Indian Culture: Rabindranath Tagore - Essay Example

Rabindranath Tagore, a Bengali polymath, reshaped the music and literature of his country. He was the first person who was a non- European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He introduced new pros, use of colloquial language and verse forms into the Bengali literature. He changed this documentation from traditional models that were based on simple Sanskrit. He has a lot of pressure on India for he introduced the first of cultures in India and also to the west. He has been regarded as the most talented artist that is indicative of the modern India. According to Dutta and Robinson (1997) Pg 265, Rabindranath Tagore is one of the greatest poets that ever existed in India. He has written poems on various niches. He has tremendous potential in the use of words for he uses them properly. In his poem, he has given it a substance that is fantastic, and this has been done by the incorporation of words that are used properly. In this case, we refer to the poem “Where the Mind is Without Fear.” The poet tries to explain the hope that he has for his country. He expresses the wishes and ideas he has for his nation. Through his poem, he has explained what he wants his country to be. Each and every person has the best of dreams and ambitions for their country. We always like ones countries to be the first. This can only happen when everyone is given a chance and freedom to create the nation. This is applicable to all people of a nation. The song was written in the time when India had not got its independence. In the poem, he has shared his vision for what the new country would be like. He gave the perception of a environment that is different and awakened. The people of this country is struggling to achieve personal freedom in order for them to grow. This kind people would not be the first to jump in for any person. That is why Tagore is urging, crying and praying for his nation. A sovereign nation is the correct one where everyone is free to see all that they should. This freedom can lead to the growth of the country. In the poem, we see how the poet loves his country. He has also gone to extent of praying to God to make his country principle. In his head, he has a fantastic desire for his nation. He urges the family not to mention their emotions, thoughts and superstitions fix them but rather let purpose show them. It is true that when a country is facing a crisis we turn to God to ask for his intervention. This happens mostly when we have reached a time when we cannot do it on by ourselves. This is what India was going through, and all the author could do is to turn to God. It is the Supreme Almighty that has answers to all wishes. According to Dutta and Robinson (1965) Pg. 222, the poem has been taken from the English that is spoken by him, and that is Gitanjali. In the poem, we see that Tagore has a cast of mind that is intensely religious and has humanism that is profound. He was intensely patriotic to his country and at the same time an internationalist. In the poem, he gives as the picture of what he wants India to be. An ideal country is where; each and every person is in clear terms with the other. Everyone is free to walk head high and also that each and everyone’s voice is heard. They should be heard without anyone having fear of being oppressed or having cases of compulsion. People should not be slaves to the destructive habits that can make their life and the life of the nation bad. The people should have feelings that are clear. In this country that he wished for, knowledge is not restricted by loyalties and ideas that are narrow. In the present India that he is talking about in the song the British government had taken the joy of India as a nation. The country had no dignity, and so it had been reduced to a subject nation. All he wishes for is a country that has authority. Everyone in the world would care for such a environment where they are not slaves. The nation that Tagore had in mind is whereby people are proud of their country and they can keep their heads very high. This is because the people are cheering because the knowledge that they have and they are strong because they know that they were born of that knowledge. All the country men should come out and stand for their country. They are not supposed to be seen as people who have lost their vision of humanity which is caused by religion and loyalties of caste creed. The people should put back the issues of superstitions and prejudice since this attributes narrow their minds and also causes divisions among people. The truth that has to be told should be spoken in the open so that the whole world to hear about this truth. People should focus and work on the basis of perfection in that that act in clear light and give reason for their action. All they need to do is to put aside all the superstitions. In his poem, Tigore is referring to a country where every member has the freedom to toil and work hard in order to fulfill the desires of their hearts. By this we mean the efforts are to benefit the individual or the nation at large. He dreams of country where everyone is encouraged to work in order to reach satisfaction and their full potential. This hard work will enable the countrymen to achieve their goal and perfection. The habits that are superstitious that come about as a result of thought and action have not in any way put out the light that is brought about by reason. The minds of people should not be tied to the mistakes of the past neither should the mind be possessed by this mistakes. However, the people in any country or nation should be guided by the power to reason. They should focus on