Fate followed her foreseen immutable road.
Man's hopes and longings build the journeying wheels
That bear the body of his destiny
And lead his blind will towards an unknown goal.
His fate within him shapes his acts and rules;
Its face and form already are born in him,
Its parentage is in his secret soul:
Here Matter seems to mould the body's life
And the soul follows where its nature drives.
Nature and Fate compel his free-will's choice.
But greater spirits this balance can reverse
And make the soul the artist of its fate.
This is the mystic truth our ignorance hides:
Fate followed her foreseen immutable road.
About the poet
Sri Aurobindo
Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, guru, poet, and nationalist. He joined the Indian movement for independence from British rule, for a while was one of its influential leaders and then beca…
View profile & all 24 Poems / StoriesMore from Sri Aurobindo
Silence is round me
Silence is round me, wideness ineffable;White birds on the ocean diving and wandering;
Arisen to voiceless unattainable peaks
Arisen to voiceless unattainable peaksI meet no end, for all is boundless He,
I dwell in the spirit's calm nothing can move
I dwell in the spirit's calm nothing can moveAnd watch the actions of Thy vast world-force,
There is a brighter ether than this blue
There is a brighter ether than this bluePretence of an enveloping heavenly vault,
I have discovered my deep deathless being
I have discovered my deep deathless being:Masked by my front of mind, immense, serene
