One of the hymns in the Vedas reads,
death is His shadow, immortality too is His shadow -
both He has kept combined within Himself.
He within Whom all conflicts are resolved -
He, verily, is the Ultimate Truth.
He, verily, is the Purest Light;
He, verily, is the Lucidest Darkness.
If the synthesis of all opposites in this World does not happen
within a particular truth,
then that truth cannot be regarded as the Ultimate Truth.
Then, whatever didn't fit within that truth -
for that we need to appeal to another truth,
and these two truths we need to suppose as contradicting each other.
Thus, for Immortality - God,
and for Death - Satan,
both need to be considered.
But, we do not consider any shareholder of Brahman1 -
we know He is the Only Truth;
all conflicts of partial truths have seen harmony within Him.
We know He is the Only One;
all fragmentations of partial existences exist merged in Him.
But this is theory.
He is Truth -
knowing this,
we only know in principle;
where is the connection
between this and our heart?
Is there no emotion
in this Truth at all?
How will that do?
Just like all truths have merged in Him,
so also all emotions have merged in Him.
That is why,
the Upanishads2
have not called Him only Truth;
They have called Him
the Essence of All Emotions -
knowing Him
as that Complete Emotion,
our knowledge is fulfilled.
Then it so stands -
He Who is the Ultimate Truth,
is also the Fulfillment of all Emotions.
That is to say,
He is the Essence of Love.
Otherwise,
it would have been impossible to resolve anything within Him;
differences would have stood as differences,
conflicts would have pummelled us again and again,
and death would have come to us only to steal.
That verily Everything merges within Him,
that mergence
is not a mergence in theory;
within Him,
there is a Principle of Love -
that is why,
Everything must merge -
that is why,
separation and conflicts
can never turn out to be the Eternal Truth.
Whether we know or don't know
any other Last Word -
we have understood
one Last Word
from within ourselves;
That is this -
only within Love
can all conflicts be,
merged together.
In argumentation
they cut each other,
in work
they fight -
no way they want to merge;
in Love,
everything verily resolves.
In the field of argumentation,
in the field of work -
those who are ever ready
like the sons of Diti and Aditi3
to completely destroy each other,
in Love they are their own siblings.
With respect to argumentation, Dvaita and Advaita4 completely oppose each other;
like 'yes' cuts 'no',
and 'no' cuts 'yes',
similarly they oppose each other.
But in the field of Love,
Dvaita and Advaita occupy precisely the same space.
In Love,
at the same time
Two5 need to be there,
and One6 also needs to be there.
These two Grand Opposites -
we cannot exclude any of them,
and yet
we cannot let them
oppose each other.
That Which is Opposite -
needs to remain
Un-Opposed;
this one Extraordinary Affair,
this can only happen in Love.
This is why,
the reason why I go to offer myself for others -
I cannot fathom this mystery within myself;
but,
to understand selfishness is not difficult at all.
Since God is the Essence of Love -
He has Created Two7 out of One8,
and One out of Two.
We clearly see that,
Two is True,
and One is True likewise.
This Strange Affair -
cannot be reached
by argumentation;
This, verily, is the Output of Love.
In the Upanishads9,
we only see
contradicting words about God -
this is why.
Ya Ekovarno Bahudhaashaktiyogaat Varnaananekaannihitaartho Dadhaati.10
He is One
and He has no Color;
and yet,
with various sorts of Power -
That Unborn11 One
is addressing the deep needs
of many people12.
He Who is One -
how does He go about
addressing the needs of Many?
Since He is the Essence of Love -
therefore,
He cannot be by being One Only;
He Verily Remains in addressing the needs of Many.
Sa Paryagaat Shukram,13
and again,
He Himself is Vyadadhaat Shaashvatiibhyah Samaabhyah14 -
which is to say,
in Infinite Realms
He Remains -
Still, Pervading;
and again,
in Infinite Time
He Rules,
He Works.
At once,
Stillness is He,
and Movement also is He.
