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Source: Bahá'í Library Online (bahai-library.com), curated by Jonah Winters. Used by permission of the curator. Original citation: Stanwood Cobb, What Is God?, Washington, DC: The Avalon Press, 1955, bahai-library.com.
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
WHAT IS GOD?
BY
STANWOOD COBB
AVALON PRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
COPYRIGHT— 1955 ... BY STANWOOD COBB
MANUFACTURED IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
^t)edication
To the Apocalyptic Splendor —
The Spiritual Potency that guides and inspires
May its Tide wax full upon earth's shore,
Deep from the Ocean of Omniscience.
Dedicated to
SEERS & HIEROPHANTS
Inspired by the Almighty
reface
^/se following verses are an attempt to open
up vistas into the Infinite in a way that prose could
not accomplish. Let the reader look upon each
stanza as a mystic avenue of Light, giving (it is
hoped) some faint suggestion of Reality. These
poems are intended neither for inculcation nor in
doctrination, but as focal points of contemplation on
the Majesty, the Omnipresence and the All-enfolding
Beneficence of man's Creator, King and Friend.
Let the reader, as he will, pursue whatever flights
of spiritual imagination these stanzas lead him to in
his own search for God. For man's spiritual search
must be individual, his desire individual, and his at
tainment individual.
No one can find God for another person, but we
can lift each other up by sharing our inspirations
and our faiths. Our communions with Divinity
must be in the silence of our own hearts; but our
journey Godward can and should be in gladsome
fellowship.
What is God? The World has ever sought,
And still must seek, to solve this mystery.
Here avails but little — scientific thought
Or fragile cobwebs of philosophy.
We look, we search the universe, in vain —
The Whole is not discernible in part:
But when soul-weary, sore with pain,
We look within we find Him in our heart.
Not immense learning but the gift of Grace
Enables us to see Him face to face:
The Ancient Beauty is the Holy Grail
Revealed to Love where other seekers fail.
Canto Oh,
THE SEARCH FOR GOD
I
J). we peer into the awesome Infinite
and question—“What is God?”
The ancients were more humble—stood abashed
on ground where He had trod.
II
* 7 the majestic sky they raised imploring hands
beseeching the Unknown
To grant protection and beneficence
from His Almighty throne.
III
O. the priests dared breathe His sacred Name,
only the privileged approach
His august Presence where no worldliness
could venture to encroach.
IV
S} oes God exist? We do not need the tomes
of philosophic mists
To prove the sun. We only need
its
warmth
to know that exists.
it
-
s
V
–4. so with God. Discussions cannot prove
what wisdom has not sown.
The proof of His existence comes from search
by souls in ripeness grown.
VI
~/. faith, like healing, be empirical:
we learn by adept stages.
its
Experience achieves certitude
its
where doubt battle wages.
VII
^^nce we have felt the tenderness, the warmth,
the love of the Divine —
We no more doubt this Spirit of Existence
than that the sun can shine.
VIII
God a Personality? We err
if we say "Yes" or "No".
He is not less than Personality —
this much we surely know.
IX
could the universe in quality
surpass its Architect?
Or life develop attributes and traits
only its Maker could perfect?
this could not originate
From atoms which his sovereign will compels,
nor from a soulless Fate.
XI
J. man is mind, then God is Greater Mind.
If humans can devise—
Then Deity is the cosmic Architect
both Skilled and Super-wise.
XII
_9.
of
man capable selfless love,
is
whence comes this quality?
did not rise from matter's catenations,
It
nor star-dust energy.
XIII
~/. underlies existence, from solar heat
to the life beneath the sod—
A love that vitalizes matter, yet is not
matter, but is God.
XIV
G. is the Gracious, and His loving thought
enfolds each living thing.
He is the radiance of dawn and dusk,
the joy of birds that sing.
*
XV
G. is the safe Protector. His Wisdom guides,
His spirit shelters all.
He knows His universe, His angels speed
at His commanding Call.
XVI
S. God is Peace, but not the peace of death.
He is the Peace of Power—
A Power that transcends motion and achieves
infinity each hour.
XVII
º
, he way of God is utter Peace and Power.
Then man should contemplate
This Cosmic Way, and so transform his life
to such celestial state.
XVIII
G. is Creative Will, the Great Transformer;
to His Plan all Nature flows.
His Thought inhabits every solid form
and every wind that blows.
