply ecstasied heart, like a shining celestial jar of honey, is filled with sonic new, sweet, ambrosial wine.
Thou hast not spoken with the kings of pain.
Life’s
perilous music rings yet to thy ear Surely, thou hast not encountered the kings of pain. The dangerous music of life is still wafting to thy ear majestic melodies from afar or soft murmurings as of the brooks chattering in the hills or mighty chants as of many winds roaring abroad.
Moon-bright thou livest in thy inner bliss.
Thou
comest like a silver deer through groves Thou livest secure in the inner bliss of thy soul. Thou earnest like a silver-bright deer through rich groves of dream-buds or runnest like the goddess of wind through the forest leaves or, O white dove ruby-eyed, thou fittest through the shrubs of thy pure desires, the beauty of thy soul still unharmed.
These
things are only images to thy earth,
For
such is thy spirit, a sister of the gods, Thy felicities are only distant images to the earth, They are true and real only to the spirit which is dormant in thee, for thy spirit is akin to the immortal beings of heaven. Thy earthly body is beautiful to behold, and in thy joy thou art of the gods in kind.
O
thou who hast come to this great perilous world This great world to which thou hast come is indeed full of peril; love and beauty are not safe here. Thou lookest at it now only through the glory of thy dreams. Thou art great, thy very greatness portends danger. Thou art a soul living alone in thy golden hours of thought, safely ensconced in thy dreams.
On
heights of happiness leaving doom asleep If for all time doom could be left to sleep!" If only thou couldst live happily on the luminous heights of the Ideal, leaving asleep the doom which pursues unseen the unconscious lives of men on earth, then thy waking here too might be as happy as thy enchanted state on the heights of thy being. But will the doom sleep forever?
He spoke but held his knowledge back from words.
As
a cloud plays with lightning’s vivid laugh, Narad has spoken. But like a cloud that scintillates with its lightnings and yet holds back the thunder in its bosom, he has kept back his foreknowledge from his speech. Only certain bright hints and figures has he let escape his lips.
His
speech like glimmering music veiled his thoughts; His speech, like bright music, has hidden his thoughts behind impressive words. Out of pity for the humans, it has spoken to them only of beauty that is living-not of that which is dead or dying-, of the bliss that is actual-not of that which is lost or still to he found. His words add to the happiness of those who hear them as a fair wind adds to the charm of the bright summer air. He has concealed the rest in his mind that knows all. He has not spoken at all of the ugliness and pain that abound in life.
To
those who hearkened to his celestial voice, To all who hear his heavenly speech it looks as if the Gods have sanctioned for Savitri a by without end. They do not perceive that his words have drawn a merciful veil on the painful future that is to come. The Gods are indeed kind when, out of pity for the creatures on earth, they hold hack from them the knowledge of the pain that is certain to come in the future, for that would double the suffering: first the dread and stress of prior anticipation and then the actual suffering.
But
Aswapathy answered to the seer; However, Aswapathy has marked a doubtful note in the closing of the sage’s speech; he has felt a shadow, sensed a danger behind the uttered words. But like one who has ever confronted Fate here in this world amid the dangerous turns of life on earth, he is calm and answers the sage’s veiled words in a guarded manner.
"O
deathless sage who knowest all things here, O immortal sage who knowest all things here on earth, if my own wishful thinking were able to read thy mind behind the rich shield of symbol images that thou hast thrown before it, I might see the happy and luminous beginning of a young god-like life on earth for Savitri.
Between
the Unknowable and the Unseen
For
it has read and broken the hidden seals, This heavenly mind of thine has been formed between the realms of the Unseen-above this patent creation-and those of the Unknowable still beyond: it puts out significant figures of the Infinite: its natural home is the light of the inner Illumination_ It has deciphered the hidden seals of the Creator it has drunk from inexhaustible wells of the joy of the Immortal; it has gazed across the luminous bars of heaven; it has entered the dynamic secret chamber of the Spirit.
It
sees beyond terrestrial common things It sees beyond the common things of the terrestrial world it is in communion with the celestial Powers that shape the worlds and beholds the mighty deeds of the gods issuing from their luminous abode.
Although
in pauses of our human lives Although there are happy breaks in our lives here on earth, these touches, when we seem to get behind the mechanical tread of Time, glimpses of the eternity in which the gods live, are rare.
Hardly
a soul and body here are born It is very rare that a body and soul horn here on earth can keep the note of celestial felicity, repeat in the rhythm of its life the variegated melody of heaven’s joy.
