ABSTRACT
For suddenly that wonderful sonnet of Blanco White’s had flashed into my mind and words came.“Rutnamma, round you it is now night. Black, hopeless night. The dark is always full of terrors. Suppose a child had never seen the night, never been outside after dark. And suppose it happened that the child was left alone outside one day and saw the sun set and the light fade. What fear and terror would fill the little mind. As far as it knew it had never been dark before, like this. But after a while, something new appeared. In the blackness overhead a star shone out. A light, in the fearful darkness a light! And presently, more and more lights, countless lights, the whole sky full of them. Would not the little child forget its terror? Might it not say, ‘Why did I never see them before?’ If we went outside now, Rutnamma, should we see them in this midday? Not a single one. The sun hides them. But will you stand outside to-night? And as you see the stars come out will you remember that the dark has its own lights which we never could find out in the day? Daylight deceives. Night holds new truth. So does the night of sorrow round you now. Amma, God has stars for the dark! God has a secret which He cannot whisper to your heart except in grief. He knows this way you have to take. Wait and feel Him beside you.”“We never heard such high words,” broke out one of the relations. “Do you think we think such high thoughts? All we do is to weep and tear our hair and say, ‘Gone, gone.’ When we think of our gods is it any comfort? We are angry with them. We say, ‘we have brought you flowers, we have worshipped you, we have broken you coconuts and strewn camphor and done all those meritorious things, and you do thus to us!’ And we curse them. How can we think high things like you are saying ? They are too high for us.”“All of us can only learn them slowly; but believe me, amma, God has stars for the dark,” I repeated.
