O Infinite Spirit, I shall worship Thee today as nite. O Cosmic Silence, I shall hear Thine unheard voice through the murmur of brooks, through the songs of nightingales, through the sound of blown conch‐shells, through the beat of ocean waves, and through the hum of all vibrations.
India‐wise, in the cosmic temple of my mind, I shall worship Thee ceremoniously, with clanging bells in my heart, O Idol of Finitude! In reverence I shall behold Thy face glowing red with vital power in the sun, and bestowing soothing moonbeam‐glances to dispel all gloom.
I shall no more consider Thee unseen, for, in worship, I shall look straight into and through Thy nite, starry eyes to behold Thy mystic heart. With Thy breath in the heaving wind I shall mix my breath, borrowed from Thee. Wordless chants of my yearning for Thee will pulse with the cadence of my heart‐throbs. I shall feel Thy heart beating in all hearts. I shall watch Thy hands working in the law of gravitation, and in all cosmic forces. In the footfalls of all living creatures I shall hear Thy footsteps.
In worship I shall behold Thy vast, skiey body, alternately adorned with stars on the dark, twinkling veil of night, and Thy coming light with the pale light of the dawn. I shall behold Thee heralding the night with the grey twilight. O my Cosmic Idol, garlanded with stringed beads of the Milky Way, diademed with the rainbow, festively arrayed with the diamonds of all glittering stars and planets, I bow to Thee!
The glistening skin of the sky perspires rain with Thy life, and Thy blood runs through Thy veins of rivers, streams, brooks and in the blood ow of all men. No more shall I worship Thee as unseen, but as my visible, embodied Cosmic Idol.
The temple‐bells of harmony in Nature, the drumbeats of mighty sea‐swells, the myriad votive candles of prayer and chanting in all churches (devotion flowers from the garden of all souls), and the incense of all aspiring loves—all these have I assembled for Thy worship, O visible Idol of my soul!
With open eyes and with the eye of my mind, let me behold Thee, my living Idol of God in Nature. Let me worship Thee vocally and with mental chants, with the bouquet of devotion, with serviceful activity, and with wisdom; above all, let it be with the language of love, with heart‐whispers, with tearless tears in meditation, and with the silent sobs of intuition.
