Tagore.....

"Why these preparations without end?"—I said to Mind—"Is some one to come?"
Mind replied, "I am enormously busy gathering things and building towers. I have no time to answer such questions."
Meekly I went back to my work.
When things were grown to a pile, when seven wings of his palace were complete, I said to Mind, "Is it not enough?"
Mind began to say, "Not enough to contain—" and then stopped.
"Contain what?" I asked.
Mind affected not to hear.
I suspected that Mind did not know, and with ceaseless work smothered the question.
His one refrain was, "I must have more."
"Why must you?"
"Because it is great."
"What is great?"
Mind remained silent. I pressed for an answer.

In contempt and anger, Mind said, "Why ask about things that are not? Take notice of those that are hugely before you,—the struggle and the fight, the army and armaments, the bricks and mortar, and labourers without number."

I thought "Possibly Mind is wise."
The lofty building lies in the dust and all is scattered and broken.
Mind looked about. But what was there to see?
Only the morning star and the lily washed in dew.
And what else? A child running laughing from its mother's arms into the open light.
"Was it only for this that they said it was the day of the Coming?"
"Yes, this was why they said there was music in the air and light in the sky."
"And did they claim all the earth only for this?"
"Yes," came the answer. "Mind, you build walls to imprison yourself. Your servants toil to enslave themselves; but the whole earth and infinite space are for the child, for the New Life."

"What does that child bring you?"
"Hope for all the world and its joy."
Mind asked me, "Poet, do you understand?"

"I lay my work aside," I said, "for I must have time to understand.""
-----Written by "Tagore"



Today I attempt to write an eulogy to the brilliant Tagore......to even understand and appreciate Tagore requires a contemplative bent of mind.....to the superficial mind which thrives on sensationalism and vulgar entertainment, Tagore's poems are just irrelevant, loose-in-detail songs , shoddy and with no definite theme....

But a mind which though mature in its reflections holds the child's innocence in high esteem will definitely accept Tagore's brilliance.

Such poignancy rarely have I come across.....in the above poem Tagore gives life to the eternal conflict within man to either succumb to monotony or live in the eternal spontaneous creativity which his mind exhibits when not dragged down by the worldly cares.....


The initial para.....reflects the mind working incessantly and the poet as an observer questions the mind about the "purpose" of the incessant working....

The mind , if you observe, typical to its nature , creates an artificial aura of importance, which when closely analysed vanishes into thin air....the poet though he understands this,....refuses to rebel....simply because though he knows the minds stupidity.....there is no other anchor where he can hold himself steady......he has still not found his moorings....

By rationalizing that the mind maybe wise , he makes peace with himself....


If we observe.....Tagore clearly points out the childish rituals and falsified sense of duty by which our mind/intellect binds us....what do we need???.....how would I know??....We have always listened to the mind.....who propelled us to crave for social security, position and false notions of responsibility.........whatever truly matters takes place without our interference....

The body moves and breathes according to the brilliantly built nervous system.....if all our bodily functions depended on us...then heaven help us.....a kind God has seen to it that atleast the vital functions are independent of our doings.....

this is the sublime impression that Tagore conveys.......though work needs to be done.....why the long face???......whatever is of importance is already been taken care of.....why then the urgency....why the need to convince anyone we meet, about the importance of what we do.....

Mainly ....nowadays I have observed......friends of my childhood rather than introducing themselves , introduce their job profiles to me......what is the need to do that??....
When we were children, I did not know whether you would be a scoundrel or a political reformer......what mattered was camaraderie........what mattered was whether we could share some common grounds where we could empathize with each others problems and grow mutually....

It still does.......Tagore brilliantly conveys this message.......a message which has gained in meaning as it comes hurtling across half a century........

This monster mind has taken over our lives, demanding at its altar the sacrifice of spontaneity
, no more , says Tagore let it be-fool you......
It has no basis, no argument to defend.....other than turning a blind eye to reason.....the mind has no hope against the philosopher who looks it in the eye and demands an explanation for its mischief.....

The final para's show the awakening of the human intellect to the simple joy of a child running into the light......again Tagore brilliantly portrays the defeat of the adult mind at the hands of a child.....at the hands of innocence.....

An adult businessman......is most happy when he comes home to his children and plays with them, satisfying their every whim.......the man....who during the day works in vain to relieve his debt to the mind...defeats it in an instant when he throws aside the shackles that bind him when he meets his child.....

Tagore , exhorts us to just push our horizon a bit......have a peep at the mind from a higher altitude......know its working and dominate the mind as a child does....

A child who reigns supreme as the king of his empire....free as a lark .....in comparison to his adult counterpart...who is just nothing but a well-dressed and responsible beggar.....