Where the mind is without fear...
As India gets ready to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Independance, i remembered this lovely poem by Rabindranath Tagore. The words are so relevant to every country and individual. I am not proud to celebrate the Independance Day this time. It is more hoopla than brass tacks. We are seeing the definite and steady rise of the Rupee, and the slide of inflation. But what does it matter to the common man. Is this a country for the 'haves' only. The quality of life at the lower levels has not changed at all. It is still the deadly dreariness, open squalor, and meaningless melancholy all around. I live five stories higher than this hurting torment, and someone more affluent may live thirty six stories higher. Ethically I contribute to this despondency. I am sorry. I dont have the professional knowledge to deal with such things. Please read this poem and think how clear was Rabindranath's mind when it celebrated the spirit of independance.
Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high;
Where knowledge is free;
Where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow
domestic walls;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way into the
dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-widening thought
and action--
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.
Love - John
