Sree

“ It was considerably improved by the heads of the Estate and is now in charge of the Local Board. Floating festivals are conducted in it annually. In the heart of the town are several nice buildings and Palaces. The Rajah's Palace is the first. It is called Indra Mahal. Even within its premises are situated, besides the Harem and Durbar Hall other new halls and extensions, certain offices, such as Taluk Office, Bakshi Office and Treasury Office. Around the Palace are other construc
European Guest House, built in 1870 A.D.
Temple of Sree-Varada-Raja Swami at Venkatagiri. ”

“ O blessed art thou, wife Devaki, that the sweet will of the Lord of all Love and All Life was centred on thee when he willed as a child among men to come! And thou, poor mother, whose heart was made to bleed for the bearing of sons, henceforth an ocean of love shalt become, for throbs not under thy heart the pulse of Him who, love-touched, love-filled, and love-made, pervades all lives and all that ever will live? ”

“ Deep have the waters of seeming failures dashed about thy feet and threatened to drag you into the perturbed sea of despair, but still thy head has been close to the clouds and thou hast caught the smile of my radiance and heard the voice of my kindness. Dost thou think that I who have numbered the grains of sand and have weighed the drops of water in all the oceans, seas, lakes and rivers,—that I will allow one who is a spark of Myself to be devoured by the wolf of famine or by the dread of despair? Look up, it is light, look to thy right and a hand reaches out to thee. ”

“ Each Gopi saw only her own Krishna and was unconscious of any other, as she danced, absorbed in that Krishna, round and round, arms round necks, eyes into eyes, all-forgetting, the world forgot, round and round in the whirl of ecstasy, afloat on the waves of Love that is Bliss—round and round with that One Krishna, the All-in-All of the heart and existence—round and round, the lover and the loved, the little soul twining round the Great Soul, the Great Soul pouring Its Nectar into the little soul. ”

“ The earth throbbed and thrilled as the streams of holy Love shot through all her body, swelling her breast with new life and feeding all that was living and moving within the recesses of her bowels, and clothing with great beauty that which lived upon her bosom. ”

“ I will sing a song of love such as you have never heard, such as poets dream not of, which lovers know not of, which the human soul is ever in quest of, which, in your best moments, vibrates undefined through your soul, but ever eludes your understanding. I will sing of that Love which ever plays before your heart's vision as the will-o'-the-wisp through countless incarnations—a Love which alone will make you happy for evermore. ”

“ Ye will not look upon Me as the pedestal upon which all things that are, are founded. Arid because of your blindness, for blind ye are, having eyes ye see not what I have given ye to see—because of your blindness, small are your hearts and cramped and will not expand in height and breadth, even to know the peace that dwells in My clear silence, nor the illumination that lives on My horizon. Nor will ye hear the joy of My greeting of wisdom that would sing to your souls of a love that withereth not, neither fadeth away, neither becometh ashes nor crumbleth to pieces. ”

“ Their home is wherever they live and rest, its roof is the high vault of Heaven with its azure canopy, Mother Earth the floor, the trees its walls; Nature's bowers are their boudoirs. All created beings are their family, the whole earth their country. And the whole earth is one large, beautiful garden, the richest and most beautiful garden of flowers and fruits and songbirds. But more beautiful than the garden are the divine men and women who sanctify its soil by their walking, at whose approach near them the trees worship them with showers of flowers and offers of their fruits as love-gifts. ”

“ But oft the Child would reach His baby hands for the flowers that the populace brought in great profusion to lay at the feet of the Child that was Love, and as He held them close to His baby mouth, behold, their petals quivered and throbbed with love-life, and deeper the color dyed their softness and brighter the gold of their hearts did flame, at the touch of the hand and the breath of the Child that knew naught but Love. ”

“ Verily the aroma of great sweetness reached to all the skies. For Love is ever the master of hate, and Love in its strength doth conquer all hate, and hate is purified by the breath of Love, and sanctified it is by its hand. ”

