Tis said, they, who the starry heavens watch,
Spending their time in silent contemplation,
And view the worlds and systems moving round,
Become so filled with peace and perfect trust
That unto them life, death, grief, care and fear
Are almost naught. So, I, a long time past,
Having passed my time in watching, night by night,
The stars move in their orbits; and my days
In mapping out their past and future course,
One August night, while that the quiet moon
Flooded tree and bush, and vale and hill-top,
Stream and bank, and spire and roof with light,
And whistling winds and rustling leaves added
Their voices to the myriad sounds
Of insect life, fell fast asleep.
And, then, I saw the moon swinging slowly to and fro,
And round our Sun the earth and other satellites
Revolving ceaselessly.
And as they moved I heard a sweet melodious sound
And felt a soft and mellow light;
And still I saw our Sun with other suns
All circling round one common central point,
All these centres round some other centre circling.
The sound increased, till all things seemed but sound,
The light increased, till all things seemed but light,
The heat increased, till all things seemed but heat,
And then I felt my soul beat rapturously
Against the throbbing, pulsing, central life,
From thence I felt the light, the heat, the sound,
The life, the love, the peace pass out unceasingly.
From thence, I knew all life to flow; and passing out,
I knew all life was part of it, and it of life;
I knew that I was it, and it was I;
That sound and light, and life, and I and it were one;
That life and death, and tree and bush, and stream,
And bank, and flower, and seed and it are one,
Then there passed into my soul a perfect,
Great content; and rising from my sleep,
I passed into my life, a happy man.
FOOTNOTE:
1. Reprinted from The Path, 1887. (return to text)