During
the days when Atma lived without the religion which was so mortal that
it died in his heart because he found that its friends were false, he
knew God, for this veil was removed, and when the weakness of human
nature again demanded the support of habit and formula, he turned to the
mystic rites and prayers endeared and hallowed by association, but he
knew now that God is a spirit, for spirit with spirit had met. A
silence, born of great reverence, rested upon him, and he no more
clamoured to save the world. The fall of the Khalsa no longer meant the
downfall of God, and in time even the heartache for the vanquishment of
his early dreams disappeared.
And the memory of his love? Love is transient, but frozen lips and
closed eyes can speak with a power unknown to the living, and the power
abides to a longer day than the living voice had controlled. And so the
night of his mourning was long, but the longest night has a dawn, and it
seems to me that the saddest thing I can say in ending my tale is that
the morning dawned and grief was forgotten. It is sad that we forget
joys; it is sadder to forget sorrows.
And so this story of religion that called itself heavenly, and love that
was most mortal, is over. Atma had had of earth's most beautiful things,
"O Love, Religion, Music--all
That's left of Eden upon earth,"--
but no--Love and Religion are not left.
THE END.
End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Atma, by Caroline Augusta Frazer
*** END OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK ATMA ***
***** This file should be named 17183.
Pages:
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105