{"id":10687,"date":"2014-07-13T00:24:00","date_gmt":"2014-07-13T07:24:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saa.santansoftwaresystems.com\/?p=10687"},"modified":"2014-12-06T23:13:50","modified_gmt":"2014-12-07T07:13:50","slug":"savitri-study-book-2-canto-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/savitri-study\/book-2-savitri-study\/savitri-study-book-2-canto-7","title":{"rendered":"Savitri-study-Book-2-Canto-7"},"content":{"rendered":"
\nIntroduction<\/a>   Notes<\/a>   Book 1<\/a>   Book II<\/a>   Book III<\/a>   Book IV<\/a>   
\nBook V<\/a>   Book VI<\/a>   Book VII<\/a>   Book VIII<\/a>   
\nBook IX<\/a>   Book X<\/a>   Book XI<\/a>   Book XII<\/a>
\n<\/br><\/br><\/div>\n
\n
\n

Book Two. The Book of the Traveller of the Worlds<\/p>\n

\nCanto I<\/a>    Canto II<\/a>    Canto III<\/a>    Canto IV<\/a>    
\nCanto V<\/a>
\n    Canto VI<\/a>    Canto VII<\/a>    Canto VIII<\/a>    
\nCanto IX<\/a>
\n    Canto X<\/a>    Canto XI<\/a>    Canto XII<\/a>    
\nCanto XIII<\/a>    Canto XIV<\/a>    
\nCanto XV<\/a>           \n<\/p>\n

<\/br><\/p>\n

\n
\n
\n

Book Two<\/font><\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\nThe Book of the Traveller of the Worlds<\/b><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n\n\n\n
 <\/td>\n\n
\n


\nBook
\nTwo: Canto VII<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nDescent into Night<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Summary<\/B>
\n
With a calm mind and detached heart, Aswapathy seeks to find the
\ncause of the world-failure he has just experienced and penetrates the
\nsurface view of Nature. He sees in the depths below the fount of Pain
\nand the black pit of Ignorance and Evil. He espies a dark Nescience
\nlooking up at this Creation, a hidden Power of Doom and Death beneath
\nall life. He observes a fatal influence creeping forth and stamping
\nitself upon all created existence, corrupting and perverting
\neverything in it. A deformation comes over all being. A sorrow
\nbreathes over the world. Beings of Evil arrive and erect the frame of
\nsin and adverse Fate. The whole appearance and character of Life
\nundergoes a change. Beauty, Love, Light yield to ugliness, lust,
\ndarkness. Ego thrives, falsehood usurps the place of Truth, Knowledge
\nis displaced by Ignorance.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\nsees emerging in a visible form a dark Power whose very breath is
\npoison. A peril begins to haunt the air and menacing Energies gather.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nTempting
\nsnares crowd around him. All there are misled by false appearances;
\nonly Aswapathy sees through by his inner discrimination. He is keen
\nto discern the cause of this Evil and goes further along the dim
\ntrack.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nHe
\nenters a no-man’s-land where traffic is heavy but dwellings none. All
\nhere is one vast deception. Joy hides pain and good yields evil; love
\nleads to hate, truth disappears into falsehood and life presages
\ndeath. The ruling hostile Power cloaks itself in the garb of Light,
\nquotes the scripture and slays the soul with self-righteous virtue.
\nThe path of heaven here leads to hell. Ruse and treachery are common.
\nSelfishness is at a premium, each wars against the other, but all
\ncontinue to put down any who dare to seek some higher good. Truth is
\nexiled lest she disturb this state of affairs.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nscene changes. There appears a city of ancient Ignorance, a centre
\nwithout circumference, a place with none to rule over the warring
\ngroups. It is a city where Light is unknown, Ego and Falsehood are
\nthe arbiters. A deceptive code of ethics gives a look of nobility to
\nthe ruthless warrior. Power and utility are the Truth and Right.
\nReligion oppresses, spirituality is exiled and truth is tabooed as a
\ntie and lie is enthroned as the truth.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\npasses through this dangerous passage warily with the Name of God on
\nhis lips, constantly aware of treachery from behind. None questions
\nhim; the heights of the Spirit above beckon to him, the abysses below
\ndesire him. He chooses to fathom the abysses of the Night and turns
\ndownwards.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\ngreater darkness greets him. It looks as if God and Light have never
\nbeen there or at any rate have no more any power there. His sight
\nfails and he feels his way with the soul. Ugliness, perversion, lust,
\ncruelty vie with one another in dominating the scene. Worship is
\noffered to the Undivine. A new aesthesis valuing what the soul hates
\nis cultivated. Beauty is banned, pure emotions are deadened. Evil is
\ncherished, brute passions hold undeterred sway. Here is Hell in its
\nnaked glory.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\ninhabitants of these regions are a race possessed by the demoniac
\nforce that lurks in the depths of men, suppressed by the law of the
\nhuman heart and controlled by the thought of the refined mind. This
\nforce is a monster of greed, aggrandisement and exploitation. The
\nbeings of this world look like men but are in truth viler than the
\nvilest of creatures. There is no touch of pity or love anywhere; all
\nis force, tyranny, cynicism. Light is despised by these creatures of
\nDarkness, loud in their slogan of loyalty to their Lords of
\nFalsehood.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\nadvances alone into these menacing realms, combats the powers that
\nseek to deprive his mind of its light, smites away their clinging
\ninfluences. Soon he emerges into vast blanks; all peopled tracts are
\nleft behind. It is a deathlike oppressive Void. He becomes aware of
\nan active hostility in Life opposing light and truth, spreading
\ndespair and doom, and he strives to resist its onslaught. The Abyss
\nfrom below rises to claim his soul which is now alone with the
\nconfronting Night; he is being sucked in, pressed down from all
\nsides. Hope disappears and a nameless fear arises in him. His mind is
\nstruck dumb. However, he endures, stills the terror and bears the
\nagony.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nSoon
\nthe peace returns and the gaze of his soul. The Godhead in him awakes
\nand he faces the danger with Calm. He masters the waves of this
\nformidable Nature with a look. He meets naked Hell with his bare
\nspirit.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Towards
\nthe World-Failure’s Cause<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nmind absolved from life, made calm to know,
A heart divorced from
\nthe blindness and the pang,
The seal of tears, the bond of
\nignorance,
He turned to find that wide world-failure\u2019s cause.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\nwants to find out the cause of this large-scale failure of the world
\nto become what it was intended to be. He is properly equipped for
\nthat task: his mind is not enmeshed in the whorl of life. It is above
\nit and free from its vitiating desire-movements and calm enough to
\nperceive, unmixed and undistracted, the truth of things. Similarly
\nhis heart is not overcome by the blind sufferings of life, the badge
\nof the ruling ignorance; it is detached from these obscurations and
\nit is also free and reacts to the truth without deviation.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Gaze
\ninto the Viewless Vast<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAway
\nhe looked from Nature\u2019s visible face
And sent his gaze into the
\nviewless Vast,
The formidable unknown Infinity,
Asleep behind
\nthe endless coil of things,
That carries the universe in its
\ntimeless breadths
And the ripples of its being are our lives.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThose
\nparts of Nature visible to the normal eye do not hold the truths of
\nher workings; in fact her surface movements veil the truths.
\nAswapathy, in his will to know the truth, shifts his gaze from the
\nmisleading surface and plunges it into the vaster indefinite Infinity
\nthat opens behind the front of the finite. It is the great unknown
\nbeyond the known, the latent upholding the patent, the unmanifest
\nprojecting the manifest. What is in movement as the universe is
\nupheld by this vast stable Being. All movements that constitute our
\nlives in the universe are but some pretty currents of that Immensity
\nof Existence.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Worlds
\nBuilt by its Breath<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nworlds are built by its unconscious Breath
And Matter and Mind
\nare its figures or its powers,
Our waking thoughts the output of
\nits dreams. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThis
\nvast Unknown is the real source of our universe. The latter is a
\nproduct of its spontaneous vibratory stir. Matter and Mind which pose
\nto be self-existent realities in the universe are in fact forms or
\nformulations of this Infinity. What we take to be our own conscious
\nthinkings are really a result of its formative movements.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Fount
\nof Pain<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nveil was rent that covers Nature\u2019s depths:
He saw the fount of
\nthe world\u2019s lasting pain
And the mouth of the black pit of
\nIgnorance;
The evil guarded at the roots of life
Raised up
\nits head and looked into his eyes. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\npenetrating gaze of Aswapathy cuts through the veil of external
\nNature and reaches into the hidden depths. There he sees the origin
\nof the Pain that afflicts the world, the dark source of the Ignorance
\nthat covers all, the poisonous growth of Evil that attacks Life at
\nher very roots.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Nescience
\nStares<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nOn
\na dim bank where dies subjective Space,
From a stark ridge
\noverlooking all that is,
A tenebrous awakened Nescience,
Her
\nwide blank eyes wondering at Time and Form,
Stared at the
\ninventions of the living Void
And the Abyss whence our beginnings
\nrose. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nOn
\na border where even subjective extension fails, Aswapathy becomes
\naware of a dark Nescience which comes to life as it were and stares
\nat all that has come into being and assumed form in the unrolling of
\nTime and at the depths of being from which all has arisen. The
\ninsentient Void regards the living Void\u2014even the living appears to
\nbe but a void as nothing lasts, all dissolves.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Watching
\nthe Birth of all<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nBehind
\nappeared a grey carved mask of Night
Watching the birth of all
\ncreated things. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\nhidden Puissance conscious of its force,
A vague and lurking
\nPresence everywhere,
A contrary Doom that threatens all things
\nmade,
A Death figuring as the dark seed of life,
Seemed to
\nengender and to slay the world. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nWatching
\nthe birth of things in this creation stands Something behind an
\nassumed mask of Night, of Darkness. The Darkness is only a cloak for
\na Light that burns concealed. And how does it all come to be? How
\ndoes it appear to the watching spirit? A Power acts but from behind
\nthe veil; a Presence is felt but not embodied; things are made but
\nare ever faced with extinction; Death which is not the end but
\nbecomes the beginning of another life seems to bring the world into
\nbeing only to slay it thereafter.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
A
\nFatal Influence Steals<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThen
\nfrom the sombre mystery of the gulfs
And from the hollow bosom of
\nthe Mask
Something crept forth that seemed a shapeless Thought.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\nfatal Influence upon creatures stole
Whose lethal touch pursued
\nthe immortal spirit,
On life was laid the haunting finger of
\nDeath
And overcast with error, grief and pain
The soul\u2019s
\nnative will for truth and joy and light. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIt
\nis then, as the awakened Nescience regards the creation that .has
\ncome into existence, that a dark emanation issues from her and falls
\nupon all that is created, tainting all, corrupting and destroying
\nall. The immortal spirit, the soul in its venture, is pursued
\neverywhere by this shapeless evil, this dangerous element that haunts
\nit and besieges it by its agents of error, grief and pain which
\noverwhelm its natural will to seek and manifest the truth and joy and
\nthe light in which they thrive, that are its own by right.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Deformation<\/B>
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\ndeformation coiled that claimed to be
The being\u2019s very turn,
\nNature\u2019s true drive. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAnd
\nthis leads to a deformation in the creation, a deformation that seems
\nso total and lasting that it claims to be the very nature of the
\nbeing in embodiment, the characteristic movement of universal Nature.