*
XIX
/ he world moves by the magic of His Mind;
His secret aim deploys
All upward growth from minuscule to man
from grief to cosmic joys~
XX
V 1
[y ast cosmic currents move as He designs,
infinities that terrify.
He stays forever Inaccessible,
remoter than the sky.
XXI
'M/. then can reach His throne, or worship
at his Holy sanctuary?
Only those who travel on such Beams of Light
as to defy earth's gravity.
Canto j(MVO
GOD IS THE QUEST OF LEARNING
God, Thou art not only Knowledge,
but the quest of every learning:
The goal of search, the ardent heart's desire,
the essence of all yearning.
II
JJ. who finds Thee has found the Ultimate.
What questing further needs he
Of erudition, vain imaginings,
arid philosophy?
III
G.
all
do
is Wisdom. Therefore the wise,
seeking cosmic Way
a
To truth and wisdom, kindle their white light
from His Supernal Ray.
IV
4. atheists deny. Let the scholar pour
over his musty book.
of
Seekers truth glean wisdom from the skies,
low-learning
all
forsook.
V
God, our reason cannot bridge Thy gulf,
nor solve Thy mystery.
The mind falls short: —only the humble heart
can find its way to Thee.
VI
J4. is most learned who has plumbed the depths
of that Reality,
Which like an ocean rims the shores of life
with vast Finality.
J/
VII
most is wise whose inmost search is Love.
His knowledge is most vast
Who, sitting at Supper with his Lord of Lords,
shares a Divine repast.
VIII
_9. is not merely where the flesh-bound body
but where desires fly is,
That sets the soul’s evolving destiny
sky.
or
to
nearer earth
IX
ay that life has no meaning save in God —
the temporal is void.
Life is most real when ruled celestially,
all earthliness destroyed.
J immortality is not time's prolongation,
but Time spiritually
And Infinity is not mere endless space,
betrothed.
but Space suffused with God.
XI
O. need not die to reach this Limitless.
Existence can be free.
its
The bird has but to leave gilded cage
Infinity.
to
reach
Canto J.
GOD AS CREATOR
hat is God? The Infinite Creator!
By His August Command
Worlds come into being — universes
fashioned by His Hand.
II
else is created and conditioned,
He Alone the Uncreate.
All else, as non-existent in His presence,
Is subject to His State: —
III
G. is the transcendent universal
of
all plurals that exist.
ONE
Every event that links with Time and Space
His command keeps tryst.
at
IV
G.
the Absolute, the Primal Cause—
is
His Essence still vortex
a
From which flows out creation’s myriad forms
3.
their Source forever Formless.
V
G. is
all
action, yet He Calm
is
a
stiller than tropic sea:
The Life-pulse existence, yet He dwells
of
eternally.
in
Peace
VI
/8. creation was the Thought
of
God:
within creation His Love,
is
From which flows universal Energy
and Wisdom interwove.
VII
–4 that Man has of intellectual power,
All truth that he can find
Is but a faint illumination from
the Universal Mind.
VIII
G. lies beyond the far horizons
of our finite mind and thought.
We grasp Him only so much and so far
As the intuitive soul has caught.
out
GOD AS THE DREAD DESTROYER
I
6. is the maker of the ruthless drought—
the heat that sickly broods:
He is the cause of over-copious rains
and devastating floods.
J/
II
is the Hurler of the thunder-bolt,
the Heart of the cyclone:
All dreaded storms that rage on land and sea
are sourced from Him alone.
Ill
or no other being shares His august Rule —
no partner and no mate;
He is the Power of the Universe
and the sole Hand of Fate.
IV
»
Id
s\J
.
ow can we gladly chant His supreme praise?
How turn our aching hearts
In adoration to that Lord of Lords
from whom such sorrow starts?
V
2/ ob learned we cannot hold our love for Him
only to sunny days.
“Even though He slay me, will I trust Him!” such
should be man's steadfast praise.
VI
G. does not need fair-weather friends.
within each heart to form
He seeks
A faithful love, a constant fealty
in sunshine or in storm.
VII
1 1
his is life's chief dilemma — how to keep
a heart of loving hope
And see God as the Beloved, even when
our feet in darkness grope.
VIII
hat is God? He is the dread Destroyer
Who tears down every form,
With Time's Assistance all anew to build
to the more Perfect Norm.
