{"id":10766,"date":"2014-07-14T00:00:41","date_gmt":"2014-07-14T07:00:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/saa.santansoftwaresystems.com\/?p=10766"},"modified":"2014-12-07T00:46:43","modified_gmt":"2014-12-07T08:46:43","slug":"savitri-study-book-4-canto-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/savitri-study\/book-4-savitri-study\/savitri-study-book-4-canto-1","title":{"rendered":"Savitri-study-Book-4-Canto-1"},"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 Four. The Book of Birth and Quest<\/p>\n

\nCanto I<\/a>    Canto II<\/a>    Canto III<\/a>    Canto IV<\/a>           \n<\/p>\n

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

\n
\n
\n\n\n\n
\n

 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n

\n

Canto One<\/I><\/P>
\n



\n<\/P>
\n

The
\nBirth and Childhood of the Flame<\/SPAN><\/FONT> <\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Summary<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n
From the
\nbeginning of its endless revolving journey in Space and Time, the
\nEarth has been speeding towards a far-off unknown goal. From the
\noriginal state of Inconscience, she passes to the state of
\nhalf-consciousness, thence to that of life and then to the state of
\nthought and act. In this cycle of the mind she has been steadily
\nmoving towards some undisclosed Event.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe seasons weave a
\npicturesque dance, as it were, in the Earth’s ceaseless motion around
\nthe Sun. The Summer is followed by Rain; Autumn, Winter follow;
\nSpring arrives. At a high moment of one such Spring when all Nature
\nis at beauty’s festival, a celestial Spirit descends on earth
\nanswering her cry for bliss; Savitri is born. The ancient Mother
\nreturns to her unfinished task on earth.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAlways there has
\nbeen a Mother-Wisdom in Nature working to urge the growth of
\nconsciousness and joy in life, to make Matter conscious of its
\ndivinity. That Will now puts on an earthly form in Savitri.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAt first the infant
\nlies passive in the protective arms of a guarding Power. Slowly the
\nlink with her soul grows sure and remembrance of her origin takes
\nshape within. She lives alone in her spirit amidst men. However, even
\nin her childhood, her luminous origin and higher nature are
\nunmistakable. Her days pass in swift joy and sweetness. She exudes
\nhappiness all around. But even when she mixes with others, she keeps
\nher stature of the gods.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe Power within her
\nshapes her sense in a deeper mould and fills her brain with higher
\nlight.Her thoughts are patterns of the truth of her soul, her look
\nperceives all forms as shapes of living selves. Every contact evokes
\na Call. She is one with a greater Nature. Her mind, life and body are
\nconstantly in evident preparation for the emergence of the inner
\nGodhead. Her aspiration is ever active calling down the high destiny,
\nguarding the Throne of Truth within. <\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHer life is one
\nstream of Joy, Beauty, Love, Light.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Earth
\nFollows the Sun<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nmaenad of the cycles of desire
Around a Light she must not dare
\nto touch,
Hastening towards a far-off unknown goal
Earth
\nfollowed the endless journey of the Sun. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn a frenzy of
\ndesire the Earth follows the Sun in its endless journey. She turns
\nround and round, in an intoxicated spell, as it were, around a Flame
\nshe dares not touch, the Flame of the Spirit that bums eternally. The
\nrestless movement speeds towards some distant goal which is yet
\nunknown.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Swing
\nof the Void<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nmind but half-awake in the swing of the void
On the bosom of
\nInconscience dreamed out life
And bore this finite world of
\nthought and deed
Across the immobile trance of the Infinite. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn this swinging
\nmovement in the Void on the bosom of Inconscience, a semi-awake
\nconsciousness develops life; slowly a finite world of action and mind
\ncomes into form against the background of the unchanging
\nself-gathered poise of the Infinite.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Earth
\nMoves in Rhythm<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nvast immutable silence with her ran:
Prisoner of speed upon a
\njewelled wheel,
She communed with the mystic heart in Space. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAmid
\nthe ambiguous stillness of the stars
She moved towards some
\nundisclosed event
And her rhythm measured the long whirl of Time.
\n<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA deep and vast
\nsilence follows the earth in her uncontrollably rapid course; she is
\nin communion with the Soul born in Space. Under the unfathomed
\nstillness of the stars, the earth moves towards some event not yet
\nunveiled, her rhythm measuring the revolution of Time.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Dance
\nof Seasons<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn
\nceaseless motion round the purple rim
Day after day sped by like
\ncoloured spokes,
And through a glamour of shifting hues of air
\n
The seasons drew in linked significant dance
The symbol
\npageant of the changing year. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn this unending
\nmotion, day after day, come the seasons close upon one another,
\nforming a dance, as it were, of the pageantry of the changing year.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Calmness
\nNears<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\ncalmness neared as of the approach of God,
A light of musing
\ntrance lit soil and sky. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAnd
\nan identity and ecstasy
Filled meditation’s solitary heart. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAs the advent of
\nGod, his revelation, draws near, a sudden calm comes over the seeker.
\nHis mind, his vital surges, his whole being begins to get still. Such
\na calmness comes near as when the earth lies in repose after the
\npassing of the rains. Both the earth and the sky are aglow with the