Behold
this image cast by light and love,
Her
body like a brimmed pitcher of delight Look at Savitri, a veritable form of light and love, a perfect embodiment of the ardour of the gods, shining gold-bright. Her body is like a full jar of delight, shaped in splendid bronze of golden hue, as if to seize and hold the bliss that is the hidden truth of this earth. (Despite all appearances to the contrary, there is an underlying bliss that bases and sustains all life on earth.
Dream-made
illumined mirrors are her eyes
Even
as her body, such is she within, Her luminous eyes fringed with long dark lashes seem to belong to the realm of dreams; they still carry the light of heaven in their depths. Just as is her body, within also she is lustrous with the intense glow of heaven; her young and vivid spirit is still unstained by the tears of life.
All
beautiful things eternal seem and new
The
unchanging blue reveals its spacious thought; To her pure and childlike soul everything beautiful appears to be eternal and fresh-there is no decay and death for beauty. The blue sky is unchanging and it reveals its large thought; the marvellous moon floats across the wondering skies; flowers of the earth bloom and laugh at consuming time and death; life lays her spell and all speeds in laughter and cheer.
If
but this joy of life could last, nor pain
Behold
her, singer with the prescient gaze, If only this joy of life could last without pain rudely interrupting the happy rhythm of her days! O singer with foreseeing eyes, bless this fair child that her life may be ever free from sorrow, that from her heart of love may always pour a stream of bliss to heal the tired bosom of earth and throw around an enchantment of felicity.
As
grows the great and golden bounteous tree Her dawns are of glistening light, bright and glowing like a splendid flowering tree on the banks of the river Alacananda whose running waters laugh and cling to the knees of the daughters of heaven at sport.
So casts she her felicity on men.
A
flame of radiant happiness she was born, Thus does she cast happiness on all. She was born a flame of bright felicity and, I am sure, that flame will light up the earth; doom will not harm her but will quietly let her pass. But often, too often, it happens here on earth that the Mother-Power is not careful and leaves her chosen children to the mercy of envious Fate-envious because these chosen ones have it in their capacity to surpass her workings.
The
harp of God falls mute, its call to bliss The celestial harp calling all to partake of the Divine Bliss falls silent, discouraged amidst the unhappy notes of the earth. The voice of the Ecstasy of Heaven is not heard here on earth; even if heard, it is soon silenced in the human heart which allows impure emotions to enter it. Test of Fire**
Of
sorrow’s songs we have enough: bid once Or must fire always test the great of soul? We have had enough of the plaints of sorrow. Bless that for once Savitri’s happy life may usher heaven here on earth. Or, must it always be that those who are great-souled have to pass through the test of fire? (Life imposes severe test on those who are great in spirit. Their share of difficulties and struggles is always more than that of others of a lesser kind because their mission is nobler and higher. )
Along
the dreadful causeway of the gods Grant that for once a human life-Savitri’s-pass unharmed across the dangerous pathway of the gods, fortified with love, faith and pure joy, to its goal in the Eternal.
But
Narad answered not; silent he sat,
He
looked into the unseen with seeing eyes, But Narad does not answer; he is silent for he knows that words are powerless where Fate is the master. With his perceiving sight he gazes into the future that is still unseen, then taking advantage of human ignorance he questions as if he does not know anything.
"On what high mission went her hastening wheels?
Whence
came she with this glory in her heart What sudden God has met, what face supreme?" On what high mission did she go? From where does she come carrying this glory in her heart and this evident bliss in her eyes? Who is the God she has met of a sudden, whose is the supreme face she has obviously encountered?
To
whom the king, "The red asoca watched
Arisen
into an air of flaming dawn The king answers the sage: This red Asoca tree saw her leaving and now sees her hack. Like a bright bird tired of being alone, she set out one glorious morning to seek out her lord since he had not vet come to her here on earth-though they had met on other planes.
Led
by a distant call her vague swift flight
The
happy rest her burdened lashes keep
Virgin
who comest perfected by joy, Whom hast thou chosen kingliest among men?" Led by a far-off Call, she has swiftly covered many lands in this summer-heat. But as yet she has held back her treasured secret with an air of quiet happiness. O virgin who hast come back perfected by the joy thou hast found, who is he whom thou didst suddenly recognise by the quickened beats of thy heart, what is his name? Who is that noblest of men that thou hast chosen?
