Poems and Prayers, Part 7

General Reference Section

Compiled by Jayaram V

Prayer Index | | Poems and Prayers, Part 1 | | Poems and Prayers, Part 2 | | Poems and Prayers, Part 3 | | Poems and Prayers, Part 4 | | Poems and Prayers, Part 5 | | Poems and Prayers, Part 6 | | Poems and Prayers, Part 7 | | Poems and Prayers, Part 8 | | Poems and Prayers, Part 9 | | Poems and Prayers, Part 10 |

Invocation to Ormazd

IN THE name of God, the giver,
forgiver, rich in love, praise be
to the name of Ormazd, the God
with the name who always was,
always is, and always will be; the
heavenly among the heavenly, with
the name—"From whom alone is
derived rule."
With all strength bring I thanks.
All good do I accept at thy command
O God, and think, and speak,
and do it. I believe in the pure
law; by every good work seek I forgiveness
for all sins. I keep pure
the six powers—thought, speech,
work, memory, mind and understanding.
According to thy will
am I able to accomplish. O accomplisher
of good, thy honor, with
good thoughts, good works.
I enter on the shining way to
Paradise; may the fearful terror of
hell not overcome me ! May I step
over the bridge Chinevat. May I
attain Paradise with much perfume,
and all brightness.
Praise be to the Overseer, the
Lord, who rewards those who accomplish
good deeds according to
his own wish, and at last purifies
even the wicked ones of hell.
- A Parsee Prayer - Zend Avesta

A Prayer of Adoration

SOUL of the Soul!
Neither thought nor reason comprehend
thy essence, and no one
knows thy attributes.
Souls have no idea of thy being.
The prophets themselves sink in
the dust of thy road.
Although intellect exists by thee,
has it ever yet found the path of
thy existence?
thou, who art in the interior and
in the exterior of the soul ! Thou
art and thou art not that which
I say.
In thy presence reason grows dizzy;
it loses the thread that would
direct it in thy way.
1 perceive clearly the universe in
thee, and yet discover thee not
in the world.
All beings are marked with thy impress,
but thyself hast no impress
visible;
Thou reservest the secret of thine
existence.
- A Muslim Prayer

A Hymn to Dawn

O Usas, strong with strength, endowed witli knowledge,
accept the singer's praise, O wealthy Lady.
Thou, Goddess, ancient, young, and full of wisdom,
movest, all-bounteous! as the Law ordaineth.
Shine forth, O Morning, thou auspicious Goddess,
on thy bright car awaking pleasant voices.
Let docile horses of far-reaching splendour convey thee hitherward,
the goldencoloured.
Thou, Morning, turning thee to every creature,
standest on high as ensign of the Immortal,
To one same goal ever and ever wending now,
like a wheel, O newly-born, roll hi ther.
Letting her reins drop downward, Morning cometh,
the wealthy Dame, the Lady of the dwelling;
Bringing forth light, the Wonderful,
the Blessed hath spread her from the bounds of earth and heaven.
Hither invoke the radiant Goddess Morning,
and bring with reverence your hymn to praise her.
She, dropping sweets, hath set in heaven her brightness,
and, fair to look on, hath beamed forth her splendour.
From heaven, with hymns, the Holy One was wakened
brightly to both worlds came the wealthy Lady.
To Morning, Agni, when she comes refulgent,
thou goest forth soliciting fair riches.
On Law's firm base the speeder of the Mornings,
the Bull, hath entered mighty earth and heaven.
Great is the power of Varuna and Mitra, which,
bright, hath spread in every place its splendour.
- Rigveda

Prayer to the Enigmatic God

O RULER ! Lord of the universe,
Whether thou art male,
Whether thou art female,
Lord of reproduction
Wherever thou mayest be!
O Lord of divination
Where art thou ?
Thou mayest be above,
Thou mayest be below,
Or perhaps around
Thy splendid throne and sceptre.
O hear me!
From the sky above,
In which thou mayest be,
From the sea beneath
In which thou mayest be.
Creator of the world,
Maker of all men;
Lord of all Lords
My eyes fail me for longing to see
thee
For the sole desire to know thee.
O look down upon me
For thou knowest me.
The sun—the moon
The day—the night
Spring—winter,
Are not ordained in vain
By thee, O Deity!
They all travel
To the assigned place;
They all arrive
At their destined ends
Whithersoever thou pleasest.
Thy royal sceptre
Thou holdest.
O hear me!
O choose me!
Let it not be
That I should tire,
That I should die!
- A Peruvian Prayer

Dream Not Fond Heart

Dream not, fond heart, that love is Heaven,
Tho' for a space it seems so fair.
If pure love were to mortals given.
We should not yearn to journey there.
If eyes we loved were always true.
And hearts we trusted could not fail,
If false love we might never rue,
Alas, the lights of Heaven would pale.
If change would never touch our dream,
And loving once we loved for ever;
The earth a very Heaven would seem
And here to stay be our endeavour.
Alas ! all earthly things are frail
And loving eyes too soon grow cold,
The fondest love-dreams fade and fail,
The hearts we cherish are not gold.
-Whitworth, Laura A

Suggestions for Further Reading

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