\nspell of meditation.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIn meditation one
\nfirst clears away all the multitude of thoughts and movements that
\nnormally crowd the being, empties oneself before turning the whole
\nconsciousness towards the Divine in aspiration. As the meditation
\nproceeds, in the fullness of time, there develops an identity with
\nthe Divine and with it its inalienable bliss. Such an identity and
\necstasy fill the musing heart of earth.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Exaltation
\nand Hope<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\ndream loitered in the dumb mind of Space,
Time opened its
\nchambers of felicity,
An exaltation entered and a hope:
An
\ninmost self looked up to a heavenlier height,
An inmost thought
\nkindled a hidden flame
And the inner sight adored an unseen sun. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe meditation
\nfigure continues.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nIn the inarticulate
\nmind of earth’s Space some dream takes place and Time opens up its
\nfelicities; there is an exaltation and the rise of a hope. Her
\ndeepest self starts looking up to a newer height of heaven, her
\ndeepest thought sets active the hidden flame of aspiration, her inner
\nvision regards in adoration a light, a sun, that is not patent to the
\nphysical eye.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Watch
\nfor Flame<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThree
\nthoughtful seasons passed with shining tread
And scanning one by
\none the pregnant hours
Watched for a flame that lurked in
\nluminous depths,
The vigil of some mighty birth to come. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThree deliberating
\nseasons pass, one after the other, watching carefully each hour for
\nthe revelation of a flame concealed in the profounds, heralding an
\nawaited mighty birth.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Transcendent’s
\nAction<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\n…
\nthe Transcendent’s sphere
Whose secret touch upon our mortal
\nlives
Keeps ever new the thrill that made the world,
Remoulds
\nan ancient sweetness to new shapes
And guards intact unchanged by
\ndeath and Time
The answer of our hearts to Nature’s charm
And
\nkeeps for ever new, yet still the same,
The throb that ever wakes
\nto the old delight
And beauty and rapture and the joy to live. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe creative delight
\nthat brought this mortal world into being is ever fresh in spite of
\nall the pain and suffering that characterises its life in Ignorance,
\nbecause there is a continuous though unseen contact with the
\nTranscendent Bliss above. The action of this Transcendent constantly
\nshapes the ancient bliss into new moulds, preserves through time the
\nresponsiveness of the human heart to the attraction of Nature, keeps
\nfresh and unchanged the thrill that ever springs at the touch of the
\nold delight, keeps ever new beauty and rapture and the joy of life.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Mightier
\nInflux Fills<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn
\nthis high signal moment of the gods
Answering earth’s yearning
\nand her cry for bliss
A greatness from our other countries came. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nsilence in the noise of earthly things
Immutably revealed the
\nsecret Word,
A mightier influx filled the oblivious clay:
A
\nlamp was lit, a sacred image made. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn this hour of
\nspring, at a propitious moment, in response to the keen aspiration of
\nthe earth and her cry for bliss, some glory from higher spheres comes
\ndown. A silence makes itself felt amidst all the noise of Life on
\nearth and reveals the secret potent Word. A mightier charge enters
\nand pervades the unconscious matter.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThings are made
\nready for worship. The creative Word is uttered. Lifeless clay is
\nturned into a sacred image by the mighty influx from above. A lamp is
\nlit.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>A
\nMediating Ray<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nmediating ray had touched the earth
Bridging the gulf between
\nman’s mind and God’s;
Translating heaven into a human shape
Its
\nbrightness linked our transience to the Unknown. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA ray has descended
\non earth bridging the yawning distance between man and God. It
\nmediates between heaven and earth; it renders things of heaven into
\nhuman form, its light connects the mortal in his transient state with
\nthe Unknown.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>A
\nSpirit Descends<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nspirit of its celestial source aware
Descended into earth’s
\nimperfect mould
And wept not fallen to mortality,
But looked
\non all with large and tranquil eyes. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA spirit conscious
\nof its heavenly origin comes down into the imperfect mould of earth.
\nIt does not at all regret its plunge into the mortal state, but
\nregards all with calm, wide-seeing eyes.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Savitri
\nis Born<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nOne
\nhad returned from the transcendent planes
And bore anew the load
\nof mortal breath,
Who had striven of old with our darkness and
\nour pain;
She took again her divine unfinished task:
Survivor
\nof death and the aeonic years,
Once more with her fathomless
\nheart she fronted Time. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe Divine Power
\nthat had struggled before with mortal darkness and pain is now once
\nagain back from her home in the Beyond and has reassumed the cosmic
\nburden. She has again taken up the task left unfinished before. She
\nwho has survived death and the long passage of years is once more
\nfacing Time with her immeasurable heart.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThe Divine Shakti
\nmanifests again and again in the course of the Earth’s evolution to
\nstrive with the opposing elements and assure a safe path for man.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Consanguinity
\nof Earthand Heaven<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAgain
\nthere was renewed, again revealed
The ancient closeness by