the future and they should do this by applying action and scientific thought. This poem is a prayer to the Almighty Supreme or God. The prayer is asking God to lead the nation to a state that is ideal for heaven. For India or any other nation that wants get its true freedom, has to look at everything in a universal outlook and realizing the human ideals that are great. In this way he believed that India will realize its destiny. The poem does not only address the nation but also the whole world. In his poem, he says that the world has been broken into several pieces that consist of skin colors, caste, languages and clothes. This division can cause a lot of problems and disputes for the country and in other ways the world at large. In the poem the writer has expressed the indifferences by the use of symbols such as the wall. He says that there should be no walls that are created between two countries. By this he means that the world should not be slip into fragments. Through this poem we learn that freedom is the major gift that one can have in a nation and without it a nations does not have a healthy progress and growth. When we have freedom we can speak out our ideas that are very important in the nation building. In most of the nations, most of the people only hear the ideas of the rich and leave out those of the poor. In most of the cases the ideas of the poor are the ones that build up an ideal nation. A nation that is united because they are not driven by greed but humility and humanity is the best and it gives every member a chance. With this humanity they respect one another and these needs to a peaceful coexistence which helps in the building of the nation. In such a nation people can walk with their heads high without any fear. Freedom is whereby one has no fear and feels honored, they are free to access knowledge, and the world is united. A free world is where one can express their feelings sincerely, one can reach perfection. When we have right the ideas we have are not disturbed by the way that died a long time ago. This way ones minds are directed to the thought and effort that are abundant. So people of a country are supposed to wake up in such a heaven that is full of freedom. India is a vast country which has various people who speak different languages. The country over the world is known for its diversity. In the poem, the poet expects that such a country should have people who live in unity. Such a nation should not fight amongst them. They affect the progress and development of the country. This is the main reason why the poet is pleading with the people to live in unity. With unity we are assured a nation and a world that is calm and this helps a lot in the achievements and the progress of the countries in different fields. Lack of freedom in a country has caused so many problems to the people of the same country. It causes fights between brothers and sisters. It is the cause of war between nations. Dead habits are the ones that hinder the progress of the nation. Instead we should live as people who are proud and fearless. Some of the poetic devices that have been used in the poem include a metaphor. A metaphor is defined as the direct comparison of two or more items without the use of ‘as’ and ‘like’. In the first two line of the poem the poet has compared “reason with clear stream”. He says because he feels that it is a reason that brings about clear stream. When traditions do not tie our minds, and we are free to give reason as justification for all we do, then we are sure that we have a clear stream. So in this case reason is directly proportional to a clear stream or flow of thoughts. When one has freedom to give and share the information that they have they take part in nation building, this is unlike when they are denied the chance to take part in building the nation. The comparison above tries to explain how the people of the country have been tied to traditions and beliefs hence they cannot give reasons to justify their actions. The other metaphor used is where the world is compared to small rooms that are put separate by narrow walls. The depth of truth is compared with a fountain. The words ‘heaven of freedom’ in a metaphorical point of view gives a comparison of two things that are unlike. The other poetic device used is personification. In this line “Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection”. The two ideas which have given human attributes are abstract. The tireless striving has been said to stretch its arms towards perfection. These are nonliving things but they are given human aspects. There is also the use of apostrophe when the poet is addressing God as father, ‘my father, let my country awake’. The other device used in synecdoche where by the word country is used to refer to the people of the country. The major theme of the poem is freedom. It is the major cry for the poet and the people of India. They mental and any other form of freedom. They are slaves to their past and the taboos of their community. They cannot express themselves truly and proudly as citizens of the country. All they are crying for is freedom that they require to come up with the ideal India. The country where all country men are free to do all that they want. This is also the freedom that all the countries in the world need. With this we can be assured that our nations are going to grow more and more. Nations will stop fighting against nations and brothers against brothers. Freedom is where the people of a country are free to struggle and develop their growth individually. They do not have to fear. The other theme in this poem is the theme of slavery. In this poem people are enslaved and this is