Latest / Pigeon Audiobooks: Poetry / Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore) | Full Audiobook

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Gitanjali (Rabindranath Tagore) | Full Audiobook · Pigeon Audiobooks: Poetry

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Speaker 2: Pigeon Publishing House presents Giton Jelly author rebindroneth To Gore,
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Speaker 2: narrated by Henry Wells preface, first published in English in
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Speaker 2: nineteen twelve. Giton Jelly meaning Song Offerings is one of
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Speaker 2: the most celebrated works of Rebindroneth to Gore. A collection
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Speaker 2: of deeply spiritual poems and lyrical reflections, the book explores
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Speaker 2: the relationship between the individual, nature, humanity, and the divine.
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Speaker 2: The poems of giton Jelly are marked by simplicity, musicality,
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Speaker 2: and profound emotional death. To Gore writes about love, devotion, death, beauty, work, humility,
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Speaker 2: and the search for spiritual truth. Rather than presenting spirituality
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Speaker 2: as something distant or confined to formal religious practice, he
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Speaker 2: discovers it in ordinary human experiences, in nature, in labor,
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Speaker 2: in compassion, and in the bonds that connect one person
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Speaker 2: to another. A recurring theme throughout the collection is the
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Speaker 2: desire to transcend the limitations of the individual self. To
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Speaker 2: Gore's speaker repeatedly seeks a deeper union with the world
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Speaker 2: and with the divine, recognizing beauty and meaning not only
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Speaker 2: in moments of joy, but also in suffering, uncertainty, and mortality.
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Speaker 2: Nature occupies a particularly important place into Gore's poetry. Rivers flowers, sunlight, rain, seasons,
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Speaker 2: and landscapes become more than decorative images. They serve as
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Speaker 2: expressions of the larger spiritual unity of existence. Through these images,
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Speaker 2: the poet creates a world in which the boundaries between
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Speaker 2: humanity and nature appear fluid and interconnected. The English Giton
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Speaker 2: Jelly was not simply a direct translation of a single
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Speaker 2: Bengali volume. To Gore selected and translated poems from several
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Speaker 2: of his Bengali collections, adapting them into English prose poems
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Speaker 2: and lyrical passages. His translations introduced his work to a
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Speaker 2: vast international audience and helped establish him as one of
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Speaker 2: the most important literary voices of his time. The collection
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Speaker 2: received worldwide recognition and contributed to to Gore becoming the
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Speaker 2: first non European recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature
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Speaker 2: in nineteen thirteen. Yet the lasting power of Giton Jelly
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Speaker 2: does not depend solely on its historical importance. Its intimate
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Speaker 2: reflections on love, mortality, freedom, humility, and spiritual longing continue
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Speaker 2: to speak across cultures and generations. Giton Jelly Chapter one,
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Speaker 2: thou hast made me endless, Such is thy pleasure? This
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Speaker 2: frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and feeest it
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Speaker 2: ever with fresh life. This little flute of a reed
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Speaker 2: Thou hast carried over hills and dales, and hast breathed
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Speaker 2: through its melodies eternally knew. At the immortal touch of
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Speaker 2: thy hands, my little heart loses its limits and joy,
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Speaker 2: and gives birth to utterance, ineffable. Thy infinite gifts come
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Speaker 2: to me only on these very small hands of mine.
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Speaker 2: Ages pass, and still thou poorest, and still there is
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Speaker 2: room to fill. When Thou commandest me to sing, it
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Speaker 2: seems that my heart would break with pride. And I
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Speaker 2: look to thy face and tears come to my eyes.
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Speaker 2: All that is harsh and dissonant in my life melts
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Speaker 2: into one sweet harmony, and my adoration spreads wings like
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Speaker 2: a glad bird on its flight across the sea. I
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Speaker 2: know thou takest pleasure in my singing. I know that
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Speaker 2: only as a singer I come before Thy presence. I
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Speaker 2: touch by the edge of the far spreading wing of
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Speaker 2: my song, thy feet which I could never aspire to reach.
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Speaker 2: Drunk with the joy of singing, I forget myself and
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Speaker 2: call thee friend who art my Lord. I know not
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Speaker 2: how Thou singest my master. I ever listen in silent amazement.
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Speaker 2: The light of thy music illumines the world. The life
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Speaker 2: breath of thy music runs from sky to sky. The
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Speaker 2: holy stream of thy music breaks through all stony obstacles
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Speaker 2: and rushes on. My heart longs to join in thy song,
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Speaker 2: but vainly struggles for a voice. I would speak, but
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Speaker 2: speech breaks not into song, and I cry out baffled. Ah,
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Speaker 2: Thou hast made my heart captive in the endless meshes
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Speaker 2: of thy music, my master, life of my life. I
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Speaker 2: shall ever try to keep my body pure, knowing that
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Speaker 2: thy living touch is upon all my limbs. I shall
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Speaker 2: ever try to keep all untruths out from my thoughts,
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Speaker 2: knowing that Thou art that truth which has kindled the
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Speaker 2: light of reason in my mind. I shall ever try
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Speaker 2: to drive all evils away from my heart and keep
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Speaker 2: my love and flower, knowing that thou hast thy seat
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Speaker 2: in the inmost shrine of my heart. And it shall
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Speaker 2: be my endeavor to reveal THEE in my actions. Knowing
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Speaker 2: it is thy power gives me strength to act. I
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Speaker 2: ask for a moment's indulgence to sit by thy side
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Speaker 2: the works that I have in hand I will finish
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Speaker 2: afterwards away from the side of thy face. My heart
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Speaker 2: knows no rest nor respite, and my work becomes an
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Speaker 2: endless toil in a shoreless sea of toil. Today the
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Speaker 2: summer has come at my window with its size and murmurs,
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Speaker 2: and the bees are plying there minstrelly at the court
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Speaker 2: of the flowering growth. Now it is time to sit quiet,
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Speaker 2: face to face with thee, and to sing dedication of life.
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Speaker 2: In this silent and overflowing leisure. Pluck this little flower
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Speaker 2: and take it. Delay not I fear lest it droop
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Speaker 2: and drop into the dust. It may not find a
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Speaker 2: place in thy garland. But honor it with a touch
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Speaker 2: of pain from thy hand, and pluck it, I fear
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Speaker 2: lest the day and before I am aware, and the
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Speaker 2: time of.
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Speaker 3: Offering go by.
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Speaker 2: Though its color be not deep and its smell be faint,
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Speaker 2: use this flower in thy service, and pluck it while
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Speaker 2: there is time. My song has put off her adornments.
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Speaker 2: She has no pride of dress and decoration. Ornaments would
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Speaker 2: mar our union. They would come between THEE and me.
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Speaker 2: Their jingling would drown thy whispers. My poet's vanity dies
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Speaker 2: in shame before thy sight, O, master poet, I have
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Speaker 2: sat down at thy feet. Only let me make my
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Speaker 2: life simple and straight, like a flute of reed for
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Speaker 2: thee to fill with music. The child who is decked
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Speaker 2: with prince's robes, and who has jeweled chains round his
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Speaker 2: neck loses all pleasure in his place. His dress hampers
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Speaker 2: him at every step, in fear that it may be
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Speaker 2: frayed or stained with dust. He keeps himself from the world,
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Speaker 2: and is afraid even to move.
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Speaker 3: Mother.
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Speaker 2: It is no gain thy bondage of finery if it
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Speaker 2: keep one shut off from the healthful dust of the earth,
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Speaker 2: if it rob one of the right of entrance to
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Speaker 2: the great fair of common human life. O fool to
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Speaker 2: try to carry thyself upon thy own shoulders, oh beggar,
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Speaker 2: to come to beg at thy own door. Leave all
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Speaker 2: thy burdens on his hands. Who can bear all and
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Speaker 2: never look behind? In regret thy desire at once puts
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Speaker 2: out the light from the lamp it touches with its breath.
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Speaker 2: It is unholy. Take not thy gifts through its unclean hands.
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Speaker 2: Accept only what is offered by sacred love. Here is
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Speaker 2: thy footstool, and there rest thy feet, where live the
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Speaker 2: poorest and lowliest and lost. When I try to bow
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Speaker 2: to thee, my obeisance cannot reach down to the depth
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Speaker 2: where thy feet rest among the poorest and lowliest and lost.
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Speaker 2: Pride can never approach to where thou walkest in the
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Speaker 2: clothes of the humble, among the poorest and lowliest and lost.
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Speaker 2: My heart can never find its way to where thou
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Speaker 2: keepest company with the companionless, among the poorest, the lowliest,
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Speaker 2: and the lost. Leave this chanting and singing and telling
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Speaker 2: of beads, whom dost thou worship in this lonely, dark
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Speaker 2: corner of a temple, with doors all shut. Open thine
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Speaker 2: eyes and see thy God is not before thee. He
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Speaker 2: is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground,
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Speaker 2: and where the pathmaker is breaking stones. He is with
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Speaker 2: them in sun and in shower, and his garment is
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Speaker 2: covered with dust. Put off thy holy mantle, and even
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Speaker 2: like him, come down on the dusty soil. Deliverance. Where
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Speaker 2: is this deliverance to be found? Our Master himself has
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Speaker 2: joyfully taken upon him the bonds of creation. He is
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Speaker 2: bound with us all forever. Come out of thy meditations
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Speaker 2: and leave aside thy flowers and incense. What harm is
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Speaker 2: there is, thy clothes become tattered and stained, meet him
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Speaker 2: and stand by him in toil and in sweat of
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Speaker 2: thy brow. The time that my journey takes is long,
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Speaker 2: and the way of it long. I came out on
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Speaker 2: the chariot of the first gleam of light and pursued
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Speaker 2: my voyage through the wildernesses of worlds, leaving my track
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Speaker 2: on many a star and planet. It is the most
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Speaker 2: distant course that comes nearest to thyself, and that training
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Speaker 2: is the most intricate, which leads to the utter simplicity
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Speaker 2: of a tune. The traveler has to knock at every
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Speaker 2: alien door to come to his own, and one has
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Speaker 2: to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the
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Speaker 2: innermost shrine at the end. My eyes strayed far and
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Speaker 2: wide before I shut them and said, here art thou
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Speaker 2: the question and the cry, Oh, where melt into tears
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Speaker 2: of a thousand streams, and deluge the world with the
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Speaker 2: flood of the assurance.
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Speaker 3: I am.
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Speaker 2: The song that I came to sing remains unsung to
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Speaker 2: this day. I have spent my days in stringing and
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Speaker 2: in unstringing my instrument. The time has not come true,
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Speaker 2: The words have not been rightly set. Only there is
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Speaker 2: the agony of wishing in my heart. The blossom has
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Speaker 2: not opened, only the wind is sighing by. I have
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Speaker 2: not seen his face, nor have I listened to his voice.
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Speaker 2: Only I have heard his gentle footsteps from the road
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Speaker 2: before my house. The livelong day has passed in spreading
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Speaker 2: his seed on the floor. But the lamp has not
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Speaker 2: been lit, and I cannot ask him into my house.