And
Savitri answered with her still calm voice Like one who speaks under the compelling gaze of Fate, Savitri answers with her quiet, calm voice: O father and king, I have carried out thy command, he whom I sought. I have found in far-off lands. I have been guided by my heart. I have heard my heart’s call.
On
the borders of a dreaming wilderness
The
son of Dyumathsena, Satyavan My father, I have chosen. This is done." Amidst the giant Shalwan hills and thick forests, lives, in his thatched hermitage, Dyumathsena, formerly a great king but now blind, exiled and outcast. His son Satyavan have I met on the solitary borders of the wild forest and chosen. The choice is made.
Astonished, all sat silent for a space.
Then
Aswapathy looked within and saw All are astonished and stay silent for a while. Then Aswapathy looks into himself and behold, he sees a thick shadow looming over the name Satyavan and that shadow is chased by a sudden and tremendous light. Then he gazes into Savitri’s eyes and speaks:
"Well hast thou done and I approve thy choice.
If
this is all, then all is surely well;
Whether
it seem good or evil to men’s eyes, Thou hast done well and I approve thy choice. If what is apparent now is all, then all is well. If there be more to it than what is seen, even then all can be well. For the secret Will in things works for good alone whether it appears good or evil in the short-seeing eyes of men.
Our
destiny is written in double terms: Death is our road to immortality.
‘Cry
woe, cry woe’ the world’s lost voices wail, Our destiny here on earth is written in terms of opposites. But through these contraries we progress towards God who is our goal. Thus do we move from our darkness and grow towards light. Death is our passage to immortality. The sinking voices may lament ‘ woe, woe’, but all the same, in the end the eternal Good conquers.
Then
might the sage have spoken, but the king
Impose
not on the mortal’s tremulous breast Narad looks as if he is about to speak, but the king intervenes and prevents him from uttering his disturbing words. He tells him: O chanter of the sublime rapture. it is but natural that thou halt seen what is to be; but do not reveal that vision to us blind humans; that will prove dangerous. Mortal man is too weak and unsteady to bear the ordeal that comes with foreknowledge: the strain of knowing beforehand the inescapable hard fate that awaits him is unbearable. Only the strength of a god can bear it. Do not demand such a godlike reaction from us.
Here
are not happy peaks the heaven-nymphs roam, Here on earth are no happy peaks where the celestial damsels sport or the white summits of Kailas nor is there the brilliant stair of the paradisal world of Vaikuntha. Here are just jagged hills which only the mighty can climb; few dare even to think of ascending their heights. Voices from far constantly call down from their precipitous rocks: the paths are cold, slippery and steep.
Too
hard the gods are with man’s fragile race The gods who live in their paradise untouched by Fate are indeed hard in their dealings with the fragile race of man. They tend to forget how much man suffers on the difficult path of life, the blows he bears of anguish and grief and the dread fear he constantly feels because of his awareness of passing time and inevitability of death. Man cannot see the road ahead of him; he moves-as he is compelled to-towards a destination that is veiled and hidden from him.
To
light one step in front is all his hope
Awaited
by a vague and half-seen force, Man can only hope for just enough light to see but one step in front and no more; he asks for a little strength, just enough to solve the riddle of his veiled fate. On his path, a vague and partly-glimpsed force awaits to overwhelm him. He is aware of this danger to his uncertain life and guards his little hopes and aspirations from the ominous breath of this power; he is not aware when the dreadful hands of hostile fate will close around him with their inescapable grip.
If
thou canst loose her grip then only speak, O sage, speak only if thou canst loosen this grip of fate. Maybe, there is an escape from this iron hold of fate. Maybe, our mind tricks us with its misleading play of words, giving the name of alien doom to what is really our own choice. Perhaps what we call fate is nothing but our own wilt which is blind but acts nevertheless.
He said and Narad answered not the king.
But
now the queen alarmed lifted her voice:
Then
let the speech benign of griefless spheres But Narad does not answer. The queen is alarmed and speaks in a raised voice: O seer, thy bright arrival here has been well timed with this great moment in the happy life of Savitri. Let thy gracious speech of the blissful spheres above approve of this joyous coming together of the two stars. Savitri and Satyavan; bless this felicity with thy celestial voice.
Here
drag not in the peril of our thoughts,
Here
is no cause for dread, no chance for grief Let us not call down danger by thinking of it; let us not talk of doom for words spoken in fear of doom help create that very doom. In truth, here there is no cause at all for fear, no reason for grief to turn her dreadful gaze towards love.