Canto Jw
GOD AS JUSTICE
I
0. is not Vengeance. We personify
our own proud hearts
When we apply that quality to Him
Who only love imparts.
II
G. is immortal unrecorded Law,
that is not merely now
But always was and will be operative,
to guide and to endow.
III
/3.ut Divine Law is not that fearsome thing
we esteem law to be;
It is the creative flow of Love itself
ruling eternally.
IV
od is Cosmic Justice—the moral law behind
an ordered universe.
His punishment is clear: in each wrong act
lies its inherent curse.
V
/3. God is infinite forgiveness, love
and tender mercy, too:
No matter what our Karmic weight of sin,
each day begins anew.
VI
G. is the Merciful. If He were not,
who would be left alive?
To err is human; to forgive, divine.
all
God’s grace helps thrive.
to
VII
hat is God's Justice? It is not legal fiat
nor punishment for tort.
It is the universal reign of good,
the splendor of Love's Court.
VIII
\Jod is Equilibration, the fine balance
of universal life
Holding the atom in its destined place,
shielding the stars from strife.
IX
C. but this Balance, this Consent-to-Peace
rule the affairs of man,
Life would unfold with frictionless design
under celestial plan.
Canto-Si,
GOD AS BEAUTY
herever we see beauty, we see God.
It is the shining mark
He traces with indelible love and grace
on all His handiwork.
n
1. . J
his Beauty is bewilderment and joy
to each perceiving soul—
And for the artist is the occult clue
to life's dynamic Whole.
III
0. is in mountains and the midnight sky,
in beauty of the stars,
The crescent moon and the amazing comet
that through the heaven flares.
IV
* y he stir of nature in the Womb of Earth
is the Divine Will to bring
From barren soil and tired bare-branched trees
the shining new-born Spring.
\J od is the vigor of the winter months,
the softness of the spring,
The luxury of summer foliage,
the growth in everything.
VI
J4. is the Painter of the sunset hues —
His promise in the sky
That Light —even though darkness intervene —
has immortality.
VII
is the Creative Essence of Existence.
All things of Earth and Sky
Are fashioned by Him into loveliness
for our adoring eye.
VIII
since He made us in His image for
perfection's distant plan,
He molds all things to slowly-growing beauty —
even the Soul of Man.
IX
4. only ugliness is the lack of life—
decadence or decay.
Only by constant growth does Beauty hold
its
in Earth or Man sway.
X
4. Beauty, then, the Soul's Inspiration,
be
moral law;
of
the symbol
God’s willing that the Spirit may
in
time
raise man above all flaw.
Cranio Seeven
GOD AS INSPIRATION
I
G. is the Fire blazing from the Bush,
the Speaker on the Mount,
The Wisdom-Source of the Prophetic Word,
the soul’s perpetual Fount.
II
G. Wisdom and His mystic Word are one,
that through the heavens ride
And reach the spiritual sense of man
to counsel and to guide.
/
J/
III
Word that was, from time's beginning, old;
His wisdom that creates, L
All this lies patent for the need of man,
stands waiting at his gates.
IV
4. him who, yearning for high excellence,
is sensitive to hear,
all
Fling open
of
the windows his soul
grown near.
to
paradise
V
///. was not made for idle ease or joys.
In work he finds God best:
And in creative tasks he shares with Him
the Apocalyptic quest.
VI
0. is the Giver of Progress, the Divine Source
of inventions and of arts:
His spirit breathes upon creative souls
and kindles ardent hearts.
J/
VII
all
is the hidden Cause of great work,
inspiration;
of
the Source
The Divine Afflatus that imbues the poet
with vision and creation.
VIII
y
all
he
invisible impulse human progress,
of
*
the Blue Prints of Perfection.
Man rises potential cosmic heights
to
powered by This Protection.
s
HAPPINESS AND PRAYER
I
- y he universe is not a hostile waste
where man must walk alone.
Spirit is the tender Friend, the mystic Guide
of faith full-grown.
II
G. is the faithful Answerer of Prayer.
We do not need to know
How our beseechments reach His lofty Throne,
or how His blessings flow.
Ill
Q. J
t is enough to pin our faith on His
ability to hear,
And guide our actions by the simple trust
His love and aid are near.
rv
but the cause lies in ourselves —
We ask for fruits denied by Fate to him
who neither digs nor delves.
V
<?
seek to develop — pray to grow, to gain
new values and new power.
