Opening Remarks
Death is not to give in easily. He tries to refute Savitri’s stand aggressively with his materialistic doctrine.
Death once more
But Death once more inflicted on her heart
The majesty of his calm and dreadful voice:
“A bright hallucination are thy thoughts.
Death once more inflicted Savitri’s heart with the majesty of his calm and dreadful voice. He labels Savitri’s bright thoughts as nothing else but hallucinations.
A prisoner
A prisoner haled by a spiritual cord,
Of thy own sensuous will the ardent slave,
Thou sendest eagle-poised to meet the sun
Words winged with the red splendour of thy heart.
Death regards Savitri as a prisoner pulled forcefully by a spiritual cord, a slave of her own sensuous will. He says that she sends her words winged with red splendour of her heart seem eagle poised to meet the sun.
Knowledge dwells not
But knowledge dwells not in the passionate heart;
The heart’s words fall back unheard from Wisdom’s throne.
But knowledge does not dwell in the passionate heart says Death. The throne of Wisdom turns a deaf ear to the pleadings of the heart.
Vain is thy longing
Vain is thy longing to build heaven on earth.
Vain is Savitri’s longing to build heaven on earth.
Artificer of Ideal and Idea
Artificer of Ideal and Idea,
Mind, child of Matter in the womb of Life,
To higher levels persuades his parents’ steps:
Inapt, they follow ill the daring guide.
According to Death Mind is the artificer of Ideals and Ideas. But Mind itself is the child of Matter born in the womb of life emerging out of it.
This Mind tries to persuade Matter and Life to higher levels but they are unable to follow his steps.
A glorious traveller in the sky
But Mind, a glorious traveller in the sky,
Walks lamely on the earth with footsteps slow;
Hardly he can mould the life’s rebellious stuff,
Hardly can he hold the galloping hooves of sense:
His thoughts look straight into the very heavens;
They draw their gold from a celestial mine,
His acts work painfully a common ore.
Death describes the Mind as a glorious traveller in the sky that is unable to realise its dreams on the earth. It walks lamely on the earth with slow footsteps so to say. It can hardly mould the rebellious stuff of life. It can hardly hold the galloping hooves of sense that go hither and thither without any control. His thoughts look straight into the heavens drawing its glitter from a celestial mine. However his acts are moulded from a common ore.
High dreams
All thy high dreams were made by Matter’s mind
To solace its dull work in Matter’s jail,
Its only house where it alone seems true.
Death says that all our high dreams were made by the Mind that is itself formed by Matter to solace its dull work in the prison house of the terrestrial life. This material world is its only true house. All the rest are unsubstantial dreams built in air but not realisable upon earth.
Solid image of reality
A solid image of reality
Carved out of being to prop the works of Time,
Matter on the firm earth sits strong and sure.
It is only Matter sitting strong and sure upon earth that is the solid reality carved out of being to support the works of Time.
First born
It is the first-born of created things,
It stands the last when mind and life are slain,
And if it ended all would cease to be.
Matter is the first-born before mind and life and will be the last creation when mind and life are slain. If Matter ended all would cease to exist.
All else is only its outcome
All else is only its outcome or its phase:
Thy soul is a brief flower by the gardener Mind
Created in thy matter’s terrain plot;
It perishes with the plant on which it grows,
For from earth’s sap it draws its heavenly hue:
Thy thoughts are gleams that pass on Matter’s verge,
Thy life a lapsing wave on Matter’s sea.
Matter alone is true. All else is its result and consequence. What is called as the soul is a brief flower cultivated by the gardener Mind created in the field of Matter. It perishes with the plant which is the Mind. It draws its heavenly hue from the sap from matter. Our thoughts are simply gleams passing on the verge of Matter and our life merely a lapsing wave on the sea of Matter, says Death.
Closing Remarks
Such is the argument of Death with which Death tries to stifle hope and faith in anything higher or any spiritual or other ideal.