\nearth-vision veiled,
The secret contact broken off in Time,
A
\nconsanguinity of earth and heaven,
Between the human portion
\ntoiling here
And an as yet unborn and limitless Force. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe age-old close
\nrelation between earth and heaven, veiled by the obscuring vision of
\nthe earth and cut off in the long course of time, is once again
\nrenewed and revealed. It is one reality with two ends: the human
\nportion toiling here on earth and the still unmanifest and unbounded
\nForce there above.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Mother
\nWisdom Works (I)<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAgain
\nthe mystic deep attempt began,
The daring wager of the cosmic
\ngame. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nFor
\nsince upon this blind and whirling globe
Earth-plasm first
\nquivered with the illumining mind
And life invaded the material
\nsheath
Afflicting Inconscience with the need to feel,
Since
\nin Infinity’s silence woke a word,
A Mother wisdom works in
\nNature’s breast <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nOnce more the mystic
\nattempt is resumed, the daring gamble of the cosmic game is taken up.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nEver since
\nconsciousness first awakened on Earth-matter and life entered into
\nmaterial form forcing the Inconscience to stir into feeling, ever
\nsince the expressive sound broke forth from the bosom of the
\npervading Silence, an Intelligence has been working in the heart of
\nNature mothering all.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Mother
\nWisdom Works (II)<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nTo
\npour delight on the heart of toil and want
And press perfection
\non life’s stumbling powers,
Impose heaven-sentience on the
\nobscure abyss
And make dumb Matter conscious of its God. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThis Mother wisdom
\nis constantly at work imparting delight to all exertion and striving
\nof the heart, urging the groping and stumbling powers of life to
\nperfect themselves, imposing awareness on the obscurity of the depths
\nof nescience, pressing mute Matter to grow conscious of its soul, the
\nindwelling Spirit.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Will
\nto Divinise Clay<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAlthough
\nour fallen minds forget to climb,
Although our human stuff
\nresists or breaks,
She keeps her will that hopes to divinise
\nclay;
Failure cannot repress, defeat o’erthrow;
Time cannot
\nweary her nor the Void subdue,
The ages have not made her passion
\nless;
No victory she admits of Death or Fate. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nEven though the
\nhuman mind fails to aspire upwards and the human system resists the
\npressure or breaks under it, the Mother wisdom in Nature maintains
\nher will towards divinising "matter. She is not depressed by
\nfailures nor affected by setbacks. She is not fatigued by the length
\nof time taken in the process nor is she overcome by the gaping Void
\nin Creation. The intensity of her force has not decreased with the
\npassing of ages: she refuses to accept the verdict of Death or Fate.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Immortality
\nHidden in Death<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAlways
\nshe drives the souls to new attempt;
Always her magical
\ninfinitude
Forces to aspire the inert brute elements;
As one
\nwho has all infinity to waste,
She scatters the seed of the
\nEternal’s strength
On a half-animate and crumbling mould,
Plants
\nheaven’s delight in the heart’s passionate mire,
Pours godhead’s
\nseekings into a bare beast frame,
Hides immortality in a mask of
\ndeath. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThis consciousness
\nin the heart of Nature forces the souls to attempt the climb again
\nand again, compels, by her infinite sway, the unconscious and inert
\nelements to aspire. With all infinity to spend, she throws the seed
\nof the Eternal’s strength on a half-awake and failing mould of earth,
\nplants heaven’s delight in the turbid soil of the heart’s passion,
\npours the seekings of the manifesting godhead into the undeveloped,
\nunthinking physical form, conceals immortality behind the deceptive
\nmask of death.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nDeath is not the end
\nof things but only a process of immortality renewing itself in fresh
\nforms.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Will
\nPuts On Earthly Shape<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nOnce
\nmore that Will put on an earthly shape. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nMind empowered from Truth’s immutable seat
Was framed for vision
\nand interpreting act
And instruments were sovereignly designed
\n
To express divinity in terrestrial signs. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThis occult Will
\ntakes on an earthly shape once again, as it has done before, for
\nfurthering the Divine manifestation. A Mind charged with the original
\nconsciousness of Truth is formed for vision and interpretation of the
\nvision. Other instruments too are designed superbly for the
\nexpression of divinity in earthly terms.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Body
\nLovelier than any Known<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nOutlined
\nby the pressure of this new descent
A lovelier body formed than
\nearth had known. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAs
\nyet a prophecy only and a hint,
The glowing arc of a charmed
\nunseen whole,
It came into the sky of mortal life
Bright like
\nthe crescent horn of a gold moon
Returning in a faint illumined
\neve. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nUnder the pressure
\nof this new divine descent a body is formed more lovely than any the
\nearth has known before. It is still a hint, a luminous promise of
\nwhat is to come, a bright arc of a magical whole yet to appear in
\nfull, that has come into the horizon of mortal life like the shining
\ncrescent of a golden moon setting in a dim-lit eve.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>An
\nInfant Heart<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAt
\nfirst glimmering like an unshaped idea
Passive she lay sheltered
\nin wordless sleep,
Involved and drowned in Matter’s giant trance,
\n