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Speaker 2: I live in the hope of meeting with him, but
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Speaker 2: this meeting is not yet. My desires are many, and
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Speaker 2: my cry is pitiful. But ever didst thou save me
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Speaker 2: by hard refusals, And this my strong mercy, has been
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Speaker 2: wrought into my life through and through day by day,
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Speaker 2: Thou art making me worthy of the simple, great gifts
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Speaker 2: that thou gavest to me unasked, this sky and the light,
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Speaker 2: this body, and the life and the mind, saving me
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Speaker 2: from perils of overmuch desire. There are times when I
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Speaker 2: languidly linger, in times when I awaken and hurry in
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Speaker 2: search of my goal. But cruelly thou hidest thyself from
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Speaker 2: before me. Day by day, thou art making me worthy
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Speaker 2: of thy full acceptance by refusing me. Ever and Anon,
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Speaker 2: saving me from perils of weak, uncertain desire. I am
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Speaker 2: here to sing these songs in this hall of Thine.
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Speaker 2: I have a corner seat in thy world. I have
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Speaker 2: no work to do. My useless life can only break
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Speaker 2: out in tunes without a purpose. When the hour strikes
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Speaker 2: for thy silent worship at the dark temple of midnight,
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Speaker 2: Command me, my master, to stand before thee sing when
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Speaker 2: in the morning air the golden harp is tuned, honor me,
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Speaker 2: commanding my presence. I have had my invitation to this
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Speaker 2: world's festival, and thus my life has been blessed. My
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Speaker 2: eyes have seen and my ears have heard. It was
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Speaker 2: my part at this feast to play upon my instrument,
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Speaker 2: and I have done all I could. Now I ask,
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Speaker 2: has the time come at last when I may go
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Speaker 2: in and see Thy face and offer thee my silent salutation.
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Speaker 2: I am only waiting for Love to give myself up
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Speaker 2: at last into his hands. That is why it is
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Speaker 2: so late, and why I have been guilty of such omissions.
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Speaker 2: They come with their laws and their codes to bind
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Speaker 2: me fast, but I evade them ever, for I am
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Speaker 2: only waiting for Love to give myself up at last
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Speaker 2: into his hands. People blame me and call me heedless.
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Speaker 2: I doubt not they are right in their blame. The
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Speaker 2: market day is over, and work is all done for
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Speaker 2: the busy. Those who came to call me in vain
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Speaker 2: have gone back in anger. I am only waiting for
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Speaker 2: Love to give myself up at last into his hands.
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Speaker 2: Clouds heap upon clouds, and it darkens. Ah, Love, Why
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Speaker 2: dost thou let me wait outside at the door, all
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Speaker 2: alone in the busy moments of the noontide work. I
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Speaker 2: am with the crowd. But on this dark, lonely day,
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Speaker 2: it is only for THEE that I hope. If thou
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Speaker 2: ShoWest me not thy face, if thou leavest me holy aside,
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Speaker 2: I know not how I am to pass these long,
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Speaker 2: rainy hours. I keep gazing on the far away gloom
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Speaker 2: of the sky, and my heart wanders, wailing with the
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Speaker 2: restless wind. If thou speakest not, I will fill my
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Speaker 2: heart with thy silence and endure it. I will keep
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Speaker 2: still and wait, like the night with starry vigil and
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Speaker 2: its head bent low with patience. The morning will surely come,
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Speaker 2: the darkness will vanish, and thy voice poured down in
14:56
Speaker 2: golden streams, breaking through the sky. Then thy words will
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Speaker 2: take wing in songs from every one of my bird's nests,
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Speaker 2: and thy melodies will break forth in flowers in all
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Speaker 2: my forest growths. On the day when the lotus bloomed alas,
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Speaker 2: my mind was straying, and I knew it not. My
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Speaker 2: basket was empty, and the flower remained unheeded. Only now
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Speaker 2: and again a sadness fell upon me, and I started
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Speaker 2: up from my dream and fell the sweet trace of
15:26
Speaker 2: a strange fragrance in the south wind. That vague sweetness
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Speaker 2: made my heart ache with longing, and it seemed to
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Speaker 2: me that it was the eager breath of the summer,
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Speaker 2: seeking for its completion. I knew not then that it
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Speaker 2: was so near that it was mine, and that this
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Speaker 2: perfect sweetness had blossomed in the depth of my own heart.
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Speaker 2: I must launch out my boat. The languid hours passed
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Speaker 2: by on the shore. Alas for me, the spring has
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Speaker 2: done its flowering and taken leave. And now, with the
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Speaker 2: burden of faded, feudal flowers, I wait and linger. The
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Speaker 2: waves have become clamorous, and upon the bank in the
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Speaker 2: shady lane, the yellow leaves flutter and fall. What emptiness
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Speaker 2: do you gaze upon Do you not feel a thrill
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Speaker 2: passing through the air, with the notes of the far
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Speaker 2: away song floating from the other shore, in the deep
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Speaker 2: shadows of the rainy July, with secret steps, Thou walkest
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Speaker 2: silent as night, eluding all watchers. Today the morning has
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Speaker 2: closed its eyes, heedless of the insistent calls of the
16:30
Speaker 2: loud east wind, and a thick veil has been drawn
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Speaker 2: over the ever wakeful, blue sky. The woodlands have hushed
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Speaker 2: their songs, and doors are all shut at every house.
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Speaker 2: Thou art the solitary wayfarer in this deserted street, Oh,
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Speaker 2: my only friend, my best beloved. The gates are open
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Speaker 2: in my house. Do not pass by like a dream?
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Speaker 2: Art thou abroad on this stormy night, on thy journey
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Speaker 2: of love, my friend, The sky groans like one intos.
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Speaker 2: I have no sleep tonight. Ever and again I open
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Speaker 2: my door and look out on the darkness, my friend,
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Speaker 2: I can see nothing before me. I wonder where lies
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Speaker 2: thy path, by what dim shore of the ink black river,
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Speaker 2: by what far edge of the frowning forest, through what
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Speaker 2: mazy depth of gloom? Art thou threading thy course to
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Speaker 2: come to me, my friend? If the day is done,
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Speaker 2: if birds sing no more. If the wind has flagged tired,
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Speaker 2: then draw the veil of darkness thick upon me, even
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Speaker 2: as thou hast wrapped the earth with the coverlet of sleep,
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Speaker 2: and tenderly close the petals of the drooping lotus at dusk.
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Speaker 2: From the traveler, whose sack of provisions is empty before
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Speaker 2: the voyage is ended, whose garment is torn and dust laden,
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Speaker 2: whose strength is exhausted, remove shame and poverty, and renew
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Speaker 2: his life like a flower under the cover of thy
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Speaker 2: kindly night, in the night of weariness. Let me give
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Speaker 2: myself up to sleep without struggle, resting my trust upon thee.
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Speaker 2: Let me not force my flagging spirit into a poor
18:08
Speaker 2: preparation for thy worship. It is thou who drawest the
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Speaker 2: veil of night upon the tired eyes of the day,
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Speaker 2: to renew its sight in a fresher gladness of awakening.
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Speaker 2: He came and sat by my side, But I woke
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Speaker 2: not what a cursed sleep it was, Oh, miserable me.
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Speaker 2: He came when the night was still. He had his
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Speaker 2: harp in his hands, and my dreams became resonant with
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Speaker 2: its melodies. Alas, why are my knights all thus lost?
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Speaker 3: Ah?
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Speaker 2: Why do I ever miss his sight? Whose breath touches
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Speaker 2: my sleep?
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Speaker 3: Light?
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Speaker 2: Oh, where's the light? Kindle it with the burning fire
18:45
Speaker 2: of desire? There is the lamp, but never a flicker
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Speaker 2: of a flame. Is such thy fate, my heart? Ah, death,
18:53
Speaker 2: were better by far for thee. Misery knocks at thy door,
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Speaker 2: and her message is that thy lord is wul and
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Speaker 2: he calls thee to the love. Tryst through the darkness
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Speaker 2: of night. The sky is overcast with clouds, and the
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Speaker 2: rain is ceaseless. I know not what this is that
19:10
Speaker 2: stirs in me. I know not its meaning. A moment's
19:14
Speaker 2: flash of lightning drags down a deeper gloom on my sight,
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Speaker 2: and my heart gropes for the path to where the
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Speaker 2: music of the night calls me. Light, Oh, where's the light?
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Speaker 2: Kindle it with the burning fire of desire. It thunders
19:29
Speaker 2: and the wind rushes screaming through the void. The night
19:32
Speaker 2: is black as a black stone. Let not the hours
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Speaker 2: pass by in the dark. Kindle the lamp of love
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Speaker 2: with thy life. Obstinate are the trammels, but my heart
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Speaker 2: aches when I try.
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Speaker 3: To break them.
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Speaker 2: Freedom is all I want, but to hope for it.
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Speaker 2: I feel ashamed I am certain that priceless wealth is
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Speaker 2: in thee, and that thou art my best friend. But
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Speaker 2: I have not the heart to sweep away the tinsel
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Speaker 2: that fills my room. The shroud that it covers me
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Speaker 2: is a shroud of dust and death. I hate it,
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Speaker 2: yet hug it in love. My debts are large, my
20:08
Speaker 2: failure's great, my shame secret and heavy. Yet when I
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Speaker 2: come to ask for my good I quake in fear
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Speaker 2: lest my prayer be granted. He whom I enclose with
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Speaker 2: my name, is weeping in this dungeon. I am ever
20:21
Speaker 2: busy building this wall all around, And as this wall
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Speaker 2: goes up into the sky day by day, I lose
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Speaker 2: sight of my true being in its dark shadow. I
20:32
Speaker 2: take pride in this great wall, and I plaster it
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Speaker 2: with dust and sand, lest a least hole should be
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Speaker 2: left in this name. And for all the care I take,
20:40
Speaker 2: I lose sight of my true being. I came out
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Speaker 2: alone on my way to my tryst. But who is
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Speaker 2: this that follows me in the silent dark? I move
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Speaker 2: aside to avoid his presence, but I escape him not.
20:53
Speaker 2: He makes the dust rise from the earth with his swagger.
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Speaker 2: He adds his loud voice to every word that I utter.
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Speaker 2: He is my own little self, my lord, he known
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Speaker 2: no shame, But I am ashamed to come to thy
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Speaker 2: door in his company. Prisoner, tell me who was it
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Speaker 2: that bound you? It was my master, said the prisoner.
21:15
Speaker 2: I thought I could outdo everybody in the world in
21:17
Speaker 2: wealth and power, and I amassed in my own treasure
21:20
Speaker 2: house the money due to my king. When sleep overcame me,
21:24
Speaker 2: I lay upon the bed that was for my lord,
21:27
Speaker 2: and on waking up, I found I was a prisoner
21:29
Speaker 2: in my own treasure house. Prisoner, tell me who was
21:34
Speaker 2: it that wrought this unbreakable chain. It was, I, said
21:38
Speaker 2: the prisoner, who forged this chain very carefully. I thought
21:42
Speaker 2: my invincible power would hold the world captive, leaving me
21:45
Speaker 2: in a freedom undisturbed. Thus, night and day I worked
21:49
Speaker 2: at the chain with huge fires and cruel hard strokes.
21:52
Speaker 2: When at last the work was done, and the links
21:55
Speaker 2: were complete and unbreakable, I found that it held me
21:58
Speaker 2: in its grip by all means. They try to hold
22:02
Speaker 2: me secure. Who love me in this world? But it
22:05
Speaker 2: is otherwise with thy love, which is greater than theirs,
22:08
Speaker 2: And thou keepest me free. Lest I forget them. They
22:11
Speaker 2: never venture to leave me alone. But day passes by
22:15
Speaker 2: after day, and thou art not seen. If I call
22:18
Speaker 2: not THEE in my prayers, if I keep not THEE
22:21
Speaker 2: in my heart, thy love for me still waits for
22:23
Speaker 2: my love. When it was day, they came into my
22:26
Speaker 2: house and said, we shall only take the smallest room here.
