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Today, India celebrates its 62nd year of Independence. In celebration of that occasion, I wish every Indian a very Happy Independence Day.
If you have been schooled in India, you couldn't possibly have missed reading the poem "Where the Mind is Without Fear" by Rabindranath Tagore. This simple poem moves me as much today as it did the day I first read it. The plea it makes, to free our minds from the constriction of dogma, is even more relevant today, and I believe that if every self-serving opinionated Indian truly understood this poem, the unrest and mistrust in our country would diminish to minuscule proportions.
WHERE THE MIND IS WITHOUT FEAR
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.
Jai Hind!
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I love that poem, and I never love any poetry! Thanks for stopping by my blog, it was nice to see you there. When was the poem written? It seems so relevant to today, that I would assume it was pretty modern?
The original poem was included in Gitanjali by Tagore, published in English in 1910. India wasn't even independent then, and Tagore already foresaw the problems it would face. I agree, it's a fantastic poem
I hope you have a wonderful day. I love the picture of the jets - is that typical of an Independence Day celebration there?
Happy Independence Day!
Beautiful poem. Happy Independence Day!
@ bermudaonion: Thanks. Well the jets are usually a feature of the Republic Day parade.
@Nymeth: Thank you
@ Elizabeth: It's one of my favorite poems