“ Oh, why are we not the flute He holds to His lips! Blessed beyond all things it is, for His kisses it receives, and drinks the nectar of His love to its fill. What wonder that it joys to give the sound forth that His breath doth make! ”

“ Life is lived then in its veriest depth—deep down through the mind, deeper down through the heart, deepest down in the depth of the soul. And when life is lived in such depth, its surface is not heeded or cared for. ”

“ Like swarms of gnats about a dark and sullen river, they crowd about the heart that harbours thoughts of fear and lo, their stings do itch and burn and swell and bring fever to the blood and bitterness to the taste and even death to the joy that dwelleth in the heart. ”

“ These mysterious-looking, deep-sounding rain-clouds, sent by God, spreading themselves over the sky, will send down rains in a continuous stream, like watery pillars descending from above, inundating all the ash-heaped mountains and valleys, and extinguish the fearful Samvartak Fire. ”

“ But whensoever, Sir, the soul, suppressing both reasoning and investigation, enters into and abides in the Second Jhāna, the state of joy and case, born of serenity,, without reflection or investigation, a state of elevation of mind, internal calm of heart, then, Sir, has the soul attained, in this visible world, to the highest Nirvāṇa.” Thus do some maintain the complete happiness, in the visible world, of a living being. ”

“ While contemplating on the possible way of calling unto itself the beloved soul that had gone astray in its blindness, Death stood before it and called it to make ready for a long journey beyond the boundaries which it now knew. ”

“ His full, strongly-marked face, with its healthy colour, expressed, besides benevolent cheerfulness, a great deal of energetic character, and a decided, cultivated mind, which, separated from the great stream of life, had developed wonderfully in seclusion, framing a world of its own, where it found both peace and happiness. ”

“ I speak not here of the greater happiness in knowing that our inmost thoughts have found their echo in far-away hearts, kindling noble emotions, and warming generous aspirations—teaching courage and hope, by the very commonest of lessons, and showing that, in the moral as in the vegetable world, the bane and antidote grow side by side, and, as the eastern poet has it, ‘He who shakes the tree of sorrow, is often sowing the seeds of joy.’ Such are the triumphs of very different efforts from mine, however, and I come back to the humble theme from which I started. ”

“ Oh, my darling, don't sacrifice both our lives to a scruple that is out of place here. Don't hesitate; don't delay. I have a carriage waiting outside; end all our misery by one act of courage, and trust yourself to me; did I ever fail you?”
“For shame, Henry! for shame!”
“It is the only way to happiness. You were quite right; if I kill that wretch we shall be parted in another way, always parted; now we can be together for life. ”

“ In regard to Frere, I leave you to judge; he is trustworthy as yourself. If he smile at my folly in loving so poor a thing as he holds woman to be, his kind heart will sympathise with my wretchedness, even if my own weakness has produced it. ”

“ We find a wealth of form equally great in the male figures, in the treatment of which we have, moreover, the expression of elaborate bodily strength and courage. The cheerful tone of delight, however, is shared by all, a blithesomeness and blessed indifference, which soars above all particularity, associated not unfrequently with a trait of tranquil sorrow, a kind of smile through tears, in which we neither have wholly smile nor tears. ”

“ But let me, issuing forth from my ponderings, put myself into kindly relations with my fellow beings,—let me so much as pat affectionately the head of the honest dog who meets me on the street,—and a thrill like the warmth of spring touches my chilled intellect. Let me, for a day only, make each human contact, though but of a passing moment, a true recognition of some other soul, and I feel myself somehow in right relation with the world. "He that loveth knoweth God, and is born of God." ”

“ Is it not wondrous how even the tiniest grain of love will permeate the saddest and sorest recesses of the heart, and instantly cause it to pulsate with thoughts and emotions the sweetest and dearest in life? O Love, thou sweet, thou young and rose lipped cherubim, how does thy smile illuminate the universe! how does thy slightest touch electrify the soul! how gently and tenderly dost thou lead us up to heaven!
With Surrey, to decide was to act. The second letter, full of sweetest yet intensest love,—his heart laid bare to her,—was written; was sent, enclosed in one to his aunt. ”