22:31
Speaker 2: They said, we shall help you in the worship of
22:34
Speaker 2: your God, and humbly accept only our own share of
22:37
Speaker 2: his grace. And then they took their seat in a corner,
22:40
Speaker 2: and they sat quiet and meek. But in the darkness
22:44
Speaker 2: of night I find they break into my sacred shrine,
22:48
Speaker 2: strong and turbulent, and snatch with unholy greed the offerings
22:52
Speaker 2: from God's altar. Let only that little be left of me,
22:56
Speaker 2: whereby I may name THEE my all. Let only that
23:00
Speaker 2: little be left of mine will, whereby I may feel
23:03
Speaker 2: THEE on every side, and come to THEE in everything,
23:06
Speaker 2: and offer to THEE my love every moment. Let only
23:10
Speaker 2: that little be left of me, whereby I may never
23:13
Speaker 2: hide THEE. Let only that little of my fetters be left,
23:17
Speaker 2: whereby I am bound with Thy will, and Thy purpose
23:20
Speaker 2: is carried out in my life. And that is the
23:23
Speaker 2: fetter of Thy love, Where the mind is without fear
23:27
Speaker 2: and the head is held high. Where knowledge is free,
23:31
Speaker 2: Where the world has not been broken up into fragments
23:34
Speaker 2: by narrow domestic walls, Where words come out from the
23:37
Speaker 2: depth of truth, Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection,
23:44
Speaker 2: Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its
23:47
Speaker 2: way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit, Where
23:51
Speaker 2: the mind is led forward by THEE into ever widening
23:54
Speaker 2: thought and action, into that heaven of freedom. My Father,
23:59
Speaker 2: let me my country awake. This is my prayer to THEE.
24:03
Speaker 2: My Lord, strike strike at the root of penury in
24:07
Speaker 2: my heart. Give me the strength lightly to bear my
24:11
Speaker 2: joys and sorrows. Give me the strength to make my
24:14
Speaker 2: love fruitful in service. Give me the strength never to
24:18
Speaker 2: disown the poor, or bend my knees before insolent might.
24:23
Speaker 2: Give me the strength to raise my mind high above
24:26
Speaker 2: daily trifles, and give me the strength to surrender my
24:30
Speaker 2: strength to Thy will with love. I thought that my
24:33
Speaker 2: voyage had come to its end, at the last limit
24:36
Speaker 2: of my power, that the path before me was closed,
24:39
Speaker 2: that provisions were exhausted, and the time come to take
24:43
Speaker 2: shelter in a silent obscurity. But I find that thou
24:46
Speaker 2: will nose no end in me. And when old words
24:49
Speaker 2: die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from
24:53
Speaker 2: the heart. And where the old tracts are lost, new
24:56
Speaker 2: country is revealed with its wonders that I want THEE
25:01
Speaker 2: only THEE. Let my heart repeat without end. All desires
25:05
Speaker 2: that distract me day and night are false and empty
25:09
Speaker 2: to the core. As the night keeps hidden in its gloom,
25:13
Speaker 2: the petition for light. Even thus, in the depth of
25:16
Speaker 2: my unconsciousness wrings the cry, I want THEE only THEE.
25:21
Speaker 2: As the storm still seeks its end in peace, when
25:24
Speaker 2: it strikes against peace with all its might, Even thus
25:27
Speaker 2: my rebellion strikes against Thy love, And still its cry is,
25:32
Speaker 2: I want THEE, only THEE. When the heart is hard
25:35
Speaker 2: and parched up, Come upon me with a shower of mercy,
25:40
Speaker 2: when grace is lost from life, Come with a burst
25:43
Speaker 2: of song. When tumultuous work raises its den on all sides,
25:48
Speaker 2: shutting me out from beyond. Come to me, my Lord
25:51
Speaker 2: of silence, with thy peace and rest. When my beggarly
25:56
Speaker 2: heart sits crouched, shut up in a corner. Break open
26:00
Speaker 2: the door, my king, and come with the ceremony of
26:03
Speaker 2: a king. When desire blinds the mind with delusion and dust,
26:08
Speaker 2: O thou holy one, thou wakeful, Come with thy light
26:12
Speaker 2: and thy thunder. The rain is held back for days
26:15
Speaker 2: and days, my God, in my arid heart, the horizon
26:19
Speaker 2: is fiercely naked, not the thinnest cover of a soft cloud,
26:24
Speaker 2: not the vaguest hint of a distant cool shower. Send
26:28
Speaker 2: thy angry storm, dark with death, if it is thy wish,
26:32
Speaker 2: and with lashes of lightning, startle the sky from end
26:35
Speaker 2: to end. But call back, my Lord, call back this pervading,
26:40
Speaker 2: silent heat, still and keen and cruel, burning the heart
26:45
Speaker 2: with dire despair. Let the cloud of grace bend low
26:49
Speaker 2: from above, like the tearful look of the mother on
26:52
Speaker 2: the day of the father's wrath. Where dost thou stand
26:55
Speaker 2: behind them all my lover, hiding thyself in the shadows.
27:00
Speaker 2: They push thee and pass thee by on the dusty road,
27:03
Speaker 2: taking thee for naught. I wait here, weary hours, spreading
27:06
Speaker 2: my offerings for thee, while passers by come and take
27:10
Speaker 2: my flowers one by one, and my basket is nearly empty.
27:15
Speaker 2: The morning time is past. In the noon, in the
27:18
Speaker 2: shade of evening, my eyes are drowsy with sleep. Men
27:21
Speaker 2: going home glance at me and smile and fill me
27:24
Speaker 2: with shame. I sit like a beggar maid, drawing my
27:27
Speaker 2: skirt over my face, And when they ask me what
27:30
Speaker 2: it is I want, I drop my eyes and answer
27:33
Speaker 2: them not. Oh, how indeed could I tell them that
27:38
Speaker 2: for THEE I wait, and that thou hast promised to come.
27:41
Speaker 2: How could I utter for shame that I keep from
27:43
Speaker 2: my dowry, this poverty. Ah, I hug this pride in
27:46
Speaker 2: the secret of my heart. I sit on the grass
27:50
Speaker 2: and gaze upon the sky, and dream of the sudden
27:52
Speaker 2: splendor of thy coming. All the lights ablaze, golden pennons
27:57
Speaker 2: flying over thy car, and they at the roadside, standing
28:00
Speaker 2: agape when they see THEE come down from thy seat
28:03
Speaker 2: to raise me from the dust and set at thy side,
28:06
Speaker 2: This ragged beggar girl a tremble with shame and pride,
28:10
Speaker 2: like a creeper in a summer breeze. But time glides on,
28:15
Speaker 2: and still no sound of the wheels of thy chariot.
28:18
Speaker 2: Many a procession passes by with noise and shouts and
28:21
Speaker 2: glamour of glory. Is it only thou who wouldst stand
28:24
Speaker 2: in the shadows, silent and behind them all, and only
28:27
Speaker 2: I who would wait and weep and wear out my
28:30
Speaker 2: heart in vain longing.
28:32
Speaker 3: Early in the day it was.
28:33
Speaker 2: Whispered that we should sail in a boat. Only Thou
28:37
Speaker 2: and I, and never a soul in the world would
28:39
Speaker 2: know of this, our pilgrimage to no country and to
28:42
Speaker 2: no end. In that shoreless ocean. At thy, silently listening smile,
28:48
Speaker 2: my songs would swell, and melodies free as waves, free
28:52
Speaker 2: from all bondage of words. Is the time not come yet?
28:56
Speaker 2: Are their works still to do?
28:58
Speaker 1: Lo?
28:58
Speaker 2: The evening has come down the shore, and in the
29:01
Speaker 2: fading light the sea birds come flying to their nests.
29:05
Speaker 2: Who knows when the chains will be off? And the boat,
29:08
Speaker 2: like the last glimmer of sunset, vanish into the night.
29:13
Speaker 2: The day was when I did not keep myself in
29:15
Speaker 2: readiness for thee and entering my heart unbidden, even as
29:19
Speaker 2: one of the common crowd. Unknown to me, my king,
29:23
Speaker 2: Thou didst press the signet of eternity upon many a
29:27
Speaker 2: fleeting moment of my life. And today, when by chance
29:31
Speaker 2: I light upon them and see thy signature. I find
29:34
Speaker 2: they have lain scattered in the dust, mixed with the
29:37
Speaker 2: memory of joys and sorrows of my trivial days forgotten.
29:41
Speaker 2: Thou didst not turn in contempt from my childish play
29:44
Speaker 2: among dust. And the steps that I heard in my
29:47
Speaker 2: playroom are the same that are echoing from star to star.
29:51
Speaker 2: This is my delight, thus, to wait and watch at
29:54
Speaker 2: the wayside, where shadow chases light, and the rain comes
29:57
Speaker 2: in the wake of the summers, with tidings from unknown
30:02
Speaker 2: skies greet me and speed along the road. My heart
30:06
Speaker 2: is glad within, and the breath of the passing breeze
30:09
Speaker 2: is sweet. From dawn till dusk, I sit here before
30:13
Speaker 2: my door, and I know that of a sudden the
30:15
Speaker 2: happy moment will arrive, when I shall see. In the meanwhile,
30:19
Speaker 2: I smile and I sing all alone. In the meanwhile,
30:23
Speaker 2: the air is filling with the perfume of promise. Have
30:27
Speaker 2: you not heard his silent steps? He comes comes, ever comes,
30:32
Speaker 2: every moment and every age, every day and every night,
30:35
Speaker 2: He comes comes, ever comes. Many a song have I
30:40
Speaker 2: sung in many a mood of mind, But all their
30:42
Speaker 2: notes have always proclaimed he come come, ever comes, in
30:48
Speaker 2: the fragrant days of sunny April, through the forest path.
30:51
Speaker 2: He comes, comes, ever comes in the rainy gloom of
30:56
Speaker 2: July nights, on the thundering chariot of clouds. He comes, comes,
31:01
Speaker 2: ever comes, in sorrow after sorrow. It is his steps
31:05
Speaker 2: that press upon my heart, and it is the golden
31:08
Speaker 2: touch of his feet that makes my joy to shine.
31:11
Speaker 2: I know not from what distant time thou art, ever
31:14
Speaker 2: coming nearer to meet me. Thy son and stars can
31:17
Speaker 2: never keep thee hidden from me. For I in many
31:20
Speaker 2: a morning and eve, thy footsteps have been heard, and
31:24
Speaker 2: thy messenger has come within my heart and called me
31:27
Speaker 2: in secret. I know not why. Today my life is
31:30
Speaker 2: all astir, and a feeling of tremulous joy is passing
31:34
Speaker 2: through my heart. It is as if the time were
31:37
Speaker 2: come to wind up my work, and I feel in
31:39
Speaker 2: the air a faint smell of thy sweet presence. The
31:43
Speaker 2: night is nearly spent waiting for him in vain, I
31:46
Speaker 2: fear less. In the morning, he suddenly come to my door,
31:49
Speaker 2: when I have fallen asleep, wearied out. Oh friends, leave
31:53
Speaker 2: the way open to him, forbid him not if the
31:57
Speaker 2: sound of his steps does not wake me do not
31:59
Speaker 2: try to arouse me. I pray, I wish not to
32:03
Speaker 2: be called from my sleep by the clamorous choir of birds,
32:07
Speaker 2: by the riot of wind at the festival of morning light.
