Opening Remarks
It is a dream space where Savitri has ventured led by the finger of Fate. Here must she find the doors of fate opening for her.
Emerald woods
Below them crouched a dream of emerald woods
And gleaming borders solitary as sleep:
Pale waters ran like glimmering threads of pearl.
It is a dream world with emerald woods in the foothills of the high peaks. Streams ran across it as thread of pearls bordering them.
Sigh and fragrance
A sigh was straying among happy leaves;
Cool-perfumed with slow pleasure-burdened feet
Faint stumbling breezes faltered among flowers.
A sigh of happiness was felt among leaves. Cool perfumes went through the space with slow pleasure-burdened feet. Faint breezes flowed through the flowers in a gentle dance. The flowers, symbols of soul-energies and their fragrance was bringing joy to the hours that seemed to pause or slowly pass.
The birds
The white crane stood, a vivid motionless streak,
Peacock and parrot jewelled soil and tree,
The dove’s soft moan enriched the enamoured air
And fire-winged wild-drakes swam in silvery pools.
Birds too are symbols of the soul. In this magical space one could see the white crane rapt in concentration, the peacock and parrot as jewels adorning the soil and tree, symbols of earth and our vital nature. The peaceful dove enriched the air with its soft moan.
Earth and Heaven
Earth couched alone with her great lover Heaven,
Uncovered to her consort’s azure eye.
The meeting of earth and Heaven indicates the fulfilment of creation. It is the meeting of Matter and Spirit, Purusha and Prakriti, of mortal nature with higher spiritual states, of world and God. This is Savitri’s mission too.
Scents and hues
In a luxurious ecstasy of joy
She squandered the love-music of her notes,
Wasting the passionate pattern of her blooms
And festival riot of her scents and hues.
All there was beauty and joy and music of love and a festival riot of scents and hues abundantly and exuberantly bursting through flowers.
Gold and sapphire
A cry and leap and hurry was around,
The stealthy footfalls of her chasing things,
The shaggy emerald of her centaur mane,
The gold and sapphire of her warmth and blaze.
It was a place rich with beauty with the birds and beasts and the mountains, rivers and trees. The beasts chased each other stealthily leaping through the trees. The Earth was full of warmth with the golden sun and its blaze.
Nature’s grandiose calm
Magician of her rapt felicities,
Blithe, sensuous-hearted, careless and divine,
Life ran or hid in her delightful rooms;
Behind all brooded Nature’s grandiose calm.
Life ran with her many moods as a magician full of joy. Careless and blithe and sensuous and full of delight, she seemed most divine. Behind the various scenes of her varied play was Nature’s grandiose calm.
Primaeval peace
Primaeval peace was there and in its bosom
Held undisturbed the strife of bird and beast.
Earth’s bosom was full of primaeval peace and it held undisturbed the strife of bird and beast.
Man the deep-browed artificer
Man the deep-browed artificer had not come
To lay his hand on happy inconscient things,
Thought was not there nor the measurer, strong-eyed toil,
Life had not learned its discord with its aim.
It is Man who disturbs this happy play of Nature by introducing artificiality in it. Man laying his hand on the Inconscient changes the primaeval happiness of early Nature in her early steps of pristine purity. Man introduces thought and applies his mind to measure and analyse and keenly observe. He sets aims and goals and with it tries to alter the straight and simple natural course of his life in harmony with nature’s early plan. Of course this is a necessary passage as Sri Aurobindo would tell us later but for the moment it is clear that man’s advent has made the Inconscient sharp and aggressive.
Outstretched at ease
The Mighty Mother lay outstretched at ease.
Mother Earth lay at ease before the coming of man in her primaeval calm supporting with equal joy the play and strife of bird and beast.
Closing Remarks
It is a most beautiful description of the space where destiny has led Savitri through her heart. We can feel the Earth in her primaeval charm and infant joy.
