Page:An Indian Study of Love and Death.pdf/70

as it may be—and services of prayer and farewell are held over him there. Those waiting at the burning-ghât to offer the last rites, can judge by the nearing sound of the singing how long or how short will be the time before the mourners—bareheaded, barefooted, and clad in white—arrive. But in the whole of Hindu music, there is neither death-croon, nor dirge, nor sad eternal lullaby. The chanting here is all of prayers, and psalms, and hymns. To Hindu thinking, there is in fact no death, and as simple folk are carried to the burning-ghât the bearers cry only by the road, “Nama Rama sattya hai!” (The name of the Lord alone is real!), or “Hari bol! Hari bol!” (Call on the Lord!), or “Harer Nama kebolom!” (Only the name of the Lord availeth!). One great measure of experience is finished. The personal, for the nonce, has found release into the Impersonal. Life has been resumed into the Ocean of Life. Our vision henceforth of the beloved dead