The Waylost Pilgrimage, pp. 625-626

Opening Remarks
Mankind is like a group of pilgrims who have lost their way.

As drunkards
On the highways, in the gardens of the world
They wallowed oblivious of their divine parts,
As drunkards of a dire Circean wine
Or a child who sprawls and sports in Nature’s mire.

The divine powers move about as if drunk with a Circean wine that transmutes beauty into ugliness. They forgot their divinity and wallowed on the highways, in the garden of the worlds as drunkards oblivious of their own truth. Or they were like children sprawling and sporting in Nature’s mud and mire.

Lost is the wallet
Even wisdom, hewer of the roads of God,
Is a partner in the deep disastrous game:
Lost is the pilgrim’s wallet and the scrip,
She fails to read the map and watch the star.

Even wisdom, one of the highest of divine powers that hews the roads of God became a partner in the deep disastrous game. The pilgrim’s wallet and the script is now lost and wisdom itself fails to read the map and watch the stars.

Reason’s pragmatic grope
A poor self-righteous virtue is her stock
And reason’s pragmatic grope or abstract sight,
Or the technique of a brief hour’s success
She teaches, an usher in utility’s school.

The stock of wisdom left now is merely a self-righteous virtue. A pragmatic reason gropes for truth or is lost in abstraction. Or it is used for a brief hour’s success teaching as an usher in utility’s school. Its power is now turned towards gathering small things of brief transient utility.

Small thoughts
On the ocean surface of vast Consciousness
Small thoughts in shoals are fished up into a net
But the great truths escape her narrow cast;
Guarded from vision by creation’s depths,
Obscure they swim in blind enormous gulfs
Safe from the little sounding leads of mind,
Too far for the puny diver’s shallow plunge.

Knowledge is now busy netting and fishing small thoughts on the ocean surface of vast Consciousness. But the great truths escape her narrow cast guarded from vision in the depths of creation. These obscure thoughts swim in blind enormous depths safe from the surface leads of mind too far for the puny diver’s shallow plunge. Man’s mind is now tied to the surfaces of life and unable to look within itself to discover the true wisdom that it has lost.

Ignorant eyes
Our mortal vision peers with ignorant eyes;
It has no gaze on the deep heart of things.

Our mortal vision looks at the world with ignorant eyes. It is unable to look deep into the very heart of things.

Error’s staff
Our knowledge walks leaning on Error’s staff,
A worshipper of false dogmas and false gods,
Or fanatic of a fierce intolerant creed
Or a seeker doubting every truth he finds,
A sceptic facing Light with adamant No
Or chilling the heart with dry ironic smile,
A cynic stamping out the god in man;
A darkness wallows in the paths of Time
Or lifts its giant head to blot the stars;
It makes a cloud of the interpreting mind
And intercepts the oracles of the Sun.

Our knowledge walks on the crutch of error. Through ignorance we move towards knowledge. Our mind worships false dogmas and false gods or fanatic follower of a fierce intolerant creed. It is a seeker doubting every truth he finds negating Light as a sceptic with an adamant No. Or chilling the heart with dry ironic smile it is a cynic stamping out the god in man. It is a darkness wallowing in the paths of Time lifting its giant head to blot the stars refusing all light and its guidance and help. It clouds the interpreting mind and intercepts the intuitive thoughts that rain or flow to him from the Sun of Truth.

Closing Remarks
This is the present life of man while it labours in ignorance, his mind having lost its sight.