An infant heart of the deep-caved world-plan
In cradle of
\ndivine inconscience rocked
By the universal ecstasy of the suns. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAt first she lies
\npassive in cosy sleep, glimmering like an idea not yet formed; she is
\nlost in the vast swoon of Matter; a child heart of the profound
\nworld-design of the Gods, she is rocked by the ecstatic Powers
\nilluming and directing the Cosmos, in the cradle of the inconscience
\nthat has come into being in the Divine’s becoming.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Missioned
\nPower Nurses<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nSome
\nmissioned Power in the half-wakened frame
Nursed a transcendent
\nbirth’s dumb glorious seed
For which this vivid tenement was
\nmade. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHer body is still
\nonly half-awake. There is at work in it a specially charged Power
\nfrom above nourishing and preparing the advent of a glorious
\nmanifestation from the transcendent into this body specially made for
\nthe purpose. As yet things are only in seed-form.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Heavenly
\nBloom<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nBut
\nsoon the link of soul with form grew sure;
Flooded was the dim
\ncave with slow conscient light,
The seed grew into a delicate
\nmarvellous bud,
The bud disclosed a great and heavenly bloom. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe soul does not
\ninhabit the body from the beginning of its birth. Especially if it is
\na developed soul, or a specially emanated one, it waits till the body
\ngrows enough to be able to bear and sustain its presence. Till then,
\nsome ray of it is present in the body or around it connecting it with
\nthe soul.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nThis link with the
\nbody of the child Savitri slowly grows stronger. The dim regions are
\nslowly lit up with a self-aware light; what was a seed grows into a
\ndelicate and wonderful bud and this bud in turn opens into a unique
\nbloom of unearthly beauty.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Alone
\nin Her Diviner Kind<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAt
\nonce she seemed to found a mightier race. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nArrived
\nupon the strange and dubious globe
The child remembering inly a
\nfar home
Lived guarded in her spirit’s luminous cell,
Alone
\nmid men in her diviner kind. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe child has
\narrived on this globe which is new and strange to her; deep within
\nshe remembers the distant home from where she has come. She lives
\nguarded and safe in the luminous chamber of her spirit. Though she
\ndwells among humans, she belongs to a higher, diviner kind and hence
\nin the midst of all she is apart and alone.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Nearness
\nof Light<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nEven
\nin her childish movements could be felt
The nearness of a light
\nstill kept from earth,
Feelings that only eternity could share,
\n
Thoughts natural and native to the gods. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nEven in her unformed
\nmovements as a child, one feels the proximity of a light that is not
\nof this earth and which has not yet touched the earth, feelings that
\nare natural to the eternity above but not to this world in time,
\nthoughts that belong to the gods and not to human beings.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>In
\nStrong Separate Air<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAs
\nneeding nothing but its own rapt flight
Her nature dwelt in a
\nstrong separate air
Like a strange bird with large rich-coloured
\nbreast
That sojourns on a secret fruited bough
Lost in the
\nemerald glory of the woods
Or flies above divine unreachable
\ntops. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHer nature does not
\nseek nourishment from others but is always at muse with itself. It
\nlives apart in a strong air of its own like some strange picturesque
\nbird that rests on a hidden branch laden with fruits lost in the
\ngreen glory of the forest, or soars above divine unreachable heights.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Singing
\nDays go by<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHarmoniously
\nshe impressed the earth with heaven. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAligned
\nto a swift rhythm of sheer delight
And singing to themselves her
\ndays went by;
Each minute was a throb of beauty’s heart,
The
\nhours were tuned to a sweet-toned content
Which asked for
\nnothing, but took all life gave
Sovereignly as her nature’s
\ninborn right. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nShe pours the
\nfelicities of heaven on earth and establishes a happy rhythm between
\nthem. Her days pass quickly in her natural delight; each minute is a
\nbeat of beauty; the hours are filled with her sweet contentment which
\ndemands nothing but royally takes as her right everything that life
\noffers.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Near
\nto Parent Sun<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nNear
\nwas her spirit to its parent Sun,
The Breath within to the
\neternal joy. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe spirit of the
\nchild Savitri retains its closeness to the radiant Light of God from
\nwhich it has issued. Her soul maintains its connection with the Bliss
\nof the Eternal of which it is an emanation.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>First
\nLife<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nfirst fair life that breaks from Nature’s swoon,
Mounts in a line
\nof rapture to the skies;
Absorbed in its own happy urge it lives,
\n
Sufficient to itself, yet turned to all. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIt
\nhas no seen communion with its world,
No open converse with
\nsurrounding things. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nWhen life first
\nbreaks out of the immobility of material Nature, it shoots up in
\ndelight to the heights of the Spirit above. It lives absorbed in its
\nown joyous impulsion, self-sufficient yet open to all currents
\naround; outwardly, on the surface, it has no interchange with its
\nsurroundings but underneath there is a constant communion.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


