Festival of the birth of the eternal Light
OM Anandamayi, Chaitanyamayi, Satyamayi, Parame
OM Mother of Delight, Mother of Consciousness,
Mother of Truth, O Supreme, Jayastute namastute
Victory to Thee, Salutations to Thee
Sarvam Khalhidam, Brahman:
All is verily divine. The Divine is truly all
Rises a rich-textured chorus of adoration from a crowd of pilgrim souls.
In the solemn night streaked with beams of light hundred lovely bodies
full of grace and strong dance across the field of an incredulous vision,
Like a stream of ecstasy undulating through pillars of sapphire,
And carved statues of godheads frozen in bronze and granite.
Buddham saranam gatcchami, Dammam saranam gatcchami
Take refuge in Buddha; Take refuge in the Word of the Lord,
Echo and reecho the distant hills in meditation,
Disciples of the desireless, egoless, equal souled compassion.
Vedic mantras float and reverberate in the sacred air.
Satyam, Ritam, Jyotih, Brihat
The Truth, the Law, the Light, the Infinity are now sovereign Lords.
The Long night is at last over, the Sun of Truth illumines and guides our steps.
Praying hands and bodies burning with aspiration offer sacrifice in the mounting Fire.
Words old and new in many tongues and voices mingle in a glorious riot of tone colours.
Bodies radiate in rhythmic movements, the vast organ swell of an unalloyed delight,
A scattered rainbow broken into a hundred scintillating shifting fragments.
Woodwinds, drums and trumpets, harp, cymbals and bells,
Passionate violins, grave cellos and mixed choir of chanting voices,
Urge the impetuous dancers to dare the impossible,
To renounce the animal and discover our identity with God and Soul.
Bodies caught in a whirlpool of celestial rapture, sway and swing, run and rush,
solo or in groups amidst a sweeping gale of maddening high-paced music,
Tearing us away with an irresistible might
From the ancient moorings of our unbearable night and agony.
In the name of God, in the name of God,
O God the Great, O God the Merciful.
The hero worshippers dance and slash and hew a straight path
Through the demon hordes which deny the Will of the One.
Ave Maria sends the soul soaring to the embrace of the Mother Divine.
Bodies possessed by the divinities of beauty and harmony
and the Soma wine dance intoxicated as in a trance
And oblige the psychic buds to blossom by their charm.
The soul repeats the mantra:
May I be Thy slave, May I be Thy slave.
Yogis and saints, sculptors, poets, musicians and painters
Followers of the Truth, lovers of the Supreme and His Avatars,
Bring their bountiful generous gift of melodies interwoven and harmonies
Piled higher and higher to the skies, and drive the dancers in the effort
To seize and embody a transmutative ray of the never setting Sun of Truth.
The audience surrenders in joy to the magic of the ceremony,
The soul-filling panorama of sound, form, colour and light.
A grandiose pyramidal aspiration rises and rises to the Heavens,
To the immaculate crystal throne, where the Mother receives the prayers
Offered by the reverent assembly of souls.
Benediction, love and light, Benediction, Benediction.
The fortunate multitude, aspiring pilgrim souls in deep concord
Coverging on Her from all dim corners of the earth,
Seated in silence and wonder under the starlit open sky
Hypnotised by Her tangible delight and the sweetness of Her Presence,
Celebrate the Festival of the birth of the Eternal Light.
Showers of blessings, showers of love, showers of peace,
Sprinkle the air, purify the Earth and Soul.
Fountains of aspiration, fountains of heavenly dreams
Shoot upwards a myriad sparks
In the boundless space of the hushed soul.
Thy Will be done, Thy Will be done, Thy Will be done,
Whispers the ravished Earth faint and vibrating under
The exquisite touch of footsteps compelled by a felicitous rhythm.
A powerful interchange of currents between Matter and Spirit
Forces open the sealed passages for a dynamic transformation.
Ekaibaham jagattatra, Kadrvitia mama para.
I alone am in this universe; who else is there apart from me?
The triumphant proclamation of the Mother Divine
Assures the suppliant soul.
Sri Aurobindo saranam mama - Sri Aurobindo is my refuge.
Om Anandamayi, Chaitanyamayi,
Satyamayi, Parame’Jayastute namastute.
*************
N.Guha Roy
Acceptance
Once we learn to hand over the responsibility of our life and its thousand changing circumstances to the Divine, who is no other than our highest Self, then there is less confusion, less stress and strain and the being acquires a state of permanent relaxation inside and outside. More and more I realise that what we do is far less important than what we become. We must remain open to the Mother Force as much as possible, for this we must be peaceful, free from useless emotional upheavals and the flood of uncoordinated thoughts. We must become simple The big world problems and their solutions are far too big for us anyway. Some things we seem to know but most of the things we do not know. This acceptance of wide ignorance is a relieving wisdom. Let us admit that we know very little of anything. Then a new light will grow and another vision of the existence will be revealed to us, unknown to man ‑ the mysterious Divine Presence eternal and unfathomable.
Let us pray for peace in the being.
N.Guha Roy 1984
