“A Benediction” to Sister Nivedita

By Swami Vivekananda

The mother’s heart, the hero’s will,
The sweetness of the southern breeze,
The sacred charm and strength that dwell
On Aryan Altars, flaming, free;
All these be yours and many more
No ancient soul could dream before-
Be thou to India’s future son
The mistress, servant, friend in one.

Courtesy: RKM Darjeeling

A song loved by Sri Ramakrishna

Dwell, O mind, within yourself;
Enter no other's home.
If you but seek there, you will find
All you are searching for.
God, the true Philosopher's Stone,
Who answers every prayer,
Lies hidden deep within your heart,
The richest gem of all.
How many pearls and precious stones
Are scattered all about
The outer court that lies before
The chamber of your heart!

-The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna

To the Awakened India

The poem was written by Swami Vivekananda to Prabuddha Bharata or Awakened India, in August 1898, when the journal was transferred from Madras to Almora Himalayas, into the hands of the Brotherhood founded by Swami Vivekananda because of the untimely death of its first editor.

Prabuddha Bharata is India's longest running English journal, in publication since July 1896.

Once more awake!

For sleep it was, not death, to bring thee lifeAnew, and rest to lotus-eyes for visionsDaring yet. The world in need awaits, O Truth!No death for thee!

Resume thy march,

With gentle feet that would not break thePeaceful rest even of the roadside dustThat lies so low. Yet strong and steady,Blissful, bold, and free. Awakener, everForward! Speak thy stirring words.

Thy home is gone,

Where loving hearts had brought thee up andWatched with joy thy growth. But Fate is strong—This is the law—all things come back to the sourceThey sprung, their strength to renew.

Then start afresh

From the land of thy birth, where vast cloud-beltedSnows do bless and put their strength in thee,For working wonders new. The heavenlyRiver tune thy voice to her own immortal song ;Deodar shades give thee eternal peace.

And all above,

Himala's daughter Umâ, gentle, pure,The Mother that resides in all as PowerAnd Life, who works all works andMakes of One the world, whose mercyOpens the gate to Truth and showsThe One in All, give thee untiringStrength, which is Infinite Love.

They bless thee all,

The seers great, whom age nor climeCan claim their own, the fathers of theRace, who felt the heart of Truth the same,And bravely taught to man ill-voiced orWell. Their servant, thou hast gotThe secret—'tis but One.

Then speak, O Love!

Before thy gentle voice serene, behold howVisions melt and fold on fold of dreamsDeparts to void, till Truth and Truth aloneIn all its glory shines—

And tell the world—

Awake, arise, and dream no more!This is the land of dreams, where KarmaWeaves unthreaded garlands with our thoughtsOf flowers sweet or noxious, and noneHas root or stem, being born in naught, whichThe softest breath of Truth drives back toPrimal nothingness. Be bold, and faceThe Truth! Be one with it! Let visions cease,Or, if you cannot, dream but truer dreams,Which are Eternal Love and Service Free. (Complete Works, Volume IV)

Song sung by Swamiji: Chant the sweet name of God

With a joyful face chant the sweet name of God,

Till, like a wind, it churns the nectar sea; Drink of that nectar ceaselessly.

If ever your heart goes dry, repeat God’s name.

Be watchful, that you may never forget to chant His mighty name: when danger stares in your face, Pray to your Father Compassionate. Snap sin’s bonds with a shout of joy.

Come, let us be mad in the bliss of God, Fulfilling all our hearts’ desires,

And quench our thirst with the yoga of love.

Happy Now Here!

Kahlil Gibran: On Children

This is a beautiful poem by great Lebanese artist, poet, and writer, Kahlil Gibran. One of his most notable lines of poetry in the English-speaking world is from "Sand and Foam" (1926), which reads: "Half of what I say is meaningless, but I say it so that the other half may reach you". This line was used by John Lennon and placed, though in a slightly altered form, into the song "Julia" from The Beatles' 1968 album The Beatles.

Your children are not your children.

They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them,
but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

You are the bows from which your children
as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,
and He bends you with His might
that His arrows may go swift and far.
Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.

Taste the Khusrau's poetry

O Khusrau, the river of love Runs in strange directions. One who jumps into it drowns, And one who drowns, gets across.    710th Urs of Hazrat Khwaja Amir Khusrau

Rabindanath Tagore's poem on the greatness of mother

PURITY

Life of my life, I shall ever try 

to keep my body pure,

Knowing that thy living touch 

is upon all my limbs.

I shall ever try to keep all untruths 

out from my thoughts,

knowing that thou art that truth 

which has kindled

the light of reason in my mind.

I shall ever try to drive 

all evils away from my heart

and keep my love in flower, knowing that

thou hast thy seat in the inmost shrine 

of my heart.

And it shall be my endeavour 

to reveal thee in my actions,

knowing it is thy power 

gives me strength to act.

                                                                                            Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali (1910)