“ Proud it had always been, but not as now, proud with an unutterable tenderness, proud—even that paradox—in a new, sweet, and reverent humility, as the thin hands gently dropped upon the child’s curly head, and the tremulous lips found voice: “Steenie, Steenie! My brave, precious one! Hush! There is no reproach for you; there is nothing but love and obligation. You have humbled me as I have never been humbled in my life; and you have made me proud as I have never been proud. You have conquered your grandmother, now come to her.” ”

“ Louis, stretching himself, with a sigh, in a low chair beside her and the fire, "I have always sedulously cultivated serenity. I believe serenity to be the whole secret of human health, happiness, longevity, good taste, sound judgment, everything in point of fact that is desirable in the life of a human being. But, alas! we are all mortal, and our best plans are but finite. ”

“ Believing that thou art merry and wise; sightly, sprightly; learned, yet nothing loth to laugh; as we first met in a mutual spirit of communication and kindness, so we part. And when good fortune shall again throw us into thy company, not forgetting Mr. Bosky and the middle-aged gentleman with the satirical nose! we shall be happy to shake thy hand, ay, and thy sides to boot, with some merry tale or ballad, * (“Mirth, in seasonable time taken, is not forbidden by the austerest sapients,”) if haply time spare us one to tell or sing. ”

“ I want to convince you that I see the truth clearly now. Let me walk behind you, let me follow you, as a servant follows her master. Ah, give me a little strength you who are strong, you who have never erred, you who have conquered yourself and the world. ”

“ And yet, dear Lord, Thou knowest my weakness. Each morning I resolve to be humble, and in the evening I recognise that I have often been guilty of pride. The sight of these faults tempts me to discouragement; yet I know that discouragement is itself but a form of pride. I wish, therefore, O my God, to build all my trust upon Thee. As Thou canst do all things, deign to implant in my soul this virtue which I desire, and to obtain it from Thy Infinite Mercy, I will often say to Thee: "Jesus, Meek and Humble of Heart, make my heart like unto Thine." ”

“ Madame Merle had made him a present of incalculable value. What could be a finer thing to live with than a high spirit attuned to softness? For would not the softness be all for one’s self, and the strenuousness for society, which admired the air of superiority? What could be a happier gift in a companion than a quick, fanciful mind which saved one repetitions and reflected one’s thought on a polished, elegant surface? ”

“ They whose moderate natures, or gentle fates, keep them, in life's passage, from the fierce extremes of joy and anguish our nature is capable of, are perhaps the best, and certainly the happiest, of mankind. But to such readers I should try in vain to convey what bliss unspeakable settled now upon these persecuted lovers. Even to those who have joyed greatly, and greatly suffered, my feeble art can present but a pale reflection of Margaret's and Gerard's ecstasy. ”

“ Perhaps, with a seraph smile, they hover around you. Will they not rejoice to behold you walking to meet them, with a placid brow and submissive spirit, solacing yourself with such deeds of goodness to others, as are approved in the sight of heaven? ”

“ He will see, in the earnest intensity of his feeling and the sincerity of his expression, a spirit akin to the purer kinds of religious fervour in modern times. In no other writer, ancient or modern, will he find a profounder sense of human dignity, of the supreme claims of affection, of the superiority of a natural to a conventional life. ”

“ At an hour's notice he is ready to appeal to arms, yet he is moved to pity by a cry of distress. In this scion of a stern, as well as gentle ancestry, ambition, arrogance, courage, integrity and a large admixture of the love element, serves to form a most unique character. ”

“ Once he ventured to speak to the Chief in a hopeless voice of the evident impossibility of ever converting that terrible land into a habitable country, and the Seer, strong in the strength of his dream, had looked at him from the still depth of his brown eyes without a word—looked until the younger man had turned away, his cheeks flushed with shame and his spirit doing homage to the strength of the master spirit of the work. ”