In our nature as well,
the harmony between
this stillness and movement -
we see in only one place;
that is in love.
In the midst of this Restless World -
where our love is,
only at that place
our mind receives rest;
everything else
we merely touch and go,
we catch and throw;
only where there is Love15 -
it is verily there
that our mind becomes still.
And yet,
it is verily there
that the mind
has more activity.
It is verily there
that our mind
is more active
than anything else.
It is only in Love
that
where we become still,
it is also where we become active.
It is only in Love
that
Stillness and Movement
have received the same name.
In the field of Work,
Renunciation and Gain fall under different categories;
they oppose each other.
In Love,
what is Renunciation
is also, verily, Gain.
The person whom I like,
whatever I give him/her -
that Giving - verily - is Love.
In the accounts ledger of Joy,
Credit and Debit are together;
in there,
What is Giving,
is also verily Receiving.
God, too, in His Creation
has Started
this Sacrifice of Joy,
this Play of Love -
in this Play,
He is Gaining Himself,
by Himself.
To make this Giving and Receiving
Completely Equal,
is called Love.
In Philosophy, there is a big argument.
Whether God is all-pervading or not,16
whether He is with Qualifications or without Qualifications,
whether He is personal or impersonal.
In Love,
this yes and no
have merged together.
In Love, one end is with Qualifications, another without.
Its one side says 'I am', another says 'I am Not'.
Without 'I', there is no Love; without renouncing 'I', there is no Love.
That is the reason why,
whether God is with Qualifications or not -
all those arguments
can only do in the field of argumentation;
that argumentation
cannot even touch Him.
Western theology talks about
our infinite improvement;
we continuously go towards Him -
but never do we reach Him.
Our Upanishads have said,
we cannot reach Him,
and yet we can;
we do not Gain Him,
and yet we do.
Yato Vaacho Nivartante Apraapya Manasaa Saha.
Aanandam Brahmano Vidvaan Na Vibheti Kutashchana.17
Such a strange, contradictory saying -
in two lines of one verse,
has never been heard - so clearly - anywhere else.
Not only does sentence18 return from Him,
but also mind;
even the mind returns
without ever reaching Him -
this is a completely clear-cut answer.
And yet,
(S)He who has known the Bliss of That Brahman -
(S)He never gets scared of anything anymore.
Thus,
He Who cannot be Known at all -
can be known in such a way
that
no fear remains anymore,
with respect to anything.
What kind of Knowing is That?
The Knowing of Bliss;
The Knowing of Love.
This - verily - is
Knowing by overpowering
all not-knowings.
It is only in Love19
where there is no ultimate contradiction
between
Not Knowing and Knowing.
The wife may not know her husband completely,
from all sides -
when it comes to the knowledge of Philosophy and argumentation;
but,
in the knowledge of love, in the knowledge of joy -
she knows him in such a way that
no Philosopher can know like that.
In the midst of Love,
there is this One Strange Mystery that,
where on one side I don't know anything,
there on the other I know completely.
It is verily in Love
where Infinite is turning Himself over
to the Finite;
and Finiteness is embracing Infinite.
By argumentation, it is impossible to derive
any explanation of this.
In Theology,
it is seen that
Freedom and Bondage
have such an opposing relationship that,
no one cares for the other.
To obtain Freedom by completely obliterating Bondage -
this is the advice to us.
The Freedom thing is - as if -
a Final Thing;
even Western Scriptures
have made this idea
deeply rooted in our mind.
But,
a place exists
where Bondage and Freedom
enjoy
exactly equal glory;
we cannot afford to forget this.
That place
is in Love.20
In There,
Bondage doesn't bow down to Freedom -
even by the breadth of a hair.
It is verily Love
that is completely Free;
and it is verily Love
that is completely Bound.
God is not just Free.
If it were to be so,
He would have been totally inert.
He has bound Himself.
If He had not done that,
then Creation would not have happened -
and within Creation,
no rules and no significance would have been observed.
The Blissful Form of His,
The Form by Which He Manifests,
this - verily - is the Form of His Bondage.
