It is verily every day
that
light and darkness,
sleep and waking up,
contraction and expansion -
through them
our life
is moving -
once its high tide,
once its low tide.
At night -
at the time of sleep,
all the powers
of our
sense organs
and mind
get collected, verily, within ourselves -
within our own selves.
In the morning,
they rush out
towards the Whole World.
When Powers
Get Collected
only within ourselves -
is it the case that
it is only at those times
that
we know ourselves more,
we gain ourselves more?
And,
in the morning
when
our Powers
Start Radiating
towards others -
in sundry ways,
is it the case that
it is precisely at those times
that
we lose ourselves?
Exactly the opposite.
When we come
only within ourselves,
then
we are unconscious;
when
we go towards others
then
we are awake -
it is then only
that
we know ourselves.
When we are alone,
then we are no one.
Our True Significance
Is not within ourselves;
It Is Spread Out
among all
in This World.
That is why
with Intellect,
with Heart,
with Work -
we are only seeking
the Whole;
we are only looking
to get united
with the Whole;
otherwise,
we verily don't gain ourselves.
That we shall
experience
the Spirit
everywhere,
This Is
the only Desire
of the soul.
The power
of falling down
of the apple fruit -
when the Seer
Saw it
verily among all objects in the World,
then
His Intellect
Got
extremely satisfied.
For,
only when
we see the Truth
everywhere,
Its Form of Truth
Gets Revealed -
and
it is verily That Form
that
Gives us Joy.
Likewise,
that we shall see ourselves - our own selves - pervaded everywhere,
the moment this happens,
we see ourselves
in the Form of Truth.
The more widely
we shall know This Truth of our own,
the more
Shall our Joy Increase.
Anyone
who draws
our own Self
towards outside,
from within Its Own -
and
makes It Manifest
to us
in a truer way -
it is that person only
that
we call a relative,
it is that person only
that gives us joy.
This is precisely the reason
why
the Human Soul
since
very Ancient Ages,
call it domestic affairs -
call it society,
call it a state,
Has Been Creating
whatever -
in the midst of them
the only one
primary significance is this
that,
human beings -
avoiding loneliness
in the midst of many,
in the midst of variety,
sundry powers
of his/her own -
expanding them
in
sundry relationships,
shall
experience himself/herself
in
a huge area -
This Is
his/her
Actual Enjoyment.
This is precisely why
It Has Been Said:
'Bhuumaiva Sukham Naalpe Sukhamasti'1 -
In Plenitude Lies Happiness,
Happiness Does Not Exist In Penury.
For,
in penury,
our soul, too, becomes penurious.
The society that is civilized,
that society -
precisely because it
connects
in a relationship
the many
with the Soul
in sundry ways,
becomes
the pride of all societies.
Otherwise,
only an excess of materials
and
an assortment of conveniences
do not
spell its success2.
In the civil society,
where
Knowledge, Love,
and
Work efforts -
Are always active
in an ever-expanding field
that is far-reaching -
in there,
the person who lives,
(s)he does not remain small.
Even though
the powers
of that person
may be little,
those powers
quite easily
get a chance to
make themselves successful.
This is precisely why
in Connection with Everyone,
in Connection with Plenitude
the Residents of Civil Societies -
each one of them, verily,
grows up to be substantial
to the best extent possible.
The society that is not civilized,
in that society
even a naturally substantial person
remains weak;
because,
the people of that society
do not get themselves
in adequate measures.
In that society
the institutions
that exist,
they are only suitable
for domestic affairs,
they are only suitable
for villages.
With Plenitude,
those parochial institutions
do not have
any connection -
there,
the High Tide
of the Ocean of the Mind
does not reach;
this is why,
the people there
do not feel
their own Truth,
their own Pride -
and thus cannot gain powers;
they stand defeated everywhere.
There is no end to their poverty3.
This is precisely why
we shall need to
worship
for
the civilization,
not for the
railway
and the telegraph.
Because,
even for the railway
and
the telegraph,
the Final Destination Is
Human Beings -
not a local
station,
or something like that.
The foundational idea4
of This Worship for the Civilization,
is, verily, spiritual understanding.
The more
one's scope
becomes little,
the more
it suffices
to have
even a little bit of
spiritual understanding.
In my own room,
in a small space
when I work,
then
even if the spiritual understanding is small5,
not much loss results.
But,
where it becomes necessary
to connect
many people
in many ties6,
there
the spiritual understanding
needs to be tremendous7.
There,
the patience,
the vigor,
the diligence,
the renunciation,
the propensity to service,
the desire to do good to others8 -
verily, everything -
unless they are of
very big proportions,
it won't work9.
An object
cannot grow big
in any way,
unless
the congruent spirituality
that holds it together,
also becomes big.
Whenever spirituality becomes weak,
immediately
big societies
break up into pieces10,
and
get scattered
in all four sides;
no one
ever
can re-connect
them back together.
Therefore,
whenever
we shall see
a civilized society
that is
characterized by many events,
spread out
very far afield,
and
wielding11
many powers12,
then
we shall have to assume, verily at the beginning,
that
in the middle of
that civilization,
there is
a tremendous spiritual understanding;
otherwise,
the trust
among so many people -
with each other,
the connection
with each other -
can never be sustained
even for a moment.
Even in the society of our own country,
unless we can
establish
The Infinite
in the middle of
Knowledge, Love, and Work -
casting all pettiness and separation away,
the Human Soul
would never be
able to
grow strong
and happy.
With the Common People,
the Connection of Everyone -
the more This Connection
Shall Keep Facing
obstructions
in different kinds of
prejudices
and opinions,
the more
our unhappiness, ineptitude, and poverty
shall only keep increasing.
In our country,
unless we can
build many opportunities
of Connecting in Unison
with the Many13 -
our Worship For Greatness
Shall Not Move Forward.
For building those opportunities,
we are attempting from several sides.
But,
big or small -
whichever we are wishing to build
by connecting together,
if in the midst of them
only separation keeps coming in14 -
this alone is observed,
then
it is surely to be understood
that
at the foundation -
there is a weakness
of spiritual understanding;
surely, there is a lack of Truth;
surely, there is a want of Renunciation15;
surely, there is a lethargy of Will;
surely, there is no force of Piety,
and
from the Materials of Worship,
our ego16
is trying to steal
a big portion
for itself;
surely, there is envy towards each other;
surely, there is no forgiveness;
and,
not being able to
count
Welfare Itself
as the Ultimate Fruit
of Doing Good -
our diligence
is being deterred17
at but the smallest18 of the roadblocks.
Hence, we shall have to be circumspect.
Where there shall be an impediment
to success19,
there
May We Not Try
to feel secure
by heaping our sins
on top of
voiceless
materials.
There is sin,
that is why
connections are not forming;
there is a want of Spirituality,
that is why
nothing is getting understood.
This is precisely why
we are wandering
aimlessly
by being separated,
by being small20,
by being fruitless
in verily every subject21;
this is precisely why
minglings of
our knowledge with Knowledge,
our lives with Life,
our efforts with Effort -
are not building
a Walking Ground22
That Is
fit for the
Human Soul;
our soul
in no way
is being able to
assume
its own Huge Form23
That Is Fit
for being Connected
to That Builder24 of the Universe -
That Universal25 Being.
13 Paush 1315
(December 27, 1908)
Bengali original: http://www.tagoreweb.in/Render/ShowContent.aspx?ct=Essays&bi=72EE92F5-BE50-4057-6E6E-0F7410664DA3&ti=72EE92F5-BE50-42B7-7E6E-0F7410664DA3&ch=c