Tag Archives: Gitanjali

The Poorest, The Lowliest, And The Lost

Posted on by
Reply

Tagore2 The poorest, the lowliest, and the lost

Is finding God merely difficult, instead of tricky?

Is God hiding in plain sight, in the guise of the least of these?

Dear God, can the veil of my vanity be rent, that I might touch thy holy feet?

Have I come to this world to find God in the poorest, the lowliest and the lost?

The poorest, the lowliest, and the lost

I have written a number of posts about the New Message from God revelation, “The Race to Save Human Civilization.” Humanity is indicted for plundering and looting a beautiful world. Individuals are indicted for ignoring their deeper intelligence. Political leaders and religious leaders are indicted as blind guides leading the blind. There is a message of hope, but I haven’t written about it yet. Therefore, I am in great need of poetry at this time, to strengthen my soul. What shall I do in the face of the Great Waves of Change, a predicted series of large, ongoing disruptions in the not-too-distant future? In the difficult times ahead, you and I might meet some of the poorest, the lowliest and the lost. They might be migrating from a place where they can no longer live. Rabindranath Tagore wrote a poem about them (#10 in Gitanjali)

Here is thy footstool and there rest thy feet where live the poorest, and lowliest, and lost.

When I try to bow to thee, my obeisance cannot reach down to the depth where thy feet rest among the poorest, and lowliest, and lost.

Pride can never approach to where thou walkest in the clothes of the humble among the poorest, and lowliest, and lost.

My heart can never find its way to where thou keepest company with the companionless among the poorest, the lowliest, and the lost.

* * *

Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

Don’t Let Me Forget

Posted on by
Reply

Rabindranath Tagore. Don't let me forgetI recalled this poem by Rabindranath Tagore as I contemplated Step 95 “How can I possibly fulfill myself?” of Steps to Knowledge. Here is the portion of Step 95 which sparked a memory:

“Only in fantasy and imagination can you possibly even entertain the idea of fulfilling yourself. There is no fulfillment here, only increasing confusion. As the years progress, you will feel a growing darkness within you, as if a great opportunity has been lost. Do not lose this opportunity to realize life as it truly exists and to receive fulfillment as it is truly offered to you.”

Don’t let me forget

I recall Step 95 having a significant impact on me when I did it in October of 2011. I consider this another step to be addressed in a series of posts, like Step 26, “My errors give birth to my Knowledge,” and Step 51, “Let me recognize my fears so that I may see beyond them.” I am letting Rabindranath Tagore open the discussion. This is a slightly modernized version provided by Robert Bly. The original version is here.

If I am not to meet you again in this life then I want to feel that I have missed the meeting, don’t let me forget, let me feel the pain of it in my dreams and while awake.

As the time passes in the black dust of the body, and I get fat with money, I want to feel that I have gotten nothing out of it all — don’t let me forget, I want to feel the slivers of pain in my dreams and while awake.

When I walk up the steps, exhausted and tense after a long trip, or when I climb into some lonely bed, I want to feel that the long trip is still ahead of me — don’t let me forget, I want to feel the pain in my legs both while asleep and while awake.

When my house is all cleaned, and drinks are set here and there, and I hear people laughing, I want to feel that I haven’t invited you to my house — don’t let me forget, I want to feel the pain of that grief both while asleep and while awake.

* * *

Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.

Where The Mind Is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore

Posted on by
Reply

When I was looking for an image to go with the word “possibility,” I encountered the Emily Dickinson poem “I dwell in possibility.”  While that poem is a very fine poem indeed, as I contemplated sharing it, I recalled another poem with a closer vibration to this blog.  This poem is from Gitanjali (available for Kindle for free; go ahead, I’ll wait)

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought and action
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

I interpret the word “free” in the line “Where knowledge is free” to mean “unfettered, unchained, unrestricted,” as opposed to “without cost.”  Whether one is talking about the secrets of nature, or the great mystery of one’s life, knowledge cost someone something. Whether one is talking about the original discovery, or the sharing of the discovery at a later date, knowledge had a price in time, effort and trust.

*

* * *

Welcome to Mystery of Ascension! We are students and advocates of the the New Message from God. We are members of a worldwide community. We seek to assist the world in successfully navigating difficult times ahead. We seek to assist the world in successfully emerging into a greater community of intelligent life. You will also find some poetry. Find out more about us here. Contact us here.