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


\nThere
\nis a oneness native and occult
That needs no instruments and
\nerects no form;
In unison it grows with all that is,
All
\ncontacts it assumes into its trance,
Laugh-tossed consents to the
\nwind’s kiss and takes
Transmutingly the shocks of sun and breeze:
\n
A blissful yearning riots in its leaves, <\/FONT>
A
\nmagic passion trembles in its blooms,
Its boughs aspire in hushed
\nfelicity. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThroughout, there is
\nan underlying oneness in life, not patent to external sight but
\nexisting nonetheless. Life requires no special instruments nor does
\nit need to build new forms to express its oneness. It is one with all
\nthat exists and grows in that oneness. In its absorbed state it is in
\ncontact with all. In the merry waves of the sea it rises to meet the
\nwind and the sun and thrives upon them; in the plant creation it joys
\nand yearns, vibrates and aspires in mute felicity.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Occult
\nGodhead<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAn
\noccult godhead of this beauty is cause,
The spirit and intimate
\nguest of all this charm,
This sweetness’s priestess and this
\nreverie’s muse. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nInvisibly
\nprotected from our sense
The Dryad lives drenched in a deeper ray
\n
And feels another air of storms and calms
And quivers
\ninwardly with mystic rain. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAn unseen godhead is
\nthe cause, the spirit and the soul of all this beauty, charm,
\nsweetness and absorption. This deity lives within in an air different
\nfrom the outer, bathed in a deeper light, subject to a different
\nstress, quivering in a downpour from the mystic skies of the Spirit.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Stoops
\nbut not Lost<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThis
\nat a heavenlier height was shown in her. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nEven
\nwhen she bent to meet earth’s intimacies
Her spirit kept the
\nstature of the gods;
It stooped but was not lost in Matter’s
\nreign. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThis all-pervading
\nPresence is seen in Savitri also but on a higher level. Even when she
\nbends down from her lofty heights to meet and mix with the common
\nlife of the earth, Savitri’s spirit retains its godly stature; it
\nstoops but does not lose itself in the dominion of Matter.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