A
single spirit in a multitude, Satyavan whom Savitri has chosen for her companion is an outstanding, unique and happy spirit amidst the multitude of earthly men. And lucky indeed is the hermitage where my Savitri, forsaking her throne and opulence, will live and create a paradise.
Then
let thy blessing put the immortals’ seal
Too
heavy falls a Shadow on man’s heart; Hence it is meet that thy blessings put the seal of the gods on the untouched happiness of these two radiant lives, and push away from them any Shadow of danger that may threaten. Man does not dare to be too happy here on earth; for soon the doom casts its thick shadow upon him. Happiness too long or too loud attracts its opposite.
It
dreads the blow dogging too vivid joys, Man’s heart dare not be too happy. For it is painfully aware of the inevitable blow following joys too exultant, the whip lash from the hand of Fate. It apprehends the danger that lurks in the extremes of fortune, is sensitive to the irony in the smile of life that looks indulgently upon its joys and excitements-for they cannot last long-and it dreads the merriment of the gods who play with the lives and fortunes of men.
Or
if crouches unseen a panther doom, Or, if doom lies crouching unseen like a panther on the way, if Evil haunts the house chosen by Savitri, then also tell us, so that we may turn aside and save ourselves from the danger of this wayside doom and from an avoidable involvement in the fate of another.
And
Narad slowly answered to the queen: Safe doors cry opening near, the doomed pass on.
A
future knowledge is an added pain, Narad replies deliberately: Foresight is hardly of use to those who are driven by fate. Even when doors of safety open near them calling their attention, they do not heed but pass on. In this vast field of Fate, to know beforehand the doom that is to come, only adds to the pain; this knowing is a burden that tortures, a light that is of no use because what is so foreknow cannot be averted.
The
eternal poet, universal Mind, He knows not even what his lips shall speak. The Cosmic Mind, the eternal poet of this vast drama has fixed each line of the act an its page. The mighty actors tread the stage unseen by us. Man is only the mask of some invisible player. He does not even know what words he is next going to utter.
For
a mysterious Power compels his steps
None
can refuse what the stark Force demands, And that is so because an unknown Power compels man’s steps. Life is more powerful than his unsteady soul. No man can deny the demand of this mighty Force; she has a great aim of her own and her eyes are always fixed upon it. Neither plaint nor prayer can deviate her course. She is a swift arrow shot from the bow of God, with her mission and her direction fixed.
His
words were theirs who live unforced to grieve His words have power. He is one of those who are above grief and by their very calm can help others who are tossed by the swift wheels of life, who suffer and are restless because of the impermanence of earthly existence, and who are seized by the troubles and intensities of this unquiet world. Unless one is oneself calm and detached, one cannot help those who are involved and troubled.
As
though her own bosom were pierced the mother saw The queen feels as if her own bosom is pierced as she sees the old familiar decree of fate strike her sweet child who deserved better but is now given more than her share of pain.
Aspiring
to the nature of the gods, She has always aspired to grow into the consciousness of the gods; her lofty mind full of great thoughts is proof against all agitation; behind her wisdom there is a silent and unpierced will; she has arrived at the calm heights of knowledge. Moreover she has been the queen and companion of a great monarch like Aswapathy. Though thus naturally calm and wise, she proves to be still human and gives way to grief.
The
stony-eyed injustice she accused She charges the fixed Law that governs the universe, with blind injustice in the case of her child. She does not summon the strength that comes to those who stand up and boldly face the challenge of Fate in their hour of adversity. Instead she appeals against the Divinity that presides impartially over the universe; she accuses the One who regards all impersonally, of deliberate perversity.
Her
tranquil spirit she called not to her aid, In this hour of trial she does not summon the best in herself; she does not call her calm and tranquil spirit for help. But like any common mortal who succumbs to the load of adversity and voices his pain in vibrant complaint, she begins to accuse the imperturbable Will behind the world-movement.
"What
stealthy doom has crept across her path
Perhaps
he came an enemy from her past What secret doom from the dark forest has crept across the path of my beloved child? What is the evil that disguises itself in the beautiful form of the boy of Shalwa house and awaits smiling on her path? Perhaps he is an enemy from some past birth who has come to avenge past wrongs; may be he is not even aware of the force that moves him to seize her. He knows not, nor she the harm he will cause her.