It is verily in this Bondage that He is close to us, He is Beautiful to us.
This Bondage is the Bondage of Love between Him and Us.
It is verily in this Free Bondage of His Own Making that
He is our Friend, our Father.
If He hadn't turned Himself over in this Bondage,
then we would not have been able to say that,
Sa Eva Bandhurjanitaa Sa Vidhaataa.21
He verily is the Friend,
He verily is the Father,
He verily is the Ruler.
Such a vast, wonderful statement -
would never have come out of the mouth of human beings.
Which one is the vast statement?
That God is Pure, Wise and Free -
This One?
Or,
That He is Bound Together with us -
in the roles of Father, Friend, Spouse -
This One?
Both are Equally Vast Statements.
Since we see Bondage as something very obnoxious -
we have developed a wretched misconception
with respect to that.
Such wretched misconceptions we have many more.
For example, we consider small as trivial,
big as grand -
as if by Mathematics Greatness can be conferred upon someone!
Similarly, we bad-mouth Finiteness. -
As if, what that Finiteness thing is,
we know All of That!
Finiteness is a Vast Mystery.
This Finiteness verily reveals the Infinite.
This is so unspeakable!
So strange are Its Forms,
so strange are Its Colors,
so strange is Its Development!
From one Form to another,
from one Color22 to another,
from one Power to another -
where is an end to these!
Where is the boundary of these!
That Finiteness is expressing Itself
in Unimaginable Diversity,
in Uncountable Multitude,
in Unending Series of Changes -
to be able to disrespect all that -
whose Power is so Mighty!
Effectively, we only disrespect our own language ourselves;
but, to disrespect the Finiteness object -
we don't have that Right.
Compared to Infinite,
Finiteness is no less strange in any of Its parts;
compared to the Unsaid,
the Said is in no way unworthy of Respect.
Even with Freedom and Bondage,
we keep playing with words.
That Bondage too reigns supreme -
sitting on the same Throne as Freedom -
together with the Latter -
we keep forgetting this.
That we only want Freedom -
that is not the case;
we want Bondage too.
The Want in Which
these two wants within us
receive complete harmony -
that is the Want of Love23.
Respecting Bondage we shall overcome It -
this is the Work of Love.
The way Love is Free -
so Free there is no second one;
and yet,
the Bondage of Love -
where in the world does such a Vast Bondage exist?
The Vaishnava24 Religion has shown us
how vastly Glorious that Bondage Thing is.
With strange courage,
with utter shamelessness
It has spoken:
God has mortgaged Himself with Living Beings -
the very Existence of Living Beings
is predicated on that vast Glory.
Our glorious pride is this -
He has not been able to leave us out -
He has admitted to this Bondage -
otherwise,
how do we exist?
Like the mother serves the child,
like the lover serves her/his love interest,
likewise, He is serving us all over the World.
He Himself has become the Servant -
has given Infinite Importance to the Concept of Service.
With that Magnanimous World of His,
He could have thrown parties after parties,
but why is He trying so hard to entice our mind?
In sundry guises, in sundry ways -
why is He creating so uncountably many loving relationships
between the World and us?
Where is the end to this needless effort of
creating these loving relationships?
From sundry sides,
He is only telling,
I am Giving My Bliss to You,
You Give Your Happiness to Me.
He has verily Bound Himself on four sides -
in the wonderful rhythm of Finiteness;
otherwise,
the Ballad of Love cannot reveal Itself.
Wherever our love is not merging well with
this Essence of Love,
there its dissonance is ringing in the Whole World.
There -
how many miseries are rising -
there is no end to that;
tears flowing.
Oh My Love,
You will not Take Love from me by Force,
You will entice me -
then One Day
You will make me cry
in all my heart and psyche -
and then,
You will make me pay the Debt of Your Love.
That is why
it's getting this late -
that is why
the evening is coming,
and yet
my party dress is incomplete.
29 Agrahāyaṇa 1315
(December 14, 1908)
Bengali original: Part 1, Part 2.