32:10
Speaker 2: Let me sleep undisturbed, even if my Lord comes of
32:13
Speaker 2: a sudden to my door. Ah my sleep, precious sleep,
32:18
Speaker 2: which only waits for his touch to vanish. Ah My
32:21
Speaker 2: closed eyes that would open their lids only to the
32:24
Speaker 2: light of his smile. When he stands before me, like
32:27
Speaker 2: a dream emerging from darkness of sleep. Let him appear
32:31
Speaker 2: before my sight as the first of all lights and
32:35
Speaker 2: all forms, the first thrill of joy to my awakened soul.
32:39
Speaker 2: Let it come from his glance, and let my return
32:42
Speaker 2: to myself be immediate. Returned to him, the morning sea
32:46
Speaker 2: of silence broke into ripples of birds songs, and the
32:50
Speaker 2: flowers were all merry by the roadside, and the wealth
32:53
Speaker 2: of gold was scattered through the rift of the clouds.
32:55
Speaker 2: While we busily went on our way and paid no heed,
32:59
Speaker 2: We sang no glad songs, nor played. We went not
33:02
Speaker 2: to the village for barter. We spoke not a word,
33:05
Speaker 2: nor smiled. We lingered not on the way. We quickened
33:09
Speaker 2: our pace more and more as the time sped by,
33:12
Speaker 2: the sun rose to the mid sky, and doves cooed
33:15
Speaker 2: in the shade. Withered leaves danced and whirled in the
33:19
Speaker 2: hot air of noon. The shepherd boy drowsed and dreamed
33:22
Speaker 2: in the shadow of the Banyan tree. And I laid
33:25
Speaker 2: myself down by the water and stretched my tired limbs
33:28
Speaker 2: on the grass. My companions laughed at me in scorn.
33:32
Speaker 2: They held their heads high and hurried on. They never
33:36
Speaker 2: looked back, nor rested. They vanished in the distant blue haze.
33:40
Speaker 2: They crossed many meadows and hills, and passed through strange,
33:44
Speaker 2: faraway countries. All honor to you, heroic host of the
33:48
Speaker 2: interminable path. Mockery and reproach pricked me ro rise, but
33:54
Speaker 2: found no response in me. I gave myself up for
33:57
Speaker 2: lost in the depth of a glad humiliation, in the
34:00
Speaker 2: shadow of a dim delight, the repose of the sun
34:04
Speaker 2: embroidered green gloom slowly spread over my heart. I forgot
34:09
Speaker 2: for what I had traveled, and I surrendered my mind
34:11
Speaker 2: without struggle to the maze of shadows and songs. At last,
34:16
Speaker 2: when I woke from my slumber and opened my eyes,
34:20
Speaker 2: I saw THEE standing by me, flooding my sleep with
34:23
Speaker 2: thy smile. How I had feared that the path was
34:26
Speaker 2: long and wearisome, and the struggle to reach THEE was hard.
34:30
Speaker 2: You came down from your throne and stood at my
34:33
Speaker 2: cottage door. I was singing and alone in a corner,
34:37
Speaker 2: and the melody caught your ear. You came down and
34:40
Speaker 2: stood at my cottage door. Masters are many in your hall,
34:44
Speaker 2: and songs are sung there at all hours. But the
34:46
Speaker 2: simple carol of this novice struck at your love. One
34:50
Speaker 2: plaintive little strain, mingled with the great music of the world,
34:54
Speaker 2: and with a flower for a prize. You came down
34:56
Speaker 2: and stopped at my cottage door. I had gone a
35:00
Speaker 2: egging from door to door in the village path, when
35:02
Speaker 2: thy golden chariot appeared in the distance, like a gorgeous dream,
35:06
Speaker 2: and I wondered who was this King of all kings?
35:10
Speaker 2: My hopes rose high, and methought my evil days were
35:14
Speaker 2: at an end, and I stood waiting for alms to
35:17
Speaker 2: be given unasked, and for wealth scattered on all sides
35:20
Speaker 2: in the dust. The chariot stopped where I stood. Thy
35:24
Speaker 2: glance fell on me, and thou camest down with a smile.
35:27
Speaker 2: I felt that the luck of my life had come
35:29
Speaker 2: at last. Then of a sudden thou didst hold out
35:32
Speaker 2: thy right hand, and say, what hast thou to give
35:34
Speaker 2: to me? Ah, what a kingly jest was it to
35:38
Speaker 2: open thy palm to a beggar to beg I was
35:41
Speaker 2: confused and stood undecided. And then from my wallet I
35:45
Speaker 2: slowly cook out the least little grain of corn and
35:47
Speaker 2: gave it to thee. But how great my surprise when
35:51
Speaker 2: at the days and I emptied my bag on the
35:53
Speaker 2: floor to find a least little grain of gold among
35:56
Speaker 2: the poor heap, I bitterly wept and wished that I
35:59
Speaker 2: had had the heart to give THEE my All the
36:02
Speaker 2: night darkened, our day's works had been done. We thought
36:05
Speaker 2: that the last guest had arrived for the night, and
36:08
Speaker 2: the doors in the village were all shut. Only some
36:11
Speaker 2: said the king was to come. We laughed and said, no,
36:14
Speaker 2: it cannot be. It seemed there were knocks at the door,
36:18
Speaker 2: and we said it was nothing but the wind. We
36:20
Speaker 2: put out the lamps and lay down to sleep. Only
36:23
Speaker 2: some said it is the messenger. We laughed and said, no,
36:28
Speaker 2: it must be the wind. There came a sound in
36:31
Speaker 2: the dead of the night. We sleepily thought it was
36:33
Speaker 2: the distant thunder. The earth shook, the walls rocked, and
36:37
Speaker 2: it troubled us in our sleep. Only some said it
36:40
Speaker 2: was the sound of wheels. We said, in a drowsy murmur, No,
36:45
Speaker 2: it must be the rumbling of clouds. The night was
36:48
Speaker 2: still dark when the drum sounded. The voice came. Wake up,
36:52
Speaker 2: the lay not. We pressed our hands on our hearts
36:55
Speaker 2: and shuddered with fear. Some said, lo, there is the
36:59
Speaker 2: king's flag. We stood up on our feet and cried,
37:02
Speaker 2: there is no time for delay. The king has come.
37:06
Speaker 2: But where are lights? Where are wreaths? Where is the
37:09
Speaker 2: throne to seat him? Oh shame, Oh utter, shame. Where
37:13
Speaker 2: is the hall the decorations? Someone has said, vain is
37:17
Speaker 2: this cry? Greet him with empty hands, Lead him into
37:21
Speaker 2: thy rooms, all bare, Open the doors, Let the conk
37:25
Speaker 2: shells be sounded. In the depth of the night. Has
37:28
Speaker 2: come the king of our dark, dreary house. The thunder
37:32
Speaker 2: roars in the sky, The darkness shudders with lightning. Bring
37:36
Speaker 2: out thy tattered piece of mat and spread it in
37:38
Speaker 2: the courtyard. With the storm. Has came of a sudden
37:41
Speaker 2: our king of the fearful night. I thought I should
37:45
Speaker 2: ask of thee, but I dared not the rose wreath
37:48
Speaker 2: thou hadst on thy neck. Thus I waited for the
37:51
Speaker 2: morning when thou didst depart, to find a few fragments
37:54
Speaker 2: on the bed, And like a beggar, I searched in
37:57
Speaker 2: the dawn only for a stray petal or two.
38:01
Speaker 3: A me, what is it? I find?
38:02
Speaker 2: What token left of thy love? It is no flower,
38:06
Speaker 2: no spices, no vase of perfumed water. It is thy
38:10
Speaker 2: mighty sword, flashing as a flame, heavy as a bolt
38:13
Speaker 2: of thunder. The young light of morning comes through the
38:16
Speaker 2: window and spreads itself upon thy bed. The morning bird
38:20
Speaker 2: twitters and asks woman, what hast thou got? No, it
38:25
Speaker 2: is no flower, nor spices, nor vase of perfumed water.
38:29
Speaker 2: It is thy dreadful sword. I sit and muse and
38:33
Speaker 2: wonder what gift is this of thine? I can find
38:36
Speaker 2: no place where to hide it. I am ashamed to
38:38
Speaker 2: wear it, frail as I am, and it hurts me
38:41
Speaker 2: when I press it to my bosom. Yet shall I
38:44
Speaker 2: bear in my heart this honor of the burden of pain,
38:47
Speaker 2: this gift of thine from now there shall be no
38:50
Speaker 2: fear left for me in this world, and thou shalt
38:53
Speaker 2: be victorious in all my strife. Thou hast left death
38:57
Speaker 2: for my companion, and I shall crown him with my life.
39:01
Speaker 2: Thy sword is with my to cut asunder my bonds,
39:04
Speaker 2: and there shall be no fear left for me in
39:06
Speaker 2: the world. From now I leave off all petty decorations,
39:11
Speaker 2: Lord of my heart. No more shall there be for
39:13
Speaker 2: me waiting and weeping in corners. No more coyness and
39:17
Speaker 2: sweetness of demeanor. Thou hast given me thy sword for adornment,
39:22
Speaker 2: No more dolls decorations for me. Beautiful is thy wristlet,
39:26
Speaker 2: decked with stars and cunningly wrought in myriad colored jewels.
39:30
Speaker 2: But more beautiful to me thy sword, with its curve
39:33
Speaker 2: of lightning like the outspread wings of the divine bird
39:36
Speaker 2: of Vishnu. Perfectly poised in the angry red light of
39:40
Speaker 2: the sunset. It quivers like the one last response of
39:45
Speaker 2: life and ecstasy of pain. At the final stroke of death,
39:48
Speaker 2: it shines like the pure flame of being, burning up
39:51
Speaker 2: earthly scents with one fierce flash. Beautiful is thy wristlet
39:57
Speaker 2: decked with starry gems, but thy sword, o, lord of thunder,
40:01
Speaker 2: is wrought with uttermost beauty, terrible to behold or to
40:05
Speaker 2: think of. I asked nothing from THEE. I uttered not
40:09
Speaker 2: my name to thine ear. When thou took'st thy leave,
40:12
Speaker 2: I stood silent. I was alone by the well, where
40:15
Speaker 2: the shadow of the tree fell aslant, and the women
40:18
Speaker 2: had gone home with their brown earthen pitchers full to
40:21
Speaker 2: the brim. They called me and shouted, come with us.
40:25
Speaker 2: The morning is wearing on to noon. But I languidly
40:28
Speaker 2: lingered awhile, lost in the midst of vague musings. I
40:32
Speaker 2: heard not thy steps as thou camest. Thine eyes were
40:35
Speaker 2: sad when they fell on me. Thy voice was tired,
40:38
Speaker 2: as thou spokest low. Ah, I am a thirsty traveler.
40:43
Speaker 2: I started up from my day dreams and poured water
40:45
Speaker 2: from my jar on thy joined palms. The leaves rustled overhead,
40:50
Speaker 2: the cuckoo sang from the unseen dark, and perfume of
40:54
Speaker 2: babble of flowers came from the bend of the road.
40:57
Speaker 2: I stood speechless with shame. When my name thou go,
41:00
Speaker 2: it's to ask, indeed, what had I done for THEE
41:03
Speaker 2: to keep me in remembrance. But the memory that I
41:06
Speaker 2: could give water to thee to allay thy thirst, will
41:08
Speaker 2: cling to my heart and enfold it in sweetness. The
41:12
Speaker 2: morning hour is late. The bird sings in weary notes,
41:15
Speaker 2: nem leaves russell overhead, and I sit and think and
41:19
Speaker 2: think lingers upon your heart, and the slumber is still
41:23
Speaker 2: on your eyes? Has not the word come to you
41:26
Speaker 2: that the flower is raining and splendor among thorns? Wake, oh, awaken.
