Sree Krishna, the Lord of Love

by Baba Premananda Bharati

A HOLY MAN'S PRAYER.

There was a holy man who thought never of himself, but ever of those among whom he lived and passed his days. So wondrous virtuous and holy he was, that ofttimes the host of unseen ones who loved to remain near him recognized the greatness of his goodness and spoke among themselves thus: "Holy is this man in truth and strange to say he knows it not. Surely few are like him. Let us who love him ask him how he would be served by us, how we may bestow upon him gifts which to the blind earthwalkers are called the supernatural or miraculous."

"So be it," in unison they replied. And one among the spirit-host who, by the strength and beauty of holiness was superior, addressed him thus: "O holy man, we who look upon you hourly and love you much, we would bestow upon you some gift What shall if be? The miracle of making all who look upon you—man, woman or child,—love you? Or would it be the miracle of relieving all whom thou dost meet and love of the load of poverty which thou seest and which makes thee sad at the look? Or shall it be the power of relieving the sick of his burden of disease which draggeth him to an early grave?"

The holy one looked at the gentle and lovely spirit with eyes in which dwelt the very beauty of love and holiness and said: "Nay, dear spirit, not for me are these miracles. To my Lord, who is the giver of all joy and pain, doth belong the great power of removing what he giveth. But this I ask, that I walk in humbleness and in my heart the prayer will grow to love my Lord the more. That love I may be able to give to all who come within my reach. This, O gentle spirit, is all I ask. Depart and allow me to but see my Lord in humbleness and pray to love him."

The spirit departed and to the unseen host did say: "For such as he is the Love of the Lord! Already hath he acquired what we in vain seek—Love for the Lord!"

Glory to Gooroo who bringeth love and light wherever he walketh. Love Love's own creation is, it is its own reward. No human law its force can sway. No human force can stay its tide. Love is the source of living things and all that it doth love. Naught that thine eyes can rest upon but hath its root in Love. The heart that love denies is cold. It sleepeth and it stagnant is; it is frozen o'er by snows of earth and sinneth most against itself. Love giveth of itself to all, nor asketh it return. It is a law unto itself, a law to man and beast and plant. The snake doth glide Love's warmth to know the bird the air doth cleave its force to feel; the flower upward turns its wondering gaze the kiss of Love to meet The beast doth pant all eagerly the eye of Love to behold. But man it is who makes the simple theme of Love a huge complexity. In restlessness he struggles for that which he already hath, for that without which he could not exist.

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O My jewels! lean on the altar of My all-creating Love and soon your heart will be as a laughing child. Quick My all-responsive touch to know, a bursting fount of gladness and generosity you will be, and the hot desert of your heart, which dry and sandy now is, a garden of lily and rose will become.

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Love was My natural gift to one and all of My creation. Who this doth know a treasure hath in truth.

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O my children! ever outward looking, turn within your blinded eyes, and there a world all, big with joy and love you will find, a world made wise by My wisdom, a world of the Real. Then you will know what Love has made of you; what Love doth bless you with; what Love doth will that you should be.

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Poor and ignorant is the man who seeketh for that which he hath and knoweth it not. Poor and ignorant is the man who knoweth not the nobility of my Love that surroundeth him, with which I crowned him withal.

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O my children! in your midst My well beloved one doth walk. Mark, freely all his love he giveth, gladly of My Love receiveth, and the measure of his sweetness doth he give to overflowing unto all that near him come. Lo! he knoweth my Love is flowing into him that largely giveth of the Love I do bestow. Within your midst in every heart I am, unknown, till by a touch of pain in struggle great you brush against My wide white wings. Then thrilled and amazed you look into Mine eyes and know that I am and ever have been and ever must be.

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The hand of My Love has gone from My Abode and scattered into space, giving unto all that will receive. Unto each child of Mine blessings I have given; ofttimes in their blindness they saw it not. But few there are who raise the gifts that He in great profusion at their feet. More are those who turn their eyes in wilful waywardness from them and with yearning cry do wail for that which I have crowned them withal. Most of my own do amble on, defiantly denying that such gifts there are, denying Me, the Giver of all gifts denying Me, the Author of their being.

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The few who raise My gifts and make them as their own and making them as their own thus, do give them forth to those their hungering neighbors, unto them do I scatter more than they in ease can carry, for he who giveth forth receiveth ever largely of the store I hold for them. He who hungers to feed the heart of those he meets along his way, unto him shall be given the wherewithal to satisfy their hunger.

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O my child! what mattereth it who speaketh the word of love, of truth, of courage and life unto thy heart? Whether thou dost catch it from the song of birds, from the lips of a babe, from the glad tone in a maid or the shout in a frolicsome boy? Whether it comes from the heart of him who hath given all to know Me and to reflect Me in thine heart, or whether it came from the spirit all bright as he hovered about to find thee a way when thou didst grope in the wilderness of doubt and amaze of worldly turmoil? Take thou the truth from wherever it comes, for truth that is real finds its root in Me and no matter how slender and lean the twig may be, it is the shoot that has sprung from My Root.

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Glory to Gooroo whose wisdom is as silver is! Glory to Gooroo! who by his love and wisdom illumineth the hearts that seek after Me. His day and his waking, his night and his slumber I with My Love will preserve.

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O my children, illumined you will be, yet you seek not the light that sits in your midst! Its radiance I would throw in your midst and give to the heart that is darkened with clouds the peace that it seeketh, the joy that it owneth—the joy that is warming to the senses and that dances like live streams of water that leap from the mountains and play with the rivers.

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Oh, tarry awhile from the whirl and the strife of the world! Ye who seek My light, the sons of my light shall be, and earth shall not soil nor rob you of My glory, nor will your mind be darkened and dull. For I will beautify and quicken it with love and with joy, for the light of the mind is love. The light of life is love. Where love is, contentment and peace are. Where contentment is, there My smile is too. Where contentment reigneth, in satisfaction I dwell. Where contentment is, there the fountain of peace too is playing.

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O ye who find perplexity above your rearing head and underneath your lagging feet, at your right hand and your left hand! An enigma unto yourselves you will be until lowly and glad as a child you become. Then Me you will know, and knowing, yourselves you will know, and your worlds you will rule. And looking out from the great world within to the smaller world without, all things you will bless and find all is well with time and you.