\nThis deformation that has intervened wants to pass as the intrinsic
\nnature of creation, as if creation is this and nothing more.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Perverting
\nMind<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nhostile and perverting Mind at work
In every corner ensconced of
\nconscious life
Corrupted Truth with her own formulas;
\n
Interceptor of the listening of the soul,
Afflicting
\nknowledge with the hue of doubt
It captured the oracles of the
\noccult gods,
Effaced the signposts of Life\u2019s pilgrimage,
\n
Cancelled the firm rock-edicts graved by Time,
And on the
\nfoundations of the cosmic Law
Erected its bronze pylons of
\nmisrule. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThis
\ncontrary and perverting element works through the Mind which operates
\nin the entire field of life and imposes its own formulas on the Truth
\nthat is trying to manifest. As the beings try to listen to
\ntruth-knowledge through its subtle hearing, this Mind interferes and
\ncasts its shadow of doubt on whatever Knowledge succeeds in reaching
\nit. It stops the spontaneous workings\u2014active and reactive\u2014of the
\ninner faculties from reaching the surface. It covers up with its own
\nconstructions the guiding turns provided by Nature for the March of
\nlife and on the foundations of the cosmic Law it erects its own
\nglittering edifices of wrong standards and misconceived ordinances.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
A
\nDanger<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nEven
\nLight and Love by that cloaked danger\u2019s spell
Turned from the
\nbrilliant nature of the gods
To fallen angels and misleading
\nsuns,
Became themselves a danger and a charm,
A perverse
\nsweetness, heaven-born malefice:
Its power could deform divinest
\nthings. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nEven
\nLight and Love that are by nature divine come to be so deformed by
\nthis perverting agency of Mind that they forfeit their bright and
\ngodly nature and assume baser forms. Instead of being the guiding and
\nsaving elements that they truly are, they become sources of danger
\nand harmful attraction; their baser forms misguide and lead into
\nsuffering.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Wind
\nof Sorrow<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nwind of sorrow breathed upon the world;
All thought with
\nfalsehood was besieged, all act
Stamped with defect or with
\nfrustration\u2019s sign,
All high attempt with failure or vain
\nsuccess,
But none could know the reason of his fall. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAs
\na result sorrow broods over the world. All thinking is enmeshed by
\nfalsehood, all action is rendered defective or tinged with hues of
\nfrustration. Great efforts end in failures or Pyrrhic successes. None
\nare aware of the root cause of this degeneration which lies in the
\noriginal Nescience and its issue, the perverting Mind.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Seed
\nof Suffering<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe
\ngrey Mask whispered and though no sound was heard,
Yet in the
\nignorant heart a seed was sown
That bore black fruit of
\nsuffering, death and bale. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIt
\nis the breath and the subtle entry of the Nescience into the creative
\nmovement that is the seed-cause of all evil, suffering and death that
\nhave appeared in life.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Ambassadors
\nof Evil<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nOut
\nof the chill steppes of a bleak Unseen
Invisible, wearing the
\nNight\u2019s grey mask,
Arrived the shadowy dreadful messengers,
\n
Invaders from a dangerous world of power,
Ambassadors of
\nevil\u2019s absolute. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAlong
\nwith the unheard whisper from the Mask of Night there is an unseen
\nentry of agents of Evil from another world. These denizens of a world
\nof perverted power are shadowy in form and strike terror wherever
\nthey go. They creep in under the mask of darkness from out of
\ncheerless regions not visible to the eye.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nEven
\nas there are ambassadors of Light and Good there are ambassadors of
\nDarkness and Evil the Antagonists.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Dire
\nWork Done<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn
\nsilence the inaudible voices spoke,
Hands that none saw planted
\nthe fatal grain,
No form was seen, yet a dire work was done,
An
\niron decree in crooked uncials written
Imposed a law of sin and
\nadverse fate. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThese
\nAgents of Evil do not act in the open. Their voices are not heard as
\nthey communicate; their hands are not seen as they work. All the same
\nthey do their evil deeds: they lay the foundations of an order of
\ncrookedness, sin and antagonistic fate.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Life
\nChanged<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nLife
\nlooked at him with changed and sombre eyes:
Her beauty he saw and
\nthe yearning heart in things
That with a little happiness is
\ncontent,
Answering to a small ray of truth or love; <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAs
\na result of this evil intervention, Life undergoes a change.
\nAswapathy notes that her look is different, less bright. Her beauty
\nremains, but he finds that her seeking, her quest is not as
\ninsatiable and demanding as before; she is content with what little
\nhappiness she can snatch, responding quietly to what little truth or
\nlove comes her way.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Dreadful
\nPowers<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHe
\nsaw her gold sunlight and her far blue sky,
Her green of leaves
\nand hue and scent of flowers
And the charm of children and the
\nlove of friends
And the beauty of women and kindly hearts of men,
\n
But saw too the dreadful Powers that drive her moods
And the
\nanguish she has strewn upon her ways,
Fate waiting on the unseen
\nsteps of men
And her evil and sorrow and last gift of death.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\nsees how full of beauty, charm and goodness life is, but he sees too
\nthat she is driven by fearful powers. He notes the consequent pain
\nand suffering that have sprung up in her course, the hostile fate
\nwaiting to confront man in his journey forward, the evil, the sorrow
\nand the culmination in death dominating the field of life.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Progress
\nPurveyor of Death<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nbreath of disillusion and decadence
Corrupting watched for Life\u2019s
\nmaturity
And made to rot the full grain of the soul:
Progress
\nbecame a purveyor of Death. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nEven
\nas Life develops and takes shape, frustration and decay act upon her
\nand things begin to crumble from within. The very movement of
\nprogress brings with it elements of death.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
A
\nWorld of Slain Light<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nworld that clung to the law of a slain Light
Cherished the putrid
\ncorpses of dead truths,
Hailed twisted forms as things free, new
\nand true,
Beauty from ugliness and evil drank
Feeling
\nthemselves guests at a banquet of the gods
And tasted corruption
\nlike a high-spiced food. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\nregards a whole world infected with the spirit of decadence and
\ndeath: the Light that leads and saves is extinguished and dead truths
\nare erected as high values; unnatural things are welcomed as true and
\nnatural; corruption is highly prized and even beauty partakes of the
\nugliness and evil that are rampant.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Darkness
\nSettles<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\ndarkness settled on the heavy air;
It hunted the bright smile
\nfrom Nature\u2019s lips
And slew the native confidence in her heart
\n
And put fear\u2019s crooked look into her eyes. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nlightness and the brightness in Nature fade away. Shadows gather and
\nhappiness is extinguished. Nature’s inborn robust confidence of
\nstrength is slain and instead fear implanted in her.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nFear
\ngives an unnatural and hunted look to one whom it possesses. The
\ncandid gaze of the soul is eclipsed when it is overlaid by fear.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Manufactured
\nVirtue and Vice<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nlust that warps the spirit\u2019s natural good
Replaced by a
\nmanufactured virtue and vice
The frank spontaneous impulse of the
\nsoul:
Afflicting Nature with the dual\u2019s lie,
Their twin
\nvalues whetted a forbidden zest,
Made evil a relief from spurious
\ngood,
The ego battened on righteousness and sin
And each
\nbecame an instrument of Hell. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nspontaneous turn to what is right and good in the soul is twisted by
\nan intruding lust into an artificial and imposed pattern of virtue
\nand vice. A duality comes into play falsifying all operations,
\nsuppressing and thus giving an added unnatural force to the natural
\nzest of life. The artificial good that does duty for what is
\nnaturally right and wholesome becomes irksome, and evil becomes
\nattractive. Self-righteousness breeds in the votaries of this
\nartificial good and ego flourishes in them in a false sense and
\nenhanced awareness of their own virtues and the sins of others. All
\nin all, everything leads to hell, whether it is virtue or vice, both
\nbecome means to the rule of hell.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Life’s
\nDescent into Night (I)<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn
\nrejected heaps by a monotonous road
The old simple delights were
\nleft to lie
On the wasteland of life\u2019s descent to Night.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAll
\nglory of life dimmed tarnished into a doubt,
All beauty ended in
\nan aging face; <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nOn
\nthis dull route of life’s decline into darkness and obscurity the old
\nnatural joys of life are discarded. Life’s original glory of
\nconfidence is afflicted by doubt and reduced in its glow. Beauty is
\novertaken by care and decay.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Life’s
\nDescent into Night (II)<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAll
\npower was dubbed a tyranny cursed by God
And Truth a fiction
\nneeded by the mind;
The chase of joy was now a tired hunt;
All
\nknowledge was left a questioning Ignorance. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nPower
\nhas no more its free and uninhibited play; it comes to be looked upon
\nas an unjust force to be condemned and checked. Truth ceases to be a
\nself-evident fact; it is regarded as a fictitious prop erected by the
\nmind for its own purpose. Joy is no more an invigorating pursuit in
\nthe play of life, but an exhausting search. Knowledge ceases to
\nfulfil; it dwindles into an imperfect, incomplete and unsatisfied
\nIgnorance.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Dark
\nUnseen<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAs
\nfrom a womb obscure he saw emerge
The body and visage of a dark
\nUnseen
Hidden behind the fair outside of life. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIts
\ndangerous commerce is our suffering\u2019s cause. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIts
\nbreath is a subtle poison in men\u2019s hearts;
All evil starts from
\nthat ambiguous face. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAs
\nAswapathy watches he sees a dark Form emerging from behind the fair
\nfront of life. This dark Entity hitherto unseen is the real cause of
\nall suffering that befalls man; for it is not something that lies
\nbeneath, inactive, it is constantly putting itself out into the
\nmovements of life and vitiating them, bringing on pain and suffering.
