Where The Mind Is Without Fear, And Head Is Held High!

Where The Mind Is Without Fear And Head Is Held High!

When I was a child, my favourite poem used to be 'Where the mind is without fear, and the head is held high' by Rabindranath Tagore. Other poems like William Wordsworth's Daffodils that still continues to be one of my favourites, however the Where The Mind Is Without Fear still has a special relevance.

No, I wouldn't really highlight on a specific situation or circumstance, but as and when I step into the complexities of life, this poem acts as a saviour. I have kind of strived to embrace all the complexities, that life unfolds eventually. Times when everything feels not right and extremely difficult and complex, when I am really scared to talk my mind, and feel flabbergasted, Tagore is the only person that I can seek refuge in. 

He has taught me to speak the truth, he has taught me to walk the way alone even if there is no one beside. A very famous Bengali song sums this up, 'Jodi Tor daak sune keu na aashay tobe ekla cholo re.' It means that if nobody comes out on your calling, then we should walk the path alone. The second line says, 'Jodi keu kotha na koi, tobe poran khule, mukh phute, tor moner kotha ekla bolo re!' The english translation says, my dear if there is no one to talk to you if there is no one that supporting your views, then you should by all means gather spirit, and speak your mind.

I don't know how much I have been able to follow him, but every time I see something wrong happening before my eyes, or every time there is something that doesn't allow me to sleep at night, and I feel restless, Tagore's voice still keeps ringing and everything is taken care of.

This I feel is an essence of life that I hold very close to my heart, and I wish to cherish it forever. I would like to conclude by recapitulating my very own favourite poem:

The mind is without fear and head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken 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 the ever widening thought and action 

Into that heaven of freedom, my father, let my country awake!

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