The guru/speaker of Paramahansa Yogananda’s “The Noble New” from Songs of the Soul offers eight loving commands to devotees in an octet that consists of two quatrains; the first quatrain features two riming couplets, and second quatrain has the traditional rime scheme of an Elizabethan sonnet, ABAB.
“Sing songs that non have sung”
The speaker first instructs the devotee to sing his own unique songs to the Divine. Most people are content to listen to worldly music and learn to sing only the songs that others sing. While in the very beginning, this kind of imitation can help develop the singer’s skill, after the devotee becomes mature in his craft and his belief system, he no longer needs the guide of imitation.
Instead of singing to fellow human beings, the devotee sings only to the Divine, and these songs grow out of the unique relationship the individual has with his Divine Beloved.
“Think thoughts that ne’er in brain have rung”
So much of mankind’s endeavors are mere repetition of what others have accomplished and so many of the thoughts that each person entertains are simply a version of what others have thought for centuries.
Most citizens of Western Civilization have relegated religion and the spiritual life to one day a week coupled with a few holidays each year. But the devotee who craves more of the Divine than what fits into that small framework must make every effort to think of Divinity all of the time, or in the beginning as much as possible.
Thinking those thoughts to which the guru/speaker refers means thinking about the Divine Beloved all the time and at certain times—during meditation, prayer, and chanting—intensely.
“Walk in paths that none have trod”
Again, the speaker commands the devotee regarding the path; in today’s common parlance, it might be expressed, “to walk the walk.” The path to the Divine remains sparsely populated; it may be that no one in a devotee’s family will accompany him on the journey. But the guru/speaker lovingly commands the devotee to walk that path anyway.
“Weep tears as none have shed for The Divine”
Because so few fellow human beings are seeking the Divine—alas! even the seemingly devout and the ostensibly religious—few will cry for the Divine as the true devotee will. The speaker’s command lets the devotee know that the Divine appreciates those tears that the devotee weeps.
“Give peace to all to whom none other gave”
The speaker instructs the devotee to offer a loving word or smile of peace to those whom others ignore. Sincere charity is never wasted.
“Claim him your own who’s everywhere disclaimed”
The devotee must assert his possession of the Divine, despite the fact that so many of his fellows dispute the very existence of the Deity.
“Love all with love that none have felt, and brave”
The speaker then commands the speaker to love the Lord with the intensity that most people never feel.
“The battle of life with strength unchained”
If the devotee will sing, think, walk, weep, give, claim, love, and brave all for the Divine, then he can “brave / The battle of life with strength unchained.” In so doing, the devotee will be able to soldier on through his worldly existence undaunted and with perfect freedom and realize the Divine Beloved at last.
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