Gitanjali
4/5
()
About this ebook
Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was an Indian poet, composer, philosopher, and painter from Bengal. Born to a prominent Brahmo Samaj family, Tagore was raised mostly by servants following his mother’s untimely death. His father, a leading philosopher and reformer, hosted countless artists and intellectuals at the family mansion in Calcutta, introducing his children to poets, philosophers, and musicians from a young age. Tagore avoided conventional education, instead reading voraciously and studying astronomy, science, Sanskrit, and classical Indian poetry. As a teenager, he began publishing poems and short stories in Bengali and Maithili. Following his father’s wish for him to become a barrister, Tagore read law for a brief period at University College London, where he soon turned to studying the works of Shakespeare and Thomas Browne. In 1883, Tagore returned to India to marry and manage his ancestral estates. During this time, Tagore published his Manasi (1890) poems and met the folk poet Gagan Harkara, with whom he would work to compose popular songs. In 1901, having written countless poems, plays, and short stories, Tagore founded an ashram, but his work as a spiritual leader was tragically disrupted by the deaths of his wife and two of their children, followed by his father’s death in 1905. In 1913, Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, making him the first lyricist and non-European to be awarded the distinction. Over the next several decades, Tagore wrote his influential novel The Home and the World (1916), toured dozens of countries, and advocated on behalf of Dalits and other oppressed peoples.
Read more from Rabindranath Tagore
Tagore, The Poetry Of Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Short Stories Of Rabindranath Tagore - Vol 1 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Home and the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Stories from Tagore Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Indian Love Poetry Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Last Poem Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Works of Tagore 10 Books Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsTwo Sisters Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Stories from Tagore: With linked Table of Contents Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Boat-wreck Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsGORA Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelected Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selected Short Stories Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selected Stories of Rabindranath Tagore Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Fireflies: "Love's gift cannot be given, it waits to be accepted." Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsMy Reminiscences Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Songs of Kabir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Home and the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sadhana: the realisation of life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Greatest Works of Rabindranath Tagore (Deluxe Hardbound Edition) Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Religion of Man: International Edition Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Crown Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Songs of Kabir Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Poetry Hour - Volume 6: Time For The Soul Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsHeart of God: Prayers of Rabindranath Tagore Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Centre Of Indian Culture: "The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough." Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related to Gitanjali
Titles in the series (100)
The Essential Gilbert K. Chesterton Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLittle Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Three Men in a Boat Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mary Barton Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Adventures in Oz Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA World is Born Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lost Princess of Oz Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Go-Getter Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life is a Dream Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Bobbsey Twins at Cedar Camp Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCitadel Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Bobbsey Twins at Meadow Brook Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Lost Princess: A Double Tale Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Tales of Soldiers and Civilians Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The House of Seven Gables Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Little Women Letters from the House of Alcott Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Adventures in Oz Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe World of If Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStories of the Color Line Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdventures in Oz Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAdventures in Oz Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsA Spiritual Canticle of the Soul and the Bridegroom Christ Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStories of Great Americans For Little Americans Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOracles of Nostradamus Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Happy Prince and Other Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Happiness and Marriage Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Stars, My Brothers Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsLittle Wizard Stories of Oz Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Navaho Myths, Prayers & Songs Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsCity of God Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related ebooks
