Image: SRF Meditation Gardens in Encinitas CA – Photo by Ron W. G.
“Forget the Past”: A 10-Sonnet Sequence
Forget the past. The vanished lives of all men are dark with many shames. Human conduct is ever unreliable until man is anchored in the Divine. Everything in future will improve if you are making a spiritual effort now.
—Swami Sri Yukteswar in Paramahansa Yogananda’s Autobiography of a Yogi
When one finds oneself harboring deep regrets for past behavior, thus stewing a pot of hot sorrow, regret, and remorse, Swami Sri Yukteswar’s words of truth about the human condition work like a soothing balm to calm to mind and cool the nerves.
1 Forget the past—its darkness rattled in shame
Forget the past—its darkness rattled in shame,
Where myriad men have wavered, losing their way.
The moves of minds, like cattle, are prone to stray,
Not anchored to Truth, they lose their rightful name.
In darkness through tales of time, no one can claim
A clear path as night turns into day.
But then the heart can choose a better way—
Seeing Light, no daftness dare to cause blame.
O venture forth! For present time is holy and clear,
A door through which the saner world may rise.
Each step with faith lightens the heft of fear,
And heralds the soul to ever-brightening skies.
Future bliss commences in present grace,
As humankind with God all erring ways replace.
2 Forget the past, where shadows veil the soul
Forget the past, where shadows veil the soul,
Where faded lives in shame and darkness dwell.
Wavering human hearts are apt to fall,
Drifting aimless till Divine Reality swells.
The pressure of old flaws must not control,
Grace redeems though mortal steps rebel.
Future light is waiting, where hopes unroll,
As each soul rises for in heaven to dwell.
Now is the task: to pursue the holy flame,
To labor with faith, to trust the Unseen Guide.
Each striving creates a path to higher aim,
Where peace, truth, and love in sacred light abide.
So forsake all the ghosts of past blame,
Allow your soul with the Father’s own will to reside.
3 Forget the past: the shadowy, departed days
Forget the past: the shadowy, departed days,
Where legion lives hide obscured in silent shame.
The efforts of humankind, unsettled as a flame
That flickers, wavering inside a slate-gray haze.
Hearts, untethered, waft on and on in unsure ways.
Each life like a compass spinning, never fixed the same.
Hope yet remains, calls hearts and minds to reclaim
A stead-fast course, where loftier purpose stays.
Only when the soul is fixed deep
Within the sacred, ever-living Light
Can human conduct rise above the changing sand.
The future’s promise remains bright to keep,
Born of striving made in spirit’s sight—
A fresh beginning will allow the soul expand.
4 Forget the past: Leave all that lies behind
Forget the past: Leave all that lies behind,
Shadows that cling, darkness understood,
Vanished lives, a sad humankind—
All lie veiled in ignominy, a dense brotherhood.
Human steps on shifting sands take flight,
And self-trust remains fragile, apt to fall,
Until the soul rises to purer light,
And harbors firm where grace embraces all.
All all memory to remain and be,
To remember from past somber wisdom lend,
A clear reminder of our vanity,
And that upward striving brings our blissful end.
Then the future will create a brighter scene,
If the heart and mind on spiritual effort lean.
5 Forget the past: disavow the shadows of yesteryears
Forget the past: disavow the shadows of yesteryears,
Where shame infuses the deeds of mortal men,
Gain for the soul that searches, with bitter tears,
The road to grace where light will shine again.
Unsure is the heart, a wavering reed,
Until bound fast to heaven’s endless love;
Yet hope does bloom where faith’s true seed
Is sown with care, blessed by the stars above.
The future’s promise arrives for those who strive,
With soul toiling to mend what once was torn;
Each step toward God renders fleeting joys revive,
And colors the dawn where new dreams are born.
So fling aside the dark, enfold the fight,
For in seeking God, all wrongs turn right.
6 Forget the Past: let not ghosts of dusk to remain
Forget the Past: let not ghosts of dusk to remain,
Do not let regret douse the morning flame;
The storms of time have hollowed out joy and pain,
Yet the soul still exists beyond all name.
The past is only a dream and stars forget,
Like a cloud liquefying in dawn’s tranquil breath;
What holds us now are ropes of karma yet—
But even such bindings unravel before death.
Unmoored, we become tossed in shifting tides,
But one strong cord connects to what is true;
In stillness where the cosmic whisper hides
The soul will rise in light when we break through.
Hie inward now—the veil of maya becomes thin:
The truth we seek always waits within.
7 Forget the past, steeped in shadowy shame
Forget the past, steeped in shadowy shame,
Where vanished lives dark with error dwell.
The vagabond human heart, untethered, apt to fail,
Unsure, unguided as the winds that shift and swell.
Yet in Divine Reality, an anchor steadies the soul,
A steady guide through tempests of the will.
No act of humankind endures, no human skill,
Unless by grace its source divine truth fulfill.
Peer ahead now—allow spirit’s zeal to ignite,
For every seed of effort sown in faith shall bloom.
The future’s hope, secured from earlier gloom,
Will surely rise as love and righteousness unite.
So travel on, O soul, the path to seek the eternal flame,
And secure in the Heavenly Father the will to overcome.
8 Forget the past, where shadows veil the mind
Forget the past, where shadows veil the mind,
Where faded lives and shames still haunt the soul.
Let the chains of memory be completely left behind.
Only in present time exists the goal.
The heart adrift is half-hearted, not whole.
Human deeds waver and are swept by tide.
Only in Divine Reality does one know control—
A reliable harbor where our hopes reside.
If now, with genuine spirit, we confide
In heavenly aims and search for the inward light,
The future’s path will remain open, clear and wide,
And every day grow brighter than the stars of night.
So move forward, allowing the soul’s true course be steered:
In today’s effort, all strife and darkness are cleared.
9 Forget the past: sadness and errors live there
Forget the past: sadness and errors live there
Where folks too often amble blindly.
Do not allow regret to dominate your thinking—
Concentrate instead on the eternal Light of Truth.
Human behavior, without God’s guidance,
Is as unstable as a tumbleweed blown by the wind.
Without the Divine Reality, we forget our way,
Each decision pulls us further into confusion.
But the eternal Now remains the moment to grow:
Walk with purpose along the path to Blessèd Spirit.
This very moment holds the seed of joy,
If you choose to walk with Divine Mother now.
Through the Grand Reality, your past becomes clear—
And your future turns bright and filled with hope.
10 Forget the past: filled with shadows, shames, and scars
Forget the past: filled with shadows, shames, and scars
It remains heavy, dark, dampening our lives.
Unmoored hearts shift about aimless, lost in storms,
Our conduct noise-tossed like the restless wind.
The spent lives remind us that we fall,
How fragile seems the thread that clasps us tight.
But also, this moment keeps a different weight—
A chance to enter ourselves into something vast.
Let go of the burden of all reckless ways,
And turn toward the One Who steadies and sustains.
The future bends beneath a stalwart hand,
As effort moves us to spirit deep within.
Each breath leads the mind and heart toward light and hope,
To a life reborn and anchored in the Divine Reality.
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