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You who give out much love dost multiply My Love unto yourself. But you who nourish souring doubt and fill your heart with hate and bitterness but subtract hourly from the gifts which are thine by the right of My blessing and love. For thoughts of evil rise not beyond the earth. But thoughts of love do mount to My Throne crowned with living stars, and rebound again to the centre freighted with My Love and Light.

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Humility is the softened shadow that is cast by My Love. Lowly it lieth on the ground; yet he that is weary and full of the hate of the world doth seek it and rest in its shadow and strength he doth gather and peace he doth draw from the nurse, all gentle, that gladdens his day.

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Humility is welcome unto Me. Hence all men do seek it, yet know it not. The countenance of humility is restful and good to look upon, and he that is fettered by flesh, senses its beauty even as a blind man senses the rose that is near by its fragrance and sweetness, as My feathered and furred creatures do sense the night by the darkness that precedeth it. When humility in your midst doth sit, know that true worth is nigh and rejoice in the blessing that ye behold, for true humility springeth from My Love and with majesty pure and holy is crowned. It is the grace of all grace that I on My children bestow.

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O ye, every step that you take I am with you and lead you to My Great Heart and joy I bestow and obstacles remove and sorrows erase that you wist not of!

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The beginning and the end of all I am, the sap in the tree, the foundation of the rock whereon it leaneth, the force of the eagle that round it saileth, the oil of the whale, the deeps wherein it sporteth, I make the worm to crawl on its belly; from the clouds I flash in light that blindeth; the nobleness in man am I; the gladness in beauty, the spontaneous spring of the bounding beast on the earth, the star on high, the rose at your feet. The jewels transparency my touch hath made.

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Glory to Gooroo who liveth close to the Heart of Love and giveth love to the heart of man! Unto him I bestow My blessings, even as the early fruit tree doth shower its blossoms on all that stand beneath its fragrant glory.

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O my children! Drink of the cup that is in your midst that was deep in My Ocean of Love, and strength and sweetness to you it will bring and your hearts it will quicken, even as light doth feed the darkness and make transparent the gloom.

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O you who sit in bondage and pant for freedom and seek the love that is a world unto itself and with satisfaction is crowned I I am the key that opens the portal that reaches to the rarely discovered land where contentment alone is found.

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Let not the flickering flame from without urge you on to serving the senses for the love of the flesh but vaporous is and falleth again to the ground whence it was drawn.

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Walk in the sunshine, climb up to the mountains, stretch the pinions of your soul to its summit, in cheerfulness sit clothed in courage, and with My Love's completeness I will crown you withal.

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A chain of love around your loins I have cast; stretch not, nor pull, nor fret, nor strain, lest it hurt; but you who walk laughing in its reach, the wisdom of My every hour shall know. He who seeks Me, to him understanding I will give that revealeth all things even unto a little child, and My wisdom and truth from his heart shall flow as strong streams of water flow from a fountain, and My hand of beauty I will register in his heart, and all who look upon his countenance shall see the glory of his coming and the joy of his awakening.

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Crowned on the snow-capped mountains I am, yet in the lowly blade of grass am I too. Eternal space I fill, yet am I captured in every heart. All men seek Me, yet are My arms entwined around every man; none can exist without Me, yet in far off space am I enthroned.

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I am the One and All, the All in One, whom noises confuse not, nor disturb, for above the roaring of the thunder claps, above the booming of the rising waves, the first faint wail of the new-born infant I hear and smile at its coming.

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I hold the reins of the winds in my hand and control their motion and measure their distance.

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When darkness is, my eye doth light the nest where the young owlet hooteth. The first green of the sapling I note, even as I see the upheaval of the earth.

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O My children! No heights there are that you cannot mount, no depths that you cannot sound, no boundaries that you cannot surround if you but let the light shine in your soul–your soul that was born of light and panteth to bathe again in that light.

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O My Beloved, thee I embrace and enfold, thee I hold and bless, to the days everlasting!

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Glory to Gooroo who liveth the Truth and Love. Again, O My children, for wisdom you call, but My words do not sink into the depth of your heart. But few in your midst do My glory receive, but once it is applied, I come. A light I place in your midst, but unheeding you are, wayward, forgetful and fretful. You cling with strained hands to the chains of bondage. The wisdom that comes from My Realm you would have, yet you reach not your soul to that Realm.

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Each man receives a wisdom that is born in this Realm. You eat from the table whereat you do sit, you munch of the fruit from the tree that you pluck, but your pure hearts are hindered for want of satisfaction. Yet you turn from My table of plentiful supply often from the crumbs that fall from my feast. Would you know, O my children, how your hearts shall be led? You yourself shall be fed with My Love. Quit the longing and striving for that which is null and void. Cease from your ignorant ideas of happiness, of wisdom, from your empty desires, your thoughts insincere. Know this it is that hinders thy heart from knowing My Love. It is this that prohibits thine eyes from seeing My face. Lo, O heart that is empty and is shadowed by darkness! I bring thee now a light to give peace, a peace that is buried and strives to be free, Lo! freely from the streams of blessing that flows from My Love you may partake. It is its own flavor and virtue. Its richness of charm it never can lose. Its grace is unbounded, as far-reaching as the sky you see. And as you quaff of its nectar your heart will grow, bursting with joy.

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As you look from the big world within to small world without, all this shall be well in time with you.

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I beautify Nature with My breath, as the breeze that sweetens all space. The silver of the wide-riding moon is My glory. The down on the breast of the dove is My softness. Love-touched, love-made, love-filled, am I. The Secret of Life, the Revelation of Death, the Beginning of All Things, the End Everlasting am I.

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Of all the lights, the Light am I which you know by the shadow; the Shadow am I which has cast all that light for you all My Face to behold.

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The rose lifts its petals My Love to unfold. I fan your hot hearts with my breezes of love. I crystal and diamond the snow as it falls. As My breath sweeps the earth to prepare for seed, so My breath sweeps your hearts to prepare it for My Love. And the sap of your souls, like the sap of the tree, will flow through your life and burst into budding.

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My Beloved, My son, from bondage is free. Thy heart I do clasp and breathe there a blessing. I hold thee and bless thee and serve thee, My son. A little while yet and thy mission is over. Come thou to the innermost heart and list to My love.