Here
dreadfully entangled love and hate
Our
days are links of a disastrous chain, Here on the dangerous tracts of time where we wander blindly, love and hate meet us helplessly entangled with each other. We do not know where love ends and hate begins or when hate ceases and love commences. Our present is but a continuation of the past and is linked with the future. The whole is a chain that binds. Steps taken casually have inexorable consequences. Past deeds of cruelty strike back in forms that we do not recognise. We may have forgotten them, but the gods remember. They use our forgotten deeds to shape our future for weal or woe.
Yet all in vain the bitter law was made. Our own minds are the justicers of doom.
For
nothing have we learned, but still repeat And yet this hard law (of Karma) is not really effective enough to teach us. For in truth we ourselves decide our evil fate. We learn nothing from experience, but go on in our unmitigated misuse of ourselves and of others; as a result, even Love that comes from heaven and has the power to save, loses his purity and gets deformed in the air of the nether gods.
The
dreadful angel angry with his joys The angel of Love turned dreadful, is angry because he cannot hold hack his joys, so he contrives to wound through these very joys. He is pitiless to those whom his gaze has made helpless. His trembling prey has to suffer his pangs. And in spite of all this, we are enamoured by his grip and forced to cling to him as though we were in love with our own agony.
This
is one poignant misery in the world, Our sympathies become our tortures.
Strength
have I my own punishment to bear, This is not the only source of misery in this world. There are other nooses of grief. Our sympathies for others become our torturers. I have the strength to bear the punishment meted out to me as I know it to be deserved. But my strength fails when I see the suffering in other eyes, when I am smitten by the sorrow that engulfs these helpless creatures on earth.
We
are not as the gods who know not grief We mortals are not like the gods who do not know of grief and thus look unconcernedly upon our suffering world; they gaze down calmly on what appears to them a little human scene and note unmoved brief gusts of passion passing through the hearts of the mortals.
An
ancient tale of woe can move us still, But we humans are moved even by tragedies that are legends of the past. We still throb to the pain of those who live no more. We arc shaken by the sight of others in pain, we share the miseries that others feel.
Ours not the passionless lids that cannot age.
Too
hard for us is heaven’s indifference: Our eyes are not ever-calm and ever-fresh like those of the gods. The indifference of the gods to human sufferings is hard for us to bear. Further, our own sufferings are not enough for us; we insist on making the sufferings of others our own by participating in them. We grieve for the great who have passed away in the course of time and keenly feel the breath of sorrow in all things mortal.
Even
a stranger’s anguish rends my heart, Hide not from us our doom, if doom is ours. Even if it were a stranger, his anguish would tear my heart. Here, O Sage, it is my own beloved Child that is concerned. If doom is fated for us, conceal it not from us.
This
is the worst, an unknown face of Fate, To know is best, however hard to bear." The worst that can happen is to sense and feel the ominous shadowing by some unknown Fate, day and night; this constant anguish of apprehension is a veritable terror. It is bust to know for certain what is going to happen in the future though the knowledge of it may be hard to bear.
Then
cried the sage piercing the mother’s heart, Then does the Sage speak, His sharp words pierce the heart of Savitri’s mother, but they strengthen the will of Savitri to hold fast to her choice. With the release of his speech, the whole machinery of cosmic Fate is set into motion.
The
great Gods use the pain of human hearts Human pain is an instrument for the cosmic Gods. It is a sharp axe with which they cut and lay the road of cosmic evolution. They use the blood and tears of men liberally even if it be for a moment’s use in this mighty work. What for men is difficult to bear and therefore to be avoided does not appear so to the Gods in charge of the universal progression. For them it is a useful and rapid means for the furtherance of their purpose.
This
cosmic Nature’s balance is not ours
A
single word lets loose vast agencies, This is so because the values and the measure of Cosmic Nature are different from those of us humans, Her need and use are cast in different proportions to ours. That is why what appears to us a mere word has at times the effect of releasing into action vast forces beyond comprehension. The cosmic agents use that word as a spring button. Similarly what seems a chance goes on to decide the fate of the world by precipitating many an unanticipated movement. The mighty Powers of Cosmic Nature move behind the apparent casualness of an act.
So
now he set free destiny in that hour:
A
marvel of the meeting earth and heavens So does Narad, the divine seer, release a mighty destiny by his loaded speech. Thou hast asked for truth and truth thou shalt have. Satyavan, whom Savitri has chosen, is a marvel in whom the earth and heaven meet. He leads in Nature’s evolutionary march; he is her highest representative. His unique being towers above all other products of Time in her creative movement.