true because people who do not have freedom are slaves. They are in their country but they are not free to do what they desire. Their minds are enslaved to superstitions. They cannot use action and scientific reasons to justify their thinking. As much as they try to do this they still remain entangled to the superstitions. This is the reason why they cannot develop and come out of this slavery. The poem is a prayer to God to free them from the slavery. They are tired this life. This is because they live in a state they think should not be going through this. They need a state they can be proud of. The theme of love has also been seen in the poem. This is shown by how the persona expresses his love for his country. Through thoughts he has articulated his love for his country. He asks God to make his nation the ideal one. In his head he has so many good desires for his nation. When someone wishes all this for their nation it shows the immense love that they feel for the nation. The other theme is that of self-respect. He believes that it is only by way of self-respect that people can live in harmony. When one has freedom of knowledge they will certainly live with mutual union. By this, we mean that they will be able to respect one another without much ado. The mind of the people of a country should be truthful, honest, and people should continue to struggle in order for them to excel. The people should not be enslaved to the habits that are obscene; this is because they can affect the life of the nation and their own lives. They should have clear feelings. He stresses on the need of liberty for the nation. This is the only way that people can acquire self-respect, which is when they have the ideal nation. They will have liberty and respect for one another. The last theme in the poem is cultural biases. This is demonstrated by the fact that many people have shed their blood in the name of religion. The mental makeup of the countrymen is corrupted with superstitions, and practices that are narrow and gloomy. The world is divided and broken into pieces because of feuds and strives. The knowledge that the countrymen gain is full of prejudice. People posses mind that are full of fear and they lack self-esteem. So the poet is praying the Almighty Supreme to guide the nation from the errors of the commitments that they had made. He prays that the spirit of the nation is awakened. When they are helped, they will be the ideal nation that the poet is thinking. He has given the image of the country that he wishes for. According to Chakravarty (1961), Pg. 45-46 Tagore’s other works give the testimony that is relevant, and these shows the validity of philosophy and thoughts of Tagore that is there till today. His works have a significant impact on the people since they are unique. According to Tagore (1977) pg.5, the works also inspire people, and they end up with a personality that is multifaceted, humanism, creativity and ideology. He is a beautiful person who has a soul that is smashing, and this has been shown from his work. He was very patriotic and also an internationalist in that he wrote two national anthems for two different nations. He tries and fights for India in his works in order for the nation to get independence from Britain its colonizers. Unluckily, Tagore died without seeing this free country most of the countries have been dreaming of all their life. The poem in this real life serves two purposes. One of the purposes that the poem serves is to find out how different colonizers have put different countries in a horrible and downtrodden situation. And the other purpose is that we can try and see if India and most of the countries have changed since the time that it attained its independence. Tagore was a great poet, and his poem Where the Mind is Without Fear is the best poem that can help people to stay together as a nation. With this kind of information people would sit together as a nation and never fight. In conclusion we can say that, the poet has described the visions he has for his nation, he wants it to be a country that is glorious. One could pity the state that his country was in. That is why he prays to God for the nation; he asks for a heaven of freedom. This is to mean that, there should be submission of slavery that was currently in the country, not express themselves without fear, knowledge was not free; the nation is fragmented by domestic walls that are narrow, their heads are stooping low, and they are divided geographically by barriers that are politically induced. For instance, one of the ideas that broke the poet’s heart is Lord Curson’s Divide and Rule policy. He felt so frustrated and that is why he gave the strong emotions that are seen in the poem. We can recommend Tagore as a committed and dedicated national leader to. This notion is not only applicable in India but the world at large. The ideology that the poet presupposes has an audience wide enough due to the theme that runs through the poem. Most of the countries lack freedom of any form. They have fought for this freedom but they have left the world without seeing the fruits of their fight. This is what happened with Tagore as he tried to fight for freedom in India. References Chakravarty, A, (1961), A Tagore Reader, Beacon Press.pg.45-46 Dutta, K. Robinson, A Editor (1997), Rabidranath Tagore: An Anthology, St. Martin’s Press. Pg.265 Dutta, K. Robinson, A, (1995), Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad- Minded Man, St. Martin’s Press. Pg.222 Tagore, R (1977), Collected Poems and Plays of Rabinranath Tagore, Macmillam Publishing. Pg.5 Rabindranath, T. (2012), Where the Mind is Without Fear. Rajshri Media (P) Limited. Read More