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Greeting to Gooroo who by the sunlight of Love brought distinction to ignorance.

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Love stoops to the feet of all and embraces life. Love is the source of all. Love is a law unto itself. Love is law unto man and unto woman. Spirit eyes to them by Love were given, to see the smiling world within, to see what Love willeth them to be.

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Good to everyone, Love sways from self to selflessness. Love is the lotus that sends its spirit, gives its sweetness and grace. It in equal measure giveth its fairness and its fragrance to all who near it cometh. Love is omnipotent.

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Ye are flowers, O My children, flowers of rarest splendour. Ye must give my grace out in plenty, knowing that love holds on its fingers mountain heights and specks of dust; knowing the love that is powerful in the man as in the child that weepeth when Mine Eye it cannot see; knowing the Love that is all in all.

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On the broad expanse of white the blackest dirt is easiest seen. Would you know how Love does hold its own? A chain of love for all is made. If you do but pull and dig and draw, the links do cut and sting. But if you laugh and dance and sing, a lotus-leaf it does become. Draw nearer still, scatter the petals to those that wait unknown till with a touch of pain they breathe the white-winged thoughts from thee.

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You gaze into My Eyes and know that I am All in All.

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Then know you too, O listen all, that oft the eyes of earth-sense are thickened with the gray of truth misundertood, why do ye not rise to meet the love that stretches out to you? Why are the plumed wings not outspread? Why the spirit-forehead stands on tip-toe?

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In the play ground of the forest, by the bank of the sportive river, 'neath the trees when the wing of songbirds stirs the leaves of sleeping roses, and the perfume of the lotus calls languorous love, where the sparkling stars are laughing and the moonbeams kills the darkness, in the sweet divine embracing where the the Twain in Bliss do meet—there am I.

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Therefore because thou art thus, not all the concentrated beauty of a whole universe can take from thee that which is thine, nor can the combined virtues of realm on realm hold to thee that which is not for thee.

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Glory to Gooroo who by the law of wisdom taketh away ignorance! Glory and salutation to Gooroo!

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When you do come to Me, let all your robes be white, your motives clean. When a man is blind there is a veil before his eyes. I do not mix with earth. Unless all clean and free from earth-nature, how can you understand the words that are born in My Abode?

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One there is who long into My Eyes has looked. My Love is potent with him now. Some are vain who call to Him who sitteth in the heart of every man. He who reaches for My Love I touch with thrill unfelt before.

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I am revealed in every living thing, whose heart is knit in love. No light there is wherein I do not live; no darkness is wherein I do not peer. My seed perfected in you lives unknown, it grows and freeth you from crooked ways. Unheard it thunders louder than the mountain claps when they in gladness meet.

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You who ask, Love is best, it is the richest of all riches, it is the gainer of all gains. Unbought, secure, once found, it never itself can lose. Who knows not love, is blind; who knows not love is dead. Oh, you weep because of the springing flowers, yet you cannot die. Look to the flower-seed, deep planted in the soil itself, but watering it takes, watering much, for it is good for you to give. So it is with Love. It is stirred to life by My breath, but watching too it takes for it to blossom and bear fruit. Bear love in your mind, when action you perform; bear love in your mind in duties or tasks. With eyes of pure love in all things look, even in yourselves. All things love-existence are. Do you respect them as such. Even the beginnings of worlds, the whirling mote of dust, the heart that is fertile and the heart that is barren, on all look with eyes of pure love. In this you accomplish. Mounted on love's white wings you will rise and obstructions will disappear as over them you pass.

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Oh, arise to your true Self and there is naught to fear! Be not a destroyer of yourself, and that you are, unless My beckoning hand of Love you see that sets you laughing, laughing in My Law. The greatest wisdom and self-knowledge is the immortal through the mortal to find. When this you have done, then laws you will make and barriers break; with the stars you will play and you will create. A man once prayed for wisdom great, for knowledge proud, for gifts of wondrous rarity. For these he prayed and saw not the flowers springing at his feet. O my children! look to the flowers at your feet, the pearls of love in your midst.

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Oh, seek not for happiness, nor for misery, for happiness is the seeking of that which joys the senses. When once you know Love is the source of all, from Love all things evolve, then in Love's embrace forever you are locked.

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I am the Source, the Middle and the End of all things. I hold the thunder in My hand; I am the winds that purify; I am the light registered in the babe's eye, that dimples in the pure maid's smile; I am the flowery season of all seasons, the immeasurable mountain heights am I, the perfume of the lotus, the ice-clasped rain; I am the calmness of serenity; I am the secret of all silence; the solitude in all quietude am I; I am the destroyer of time and space. With Me time lives and laughs and kicks and plays with the dust it has made, yet every mote a whirling world becomes, when it My hand has touched. I am the knower of all that is knowable, the wisdom of all that is wise. I am the creator of all created, for I am Love and Love is the mother of all.

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My Beloved, thee I embrace and hold. Bring thou the light, while I do shine thy way.

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Love maketh all things well and knoweth all things well. It is the rise of man; it knoweth the fall of the beast; it toucheth the opening flowers, its kiss falleth light on the lotus, it painteth the new East rainbow hues and wingeth the eaglet as it flieth. There are no foes, for I have made them all.

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Much wisdom I give to ye, which yet is unapplied. The drums of the ear are stopped by the din of earth. Ye will not turn from the cup to drink of My Ocean of Love that is near. List! Oh, wonderful beings ye are, all potent in love I have made ye. Look to the spark of the spirit that spreads from the crooked within you, that winds to My Perfect Abode. There fixed are ye by Me, then all obstacles vanish, as over them you mount. As the dawn of the morn throws its light through the branches so My Love reaches ever to touch ye, My jewels. I caress ye and stand in your midst. Ye are the branches of leaves that hide Me from your eyes. Give of the radiance ye have of Me to the heart that is darkened. I am the joy that bubbles and gurgles, that springs from the mountains, that leaps from the heart, that spreads on the brow, that leaps from the heart to light on the clouds. With this I bless you and stand in your midst, but ye, all fretful, turn by, complaining like children all fed with overmuch sweet.