For prayer is not a magic to compel
success beyond man's dower.
VI
y. et in God's promise for each gifted soul,
of destined far perfection,
Our prayers can win a needed cosmic power
and guarantee protection.
VII
7 .
or God is Joy-Bestower.
What does He wish
but happiness for man?
Existence, even veiled by passing woe,
has a divine Elan.
VIII
/he stars themselves revolve with vital joy;
the atoms owe their might
To potencies placed deep within their hearts
by the Creative Light.
IX
G. is the Music of the heavenly spheres,
the symphony of life;
His Love begets celestial harmony,
all
His will can quell strife.
X
–4. always functions normally with joy.
Sorrow but cloud
is
a
Behind which shines eternally Light
a
that grief can never shroud.
*
XI
&- all
grief Life
of
God—the Breath
is
all
sustaining creation,
of
The Essence phenominal existence,
Eternity’s duration.
XII
S. then, this Eternal Beloved.
His love within our breast
Once we feel
We enter new birth, new consciousness
a
of
divine dynamic rest.
- --- - - - --
Canto %me
GOD AS LOVE
I
G.
all
is the abundant Storehouse of good,
the bounteous Bestower:
All that life needs is cosmically assigned
by His creative power.
II
G.
of
the Boundless Ocean Existence,
is
the Reservoir of Force.
Life who daily fills
of
One need not fail
his cup this Great Source.
at
?
III
'M/ never need to fail or suffer lack
if we can reach to Him,
And bring petition to His inner court
guarded by seraphim.
IV
0. is the Unpossessed, the Unconstrained
from whom possession flows.
His Wealth is freely given, His Beneficence
freights every wind that blows.
V
J/. can we conceive this Inconceivable,
we who live under law?
Man cannot fathom that Remote Control
whose Throne he never saw.
VI
J/. can we find Him in the Universe,
Who dwells eternally
Beyond the Universe itself—the Source,
the primal Will-to-Be?
*
VII
S. then, that God is Love, earth's love and the soul's.
He is the Cosmic Love
That warms cold space, and sets the flaming suns
its
each in place above.
VIII
0.
Pure Love expanding through the worlds
is
all
of
being.
to
limits
its
He Life's Essence, sustaining Breath,
is
all
the Sight behind seeing.
s
IX
* º here is no heart throughout His wide domains
but shares this Divine Love:
It penetrates
all
of
facets existence
below, around, above.
X
his Love—this Cosmic Force alone—can bind
º
*
all
atoms, every minuscule
Into myriad diverse unity
a
where harmony can rule.
XI
his Universe of Love, flooding man's soul,
giving his spirit sooth,
Enables his aspiring will to wend
its way toward Cosmic Truth.
XII
º o know the Lord is but the mind's avowal;
only His Presence brings,
To hearts that yearn, the Cosmic Love and Grace
that gives man's spirit wings.
s
XIII
ings to soar up above earth's heaviness —
Wings to uplift, each hour,
Man's soul to lofty planes where the soul's love
is matched with perfect power.
RELIGION IS MORE THAN RITUAL
I
G. is pure Spirit—so the Gnostics say.
And he who worships here
Must worship in pure spirit and in truth,
with heart that’s crystal clear.
II
jhis
its
all
means that self—with eager claims—
its
must yield motivation
Within heart that ardent worship lifts
a
in
humble adoration.
*
III
eligion is not mere ritual or creed.
It points to Shining Ways;
Opens a Path to our Divinest Lord.
He worships best who prays:-
TV
ho prays with sanctity; who daily yearns
for downpouring of Grace
And gains a vision that in everything
beholds his Master's face: —
V
'M/. seeks to draw God’s Presence and His Love
a tide of joy to fill
All crooks and crannies of the soul
till Time itself stands still.
VI
–4 a young bride prepares her home with Love
against her dear mate's return,
So kindle in the altar of your heart
flames that divinely burn.
VII
'M/. wrapped in Love the soul can travel safer
than clad in coat of steel;
For armored mail has never shown the power of Love
to radiate, and win, and heal.
VIII
O. through Love can the Creator share
Infinity with man.
Only through Love can we become reborn
and the Divine Vision span.
s
IX
G. is man's Beginning and his Cosmic End.
way
its
Each soul must wend
Through countless evolutions toward that Throne
all
which holds sway.
in
ens
X
an
being all-submerged God
L in
is
a
shall ever be,
so
and
its
Until life ends disparateness, slipping
glad into the Shining Sea.
