Poems by Paramhansa Yogananda
EAGLE OF PROGRESS
I am the Eagle of Progress,
Soaring far above little lanes
Of narrowness and bigotry.
Call me higher and higher,
That I may fly above all clouds
Of earth-vibrations.
With the sharp talons of my soul,
I will tear all birds of miseries
Which prey upon man.
I will keep the skies of human mind
Free from all hawks of ignorance
Which attack the dove of peace.
I want to fly with balanced wings
Of right-living,
In the fine regions
Of Thy Perception.
Above the tornadoes of worry-vibrations,
I want to fly higher and higher,
And climb to those unimagined heights,
Where Thou dost dwell.
Make me
Thy tame Eagle of Progress.
Praecepta Lessons, Volume 3 (1938): Praeceptum #76
Reason’s Guide
In wisdom’s chambers
Thou dost roam.
Thou art the reason in me.
Thou dost roam and wake
Each lazy little cell of brain
To receive, to receive
The good that mind and senses give,
The knowledge that Thou dost give.
Myself will think, myself will reason.
I won’t trouble Thee for thought,
But lead Thou when reason errs;
To its goal lead it right.
Praecepta Lessons, Volume 3 (1938): Praeceptum #75
O DIVINE HART
O Divine Hart,
I ran for Thee,
Equipped with spears of selfish desires.
Thou didst fly!
I raced for Thee
In the plane of loud prayer.
It crashed to the earth
Of my restlessness,
And the noise frightened Thee away from me.
Stealthily I crept upon Thee
With the dart of my concentration.
But my hand shook
With unsteadiness,
And Thou didst bound from me,
And Thy Feet echoed;
“Without devotion
Thou art a poor, poor marksman!”
With firmness of devotion,
As I held the dart of meditation,
I heard Thy Divine Steps resound again:
“I am beyond thy mental dart –
I am beyond!”
At last, in despair,
I entered the cave of Celestial Love
And lo! Thou, the Divine Hart,
Camest willingly within.
Praecepta Lessons, Volume 3 (1938): Praeceptum #53
THE RAINBOW-BRIDGE
The gulf of Ages lay
Between Thee and me,
And widened
As the waters of my oblivion of Thee
Grew through the centuries.
I stand
By this rocky shore of matter,
Looking for Thy smooth Shores of Peace,
Beyond. My inner architects
Are building for me a bridge
Of my constant remembrance of Thee.
The girders of my strength of self-control
Are all being riveted together.
My dreams of Thee
Are gathering together
To make a rainbow-bridge of Self-Realization,
By which I shall soon reach
Unto Thee.
Praecepta Lessons, Volume 3 (1938): Praeceptum #56
