RabindranathTagore(akaGurudev) was the firstpoet of the Indian literary canonto be awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in the year 1915 for the collection of his poems, GITANJALI- ( PrayerfulOffering of Songs).
Tagore,was an authentic Indian and patriot who sangproudlyof his Motherland and of herspiritual heritage, proudof her soil, of her people,of her mountains and riversand of her illustrious past.
His inner dreams come out vividly from his poems, 'boat songs' and the genre of music known as Rabindra Sangeet , popularized by him.
Tagore was a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhiwho had praised himas a 'worldpoet and humanist'...
The famous Irish poet W.
B.
Yeats in his introduction to the volume said " This volume has stirred my blood as nothing else has for years".
He also notes in particularthat Tagore's poems werepraised not onlyby scholars " but they are sung by the peasants".
Tagore's Where the Mind is Without Fear is aninspirationalprose-poem which' shines and sings'.
It is a manifesto, a prayer.
It is a sermon and a wake-up call.
It isall this and more.
In this poem of elevenlines, Tagorehas put together his recipe for freedom and uses some vividmetaphors whichadd overtones of meaning.
He wants India to come out of her long slumber to meet the challenges ahead and realize her hopes and potentialities.
The opening line is a golden compass with which a seeker after the noble cause of Freedom should steer his course.
Freedom of the mind is the last frontier to be conquered first, he seems to stress.
'A cultured mind capable of sober thought' said Cowper, can have no fears.
Is Tagore speaking of such a mind or of a pessimistic mind plagued by nameless demons?.
Tagore sees fear as a padlock clapped on the mind His vision is mirroredin the words ofFranklin Roosevelt whohad said"Let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
nameless,unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance".
Tagoreechoesa sentimentnearer to what Byron called the "eternal spirit of the chainless mind"...
As one who had great faith in India'scongruityin spite of its diversity , Tagore seems toexhort his countrymen to rise as aunited nation, because divisions based on caste, creed, languageand ideologycreate 'narrow domestic walls' which weaken the fabric of the nation whose strength is diversity..
A world without artificial walls is his dream.
Hismessagefor hisfellow-countrymen, enslaved by the British, isto keep their 'head held high' -- proud of theircountry's history andrich heritage and philosophies,and bending beforenone.
Tagore emphasizes that knowledge, which is power, has to befree--unencumberedand not regimented.
Ignorance leads to lassitude and backwardness in the modern fieldsof science, technology and arts, which are crucial for economic growth.
ifIndia.
is to take her share in the newdynamic era that was dawning.
'When words come from the depth of truth', he says.
Truth is not an easy peak to be scaled.
It is up a steep hill.
This animating line has found expression inpost-Independent India's motto ofSatyameva Jayate( Truth Alone Conquers/Prevails) Tagore envisions an India where'tireless strivingstretches its arms towards perfection'..
Thestriking symbolism brings before our mind, arms stretching out to reachthe goldengoal ofperfection- eternal striving to be better and better.
Tagore also dwells on the ' clear stream of reason,and 'ever widening thought and action'.
He advocates the communion of mind and heart, of thought and action, -- to create new ways ofconquering mental peaks.
He does not want his country to be bogged down in the 'dreary desert sand of dead habit'".
' Habit', in the words of poet Wordsworth ''rules the unreflecting mind".
Tagore's messageis thatvacuity ofthought deadens the spirit .
Each line of Tagore'sfocusesthe eye and mind on a single wordoridea .
He wants the mind to become what the poet Keats called' a thorough fare for all thoughts'.
Thoughts lead to action, is his vision.
Thelast line of this poem.
which says' Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake'constitutes the quintessence of his dream forIndia .
To Tagorefreedomis a paradise, for whichhehas laidoutthe guide posts.
When Tagore concludes the poem with the wordAWAKE ', he conjures up before ourminds eyes.
theimage of a lion, that is India , rousing itselffrom sleep , shaking its manes and getting poisedfor a forward leap; of a Gulliverbreaking out ofthe shackles of the LilliputiansIt is fitting that Tagore should address this prayer to 'My Father', meaning God whose benedictionhe seeks and whichIndia, a nation of many faiths, needs.
India became free on August 15, 1947.