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


\nA
\nworld translated was her gleaming mind,
And marvel-mooned bright
\ncrowding fantasies
Fed with spiritual sustenance of dreams
The
\nideal goddess in her house of gold. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHer sparkling mind
\nis a world by itself, occupied with wonderfully happy imaginations
\nwoven round nourishing spiritual truths glimpsed in dreams.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Wider
\nSight<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAware
\nof forms to which our eyes are closed,
Conscious of nearnesses we
\ncannot feel,
The Power within her shaped her moulding sense
In
\ndeeper figures than our surface types. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAn
\ninvisible sunlight ran within her veins
And flooded her brain
\nwith heavenly brilliancies
That woke a wider sight than earth
\ncould know. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe Power within
\nSavitri is aware of forms which the normal human eye does not see,
\nconscious of presences which men cannot usually feel; it forms her
\nsenses-which mould the perceptions of contacts and objects-in greater
\ndepth than the usual surface senses of man.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\nAn unseen light from
\nabove courses through her veins and floods her brain with celestial
\nradiances that awaken in her a sight that is wider than any that the
\nearth can have.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Thoughts
\nRichly Turned<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nOutlined
\nin the sincerity of that ray
Her springing childlike thoughts
\nwere richly turned
Into luminous patterns of her soul’s deep
\ntruth,
And from her eyes she cast another look
On all around
\nher than man’s ignorant view. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nFormed in the purity
\nof that radiance, even her childlike thoughts turn into bright
\npatterns of the deep truth of her soul. Her very look on those around
\nher is different from the usual ignorant gaze of man; it proceeds
\nfrom a higher light and a deeper truth.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>One
\nwith Greater Nature<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAll
\nobjects were to her shapes of living selves
And she perceived a
\nmessage from her kin
In each awakening touch of outward things. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nEach
\nwas a symbol power, a vivid flash
In the circuit of infinities
\nhalf-known;
Nothing was alien or inanimate,
Nothing without
\nits meaning or its call. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nFor with a greater
\nNature she was one. In this look, all objects are seen by her as
\nforms of living souls. In each outer touch she awakes to a message
\nfrom the gods. Each god is a power symbolising a deeper truth, an
\nunmistakable flash in the rapid movement of half-grasped infinities
\nabroad. Nothing is foreign to her or lifeless, nothing is without its
\nsignificance or its own call. And this is so because she is
\nidentified with a Nature higher and wider than the lower, ignorant
\nNature that rules man.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>A
\nnew Epiphany<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAs
\nfrom the soil sprang glory of branch and flower,
As from the
\nanimal’s life rose thinking man,
A new epiphany appeared in her. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nmind of light, a life of rhythmic force,
A body instinct with
\nhidden divinity
Prepared an image of the coming god; <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nEven as life
\nblossoms in leaf and flower from out of inanimate Matter, even as
\nthinking man emerges from the animal life, so a new birth takes place
\nin Savitri. A mind of light replaces the human mind of ignorance; a
\nlife of harmony and effectuating force forms in the place of the
\nusual disorderly, handicapped life. Her very body is instinct with a
\nlatent divinity and it images more and more the god that is coming.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Self-Guarded<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nAnd
\nwhen the slow rhyme of the expanding years
And the rich murmurous
\nswarm-work of the days
Had honey-packed her sense and filled her
\nlimbs,
Accomplishing the moon-orb of her grace,
Self-guarded
\nin the silence of her strength
Her solitary greatness was not
\nless. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe fecund passage
\nof time, gathering days and growing years, pass by filled with rich
\ndelight, her limbs grow in beauty and grace. Her beauty is celestial.
\nShe is self-protected in the quietude of her innate strength. She is
\nsolitary, but on that account her greatness is not any the less.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Godhead
\nPresses Nearer<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nNearer
\nthe godhead to the surface pressed,
A sun replacing childhood’s
\nnebula
Sovereign in a blue and lonely sky. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nUpward
\nit rose to grasp the human scene:
The strong Inhabitant turned to
\nwatch her field,
A lovelier light assumed her spirit brow
And
\nsweet and solemn grew her musing gaze;
Celestial-human deep warm
\nslumbrous fires
Woke in the long fringed glory of her eyes
Like
\naltar-burnings in a mysteried shrine. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe godhead deep
\nwithin slowly presses forward; what was a hint in childhood begins to
\ntake firm shape. The hidden godhead rises to study the human scene.
\nThe strong Inhabitant in her form turns to watch her field around; on
\nher brow shines a lovelier light; her meditative look grows still
\nmore serious and still more sweet. In the far ranging glory of her
\neyes wake up the dormant fires, deep and warming in their nature
\nwhich is at once human and divine.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>A
\nWill and Wisdom<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nOut
\nof those crystal windows gleamed a will
That brought a large
\nsignificance to life. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHolding
\nher forehead’s candid stainless space
Behind the student arch a
\nnoble power
Of wisdom looked from light on transient things. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThrough her
\ntransparent eyes shines a will bringing a wide significance to life.
\nFrom the pure and open expanse of her forehead radiates a lofty power
\nof wisdom which regards in its light, the transient things of the
\nearth.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Silent
\nWarrior<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nscout of victory in a vigil tower,
Her aspiration called high
\ndestiny down;
A silent warrior paced in her city of strength
\n
Inviolate, guarding Truth’s diamond throne. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHer aspiration is
\nactive and vigilant, and calls down the high destiny awaiting above.
\nThis aspiration is a power both silent and dynamic; unassailable by
\nforeign elements, it keeps guard on the regal Truth throned in the
\ncitadel of strength that is Savitri’s being.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Loves
\nall<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nA
\nnectarous haloed moon her passionate heart
Loved all and spoke no
\nword and made no sign,
But kept her bosom’s rapturous secrecy
A
\nblissful ardent moved and voiceless world. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nProud,
\nswift and joyful ran the wave of life
Within her like a stream in
\nParadise. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nHer heart of intense
\nbliss is not demonstrative, yet it loves all. It does not throw
\nitself out but keeps confined to its inner world of rapture. The wave
\nof life that flows in her body is imperious, unobstructed and rapid,
\nfull of joy, like a running stream in Paradise.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Many
\nHigh Gods Dwell<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nMany
\nhigh gods dwelt in one beautiful home;
Yet was her nature’s orb a
\nperfect whole,
Harmonious like a chant with many tones,
Immense
\nand various like a universe. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIn her dwell many
\ngreat Powers as in one beautiful home. In spite of so many different
\nPowers living within, her nature is a harmonious, rounded whole, like
\na perfect song composed of several tones. Her nature is like the
\nuniverse-vast and multiple.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P>
\n