\nIts very breath deposits poison in the hearts of men, unknown to
\nthem. This dark Element of uncertain appearance is the parent of all
\nevil in the world.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Haunting
\nPeril<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nperil haunted now the common air;
The world grew full of menacing
\nEnergies,
And wherever turned for help or hope his eyes,
In
\nfield and house, in street and camp and mart,
He met the prowl
\nand stealthy come and go
Of armed disquieting bodied Influences.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\nbecomes aware of a perilous atmosphere around him. He sees forces and
\nenergies aflow in a threatening surge. He turns here and there
\nlooking for help, for some brighter issue; but everywhere he
\nencounters only hostile and unnerving presences in concrete forms
\nprowling about stealthily.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Ominous
\nBeings<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nmarch of goddess figures dark and nude
Alarmed the air with
\ngrandiose unease;
Appalling footsteps drew invisibly near,
\n
Shapes that were threats invaded the dream-light,
And ominous
\nbeings passed him on the road
Whose very gaze was a calamity:
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nPowerful
\nbeings, dark and unveiled, spread alarm as they stride the scene.
\nFootsteps approach unseen and cause fear. Forms gather breathing
\nthreats. Beings portending evil, carrying disaster in their very
\nlooks, pass him by.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Alluring
\nLips<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\ncharm and sweetness sudden and formidable,
Faces that raised
\nalluring lips and eyes
Approached him armed with beauty like a
\nsnare,
But hid a fatal meaning in each line
And could in a
\nmoment dangerously change. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nDanger
\nthreatens not openly alone. Apart from the terror-spreading fearful
\nelements at work undisguised, there are also attractive appearances
\nthat hide harm behind their compelling beauty and appeal. They too
\napproach Aswapathy with all their danger-loaded charm.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
All
\nBelied and Beset<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nBut
\nhe alone discerned that screened attack. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\nveil upon the inner vision lay,
A force was there that hid its
\ndreadful steps;
All was belied, yet thought itself the truth;
\n
All were beset but knew not of the siege:
For none could see
\nthe authors of their fall. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nNobody
\nthere can see things as they are; the vision is overlaid by a veil.
\nDanger comes unexpectedly as the menace advances unseen. Truth is
\nnowhere to be found; what passes for it is pseudo-truth which,
\nhowever, believes itself to be the Truth. And this hold of perversion
\nis so complete that the attacked victims are unaware that they are
\nbesieged. No one can see the cause of this state except Aswapathy,
\nwho has the light and the sight to see and discern the developments
\nbehind the veil.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
He
\nFollows the Track<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAware
\nof some dark wisdom still withheld
That was the seal and warrant
\nof this strength,
He followed the track of dim tremendous steps
\n
Returning to the night from which they came. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\ntract he reached unbuilt and owned by none:
There all could enter
\nbut none stay for long. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\nsees all and feels convinced that there must be some justification,
\nsome necessity somewhere for this strong and formidable formation.
\nAnd he pursues his way across dim spaces and reaches at last a dark
\nstarting tract, a kind of no-man’s-land, built by none, owned by
\nnone, where the passage is open but no settlement is possible.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Unreality
\nNature’s Lord<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIt
\nwas a no-man\u2019s-land of evil air,
A crowded neighbourhood
\nwithout one home,
A borderland between the world and hell.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThere
\nunreality was Nature\u2019s lord:
It was a space where nothing could
\nbe true,
For nothing was what it had claimed to be:
A high
\nappearance wrapped a spacious void. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nair here is full of evil. This passage to hell is crowded with people
\nbut there is not a single shelter for them. All is in transit.
\nUnreality rules everywhere. It is an order of existence where the
\nreal withholds itself and everything is spurious. There is an
\nimposing fa\u00e7ade with nothing at all behind it.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Deception
\nthe Law<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nYet
\nnothing would confess its own pretence
Even to itself in the
\nambiguous heart:
A vast deception was the law of things;
Only
\nby that deception they could live. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThis
\nfalse pretension is so pervading and so complete that nothing will
\nadmit even to itself\u2014let alone to others\u2014that it is not what it
\nwants to pass for. Here even the heart which is a natural seat of
\nconviction and unveiled truth, is uncertain and doubtful. Deception
\nis the very law of this domain and all lives and survives by
\nconforming to this pattern.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Mirrors
\nof a Fantasm<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAn
\nunsubstantial Nihil guaranteed
The falsehood of the forms this
\nNature took
And made them seem awhile to be and live. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\nborrowed magic drew them from the Void;
They took a shape and
\nstuff that was not theirs
And showed a colour that they could not
\nkeep,
Mirrors to a fantasm of reality. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nfalsehood of the forms that Nature takes on here is upheld by a
\nmighty Nothing which by its very presence\u2014or seeming presence\u2014makes
\nthem appear for a while as if they are real. They assume shapes and
\nsubstances not their own and their colours keep on changing. They do
\nnot exist by their own right, they are, as it were, conjured up from
\na nowhere. The whole configuration is like a mirrored reflection of a
\nfantasy thrown up by some reality.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Each
\nBrilliance a Splendid Lie<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nEach
\nrainbow brilliance was a splendid lie;
A beauty unreal graced a
\nglamour face. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nEven
\nbeautiful forms are a cheat. The beauty that adorns an enchanting
\nface is found to be not real at all. Each striking brightness is a
\nspectacular falsehood.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nBeauty
\nhere is no guarantee of Truth; it is, on the other hand, a decoy, a
\nsnare, a trap.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Nothing
\ncan be Relied on<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nNothing
\ncould be relied on to remain:
Joy nurtured tears and good an evil
\nproved,
But never out of evil one plucked good:
Love ended
\nearly in hate, delight killed with pain,
Truth into falsity grew
\nand death ruled life. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nOne
\ncan never be sure that what one sees here will remain as it is seen.
\nEverything reveals itself to be its contrary. Joy becomes a source of
\ntears and pain. What appears good proves to be evil\u2014 though the
\nopposite never happens viz. no evil ever results in any good! Love
\nculminates in hate and delight in suffering. Apparent Truth unrolls
\nitself as falsehood and life is overshadowed by death.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Sardonic
\nRictus on God’s Face<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nPower that laughed at the mischief of the world,
An irony that
\njoined the world\u2019s contraries
And flung them into each other\u2019s
\narms to strive,
Put a sardonic rictus on God\u2019s face. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThere
\nis an unmistakable merriment in the air from this pervading spirit of
\nmischief that corrupts everything. It exults in throwing together
\ninto ceaseless combat the contraries of joy and pain, good and evil,
\nlove and hate, delight and suffering, truth and falsehood, life and
\ndeath.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nHowever,
\nthe creative Spirit is not cast down at these developments. There is
\na significant gesture of scorn on his visage; for even these he makes
\nto serve his purpose. The rise and struggle of contraries is turned
\ninto a process towards the realisation of a transcendent Verity.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Sinister
\nInfluence<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAloof,
\nits influence entered everywhere
And left a cloven hoof-mark on
\nthe breast;
A twisted heart and a strange sombre smile
Mocked
\nat the sinister comedy of life. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThough
\nthis Dark Power is apart and uninvolved, its influence enters
\neverywhere and vitiates all forms and movements. It leaves its stamp
\non all. Perverse and twisted, it enjoys the prospect of tragedy
\ninevitably overtaking the little joys of life.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Advent
\nof Peril<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAnnouncing
\nthe advent of a perilous Form
An ominous tread softened its dire
\nfootfall
That none might understand or be on guard;
None
\nheard until a dreadful grasp was close. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nDanger
\napproaches. It comes stealthily on purpose as it aims to strike
\nunawares. It takes care to see that none knows of its coming until it
\nis too late to escape its fearful hold.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Fiend
\nCloaked in Light (I)<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nOr
\nelse all augured a divine approach,
An air of prophecy felt, a
\nheavenly hope,
Listened for a gospel, watched for a new star.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nFiend was visible, but cloaked in light;
He seemed a helping
\nangel from the skies:
He armed untruth with Scripture and the
\nLaw;
He deceived with wisdom, with virtue slew the soul
And
\nled to perdition by the heavenward path. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nOr,
\nit is a brightness everywhere, an air of coming fulfilment, an
\nexpectation of an advent of something new\u2014a new truth, a new light.
