Opening Remarks
Savitri draws closer to the temple in her heart cave where she is met by a vision of symbolic shapes and forces that guard the inmost depths where her soul resides.
The heaven within
As if in some Elysian occult depth,
Truth’s last retreat from thought’s profaning touch,
As if in a rock-temple’s solitude hid,
God’s refuge from an ignorant worshipping world,
It lay withdrawn even from life’s inner sense,
Receding from the entangled heart’s desire.
It seemed to Savitri that she had entered some hidden heavenly depth within. It seemed as if Truth was hidden here lest thought’s profaning touch distort it. It had taken retreat into cave temple of the body away from the ignorant worshipping world that seeks various objects of desire. It had hid itself from the reach and pursuit of even the inner senses and the heart’s desires entangled with attachments for various outer objects.
Voiceless space
A marvellous brooding twilight met the eyes
And a holy stillness held that voiceless space.
She had entered an inner solitude, a voiceless space, a holy stillness where a marvellous brooding twilight met her vision.
Matter’s trance
An awful dimness wrapped the great rock-doors
Carved in the massive stone of Matter’s trance.
A dimness that inspired awe surrounded the doors of the inner temple carved in matter as if trance-held before that greatness and glory.
Golden serpents
Two golden serpents round the lintel curled,
Enveloping it with their pure and dreadful strength,
Looked out with wisdom’s deep and luminous eyes.
Tremendous energies and powers from the highest heights that push life along the evolutionary paths we felt round the lintel like two golden serpents. It enveloped the door with tremendous strength of purity and looked out towards her with luminous eyes of wisdom.
Eagle and dove
An eagle covered it with wide conquering wings:
Flames of self-lost immobile reverie,
Doves crowded the grey musing cornices
Like sculptured postures of white-bosomed peace.
The power of Intuition (Eagle) covered it with its conquering wings. In that space of flaming energies of self-lost immobile reveries Peace of Purity (Doves) crowded the grey musing cornices all around like sculptured postures with white bosoms.
Figure of gods
Across the threshold’s sleep she entered in
And found herself amid great figures of gods
Conscious in stone and living without breath,
Watching with fixed regard the soul of man,
Executive figures of the cosmic self,
World-symbols of immutable potency.
In that trance held space she entered and found herself amidst the great gods conscious in the sleep of matter and living without the breath of life. As representatives of the cosmic Spirit and symbols of immutable world Powers, they watched with fixed regard the soul of man.
Closing remarks
Thus Savitri enters the inner depths where few have trod or dared.