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I am the force that shapes the rose leaf's curl, that cushions the grassy mountain-side; the snake too I measure as it glides. I quicken the dove as it mates. I breathe at the root of the springing flower. I am the fresh surprise in the maid newly wooed; I am the glad wonder in the new mother's breast. I am the wisdom in the babe's slow gaze as it turns from the mother's breast to her love-lit eyes. I am the fire in the warrior's eye. I dance behind the veil of the sun's scorching heat; I clothe in bright armour the fish as it swims. I am the joy that leaps from the heart and plays in the eye, that spreads over the brow and tingles each member.

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Glory to Gooroo that knoweth that Love is the rock upon which all permanancy is founded.

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Again, O My children, to Me ye have come for light and wisdom; but still the doors of your souls unopened sire, or else you would partake of the wisdom and light I drop at your feet. Do you take of its warmth and its blessing, I ask it. The Love that you seek all-pervading is, of wonderful might and beautiful. A conqueror it is too. The root of all pleasure it is, the day of every soul. It teacheth the untutored heart, it winneth and quickeneth the dead and dull conscience. But he who knoweth my love remembereth the blessedness and blessings, and recognizeth not evil and darkness. But he who knoweth it not, doth forever dwell in the experience of darkness, and is a child of blindness even in his infancy.

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O ye outward-gazers, grossen not the beauty which I have clothed ye with, lest that which is noonday brightness become to thy blinded eyes but a dab of gray! My love is of perfect flowering, My love is of rare fragrance. My love is of wide expanding. A native plant of every soil it is, for from the root of Love it is sprung.

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The man that cometh from out of the ocean doth drip with brine. So ye who have come from out of My Belly of Love must forever hanker and pant as again of that Love you partake and know once more of its potency.

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My love is a giant of strength; my love is a new mother in gentleness. My love is all eloquent; my love is all lovely; my love is all wise. A ruler it is and ye are all servants. A winner it is, yet lowly its head is ever laid. All riches it is, yet it boasts not of gold, of silver or of precious jewels. All highest nobility it is, yet it rarely sitteth on the throne of kings or queens.

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Let not your outward-looking lure you aside to hunt wayward themes; but see to My gracious shedding smile of love that illuminates your universe within and brightens the world without, and those who look upon you shall marvel at the wonder of your glowing. And they, too, shall partake of that light.

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The rolling cloud is My breath; the frost and the feathery snow I jewel. The laughing fields, the peaceful valleys, the sleeping lakes and the dented hills are the throbs of My mighty breast. The beauty of the sun, the softness of shade, the color of the flowers, the rose of a baby's lips, the gold that lurks in the rich plumage of the swift-winged bird are but the light touches of my hands.

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Ye, O My children, are the gifts of My Love unto Myself.

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O My daughter, take that which is placed in your hand. Hurl not back the gift to the giver, lest you call it in vain,—you whose eyes do filmy seem because of their dulness.

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O My son, thy path is blessed and bright, for love you have brought to the heart that loved not.

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Oh thou My Beloved! About thee a halo I do create. Thy path is made smooth of thy humility. Thy gratitude enricheth thy heart.

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Glory to Gooroo who knoweth Love as the sovereign of all creation and therefore beholdeth its glory.

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O my children, you seek Me to know Me, you behold Me not as I stand in your midst in all My radiance. My splendour more splendid is than all the splendour of heaven and earth. My beauty is even like that which the dawn first spies in a garden of rare flowers. My glory is like unto a blazing casket of jewels, of jasper and crystalline pearls, that standeth in the radiance of the sun at high noon.

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My softness is like unto the wondrous rose that lieth deep in the folds of the new baby's curled palm, or the gold that clingeth to the heart of the lotus in bloom.

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In all My rare lovliness in your midst I stand, in every heart I reign with a crown of living stars upon My brow ensceptered. Quickened with light and love am I; on My breast the sun of ecstasy; and all who once have looked upon My glory have realized the rainbow of promise that has spanned the sky of every human heart. From his eyes the shroud of flesh has fallen, in his breast he carries a garden all fertile with blossoms of delight and beareth fruits of peace.

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O My children, to know thyself, know Me. Those who once have looked upon Me, upon his brow I have placed a crown that readeth in blazing letters of light, a crown of love and wisdom and humbleness. He walketh even in lowliness and reacheth away from the earth and commandeth sublimity itself to kneel at his feet.

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O My jewels rare! Arise, survey the kingdom you may possess. Laws you may make, barriers break, tread on the stars, and the comets themselves will rush at your command. Know I have made you heir to all I have created, I, your Maker's Self, once walk a man and as a man all men I love. To know yourself, know Me. And having gained knowledge of Me, all will be revealed unto you and the bitter waters of self-seeking shall become holy and sweet as the waters of the Ganges. And you I will clothe in My Truth sublime, My Truth that is devoid of changes of age and time. In its shadow you will abide—My Truth that is permanent, the Root of all Eternity.

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You, my son, whose young heart is grafted on the strength of Him who bringeth illumination to you, in all humbleness walk and in thy young humbleness thou shalt know the smile of Love.

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O Gooroo, My Beloved son I you who give forth words whose potency doth bring healing to the heart of those who in swiftness do expand their wings to catch your words in their passing, know thrice in the ages that were, your words have travelled through the corridors of the hearts that listened to you and now have sprung within their hearts to life again. Even deeper in the days to come shall you drink of a fount of truth that is life.

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The ripest grape without the seed of intoxication, the sweetest fragrance that is robbed of its death-dealing heaviness, the sound minus its discord. The temple wherein all glory playeth.

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Glory to Gooroo who is a grateful branch on the imperishable tree of life.

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O ye my jewels, a throb of My Heart ye are, a word of My Wisdom, a grain of My Hill of Faith, a drop of My Ocean of Love, a ray of My Light that penetrateth all darkness.

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Heirs are ye of all I have created. Why will ye be fretful truants of earth? Know, not all the crust of your earth-bound minds, nor the stagnant waters of your hearts can crust the soul which is of Me, or quench the spark ignited by My light of love. Lo, a joy unto yourselves you are made, a vital joy unto yourselves! Why will ye be quaking slaves of harmful hopes? Lo, My will it was that ye should be, My will that willeth only good. My that is the sum of all bliss, the stock of all creation, the links that join it together; the root of all Eternity. Lo! the essence of all love am I. I scatter it to one and all freely, even as herbage is scattered on all the land. My heritage to you it is. Do you embrace it, and your life shall be as molten gold. With-' out its embrace you drop into darkness. Lo, the mystery of all things am I and the illuminated path that leadeth through mazes and maketh all accessible simple and straight.