Songs of Kabir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Krishna Charitra: The story of Krishna as a common man, not as God Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Colours of Desire on the Canvas of Restraint: The Jaina Way Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBhagavad Gita: The Scripture of Mankind Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsKrishna’s Kiss Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBhagavad-Gita Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Poorva: Magic, Miracles and the Mystical Twelve Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRage Of Jarasandha Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The Bhagavad Gita Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsRamakrishna and Christ, The Supermystics: New Interpretations Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsOne Hundred Poems of Tukaram Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Blue God: A Life of Krishna Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Seven Hindu Classics Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsStories from Tagore Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAum Beep Beep:Lifting The Lid On Hinduism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Selected Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Upanishads (Translated with Annotations by F. Max Muller) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Yoga Sutras of Patanjali: "The Book of the Spiritual Man" Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsBhagavad Gita Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5One Hundred Poems of Kabir (1915) Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsYama Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVraja-Lila The Pastimes Of Radha & Krishna In The Garden Of Eden Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Adi Shankara Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Sakoontala or the Lost Ring An Indian Drama Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Journey: A Life Forged By Fire Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSĀDHANĀ - The Realisation of life Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsSelections from the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna: Translated by Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsVedanta Philosophy: Five Lectures on Reincarnation Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Recognition of Sakuntala Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Poetry For You
The Divine Comedy: Inferno, Purgatory, and Paradise Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Iliad: The Fitzgerald Translation Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Inward Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dante's Divine Comedy: Inferno Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odyssey: (The Stephen Mitchell Translation) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Canterbury Tales Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dante's Inferno: The Divine Comedy, Book One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Love Her Wild: Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odyssey Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Bedtime Stories for Grown-ups Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dream Work Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Tao Te Ching: A New English Version Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Prophet Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Beowulf Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Gilgamesh: A New English Version Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5For colored girls who have considered suicide/When the rainbow is enuf Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Iliad of Homer Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Selected Poems Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Daily Stoic: A Daily Journal On Meditation, Stoicism, Wisdom and Philosophy to Improve Your Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Way Forward Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Edgar Allan Poe: The Complete Collection Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Letters to a Young Poet (Rediscovered Books): With linked Table of Contents Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Poems of Emily Dickinson (ReadOn Classics) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Divine Comedy: Inferno Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Beyond Thoughts: An Exploration Of Who We Are Beyond Our Minds Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Twenty love poems and a song of despair Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leaves of Grass: 1855 Edition Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Complete Poems of John Keats (with an Introduction by Robert Bridges) Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Odyssey Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratings
Related categories
Reviews for Gitanjali
6 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Very 'ecstasy of the spirit' - I liked some of it very much but overall it's not a feeling that I relate to. I should have read it in my late teens when I was interested more in spiritual matters.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Where 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 the 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 lead forward by thee into ever widening thought and action -
Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. - Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5"Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure." Thus begins this small but rich collection of poems by the Nobel Prize-winning poet Rabindranath Tagore. He sings of the ages that are the gift of the gods. He explores the abundance of human experience from birth to death and beyond. Eros has its place as well in the poems that explore the humanity of young and old. All the while the beauty of nature does not escape his attention. The author's own translation into English from the original Bengali does not lose the musical quality that must exist in the original language. One may open to almost any page to experience beautiful poetry like these line from Poem 59:"The morning light has flooded my eyes---this is thy message to my heart. Thy face is bent from above, thy eyes look down on my eyes, and my heart has touched thy feet."(p 77)With an introduction by W. B. Yeats from the original 1913 edition this is a great introduction to a protean writer. His poetry and prose compares with Goethe or Dante in its impact on both his home of India and the world.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It’s a little surprising that this is the work which captivated W.B. Yeats and led to the Nobel Prize in literature for Tagore. Many of the elements that make him great are present – his humility, reverence for the poor, and the feelings of reverie in life – but he is less poetic and more one-dimensional than in other works. This particular edition was not well edited either, containing a few typos. I would recommend “Selected Poems” or his prose work “The Home and the World” over “Gitanjali”.This was my favorite piece, poem #29 of the 103:“He whom I enclose with my name is weeping in this dungeon. I am ever busy building this wall all around; and as this wall goes up into the sky day by day I lose sight of my true being in its dark shadow.I take pride in this great wall, and I plaster it with dust and sand lest a least hole should be left in this name; and for all the care I take I lose sight of my true being.”
