The
hours went by with slow contended tread:
A
wide and tranquil air remembered peace,
Earth
was the comrade of a happy sun.
A
calmness neared as of the approach of God,
A
light of musing trance lit soil and sky.
And
an identity and ecstasy
Filled
meditation's solitary heart.
Autumn led in the glory of her moons
And dreamed in the splendour of her lotus pools
-
Savitri, Sri Aurobindo.
***
A reflection: It was a long hard day, so many things have
happened at work and at home. I decide to take a calm evening walk in the
nearby garden. There is a soft bed of wet green grass and it puts me in a state
of repose. I choose to lie down on the grass-earth and gaze at the blue sky.
Smooth creamy clouds are passing by, one after the other, the setting sun
playing hide and seek about them. The sky is painted with interspersed pink and
blue hues and it appears as though the lovely colors are embracing each other.
The sense of autumn season is so much closer to a calm evening, I feel.
Nature has gone through her long journey through musical spring, blazing summer
and thunderous monsoon. Now it is time to slow down and prepare for the waning
year with cool winter just around the corner. Autumn, a season of transition,
is an invitation to reflect and relax. A shower of crimson leaves falling
slowly from swaying trees forms a pool on the ground. And the rustle of the
dried leaves as they sweep the ground carries a profound music. One can feel
the richness of various events that have happened through the year and
experience the silence they have created inside.
-
Sandhya
***
Autumn (or Fall as it is known in North America) marks
the transition from summer into winter. In a sense it is like evening, when the
soft sunshine, harsh noon have given
way to a space which is neither day nor night. It is indeed one of those
auspicious and sacred moments which leaves one in a contemplative mood. Indeed
this is why dawn and twilight are special as it is a transition time of day or
night.
The Mother begins one of her Prayers written on May 31,
1914 with these moving words – “When the sun set in the indrawn contemplation of the
calm twilight, all my being prostrated itself before Thee, O Lord, in mute
adoration and complete self-giving...”
Just like evening or twilight, autumn is a magical
season. The heat of the summer has passed, winter has not come yet, it is
neither hot nor cold...There is a coolness in the air, days are shorter, nights
are cooler. These changes in the weather make the leaves turn colour from the
green of the summer to vibrant hues of the sunset orange, deep red,
yellow... The fall colours are spectacular in the NE corner of America, a
country blessed with abundance of Nature. Just as viewing of the cherry
blossoms is a sacred obsession of the Japanese, in this part of the country
viewing of Fall colours is a favourite activity. People would drive miles and
miles to view the "fall colours”, especially in New England, the
beautiful states of Vermont, Maine offer the best views of fall colours. Since
each tree's leaves turned colour at a slightly different time, the overall
scenery would be so magical with the spectacular sunset colours and Nature at
her most colourful offering…
Just as the Mother wrote about the cherry blossoms in the Prayer of
April 1, 1917, on seeing the colours of the leaves one would exclaim... oh! What
magical power hast thou put in these leaves... "They seem to speak of Thy sole Presence" they bring with them
the radiance of the Divine.
-
Sudha
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