Gitanjali / Rabindranath Tagore

Title: Gitanjali

Author: Rabindranath Tagore

Subject: Poems; Bengali Poetry; Literature; Noble Prize

An introduction by W. B. YEATS to WILLIAM ROTHENSTEIN

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,

The Wise Dog / Kahlil Gibran

One day there passed by a company of cats a wise dog.

And as he came near and saw that they were very intent and heeded

him not, he stopped.

Then there arose in the midst of the company a large, grave cat and

looked upon them and said, “Brethren, pray ye; and when ye have

The Sleep-Walkers / Kahlil Gibran

In the town where I was born lived a woman and her daughter, who

walked in their sleep.

One night, while silence enfolded the world, the woman and her

daughter, walking, yet asleep, met in their mist-veiled garden.

And the mother spoke, and she said:  “At last, at last, my enemy!

The Scarecrow / Kahlil Gibran

Once I said to a scarecrow, “You must be tired of standing in this

lonely field.”

And he said, “The joy of scaring is a deep and lasting one, and I

never tire of it.”

Said I, after a minute of thought, “It is true; for I too have

known that joy.”

My Friend / Kahlil Gibran

My friend, I am not what I seem.  Seeming is but a garment I wear—a

care-woven garment that protects me from thy questionings and thee

from my negligence.

 

The “I” in me, my friend, dwells in the house of silence, and

therein it shall remain for ever more, unperceived, unapproachable.

God / Kahlil Gibran

In the ancient days, when the first quiver of speech came to my lips,

I ascended the holy mountain and spoke unto God, saying, “Master,

I am thy slave.  Thy hidden will is my law and I shall obey thee

for ever more.”

 

The Greater Sea / Kahlil Gibran

My soul and I went to the great sea to bathe.  And when we reached the shore, we went about looking for a hidden and lonely place.

But as we walked, we saw a man sitting on a grey rock taking pinches of salt from a bag and throwing them into the sea.

“This is the pessimist,” said my soul, “Let us leave this place. We cannot bathe here.”

Ambition / Kahlil Gibran

Three men met at a tavern table.  One was a weaver, another a

carpenter and the third a ploughman.

 

Said the weaver, “I sold a fine linen shroud today for two pieces

of gold.  Let us have all the wine we want.”

 

“And I,” said the carpenter, “I sold my best coffin.

The Farewell / Kahlil Gibran

AND now it was evening. 

And Almitra the seeress said, "Blessed be this day and this place and your spirit that has spoken." 

And he answered, 

Was it I who spoke? 

Was I not also a listener? 

Then he descended the steps of the Temple and all the people followed him.

And he reached his ship and stood upon the deck.

Death / Kahlil Gibran

THEN Almitra spoke, saying, "We would ask now of Death." 

And he said: 

You would know the secret of death. 

But how shall you find it unless you seek it in the heart of life? 

The owl whose night-bound eyes are blind unto the day cannot unveil the mystery of light. 

If you would indeed behold the spirit of death, open your heart wide unto the body of life. 

For life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one. 

Religion / Kahlil Gibran

AND an old priest said, "Speak to us of Religion." 

And he said: 

Have I spoken this day of aught else? 

Is not religion all deeds and all reflection, 

And that which is neither deed nor reflection, but a wonder and a surprise ever springing in the soul, even while the hands hew the stone or tend the loom? 

Who can separate his faith from his actions, or his belief from his occupations? 

Beauty / Kahlil Gibran

AND a poet said, Speak to us of Beauty. 

And he answered: 

Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide? 

And how shall you speak of her except she be the weaver of your speech? 

The aggrieved and the injured say, "Beauty is kind and gentle.

"Like a young mother half-shy of her own glory she walks among us."

And the passionate say, "Nay, beauty is a thing of might and dread.

Pleasure / Kahlil Gibran

THEN a hermit, who visited the city once a year, came forth and said, Speak to us of Pleasure. 

And he answered, saying: 

Pleasure is a freedom-song, 

But it is not freedom. 

It is the blossoming of your desires, 

But it is not their fruit. 

It is a depth calling unto a height, 

But it is not the deep nor the high. 

Prayer / Kahlil Gibran

THEN a priestess said, "Speak to us of Prayer." 

And he answered, saying: 

You pray in your distress and in your need; would that you might pray also in the fullness of your joy and in your days of abundance. 

For what is prayer but the expansion of your self into the living ether?

And if it is for your comfort to pour your darkness into space, it is also for your delight to pour forth the dawning of your heart.

And if you cannot but weep when your soul summons you to prayer, she should spur you again and yet again, though weeping, until you shall come laughing.

Good And Evil / Kahlil Gibran

AND one of the elders of the city said, Speak to us of Good and Evil. 

And he answered: 

Of the good in you I can speak, but not of the evil. 

For what is evil but good tortured by its own hunger and thirst? 

Verily when good is hungry it seeks food even in dark caves, and when it thirsts it drinks even of dead waters. 

You are good when you are one with yourself.

Yet when you are not one with yourself you are not evil.

For a divided house is not a den of thieves; it is only a divided house.

Time / Kahlil Gibran

AND an astronomer said, "Master, what of Time?" 

And he answered: 

You would measure time the measureless and the immeasurable. 

You would adjust your conduct and even direct the course of your spirit according to hours and seasons. 

Of time you would make a stream upon whose bank you would sit and watch its flowing. 

Yet the timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness,

And knows that yesterday is but to-day's memory and to-morrow is to-day's dream.

Talking / Kahlil Gibran

AND then a scholar said, Speak of Talking. 

And he answered, saying: 

You talk when you cease to be at peace with your thoughts; 

And when you can no longer dwell in the solitude of your heart you live in your lips, and sound is a diversion and a pastime. 

And in much of your talking, thinking is half murdered. For thought is a bird of space, that in a cage of words may indeed unfold its wings but cannot fly. 

There are those among you who seek the talkative through fear of being alone.

Friendship / Kahlil Gibran

AND a youth said, Speak to us of Friendship. 

And he answered, saying: 

Your friend is your needs answered. 

He is your field which you sow with love and reap with thanksgiving. 

And he is your board and your fireside. 

For you come to him with your hunger, and you seek him for peace. 

When your friend speaks his mind you fear not the "nay" in your own mind, nor do you with hold the "aye."

And when he is silent your heart ceases not to listen to his heart;

Teaching / Kahlil Gibran

Then Said a Teacher, Speak To Us Of Teaching. 

And He Said: 

No Man Can Reveal To You Aught But That Which Already Lies Half Asleep In The Dawning Of Your Knowledge. 

The Teacher Who Walks In The Shadow Of The Temple, Among His Followers, Gives Not Of His Wisdom But Rather Of His Faith And His Lovingness. 

If He Is Indeed Wise He Does Not Bid You Enter The House Of His Wisdom, But Rather Leads You To The Threshold Of Your Own Mind. 

Self-Knowledge / Kahlil Gibran

AND a man said, Speak to us of Self-Knowledge. 

And he answered, saying: 

Your hearts know in silence the secrets of the days and the nights. 

But your ears thirst for the sound of your heart's knowledge. 

You would know in words that which you have always known in thought. 

You would touch with your fingers the naked body of your dreams. 

And it is well you should.

The hidden well-spring of your soul must needs rise and run murmuring to the sea;