ADMIRABLE THOUGHTS

 

          ADMIRABLE THOUGHTS

            In his book of song offerings called Gitanjali  (1913), the Indian poet, philosopher and political thinker Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941)  prayed in a song, at a time when India was under the British rule :

            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.

 

India became free from the British rule on 15 August 1947. But even today after about 79 years of freedom, the minds of most of the people are not without fear and their heads are not held high. Narrow domestic walls are still there.  Words are not coming out from the depth of truth.  The clear stream of reason has still lost its way into the dreary desert sand of dead habit; and the country is not being led forward by God.

 

Morality has rather declined. Selfishness more than selflessness is on the rise.

 

People look at their fellow citizens as strangers and do not help them if they see them being killed by criminal wayfarers before their very eyes.

 

Unfortunately, the whole world which should have embraced Tagore’s prayer is becoming violent and unethical . Deadliest weapons are being manufactured and sold like other goods and chattels.

 

War-minded leaders feel proud that they have crippled  some  weaker country by using their powerful military power.  

Peace-makers are  now rare. Apostles of non-violence like the Indian freedom fighter Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi  (1869-1948),  are nowhere to be seen.  

 

            Finally, here is a relevant quote:

Non-violence is a powerful force for change, emphasizing strength, compassion, and the rejection of retaliation. It is a sword that heals and a means to transform conflict through love rather than force.       

                                                                        ******

G. R. Kanwal

16 April 2026