The song of the sannyasin

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The Song of the SannyasinBy Swami Vivekananda

Wake up the note! The song that had its birthFar off, where worldly taint could never reach,In mountain caves and glades of forest deep,Whose calm no sigh for lust or wealth or fameCould ever dare to break: where rolled the streamOf knowledge, truth and bliss that follows both.

Sing high that note, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, OmStrike off thy fetters! Bonds that bind thee down,Of shining gold, or darker, baser ore;Love, hate--good, bad--and all the dual throng,Know, slave is slave, caressed or whipped, not free;For fetters, though of gold, are not less strong to bind;Then off with them, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, Om

Let darkness go; the will-o-the-wisp that leadsWith blinking light to pile more gloom on gloom.This thirst for life, for ever quench; it dragsFrom birth to death, and death to birth, the soul.He conquers all who conquers self. Know thisAnd never yield, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, Om

"Who sows must reap," they say, "and cause must bringThe sure effect; good, good; bad, bad; and noneEscape the law. But whoso wears a formMust wear the chain." Too true; but far beyondBoth name and form is Atman, ever free.Know thou are That, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, Om

They know not truth who dream such vacant dreamsAs father, mother, children, wife, and friend.The sexless Self! whose father He? whose child?Whose friend, whose for is He who is but One?The Self is all in all, none else exists;And thou art That, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, Om

There is but One--The Free--The Knower--Self!Without a name, without a form or stain.In Him is Maya dreaming all this dream.The witness, He appears as nature, soulKnow thou are That, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, Om

Where seekest thou? That freedom, friend, this worldNor that can give. In books and temples vainThey search. Thine only is the hand that holdsThe rope that drags thee on. Then cease lamentLet go thy hold, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, Om

Say, "Peace to all: From me no danger beTo aught that lives. In those that dwell on high.In those that lowly creep, I am the Self in all!All life both here and there, do I renounce,All heavens and earths and hells, all hopes and fears."Thus cut thy bonds, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, Om

Heed then no more how body lives or goes,Its task is done. Let Karma float it down;Let one put garlands on, another kickThis frame; say naught. No praise or blame can beWhere praiser praised, and blamer blamed are one.Thus be thou calm, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, Om

Truth never comes where lust and fame and greedOf gain reside. No man who thinks of womanAs his wife can ever perfect be;Nor he who owns the least of things, nor heWhom anger chains, can ever pass thro' Maya's gates.So, give these up, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, Om

Have thou no home. What home can hold thee, friend?The sky thy roof, the grass thy bed; and foodWhat chance may bring, well cooked or ill, judge not.No food or drink can taint that noble SelfWhich knows Itself. Like rolling river freeThou ever be, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, Om

Few only know the truth. The rest will hateAnd laugh at thee, great one; but pay no heed.Go thou, the free, from place to place, and helpThem out of darkness, Maya's veil. Withoutthe fear of pain or search for pleasure, goBeyond them both, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, Om

Thus day by day, till Karma's power's spentRelease the soul forever. No more is birth,Nor I, nor thou, nor God, nor man. The "I"Has All become, the All is "I" and Bliss.Know thou are That, Sannyasin bold! Say-- Om Tat Sat, Om