Prose
WORK IS WORSHIP INTRODUCTION Poet Ravindranath Tagore is a poet,philosopher,and teacher. He wrote poetry,drama and fiction in the Bengali language and was also a celebrated artist and musician.
He won the noble prize for literature in 1913 after the publication of 'Digitalizing English,a volume of spiritual poetry. In 1919 he established at Shantiniketan a university for promoting cultural co-operation between the east and the west and named it Vishwa-Bharathi.
Quotations emphasizes importance of work or Karmayoag
1] work before you play 2] work is food for noble mind 3] There is no shortcut to hard work 4] work without love is slavery.by M.Teresa
New words
Chant-say a prayer in a singing voice Till(v)-prepare and use land for growing crops Garment-dress Deliverance-final relase from rebirth Bead-a small round ball of wood
WORK IS WORSHIP
Leave this chanting and singing and telling of beads!Whom dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut? Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee
He is there the tiller is tilling the hard ground and where the path-maker
is breaking stones. He is with them in sun and shower,and his garment is covered with dust. Put off thy holy mantle and even like him come down on the dusty soil!
Deliverance? Where is this deliverance to be found? Our master himself has joyfully taken upon him the bonds of
creation; he is bound with us all forever. Come out of thy meditations and leave aside thy flowers and incense!
What harm is there if thy clothes become tattered and stained?Meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of thy brow.
THEME OF THE POEM
Karmayoga(socially productive and useful work)alone will help man achieve liberation from rebirth
Best line of the poem which I liked most
Put off the thy holy mantle and even like him come down on the dusty soil!
SUGGGESTED BOOKS FOR FURTHER READING
1]Vachana's of lord Basavanna 2]Vachana's of Sarvajnana 3]Vachana's of Allam Prabhu and Akka mahadevi
seven deadly sins
wealth without work pleasure without conscience science without humanity knowledge without character politics without principle commerce without morality worship without sacrifice. Mahatma Gandhi