Sunday, November 11, 2007

The City of the heart.





Searching and meeting are like two sides of the coin. In fact in Indian Bhakti there are two forms of devotion---the devotion of one who feels separated from the Beloved, and is always searching, and the devotion of union.
The beloved seeks for her lover in the city. In a sense the image of the Bride is associated with the city. She is compared to a tower. Like Durga, she is an enclosed fortress. The search for the lost lover, is a search within herself. She is helped by various citizens, who are watchmen. Also she appeals to her companion sisters, who like the “saki” of Indian love poetry, are the maids who accompany the bride. These maids, as we are told in the parable of the wise and foolish virgins, represent in a way the different emotions that attend on the soul.

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