41:31
Speaker 2: Let not the time pass in vain at the end
41:34
Speaker 2: of the stony path, in the country of virgin solitude,
41:38
Speaker 2: My friend is sitting all alone. Deceive him not, Wake,
41:42
Speaker 2: Oh awaken. What if the sky pants and trembles with
41:46
Speaker 2: the heat of the midday sun, What if the burning
41:49
Speaker 2: sand spreads its mantle of thirst? Is there no joy
41:53
Speaker 2: in the deep of your heart? At every footfall of yours?
41:57
Speaker 2: Will not the harp of the road break out and
41:59
Speaker 2: sweat music of pain? Thus it is that thy joy
42:03
Speaker 2: in me is so full. Thus it is that thou
42:05
Speaker 2: hast come down to me, O, thou Lord of all heavens.
42:09
Speaker 2: Where would be thy love if I were not thou
42:12
Speaker 2: hast taken me as thy partner of all this wealth?
42:16
Speaker 2: In my heart is the endless play of thy delight
42:19
Speaker 2: in my life. Thy will is ever taking shape. And
42:22
Speaker 2: for this thou, who art the King of Kings, hast
42:25
Speaker 2: decked thyself in beauty to captivate my heart. And for
42:29
Speaker 2: this thy love loses itself and the love of thy lover.
42:32
Speaker 2: And there art thou seen in the perfect union of
42:35
Speaker 2: two light, my light, the world filling light, the eye
42:40
Speaker 2: kissing light, heart sweetening light.
42:43
Speaker 3: Ah.
42:44
Speaker 2: The light dances my darling at the center of my life.
42:48
Speaker 2: The light strikes my darling, the cords of my love.
42:52
Speaker 2: The sky opens, the wind runs wild, laughter passes over
42:56
Speaker 2: the earth. The butterflies spread their sails on the sea
43:00
Speaker 2: of light. Lilies and jasmine surge up on the crest
43:04
Speaker 2: of the waves of light. The light is shattered into
43:07
Speaker 2: gold on every cloud, my darling, and it scatters gems
43:11
Speaker 2: in profusion. Mirth spreads from leaf to leaf, my darling,
43:16
Speaker 2: and gladness without measure. The heavens river has drowned its banks,
43:20
Speaker 2: and the flood of joy is abroad. Let all the
43:24
Speaker 2: strains of joy mingle in my last song, the joy
43:27
Speaker 2: that makes the earth flow over in the riotous excess
43:30
Speaker 2: of the grass, The joy that sets the twin brothers
43:34
Speaker 2: like in death, dancing over the wide world. The joy
43:38
Speaker 2: that sweeps in with the tempest, shaking and waking all
43:41
Speaker 2: life with laughter. The joy that sits still with its
43:45
Speaker 2: tears on the open red lotus of pain. And the
43:48
Speaker 2: joy that throws everything it has upon the dust and
43:51
Speaker 2: knows not a word. Yes, I know, this is nothing
43:55
Speaker 2: but thy love, oh beloved of my heart. This golden
43:59
Speaker 2: light that dances upon the leaves, These idle clouds sailing
44:03
Speaker 2: across the sky, This passing breeze leaving its coolness upon
44:07
Speaker 2: my forehead. The morning light has flooded my eyes. This
44:11
Speaker 2: is thy message to my heart. Thy face is bent
44:14
Speaker 2: from above, Thy eyes look down on my eyes, and
44:17
Speaker 2: my heart has touched thy feet. On the seashore of
44:21
Speaker 2: endless world's children meet, the infinite sky is motionless overhead,
44:26
Speaker 2: and the restless water is boisterous. On the seashore of
44:30
Speaker 2: endless worlds, the children meet with shouts and dances. They
44:34
Speaker 2: build their houses with sand, and they play with empty
44:38
Speaker 2: shells with withered leaves. They weave their boats and smilingly
44:42
Speaker 2: float them on the vast deep. Children have their play
44:45
Speaker 2: on the seashore of worlds. They know not how to swim.
44:49
Speaker 2: They know not how to cast nets. Pearl fissures dive
44:53
Speaker 2: for pearls. Merchants sail in their ships, while children gather
44:57
Speaker 2: pebbles and scatter them again. They seek not for hidden treasures.
45:01
Speaker 2: They know not how to cast nets. The sea surges
45:04
Speaker 2: up with laughter and pale gleams, the smile of the
45:08
Speaker 2: sea beach, Death, dealing waves, sing meaningless ballads to the children,
45:13
Speaker 2: even like a mother while rocking her baby's cradle. The
45:16
Speaker 2: sea plays with children and pale gleams the smile of
45:20
Speaker 2: the sea beach. On the seashore of endless world's, children
45:24
Speaker 2: meet tempest roams in the pathless sky. Ships get wrecked
45:28
Speaker 2: in the trackless water. Death is abroad and children play
45:32
Speaker 2: on the seashore of endless worlds. Is the great meeting children.
45:37
Speaker 2: The sleep that flits on baby's eyes? Does anybody know
45:40
Speaker 2: from where it comes? Yes, there is a rumor that
45:43
Speaker 2: it has its dwelling wear in the fairy village, among
45:47
Speaker 2: shadows of the forest, dimly lit with glow worms, there
45:50
Speaker 2: hang two timid buds of enchantment. From there it comes
45:54
Speaker 2: to kiss baby's eyes. The smile that flickers on baby's
45:58
Speaker 2: lips when he sleeps. Does anybody know where it was born? Yes,
46:02
Speaker 2: there is a rumor that a young, pale beam of
46:04
Speaker 2: a crescent moon touched the edge of a vanishing autumn cloud,
46:08
Speaker 2: and there the smile was first born in the dream
46:11
Speaker 2: of a dew washed morning. The smile that flickers on
46:14
Speaker 2: baby's lips when he sleeps, The sweet soft freshness that
46:19
Speaker 2: blooms on baby's limbs. Does anybody know where it was
46:22
Speaker 2: hidden so long? Yes, when the mother was a young girl,
46:26
Speaker 2: it lay pervading her heart in tender and silent mystery
46:29
Speaker 2: of love. The sweet soft freshness that has bloomed on
46:33
Speaker 2: baby's limbs. When I bring to you colored toys, my child,
46:38
Speaker 2: I understand why there is such a play of colors
46:41
Speaker 2: on clouds, on water, and why flowers are painted in tins.
46:45
Speaker 2: When I give colored toys to you, my child. When
46:48
Speaker 2: I sing to make you dance, I truly know why
46:50
Speaker 2: there is music in leaves, and why waves send their
46:54
Speaker 2: chorus of voices to the heart of the listening earth.
46:57
Speaker 2: When I sing to make you dance, when I bring
47:00
Speaker 2: sweet things to your greedy hands, I know why there
47:03
Speaker 2: is honey in the cup of the flower, and why
47:05
Speaker 2: fruits are secretly filled with sweet juice. When I bring
47:08
Speaker 2: sweet things to your greedy hands. When I kiss your
47:12
Speaker 2: face to make you smile, my darling, I surely understand
47:16
Speaker 2: what the pleasure is that streams from the sky and
47:19
Speaker 2: morning light, and what delight that is which the summer
47:21
Speaker 2: breeze brings to my body when I kiss you to
47:24
Speaker 2: make you smile. Thou hast made me known to friends
47:28
Speaker 2: whom I knew, not thou hast given me seats and
47:30
Speaker 2: homes not my own. Thou hast brought the distant near
47:34
Speaker 2: and made a brother of the stranger. I am uneasy
47:37
Speaker 2: at heart when I have to leave my accustomed shelter.
47:40
Speaker 2: I forget that there abides the old and the new,
47:43
Speaker 2: and that they're also Thou abidest through birth and death,
47:48
Speaker 2: in this world or in others. Wherever thou leadest me,
47:51
Speaker 2: it is thou the same, the one companion of my
47:55
Speaker 2: endless life, who ever linkest my heart with bonds of
47:59
Speaker 2: joy to the un familiar. When one knows thee then
48:03
Speaker 2: alien there is none. Then no door is shut. Oh,
48:07
Speaker 2: grant me my prayer that I may never lose the
48:09
Speaker 2: bliss of the touch of the one in the play
48:11
Speaker 2: of the many. On the slope of the desolate river,
48:14
Speaker 2: among tall grasses, I asked her maiden, where do you
48:18
Speaker 2: go shading your lamp with your mantle. Me house is
48:22
Speaker 2: all dark and lonesome. Lend me your light. She raised
48:25
Speaker 2: her dark eyes for a moment and looked at my
48:28
Speaker 2: face through the dusk. I have come to the river,
48:31
Speaker 2: she said, to float my lamp on the stream when
48:33
Speaker 2: the daylight wanes in the west. I stood alone among
48:37
Speaker 2: tall grasses and watched the timid flame of her lamp
48:40
Speaker 2: uselessly drifting in the tide in the silence of gathering night.
48:45
Speaker 2: I asked her, maiden, your lights are all lit, Then
48:49
Speaker 2: where do you go with your lamp? My house is
48:51
Speaker 2: all dark and lonesome. Lend me your light. She raised
48:54
Speaker 2: her dark eyes on my face and stood for a moment, doubtful.
48:58
Speaker 2: I have come, she said at last, to dedicate my
49:02
Speaker 2: lamp to the sky. I stood and washed her light,
49:05
Speaker 2: uselessly burning in the void in the moonless gloom of midnight.
49:09
Speaker 2: I asked her, maiden, what is your quest? Holding the
49:13
Speaker 2: lamp near your heart. My house is all dark and lonesome.
49:17
Speaker 2: Lend me your light. She stopped for a minute and thought,
49:21
Speaker 2: and gazed at my face in the dark. I have
49:23
Speaker 2: brought my light, she said, to join the carnival of lamps.
49:28
Speaker 2: I stood and washed her little lamp, uselessly lost among lights.
49:32
Speaker 2: What divine drink wouldst thou have, my God, from this
49:36
Speaker 2: overflowing cup of my life, my poet? Is it thy
49:40
Speaker 2: delight to see Thy creation through my eyes? And to
49:43
Speaker 2: stand at the portals of my ears silently to listen
49:46
Speaker 2: to thine own eternal harmony. Thy world is weaving words
49:51
Speaker 2: in my mind, and thy joy is adding music to them.
49:54
Speaker 2: Thou givest thyself to me in love, and then feelest
49:58
Speaker 2: thine own entire sweetness, and me, She whoever had remained
50:02
Speaker 2: in the depth of my being in the twilight of
50:05
Speaker 2: gleams and of glimpses, she who never opened her veils
50:09
Speaker 2: in the morning light, will be my last gift to
50:12
Speaker 2: thee my God folded in my final song. Words have wooed,
50:17
Speaker 2: yet failed to win her. Persuasion has stretched to her
50:20
Speaker 2: its eager arms in vain. I have roamed from country
50:24
Speaker 2: to country, keeping her in the core of my heart,
50:27
Speaker 2: and around her have risen and fallen the growth and
50:30
Speaker 2: decay of my life, over my thoughts and actions, my
50:34
Speaker 2: slumbers and dreams. She reigned yet dwelled alone and apart.