A
sapphire cutting from the sleep of heaven, The soul of Satyavan, an azure shoot from the profound peace of heaven, is delightful; it is a ray from the rapturous Infinite, a silence awaking to a cry of joy.
A
divinity and kingliness gird his brow;
As
brilliant as a lonely moon in heaven, There is a divinity and royalty about his look. His eyes bespeak a bliss that has been lived before. Brilliant like the solitary moon in the skies, gentle like the sweet bud cherished of spring, pure like the flowing stream amidst silent banks, he is a happy meeting ground of spirit and sense-which are normally foreign to each other.
A
living knot of golden Paradise,
In
him Soul and Nature, equal Presences, He is a live focus of the luminous paradise, a rich infinity from above leaning to this needy world, a joy of the eternal formed in time, a high star of splendour, a beautiful rose of bliss. In him both Soul and Nature find an equal home in him they live in absolute harmony.
The
Happy in their bright ether have not hearts The hearts of the Gods happy in their high worlds are not more sweet and true than Satyavan’s. He draws all joy as the natural gift of Nature and to all he gives joy as their natural right. Neither in the taking nor in the giving of joy is there any constriction.
His
speech carries a light of inner truth, His speech is luminous with an inner truth. His eyes gaze wide and commune direct with the Power in common things and hence his mind functions without the veil of the outer senses. He sees the unveiled deity in earth-forms.
His mind always thinks and pictures in terms of the scenes of Nature around him-so much like himself in beauty and equalling him in profundity: a calm expanse of sky, windless and still, watching the world below like a mind of unmoving thought; a silent tract, bright and contemplative, breathing delight with the break of the morning; a fresh cluster of trees on a happy hill set amurmur by southern winds.
A
will to climb lifts a delight to live
His
sweetness and his joy attract all hearts His delight in life is uplifted by his will to rise high; for him the height of heaven pairs with the charm of earth’s beauty. From his human ecstasy flames a keen aspiration for the air of the gods. His natural sweetness and joy draw all towards him into a happy closeness. His strength is like a rising tower reaching to heaven. He is a veritable godhead shaped from life-material.
O
loss, if death into its elements What a loss it will be if death breaks up this beautiful and noble vase, that is Satyavan, before it has enjoyed the fragrance of its flower-contents ! It will be as if earth could not detain too long this unique treasure lent by the gods from heaven, Such a rare being, of such divine make!
In
one brief year when this bright hour flies back
Twelve
swift-winged months are given to him and her; One brief and bright year hence is all that is left to this kingly glory that heaven has lent to earth. Then will this splendour disappear from the mortal’s horizon. It will be that Heaven’s greatness has come to earth in the form of Satya.van. but is too great to stay here for long. Twelve quick months are given to him and her. On this day, a year hence. Satyavan must die.
A lightning bright and nude the sentence fell. But the queen cried: "Vain then can be Heaven’s grace!
Heaven
mocks us with the brilliance of its gifts, Narad’s words prophesying death fall on the assembly like a stroke of lightning. The queen cries back: If this be so, then it means that the grace of Heaven can be ineffective. In giving us brilliant gifts Heaven indeed mocks at us, For, of the wine of joy offered for a brief moment to mortal man by the indifferent gods, Death is the cupbearer. Joy is soon followed by grief.
But I reject the grace and the mockery.
Mounting
thy car go forth, O Savitri,
Alas,
in the green gladness of the woods But I will have none of this Grace and this mockery of Heaven. O Savitri, mount again thy car and ride once more through the peopled lands. In the choice thou didst make in the bright green woods thy heart responded to a treacherous call.
Choose
once again and leave this fated head,
Advancing
in a honeyed line, but closed Choose another. Leave this one who carries an evil fate. He may be a wonder-tree but it is tended by Death as its gardener. The sweetness of love is cupped in the cold hands of Death. The path looks honeyed but it leads to a dead end; a little joy on this path will bring only a bitter end.
Plead not thy choice, for death has made it vain.
Thy
youth and radiance were not born to lie Do not plead for the choice thou hast made. For sure death rules it out. Thy splendid youth and radiance were surely not born to lie waste like an empty casket cast aside indifferently. Choice of a person less unique may draw a better and happier fate.
