Yesterday night and day,
sleep and waking up -
of them,
one thing
has not been mentioned.
That, precisely, is
the main thing.
When we remain awake,
then
with our powers,
the Power
Keeps Playing.
With the Universal Work
of the
Mover1 of the Universe,
our work
gets connected.
He Who Is
Bahudhaashaktiyogaat Varnaananekaannihitaartho Dadhaati2,
it is verily
Those Multifarious Powers
of His -
driving our efforts
in Whose Diverse
Flow-channels,
we discover
all the
wonderful movements
of Power,
and
become Joyful.
At one time,
where we had thought
Powers Had Ended,
we see while walking there
that
from there,
the Path
Has again Taken
a new turn;
likewise,
in the midst of
Those Multifarious Powers
of the
Universal Traffic,
making our own powers
multifarious too,
with them
in every direction -
gaining even motion -
for that,
our minds
become
enthusiastic.
Likewise,
our Awoken Consciousness -
throwing the net of
all powers of sensation
and
all powers of the Mind
on
all four sides,
by means of several velocities,
by means of several touches,
by means of several gains,
Renders Itself successful.
But,
the fisherman
cannot only
go about
casting the net.
The net gets knotted,
the net gets frayed,
the net gets dirty.
Then again,
to correct them,
casting of the net
needs to be stopped
completely.
At night,
at the time of sleep
we completely stop
Casting the Net of Life,
Casting the Net of Consciousness.
Then is the time
of corrections
and repairs.
Then our tattered, knotted, dirty nets -
we need to surrender them
into the hands of He -
Ya Esha Supteshu Jaagarti Kaamam Kaamam Purusho Nirmimaanah3,
The Being Who -
when everyone is asleep,
Is Being Awake at that time,
and
Is Building all our necessities.
Therefore,
for once -
controlling our own efforts,
all of them -
we need to
surrender
our lives
completely
into the hands of That
Universal Life;
at that time
we become equal to the trees and plants,
there remains no separation anymore
between the Nature
and us,
our ego
vanishes completely,
and it is then only
that
we obtain, verily, the Deep Repose
That Is inside
The Whole.
When we wake up,
we understand that
That Respite
so far
we haven't only
obtained
as emptiness;
That Is a Complete Thing -
even in the midst of our
effortlessness and unconsciousness,
That Contains a Repose;
That Repose Is the
Foundational4 Repose
of this
Huge, Universal Nature;
That Repose
is the Repose
Whose
Verdant Form
and
Silent Manifestation
we can see
in the midst of
huge trees
that are
silent,
and
full of branches
and
leafy twigs.
Like every night,
we surrender our lives
into the hands of Nature
and
in the morning,
we again get ready
for
new efforts of life -
similarly,
within the day at least for once
there is a need
for us
to completely surrender our souls
in the hands
of That Great Soul.
Otherwise,
garbage keeps piling up,
the broken5 parts do not mend6,
the heat only keeps increasing -
tendencies like
lust, greed, anger, etc.
surpass their necessities,
and
create a rebellion
in the inside
and
the outside.
That is why,
in the morning -
at the time of Worship,
ceasing all our efforts
and
calming all our instincts7,
for some time
we need to
establish
Complete Harmony
between the Great Soul
and our own.
At that time,
in the midst of our heart -
we shall have to
completely yield the right of the way
to the Great Soul;
then,
in the Opening
of That Profound Peace
of Total Self-surrender,
there shall be an infusion of Health
in the midst of the maladies of our mind -
all contractions shall expand,
as well as all the knots in our heart
shall come loose.
After that,
when That Inner Nature of ours -
Calmed by Worship -
Shall Engage
in This World
in Self-experience
in several forms and manners,
being fragmented
and scattered
in the midst of the Diverse,
in the midst of the Many,
then
in all activities,
It Shall Be able to
Engage
in a Solemn Way,
in a Sacred Way;
then in every utterance
It Shall Not Deal Blows
to all four sides;
then
in the midst of
Its all Efforts,
There Shall Be Peace.
Of This Huge Universe,
Its Diverse Affairs -
in the midst of them
There Is A Wonderful Harmony -
because of Whose Existence
the Manifestations of All Efforts
Have Become Peaceful,
and
the Manifestations of All Powers
Have Become Beautiful -
because of Whose Existence
This Whole Universe
and
This Whole World
Have Not Assumed
an oppressive form
like the one
of a scientific laboratory
or
a huge factory floor -
in the midst of our efforts
That Harmony Shall Reign,
in the midst of our activities
That Beauty Shall Manifest.
Like God Does His Work,
for some time
having surrendered all our ego to Him,
we shall learn
That Very Beautiful Skill
of His.
Having presented ourselves
at Her Feet8,
we shall say:
'Oh Mother,
in the morning
on top of it9
Please Place
Your Skillful Hand
and
Please Touch it
for once -
then
all the raggedness10 that has come upon it
from the Blows of yesterday's World -
they all shall verily heal.'
If every day
at daybreak
we receive the Touch
of Her Blessed Hands
on our foreheads
before leaving,
and
if we remember
that moment,
then
we shall not be able to
spoil our foreheads
in dust
anymore.
May the Tune of This Worship
Keep Playing - all day long - verily for ever,
in the midst of us,
like the tune
of a tanpura11,
so that
we are able to
judge
each and every word
of ours
and
each and every behavior,
in consonance with12 That Tune,
and
having transformed
the Whole Day
into
Pure Music,
we are able to
make the Workplaces of the World
Abodes of Joy.
14 Paush 1315
(December 28, 1908)
Bengali original: http://www.tagoreweb.in/Render/ShowContent.aspx?ct=Essays&bi=72EE92F5-BE50-4057-6E6E-0F7410664DA3&ti=72EE92F5-BE50-4997-8E6E-0F7410664DA3&ch=1