Opening Remarks
Man prefers his ways of ignorance and holds on to it despite the light of wisdom that is poured by the Madonna of Light.
Ignorant nether plane
She spoke and from the ignorant nether plane
A cry, a warped echo naked and shuddering came.
The ignorant nether plane replied with a cry, a warped echo shuddering in its rawness.
Voice of the sense-shackled mind
A voice of the sense-shackled human mind
Carried its proud complaint of godlike power
Hedged by the limits of a mortal’s thoughts,
Bound in the chains of earthly ignorance.
The voice represented the sense-shackled human mind. It was filled with pride and complaint as if a godlike power was hedged by the limits of mortal’s thoughts and bound to the chains of earthly ignorance.
Imprisoned in body and brain
Imprisoned in his body and his brain
The mortal cannot see God’s mighty whole,
Or share in his vast and deep identity
Who stands unguessed within our ignorant hearts
And knows all things because he is one with all.
Imprisoned in body and brain the eyes of the mortal is covered with ignorance. He is unable to see the totality of God and the way He is one with all things in a vast and deep identity. Thus He remains unknown and unfelt within the ignorant human heart. But God knows all things because He is one with all.
Cosmic surfaces
Man only sees the cosmic surfaces.
Man sees only the surfaces of creation.
Cannot reach life’s core
Then wondering what may lie hid from the sense
A little way he delves to depths below:
But soon he stops, he cannot reach life’s core
Or commune with the throbbing heart of things.
Wondering what may lie hidden from the sense man tries to go a little below the surfaces. But soon he stops and cannot reach the core of life or commune with the living heart of things.
Cannot look upon the soul
He sees the naked body of the Truth
Though often baffled by her endless garbs,
But cannot look upon her soul within.
Man sees the outer body of Truth and baffled by endless garbs he is unable to look upon the soul within.
The spirit escapes
Then, furious for a knowledge absolute,
He tears all details out and stabs and digs:
Only the shape’s contents he holds for use;
The spirit escapes or dies beneath his knife.
Then, impatient and restless for an absolute knowledge he strips bare all the outer details and cuts and digs exploring the contents. But the spirit of things escapes because it is not to be found by cutting the surface phenomenon and analysing it.
Crowding riches of infinity
He sees as a blank stretch, a giant waste
The crowding riches of infinity.
His sense observation, unable to look deep within, sees only a blank stretch and feels that all these details of creation as a wasted effort.
Central field
The finite he has made his central field,
Its plan dissects, masters its processes,
That which moves all is hidden from his gaze,
His poring eyes miss the unseen behind.
The mind has made the finite as its central field. It dissects and masters its plans and processes but misses that which his senses cannot perceive. His eyes are limited in their capacity and miss much that remains forever unseen.
Blind man
He has the blind man’s subtle unerring touch
Or the slow traveller’s sight of distant scenes;
The soul’s revealing contacts are not his.
Man’s vision is blind and at best, even when precise, he knows things only indirectly. His is the slow traveller’s seeing of distant scenes and not the revealing contacts of the soul that knows through an inner intimacy.
Trusted witnesses
Yet is he visited by intuitive light
And inspiration comes from the Unknown;
But only reason and sense he feels as sure,
They only are his trusted witnesses.
Though the intuitive light flashes upon man from time to time and inspiration pours from above, yet he feels secure with and trusts and prefers his reason and senses.
Ocean of ignorance
Thus is he baulked, his splendid effort vain;
His knowledge scans bright pebbles on the shore
Of the huge ocean of his ignorance.
Thus is man overwhelmed and his splendid efforts go vain. His knowledge scans the bright pebbles on the shores of the huge ocean of ignorance.
Closing Remarks
It is a description of human ignorance as it depends heavily, often exclusively, on the reason and senses and scans mainly the surfaces of life.
