"Through Thy coming all flesh its grossness has lost, since to the eyes of man Thou seemingly walkest in the flesh. "Thou who the centre of Thy radiance art, yet walkest within that radiance! What is the mystery of Thy great Self? "Thou who teachest the bird to cleave the sky and hath made me the creater of earth and continuest the motion thereof! "Thou who the Concrete art and yet the Abstraction thereof dost prove! "Thou Mystery of all mysteries, the Secret, the indistinct and yet the sublimely simple Parent of the Universe! "Thou who art the whole and yet the parts, the immensity and yet the mote of things! "A poor groveller am I at Thy feet in the dust! Why hast Thou blessed me to know Thee thus? "Thou art the ocean of existence, and Saints and Gods and men and all Thy creatures are but the uncounted waves that play and stretch and heave on Thy breast! "From Thy abode hast Thou come of Thine own sweet will to give unto all the power of Thy Love. "Dull were my eyes to behold not in Thee the Lord, who stamped on all things the Name of his Love and with the Name its potency too. "O Thou all Beauty and Power and Sweetness and Strength! refuse me not the bliss to dwell in homage at Thy feet! "Thou, who art the cause of all things, who stirrest the root and stem of all life into love, who art the indestructible Truth of things, Thee I meditate and worship forever." CHAPTER XV. In the glad land of Brindāban, the land where Love reigned supreme, because of the presence of Him who was Love Personified, who was Love Incarnate and who as a Boy did bless the world with His Being. In that land, 'mid childish sport and gladsome frolic, Krishna grew into beauty of youth. Day by day the land became more beautiful in the joyous springtime, and one day His brother Rāma, he whose growing was beautiful, and who, like Krishna, was marvelled at for the wonder of his doings, said unto Krishna: "Does not the smell of the forest invite Thee, O brother? Even here the air is heavy with ripeness of the fruit, that the sweet spring-air hath brought us. Shall we not go and pluck from the trees and eat our fill of the fruits that are dropping on the ground in luxuriousness but to become rotten?" "Gladly would we go," said the other boys, "but we fear Dhenuka, of the demon family, who dwelleth close thereby. It is said that he hath taken the form of an ass and though he seemeth harmless, yet hath he much power for evil, which he wieldeth mightily, when he hath a chance to do so. So, though we would gladly partake of the fallen fruit, yet do we fear him. But what sayest Thou, Krishna? Thou canst, if Thou wilt, destroy all who are filled with hate and evil. Wilt Thou and Rāma use your strength to protect us?" "Let us away," quoth Krishna, and in a few moments, heated and full of laughter, the boys were shaking the trees for the golden-sided fruit, which seemed to smile upon them in its beauty of ripeness.