50:39
Speaker 2: Many a man knocked at my door and asked for her,
50:42
Speaker 2: and turned away in despair. There was none in the
50:46
Speaker 2: world who ever saw her face to face, and she
50:49
Speaker 2: remained in her loneliness, waiting for thy recognition. Thou art
50:53
Speaker 2: the sky, and thou art the nest as well, Oh
50:56
Speaker 2: thou beautiful.
50:57
Speaker 3: There in the nest.
50:58
Speaker 2: It is thy love that encloses the soul with colors
51:01
Speaker 2: and sounds and odors. There comes the morning, with the
51:05
Speaker 2: golden basket in her right hand, bearing the wreath of
51:08
Speaker 2: beauty silently to crown the earth. And there comes the
51:13
Speaker 2: evening over the lonely meadows deserted by herds, through trackless paths,
51:18
Speaker 2: carrying cool drafts of peace in her golden pitcher from
51:22
Speaker 2: the western ocean of rest. But there where spreads the
51:26
Speaker 2: infinite sky for the soul to take her flight in
51:29
Speaker 2: rains the stainless white radiance. There is no day, nor night,
51:34
Speaker 2: nor form nor color, and never never a word. Thy
51:38
Speaker 2: sunbeam comes upon this earth of mine with arms outstretched,
51:42
Speaker 2: and stands.
51:43
Speaker 3: At my door.
51:43
Speaker 2: The livelong day to carry back to thy feet, clouds
51:47
Speaker 2: made of my tears and sighs and songs with fond delight.
51:51
Speaker 2: Thou rapist about thy starry breast, that mantle of misty cloud,
51:56
Speaker 2: turning it into numberless shapes and folds, and coloring it
51:59
Speaker 2: with hues ever changing. It is so light and so fleeting,
52:04
Speaker 2: tender and tearful and dark. That is why thou lovest it, oh,
52:09
Speaker 2: thou spotless and serene, And that is why it may
52:12
Speaker 2: cover thy awful white light with its pathetic shadows. The
52:16
Speaker 2: same stream of life that runs through my veins night
52:19
Speaker 2: and day, runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures.
52:24
Speaker 2: It is the same life that shoots in joy through
52:26
Speaker 2: the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass,
52:30
Speaker 2: and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers. It
52:35
Speaker 2: is the same life that is rocked in the ocean
52:37
Speaker 2: cradle of birth and of death, in ebb and in flow.
52:41
Speaker 2: I feel my limbs are made glorious by the touch
52:44
Speaker 2: of this world of life, and my pride is from
52:47
Speaker 2: the life throb of ages dancing in my blood. This moment,
52:51
Speaker 2: it is beyond thee to be glad with the gladness
52:54
Speaker 2: of this rhythm, to be tossed and lost and broken.
52:58
Speaker 2: In the whirl of this fearful joy, all things rush on,
53:02
Speaker 2: They stop not, they look not behind. No power can
53:05
Speaker 2: hold them back. They rush on, keeping steps with that
53:09
Speaker 2: restless rapid music. Seasons come dancing and pass away. Colors,
53:15
Speaker 2: tunes and perfumes pour in endless cascades, in the abounding
53:20
Speaker 2: joy that scatters and gives up and dies every moment.
53:24
Speaker 2: That I should make much of myself and turn it
53:27
Speaker 2: on all sides, thus casting colored shadows on thy radiance.
53:31
Speaker 2: Such is thy maya thou settest a barrier in thine
53:34
Speaker 2: own being, And then kaye is thy severed self? In
53:38
Speaker 2: myriad notes, this thy self separation has taken body in me.
53:43
Speaker 2: The poignant song is echoed through all the sky in
53:46
Speaker 2: many colored tears and smiles, alarms and hopes, Waves rise
53:51
Speaker 2: up and sink again, Dreams break and form in me
53:55
Speaker 2: is thy own defeat of self. This screen that thou
53:59
Speaker 2: hast raised, painted with innumerable figures, with the brush of
54:03
Speaker 2: the night and the day behind it, Thy seat is
54:06
Speaker 2: woven in wondrous mysteries of curves, casting away all barren
54:11
Speaker 2: lines of straitness the great pageant of THEE and Me
54:15
Speaker 2: has overspread the sky. With the tune of THEE and Me,
54:18
Speaker 2: all the air is vibrant, and all ages pass. With
54:22
Speaker 2: the hiding and seeking of thee in me. He it
54:25
Speaker 2: is the innermost one who awakens my being with his
54:29
Speaker 2: deep hidden touches. He it is who puts his enchantment
54:33
Speaker 2: upon these eyes and joyfully plays on the cords of
54:36
Speaker 2: my heart in varied cadence of pleasure and pain. He
54:40
Speaker 2: it is who weaves the web of this Maya in
54:43
Speaker 2: evanescent hues of gold and silver, blue and green, and
54:47
Speaker 2: lets peep out through the folds his feet, at whose
54:50
Speaker 2: touch I forget myself. Days come and ages pass. And
54:55
Speaker 2: it is ever he who moves my heart in many
54:58
Speaker 2: a name, in many a guise, in many a rapture
55:01
Speaker 2: of joy and of sorrow. Deliverance is not for me.
55:05
Speaker 2: In renunciation, I feel the embrace of freedom, in a
55:09
Speaker 2: thousand bonds of delight, Thou ever poorest for me. The
55:13
Speaker 2: fresh draft of thy wine, of various colors and fragrance,
55:17
Speaker 2: filling this earthen vessel to the brim my world will
55:21
Speaker 2: light its one hundred different lamps with thy flame and
55:24
Speaker 2: place them before the altar of thy temple. No, I
55:28
Speaker 2: will never shut the doors of my senses. The delights
55:31
Speaker 2: of sight and hearing and touch will bear thy delight. Yes,
55:36
Speaker 2: all my illusions will burn into illumination of joy, and
55:40
Speaker 2: all my desires ripen into fruits of love. The day
55:44
Speaker 2: is no more, The shadow is upon the earth. It
55:48
Speaker 2: is time that I go to the scream to fill
55:50
Speaker 2: my picture. The evening air is eager with the sad music.
55:54
Speaker 3: Of the water.
55:55
Speaker 2: Ah, it calls me out into the dusk. In the
55:58
Speaker 2: lonely lane, there is no pass. The wind is up,
56:01
Speaker 2: the ripples are rampant in the river. I know not
56:05
Speaker 2: if I shall come back home. I know not whom
56:07
Speaker 2: I shall.
56:07
Speaker 3: Chance to meet.
56:09
Speaker 2: They're at the fording in the little boat. The unknown
56:11
Speaker 2: man plays upon his lute. Thy gifts to us mortals
56:15
Speaker 2: fulfill all our needs, and yet run back to the undiminished.
56:20
Speaker 3: The river has.
56:21
Speaker 2: Its everyday work to do, and hastens through fields and hamlets.
56:25
Speaker 2: Yet its incessant stream winds towards the washing of thy feet.
56:30
Speaker 2: The flower sweetens the air with its perfume, Yet its
56:33
Speaker 2: last service is to offer itself to thee. Thy worship
56:37
Speaker 2: does not impoverish the world. From the words of the poet.
56:41
Speaker 2: Men take what meanings please them, yet their last meaning
56:45
Speaker 2: points to THEE. Day after day, O Lord of my life.
56:49
Speaker 2: Shall I stand before THEE face to face with folded hands, O,
56:54
Speaker 2: Lord of all worlds? Shall I stand before THEE face
56:58
Speaker 2: to face under thy great sky and solitude and silence,
57:03
Speaker 2: with humble heart. Shall I stand before THEE face to
57:06
Speaker 2: face in this laborious world of thine, tumultuous with toil
57:11
Speaker 2: and with struggle among hurrying crowds. Shall I stand before
57:15
Speaker 2: THEE face to face? And when my work shall be
57:18
Speaker 2: done in this world? O King of Kings, alone and speechless,
57:23
Speaker 2: shall I stand before THEE face to face. I know
57:26
Speaker 2: THEE as my God, and stand apart. I do not
57:29
Speaker 2: know THEE as my own, and come closer. I know
57:32
Speaker 2: THEE as my father, and bow before thy feet. I
57:36
Speaker 2: do not grasp thy hand as my friends. I stand
57:40
Speaker 2: not where thou commess down and honest thyself as mine.
57:43
Speaker 2: There to clasp THEE to my heart and take THEE
57:46
Speaker 2: as my comrade. Thou art the brother amongst my brothers,
57:50
Speaker 2: But I heed them not, I divide not my earnings
57:53
Speaker 2: with them. Thus sharing my all with THEE. In pleasure
57:57
Speaker 2: and in pain. I stand not by the side of men,
58:00
Speaker 2: and thus stand by THEE. I shrink to give up
58:03
Speaker 2: my life, and thus do not plunge into the great
58:06
Speaker 2: waters of life. When the creation was new, and all
58:10
Speaker 2: the stars shone in their first splendor, the gods held
58:14
Speaker 2: their assembly in the sky and sang, Oh, the picture
58:18
Speaker 2: of perfection, the joy unalloyed. But one cried of a
58:22
Speaker 2: sudden it seems that somewhere there is a break in
58:25
Speaker 2: the chain of light, and one of the stars has
58:27
Speaker 2: been lost. The golden string of their harp snapped, Their
58:32
Speaker 2: song stopped, and they cried in dismay. Yes, that lost
58:36
Speaker 2: star was the best. She was the glory of all heavens.
58:41
Speaker 2: From that day the search is unceasing for her, and
58:44
Speaker 2: the cry goes on from one to the other, that
58:47
Speaker 2: in her the world has lost its one joy. Only
58:50
Speaker 2: in the deepest silence of night the stars smile and
58:54
Speaker 2: whisper among themselves. Vain is this seeking? Unbroken perfection?
58:59
Speaker 3: Is over?
59:01
Speaker 2: If it is not my portion to meet THEE in
59:03
Speaker 2: this my life, then let me ever feel that I
59:06
Speaker 2: have missed Thy sight. Let me not forget for a moment.
59:10
Speaker 2: Let me carry the pangs of this sorrow and my
59:12
Speaker 2: dreams and in my wakeful hours, as my days pass
59:16
Speaker 2: in the crowded market of this world, and my hands
59:19
Speaker 2: grow full with the daily profits, let me ever feel
59:22
Speaker 2: that I have gained nothing. Let me not forget for
59:25
Speaker 2: a moment. Let me carry the pangs of this sorrow
59:28
Speaker 2: in my dreams and in my wakeful hours, when I
59:32
Speaker 2: sit by the roadside, tired and panting, when I spread
59:36
Speaker 2: my bed low in the dust, Let me ever feel
59:39
Speaker 2: that the long journey is still before me. Let me
59:42
Speaker 2: not forget for a moment. Let me carry the pangs
59:45
Speaker 2: of this sorrow in my dreams and in my wakeful hours,
59:49
Speaker 2: when my rooms have been decked out, and the flute
59:51
Speaker 2: sound and the laughter there is loud. Let me ever
59:55
Speaker 2: feel that I have not invited thee to my house.
