Page:History of Bengali Language and Literature.djvu/737

 VI.] BENGALI LANGUAGE & LITERATURE. 695 The homes of Bengal have even been seed-beds of high thought. The control of the passions, the mastery over self, the training of the mind to con- centration and yoga—till it can reach the state of final beatitude—are aims which have engrossed the energy of our people; and Hindus have never been afraid of privation, pain or sacrifice to reach this goal. They have sought a revelation of god within the soul,—the highest aim that can attract a mortal. A certain mystery enshrouds — those who scale the greatest heights; but the Yoga Philosophy is a system which enables a man to arrive at a definite realisation, and those who would cry it down must first study the vast litera- ture which has gathered round the subject, and understand what is really meant. The home life of Bengal has been best express- +, Sane ed in its songs. In these, one may find out all he wants to know about the Bengali people. They are as thoroughly Indian as the kunda flowers of the soil; and many of them spring from sincere souls as tributes to god, even as unda flowers are ofter- ed by Brahmin to Visnu. From the highest truths of Yoga down to the pettiest concerns of daily life, every point that touches our aims, ourideas and our manner of life is embodied in these songs. Many of them have been composed by saints like Rama Prasada and Fikir Chand, which no one who is not an adept in Yoga, can well understand. Those on Dehatattva, or the spiritual principles governing the human body, are too abstract for laymen. Their language is not difficult, but they offer points of perplexity because they illustrate an experience of which we know too little,