But
Savitri answered from her violent heart,-
The
word I have spoken can never be erased, Savitri answers with a passionate heart, but her voice is calm, her face strong as steel. My heart has chosen; it does not choose a second time. The word I have uttered cannot be unsaid; it is inscribed in the eternal record book of God.
The
truth once uttered, from the earth’s air effaced,
Once
the dice fall thrown by the hand of Fate The truth once spoken, even if it is forgotten by the mind and expelled from the earth’s air, goes on reverberating for ever in the memory of Time. It stays. The dice cast by the hand of Fate in an unending moment of the gods fall only once. There is no recasting.
My
heart has sealed its troth to Satyavan: Those who shall part who have grown one being within?
Death’s
grip can break our bodies, not our souls; My heart has irrevocably given its word to Satyavan. Hostile Fate cannot erase its stamp. Nor can Fate nor Death nor Time dissolve the seal fixed by it. How can anyone part those like Satyavan and myself who have grown one being within? Our bodies may be broken by the hand of Death, but certainly not our souls. And if Death were to overcome Satyavan, do I not know how to die and join him?
Let
Fate do with me what she will or can; Fate’s law may change, but not my spirit’s will." I do not care what Fate does or can do with me. I am stronger than death, Iam greater than fate. My love shall not be broken by death or doomed by fate; it shall outlast the world. The doom that threatens will have to fall back, helpless against my innate immortality. The law of Fate may have to change, not so the unshakable will of my spirit.
An
adamant will, she cast her speech like bronze,
To
her own despair answer the mother made; With an unbending will Savitri casts her speech, firm and hard like bronze. In the mind of the queen, however, Savitri’s words ring like the voice of a self-elected Doom shutting off every door of escape. As if in reply to her own despair, the queen speaks. She cries out like one who amidst her tearful hopes, struggles to evoke some help at best from others who are sadder still.
"O
child, in the magnificence of thy soul O my child, in the glory of thy soul, dwelling as thou dolt on the fringe of a world greater than ours, dazzled by thy own thoughts which are of an order far above the human, thou clothest a mortal hope with a vesture of eternity. But the hope is only mortal and transient despite thy investing it with the eternal.
Here
on this mutable and ignorant earth, All passes here, nothing remains the same. None is for any on this transient globe. On this earth where ignorance reigns and things are for ever changing, who can love or befriend truly and permanently? Here everything is passing, nothing remains the same. In this fleeting world, nobody is permanently for anybody.
He
whom thou lovest now, a stranger came
His
moment’s part once done upon life’s stage He whom thou lovest now is truly a stranger who has arrived from somewhere and shall soon depart into a far unknown. He is like a player upon the stage of life. As soon as he has performed the brief part given him by the soul within, he moves on to other scenes and other players amidst whose new and unknown faces he laughs and weeps again.
The
body thou hast loved is cast away The body that thou hast loved is broken up and thrown back into the cauldron of Nature who cares little for these comings and goings in the worlds of her making. It then forms the crude matter out of which other bodies are shaped for the joy of other lives.
But
for our souls, upon the wheel of God The wheel of God is turning for ever and our souls turn upon it; they arrive, they depart, now coming together, now separating, in the magic round of the endless dance of the Cosmic Player.
Our
emotions are but high and dying notes Our emotions are the high and fading notes of the wild music of this Dancer, a music inevitably changing from hour to hour with the passionate beatings of his searching heart.
To
call down heaven’s distant answering song,
Love
dies before the lover in our breast: All that we can dare to do is to call down the response of the high heaven to our appeal, to cry to a bliss that is beyond our reach. Even if we somehow seize this song of heavenly bliss, we quickly lose its sense. When it is too near us, its rhythms fail or flee. All the sweetnesses here in our world are only symbols whose meanings escape us; they are not real by themselves. Love, for instance, dies in us even when the lover is there before us; it does not last. All our joys are like perfumes in a fragile vase.
O
then what wreck is this upon Time’s sea
O
child, wilt thou proclaim, wilt thou then follow O then, what a great wreckage is this to let the ship of life be led by wild desire on the sea of Time, making the blind heart its pilot? Art thou going to revolt against the Law which is the eternal will in existence, and follow the arrogant mood of the titan to whom his own fierce will is the law, for whom there is neither Truth nor Light nor God?
Only the gods can speak what now thou speakst. Thou who art human, think not like a god.