E AH
L
S
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
WHAT IS GOD?
BY
STANWOOD COBB
AVALON PRESS
WASHINGTON, D.C.
COPYRIGHT— 1955 ... BY STANWOOD COBB
MANUFACTURED IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
^t)edication
To the Apocalyptic Splendor —
The Spiritual Potency that guides and inspires
May its Tide wax full upon earth's shore,
Deep from the Ocean of Omniscience.
Dedicated to
SEERS & HIEROPHANTS
Inspired by the Almighty
reface
^/se following verses are an attempt to open
up vistas into the Infinite in a way that prose could
not accomplish. Let the reader look upon each
stanza as a mystic avenue of Light, giving (it is
hoped) some faint suggestion of Reality. These
poems are intended neither for inculcation nor in
doctrination, but as focal points of contemplation on
the Majesty, the Omnipresence and the All-enfolding
Beneficence of man's Creator, King and Friend.
Let the reader, as he will, pursue whatever flights
of spiritual imagination these stanzas lead him to in
his own search for God. For man's spiritual search
must be individual, his desire individual, and his at
tainment individual.
No one can find God for another person, but we
can lift each other up by sharing our inspirations
and our faiths. Our communions with Divinity
must be in the silence of our own hearts; but our
journey Godward can and should be in gladsome
fellowship.
What is God? The World has ever sought,
And still must seek, to solve this mystery.
Here avails but little — scientific thought
Or fragile cobwebs of philosophy.
We look, we search the universe, in vain —
The Whole is not discernible in part:
But when soul-weary, sore with pain,
We look within we find Him in our heart.
Not immense learning but the gift of Grace
Enables us to see Him face to face:
The Ancient Beauty is the Holy Grail
Revealed to Love where other seekers fail.
Canto Oh,
THE SEARCH FOR GOD
I
J). we peer into the awesome Infinite
and question—“What is God?”
The ancients were more humble—stood abashed
on ground where He had trod.
II
* 7 the majestic sky they raised imploring hands
beseeching the Unknown
To grant protection and beneficence
from His Almighty throne.
III
O. the priests dared breathe His sacred Name,
only the privileged approach
His august Presence where no worldliness
could venture to encroach.
IV
S} oes God exist? We do not need the tomes
of philosophic mists
To prove the sun. We only need
its
warmth
to know that exists.
it
-
s
V
–4. so with God. Discussions cannot prove
what wisdom has not sown.
The proof of His existence comes from search
by souls in ripeness grown.
VI
~/. faith, like healing, be empirical:
we learn by adept stages.
its
Experience achieves certitude
its
where doubt battle wages.
VII
^^nce we have felt the tenderness, the warmth,
the love of the Divine —
We no more doubt this Spirit of Existence
than that the sun can shine.
VIII
God a Personality? We err
if we say "Yes" or "No".
He is not less than Personality —
this much we surely know.
IX
could the universe in quality
surpass its Architect?
Or life develop attributes and traits
only its Maker could perfect?
this could not originate
From atoms which his sovereign will compels,
nor from a soulless Fate.
XI
J. man is mind, then God is Greater Mind.
If humans can devise—
Then Deity is the cosmic Architect
both Skilled and Super-wise.
XII
_9.
of
man capable selfless love,
is
whence comes this quality?
did not rise from matter's catenations,
It
nor star-dust energy.
XIII
~/. underlies existence, from solar heat
to the life beneath the sod—
A love that vitalizes matter, yet is not
matter, but is God.
XIV
G. is the Gracious, and His loving thought
enfolds each living thing.
He is the radiance of dawn and dusk,
the joy of birds that sing.
*
XV
G. is the safe Protector. His Wisdom guides,
His spirit shelters all.
He knows His universe, His angels speed
at His commanding Call.
XVI
S. God is Peace, but not the peace of death.
He is the Peace of Power—
A Power that transcends motion and achieves
infinity each hour.
XVII
º
, he way of God is utter Peace and Power.
Then man should contemplate
This Cosmic Way, and so transform his life
to such celestial state.
XVIII
G. is Creative Will, the Great Transformer;
to His Plan all Nature flows.
His Thought inhabits every solid form
and every wind that blows.