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Covered am I to him that is crooked, not to him that is straight, to him that standeth forth in the flash of My light of love. Him do I draw to My breast and place on his brow the sun of ecstasy, so that ail may marvel at the awakening of his soul.

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O ye My children! in your midst a pearl I do cast. Tread not on its fairness nor cover with dust its lustre lest you seek it again and find it not. Take it up, treasure it, drop it into the innermost chamber of your hearts and there it will glow even as the moon that breaketh through a bank of storm-clouds and lighteth the heart of the jungle.

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O you who ask, know that wisdom ever in lowliness is found. It struteth not, neither does it clamor aloud to be seen; it is calm and needs not to be looked upon. It knoweth not the tread of clamorous feet, nor needs it the strut and the swagger that are born of traitorous doubts in its highness. The frontal of wisdom is ever made wide; it lifteth its brow to the Eye of Love and leaneth thereon for sustenance. Poor and naked is My child of love that knows not wisdom nor finds the path that leadeth thereto. Naked is he indeed and mistaken in aim and intent who seeketh with hungry eagerness that happiness, yet walketh through strange tracks and climbeth hills of sand that have no foundation for his feet to rest upon. He findeth but the roots of weeds that choke the flower of gladness. The growth of wisdom is not grown there; its footfall is light, it walketh abroad. Wisdom's countenance is fair and soft and good to look upon. It is embraced by love; it is linked to bliss and ecstasy, and he who hath found it thus will search ho more. He knoweth not change, and time by him, even as the plunderer sneaketh away from the king that is armed. In him the river of joy flows in wondrous majesty forever. He walks in My footsteps; he knows not space, and beholds the souls that tenant endless spheres. My smile he sees that is perpetual. Evil forever hath fallen from him; the stars innumerable are his to command, and the sun is the shining of his life. The beginning of all things he knoweth and the end everlasting he seeth. He readeth the light and the winds are his to understand.

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What am I? The smile of the new mother am I; the velvet corners of the maid of pure soul. Beautiful time am I that sitteth in silver on the brow of the aged one. Mercy's soft self am I that sweeteneth the eye where on it sitteth. The life of the shrub am I, the spontaneous outburst that bubbles from the heart and rings from the lips of the clamorous, bounding, growing boy. The illumination am I that reigns in the heart of the ascetic and makes light his dismal cell, even to rivalling the glare of the palace in hours of festivities; the potency of sympathy am I that meets in the handsclasp of high-hearted manhood. Know that all I give I receive, most open am I to him who draweth most deeply from My bounty. Oh, my tree of life shall reach from earth to heaven.

* *

Greeting to thee. My jewel! I came to take thee on a journey. I came to take thee with Me and show thee what it is to live. Until now thou hast known but the mockery of life, the life that breathes but to live that life, but to draw breath. Now, I will take thee where life is born, where life is lived, where life is loved; not lived for the living, but lived for the loving.

* *

Who am I? I am that which thou hast searched for since thy baby eyes gazed wonderingly upon the world whose horizon but hides this real life from thee. I am that which in thy heart thou hast clamoured for, demanding it as thy birth-right, yet knowing not what it was or even that thou didst clamour at all. I am that which has lain in thy soul through ages and æons. Sometime a little sad I lay, because thou didst not recognize Me; yet sometimes, standing with head high lifted and eyes wide and crest aloft and arms outstretched, calling thee softly or even harshly, bidding thee rebel against the hard iron chains of earth that held thee bound to earth, to clay, to brass.

* *

I am that which oft hath set My heel upon that earthly desire which thou didst pant for and with My heel I crushed it, before it lay temptingly fulfilled before thine eye. I crushed it with My heel by My might of love because I willed not that it should burn and sting thee, My lamb.

* *

I am that which hath laid thee low in pain and sorrow, rather than see thee run with blinded eyes on a path that was full unto shimmering softness with poisonous creeping things, that would have wound themselves about thy feet and so caused thee to stumble and fall face downward on their slippery bellies, so they might even devour thee and crawl into thee and take from thy heart its gold and from thy eye its beam and from thy brow its nobleness.

* *

I am that which hath had thee by the hand, when the smile of trust froze on thy lips, when the jewel of faith seemed to melt into nothing in thy heart, when the hand of unbelief in all humanity was near unto resting forever on thy brow. I held thy hand then and for a little I saw thee writhe and quiver and break and then My hand touched thy head and I breathed in thy soul My fragrance and lo, thy smile of trust again broke with tenfold beauty on thy moistened lips, the gem of faith lighted with tenfold power thy softened heart and a belief in all humanity came forth with a strength and radiance that could not have been, hadst thou not known that short span of barrenness! From each tear which hath fallen from thine eye, I have made a pearl and strung them on veins of gold and placed them about thy neck even as a priceless necklet. From each drop of blood that came from thine aching heart, I have made a bleeding ruby and placed it even as a girdle about thy heart, and for each kind thought, that hath gone out to those who have brought pain to thee I have made a fire-hearted gem of crystal and in a coronet placed them on thy brow which now gleam there in triple power.

* *

Now go forth and win thy sceptre and thy staff! They shall be crystalized of clearest jewels, which shall be made of which command of Mine which thou dost hear and obey.

* *

I am all these, My babe, and more. That am I which, when darkness seems near, suddenly bursts upon thy soul with a wondrous, indescribable light that illumines each crevice and crack of thy innermost understanding. I am that indefinable line which divides thee and holds thee ever from pain or grossness or misery.

* *

I am that path which is ever before thee, filled with rarest flowers and creeping vines and world-large happiness where the beings which thou canst feel, but not yet see, beckon thee ever and where thou too shalt come and be of the brightest among them.

* *

I am that most golden star that lights thy heaven and throws forever into thy awakening consciousness the glow of its scintillation.

* *

I am that fleeciest cloud of down that surrounds thee ever and keeps thee from hurting thy sweet self on the stones and hard clay of the world. I am that Being of Life, of Truth, of Wisdom, of Love, of Beauty, of Joy, of Life, of Plenty that hovers ever about thee and sings to thy soul.

* *

Come, My own, come with Me and I will show thee life, which now thou knowest but in its littleness I Come, I sing and you dip in the Ocean of Bliss with Me. Nay, run not before but calmly walk at My side.

* *

See yonder! It glistens and shimmers, a sheet of joy and bliss that knoweth not a ripple nor a wave, but lieth with arms outstretched to receive thee there. Faint not nor swoon but creep into its arms and lie there, reaching out thine arms and spreading the wings of thy soul and dip deep and drink thy fill. Now come and take thy bathed self among thy sisters and brothers and give to them but a drop of that Ocean of Love, which thou hast brought on the wings of thy soul. And each day, my Adarini! thou shalt dip and drink and give, thou shalt shake from thy plumed wings, which shall grow unto enormous bigness, the drops of love which it is wetted withal and the heart-hungry shall come and receive therefrom great blessings and great aid and shall go away strengthened in soul and strong of body, because of the drop that has come from the ocean of love and which thou hast brought to them on thy ever-growing wings.

* *

Even now doth the incense of warm love envelop thee and thy heart is expanded to the spanning of the sea.

* *

Question not, but believe in Me and Mine. Come to Me again and I will fill thee with Bliss.

* *

Greeting to thee. My jewel! Dost thou know that I am even nearer unto thee now? Dost thou feel the wings of thought spreading to great breadth all within and without thee? Dost thou again feel the immensity of My Love that passeth all that is? Dost thou feel that this Love is too great for the world to hold, yet know that thy heart is big enough to contain it? Dost thou know that the love which is this that now brings the bowl of blue near to the breast of earth is the same love that causes the cooing dove to hide its gray head under its wing at the approaching homeward flight of its little mate, all unafraid and undisturbed, because of its near protection? Dost thou not know it is the same love that causes the mother to bare her warm, loving breast to the blade to save even the little moment of pain to that being which hath grown into a child under her breast? Dost thou not know it is that love which causes noble manhood to stalk forth armed and bloodthirsty to protect the altar whereon he hath burned the incense of faith and belief? Dost thou not know that it is the same love which causes the lioness to throw her huge, warm body upon her cub to crush it rather than it should be cast into iron captivity by its pursuers? Dost thou not know again that it is this love that hovers in golden silence about thee even when thou wilt not see and beckons thee ever, even when thou wilt not follow? It is the same love that leads thee over the paths of flint and hard and rough roads unto those that are smiling and perfumed and ever bordered with blooming flowers of purple and milk and rose. Dost thou not know, my Adarini, that it is that love that points out the gems that lie in thy path, partly covered, partly hidden by the dust, while thy feet have kicked over them? Even though I have pointed them out to thee often, thou dost not see. Thou but lookest to the right and left for things of beauty which are for the eye, but for the moment, and dost the rare jewels which if thou wouldst but take into thy heart, would bring there the richest radiance which ever came from the diadem that crowns a soul.

* *

It is this love that whispers to thee that the path to Me is not hard to tread. It is this love that holds the garments white as wool and light as air and beautiful with the beauty of My love for thee ever before thine eye, even when thou dost in thy little understanding with the back of thy palm thrust it aside. The garment that I hold for thee is the robe that thou must wear even to enter the Heart of My Heart to step within the flame of My light. Fear not it burneth not, neither doth it scorch or blister; it doth but light thee with a fire that is the glowing of holiness and when thou hast come within that radiance then will the choir within the throat of the lark be like the sheet of clean white paper, to thee and thou thyself will make their notes for singing. And also thou shalt hear and even understand the pleadings that lie hidden and covered by the piteous cries and wailings that issue from the breast of the good beast-creatures that speed over the tracks of sandland with the swiftness of the Eastern winds, bearing on huge backs the burden too weighty for man to bear.

* *

And listen again, My suckling, thou shalt, when once thou hast entered into My Heart of hearts clad in the beauty and purity of the garments which I hold before thee even now, then shalt thou gather in thine arms the prayers of many hearts and fulfilled even unto wondrous fulness thou shalt return them again unto the empty hearts. For by the fire through which thou hast learned holiness and because of the garments that come from My hand thou shalt say unto My little ones that I, who am the All in All, am the fulfillment of each desire that has ever found growth in human hearts.

* *

Thou shalt say unto them that simple and clear, even like the smile that lurketh in the soft eye of a milk-feeding babe, are the laws of My Love-Eye and easy to grasp and smooth to hold and light to carry. And because of the saying of thine, the prattle of the forward mouth shall silence and the way-giving of the idle tongue shall cease and the squirting of venom shall be no more. And lo, the lust of gossip and rankness and rough spoil of envy shall be as naught! And clear, like unto the water that catches in its heart the reflection of the moon and holdeth it completely so, even so shall the centre of thine eye become and thy brow shall shine My wisdom and thy mouth shall hold My words, thy feet shall bear witness to My beauty and thine heart shall ever be sportive as the lambkin that kicketh and playeth and knoweth not why, or even like unto the open-lipped baby, who turneth its milk-filled, dripping mouth away from the breast to croon and play with its fingers and toes. And like unto the mother that kisseth the babe for that playing, so shall My little ones steal joy from thy love.

* *

List! Because thou art now in the arms of Love I shall make for thee a grove of palms and olive, bread and date, and where thou art, even in the city of strife and turmoil and sin, yet thou shalt walk even in the groves, that I have made for thee. And thou shalt hear the plaintive call of the night bird and the heart-song of the winged creatures, whose hearts burst with love and joy in their caroling.

* *

And the fruit which the trees of great bearing shall yield thee, shall fill thee with satisfaction, thy hunger shall be stilled by their richness and thy thirst shall be slaked by their lusciousness, and lo, thou shalt contemplate the beauty and wonder of Me in the grove where I have placed thee and thy heart shall be calmed unto marvelous peace and many times thou shalt faint, because of the sweetness of that peace.

* *

Glory to Gooroo, he who carrieth in his heart and findeth Me in all that surroundeth him; he has for his surrounding My Abode and knoweth it as such. He needeth not a ground of tree or grass and flower to find a roebuck, but findeth it even at his side. He striveth not to gain possession of that which is far from his hand for he knoweth the rich mines with nuggets of gold are his for the taking. He findeth not solitude worse than death, nor is it amiss for him to breathe away from the crowd of men, for at his side are the voices of love that are loud even like the thunder or the roaring of the lion, or the screech of an eaglet. This shall ever be thine blessing, my son, and a shield of love shall cover thee and thy feet shall be swift and thou shall walk even light like unto the wind. Let not the burden of the world and the world's prattle come to thine ear and lie even heavy on thine heart, for in the palm of my hand thou shalt rest and like a bird who has lately become a mother and feeds her birdlets, so shall I feed thee, my son.

* *

Glory to Gooroo, who among men doth know Me and Me see in all things.

* *

O ye my children that fret and squirm underneath the load and scratches of life! Do give it unto Him who by his wondrous love for all knoweth not weight nor pain. That which to you a burdensome plight hath become, is light even unto down to Me. The blight has been of thine own making, O child of my heart!

* *

Oh! know ye not that I carry in the palm of my hand, in the Heart of my Heart, all mankind—nay, all worldkind? Will ye not know that all I have created is even like unto Me perfect and cannot be burdensome?

* *

Ye will not look upon Me as the pedestal upon which all things that are, are founded. Arid because of your blindness, for blind ye are, having eyes ye see not what I have given ye to see—because of your blindness, small are your hearts and cramped and will not expand in height and breadth, even to know the peace that dwells in My clear silence, nor the illumination that lives on My horizon. Nor will ye hear the joy of My greeting of wisdom that would sing to your souls of a love that withereth not, neither fadeth away, neither becometh ashes nor crumbleth to pieces.

* *

List, O my children! Dear unto My heart ye are, even as the ewe lamb, in its waywardness and helplessness, is dear to the heart of the tried and tender shepherd, or the babe, My gift of first love, is dear to the eager heart of the prayerful father. Yet oft doth the ewe lamb bleating stray away from the arm of the shepherd and the truant, rosy mouth of the babe turns away from the breast of the eager young mother to cry afar to the yonder world that heareth it not, nor answereth it.

* *

So ye, My little ones, see not the light on your way, nor partake of the bread of life that I scatter to you, even as the waving yellow tree of mustard doth scatter its seed in golden profusion on the fertile regions around it.

* *

Hark, one and all! All careless have you been in the weeding of your gardens, for in your beds I find the thistle thriving; in your vineyards the grape I find that is hard and sour and bitter.

* *

Oh, alas for you who cast your net for fish and bring forth the slimy reptile! Beware, my child, lest the best hopes of life cannot stir away from harmful ones. Evil stalketh idly. Of nothing it is born, yet would it squirm, like the insect, and buzz its cloud about thine ear, and mote-like obscure thy sight, and throng through thy mind and heart even leaving its imagery there.

* *

O My children! I have placed you in a dewy field, where like young lambkins you might disport yourselves. I have bounded your dewy field with heather-purpled hills, where like the young eagle and the hawk you might soar and spread your wings and flap them to the music and measure and time of My winds, which I hold from everlasting to everlasting even in Mine own hand. But, alas! like the lily that from overmuch dew falleth face down ward in the dirt, so many of you turn your hearts earthwise.

* *

Hungering to be caught by Me and to know the beauty of My Being, because you see and will not understand—even because of that I rebuke you in love, in love I rebuke you: Nor will I come again to those who call, unless in holiness the call will bring profit from My words.

* *

O thou My Beloved one! Thou who like saint and sage and prophet of old has touched the harp of life that I attune for thee, do thou come to Me singly and do thou say unto those that My promise is this: "Dear to Me are ye, My children. List to the promise I give unto you! To those who seek Me in holy earnestness, to those do I come even like the sweet influence of young Spring. Like unto a giant am I in gentleness, yet none can wrestle with My Love. Know, ye shall know My coming even by the spontaneous growth that shall spring about your feet, and become even fruit-bearing trees at My command."

* *

To the barren woman I shall look into her eye, and lo! the gush of young motherhood shall she feel When My Love is yours, then shall the leopard take between his forepaws even the young sheep, and that rough and long tongue shall rub it between the eyes.

* *

Into the eye of the ascetic I shall look, he who for many moons hath stood in cold silence, even he shall feel his heart reel with love like unto the young bridegroom.

* *

Dulness shall glow. Thy slow tongue, my child, shall become eloquent. Idleness shall become active, even bereavement shall be consoled and despair shall flee at My coming.

* *

Am I not the magician of all time, who by the spell of My love do charm a waiting, passive, alas!–a blinded world? Aye, even thy heart of hearts shall be laid bare and those who seek shall come and feed of the peace thereof. Lo, on the hilltop for thee my sun spreads cheer!

* *

Be thou he, who shall invest in courage, climbing the rocky hill, where thou shalt embrace cheer and she shall bring forth the baby, that is thy desire, and because of the baby which thou holdest in thy arms, because of that thy path shall be light, for lo! the babe is what men call success.

* *

O My young son! Do thou take to the young thy onward march, even thy sunlight, which I for thee have created, so that thou mayest make the poisonous and damp vapors, which will surround thee, even of great warmth and of fragrance and golden hue. Take thou the Seed of My Name on thy lips, aye, and the tree of thy affection shall bend its every leaf to look in Mine Eye, and there shall behold the gladness and hope of My life. There shalt thou read thy Beatitude.

* *

Do not allow the phantom fears crowd into thy heart and make a layer of darkness in thy heart, even as the water doth drop its heaviness into the bottom of a vessel and leave its heaviness there, for, if thou dost, then will the waters of cleanness that fill thy heart by the least ripple stir up the heaviness and rust that hath sunk to the bottom and so color even that which was clear. Naught is there in thee to bring shadow of that which is gruesome to thee, My child, for when thou comest to Me there have I buried deep that which might have caused thee fear. List I do thou even let the desires of thy heart lie dormant and do thou even seek My Love in this hour. Then thou shalt know the fatness of My love and when thou dost, then will the soul thou cravest to turn toward thee in the splendour of light beam full upon thee, even as thou wouldst have it Love, My own, the working of My love, is not always the working of that which thou canst only see a little way—for far even unto eternity do I lode and the links I rivet now are even the chain that stretches to the end of time everlasting. Therefore do thou not look only to the feet ahead of thee, but do thou find that in the time and place of my action there alone perfection is—yea, even there perfection is which to thee may seem even unfinished, but to My Eye it is the whole complete.