For
man, below the god, above the brute, Only the gods can dare to speak what thou hast spoken. Remember thou art only human, do not think in the manner of a god. Man is above the brute in the scale of evolution, but he is below the status of a god. To him is given as his guide calm, deliberate reason.
He
is not driven by an unthinking will Man is not helplessly driven by an unthinking will as is the animal creation. Nor is he impelled by the stern law of Necessity like the mechanical movements of inconscient things.
The
giant’s and the titan’s furious march The giant and the titan may dare to climb and violently storm the kingdom of the gods above, or they may sport along the demoniac regions of Hell below. In the unthinking passion of their hearts, they dash themselves against the Law eternal and fall and break by the weight of their own violent mass. Not for thee is this course. Thou art human and for the human the middle path is reserved-not the free spontaneity of the gods nor the unthinking violence of the titans.
To
choose his steps by reason’s vigilant light, Man is given the freedom to guide his steps by the steady light of reason. Among the many paths that open before him, he is free to choose the path he wants. Each man is left free to work his difficult way to his chosen goal out of the infinite possibilities that lie before him.
Leave not thy goal to follow a beautiful face.
Only
when thou hast climbed above thy mind Thou hast a goal to reach, do not leave it in order to follow a beautiful face as thou now wishest to do. Not here in the human world, but there above in the calm vastness of the One Divine can love be eternal in the eternal bliss, only there can true divine Love take the place of the human tie that men call love here below. Thou hast vet to climb and live there above thy mind before that divine Love can be attained.
There
is a shrouded law, an austere force: There is an occult law, a force of austerity which urges thee to fortify thy immortal spirit within, It holds for thee its austere happinesses of work, thought and solemn joy as so many steps leading to the distant secret heights of God.
Then
is our life a tranquil pilgrimage, If we accept and follow this austere Law, an uncertain life turns into a calm and serene pilgrimage to God, each year measures a further advance upon the way to the coveted Heavens, each dawn marks the break of a larger Light.
Thy
acts are thy helpers, or events are signs, Thy acts are meant to be thy helpers on the Way; the events in thy life are indications of deeper realities; both the states of waking and of sleep are opportunities given to thee, by an immortal Power, to rise. With all these thou canst raise thy pure and unconquered spirit till it grows and expands to heaven in a wide and quiet calm and slowly greatens into an eternal Peace.
But
Savitri replied with steadfast eyes: Savitri answers with a steady look: My will is part of the eternal will of the Spirit-it is not something separate. My fate is determined by the strength of my spirit-by what that strength can achieve and what it can bear. Know that my strength is not of the titan in revolt but of God.
I have discovered my joyous self outside my body, in another’s being; I have found the profound soul of love that changes not with circumstance. Having done so, how can I pursue my single happiness? How can I aspire for a neutral, lone peace and, for that end, kill the eternal hope of union in love that called forth my soul to adventure out of its boundless solitude and sleep?
My
spirit has glimpsed the glory for which it came, My spirit has had a glimpse of the glory for which it has adventured, the glory of the one vast heart that throbs in this cauldron of the universe. My eternity has been clasped by his (Satyavan’s) eternity and despite the dangers that lurk in Time-dangers that are sweet for all their awesome nature-I have seen the deep possibility of loving without a break.
This,
this is first, last joy and to its throb This possibility to love always is the greatest joy before which even a thousand years of unbroken fortune-unbroken but without love-are a pittance. What do grief and death matter to me who has found love? Who cares for happy days and uneventful lives?
And
what to me are common souls of men
I
have no need to draw back from his arms What do I care for the common souls of other men once I have found Satyavan? What need is there for me to withdraw from the paradise of his love that I have just discovered, and walk alone towards the still infinity beyond?
Only
now for my soul in Satyavan
If
for a year, that year is all my life I now cherish my birth solely for the discovery of my soul in Satyavan, I shall walk with him in sunlight and in the green of the forest-like the gods in heaven. If that is to be only for a year, let it be; my life is only for that year. And yet, I know within myself that to live and to love only for a while and then to die is not my whole fate.
For
I know now why my spirit came on earth
I
have looked at him from my immortal Self, I know now why I have come on earth, who I am and who Satyavan is whom I love. I have regarded him with the eyes of my immortal Self and have beheld God smiling at me in Satyavan. Verily, I have seen the Eternal in Satyavan’s human face.
Then
none could answer to her words. Silent None in the assembly can answer Savitri. All sit in silence and peer into the face of Fate, as if to discover what she holds in store for Savitri.
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