Opening Remarks
Savitri entered the Void Supreme, the state of Nirvana in which the world seems an unreal reality.
Absolute stillness
In that absolute stillness bare and formidable
There was glimpsed an all-negating Void Supreme
That claimed its mystic Nihil’s sovereign right
To cancel Nature and deny the soul.
It is in that state of absolute stillness that Savitri glimpsed the bare and formidable mystic Nihil, the all-negating Absolute that claimed its sovereign right to cancel the movements of Nature and even seem to deny the individual soul taking it back into Itself that seemed sole and Real.
Impersonal, featureless, signless
Even the nude sense of self grew pale and thin:
Impersonal, signless, featureless, void of forms
A blank pure consciousness had replaced the mind.
Even the sense of a self-divested of Nature seemed like a pale and thin line vanishing into some Impersonal Void that was featureless, formless, signless. The mind was replaced by a blank pure consciousness.
Semblance of a universe
Her spirit seemed the substance of a name,
The world a pictured symbol drawn on self,
A dream of images, a dream of sounds
Built up the semblance of a universe
Or lent to spirit the appearance of a world.
Her spirit seemed as if the substance of a Name that preceded creation. The world was pictured symbol drawing on the canvas of self-built as if from a dream of images and sounds with no concreteness. It gave the semblance of the universe, the appearance of a world.
Intolerant hush
This was self-seeing; in that intolerant hush
No notion and no concept could take shape,
There was no sense to frame the figure of things,
A sheer self-sight was there, no thought arose.
The self-saw that there was no notion, no concept, no frame or figure of things in that hush that tolerated nothing made. It was a sheer self-sight without any thought.
All feelings slept
Emotion slept deep down in the still heart
Or lay buried in a cemetery of peace:
All feelings seemed quiescent, calm or dead,
As if the heart-strings rent could work no more
And joy and grief could never rise again.
Emotions slept deep in her still heart lying as if buried in a cemetery of peace. All feelings seemed quiescent, calm or dead as if the chords of the heart were rent and could work no more and joy and grief were forever dead.
No response
The heart beat on with an unconscious rhythm
But no response came from it and no cry.
The heart continued to beat as if mechanically following its unconscious rhythm but gave no response to things.
Vain was the provocation
Vain was the provocation of events;
Nothing within answered an outside touch,
No nerve was stirred and no reaction rose.
Events failed to provoke any response since nothing answered to outward touches. Not even a nerve was stirred by any reaction.
Closing Remarks
This is the inner freedom that is the share of those who have arrived at Nirvana. One is inwardly unmoving and free.
