Gitanjali
First published 1910 · English · 80 pages
- Poetry
- Religion and spirituality
Gitanjali is a collection of short devotional poems, offered in Tagore's own English prose translation from his Bengali originals. The speaker addresses a divine presence that is at once master, friend and beloved. The poems move through longing, humility, joy in the natural world and acceptance of death. Their tone is simple and intimate rather than doctrinal. This book brought Tagore to Western readers and was central to his Nobel Prize in 1913. It remains a quiet, rewarding book to read slowly, a few poems at a time.
Quotes
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high; where knowledge is free;
Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life.
My debts are large, my failures great, my shame secret and heavy; yet when I come to ask for my good, I quake in fear lest my prayer be granted.
When old words die out on the tongue, new melodies break forth from the heart; and where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders.