Ramdhun

Vaishnav Jan.....

Ancient Hymns

From The Ramacharitamanas of Tulsidas

From The Ramacharitamanas of Tulsidas

When The Heart Is Hard

Here Is Thy Footshool

The True Vaishnava

The Path of Love

My Heartfelt Prayer

Lead Kindly Light

The Wondrous Cross

Rock of Ages

Ram Dhun
Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram,
Patita Pavan Sitaram
Ishwar Allah Tero Nam,
Sabko Sanmati de Bhagwan

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Ancient Hymns

In the early morning
I worship him who is beyond all thought and speech,
Yet by whose grace all speech is uttered
I worship him of whom the Scriptures say
That he shall not be limited by words
I worship him whom ancient sages name
The God of gods,
Him the unborn,
Him the perfect,
Him the source of all
In the early morning
I bow to him who dwelleth beyond darkness,
Who shineth as the sun:
I worship him who is perfection,
Him, entitled anciently the Wholly Good:
In him,
We, peering through this veil of darkness,
Imagine that we see the universe brought forth,
Even as, in darkness,
Men think a rope a snake.

Source: Gandhi- The Writer by Bhabani Bhattacharya

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From The Ramcharitamanas of Tulsidas

Grant me, O Master, by Thy grace
To follow all the good and pure:
To be content with simple things;
To use my fellows not as means but ends:
To serve them stalwartly, in thought, word, deed;
Never to utter word of hatred or of shame:
To cast away all selfishness and pride:
To speak no ill of others:
To have a mind at peace,
Set free from care, and led astray from Thee
Neither by happiness nor by woe:
Set Thou my feet upon this path,
And keep me steadfast in it,
Thus only shall I please Thee, serve Thee right.

Source: Gandhi- The Writer by Bhabani Bhattacharya

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From The Ramcharitamanas of Tulsidas

This and this alone
Is true religion-
To serve Thy brethren:
This is sin above all other sin,
To harm Thy brethren:
In such a faith is happiness,
In lack of it is misery and pain:
Blessed is he who swerveth not aside
From this straight path:
Blessed is he whose life is lived
Thus ceaselessly in serving God:
By bearing others' burdens,
And so alone,
Is life, true life, to be attained:
Nothing is hard to him who, casting self aside,
Thinks only this-
How may I serve fellow-men?

Source: Gandhi- The Writer by Bhabani Bhattacharya

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When The heart Is hard

Here Is Thy Footstool

Here is thy footstool and there rest thy feet where live the
 poorest  and lowliest and lost.

When I  try to bow to there, my obeisance cannot reach down to the depth where thy feet rest among the poorest and lowliest and lost.

Pride can never approach to where thou walkest in the
clothes of the humble among the poorest, and lowliest and lost.

My heart can never find its way to where thou keepest
company with the companionless among the poorest, the lowliest and the lost.

- Gitanjali, No.10

(Source: Gandhi- The Writer by Bhabani Bhattacharya)

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The True Vaishnava

He is a real Vaishnava, who feels the suffering of others as his own suffering. He is ever ready to serve, and is never guilty of overweening pride. He bows before everyone, despises none, preserves purity in thought, word and deed. Blessed is the mother of such a son: in every woman he reveres his mother. He pre- serves equanimity and never stains his mouth with falsehood, nor touches the riches of another. The bonds of desire cannot hold him. Ever in harmony with Ramanama, his body in itself possesses all the places of pilgrimage. He knows neither desire nor disappointment, neither passion nor wrath.

- Narasimha Mehta

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The Path of Love

"The way of the Lord is open only to heroes, to cowards it is fast shut.
 "Give up thy life and all that thou hast, so thou mayst assume the name of the Lord.
  "Only he who leaves his son, his wife, his riches, and his life, shall drink from the vessel of God.
 "For in truth, he that would fish for pearls must dive into the deepest depths of the sea & take his life in his hands.
    "Death affrights him not: he forgets all the misery of body and soul.
    "He who stands hesitating on the bank and fears to dive, gains nought.
    "But the path of love is trial by fire. The coward shrinks back from it.
    "He who dares the leap into the fire, attains to everlasting bliss."

- Pritama

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My Heartfelt Prayer

"Lord, preserve me from looking on things which arouse evil thoughts. It were better for me to be blind."
    "Lord, preserve me from soiling my lips with impure words. It were better for me to be dumb."
    "Lord, preserve me from hearing any word of slander and insult. It were better for me to be deaf."
    "Lord, preserve me from looking with desire on any of those who should be my sisters. It were better for me to be dead."

- Tukaram

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Lead Kindly Light

Lead, kindly Light, amid the encircling gloom,
    Lead Thou me on;
The night is dark, and I am far from home;
    Lead Thou me on.