\nThe Dark Adversary puts on a mantle of light and appears in a
\nmisleading form, acting as a helpful angel, manoeuvring to give
\nfalsehood the appearance of truth by twisting the Scripture and the
\nLaw in its favour. His pseudo-wisdom is deceitful and the Virtue
\npatronised by him kills the soul by smothering it with
\nself-righteousness. The path he leads on is ostensibly towards heaven
\nbut in reality it moves to perdition.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Fiend
\nCloaked in Light (II)<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nlavish sense he gave of power and joy,
And when arose the warning
\nfrom within,
He reassured the ear with dulcet tones,
Or took
\nthe mind captive in its own net;
His rigorous logic made the
\nfalse seem true. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nHe
\nfills men with a false sense of exultation, a feeling of power and
\njoy. When the inner being warns against this falsity, he neutralises
\nthe prompting by sweet suggestions to the contrary and lulls into
\nfalse security. Or he disables the mind from discovering the truth by
\ninvolving it in its own gossamer constructions. He uses its logic
\nthat deadly weapon which can be made to serve truth or falsehood with
\nequal ease to pass off untruth as truth.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Full
\nof Treachery and Ruse (I)<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAmazing
\nthe elect with holy lore
He spoke as with the very voice of God.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nair was full of treachery and ruse;
Truth-speaking was a
\nstratagem in that place;
Ambush lurked in a smile and peril made
\n
Safety its cover, trust its entry\u2019s gate: <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nHe
\ncites from the scripture with facility, successfully imitates the
\nvoice of God and misleads. The place reeks with cunning and deceit.
\nEven if truth is spoken at any time anywhere, it is more as part of a
\nplan to create confidence and then betray. Even a smile is full of
\nhazard as behind it there is a trap. What looks like safety is only a
\ndecoy to land one into peril and a feeling of trust becomes an open
\ndoor for danger to enter.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Full
\nof Treachery and Ruse (II)<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nFalsehood
\ncame laughing with the eyes of truth;
Each friend might turn an
\nenemy or spy,
The hand one clasped ensleeved a dagger\u2019s stab
\n
And an embrace could be Doom\u2019s iron cage. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nwhole environment is treacherous in the extreme. Falsehood is
\ninviting in an appealing garb of truth. No one can be trusted as a
\nfriend; he may turn out to be an enemy in disguise or the agent of an
\nenemy. Even a handshake may be a prelude to a dagger-thrust, an
\nembrace turn into a grip by the hosts of Death.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Danger
\nand Fear<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAgony
\nand danger stalked their trembling prey
And softly spoke as to a
\ntimid friend:
Attack sprang suddenly vehement and unseen;
Fear
\nleaped upon the heart at every turn
And cried out with an
\nanguished dreadful voice;
It called for one to save but none came
\nnear. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAgony
\nand danger attack everywhere; they enter into the atmosphere under
\nfalse and alluring colours and pounce all of a sudden with dire
\nforce. The heart is filled with an agony of fear at every turn and
\nmen in their fear cry out piteously for help, but of help there is
\nnone.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Death
\never Close<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAll
\nwarily walked, for death was ever close;
Yet caution seemed a
\nvain expense of care,
For all that guarded proved a deadly net,
\n
And when after long suspense salvation came
And brought a
\nglad relief disarming strength,
It served as a smiling passage to
\nworse fate. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nWith
\nall this danger around and death threatening to overtake, all tread
\ntheir path watchfully. But this caution is a waste of vigilance. For
\nwhatever one uses to guard oneself with turns out to be a fatal and
\ndeadly snare. Even when, ultimately, some welcome relief arrives and
\nslackens the tension, it soon reveals itself as a treacherous passage
\nto a greater doom.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
World
\nof Battle and Surprise<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThere
\nwas no truce and no safe place to rest;
One dared not slumber or
\nput off one\u2019s arms:
It was a world of battle and surprise.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIt
\nis a place where none can afford to relax his vigilance. Nothing is
\nsafe, there is nowhere to stay in peace. All around is strife and
\ntreachery. There is a perpetual tension.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Truth
\nExiled<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAll
\nwho were there lived for themselves alone;
All warred against
\nall, but with a common hate
Turned on the mind that sought some
\nhigher good;
Truth was exiled lest she should dare to speak
And
\nhurt the heart of darkness with her light
Or bring her pride of
\nknowledge to blaspheme
The settled anarchy of established things.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\ndenizens of this world are all exclusively self-centred. Each one
\nranges himself against the rest and yet if anyone seeks some nobler
\nend, all the rest make common cause and attack him. Truth stands
\nbanished from this realm lest she expose the falsehood that is
\nregnant, dissolve the darkness with her light, and upset the existing
\norder or disorder of things with her superior and disturbing
\nknowledge. Ignorance guards itself furiously against the intrusions
\nof Knowledge as they strike at the very roots of its reign.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
City
\nof Ancient Ignorance<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThen
\nthe scene changed, but kept its dreadful core:
Altering its form
\nthe life remained the same. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\ncapital was there without a State:
It had no ruler, only groups
\nthat strove. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nHe
\nsaw a city of ancient Ignorance
Founded upon a soil that knew not
\nLight. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nscene changes, there is a different formation but the main features
\nremain. It is a highly unnatural state of affairs; there is a centre
\nbut it extends nowhere. There is no order and nobody to enforce it;
\neverywhere there is strife\u2014between individuals, between groups. It
\nis an organised realm of ancient Ignorance built on a foundation that
\nhas not known Light. If it had been exposed to Light in any manner,
\nit could not have survived.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Each
\nin his Darkness Walked<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThere
\neach in his own darkness walked alone:
Only they agreed to differ
\nin Evil\u2019s paths,
To live in their own way for their own selves
\n
Or to enforce a common lie and wrong; <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIn
\nthis realm all are severely self-centred. Each one hugs his own
\nignorance and insists on forging his own way irrespective of the
\ninterests of others. The only point on which all agree is that there
\nare many ways of pursuing the Evil and each one must have freedom to
\nindulge in his way. Where they unite it is to pool their common
\nstrength to give added force to the prevailing falsehood.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Ego
\nthe Lord<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThere
\nEgo was lord upon his peacock seat
And falsehood sat by him, his
\nmate and queen:
The world turned to them as Heaven to Truth and
\nGod. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nmaster whom all serve here is the Ego seated on the throne of pride.
\nEgo is supported and seconded by his spouse, Falsehood. Without
\nFalsehood to support and buttress, Ego cannot thrive and without Ego,
\nFalsehood has no monitor. This dark world turns naturally to this
\nbiune and sinister formation of Ego-Falsehood even as the world of
\nlight turns spontaneously to Truth and God.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Injustice
\nJustifies Error<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nInjustice
\njustified by firm decrees
The sovereign weights of Error\u2019s
\nlegalised trade,
But all the weights were false and none the
\nsame;
Ever she watched with her balance and a sword
Lest any
\nsacrilegious word expose
The sanctified formulas of her old
\nmisrule. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nInjustice
\ninstead of justice holds the scales with weights that are all false.
\nError is legalised. Any word of truth, any ray of light that would
\nexpose this established rule of falsehood is vigilantly kept out.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Each
\nGroup its Naked Law<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn
\nhigh professions wrapped self-will walked wide
And licence
\nstalked prating of order and right:
There was no altar raised to
\nLiberty;
True freedom was abhorred and hunted down:
Harmony
\nand tolerance nowhere could be seen;
Each group proclaimed its
\ndire and naked Law. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nEach
\nasserts his self-will and prating high-sounding principles, does what
\nhe wants; under the cover of order and justice, rank licence
\nprevails. There is not even a recognition of the Ideal of Liberty; if
\nany elements of freedom are seen or suspected anywhere, they are
\nhated and hounded out. None tolerates another. Harmony is conspicuous
\nby its absence. Each group holds to its own interests in the name of
\na law and seeks to impose it on others at the point of the sword.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Posture
\nof Nobility<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nframe of ethics knobbed with scriptural rules
Or a theory
\npassionately believed and praised
A table seemed of high Heaven\u2019s
\nsacred code. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\nformal practice mailed and iron-shod
Gave to a rude and ruthless
\nwarrior kind
Drawn from the savage bowels of the earth
A
\nproud stern poise of harsh nobility,
A civic posture rigid and
\nformidable. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nInjunctions
\nof scripture key-set in a framework of ethics or some theory which
\nderives its strength not from any higher truth but from the vehement
\nbeliefit commands in the laity, pass for the Law of God. An outer
\nimposing adherence to such a code gives to the ruthless barbarians
\nwho wield sword and fire a stamp of nobility and a halo of
\nuncompromising strength and right.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Nature
\nthey Obeyed<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nBut
\nall their private acts belied the pose:
Power and utility were
\ntheir Truth and Right,
An eagle rapacity clawed its coveted good,
\n
Beaks pecked and talons tore all weaker prey. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIn
\ntheir sweet secrecy of pleasant sins
Nature they obeyed and not a
\nmoralist God. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nPractice
\nbelies professions everywhere. Not Truth, not Right, but Utility and
\nPower are the guiding criteria. The strong prey upon the weak;
\ncapacity, not legitimacy, is at a premium. Sin is enjoyed and
\ncherished without any feeling of guilt. Amoral Nature and not a
\nmoralist God sets the norm. Self-assertion, self-aggrandisement are
\nthe rule irrespective of their moral or immoral bearings.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Persecution
\nof others’ Vice<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nInconscient
\ntraders in bundles of contraries,
They did what in others they
\nwould persecute;
When their eyes looked upon their fellow\u2019s
\nvice,
An indignation flamed, a virtuous wrath;
Oblivious of
\ntheir own deep-hid offence,
Moblike they stoned a neighbour
\ncaught in sin. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIn
\na general state of unconsciousness contradictions and oppositions are
\nheaped together pell-mell and passed off under false labels. Each one
\nis blind to his own defects but would condemn the same failings in
\nothers. Insincerity is at a premium. Perverse cruelty delights in
\noppression of others. It is the rule of the Pharisee.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Scale
\nof Ego’s Interest and Desire<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\npragmatist judge within passed false decrees,
Posed worst
\niniquities on equity\u2019s base,
Reasoned ill actions just,
\nsanctioned the scale
Of the merchant ego\u2019s interest and desire.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThus
\nwas a balance kept, the world could live. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nJudgement
\nis based not upon the truth of things but upon their utility to
\noneself. In the name of equity unpardonable inequities are
\nperpetrated. Wrong is adjusted to be right by skilful reasoning.
