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Gitanjali

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"Gitanjali" is a collection of prose poems by Indian author Rabindranath Tagore. The Dover Thrift Edition contains an introductory note on the life of Tagore, who lived from 1861 to 1941. According to this note, Tagore, who wrote poetry in Bengali, translated "Gitanjali" himself into English. The Dover edition also contains a 1912 introduction by William Butler Yeats.

This English version of "Gitanjali" is a series of prose poems that reflect on the interrelationships among the poet/speaker, the deity, and the world. Although Tagore had a Hindu background, the spirituality of this book is generally expressed in universal terms; I could imagine a Christian, a Buddhist, a Muslim, or an adherent of another tradition finding much in this book that would resonate with him or her.

The language in this book is often very beautiful. The imagery includes flowers, bird songs, clouds, the sun, etc.; one line about "the riotous excess of the grass" reminded me of Walt Whitman. Tagore's language is sensuous and sometimes embraces paradox. Like Whitman and Emily Dickinson, he sometimes seems to be resisting traditional religion and prophetically looking towards a new spirituality.

A sample of Tagore's style: "I surely know the hundred petals of a lotus will not remain closed for ever and the secret recess of its honey will be bared" (from section #98). As companion texts for this mystical volume I would recommend Jack Kerouac's "The Scripture of the Golden Eternity" and Juan Mascaro's translation of the Dhammapada.

The word and the deed were never far from each other in Tagore's life and not surprisingly he advocated the Universal Man. He was a polymath: a poet, fiction writer, dramatist, painter, educator, political thinker, philosopher of science. He was also a genius in music, choreography, architecture, social service and statesmanship. Over six decades Tagore gave the world some 2,500 songs, more than 2,000 paintings and drawings, 28 volumes of poetry, drama, opera, short stories, novels, essays and diaries and a vast number of letters.

I would enthusiatically recommend this book by my favorite author. Like the Psalms of David, Gitanjali is a soothing balm to the spirit. I read this entire book in less than two hours and has been my long-trip travel companion ever since. The introduction to the book by W. B. Yeats is magical and all the poems in this book transcend your imagination. The variety and quality of the poems are unbelievable!

With Tagore, very little can go wrong if you're looking for some poetry to heal your heart and soul. Tagore's poetry appeals to the highest spiritual plains yet at the same time appeals to the human heart to the highest order. To achieve something like this will require a person of high spiritual attainment.

Gitanjali, or 'Song Offerings', is a collection of prose written with the Creator in mind, reflecting Tagore's wish to be united with the Creator. In his poetry one cannot miss his show of devotion and his pure love for the Creator, using variuos metaphorical subjects like flowers, rivers etc. One cannot but admire the beauty and art in it.

To give you a feel of his poetry, the Gitanjali starts with this : "Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life..."

W.B. Yeats, who contributed greatly to the exposure of Tagore to the Western world and subsequently to Tagore's award for the Nobel prize in Literature, has this to say, "...these prose translation from Rabindranath Tagore have stirred my blood as nothing has for years...".

Highly recommended.

Gitanjali is a sweet collection of poems and songs from Nobel Prize winning poet Rabindranath Tagore. These are songs that touch on love, faith, truth, life in general. Tagore has written from the heart. The wisdom contained in these works is startling. This is Eastern poetry that is a wonder to behold. Tagore embraces the personal as well as the universal. He encourages his people to transcend. I refer to this book variably over the years. Its alluring beauty has not faded in any way.

Rabindranath Tagore offers the discerning reader "manna for the spirit". In truth, this small volume of poetry consists of English translations of Bengali songs of worship. My well worn copy from 1971 (MacMillan and Company, New York) has stood the test of time, being read and reread many times in the past 24 years. Surprise (!!!) the price only went up by 5 cents!

Tagore is my favorite poet, he approaches the deepest most spiritual aspects of life with simplicity, grace, and reverence. Using the imagery of nature, he connects the reader to the truth of living, being, experiencing this world in all its myriad of forms. His poems touch depths within the soul of the reader in unexpected and unimaginable ways ...

