Opening Remarks
Even as a woman who had not yet taken to yoga we glimpse a beautiful noble personality in Savitri.
Quiet visage
Her quiet visage still and sweet and calm,
Her graceful daily acts were now a mask;
In vain she looked upon her depths to find
A ground of stillness and the spirit’s peace.
Savitri kept a quiet countenance through all this tumult. Her daily acts done ever gracefully were like a mask hiding her grief. Instead of turning outside for support, she turned within to find a ground of stillness and the Spirit’s peace.
Still veiled
Still veiled from her was the silent Being within
Who sees life’s drama pass with unmoved eyes,
Supports the sorrow of the mind and heart
And bears in human breasts the world and fate.
The Witness Being within who sees the drama of life pass with unmoved eyes and supports the sorrow of mind and heart and bears within the human breasts the world and fate was yet veiled for Savitri.
The Presence was hid
A glimpse or flashes came, the Presence was hid.
Though Savitri did have glimpse and flashes at times, the Presence as such was hid.
Bound to her human lot
Only her violent heart and passionate will
Were pushed in front to meet the immutable doom;
Defenceless, nude, bound to her human lot
They had no means to act, no way to save.
Savitri met with her violent heart and passionate the inevitable doom. Defenceless, stripped of all strength except the limited human power, her human heart and will had no means to act and no way to save.
The sorrowing woman
These she controlled, nothing was shown outside:
She was still to them the child they knew and loved;
The sorrowing woman they saw not within.
Savitri controlled her emotions and passion of grief so that nothing was visible outside. To the parents she was still the child they knew and loved. They could not see the sorrowing woman inside her.
Woman’s strength
No change was in her beautiful motions seen:
A worshipped empress all once vied to serve,
She made herself the diligent serf of all,
Nor spared the labour of broom and jar and well,
Or close gentle tending or to heap the fire
Of altar and kitchen, no slight task allowed
To others that her woman’s strength might do.
There was no change in her beautiful movements and gestures. Though an empress to be whom all vied to serve, She made herself the diligent serf of all sparing neither the labour of sweeping the house or drawing water from the well. Even the slightest task of igniting the fire for the kitchen and the altar was taken up and whatever else that would be possible for her woman’s strength.
Closing Remarks
Thus we see a glimpse into the noble human persona of Savitri and the way her human self took the challenge of adverse fate. She was yet to uncover her divine self within.