\nValues are appraised not on inherent Verity but with an eye to their
\nworth to ego and desire; they are heavily tainted. Such is the false
\nscale of norms and laws by which this world lives.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Religion
\nupon Blood-Stained Throne<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nzealot fervour pushed their ruthless cults,
All faith not theirs
\nbled scourged as heresy;
They questioned, captived, tortured,
\nburned or smote
And forced the soul to abandon right or die.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAmid
\nher clashing creeds and warring sects
Religion sat upon a
\nblood-stained throne. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\nhundred tyrannies oppressed and slew
And founded unity upon fraud
\nand force. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThere
\nis an extreme religious fanaticism. Those of alien faith are hounded
\nout. Not truth but agreement with one’s own belief is the criterion.
\nThose who hold to their faith, to truth, are forced to forswear their
\nconviction or be put to death. Intolerance is the order of the day,
\nleading to incessant strife, clash and bloodshed. Over it all
\npresides Religion severe and exacting, allowing no quarter to
\ndissent.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThere
\nis a pervading repression, suppression of free thought. By force or
\nby organised cheating, a semblance of unity is flaunted.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Spiritual
\nSeeking Outcasted<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nOnly
\nwhat seemed was prized as real there:
The ideal was a cynic
\nridicule\u2019s butt:
Hooted by the crowd, mocked by enlightened
\nwits,
Spiritual seeking wandered outcasted,\u2014
A dreamer\u2019s
\nself-deceiving web of thought
Or mad chimera deemed or
\nhypocrite\u2019s fake,
Its passionate instinct trailed through minds
\nobscure
Lost in the circuits of the Ignorance. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nWhat
\nis apparent, actual at the moment is taken to be real, not what is
\ntrue. Ideals are ridiculed and cynically brushed aside. Spirituality,
\nseeking for the truth of the Spirit, is laughed at both by the laity
\nand the lettered gentry and dismissed as an impractical undertaking,
\na delusion of speculative mind, a fantasy or a deliberate concoction
\nof the hypocrite to deceive. The intensities of the Quest pass dulled
\nthrough the corridors of the obscure mind and are lost to sight in
\nthe endless rounds of the reigning Ignorance.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Truth
\na Lie and Lie the Truth<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nlie was there the truth and truth a lie. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThis
\nis the result of the unmitigated reign of falsehood in every sphere
\nin this realm. What is regarded and revered as truth is in reality
\nthe reverse of it, a deliberate perversion into its opposite, a lie.
\nAnd that is not all. If there be any element of truth anywhere, it is
\ndubbed a lie and condemned. Things are topsy-turvy and yet they are
\naccepted as the right and natural order.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Perilous
\nWay to Heaven<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHere
\nmust the traveller of the upward way\u2014
For daring Hell\u2019s
\nkingdoms winds the heavenly route\u2014
Pause or pass slowly through
\nthat perilous space,
A prayer upon his lips and the great Name.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nroad to Light lies through tracts of darkness. One who aims to reach
\nthe goal of Truth and Immortality has to pass through the intervening
\ninhospitable and dangerous realms of Falsehood and Death. The pilgrim
\nof Light either pauses in these treacherous regions unable to make
\nheadway or passes warily praying all the while for safety, repeating
\nthe Name of his Saviour. The prayer in his heart links him with the
\nStrength of the chosen Divinity and the Name on his lips infuses the
\nPower of the adored and assures protection along the dangerous paths.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Falsity’s
\nEndless Net<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIf
\nprobed not all discernment\u2019s keen spear-point,
He might stumble
\ninto falsity\u2019s endless net. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nOver
\nhis shoulder often he must look back
Like one who feels on his
\nneck an enemy\u2019s breath;
Else stealing up behind a treasonous
\nblow
Might prostrate cast and pin to unholy soil,
Pierced
\nthrough his back by Evil\u2019s poignant stake. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\npilgrim has got to be vigilant on all sides. He has to use his
\ndeveloped discriminative faculties to the full lest he might be lured
\ninto waiting traps of falsehood which are indeed endless. He needs
\noften to look backwards and sideways lest a treacherous blow fall
\nupon him unawares and cast him down helpless. Evil is ready to strike
\nat any moment from any direction.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Fall
\non the Eternal’s Road<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nSo
\nmight one fall on the Eternal\u2019s road
Forfeiting the spirit\u2019s
\nlonely chance in Time
And no news of him reach the waiting gods,
\n
Marked \u201cmissing\u201d in the register of souls,
His name the
\nindex of a failing hope,
The position of a dead remembered star.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThis
\nis where and how spiritual casualties take place. The unfortunate
\nvictim loses the chances offered to him to reach the Kingdom of the
\nSpirit and his awaited arrival there never ensues. He is written off
\nas a failure and his name remembered at best as one who had tried to
\nsoar but failed on the way.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Heroes
\nof Army of Light<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nhand ready to smite, the eye to scout,
Casting a javelin regard
\nin front,
Heroes and soldiers of the army of Light. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nTo
\nwalk safely through this perilous passage, one must invoke the
\npresence of God and remain conscious of it in the heart, cover
\noneself with unfailing courage, wield the sword of faith with hands
\nthat are ready to strike at the enemy as soon as he is perceived by
\nthe watchful eye which goes on scrutinising piercingly the path
\nahead. Only such ones constitute the warriors of the army of Light
\nthat is out to conquer the worlds from the hosts of Falsehood and
\nDarkness who hold them in their dominion.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Danger
\nPast<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHardly
\neven so, the grisly danger past,
Released into a calmer purer
\nair,
They dared at length to breathe and smile once more.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nOnce
\nmore they moved beneath a real sun. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nEven
\nwhen the danger zone is crossed with all these precautions, vigilance
\nand prayer, and a freer and purer realm is entered, the pilgrims are
\nstill unable to relax. For the memory and the strain of the immediate
\nexperience is still fresh, the shadows of the danger left behind
\nstill seem to cast their dire influence on them.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nHowever,
\nthey have stepped into a realm where the bright sun shines untainted
\nby the deceitful hues of the world of Falsehood.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
None
\nin his Way<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThough
\nHell claimed rule, the spirit still had power. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThis
\nNo-man\u2019s-land he passed without debate;
Him the heights
\nmissioned, him the Abyss desired:
None stood across his way, no
\nvoice forbade. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThis
\nis the land Aswapathy has surveyed; hell claims to be the sole ruler,
\nbut the power of the Spirit has still a say. It is a no-man’s-land
\nwhere he moves unquestioned, unchecked.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nheights above beckon, but the abyss below casts a longing look at
\nhim. He is free to choose, there is none standing in his way.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Towards
\nthe Night<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nFor
\nswift and easy is the downward path,
And now towards the Night
\nwas turned his face. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAnd
\nAswapathy chooses to fathom the inviting abyss of darkness below.
\nIndeed, the path downward is always easy and rapid; it is the path
\nupward that is difficult and steep. The downward pull of the
\nestablished forces of Ignorance, Inertia and Darkness is incessant
\nand any inclination towards them is swiftly turned by them into a
\nprecipitous plunge.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
The
\nNaked Worst<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\ngreater darkness waited, a worse reign,
If worse can be where all
\nis evil\u2019s extreme;
Yet to the cloaked the uncloaked is naked
\nworst. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\nstill greater darkness awaits Aswapathy. What he has seen is dark
\nenough, but what he is to see further is yet worse. Can there be
\nanything worse than the formation of Evil that he has just seen? Yes,
\nwhat passed before was evil under veil; things existed and moved
\nunder false labels and colours. What he is to see now is naked,
\nunveiled Evil.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
God
\nand Truth never there<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThere
\nGod and Truth and the supernal Light
Had never been or else had
\npower no more. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nGod,
\nTruth and Light do not appear to have ever existed here in this
\nregion of Evil. At any rate they are not effective here any more.
\nEven if they had been so at any time before, they have now been
\ncompletely displaced by the Lords of Falsehood and Darkness.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
He
\nCrosses a Boundary<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAs
\nwhen one slips in a deep moment\u2019s trance
Over mind\u2019s border
\ninto another world,
He crossed a boundary whose stealthy trace
\n
Eye could not see but only the soul feel. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nLike
\none who in a state of deep meditative trance slides over the edges of
\nthe mind into a totally different realm of Consciousness, without
\neffort or design, Aswapathy finds himself across a boundary which is
\nso subtle that his eyes cannot see, only his soul can feel. The soul
\nfeels the transition.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Armoured
\nFierce Domain<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nInto
\nan armoured fierce domain he came
And saw himself wandering like
\na lost soul
Amid grimed walls and savage slums of Night. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAround
\nhim crowded grey and squalid huts
Neighbouring proud palaces of
\nperverted Power,
Inhuman quarters and demoniac wards. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nfierce domain he has stepped into is fully armoured against foes.
