The Passage, pp. 451-452

Opening Remarks
Until the work is done man has to continue with the journey through the greyness of ignorance slowly pushing towards the Light.

Life must carry
“Till then must life carry its seed of death
And sorrow’s plaint be heard in the slow Night.

Until this transformation of terrestrial life man and earthly life must carry the seed of death and sorrow’s lament will be heard in the Night that still holds sway upon man’s heart.

Bear this law of pain
O mortal, bear this great world’s law of pain,
In thy hard passage through a suffering world
Lean for thy soul’s support on Heaven’s strength,
Turn towards high Truth, aspire to love and peace.

Until then man must bear the law of pain that moves the world. What is given to man during his transit through this difficult suffering world is to lean upon the Divine for support and help. He must seek the truth of things and aspire for love and peace upon earth and in all.

A touch divine
A little bliss is lent thee from above,
A touch divine upon thy human days.

Even in this difficult and dolorous passage one can feel a touch divine opening the heart to joy.

Daily way a pilgrimage
Make of thy daily way a pilgrimage,
For through small joys and griefs thou mov’st towards God.

Make of your everyday life a pilgrimage as you move through scenes of joy and grief towards God.

Haste not towards Godhead
Haste not towards Godhead on a dangerous road,
Open not thy doorways to a nameless Power,
Climb not to Godhead by the Titan’s road.

Narad, the demigod, advices man not to be in haste on the road that climbs towards the Godhead through a dangerous road. He advices man not to rush and try to seize the kingdom of Heaven by storm thereby opening the way to a nameless Power. It is dangerous for man to climb towards the Godhead by the Titan’s road.

Against the Law
Against the Law he pits his single will,
Across its way he throws his pride of might.

The path that the Titan takes is against the evolutionary current of life carved out for man by God. He revolts against the Law pitting his single will against it throwing across the way his pride of force.

Stair of storms
Heavenward he clambers on a stair of storms
Aspiring to live near the deathless sun.

The Titan climbs through a turbulent passage towards Heaven aspiring to live near the Sun of Truth.

Wrest by force
He strives with a giant strength to wrest by force
From life and Nature the immortals’ right;
He takes by storm the world and fate and heaven.

The titan revolts against world and fate and the gods. He tries to wrest it all from life and Nature by force but lacks in wisdom and love.

Waits not for the outstretched hand of God
He comes not to the high World-maker’s seat,
He waits not for the outstretched hand of God
To raise him out of his mortality.

He knows not surrender nor waits for God’s Help to list him out of the mortal state.

All he would make his own
All he would make his own, leave nothing free,
Stretching his small self to cope with the infinite.

He wants to claim all for himself leaving nothing free. He expands his small ego-self to match the infinite.

Obstructing the gods
Obstructing the gods’ open ways he makes
His own estate of the earth’s air and light;
A monopolist of the world-energy,
He dominates the life of common men.

The way of the gods is gentler full of compassion, charity and wisdom. The titan obstructs it trying to grab everything, the air and light upon earth for his own personal and private use. Thus he tries to monopolise the world-energies and dominate the life of common men.

Builds his throne
His pain and others’ pain he makes his means:
On death and suffering he builds his throne.

He feeds on his own and others’ pain building his throne on death and suffering.

Power is his image of celestial self
In the hurry and clangour of his acts of might,
In a riot and excess of fame and shame,
By his magnitudes of hate and violence,
By the quaking of the world beneath his tread
He matches himself against the Eternal’s calm
And feels in himself the greatness of a god:
Power is his image of celestial self.

He is a worshipper of Force and a seeker after excess and fame. His acts of violence and hate magnify under his tread. The world quakes as he matches his restless force against God’s calm. Thus he builds within himself the greatness of god whom he sees as power and might and force.

Closing Remarks
These are the two paths open for man to advance and progress. The way of the gods is the way of surrender and calm while that of the titan is restless force and stormy might.