\n
<\/FONT><\/FONT>Image
\nof Heaven’s Light<\/B><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nThe
\nbody that held this greatness seemed almost
An image made of
\nheaven’s transparent light. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nIts
\ncharm recalled things seen in vision’s hours,
A golden bridge
\nspanning a faery flood,
A moon-touched palm tree single by a lake
\n
Companion of the wide and glimmering peace,
A murmur as of
\nleaves in Paradise
Moving when feet of the Immortals pass,
A
\nfiery halo over sleeping hills,
A strange and starry head alone
\nin Night. <\/FONT><\/FONT><\/FONT>
\n<\/P>
\n


\nSavitri’s body
\nholding this celestial greatness seems to be very nearly an
\nembodiment of the transparent light of heaven. It is lovely and its
\ncharm recalls many a thing seen in subtle vision: a golden bridge
\nacross an unearthly flood of waters; a lone palm tree standing on the
\nbank of a lake, its top touched by the silvery moon, sharing its
\nsurrounding peace, wide and bright; a gentle murmur as of the rustle
\nof leaves in Paradise when the Gods pass; a flame-bright horizon over
\nthe sleeping hills; a lone lifted head of stars in the Night.In fact
\nall these images represent what she really is. She is a spanning
\nbridge, a towering peace; her movements are of celestial origin; her
\nflaming light looms over the darkness of earth.<\/FONT><\/FONT><\/P><\/p>\n

\n

 <\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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 Four. The Book of Birth and Quest Canto I    Canto…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[252],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-10766","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book-4-savitri-study","wpcat-252-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10766","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=10766"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10766\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11451,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10766\/revisions\/11451"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10766"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10766"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worksofthemotherandsriaurobindo.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10766"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}