(Letter to Miss MacLeod, December 26, 1900)

I look behind and after
And find that all is right,
In my deepest sorrows
There is a soul of light. read more

The stars are blotted out,
The clouds are covering clouds.
It is darkness vibrant, sonant.
In the roaring, whirling wind
Are the souls of a million lunatics
Just loosed from the prison-house,
Wrenching trees by the roots,
Sweeping all from the path.
The sea has joined the fray,
And swirled up mountain-waves,
To reach the pitchy sky.
The flash of lurid light
Reveals on every side
A thousand, thousand shades
Of Death begrimed and black-
Scattering plagues and sorrows,
Dancing mad with joy,
Come, Mother, come!
For terror is Thy name,
Death is in thy breath,
And every shaking step
Destoys a world for e’er.
Thou Time, the All-destroyer!
Come, O Mother, come!
Who dares misery love,
And hug the form of Death,
Dance in destruction’s dance
To him the Mother comes. read more

If the sun by the cloud is hidden a bit,
If the welkin shows but gloom,
Still hold on yet a while, brave heart,
The victory is sure to come. read more

( * This poem was not published in the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda)

(Free translation by Swami Vivekananda) read more

( * This poem was not published in the Complete Works of Swami Vivekananda)

The antiphonal Chorus of the Cowhherds, by his friend, Girish Chandra Ghosh, freely translated by Swami Vivekananda
Men. read more

BLESSINGS TO NIVEDITA

The mother’s heart, the hero’s will,
The sweetness of the southern breeze,
The sacred charm and strength that dwell
On Aryan altars, flaming, free;
All these be yours, and many more
No ancient soul could dream before —
Be thou to India’s future son
The mistress, servant, friend in one. read more

(Complete Works VI, – Bengali Edition p. 256.)

He who was praised by the Brâhmanas, those knowers of the Vedas who made the sky reverberate with the sacred sounds of the sacrifice and caused the darkness of delusion to vanish through well-performed rituals and the knowledge known as Vedanta — he whose greatness was sung in the sweet chants of the Sâma-Veda etc., with voices thundering like clouds (In Indian mythology clouds can cause both thunder and lightning.) — to that Shri Ramakrishna, I offer my eternal worship. read more

(New Discoveries, Vol. 3. p. 490. This undated poem is preserved in the archives of the Vedanta Centre, Cohasset, Massachusetts. Cf. “My Play is Done”, Complete Works, VI.) read more

(Written in November 1898)

One bending low with load of life–
That meant no joy, but suffering harsh and hard–
And wending on his way through dark and dismal paths
Without a flash of light from brain or heart
To give a moment’s cheer, till the line
That marks out pain from pleasure, death from life,
And good from what is evil was well-nigh wiped from sight,
Saw, one blessed night, a faint but beautiful ray of light
Descend to him. He knew not what or wherefrom,
But called it God and worshipped.
Hope, an utter stranger, came to him and spread
Through all his parts, and life to him meant more
Than he could ever dream and covered all he knew,
Nay, peeped beyond his world. The Sages
Winked, and smiled, and called it “superstition”.
But he did feel its power and peace
And gently answered back–
“O Blessed Superstition! “ read more

(Rendered from Bengali)

Beaut’ous blossoms ravishing with perfume,
Swarms of maddened bees buzzing all around;
The silver moon–a shower of sweet smile,
Which all the dwellers of heaven above
Shed lavishly upon the homes of earth;
The soft Malaya breeze, whose magic touch
Opens to view distant memory’s folds;
Murmuring rivers and brooks, rippling lakes
With restless Bhramaras wheeling over
Gently waving lotuses unnumbered;
Foaming flow cascades–a streaming music–
To which echo mountain caves in return;
Warblers, full of sweet-flowing melody,
Hidden in leaves, pour hearts out–love discourse;
The rising orb of day, the painter divine,
With his golden brush but lightly touches
The canvas earth and a wealth of colours
Floods at once o’er the bosom of nature,
–Truly a museum of lovely hues–
Waking up a whole sea of sentiments. read more