*
XIX
/ he world moves by the magic of His Mind;
His secret aim deploys
All upward growth from minuscule to man
from grief to cosmic joys~
XX
V 1
[y ast cosmic currents move as He designs,
infinities that terrify.
He stays forever Inaccessible,
remoter than the sky.
XXI
'M/. then can reach His throne, or worship
at his Holy sanctuary?
Only those who travel on such Beams of Light
as to defy earth's gravity.
Canto j(MVO
GOD IS THE QUEST OF LEARNING
God, Thou art not only Knowledge,
but the quest of every learning:
The goal of search, the ardent heart's desire,
the essence of all yearning.
II
JJ. who finds Thee has found the Ultimate.
What questing further needs he
Of erudition, vain imaginings,
arid philosophy?
III
G.
all
do
is Wisdom. Therefore the wise,
seeking cosmic Way
a
To truth and wisdom, kindle their white light
from His Supernal Ray.
IV
4. atheists deny. Let the scholar pour
over his musty book.
of
Seekers truth glean wisdom from the skies,
low-learning
all
forsook.
V
God, our reason cannot bridge Thy gulf,
nor solve Thy mystery.
The mind falls short: —only the humble heart
can find its way to Thee.
VI
J4. is most learned who has plumbed the depths
of that Reality,
Which like an ocean rims the shores of life
with vast Finality.
J/
VII
most is wise whose inmost search is Love.
His knowledge is most vast
Who, sitting at Supper with his Lord of Lords,
shares a Divine repast.
VIII
_9. is not merely where the flesh-bound body
but where desires fly is,
That sets the soul’s evolving destiny
sky.
or
to
nearer earth
IX
ay that life has no meaning save in God —
the temporal is void.
Life is most real when ruled celestially,
all earthliness destroyed.
J immortality is not time's prolongation,
but Time spiritually
And Infinity is not mere endless space,
betrothed.
but Space suffused with God.
XI
O. need not die to reach this Limitless.
Existence can be free.
its
The bird has but to leave gilded cage
Infinity.
to
reach
Canto J.
GOD AS CREATOR
hat is God? The Infinite Creator!
By His August Command
Worlds come into being — universes
fashioned by His Hand.
II
else is created and conditioned,
He Alone the Uncreate.
All else, as non-existent in His presence,
Is subject to His State: —
III
G. is the transcendent universal
of
all plurals that exist.
ONE
Every event that links with Time and Space
His command keeps tryst.
at
IV
G.
the Absolute, the Primal Cause—
is
His Essence still vortex
a
From which flows out creation’s myriad forms
3.
their Source forever Formless.
V
G. is
all
action, yet He Calm
is
a
stiller than tropic sea:
The Life-pulse existence, yet He dwells
of
eternally.
in
Peace
VI
/8. creation was the Thought
of
God:
within creation His Love,
is
From which flows universal Energy
and Wisdom interwove.
VII
–4 that Man has of intellectual power,
All truth that he can find
Is but a faint illumination from
the Universal Mind.
VIII
G. lies beyond the far horizons
of our finite mind and thought.
We grasp Him only so much and so far
As the intuitive soul has caught.
out
GOD AS THE DREAD DESTROYER
I
6. is the maker of the ruthless drought—
the heat that sickly broods:
He is the cause of over-copious rains
and devastating floods.
J/
II
is the Hurler of the thunder-bolt,
the Heart of the cyclone:
All dreaded storms that rage on land and sea
are sourced from Him alone.
Ill
or no other being shares His august Rule —
no partner and no mate;
He is the Power of the Universe
and the sole Hand of Fate.
IV
»
Id
s\J
.
ow can we gladly chant His supreme praise?
How turn our aching hearts
In adoration to that Lord of Lords
from whom such sorrow starts?
V
2/ ob learned we cannot hold our love for Him
only to sunny days.
“Even though He slay me, will I trust Him!” such
should be man's steadfast praise.
VI
G. does not need fair-weather friends.
within each heart to form
He seeks
A faithful love, a constant fealty
in sunshine or in storm.
VII
1 1
his is life's chief dilemma — how to keep
a heart of loving hope
And see God as the Beloved, even when
our feet in darkness grope.
VIII
hat is God? He is the dread Destroyer
Who tears down every form,
With Time's Assistance all anew to build
to the more Perfect Norm.
Canto Jw
GOD AS JUSTICE
I
0. is not Vengeance. We personify
our own proud hearts
When we apply that quality to Him
Who only love imparts.