59:58
Speaker 2: Let me not forget for a moment. Let me carry
1:00:00
Speaker 2: the pangs of this sorrow in my dreams and in
1:00:03
Speaker 2: my wakeful hours. I am like a remnant of a
1:00:06
Speaker 2: cloud of autumn, uselessly roaming in the sky. O my son,
1:00:11
Speaker 2: ever glorious, Thy touch has not yet melted my vapor,
1:00:15
Speaker 2: making me one with thy light and thus I count
1:00:18
Speaker 2: months and years separated from thee. If this be thy wish,
1:00:23
Speaker 2: and if this be thy play, then take this fleeting
1:00:26
Speaker 2: emptiness of mine, paint it with colors, gild it with
1:00:30
Speaker 2: gold floated on the wanton wind, and spread it in
1:00:33
Speaker 2: varied wonders. And again, when it shall be thy wish
1:00:37
Speaker 2: to end this play at night, I shall melt and
1:00:40
Speaker 2: vanish away in the dark, Or it may be in
1:00:43
Speaker 2: a smile of the white morning, in a coolness of purity, transparent.
1:00:48
Speaker 2: On many an idle day have I grieved over lost time.
1:00:52
Speaker 2: But it is never lost, my Lord. Thou hast taken
1:00:55
Speaker 2: every moment of my life in thine own hands. Hidden
1:00:59
Speaker 2: in the heart of things, Thou art nourishing seeds into sprouts,
1:01:03
Speaker 2: buds into blossoms, and ripening flowers into fruitfulness. I was
1:01:08
Speaker 2: tired and sleeping on my idle bed, and imagined all
1:01:11
Speaker 2: work had ceased. In the morning, I woke up and
1:01:14
Speaker 2: found my garden full with wonders of flowers. Time is
1:01:18
Speaker 2: endless in thy hands, my Lord. There is none to count.
1:01:21
Speaker 2: Thy minutes, days and nights pass, and ages bloom and
1:01:26
Speaker 2: fade like flowers. Thou knowest how to wait thy centuries
1:01:30
Speaker 2: follow each other, perfecting a small wild flower. We have
1:01:35
Speaker 2: no time to lose, and having no time, we must
1:01:38
Speaker 2: scramble for our chances. We are too poor to be late.
1:01:42
Speaker 2: And thus it is that time goes by while I
1:01:44
Speaker 2: give it to every querulous man who claims it, and
1:01:47
Speaker 2: thine altar is empty of all offerings.
1:01:50
Speaker 3: To the last.
1:01:52
Speaker 2: At the end of the day, I hasten in fear
1:01:54
Speaker 2: lest thy gate be shut. But I find that yet
1:01:57
Speaker 2: there is time, Mother, I shall now we've a chain
1:02:00
Speaker 2: of pearls for thy neck with my tears of sorrow.
1:02:04
Speaker 2: The stars have wrought their anklets of light to deck
1:02:06
Speaker 2: thy feet, but mine will hang upon thy breast. Wealth
1:02:11
Speaker 2: and face come from THEE, and it is for THEE
1:02:13
Speaker 2: to give or to withhold them. But this, my sorrow,
1:02:16
Speaker 2: is absolutely mine own. And when I bring it to
1:02:19
Speaker 2: THEE as my offering, thou rewardest me with thy grace.
1:02:23
Speaker 2: It is the pang of separation that spreads throughout the
1:02:26
Speaker 2: world and gives birth to shapes innumerable in the infinite sky.
1:02:32
Speaker 2: It is this sorrow of separation that gazes in silence
1:02:35
Speaker 2: all night from star to star, and becomes lyric among
1:02:39
Speaker 2: rustling leaves. In rainy darkness of July. It is this
1:02:43
Speaker 2: overspreading pain that deepens into loves and desires, into sufferings
1:02:48
Speaker 2: and joys in human homes. And this it is that
1:02:51
Speaker 2: ever melts and flows in songs through my poet's heart.
1:02:55
Speaker 2: When the warriors came out first from their master's hall,
1:02:58
Speaker 2: where had they hid their power? Where were their armor
1:03:01
Speaker 2: and their arms? They looked poor and helpless, and the
1:03:06
Speaker 2: arrows were showered upon them. On the day they came
1:03:08
Speaker 2: out from their master's hall. When the warriors marched back
1:03:12
Speaker 2: again to their master's hall, where did they hide their power?
1:03:16
Speaker 2: They had dropped the sword and dropped the bow, and
1:03:19
Speaker 2: the arrow. Peace was on their foreheads, and they had
1:03:22
Speaker 2: left the fruits of their life behind them. On the
1:03:24
Speaker 2: day they marched back again to their master's hall, Death,
1:03:29
Speaker 2: thy servant is at my door. He has crossed the
1:03:32
Speaker 2: unknown sea and brought thy call to my home. The
1:03:35
Speaker 2: night is dark, and my heir is fearful. Yet I
1:03:38
Speaker 2: will take up the lamp, open my gates, and bow
1:03:41
Speaker 2: to him my welcome. It is thy messenger who stands
1:03:44
Speaker 2: at my door. I will worship him with folded hands,
1:03:48
Speaker 2: and with tears, I will worship him, placing at his
1:03:51
Speaker 2: feet the treasure of my heart. He will go back
1:03:54
Speaker 2: with his errand done, leaving a dark shadow on my morning,
1:03:58
Speaker 2: and in my desolate home, only my forlorn self will
1:04:02
Speaker 2: remain as my last offering to thee. In desperate hope,
1:04:06
Speaker 2: I go and search for her. In all the corners
1:04:08
Speaker 2: of my room, I find her not. My house is small,
1:04:12
Speaker 2: and what once has gone from it can never be regained.
1:04:16
Speaker 2: But infinite is thy mansion, my Lord, and seeking her,
1:04:20
Speaker 2: I have come to thy door. I stand under the
1:04:23
Speaker 2: golden canopy of thine evening sky, and I lift my
1:04:27
Speaker 2: eager eyes to thy face. I have come to the
1:04:30
Speaker 2: brink of eternity, from which nothing can vanish, No hope,
1:04:34
Speaker 2: no happiness, no vision of a face seen through tears. Oh,
1:04:40
Speaker 2: dip my emptied life into that ocean, Plunge it into
1:04:43
Speaker 2: the deepest fullness. Let me for once feel that lost
1:04:47
Speaker 2: sweet touch in the allness of the universe, Deity of
1:04:51
Speaker 2: the ruined Temple. The broken strings of Vena sing no
1:04:55
Speaker 2: more your praise. The bells in the evening proclaim not
1:04:58
Speaker 2: your time of worship. The air is still and silent
1:05:01
Speaker 2: about you, in your desolate dwelling comes the vagrant spring breeze.
1:05:06
Speaker 2: It brings the tidings of flowers, the flowers that for
1:05:10
Speaker 2: your worship are offered. No more, your worshiper of old wanders,
1:05:15
Speaker 2: ever longing for favor, still refused. In the even tide,
1:05:19
Speaker 2: when fires and shadows mingle with the gloom of dust,
1:05:22
Speaker 2: he wearily comes back to the ruined Temple with hunger
1:05:26
Speaker 2: in his heart. Many a festival day comes to you
1:05:29
Speaker 2: in silence, Deity of the Ruined Temple. Many a night
1:05:34
Speaker 2: of worship goes away with lamp unlet. Many new images
1:05:38
Speaker 2: are built by masters of cunning art, and carried to
1:05:41
Speaker 2: the holy stream of oblivion when their time is come.
1:05:45
Speaker 2: Only the Deity of the Ruined Temple remains unworshiped, in
1:05:49
Speaker 2: deathless neglect. No more noisy loud words from me, Such
1:05:54
Speaker 2: is my master's will, henceforth ideal and whispers. The speech
1:05:59
Speaker 2: of my heart will be carried on in murmurings of
1:06:01
Speaker 2: a song. Men hasten to the king's market. All the
1:06:05
Speaker 2: buyers and sellers are there, But I have my untimely
1:06:08
Speaker 2: leave in the middle of the day, in the thick
1:06:11
Speaker 2: of work. But then the flowers come out in my garden.
1:06:14
Speaker 2: Though it is not their time, and let the midday
1:06:17
Speaker 2: bees strike up their lazy hum full many an hour
1:06:21
Speaker 2: have I spent in the strife of the good and
1:06:23
Speaker 2: the evil. But now it is the pleasure of my
1:06:26
Speaker 2: playmate of the empty days to draw my heart onto him.
1:06:29
Speaker 2: And I know not why is this sudden call to
1:06:32
Speaker 2: what useless? In consequence? On the day when death will
1:06:36
Speaker 2: knock at thy door, what wilt thou offer to him? Oh,
1:06:39
Speaker 2: I will set before my guests the full vessel of
1:06:42
Speaker 2: my life. I will never let him go with empty hands.
1:06:46
Speaker 2: All the sweet vintage of all my autumn days and
1:06:49
Speaker 2: summer nights, all the earnings and gleanings of my busy life,
1:06:53
Speaker 2: will I place before him at the close of my days,
1:06:56
Speaker 2: when death will knock at my door. O Thou, the
1:06:59
Speaker 2: last fulfillment of life. Death, my death, come and whisper
1:07:04
Speaker 2: to me. Day after day have I kept watch for THEE?
1:07:08
Speaker 3: For THEE?
1:07:08
Speaker 2: Have I borne the joys and pangs of life? All
1:07:12
Speaker 2: that I am, that I have, that I hope, and
1:07:15
Speaker 2: all my love have ever flowed towards.
1:07:17
Speaker 3: THEE in depth of secrecy.
1:07:19
Speaker 2: One final glance from Thine eyes, and my life will
1:07:23
Speaker 2: be ever thine own the flowers have been woven, and
1:07:26
Speaker 2: the garland is ready for the bridegroom. After the wedding,
1:07:29
Speaker 2: the bride shall leave her home and meet her lord
1:07:32
Speaker 2: alone in the solitude of night. I know that the
1:07:36
Speaker 2: day will come when my sight of this earth shall
1:07:38
Speaker 2: be lost, and life will take its leave in silence,
1:07:42
Speaker 2: drawing the last curtain over my eyes. Yet stars will
1:07:46
Speaker 2: watch at night and morning rise as before, and hours
1:07:50
Speaker 2: heave like sea waves, casting up pleasure and pains. When
1:07:55
Speaker 2: I think of this end of my moments, the barrier
1:07:57
Speaker 2: of the moment's breaks, and I see by the light
1:08:00
Speaker 2: of death, thy whirled with its careless treasures. Rare is
1:08:04
Speaker 2: its lowliest seat. Rare is its meanest of lives. Things
1:08:09
Speaker 2: that I longed for in vain and things that I got,
1:08:12
Speaker 2: Let them pass. Let me but truly possess the things
1:08:15
Speaker 2: that I ever spurned and overlooked. I have got my leave.
1:08:20
Speaker 2: Bid me farewell, my brothers. I bow to you all
1:08:23
Speaker 2: and take my departure. Here I give back the keys
1:08:26
Speaker 2: of my door, and I give up all claims to
1:08:29
Speaker 2: my house. I only ask for last kind words from you.
1:08:33
Speaker 2: We were neighbors for long, but I received more than
1:08:35
Speaker 2: I could give.
1:08:36
Speaker 3: Now.
1:08:37
Speaker 2: The day has dawned, and the lamp that lit my
1:08:39
Speaker 2: dark corners out A summons has come, and I am
1:08:42
Speaker 2: ready for my journey. At this time of my parting.
1:08:46
Speaker 2: Wish me good luck, my friends. The sky is flushed
1:08:49
Speaker 2: with the dawn, and my path lies beautiful. Ask not
1:08:53
Speaker 2: what I have with me to take there, I start
1:08:55
Speaker 2: on my journey with empty hands and expectant heart. I
1:08:59
Speaker 2: shall put on my wedding garland. Mine is not the
1:09:02
Speaker 2: red brown dress of the traveler. And though there are
1:09:05
Speaker 2: dangers on the way, I have no fear in my mind.
