97. ‘Not This’ ‘Not This’ the Vedas cry
To end an endless try;
Saraswati then took up the theme
To own defeat and cry.
What Thou art no one has said
And none can ever say.
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
98. Equal to Thee none ever was
Is now or ever will be;
Who can dream to excel Thee
In all the worlds that be?
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
99. Vain are the things that tempt mankind
Like wealth and body’s strength;
The one and endless joy art Thou
All others decrease and die.
Sages, therefore, say Thou art
‘Rasa’ the perennial joy.
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
100. Beyond the pairs of ‘this’ and ‘that’
And ‘now’ and ‘then’ Thou art;
Beyond the start, beyond the end
Beyond above below;
The secret treasure of wealth untold
That never can be robbed;
Since man was born hast thou been robbed
Yet Thy treasure is whole.
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
101. Seeing saintly souls oppressed
And Dharma’s clouded sun suppressed
Tyrants’ trumpets blowing loud
Proclaiming their successes proud,
To save the world, uphold aloft
The standared of Thy servants, Lord!
Dost Thou descend Thyself on earth
And rescue man from the Devil’s clutch.
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
102. By act and mind and body, and speech,
With ears, eyes and hands and feet,
Countless did I sins commit,
And wasted wealth that thou didst give;
Forgive them all, I now beseech
Since I have fallen at Thy feet.
Thou alone can now console
This lost but now repenting soul
Forgive my sins, dispense Thy Grace,
Is what, with pinning heart, I crave.
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
103. Smeared though he be with sin,
The mother does her son forgive;
Love unbounded rules the heart
Of the Master for His charge.
Like them forgive Thou, too, my faults
Is what, with broken heart, I pray.
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
104. If Thou, even Thou, withhold Thy grace,
Who else can cleanse our sins so grave?
‘Please rush to help, do not delay,’
Is what with heart contrite I pray.
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
105. When troubles and misfortunes dog
The footsteps of a man for long
His near ones-they all forsake,
Helpless, he has to face his fate.
Then, Thou O Love, take care of me
Is all that I entreat of Thee.
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
106. Give me, Lord! The friendship sweet
Of pilgrims who in inns oft meet
And drink the draught of devotion deep
And reel and dance and dance and reel.
Firm-fixed and steady at Thy feet
Keep Thou my mind, my Lord, be pleased;
So that ‘Thou’ be this heart’s lode-star
To Thee, my Lord, I give my all.
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
107. As Thou my Lord, Almighty Great!
Me with ceaseless watch protect,
I lie in peace and free from care
Conscious of Thy shelter safe.
I know not what and why to pray
But like cranks will have my say.
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
108. Thou art my Lord, my one resort
Where else can go a soul forlorn?
As now at last I hold Thy feet
Them I will not ever release.
Now me with love Thy grace will drench
As lumps of earth that rain doth wet.
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
109. I will din into Thy ears
All my woes bedimmed with tears
Till turns to me Thy smiling face,
And grants my only wish-Thy grace.
Like mother fond caress Thy child
Grow not sick of wailings wild.
To That Lord of my Heart, I Bow.
EPILOGUE
I was a baby then, but dreamed
To reach Himalayan heights;
“Where are the means?” I sighed
“I am penniless”.
Years passed: But God was kind
Through this little brochure as the means
He blessed me and I climbed.
So my obeisances to
This little prayer, too.
His kindness did not stop.
Through this, He revealed
The secret of sorrow and sin.
He taught me more; He showed
What this Life means and why.
No words of mine can, therefore, give
Due need of praise to this
Little but revealing means.
---HARIOM---