Summary of the poem heaven of freedom by rabindranath tagore
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Heaven of Freedom is taken from Gitanjali (Song Offerings), a collection of 103 English poems of Tagore translated by himself from Bengali with an introduction by W.B. Yeats. It contained translations of 53 poems from the original Bengali Gitanjali, as well as 50 other poems which were from his drama Achalayatan and eight other books of poetry – mainly Gitimalya (17 poems), Naivedya (15 poems) and Kheya (11 poems). This poem is more like a prayer. It was written towards the early part of the 20th century when the struggle for political Independence was going on in India.
Through this poem he expresses his vision of India as a heaven where there is freedom of thought, spirit, faith, speech which will lead to the inner perfection of the self. This is one of Tagore’s simple poems in which the poet draws the picture of a free nation with out any boundaries. It can be seen as an idealistic vision of India. This poem is like an offering to God, a prayer where the poet prays for a country which is a heaven of freedom. He prays for an atmosphere of fearlessness, a place where people can walk without the fear of being arrested. In India people had lost their freedom in all spheres under the British rule. They had no self respect and they were divided on the basis of religion so that the British colonisers could rule over Indians for a longer period of time. The poet is referring to a nation where the people can hold their head high and will have dignity and self respect.
According to him knowledge should be free to all. There should be no division among the people on the basis of caste or creed and no monopoly in providing education. Earlier only the high caste people had the privilege of being educated where as in the heaven of freedom imagined by Rabindranath Tagore people belonging to any section of the society will have free access to education. He wants the people to work with their hearts which is possible only if their minds are free. Further he goes on to pray for a world which is not fragmented or broken in the name of religious, cultural, economic or political issues. Being an internationalist, Tagore advocated for a world government where different cultures co- existed simultaneously. He longs for an undivided world where there is tolerance among the people, a world where people have the courage to speak truth and hold truth at any cost. He addresses God as the Father of the Universe and humbly requests him to awaken our country to such a heaven of freedom where thought is not limited by the age old customs and superstitious beliefs
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Summary
This poem is an extract taken from Tagore’s famous book Gitanjanli for which he won The Nobel Prize also. In this poem, the poet, Rabindernath Tagore expresses his vision for a utopian India. The poet wishes that he wants his countrymen to be free of fear and hold their head high with self-esteem and humble pride. He wishes his county to be united and free of the narrow domestic strife, clashes; backwardness, and divisions. He wishes his countrymen to be living their life in truth only; he wishes his countrymen to make endless efforts for perfection in their respective spheres. He wishes for his countrymen to live rationally without ever getting lost in thoughtless habits. He wishes his countrymen to move ahead always taking guidance from omniscient God, ever expanding until India is converted into a heaven of freedom. At the end the poet prays to God to make all his wishes for his country true.