Perhaps at the end of the day, the reader can concur with the words of Tagore in poem # 16: "I have had my invitation to life's festival, and my life has been blessed. My eyes have seen and my ears have heard. It was my part to play upon my instrument, and I have done all I could. Now, I ask, has the time come at last when I may go in and see thy face and offer thee my salutations."

Excerpts from Poem # 57 "The butterflies spread their sails on the sea of light. Lilies and jasmines surge up on the crest of the waves of light. The light is shattered into gold on every cloud, my darling, and it scatters gems into profusion. Mirth spreads from leaf to leaf, my darling, and gladness without measure."

Poem # 90 "On the day when death will knock at thy door what wilt thou offer him?"
Erika Borsos (erikab93)

A magnanimous spirit's spiritual legacy.
It made me close my eyes and ruminate on the world as it was meant to be.
Reading just one or two poems might be unfulfilling or even boring.
The reader has to allow himself to be drawn in and read 7-8 of them and then perhaps re-read them. That's when the magic truly sets in.
It then indulges the nooks of the mind that daily routines tend to push out of sight.
The poems are easy to read since they are fairly short (9-10 lines often), but they put forth a lot more than that.
The original version in Bengali is supposed to be even better, but the English translation was special enough for me.
Brilliant is an understatement.

I have heard it said that reading Tagore in translation is like looking at a beautiful piece of embroidery from the wrong side of the cloth. But those who do not know Bengali must rely on translations, and in the case of "Gitanjali", Tagore himself has translated his verses into English. This is poetry that evokes all the feelings that make us human, such as love, devotion, faith and aspirations for that which is noble. The lines have to be absorbed, reflected upon, and at the end, we become all the better for it. One can only wonder how much more touching the verses must sound in Bengali.

Gitanjali, by the great Indian Nobel Prize-winning-poet Rabindranath Tagore, is a beautiful collection of spiritual prose-poems. It is extrememly interesting when read from a Christian perspective. The poems are all written to one transcendant God and are almost all somewhat Biblical in their phrasings and images. The poems celebrate the absolute joy of being created: "I have had my invitation to this world's festival, and thus my life has been blessed." They also celebrate the many simple joys of life. Some poems of Gitanjali are apt explanations of the "problem of pain." Tagore's assertation that God's spirit is not most evident in a worship service but in the way man reacts to others is very important. The primary thing expressed by Tagore is exactly the same thing expressed by Christianity: love for God and love for humanity should be central to life.

I do not know much about Rabindranath Tagore's life. I have only read some of his poetry. Though it comes from a vastly different world-view from that of my own, much of the thought he expresses is similar to my own, and it enlightens my own. Tagore's language is also so moving and beautiful. Gitanjali is a masterpiece which I would like to see read more often.

Although this book cannot be considered genuine poetry the way it is -- the author admitted himself that he had translated the Bengali verse into English prose -- it is still among the most poetic and sweetest lyrics that we have in English today; what one migh call a "prose poem". These verses seem innocent, fresh, full and full of wonder -- spirituality at its best. Most of the songs in the book are religious in nature, but so tender that they are almost ecstatic. Rabindranath is totally naked here -- there is a vulnerability and a sincerity of emotion that is genuinely touching. The poet seems to see the whole world with the eyes of a child, full of inexpressible wonder and ineffable sweetness. It is as though Rabindranath has unconvered the art of seeing the sacred in everyone and everything. This is one of the greatest collections of poetry that I have ever seen. Each poem almost brought me to tears -- I can see why it affected Yeats so much. This volume is a rare and radiant jewel.

Tagore is a wonderful example of merging of cultures - for example one of the prose poems is the reflections of the Samaritan women at the well after her encounter with Jesus. Yet other poems reveal the eroticism of longing that one associates with Indian bhakti poets such as Mirabai; others seem to long for a God without form as one associates with Kabir. Tagore thus represents the acceptance of some things Western while retaining a distinctively South Asian bent. The poems themselves are excellent and wide ranging - a few are not specifically religious or spiritual. An excellent book to read to enjoy either the Nobel prize winner Tagore or as an introduction to bhakti (devotional) poetry as a whole.