\nHere he finds himself totally a stranger, with none to befriend him,
\nwalking without direction in surroundings that are dirty, dark and
\nprimitive. There are flamboyant edifices to the glory of tyrant Power
\nbut alongside there are poor, pitiful, ugly dwellings; also spread
\nout are quarters full of inhuman and demoniac creatures, cruel and
\nevil.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Haunting
\nMisery<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\npride in evil hugged its wretchedness;
A misery haunting
\nsplendour pressed those fell
Dun suburbs of the cities of
\ndream-life. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nEvil
\nis always accompanied by art insolent self-pride and this pride hugs
\nthe wretchedness of the evil defiantly. That is why the mean state
\ncontinues. There is in this realm an overall misery\u2014looming over
\nthe peculiar splendour of the place\u2014stamping itself on the dim-lit
\npurlieus of the crowded cities of this dream-like existence.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Life,
\na Fallen Goddess<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThere
\nLife displayed to the spectator soul
The shadow depths of her
\nstrange miracle. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\nstrong and fallen goddess without hope,
Obscured, deformed by
\nsome dire Gorgon spell,
As might a harlot empress in a bouge,
\n
Nude, unashamed, exulting she upraised
Her evil face of
\nperilous beauty and charm
And, drawing panic to a shuddering kiss
\n
Twixt the magnificence of her fatal breasts,
Allured to their
\nabyss the spirit\u2019s fall. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nHere
\nLife shows to the onlooker the depraved and deformed state to which
\nshe has been reduced and the way in which the fatal charm of her
\ndeceptive visage entices the spirit to plunge to its fall.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Nightmare
\nPomps<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAcross
\nthe field of sight she multiplied
As on a scenic film or moving
\nplate
The implacable splendour of her nightmare pomps. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nOn
\nthe dark background of a soulless world
She staged between a
\nlurid light and shade
Her dramas of the sorrow of the depths
\n
Written on the agonised nerves of living things: <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAs
\nif on a cinematographic screen, Life throws up a number of scenes
\nimaging her nether glories in their engulfing terror. On a soulless
\nstage she enacts, in a fearful play of light and shade, her dramas
\ndepicting the sorrow of her fallen states borne and suffered by the
\nstrained nerves of the living.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Pity
\nParalysed<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nEpics
\nof horror and grim majesty,
Wry statues spat and stiffened in
\nlife\u2019s mud,
A glut of hideous forms and hideous deeds
\n
Paralysed pity in the hardened breast. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\ncharacters in these dramas are embodiments of terror, cold and
\npitiless, dry and stiff in the muddy terrains of Life. There is a
\nplethora of ugly forms and ugly movements leaving no quarter for pity
\nanywhere.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Lust
\nTurned into Decorative Art<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn
\nbooths of sin and night-repairs of vice
Styled infamies of the
\nbody\u2019s concupiscence
And sordid imaginations etched in flesh,
\n
Turned lust into a decorative art:
Abusing Nature\u2019s gift
\nher pervert skill
Immortalised the sown grain of living death,
\n
In a mud goblet poured the bacchic wine,
To a satyr gave the
\nthyrsus of a god. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThings
\nare changed out of form. Lust of flesh is passed off as movements of
\nart. Life misuses God-given skills, prolongs the career of all
\npernicious elements, fills the meanest receptacle with heady
\nintoxication and gives to the animal-human the emblem of a god.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Art-Parades
\nof Distorted Forms<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nImpure,
\nsadistic, with grimacing mouths,
Grey foul inventions gruesome
\nand macabre
Came televisioned from the gulfs of Night. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nHer
\ncraft ingenious in monstrosity,
Impatient of all natural shape
\nand poise,
A gape of nude exaggerated lines,
Gave caricature
\na stark reality,
And art-parades of weird distorted forms,
And
\ngargoyle masks obscene and terrible
Trampled to tormented
\npostures the torn sense. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nFrom
\nthe dark gulfs emerge devilish forms reeking with filth, cruel and
\nmocking in their appearance. An ingenious art of perverted Life sets
\naside all norms of Nature and concocts monstrous exaggerations that
\ncaricature reality. Flaunting parades of these grotesque, obscene and
\nfrightful forms outrage the witness senses to the point of collapse.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Evil’s
\nWorshipper<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAn
\ninexorable evil\u2019s worshipper,
She made vileness great and
\nsublimated filth;
A dragon power of reptile energies
And
\nstrange epiphanies of grovelling Force
And serpent grandeurs
\ncouching in the mire
Drew adoration to a gleam of slime.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nLife
\nturns into a worshipper at the shrine of imperious Evil; what is vile
\nis cherished as great and dirt is raised up in value. The scene is
\ncrowded with reptile-form energies of a dragon power. Novel
\nformations of earth-sticking Force, imposing serpent-visaged energies
\nwaiting in ambush, inspire fearful homage to the lowly godlings.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Nature
\nTwisted<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAll
\nNature pulled out of her frame and base
Was twisted into an
\nunnatural pose:
Repulsion stimulated inert desire;
Agony was
\nmade a red-spiced food for bliss,
Hatred was trusted with the
\nwork of lust
And torture took the form of an embrace;
A
\nritual anguish consecrated death;
Worship was offered to the
\nUndivine. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nNature
\nherself is forced here to forsake the basic pattern of her movements
\nand dragged into an unnatural state of functioning. Consequently her
\nactions and reactions are all topsy-turvy. What repels, instead of
\ndeadening desire, stimulates it; agony does not bring about pain but
\naugments bliss; not attraction but hatred promotes lust; torture does
\nnot create revulsion but effects union; anguish does not make death
\nfearful and unwelcome but actually gives it a holy respectability;
\nand worship is offered not to the Divine but to all that is undivine.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Aesthesis
\nof Inferno’s Art (I)<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nnew aesthesis of Inferno\u2019s art
That trained the mind to love
\nwhat the soul hates,
Imposed allegiance on the quivering nerves
\n
And forced the unwilling body to vibrate. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nEven
\nArt, in this veritable hell, has its different standards of approach
\nand appreciation. The mind is educated to cherish not what the soul
\nchooses but what the soul hates\u2014the reverse of what should be. The
\nnerves that are agitated at this unnatural requirement of the mind
\nare pressurised to accommodate themselves. Even the body that
\nprotests against this contrariety is forced to yield and participate
\nin this strange aesthesis.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Aesthesis
\nof Inferno’s Art (II)<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nToo
\nsweet and too harmonious to excite
In this regime that soiled the
\nbeing\u2019s core,
Beauty was banned, the heart\u2019s feeling dulled
\nto sleep
And cherished in their place sensation\u2019s thrills;
The
\nworld was probed for jets of sense-appeal. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nBeauty\u2014real
\nBeauty\u2014which is inherently so sweet and so full of harmony, refuses
\nto be stimulated by this vitiating turn of aesthesis and therefore it
\nis exiled altogether. Feelings of sympathy, love, purity etc. which
\narise naturally in the heart are deadened and cheap sensations are
\npromoted for their thrills. Everywhere there is a search for
\nintensities of sense-attraction and sense-experience.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Material
\nIntellect the Judge<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHere
\ncold material intellect was the judge
And needed sensual prick
\nand jog and lash
That its hard dryness and dead nerves might feel
\n
Some passion and power and acrid point of life. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\njudge here is not the truth-perception in the awakened heart or the
\npurified mind, but the cold intellect tied to its physical base. It
\nis dry and unfeeling and needs the stab of pain and an intensity of
\nsensations to awaken it so that it may know something of the power,
\npassion and sharp savour of life.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
New
\nPhilosophy<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nnew philosophy theorised evil\u2019s rights,
Gloried in the
\nshimmering rot of decadence,
Or gave to a python force persuasive
\nspeech
And armed with knowledge the primeval brute. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\nphilosophy is erected justifying the right of Evil to exist and rule,
\nexulting in the glitter of the general onset of decline and decay,
\ngiving enticing appeal to a dangerous, encircling lowly force,
\nequipping the primitive brute in life with Knowledge that makes it
\nformidable and wildly extends its range and capacity for harm.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Mind
\nScrambling into the Pit<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nOver
\nlife and Matter only brooding bowed,
Mind changed to the image of
\na rampant beast;
It scrambled into the pit to dig for truth
And
\nlighted its search with the subconscient\u2019s flares. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nMind
\nchanges its direction. It no more looks and soars upward. It gazes
\ndownward, pores over life and matter below and like a restless animal
\ndigging into the ground, it enters into the nether regions hoping to
\nfind the truth there, lighting up its search with the raw flares of
\nthe subconscient domain. Its lights are not the purer Light from
\nabove but the lurid flashes from the mixed and muddy depths below.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Filth
\nof Abyss<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThence
\nbubbling rose sullying the upper air,
The filth and festering
\nsecrets of the Abyss:
This it called positive fact and real life.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThis
\nnow composed the fetid atmosphere. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nFrom
\nthese concealed depths of the subconscient rise elements that form
\nthe scum of life and they contaminate the air even of the regions
\nabove the subconscious and the semi-conscious. The result of this
\ncontaminated admixture, which poisons the whole atmosphere of the
\nregion, is looked upon in this nefarious regime as the real truth of
\nlife.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Bestial
\nEcstasy<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nwild-beast passion crept from secret Night
To watch its prey with
\nfascinating eyes:
Around him like a fire with sputtering tongues
\n
There lolled and laughed a bestial ecstasy; <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nFrom
\nthe nether regions there comes up bestial passion with eager look,
\nhungry for its prey. All around Aswapa thy there is a wild abandon of
\nan animal ecstasy. The atmosphere is one of uninhibited passion and
\nfierce enjoyment of pleasures of the lowest kind.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
The
\nPattern of Hell<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nair was packed with longings brute and fierce;
Crowding and
\nstinging in a monstrous swarm
Pressed with a noxious hum into his
\nmind
Thoughts that could poison Nature\u2019s heavenliest breath,
\n
Forcing reluctant lids assailed the sight
Acts that revealed
\nthe mystery of Hell. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAll
\nthat was there was on this pattern made. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nPassionate
\nand animal desires throng the place. Disturbing and corroding
\nthoughts hover round Aswapathy incessantly and press on the doors of
\nhis mind for entry; they are a veritable poison. Movements and
\nactivities revealing the worst features of Hell impinge upon his
\nreluctant eyes and force them to see.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nSuch
\nis the world that Aswapathy beholds.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
A
\nRace Possessed<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nrace possessed inhabited those parts. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\nforce demoniac lurking in man\u2019s depths
That heaves suppressed
\nby the heart\u2019s human law,
Awed by the calm and sovereign eyes
\nof Thought,
Can in a fire and earthquake of the soul
Arise
\nand, calling to its native night,
Overthrow the reason, occupy
\nthe life
And stamp its hoof on Nature\u2019s shaking ground:
This
\nwas for them their being\u2019s flaming core. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\ninhabitants of these regions are possessed by a fearful nether force.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIn
\nthe concealed depths of man’s being there is a demon-like force which
\nnormally is kept under control by the refined law of the heart and
\nobliged to shrink back into itself under the masterful gaze of the
\ncalm mind. However, in a moment of upset or crisis of the being, this
\nnether force can rush up with all its dark power, overthrow the
\nsovereign reason of the mind, dominate life and put its impress on
\nthe agitated nature. Such a condition is the natural state for the
\ndenizens of this world, it is, indeed, their strong point, the centre
\nof their dynamism.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Unpitying
\nWorld of a Monster God<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nmighty energy, a monster god,
Hard to the strong, implacable to
\nthe weak,
It stared at the harsh unpitying world it made
With
\nthe stony eyelids of its fixed idea. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nPity
\nis banished from this world the creator of which is a monstrous god,
\na mighty energy that allows no quarter to the weak and is unyielding
\nto the strong. It has shaped this creation in the mould of one
\nunchanging idea and it is vigilant to keep it along this fixed
\ncourse.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Music
\nof Death and Ruin<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIts
\nheart was drunk with a dire hunger\u2019s wine,
In others\u2019
\nsuffering felt a thrilled delight
And of death and ruin the
\ngrandiose music heard. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThis
\ndemon-Power is consumed with an unmitigable hunger and leaves nothing
\nunappropriated. It enjoys with great relish the suffering of others.
