The Human Being’s Predicament, pp. 457-458

Opening remarks
Narad now reveals the problem of man and the workings of fate.

Mind of mortal man
The mind of mortal man is led by words,
His sight retires behind the walls of Thought
And looks out only through half-opened doors.

The human mind is caught in a web of words. His deeper sight is hidden behind the barriers of Thought and can have only partial glimpses.

Cuts the boundless
He cuts the boundless Truth into sky-strips
And every strip he takes for all the heavens.

Man’s mind cuts the boundless Truth into strips of sky or exclusive systems believing every system of thought and philosophy to be ultimate.

Infinite possibility
He stares at infinite possibility
And gives to the plastic Vast the name of Chance;
He sees the long results of an all-wise Force
Planning a sequence of steps in endless Time
But in its links imagines a senseless chain
Or the dead hand of cold Necessity;
He answers not to the mystic Mother’s heart,
Misses the ardent heavings of her breast
And feels cold rigid limbs of lifeless Law.

The human mind looks at infinite possibility ad is unable to understand the plastic workings of the Cosmic Intelligence and to which it gives the name of Chance. He sees the results of a Conscious Force one with Wisdom planning a sequence of steps in endless Time. But his brief vision imagines the links in this long chain to be senseless placed by the workings of a cold, impersonal, mechanical Necessity. He answers not to the hidden Mother’s heart of Wisdom and Love. He sees not the pulsations of a hidden life and feels only cold rigid limbs of lifeless Law.

Unconscious Fate
The will of the Timeless working out in Time
In the free absolute steps of cosmic Truth
He thinks a dead machine or unconscious Fate.

The free absolute steps of cosmic Truth through which the will of the Timeless works out in Time, man takes to be a dead machine or unconscious Fate.

Magician’s formulas
A Magician’s formulas have made Matter’s laws
And while they last, all things by them are bound;
But the spirit’s consent is needed for each act
And Freedom walks in the same pace with Law.

What we call as laws of Matter are Magician’s formulas and while the formulas last, all things by them are bound. But the spirit’s consent is needed for each act and Freedom walks at the same pace with Law.

All here can change
All here can change if the Magician choose.

Yet all here can change if in the Master Magician choose.

If human will and thought
If human will could be made one with God’s,
If human thought could echo the thoughts of God,
Man might be all-knowing and omnipotent;
But now he walks in Nature’s doubtful ray.

Yet if human will could unite with God’s Will and human thought could unite with God’s Wisdom then Man might be omniscient and omnipotent. But as of now man walks in Nature’s grey zones of Ignorance.

God’s light and force
Yet can the mind of man receive God’s light,
The force of man can be driven by God’s force,
Then is he a miracle doing miracles.

Yet the human mind can receive God’s light, the human life can be driven by God’s force. Then man himself is a miracle doing miracles.

Nature’s king
For only so can he be Nature’s king.

It is only thus by uniting with God that man can become Nature’s king.

Closing Remarks
Though man seems to be helplessly caught in the web of Fate he can be free and master of his fate if he unites with the Divine.