II
G. is immortal unrecorded Law,
that is not merely now
But always was and will be operative,
to guide and to endow.
III
/3.ut Divine Law is not that fearsome thing
we esteem law to be;
It is the creative flow of Love itself
ruling eternally.
IV
od is Cosmic Justice—the moral law behind
an ordered universe.
His punishment is clear: in each wrong act
lies its inherent curse.
V
/3. God is infinite forgiveness, love
and tender mercy, too:
No matter what our Karmic weight of sin,
each day begins anew.
VI
G. is the Merciful. If He were not,
who would be left alive?
To err is human; to forgive, divine.
all
God’s grace helps thrive.
to
VII
hat is God's Justice? It is not legal fiat
nor punishment for tort.
It is the universal reign of good,
the splendor of Love's Court.
VIII
\Jod is Equilibration, the fine balance
of universal life
Holding the atom in its destined place,
shielding the stars from strife.
IX
C. but this Balance, this Consent-to-Peace
rule the affairs of man,
Life would unfold with frictionless design
under celestial plan.
Canto-Si,
GOD AS BEAUTY
herever we see beauty, we see God.
It is the shining mark
He traces with indelible love and grace
on all His handiwork.
n
1. . J
his Beauty is bewilderment and joy
to each perceiving soul—
And for the artist is the occult clue
to life's dynamic Whole.
III
0. is in mountains and the midnight sky,
in beauty of the stars,
The crescent moon and the amazing comet
that through the heaven flares.
IV
* y he stir of nature in the Womb of Earth
is the Divine Will to bring
From barren soil and tired bare-branched trees
the shining new-born Spring.
\J od is the vigor of the winter months,
the softness of the spring,
The luxury of summer foliage,
the growth in everything.
VI
J4. is the Painter of the sunset hues —
His promise in the sky
That Light —even though darkness intervene —
has immortality.
VII
is the Creative Essence of Existence.
All things of Earth and Sky
Are fashioned by Him into loveliness
for our adoring eye.
VIII
since He made us in His image for
perfection's distant plan,
He molds all things to slowly-growing beauty —
even the Soul of Man.
IX
4. only ugliness is the lack of life—
decadence or decay.
Only by constant growth does Beauty hold
its
in Earth or Man sway.
X
4. Beauty, then, the Soul's Inspiration,
be
moral law;
of
the symbol
God’s willing that the Spirit may
in
time
raise man above all flaw.
Cranio Seeven
GOD AS INSPIRATION
I
G. is the Fire blazing from the Bush,
the Speaker on the Mount,
The Wisdom-Source of the Prophetic Word,
the soul’s perpetual Fount.
II
G. Wisdom and His mystic Word are one,
that through the heavens ride
And reach the spiritual sense of man
to counsel and to guide.
/
J/
III
Word that was, from time's beginning, old;
His wisdom that creates, L
All this lies patent for the need of man,
stands waiting at his gates.
IV
4. him who, yearning for high excellence,
is sensitive to hear,
all
Fling open
of
the windows his soul
grown near.
to
paradise
V
///. was not made for idle ease or joys.
In work he finds God best:
And in creative tasks he shares with Him
the Apocalyptic quest.
VI
0. is the Giver of Progress, the Divine Source
of inventions and of arts:
His spirit breathes upon creative souls
and kindles ardent hearts.
J/
VII
all
is the hidden Cause of great work,
inspiration;
of
the Source
The Divine Afflatus that imbues the poet
with vision and creation.
VIII
y
all
he
invisible impulse human progress,
of
*
the Blue Prints of Perfection.
Man rises potential cosmic heights
to
powered by This Protection.
s
HAPPINESS AND PRAYER
I
- y he universe is not a hostile waste
where man must walk alone.
Spirit is the tender Friend, the mystic Guide
of faith full-grown.
II
G. is the faithful Answerer of Prayer.
We do not need to know
How our beseechments reach His lofty Throne,
or how His blessings flow.
Ill
Q. J
t is enough to pin our faith on His
ability to hear,
And guide our actions by the simple trust
His love and aid are near.
rv
but the cause lies in ourselves —
We ask for fruits denied by Fate to him
who neither digs nor delves.
V
<?
seek to develop — pray to grow, to gain
new values and new power.
For prayer is not a magic to compel
success beyond man's dower.