\nRuin and death are celestial music to its ears.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Dark
\nDictatorship<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nTo
\nhave power, to be master, was sole virtue and good:
It claimed
\nthe whole world for Evil\u2019s living room,
Its party\u2019s grim
\ntotalitarian reign
The cruel destiny of breathing things.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAll
\non one plan was shaped and standardised
Under a dark
\ndictatorship\u2019s breathless weight. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nPower
\nis Virtue and to dominate is the sole good. The demon-Power seeks to
\nreserve the whole world for Evil and her hosts who are the sole
\nruling hierarchy. The way of Evil is the only law to which all are
\ncompelled to submit. The whole of life is cast and governed in strict
\nconformity to the oppressive and dark spirit of Evil.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Lower
\nthan the Lowest<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn
\nstreet and house, in councils and in courts
Beings he met who
\nlooked like living men
And climbed in speech upon high wings of
\nthought
But harboured all that is subhuman, vile
And lower
\nthan the lowest reptile\u2019s crawl. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\nmoves in varied quarters and encounters the beings living there. They
\nresemble the humans; like humans they talk high, think high. But in
\nreality they embody in themselves the basest of infra-human elements
\nand are meaner in their nature than the meanest reptile.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Reason
\nEnhances Monstrosity<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nreason meant for nearness to the gods
And uplift to heavenly
\nscale by the touch of mind
Only enhanced by its enlightening ray
\n
Their inborn nature\u2019s wry monstrosity. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nReason,
\nwhich is meant to uplift nature nearer to the level of the Gods by
\nits action of enlightenment through the mind, finds itself put to
\npervert use in this world. It is used to justify and put a premium on
\nthe naturally distorted, evil doings of these beings. It glorifies
\ntheir downward state.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Hell’s
\nTrade-Mark<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nOften
\na familiar visage studying
Joyfully encountered at some dangerous
\nturn,
Hoping to recognise a look of light,
His vision warned
\nby the spirit\u2019s inward eye
Discovered suddenly Hell\u2019s
\ntrade-mark there,
Or saw with the inner sense that cannot err,
\n
In the semblance of a fair or virile form
The demon and the
\ngoblin and the ghoul. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAppearances
\nare very deceptive here. Aswapathy pauses at times on seeing what
\nappears to be a familiar face with a look of light on it. He tries to
\nrecognise it, but as he observes, his inner perception warns him and
\nhe suddenly finds that it is a creature of darkness masquerading
\nunder that misleading form. Thus he sees many a form that looks fair
\nor manly, but his unerring inner sense points out to him that the
\nfair form clothes some ugly and lowly creature like a goblin or a
\nghoul or a demon.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Insolence
\nReigns<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAn
\ninsolence reigned of cold stone-hearted strength
Mighty, obeyed,
\napproved by the Titan\u2019s law,
The huge laughter of a giant
\ncruelty
And fierce glad deeds of ogre violence. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\npowerful insolence commands everywhere under the aegis of the Titan’s
\nwill. There is an overwhelming cruelty that fills the spaces with its
\ndeafening laughter. Deeds of fierce violence are enjoyed by their
\nogre perpetrators.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Cynic
\nDen<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn
\nthat wide cynic den of thinking beasts
One looked in vain for a
\ntrace of pity and love;
There was no touch of sweetness anywhere,
\n
But only Force and its acolytes, greed and hate:
There was no
\nhelp for suffering, none to save,
None dared resist or speak a
\nnoble word. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nbeings here think, no doubt, but they are only thinking beasts. They
\nbelieve little in love or pity. They are cynical to the core.
\nSweetness, love, compassion are all foreign to them. They believe
\nonly in force and its helpmates of greed and hatred. None offer to
\nhelp or to save others. Under these conditions of open hostility,
\nnone have the courage to oppose the wrong or to defend the truth or
\nto express a sentiment of a noble kind.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Darkness
\nProclaims her Slogans<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nArmed
\nwith the aegis of tyrannic Power,
Signing the edicts of her
\ndreadful rule
And using blood and torture as a seal,
Darkness
\nproclaimed her slogans to the world. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nDarkness
\ntrumpets its catchwords with the sanction of the tyrant Power. She
\nbrings into force the dread Will of the ruling Power, ensuring its
\nexecution by violence and compulsion.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Soul
\nSlain on the Altar of a Lie<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nservile blinkered silence hushed the mind
Or only it repeated
\nlessons taught,
While mitred, holding the good shepherd\u2019s
\nstaff,
Falsehood enthroned on awed and prostrate hearts
The
\ncults and creeds that organise living death
And slay the soul on
\nthe altar of a lie. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nmind is browbeaten and reduced to a state of abject silence; or it is
\nturned into a mechanical instrument repeating what it is told,
\ninstead of thinking its way to truth. Falsehood reigns supreme.
\nPropagatory cults and creeds stifle the breath of life, crush all
\nindependent action and make the lie so pervasive and oppressive that
\nthe soul dies suffocated.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Truth
\ncould not Live<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAll
\nwere deceived or served their own deceit;
Truth in that stifling
\natmosphere could not live. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nfalsehood is so powerful and enveloping that all subscribe to it
\nbelieving it to be the truth; whatever they do in this atmosphere
\nonly serves to plunge them deeper into this deceitful falsehood. The
\ninhospitable air is too oppressive and stifling for truth to breathe
\nand survive.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Wretchedness
\nand its Joy<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThere
\nwretchedness believed in its own joy
And fear and weakness hugged
\ntheir abject depths;
All that is low and sordid-thoughted, base,
\n
All that is drab and poor and miserable,
Breathed in a laxed
\ncontent its natural air
And felt no yearning of divine release:
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nWretchedness
\ntakes here a perverse delight in itself and thrives. Fear and
\nweakness cling passionately to life. Lowliness, meanness, dryness,
\nindifference, misery, all that impoverishes, constricts and arrests
\nthe proper growth of life\u2014flourish in an atmosphere that is natural
\nto this growth. There is no wish anywhere, no seeking to break out of
\nthis self-confinement into a higher state of freedom.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Autarchy
\nExcluding Light<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nArrogant,
\ngibing at more luminous states
The people of the gulfs despised
\nthe sun. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\nbarriered autarchy excluded light;
Fixed in its will to be its
\nown grey self,
It vaunted its norm unique and splendid type:
It
\nsoothed its hunger with a plunderer\u2019s dream;
Flaunting its
\ncross of servitude like a crown,
It clung to its dismal harsh
\nautonomy. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\ndenizens of this lowly world glory in their state of mean obscurity
\nand despise all states of more light. As a body they guard themselves
\nagainst Light and are resolved to continue for ever their way of
\nliving; they proclaim their own laws and standards as the ideal ones,
\ngratify their hunger with pitiless exploitation, are proud of their
\nslavery in their abjectness and cling fanatically to their depressing
\nand severely organised existence.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Brag
\nof the Brazen Tongue<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nbull-throat bellowed with its brazen tongue;
Its hard and
\nshameless clamour filling space
And threatening all who dared to
\nlisten to truth
Claimed the monopoly of the battered ear;
A
\ndeafened acquiescence gave its vote,
And braggart dogmas shouted
\nin the night
Kept for the fallen soul once deemed a god
The
\npride of its abysmal absolute. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nFalsehood
\nraises its trumpet voice and fills the spaces with its claims for the
\nmonopoly of being right, threatening at the same time those who dare
\nto turn to its opposite, the truth, with frightful consequences.
