What We Call as Ourselves

from a recent email by Sri Aurobindo Society forwarded to me:

What We Call as Ourselves

...what we are now
or rather what we perceive as ourselves and so call
is only an ignorant partial and superficial
formulation of our nature.

It is not our whole self,
it is not even our real self;
it is a little representative personality
put forward by the true and persistent being in us
for the experience of this brief life;
we not only have been in the past
and can be in the future
but we are much more than that in the
present secret totality of our being and nature.

Especially, there is a secret soul in us
that is our true person; there is a secret self
that is our true impersonal being and spirit.

To unveil that soul and that self
is one of the most important movements of Yoga.

-Sri Aurobindo

Thyagayya's balakanakamaya

the beautiful lyris to this kriti [source: musicindiaonline.com]:

raagam: aThaaNaa


29 dheera shankaraabharaNam janya
Aa: S R2 M1 P N3 S
Av: S N3 D2 P M1 P G3 R2 S

taaLam: aadi
Composer: Tyaagaraaja
Language: Telugu

Pallavi

Ela nI dayarAdu parAku jEseda vEla samayamu gAdu

Anupallavi

bAla kanakamaya cEla sujata paripAla shrI ramA lOla vikrta shara
jAla shubhada karuNAlavAla ghana nIla navya vana mAlikAbharaNa
(Ela)

CaraNam 1

rArA dEvAdi dEva rArA mahAnubhAva rArA rAjIva nEtra raghuvara putra
sAratara sudhA pUra hrdaya parivAra jaladhi gambhIra tanuja samhAra
madana sukumAra budhajana vihAra sakala shruti sAra nAdupai
(Ela)

CaraNam 2

rAjAdhirAja muni pUjita pAda ravi rAja lOcana sharaNya ati lAvaNya
rAja vandita padAbja jAka dinarAja kOTi sama tEja tanuja gajarAja
nicaya mrga rAja jalaja mukha
(Ela)

CaraNam 3

yAga rakSaNa parama bhAgavatArcita yOgIndra suhrd bhAvita Adyanta rasita
nAga shayana vara nAga varada pannAga uma dhara sadhAga mOcana sadA
gatija drupadAgamAnta cara rAga rahita shrI tyAgarAjanuta
(Ela)