VI
y. et in God's promise for each gifted soul,
of destined far perfection,
Our prayers can win a needed cosmic power
and guarantee protection.
VII
7 .
or God is Joy-Bestower.
What does He wish
but happiness for man?
Existence, even veiled by passing woe,
has a divine Elan.
VIII
/he stars themselves revolve with vital joy;
the atoms owe their might
To potencies placed deep within their hearts
by the Creative Light.
IX
G. is the Music of the heavenly spheres,
the symphony of life;
His Love begets celestial harmony,
all
His will can quell strife.
X
–4. always functions normally with joy.
Sorrow but cloud
is
a
Behind which shines eternally Light
a
that grief can never shroud.
*
XI
&- all
grief Life
of
God—the Breath
is
all
sustaining creation,
of
The Essence phenominal existence,
Eternity’s duration.
XII
S. then, this Eternal Beloved.
His love within our breast
Once we feel
We enter new birth, new consciousness
a
of
divine dynamic rest.
- --- - - - --
Canto %me
GOD AS LOVE
I
G.
all
is the abundant Storehouse of good,
the bounteous Bestower:
All that life needs is cosmically assigned
by His creative power.
II
G.
of
the Boundless Ocean Existence,
is
the Reservoir of Force.
Life who daily fills
of
One need not fail
his cup this Great Source.
at
?
III
'M/ never need to fail or suffer lack
if we can reach to Him,
And bring petition to His inner court
guarded by seraphim.
IV
0. is the Unpossessed, the Unconstrained
from whom possession flows.
His Wealth is freely given, His Beneficence
freights every wind that blows.
V
J/. can we conceive this Inconceivable,
we who live under law?
Man cannot fathom that Remote Control
whose Throne he never saw.
VI
J/. can we find Him in the Universe,
Who dwells eternally
Beyond the Universe itself—the Source,
the primal Will-to-Be?
*
VII
S. then, that God is Love, earth's love and the soul's.
He is the Cosmic Love
That warms cold space, and sets the flaming suns
its
each in place above.
VIII
0.
Pure Love expanding through the worlds
is
all
of
being.
to
limits
its
He Life's Essence, sustaining Breath,
is
all
the Sight behind seeing.
s
IX
* º here is no heart throughout His wide domains
but shares this Divine Love:
It penetrates
all
of
facets existence
below, around, above.
X
his Love—this Cosmic Force alone—can bind
º
*
all
atoms, every minuscule
Into myriad diverse unity
a
where harmony can rule.
XI
his Universe of Love, flooding man's soul,
giving his spirit sooth,
Enables his aspiring will to wend
its way toward Cosmic Truth.
XII
º o know the Lord is but the mind's avowal;
only His Presence brings,
To hearts that yearn, the Cosmic Love and Grace
that gives man's spirit wings.
s
XIII
ings to soar up above earth's heaviness —
Wings to uplift, each hour,
Man's soul to lofty planes where the soul's love
is matched with perfect power.
RELIGION IS MORE THAN RITUAL
I
G. is pure Spirit—so the Gnostics say.
And he who worships here
Must worship in pure spirit and in truth,
with heart that’s crystal clear.
II
jhis
its
all
means that self—with eager claims—
its
must yield motivation
Within heart that ardent worship lifts
a
in
humble adoration.
*
III
eligion is not mere ritual or creed.
It points to Shining Ways;
Opens a Path to our Divinest Lord.
He worships best who prays:-
TV
ho prays with sanctity; who daily yearns
for downpouring of Grace
And gains a vision that in everything
beholds his Master's face: —
V
'M/. seeks to draw God’s Presence and His Love
a tide of joy to fill
All crooks and crannies of the soul
till Time itself stands still.
VI
–4 a young bride prepares her home with Love
against her dear mate's return,
So kindle in the altar of your heart
flames that divinely burn.
VII
'M/. wrapped in Love the soul can travel safer
than clad in coat of steel;
For armored mail has never shown the power of Love
to radiate, and win, and heal.
VIII
O. through Love can the Creator share
Infinity with man.
Only through Love can we become reborn
and the Divine Vision span.
s
IX
G. is man's Beginning and his Cosmic End.
way
its
Each soul must wend
Through countless evolutions toward that Throne
all
which holds sway.
in
ens
X
an
being all-submerged God
L in
is
a
shall ever be,
so
and
its
Until life ends disparateness, slipping
glad into the Shining Sea.
E AH
L
S
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