\nVictims of this propaganda yield to its clamour; the soul forgets its
\ninnate divinity and a misplaced pride in the abysmal state is
\nbuttressed by the proud braggings of falsehood.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Through
\nthe Menacing Realms<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nlone discoverer in these menacing realms
Guarded like termite
\ncities from the sun,
Oppressed mid crowd and tramp and noise and
\nflare,
Passing from dusk to deeper dangerous dusk,
He
\nwrestled with powers that snatched from mind its light
And smote
\nfrom him their clinging influences. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nPushing
\nforward his journey in this hostile land cut off from the saving
\nLight, passing through the crowded, noisy and oppressive
\nthoroughfares, Aswapathy crosses from dim regions into regions still
\nmore dim. He has to combat the powers that seek to deprive him of the
\nguiding light in his mind and ceaselessly throw away the unwelcome
\nclinging influences cast by these hostile elements.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Failing
\nEve<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nSoon
\nhe emerged in a dim wall-less space. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nFor
\nnow the peopled tracts were left behind;
He walked between wide
\nbanks of failing eve. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nVery
\nsoon, however, Aswapathy emerges into an open space; the crowded and
\ncramped tracts are passed. It is still dim all over and the darkness
\nis gathering on both sides of his path.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
A
\nSpiritual Blank<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAround
\nhim grew a gaunt spiritual blank,
A threatening waste, a sinister
\nloneliness
That left mind bare to an unseen assault,
An empty
\npage on which all that willed could write
Stark monstrous
\nmessages without control. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nspaces around Aswapathy are increasingly empty of the Spirit; there
\nyawns instead an aggressive waste, an unholy solitariness that bares
\nthe mind and leaves it defenceless against any unseen attack; it
\nweakens the mind to such an extent that anything can stamp itself on
\nit without resistance.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Downward
\nRoads of Dusk<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\ntravelling dot on downward roads of Dusk
Mid barren fields and
\nbarns and straggling huts
And a few crooked and phantasmal trees,
\n
He faced a sense of death and conscious Void. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nBut
\nstill a hostile Life unseen was there
Whose deathlike poise
\nresisting light and truth
Made living a bleak gap in nullity.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIn
\nthat desert land, travelling alone on the slopes of gathering
\nDarkness across occasional hutments and sparse trees, twisted and
\nmisshapen, Aswapathy senses the spirit of Death everywhere, an
\noppressive emptiness. And yet all is not a nil. There is a positive
\nelement and that is the presence of a hostile Life setting itself
\nagainst the entry of any light and truth into that realm.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Abyss
\nRises to Claim the Soul<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHe
\nheard the grisly voices that deny;
Assailed by thoughts that
\nswarmed like spectral hordes,
A prey to the staring phantoms of
\nthe gloom
And terror approaching with its lethal mouth,
Driven
\nby a strange will down ever down,
The sky above a communiqu\u00e9 of
\nDoom,
He strove to shield his spirit from despair,
But felt
\nthe horror of the growing Night
And the Abyss rising to claim his
\nsoul. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\nis rapidly engulfed by horrid voices dinning negations of everything,
\ninvaded by dark thoughts in masses and subjected helplessly to
\nvisions of gloom and terror. He is pulled down and further down the
\nslopes; above him stretches the sky of doom. He fights to guard his
\nspirit from this onslaught of despair but the horror of the Darkness
\ncreeps over him and he feels as if the Abyss below is rising up to
\nswallow his soul.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Python
\nNight<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThen
\nceased the abodes of creatures and their forms
And solitude
\nwrapped him in its voiceless folds. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAll
\nvanished suddenly like a thought expunged;
His spirit became an
\nempty listening gulf
Void of the dead illusion of a world:
\n
Nothing was left, not even an evil face;
He was alone with
\nthe grey python Night. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\nthen enters a zone where forms and dwellings are no more. There is
\nonly a smothering solitude; all else has vanished. He feels himself
\nto be just a vacant chasm. The malevolent forms, evil and ugly, that
\nhe has been encountering till now have all disappeared like an
\nillusion that never existed. He is severely alone with the dark
\nendless Night coiling before him.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
A
\nDense Nothing<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\ndense and nameless Nothing conscious, mute,
Which seemed alive
\nbut without body or mind,
Lusted all being to annihilate
That
\nit might be for ever nude and sole. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThere
\nis a dense, featureless, soundless Nothing. Though without body or
\nmind, it is yet something conscious, alive, out to swallow up
\neverything that may exist so that it alone could exist, bare and
\nsolitary.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
His
\nBeing Disappears<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAs
\nin a shapeless beast\u2019s intangible jaws,
Gripped, strangled by
\nthat lusting, viscous blot,
Attracted to some black and giant
\nmouth
And swallowing throat and a huge belly of doom,
His
\nbeing from its own vision disappeared
Drawn towards depths that
\nhungered for its fall. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\nfinds himself sucked into the bowels of the hungry Abyss of Night and
\nfeels his own being disappearing from his vision.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
**He
\nStruggles<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nA
\nformless void suppressed his struggling brain,
A darkness grim
\nand cold oppressed his flesh,
A whispered grey suggestion chilled
\nhis heart;
Haled by a serpent-force from its warm home
And
\ndragged to extinction in blank vacancy
Life clung to its seat
\nwith cords of gasping breath;
Lapped was his body by a tenebrous
\ntongue. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAs
\nhe is losing his identity, Aswapathy struggles, his brain suppressed
\nby the enveloping void, his flesh oppressed by a cold and grim
\ndarkness. Unnerving suggestions cast a chill over his heart and a
\npowerful force from its seething depths drags his life towards an
\nextinction which with difficulty he manages to escape. His body is
\nexposed to the hungry lickings of an obscure devourer.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Hope
\nPerishes<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nExistence
\nsmothered travailed to survive;
Hope strangled perished in his
\nempty soul,
Belief and memory abolished died
And all that
\nhelps the spirit in its course. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThrough
\nall the smothering his struggling being strives to survive. But hope
\ndies in his denuded soul, belief and memory of existence are no more;
\nand all else that helps the soul in its journey Godward is also
\nextinct.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
An
\nImplacable Eternity<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThere
\ncrawled through every tense and aching nerve
Leaving behind its
\npoignant quaking trail
A nameless and unutterable fear. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAs
\na sea nears a victim bound and still,
The approach alarmed his
\nmind for ever dumb
Of an implacable eternity
Of pain inhuman
\nand intolerable. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy’s
\nnerves are all tense and aching; they tremble with a fear,
\nindescribable and vague but intense. His benumbed mind senses with
\nalarm the approach of Something perpetual, inexorable, some
\nunbearable and inhuman pain.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
He
\nmust Bear<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThis
\nhe must bear, his hope of heaven estranged;
He must ever exist
\nwithout extinction\u2019s peace
In a slow suffering Time and
\ntortured Space,
An anguished nothingness his endless state.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nBut
\nthere is no help. Aswapathy has to bear this condition, with all
\nhopes of bright realms gone, without any possibility of the peace of
\nNirvana; he sees that he has to live in constant pain and suffering
\nin a state of anguished nullity.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Godhead
\nLost<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nlifeless vacancy was now his breast,
And in the place where once
\nwas luminous thought,
Only remained like a pale motionless ghost
\n
An incapacity for faith and hope
And the dread conviction of
\na vanquished soul
Immortal still but with its godhead lost,
Self
\nlost and God and touch of happier worlds. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nHis
\nheart is now a dead emptiness. His mind once used to luminous thought
\nhas now lost even the capacity to have the faith to be; he is seized
\nwith the conviction of defeat. No doubt his being is still immortal
\nin its essence, but it has lost its poise in God-state, lost its
\nselfhood and its contact with God and Heaven.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
He
\nEndures<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nBut
\nhe endured, stilled the vain terror, bore
The smothering coils of
\nagony and affright;
Then peace returned and the soul\u2019s
\nsovereign gaze. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAswapathy
\nendures the ordeal, calms down the causeless terror, bears the
\noppressions of agony and fear without going under. Then a change
\ncomes over him. His normal peace returns and the sight of the soul is
\nrestored.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Calm
\nLight Replies to Blank Horror<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nTo
\nthe blank horror a calm Light replied:
Immutable, undying and
\nunborn,
Mighty and mute the Godhead in him woke
And faced the
\npain and danger of the world. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nstaring horror of the scene is countered by a calm Light from within
\nhim. The immortal, unshakable, mighty and silent Godhead in him
\narises to face the danger and the pain of that world.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
Bare
\nSpirit Meets Naked Hell<\/B> <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHe
\nmastered the tides of Nature with a look:
He met with his bare
\nspirit naked Hell. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nWith
\na mere look of the surging Godhead the threatening waves of the
\nturbulent Nature are mastered. Aswapathy meets Hell at its worst with
\nhis bare and unaided spirit.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n



\n<\/P>\n<\/div>\n<\/td>\n

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Introduction   Notes   Book 1   Book II   Book III   Book IV    Book V   Book VI   Book VII   Book VIII    Book IX   Book X   Book XI   Book XII Book Two. The Book of the Traveller of the Worlds…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[250],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10687","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-2-savitri-study","wpcat-250-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10687","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10687"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10687\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11090,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10687\/revisions\/11090"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10687"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10687"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10687"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}