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5The sites I record my books on — LibraryThing and GoodReads — are filled with glowing 5-star reviews of this work, but I'm just not feeling it. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that I can't remember the last time a book of poetry has left me so utterly unmoved.Perhaps something was lost in Tagore's own translation from Bengali verse to English prose-poems; perhaps it was the decision to go with heavily Biblical-sounding language, full of thees and thous and -sts; but in the end I was left with a feeling that, despite all the protestations and declarations of love and faith, that it was all very sterile — like someone writing about emotions they'd only ever been told about in passing.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5When I first read this, I asked how it could be that I never had this suggested to me in any class. Of course because we tend to ignore authors who are not from Europe or America. I'd heard of Tagore, but his poetry blew me away. I keep coming back to this.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A few years ago I lost a good friend to a car accident. He was Indian and at his memorial service they read Gitanjali 96. I have to admit I was unfamiliar with Tagore at the time, but I thought it was the most beuatiful and appropriate poem I have ever heard. Tagore's poems are spiritual and mysterious without being religious, and the language is just amazingly beautiful.
Book preview
Gitanjali - Rabindranath Tagore
Gitanjali
By Rabindranath Tagore
with an Introduction by W. B. Yeats
Start Publishing LLC
Copyright © 2012 by Start Publishing LLC
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever.
First Start Publishing eBook edition October 2012
Start Publishing is a registered trademark of Start Publishing LLC
Manufactured in the United States of America
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
ISBN 978-1-62558-410-6
Table of Contents
Introduction
Gitanjali
Introduction
A few days ago I said to a distinguished Bengali doctor of medicine, ‘I know no German, yet if a translation of a German poet had moved me, I would go to the British Museum and find books in English that would tell me something of his life, and of the history of his thought. But though these prose translations from Rabindranath Tagore have stirred my blood as nothing has for years, I shall not know anything of his life, and of the movements of thought that have made them possible, if some Indian traveller will not tell me.’ It seemed to him natural that I should be moved, for he said, ‘I read Rabindranath every day, to read one line of his is to forget all the troubles of the world.’ I said, ‘An Englishman living in London in the reign of Richard the Second had he been shown translations from Petrarch or from Dante, would have found no books to answer his questions, but would have questioned some Florentine banker or Lombard merchant as I question you. For all I know, so abundant and simple is this poetry, the new renaissance has been born in your country and I shall never know of it except by hearsay.’ He answered, ‘We have other poets, but none that are his equal; we call this the epoch of Rabindranath. No poet seems to me as famous in Europe as he is among us. He is as great in music as in poetry, and his songs are sung from the west of India into Burma wherever Bengali is spoken. He was already famous at nineteen when he wrote his first novel; and plays when he was but little older, are still played in Calcutta. I so much admire the completeness of his life; when he was very young he wrote much of natural objects, he would sit all day in his garden; from his twenty-fifth year or so to his thirty-fifth perhaps, when he had a great sorrow, he wrote the most beautiful love poetry in our language’; and then he said with deep emotion, ‘words can never express what I owed at seventeen to his love poetry. After that his art grew deeper, it became religious and philosophical; all the inspiration of mankind are in his hymns. He is the first among our saints who has not refused to live, but has spoken out of Life itself, and that is why we give him our love.’ I may have changed his well-chosen words in my memory but not his thought. ‘A little while ago he was to read divine service in one of our churches—we of the Brahma Samaj use your word ‘church’ in English—it was the largest in Calcutta and not only was it crowded, but the streets were all but impassable because of the people.’
Other Indians came to see me and their reverence for this man sounded strange in our world, where we hide great and little things under the same veil of obvious comedy and half-serious depreciation. When we were making the cathedrals had we a like reverence for our great men? ‘Every morning at three—I know, for I have seen it’—one said to me, ‘he sits immovable in contemplation, and for two hours does not awake from his reverie upon the nature of God. His father, the Maha Rishi, would sometimes sit there all through the next day; once, upon a river, he fell into contemplation because of the beauty of the landscape, and the rowers waited for eight hours before they could continue their journey.’ He then told me of Mr. Tagore’s family and how for generations great men have come out of its cradles. ‘Today,’ he said, ‘there are Gogonendranath and Abanindranath