1:09:08
Speaker 2: The evening star will come out when my voyage is done,
1:09:12
Speaker 2: and the plaintive notes of the twilight melodies be struck
1:09:15
Speaker 2: up from the King's Gateway.
1:09:17
Speaker 3: I was not.
1:09:18
Speaker 2: Aware of the moment when I first crossed the threshold
1:09:20
Speaker 2: of this life.
1:09:22
Speaker 3: What was the.
1:09:22
Speaker 2: Power that made me open out into this vast mystery
1:09:26
Speaker 2: like a bud in the forest at midnight? When in
1:09:29
Speaker 2: the morning I looked upon the light, I felt in
1:09:31
Speaker 2: a moment that I was no stranger in this world,
1:09:34
Speaker 2: that the inscrutable, without name and form had taken me
1:09:38
Speaker 2: in irs arms, in the form of my own mother.
1:09:42
Speaker 2: Even so in death the same unknown will appear as
1:09:46
Speaker 2: ever known to me. And because I love this life,
1:09:50
Speaker 2: I know I shall love death as well. The child
1:09:53
Speaker 2: cries out when from the right breast the mother takes
1:09:56
Speaker 2: it away in the very next moment to find in
1:09:59
Speaker 2: the left one. It's consolation when I go from hence,
1:10:02
Speaker 2: let this be my parting word, that what I see
1:10:05
Speaker 2: is unsurpassable. I have tasted of the hidden honey of
1:10:09
Speaker 2: this lotus that expands on the ocean of light. And
1:10:13
Speaker 2: thus am I blessed. Let this be my parting word.
1:10:17
Speaker 2: In this playhouse of infinite forms, I have had my play,
1:10:20
Speaker 2: and here have I caught sight of him that is formless.
1:10:24
Speaker 2: My whole body and my limbs have thrilled with his touch,
1:10:27
Speaker 2: who is beyond touch. And if the end comes here,
1:10:30
Speaker 2: let it come. Let this be my parting word. When
1:10:34
Speaker 2: my play was with thee, I never questioned who thou
1:10:36
Speaker 2: wert I knew, nor shyness nor fear. My life was boisterous.
1:10:42
Speaker 2: In the early morning, Thou wouldst call me from my
1:10:44
Speaker 2: sleep like my own comrade, and lead me running from
1:10:47
Speaker 2: glade to glade. On those days, I never cared to
1:10:51
Speaker 2: know the meaning of songs. Thou sangest to me. Only
1:10:54
Speaker 2: my voice took up the tunes, and my heart danced
1:10:57
Speaker 2: in their cadence. Now, when the play day time is over,
1:11:01
Speaker 2: What is this sudden sight that has come upon me?
1:11:04
Speaker 2: The world, with eyes bent upon thy feet, stands in awe,
1:11:07
Speaker 2: with all its silent stars. I will deck thee with
1:11:11
Speaker 2: trophies garlands of my defeat. It is never in my
1:11:14
Speaker 2: power to escape unconquered. I surely know.
1:11:18
Speaker 3: My pride will go to the wall.
1:11:20
Speaker 2: My life will burst its bonds in exceeding pain, and
1:11:23
Speaker 2: my empty heart will sob out in music like a
1:11:26
Speaker 2: hollow reed, and the stone will melt in tears. I
1:11:30
Speaker 2: surely know the hundred petals of a lotus will not
1:11:33
Speaker 2: remain closed forever, and the secret recess of its honey
1:11:37
Speaker 2: will be bared from the blue sky. And I shall
1:11:40
Speaker 2: gaze upon me and summon me in silence. Nothing will
1:11:43
Speaker 2: be left for me, nothing whatever and utter death shall
1:11:47
Speaker 2: I receive at thy feet. When I give up the helm,
1:11:50
Speaker 2: I know that the time has come for thee to
1:11:52
Speaker 2: take it. What there is to do will be instantly done,
1:11:55
Speaker 2: vainous struggle. Then take away your hands and silently put
1:11:59
Speaker 2: out up with your defeat my heart, and think it
1:12:02
Speaker 2: your good fortune to sit perfectly still where you are placed.
1:12:06
Speaker 2: These my lamps are blown out at every little puff
1:12:09
Speaker 2: of wind, and trying to light them, I forget all else,
1:12:12
Speaker 2: again and again. But I shall be wise this time
1:12:16
Speaker 2: and wait in the dark, spreading my mat on the floor.
1:12:20
Speaker 2: And whenever it is thy pleasure, my lord, come silently
1:12:23
Speaker 2: and take thy seat.
1:12:24
Speaker 3: Here.
1:12:26
Speaker 2: I dive down into the depth of the ocean of forms,
1:12:29
Speaker 2: hoping to gain the perfect pearl of the formless. No
1:12:33
Speaker 2: more sailing from harbor to with this my weather beaten boat.
1:12:37
Speaker 2: The days are long past when my sport was to
1:12:39
Speaker 2: be tossed on waves. And now I am eager to
1:12:43
Speaker 2: die into the deathless, into the audience hall by the
1:12:46
Speaker 2: fathomless abyss, where swells up the music of toneless strings.
1:12:50
Speaker 2: I shall take this harp of my life. I shall
1:12:54
Speaker 2: tune it to the notes of forever, and when it
1:12:57
Speaker 2: has sobbed out its last utterance, laid down my silent
1:13:00
Speaker 2: harp at the feet of the silent. Ever in my
1:13:03
Speaker 2: life have.
1:13:04
Speaker 3: I sought thee with my songs.
1:13:06
Speaker 2: It was they who led me from door to door,
1:13:08
Speaker 2: And with them have I felt about me searching and
1:13:11
Speaker 2: touching my world. It was my songs that taught me
1:13:15
Speaker 2: all the lessons I ever learned. They showed me secret paths.
1:13:19
Speaker 2: They brought before my sight many a star on the
1:13:22
Speaker 2: horizon of my heart. They guided me all the day
1:13:26
Speaker 2: long to the mysteries of the country of pleasure and pain,
1:13:30
Speaker 2: And at last to what palace gate have they brought me?
1:13:33
Speaker 2: In the evening, at the end of my journey, I
1:13:36
Speaker 2: boasted among men that I had known you. They see
1:13:39
Speaker 2: your pictures in all works of mine. They come and
1:13:42
Speaker 2: ask me who is he? I know not how to
1:13:44
Speaker 2: answer them, I say, indeed, I cannot tell. They blame me,
1:13:49
Speaker 2: and they go away and scorn, and you sit there smiling.
1:13:53
Speaker 2: I put my tales of you into lasting songs. The
1:13:56
Speaker 2: secret gushes out from my heart. They come and ask me,
1:14:00
Speaker 2: tell me all your meanings. I know not how to
1:14:02
Speaker 2: answer them. I say, I, who knows what they mean?
1:14:06
Speaker 2: They smile and go away in utter scorn, and you
1:14:09
Speaker 2: sit there, smiling in one salutation to THEE my God,
1:14:14
Speaker 2: Let all my sense spread out and touch this world
1:14:17
Speaker 2: at thy feet, like a rain cloud of July, hung
1:14:21
Speaker 2: low with its burden of unshd showers. Let all my
1:14:24
Speaker 2: mind bend down at thy door in one salutation to THEE.
1:14:29
Speaker 2: Let all my songs gather together their diverse strains into
1:14:32
Speaker 2: a single current and flow to a sea of silence,
1:14:36
Speaker 2: in one salutation to THEE. Like a flock of homesick
1:14:40
Speaker 2: cranes flying night and day back to their mountain nests.
1:14:43
Speaker 2: Let all my life take its voyage to its eternal
1:14:47
Speaker 2: home in one salutation to THEE.
1:14:50
Speaker 3: The end.
1:14:52
Speaker 2: About the author rebindroneth To Gore eighteen sixty one to
1:14:57
Speaker 2: nineteen forty one was an Indian poet, writer, philosopher, composer, educator,
1:15:03
Speaker 2: and cultural thinker whose work profoundly influenced Bengali literature and
1:15:08
Speaker 2: the wider literary world. Born in Calcutta into a prominent
1:15:12
Speaker 2: Bengali family, Tigre was immersed from an early age in literature, music, philosophy, art,
1:15:20
Speaker 2: and social reform. He began writing poetry as a child
1:15:24
Speaker 2: and eventually produced an extraordinarily diverse body of work that
1:15:28
Speaker 2: included poetry, novels, short stories, essays, plays, songs, and educational writings.
1:15:36
Speaker 2: His literary achievements helped transform Bengali literature and introduced new forms, themes,
1:15:42
Speaker 2: and styles among His best known works are Geeton Jelly,
1:15:47
Speaker 2: The Home and the World, Gorah, The Post Office, and
1:15:50
Speaker 2: The Gardener. He also composed thousands of songs, including the
1:15:55
Speaker 2: national anthems of India and Bangladesh, making him the only
1:15:59
Speaker 2: known individual rule to have written the national anthems of
1:16:02
Speaker 2: two countries. In nineteen thirteen, to Gore was awarded the
1:16:06
Speaker 2: Nobel Prize in Literature, becoming the first Asian recipient of
1:16:11
Speaker 2: the prize. The international success of Getan Jelly played a
1:16:15
Speaker 2: central role in bringing his literary and philosophical vision to
1:16:19
Speaker 2: readers in Europe and beyond. To Gore's interests extended far
1:16:24
Speaker 2: beyond literature. He founded Visvabardi University at Santanikotin, developing an
1:16:30
Speaker 2: educational philosophy that emphasized creativity, nature, cultural exchange, and freedom
1:16:36
Speaker 2: of thought. He also engaged deeply with questions of nationalism, colonialism, education, humanism,
1:16:43
Speaker 2: and cultural identity. Although to Gore's work emerged from a
1:16:47
Speaker 2: distinctly Indian cultural and spiritual context, his poetry frequently reaches
1:16:53
Speaker 2: toward universal questions about human existence. He believed deeply in
1:16:58
Speaker 2: the possibility of dialogue between cultures and in the importance
1:17:02
Speaker 2: of recognizing the shared humanity that connects people across national
1:17:06
Speaker 2: and religious boundaries. Rebindronith To Gore died in nineteen forty one,
1:17:12
Speaker 2: leaving behind one of the most extraordinary literary and cultural
1:17:16
Speaker 2: legacies of the modern era. Giton Jelly remains perhaps his
1:17:20
Speaker 2: most internationally recognized work, a collection in which poetry becomes prayer,
1:17:26
Speaker 2: nature becomes revelation, and the search for the divine becomes
1:17:29
Speaker 2: inseparable from the search for a deeper understanding of life itself.
1:17:35
Speaker 2: Production credits. This audiobook was produced by Pigeon Publishing House,
1:17:41
Speaker 2: dedicated to the preservation of timeless literature. Copyright twenty twenty
1:17:46
Speaker 2: six Pigeon Publishing House. All rights to the narration and
1:17:51
Speaker 2: audio production are reserved. Unauthorized reproduction or distribution is prohibited.
1:17:58
Speaker 2: Pigeon Publishing House is an independent label dedicated to public
1:18:02
Speaker 2: domain works. Public domain text used with attribution. Pigeon Publishing
1:18:09
Speaker 2: House presented Deitan Jelly, author rabindronith to Gore, narrated by
1:18:17
Speaker 2: Henry Wells. Thank you for listening to this audiobook.
1:18:20
Speaker 3: We hope you enjoyed it.
1:18:30
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