Poetry Chaikhana Sacred Poetry from Around the World

Yoga / Hindu 20th Century	About Rabindranath Tagore Timeline (1861 - 1941)
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English version by Rabindranath Tagore Original Language Bengali	(80) I am like a remnant of a cloud of autumn (from Gitanjali)
Commentary by Ivan M. Granger Themes   Dawn   Light   Night   Sky   Smile   Recommended Books Collected Poems & Plays of Rabindranath Tagore, by Rabindranath Tagore The Crescent Moon, by Rabindranath Tagore The Fugitive, by Rabindranath Tagore Gitanjali, by Rabindranath Tagore The Heart of God: Prayers of Rabindranath Tagore, by Rabindranath Tagore / Edited by Herbert F. Vetter More >>	I am like a remnant of a cloud of autumn uselessly roaming in the sky, O my sun ever-glorious! Thy touch has not yet melted my vapour, making me one with thy light, and thus I count months and years separated from thee.      If this be thy wish and if this be thy play, then take this fleeting emptiness of mine, paint it with colours, gild it with gold, float it on the wanton wind and spread it in varied wonders.      And again when it shall be thy wish to end this play at night, I shall melt and vanish away in the dark, or it may be in a smile of the white morning, in a coolness of purity transparent.     -- from Gitanjali, by Rabindranath Tagore Amazon.com
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Commentary by Ivan M. Granger

This verse exhibits the patience required of the spiritual seeker. The speaker recognizes that separation from God is part of the divine play -- that there is a rightness to that. It gives the seeker permission to feel in harmony with the divine will even though perfect communion has not yet been attained.

And a secret: This recognition eases the psychic muscles, allowing that communion to come upon us even more swiftly and naturally.

Ivan M. Granger's original poetry, stories and commentaries are Copyright © 2002 - 2008 by Ivan M. Granger.
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