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I Boasted among men that I had known you. They see your pictures in all works of mine. They come and ask me, "Who is he?" I know not how to answer them. I say, "Indeed, I cannot tell." They blame me and they go away in scorn. And you sit there smiling.
I put my tales of you into lasting songs. The secret gushes out from my heart. They come and ask me, "Tell me all your meanings." I know not how to answer them. I say, "Ah, who knows what they mean!" They smile and go away in utter scorn. And you sit there smiling.
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| Gitanjali Poem no. 102 |
Summary
The poem expresses that the Almighty, Immanent will has no definition. He doesn't exist in words but the poet feels Him in his heart and soul. The poet's lyrics have the image of that Inscrutable spirit. When the mystery is beyond their intellect they come and ask Tagore 'Who is He'. The dominating spirit of his poems is beyond their understanding and Tagore himself feels irritating and shameful when he is unable to answer them. At this they blame him and go away in scorn while the Almighty enjoys the scene with a smile. His songs sing the glory of God's abode, mystery of His ways, eternity of path and ecstasy of the mystic union but when people come and ask all about the meaning he is wordless. At this they laugh at him and He enjoys the scene.
The poet's hidden meaning in these lines is beyond everyone's intellect. He expresses that man uses his intellect to go in the depth of the mysteries of the Supreme Power. But He is beyond the intellectualism. Man can only feel His divine presence. He cant see lim with aked eyes, He lies in your soul. You need the spiritual innocence to understand him. The profundity of His obscurities is a riddle which can be measured only through the scale of illumination and heart of utter innocence.
Critical Analysis
The poem is easy in the words but the meaning is difficult to be understood by every reader. The importance of purity, devotion, innocence and love is in limelight. Man can't find Him through the power of reasoning and intellect but He lies besides him who has the power of true love, devotion and innocence. You can't express the identity in words and with brush.
"I put my tales of you into lasting songs. The secret gushes out from my heart. They come and ask me, 'Tell me all your meanings'. I know not how to answer them. I say, Ah who knows what they mean!' They smile and go away in utter scorn. And you sit here smiling."
The lines here depict another truth about God. Tagore expressed that you can't define God and His love in words. You need a pure, devoted heart to understand Him. The heart with humanity can only grasp the reality behind Him. The poet says that when people come to him and ask about God, he was baffled and stubbed. Because he himself doesn't know how to answer their question says 'Ah, who know what they mean! The people smile at his inefficiency and God smiles. The poet has depicted the truth of mysticism beautifully. You can feel Him but you can't describe Him even if you claim whole life that you know him.
Annotation
Pictures: images; descriptions. Scorn: hatred, contempt. Lasting: not short-lived. Gushes: comes out suddenly.