The Strength Within pp. 19-20

B1 C2 Movement 5 Passage-by-Passage Summary

Opening Remarks
Savitri has accepted the challenge of Destiny. She refuses to submit to the blind law of Fate. But for that she must discover the Power that can change the fixed scheme of things here. This is what is being now revealed to us.

In our own self
In her own self she found her high recourse;
She matched with the iron law her sovereign right:
Her single will opposed the cosmic rule.

That power is within man, the Power that can alter the fixed fronts of Fate. It is there lying dormant and unused. It is best expressed by the two words ‘Will’ and ‘Faith’ These are the two powers that emerge from our soul and can change the fixed front of Fate. Savitri is armed with this sovereign ‘Will’ that can overcome and master the entire range of cosmic powers that determine our Fate.

To stay he wheels of Doom
To stay the wheels of Doom this greatness rose.

Once again we are brought in touch with a powerful aspect of Savitri, – her inner strength and courage, her steadfastness, her sincerity of purpose. She is conscious of her mission and is ready to face any amount of challenges and difficulties in the process. Now she wakes up to the challenge posed by Death and Fate.

The Unseeen’s knock
At the Unseen’s knock upon her hidden gates
Her strength made greater by the lightning’s touch
Awoke from slumber in her heart’s recess.    (page 20 begins)

It is the ’Hour of God’ that comes in our life when all outer support is taken away from us, so that a hidden inner door may open. Those who turn within during such moments discover their hidden strength that was hitherto asleep till then. This is what Savitri has come to show by her own example.

That which kills and saves
It bore the stroke of That which kills and saves.

In the Hour of God our ego-self is slain but the soul grows mightier and stronger.

Flame of a soul
Across the awful march no eye can see,
Barring its dreadful route no will can change,
She faced the engines of the universe;
A heart stood in the way of the driving wheels:
Its giant workings paused in front of a mind,
Its stark conventions met the flame of a soul.

The march of Time is relentless, where the only certainty is change. The world moves on changing ever as it moves, and yet repeats mechanically and habitually old movements, thereby keeping us tied to old errors and their consequences. It is only when our heart and mind are aligned to the inmost soul that we can rise above change, undo past habits and free ourselves from the entanglements of Fate.

The magic leverage of the soul
A magic leverage suddenly is caught
That moves the veiled Ineffable’s timeless will:
A prayer, a master act, a king idea
Can link man’s strength to a transcendent Force.

The soul within is the magic lever that can call down the Grace that changes Destiny. A sincere prayer in the heart, a persistent will to give oneself to the Divine, even an idea and a contemplation upon the Divine are sometimes enough to bring down the Transcendent’s Intervention in our life.

The miracle is made the common rule
Then miracle is made the common rule,
One mighty deed can change the course of things;
A lonely thought becomes omnipotent.

Once our soul steps out in the front, governing our mind and heart and will, then life becomes a perpetual miracle and a constant unfolding of the Grace.

Closing remarks
Savitri once again shows us the way, the way to true freedom and mastery. She has come to show us that man need not be subject to the blind determinism of Fate. Destiny can be changed but for that we must awaken our soul within and call down the Grace from Above.