* *

Out of the tumult of thy heart, out of the chaos of thy mind, out of the depth of thy understanding thou dost call unto Me for rest and thus do I answer thee, My little one!

* *

Seek not rest in the plane where the earthly gives birth to thoughts and loves, for if thou dost, thou shalt but be dragged through the rough wilderness of life, which is not of Me. Whenever thou dost feel thy feet tangled in the interlaced roots of life, know thou hast strayed a little from the path whereon I beckon thee, for I have placed thee in broad, smooth paths, which are flower-strewn and perfumed with sweet smelling vines and also have put before thee a light, which thou canst ever follow and thus run without stumbling.

* *

Hear thou this! The bliss of action I have planted in thy spirit and if for a span thy soul hath grown weary and thou longest to fold thy tired wings and sleep awhile on the Island of White Silence, that dwells even in the midst of the ocean of existence, if that thou wouldst do—call upon Me and with My smile that which is unlike Me, shall drop from thy soul, as the old garment falleth from the butterfly, when its wings are strong to cleave the air. And after a sufficient slumber thou shalt be quickened with deathless energy and shalt speed in eagle swiftness even to the sun, which is the burning of the love in My Eye. But, list, my jewel! Be not confounded by the shaking of thy timid heart, nor yet by the yelling grisly shapes, that seem full of dread, hunting at thy back, nor be allured by bright phantoms of false joys beckoning thee ceaselessly. Like swarms of gnats about a dark and sullen river, they crowd about the heart that harbours thoughts of fear and lo, their stings do itch and burn and swell and bring fever to the blood and bitterness to the taste and even death to the joy that dwelleth in the heart. Lo, My child, hast thou not spied the serpent in the closed, tight bud of the rose or even in the hollow of the rosy fruit? Eye saw it not, but the rose became even as rust and the apple rotten. So beware that an adder rest not in the bud of the heart and that adder fear be opposed to hope which I have placed in goodly share upon thy brow.

* *

List, My own, and abide by My song that unto thy soul I sing: Bliss is the perpetual motion of Love. As a running stream it is that cometh from an inexhaustible source, the depth of which is even unmeasurable.

* *

To the unknowing and unloving the surface in unruffled, but he that seeth underneath, he findeth there current 'neath current, whirlpool within whirlpool and depth beneath depth and the sum of it all is Love, which is Life and coupled together by the links of Bliss.

* *

I have a shore that is called the Island of Rest, here do the souls of many hold sabbath. They lie in tranquil slumber for a little, much have they to tell, but they fear to break the tranquility of their calm. Here their dwelling is illumined with glory. The melody of sweet peace bathes their soul; the mystery of their being is revealed unto them. For a little here they wait but still this home is but a transient resting place between earth and Me. Rest can be thine, my own, in slumber of ecstasy, but Bliss can be thine through the perpetual action of Love. Which wouldst thou have?

* *

Come to Me again and I will even sing to thy soul of my Love.

* *

Glory to Gooroo, he who seeketh Me and findeth Me, the ever refreshing, even in the desert of sand and a day of drought! Greeting to thee. My son, for I say unto thee, thou art a grateful twig on the bay-tree of life. And because of My love for thee I have bestowed upon thee the greatest gift of my hand; A largeness worthy of my devotee shall be yours that the flattering tongue can but in feebleness express because of its vastness. And this vastness of purpose shall be like unto uncounted autumn leaves that number millions upon millions and like unto the masses of clouds that pile in mountains upon worlds and the seas that cover unlimited space and the numberless stars multiplied by worlds of fire. Thus measureless and incomparable shall be My gift unto thee for thou hast found Me and held Me even close to thee and because of it, the river of joy shall flow within thee forever.

* *

My thumb I have placed upon you, so that free-footed you may stand in the lightning of My Eye, whose brilliant fire doth even gladden all communion with time and doth bid the stars to smile and darkness to flee for ever, for when My Beautiful Necessity, Love, is once uncovered, there is the veil behind veil lifted forever and even the Centre of All Worlds are visible to the naked eye, for he who hath clad himself in the garment of My Love, he even pierceth through all covering.

* *

Thus hath My Love blessed thee, My Beloved.

* *

O prisoner of earthly life! Take thou cheer and courage unto thyself, for much is there that is of rare comfort to the spirit. Thrust not thyself into the pit of earth and labor there and seek to carry on thy shoulder and on thy back the burdens that are born of the clay and therefore hurtful and of much weight. But do thou step out and bask in the glow of the sun, do thou stretch forth thy limbs in languid and truant ease and let its warmth play on the white of thy flesh so that even the health of thy blood may bubble to the surface.

* *

Do thou fix thine eyes on the dome where stars are fixed, though they are paled by the garish sun and hence dim; yet rear thy heart starward and in the course of the sun see the greatness of ways and tracks that are thine, My jewel! Do thou even now burst asunder the fetters that rivetest thee even to the plank of anxiety and with a bound throw from thee the shackles and walk thy star-ward path as a tenant of earth in the way to finding a better abode.

* *

About thee lies the good that cometh from My strong right arm. Hold it, that its countenance may remain with thee forever. Yea, seek not for a change of thy good for that which is better, but hug rather the present good to thy heart of heart that its strength may impart even strength where thy weakness abideth. The load which I have placed upon thy shoulder is not to thee a load earth-made, 'tis but a gathering of rare herbage piped with beautiful coloring which is full of healing and sweet of taste, but which you all, blinded, do see as burdensome.

* *

If thou but onward marchest, looking not at the phantom spies that seek to distract thee in thy going and lurk in the clearness of thy light, then shalt thou add wings unto them and they shall flee even as doth the young chick before the hawk's approach. Let thy bold front even by its courage chase forever the foes of man, stern unbelief and dull distrust, which are ever eager to find lodging in the heart where a canopy of white trust doth shelter the babe of Love that reclineth in playful happiness on a rosy couch of hope. Even there would the enemy of man steal and take from the garden of his soul the flowers that blossom in rare loveliness, the beauty that hideth in sweet silence, the peace that casteth its halo of calm over the spirit even as a wild dove.

* *