Raghupathi Venkataratnam Naidu

“ As Thy devotees have sung with myriad-organed music, Ferryman, take us across; Ferryman, take us across—not from this to the next world, not from near earth to distant heaven, not from the stale old to the tempting new, not from ours to not-ours, not from man to God; but across that tremendous chasm that yawns within our own selves. Carry us across passion and sin; ferry us across the gulfs of temptations and struggles, steer us through the storms of evil and sin, even to the haven of truth, light and life. Unto Thee, the unerring Ferryman across, we appeal. ”

“ We are but the visionaries of the fleeting phenomena, we perceive only the shadows. But, by Thy grace and mercy, as the eyes are closed, the heart is opened; as the senses are sealed up, the spirit within is unveiled; and we behold Thee behind the phenomena, beyond the shadows, as the One Eternal Reality; and we rejoice that thus we are led even by Thee into the Holy of Holies. There, in the immost shrine of Thine eternal presence, what are we, where are we, except as mere glimpses and as surface-expressions of Thy profound reality? ”

“ Thou the Spring of life, Thou the Life-giver, Thou the Light that shineth in and through every soul, Thou the central Luminary from which rays forth every life with all its powers, we render thanks unto Thee that even into this small house-hold there has entered Thy blessing of new light — the light of reciprocal love, the light of pure enjoyment, the light of in- tensified attachment, the light of sanctified fidelity, the light of out-looking hope, the light of far-seeing providence, the light of close-watching care, the light of tender nursing and affectionate fondling. ”

“ Thou art the Substance, the Essence, the innermost Reality of our lives. We can conceive the possibility of our existence, we can imagine the bare idea of life itself, only as from Thee, of Thee, in Thee, unto Thee. Words are weak; thoughts are feeble; feelings are frail; all our human efforts to name, define, describe, determine Thee, disclose Thee, are utterly defective, absolutely ineffective. But our hearts feel, our own self-consciousness testifies, that Thou art the sole reality-the basis, the support, the strength, the substance, the spirit of all things. ”

“ The whole universe, as one organic and articulated system, joins with us, as we thus humble ourselves in spirit before Him, the Supreme Spirit. Not there, not here, not then, not now, but everywhere and always, truly this universe is a sacred shrine where the Lord's worshippers and adorers offer united and unbroken worship unto Him, the only Lord. Shall we not rejoice with all the ecstatic bliss of the heart and the soul that, while in no way fenced off from the rest of the world, we are yet in the sacred presence of our God, in the sweet embrace of our beloved Parent? ”

“ Self-love is an instinct, a deep-seated natural prompting, in every bosom. Imprinted on every heart and ruling all one's thoughts and actions, this instinct is the source of all offence—of all injustice and inhumanity—in the world. It runs through every human concern; it is the motive-power of all human movements. With their incommensurable wisdom, therefore, our ancestors, who were deep-read in all the secrets of human nature—its prejudices and its predilections—summed up the essence of all morality in that one golden rule which has ever challeged the just admiration of a civilised world. ”

“ Incalculably rich, indescribably varied and yet marvellously harmonised, this universe is the manifestation of Thy power, wisdom, goodness and holiness. We live in the expansive temple of this world. In the hardness of that which resists, in the softness of that which soothes, in the geniality of the sunshine which awakens new hope in the heart, in the revolving cycle of the seasons which bring tokens of Thy ceaseless mercy, in the unfailing fidelity of the earth's movement and rotation suggestive of the permanence of Thy purpose, even as it is sustained by Thy love, we behold Thee. ”

“ Does not the eye, which cannot see itself, see all in Thee? May this faith endure in us! Thee we now gratefully, reverently bless; as Thou disclosest unto us the mystery of death: "Death is the Heart of Life!" Every cemetery, every burial-place, every cremation-ground is a standing reminder of Thy proclamation that the fleeting breath of man is necessarily and even beneficently destined to fail, but the enduring, the abiding, the imperishable, God-inbreathed spirit is wafted onward and upward, homeward and heavenward. Thee we shall not shun, but shall wait on and trust in unto the very end. ”

“ Now we behold Thee as the very centre, the real core, the true substance, the vital secret, of life and creation. Thou art the Truth that forbids unreality, uncertainty. Thou art the Truth that fits together all changes into one serried series, a marvellous continuity of life and growth. Thou -art the Truth that eludes the inquisitive but reveals itself to the trustful. Thou art the Truth that the philosopher laboriously seeks but the devotee familiarly sees and enjoys. Thou art the Truth that makes the hope of day, even in the darkest hour of night, a fact, a certainty. ”

“ As we count each day in the growing life of this sweet one, we feel the call to a new promise and pledge, to a fresh covenant with Thee—the covenant to own Thee and trust Thee as our sole care-taker, our ever-vigilant protector, our ever-faithful friend, our ever-reliable guide in this heavenward pilgrimage. This darling's daily life, so wisely ordered and so mercifully nurtured, reiterates the convictian to our hearts that the rarest gifts of our lives come out of Thy pure grace, Thy unsolicited, unexpected, abounding grace. ”

“ Thou the Lord of my heart, the Charmer of my heart, the Beloved One of my heart, what words can describe the pang of separation from Thee? How the heart longs and yearns, is tortured with the desire for Thee! The whole world is a dreary desert, if Thy face is concealed from me; my life is a heavy infliction, if it is not inspired and cheered by Thy grace and Thy voice. In these many ways I bemoan my separation, I weep over my desertion. As we have sung, so we sigh; for a single drop of Thy mercy do we pray and do we yearn. ”

“ Even as the loving and beloved child approaches the dear and honoured parent, we approach Thee; not to disclose the hidden, not to reveal the unknown, but to own and to proclaim that the parent has been a true parent, a good parent, a loving parent, a gracious parent—more faithful than a friend, more constant than a companion, more solicitous than a preceptor, more watchful than a care-taker, more intimate than a guide. Thou art not merely the designer and the author, Thou art truly and verily the whole substance, the entire sustenance, the total happiness, of our lives. ”

“ Through this delight, with the worshipful, the adoring attachment unto Thee which comes with it, do Thou make us incapable of a fall, impervious to temptation, invulnerable to the assaults of sorrows and tribulations, that so we may feel the mercy that Thou hast meant for us in all the fluctuations of time. O Thou, the eternal, the ever-abiding, the ever-enduring the ever-true, the ever-good God, do Thou disclose unto us the abundance of Thy mercy and the blessedness of Thy benignantly designed and graciously vouchsafed peace and joy in everlasting companionship with Thee. ”

“ Free as air, broad-cast as light, impartial as the genial showers of heaven, revelation informs the head, quickens the heart, strengthens the conscience and illumines the soul of every upward-looking man, to whatever clime or time he may belong. "This wide universe is the sacred temple of God;" revelation, in its truest and most catholic sense, is the 'open sesame' to the mystery of religion ; and man is, by his very birth, entitled to the bliss of communion with his Father in heaven. ”