Keep Thou my feet; I do not ask to see
The distant scene; one step enough for me.

I was not ever thus, nor pray'd that Thou
    Shouldst lead me on;

I loved to choose, and see my path; but now
    Lead Thou me on.

I loved the garish day, and, spite of fears,
    Pride ruled my will: remember not past years.

So long Thy power hath blest me, sure it still
    Will lead me on.

O'er moor and fen, o'er crag and torrent, till
    The night is gone;
And with the morn those Angel faces smile,
    Which I have loved long since, and lost awhile.

- Cardinal Newman

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The Wondrous Cross

When I survey the wondrous Cross
    On which the Prince of Glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,
    And pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast
    Save in the Cross of Christ, my God;

All the vain things that charm me most,
    I sacrifice them to His Blood.

See from His Head, His Hands, His Feet,
    Sorrow and love flow mingling down;

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,
    Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,
    That were an offering far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,
    Demands my soul, my life, my all.

To Christ, Who won for sinners grace
    By bitter grief and anguish sore,

Be praise from all the ransom'd race,
    For ever and evermore.

- I. Watts

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Rock of Ages

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the Water and the Blood,
From Thy riven Side which flow'd,
Be of sin the double cure,
Cleanse me from its guilt and power.

Not the labours of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law's demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears for ever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone,

Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy Cross I cling;
Naked, come to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace;
Foul, I to the Fountain fly;
Wash me, Saviour, or I die.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyelids close in death,
When I soar through tracts unknown,
See Thee on Thy Judgment Throne;
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

- A. M. Toplady

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The Sermon On The Mount

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My Share in Your Sorrow

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In All Things Thee To See

Teach me, my God and King,
    In all things Thee to see,

And what I do in anything,
    To do it as for Thee,

All may of Thee partake,
    Nothing can be so mean

Which with this tincture, 'for Thy sake',
    Will not grow bright and clean.

A servant with this clause

Makes drudgery divine;

Who sweeps a room as for Thy laws
    Makes that and th' action fine.

This is the famous stone
    That turneth all to gold;

For that which God doth touch and own
    Cannot for less be told.

- George Herbert

My dear child,

May there be some line, some word, some thought to soften your grief.

With love,
Yours,
Bapu                           

Bombay, 17th March, 1920

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Such Use As He Will

Lord, it belongs not my care
    Whether I die or live;

To love and serve Thee is my share,
    And this Thy grace must give.

If life be long I will be glad
    That I may long obey;

If short, yet why should I be sad
    To soar to endless day?

Christ leads me through no darker rooms
    Than He went through before;

He that into God's kingdom comes
    Must enter by this door.

Come, Lord, when grace hath made me meet
    Thy blessed face to see;

For if Thy work on earth be sweet,

    What will Thy glory be?

My knowledge of that life is small;
    The eye of faith is dim;

But 'tis enough that Christ knows all,
    And I shall be with Him.

 - Richard Baxter

My dear child,

Another evening has come to fill me with thoughts of you. I pass them to our common Maker to make of them such use as He will for your good.

With love,
Yours,
Bapu      

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Self

Oh I could go through all life's troubles singing,
    Turning each night to day,

If self were not so fast around me, clinging
    To all I do or say.

My very thoughts are selfish, always building
    Mean castles in the air,

I use my love of others for a gilding
    To make myself look fair.

I fancy all the world engrossed with judging
    My merit or my blame,

Its warmest praise seems an ungracious grudging
    Of praise which I might claim.

Alas! no speed in life can snatch us wholly
    Our of self's hateful sight,

And it keeps step, when'er we travel slowly
    And sleeps with us at night.

O Lord that I could waste my life for others,
    With no ends of my own,

That I could pour myself into my brothers
    And live for them alone.

My dear child,

You have forgotten your promise. Do not keep me without anything from you for so many days. The above is my selection for the day.

With love,
Yours,
Bapu   

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In Our Father's House At Last

I say to thee, do thou repeat
    To the first man thou mayest meet

In lane, highway or open street-
    That he and we and all men move

Under a canopy of love,
    As broad as the blue sky above;

That doubt and trouble, fear and pain,
    And anguish all are shadows vain.

That death itself shall not remain,
    That weary deserts we may tread,

A dreary labyrinth may thread,
    Through dark ways underground be led,

Yet, if we all one Guide obey,
    The dreariest path, the darkest way

Shall issue out in heavenly day;
    And we on diverse shores now cast,

Shall meet, our perilous voyage past,
    All in our Father's house at last.

- Trench

My dear child,

I am on the train to Delhi. I could not go out for rest. I sent you nothing yesterday. I could not. This may be my last for some days because I shall not know what will happen from day to day. Do let me have a line from you.

With love,
Yours,
Bapu   

Sunday, 21-3-'20

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References