Page:The Message and Ministrations of Dewan Bahadur R. Venkata Ratnam, volume 2.djvu/268

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We rejoice to sing They praise, not that Thou needest it, not that we offer it as a homage or even as a confirmation of our allegiance to Thee, but wholly because the heart is prompted and the soul is impelled to it. We feel we must sing Thy name even as therefrom comes the exalting experience of the vivid preception and the sanctifying inspiration of Thy holy presence. Thou are the prime Truth, the vital Fact, the imperishable Reality, the enduring Essence of this vast, illimitable universe. Thou art the sum and substance, the spirit and strength, the stay and support, the all-in-all, of all that we see. And yet how we dupe ourselves with hollow shows and deluding conventions, hide-bound by customary routines and traditional formalities! Thou art the Indweller of this whole called the universe: as the sages have sung. All that exists is inspired, enveloped, permeated, suffused, transfused by Thee. Thou art the staying strength below; Thou art the hovering grace above; Thou art the enveloping breath around. In this en-