WHERE THE MIND IS WITHOUT FEAR
“Where the mind is without fear” is a powerful and inspirational poem written by Rabindranath Tagore originally in Bengali and published in 1910 in the collection of his Gitanjali. And then he translated it into English and published it in 1912. The Nobel Prize in Literature 1913 was awarded to him for his sensitivity and creativity. He wrote this poem, while India was still under British rule. People were eagerly waiting for independence from foreign rule.
His poem is a prayer to the Almighty for a nation free from fear, fragmentation, narrow-mindedness, and falsehood. This was his dream and vision for our motherland India. But where have we reached now in recent years? We are living in fear, lawlessness, uncertainty, and living as caged birds who have forgotten to fly high in the sky. As a country, we have lost integrity, morality, and sensitivity towards others, especially girls and women. Our past glory is only in the history books.
Who will restore India to the great vision of Rabindranath Tagore? Mere peace rallies, prayers for peace, fasting, doing charity to the victims, issuing press releases, words of sympathy, and shouting slogans are not sufficient. We must come out of our comfort zones. We cannot and should not be mute spectators. We have to enter the playground and play the prophetic role through the powerful weapons of non-violence, peaceful actions, and non-cooperation with ego-filled autocrats. We have to stand in solidarity with the oppressed citizens and save our country from lawlessness and anarchy. The silence of the majority irrespective of their religion and region could be interpreted as they are the partners in the degradation of our country. We cannot trust our leaders who remained dumb all these years and are now opening their mouths because of the disturbing videos in circulation.
The entire world has become a global village. Hence there are no “internal matters” restricted to any country including India. Wherever there is violence, war, or injustice, in any part of our planet, should become our concern and we must raise our voices without fear. India is our homeland. It is our utmost sacred duty and obligation to save it. As a sovereign democratic republic, we have to secure justice, liberty, equality, dignity, and fraternity for all the citizens of our country. In this context, the poem of Rabindranath Tagore gives us the courage and inspiration to play our dynamic role.
“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.”
Now is the hour to rise from our slumber and put into practice the vision of Rabindranath Tagore before our country is doomed to extremism, fundamentalism, fanaticism, and exclusivism.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Fr Pratap Naik SJ, Loyola Hall, Miramar, Goa
Fr Pratap Naik, S.J., is a Jesuit priest based in Panjim-Goa. He is the director of the Thomas Stephens Konkani Kendra (TSKK), a research institute working on issues related to the Konkani language, literature, culture and education. The institute is based in Alto Porvorim, on the outskirts of the state capital of Panaji, Goa. Fr Naik was one of the proponents of founding the TSKK. The proposal to do so was brought up before the provincial congregation (one of the official bodies of the Jesuits) in 1978.
TSKK is named after Thomas Stephens, the 16th-century English Jesuit priest missionary who came to Goa in 1579 and lived in the region till his death. Stevens authored the Arte da lingua Canarim, which was written in Portuguese and was the first printed grammar of what is now called the Konkani language. In 1982 TSKK was registered as a society, and it commenced operation in January 1986 from its former premises at Loyola Hall in Miramar, Goa. Miramar itself is a centre for training young men wanting to become Jesuit priests.
