Dr. M. W. Lewis offers his organ rendition of this tune, “Divine Love Sorrows.”
The poem, which is included in Songs of the Soul, features three stanzas. The speaker is addressing the Lord and expressing his sorrow at being separated from his Divine Creator.
First Stanza: “I have been roaming, forsaken by Thee”
The speaker asserts that he has been searching diligently for his Divine Friend, and he declares that he is aware that his Lord has “seen [him] groping,” and yet the Divine has remained silent, not responding to the pleas of his child.
But the speaker insists that the silence will not deter him; he will continue “roaming, roaming,” until he is capable of “[b]ursting all boundaries of heart,” and until he reaches the quiet heart of the Divine.
Second Stanza: “Come Thou to me, O Lord!”
The speaker commands his Divine Friend, “Come Thou to me, O Lord!” Then after repeating his command, “Oh, come at last to me,” he explains that he has waited “Centuries and Centuries // Through endless incarnations.” For all this time, the speaker has called on the name of his Lord to come to him. The speaker colorfully likens his seeking to “Searching by the streamlets / Of all my silvery dreams,” implying that he has shed many tears in his yearning for Divine Union.
Third Stanza: “I knew that Thou must come at last”
Even though the speaker intuits that he has longed for God-union throughout countless periods of time, he demonstrates that he has never lost his faith that one day the Lord would come to him and “steal the flowers of my heart.” The speaker has continued to offer his heart’s devotion-flowers, because the speaker’s faith has remained strong, and he has never doubted that he could attract the Divine Thief, who one day would sneak upon him and takes that devotion that rightly has always belonged to the Blessed Lord.
The speaker demonstrates his literary prowess by creating the colorful metaphor, likening the Beloved Lord to a thief stealing the flowers of the devotee’s heart. The metaphor also works as an allusion to the use of flowers in devotional services where graceful blossoms are presented as a token of the devotee’s devotion and faith in his/her guru/saint.
The speaker carries on, revealing that as he has continued to mourn and to search for his Divine Beloved, he “sadly sang [his] song to [the Lord].” The devotional chant that focuses the devotee’s mind on the Beloved is also part of the devotional process and strengthens the devotee’s faith that “[his] love would reach [the Lord].”
The speaker again reiterates, “Though many lives I had to wait / On mountain crags of high devotions / I sadly sang my song, my song, my song.” Again, the speaker/singer/poet drives home the importance of constancy, of never giving up, of continuing to sing and chant until the Divine Singer comes to blend His melodies with those of the devotee.
Source
- Paramahansa Yogananda, “Life Divie Love Sorrows,” Songs of the Soul, Self-Realization Fellowship, Los Angeles, 1983.
Linda Sue Grimes - As a writer, researcher, and SRF devotee, Linda Sue Grimes has studied poetry and practiced Kriya Yoga for over thirty years..
