rabindranath tagore was a bengali poet, philosopher, playwright, novelist, educator and an artist. he was the first non-european to win the nobel prize in literature in 1913 for his book gitanjali. he was a genius in many fields. he was also an excellent musician and painter.
in bengal, he is lovingly called as gurudev as he was instrumental in modernizing the bangla art. he was also a cultural reformer. he also supported the indian independence movement.
he was a lover of nature, arts and was a very aesthetic person. his poetry reflects mysticism and carries the depth of a sage.
rabindranath tagore quotes:
1. if you shut your door to all errors truth will be shut out.
2. the false can never grow into truth by growing in power.
3. god waits for man to regain his childhood in wisdom.
4. when i was a child, god also became a child with me to be my playmate.
5. every child comes with the message that God is not yet discouraged of man.
6. let this be my last word, that I trust in thy love.
7. let me live truly, my lord, so that death to me become true.
8. he who wants to do good knocks at the gate; he who loves finds the gate open.
9. chastity is a wealth that comes from abundance of love.
10. the leaf becomes flower when it loves. the flower becomes fruit when it worships.
11. blessed is he whose fame does not outshine his truth.
12. tiny grass, your steps are small, but you possess the earth under your tread.
13. the roots below the earth claim no rewards for making the branches fruitful.
14. the world has kissed my soul with its pain, asking for its return in songs.
15. we come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.
16. be still, my heart, these great trees are prayers.
17. silence will carry your voice like the nest that holds the sleeping birds.
18. a mind all logic is like a knife all blade. it makes the hand bleed that uses it.
19. do not blame your food because you have no appetite.
20. god is ashamed when the prosperous boasts of his special favour.
21. god grows weary of great kingdoms, but never of little flowers.
22. the canal loves to think that rivers exist solely to supply it with water.
23. the storm of the last night has crowned this morning with golden peace.
24. the raindrops kissed the earth and whispered,
“we are thy homesick children, mother, come back to thee from the heaven.”
25. the great earth makes herself hospitable with the help of the grass.
26. praise shames me, for i secretly beg for it.
27. to be outspoken is easy when you do not wait to speak the complete truth.
28. release me from my unfulfilled past, clinging to me from behind making death difficult.
29. we shall know some day that death can never rob us of that which our soul has gained, for her gains are one with herself.
30. woman, in your laughter you have the music of the fountain of life.
31. the infant flower opens its bud and cries, “dear world, please do not fade.”
32. ask not what i have with me to take there. i start on my journey with empty hands and expectant heart.
33. we read the world wrong and say that it deceives us.
34. the dust receives insult and in return offers her flowers.
35. the artist is the lover of nature, therefore he is her slave and her master.
36. the false can never grow into truth by growing in power.
37. “how far are you from me, O fruit?” “i am hidden in your heart, O flower.”
38. the world has opened its heart of light in the morning.
come out, my heart, with thy love to meet it.
39. asks the possible to the impossible, “where is your dwelling place?”
“in the dreams of the impotent,” comes the answer.
40. man is worse than an animal when he is an animal.