summary of Where the mind is without fear by Rabindranath Tagore

1. WHERE THE MIND IS WITHOUT FEAR
RabindranathTagore's writing is highly imagistic, religious and imbibed with his love of nature and his
homeland. RabindranathTagore’s poem, ‘Where the Mind is Without Fear’ ,included in the volume
called Naibedya, later published in English ‘Gitanjali’ is a prayer to a universal father-figure, presumably,
God to elevate his country into a free land. Here Tagore defines Freedom as a fundamental system of
reasoning of a sovereign state of the mind, accepted as a guide for governing the man in a nutshell. A
freedom fixes the limits and defines the relations of the moral, ethical and powers of the state of mind,
thus setting up the basis for life.
Where the Mind is Without Fear was included in the volume called ‘Naibedya’, the original poem bears
the title ‘Prarthana’ meaning prayer. The poem is a prayer to God. The poem was written by
Rabindranath Tagore during the time when India was under the British Rule and people were eagerly
waiting to get their freedom from the British Rule. This poem had given a lot of strength to the people
who were struggling for India’s independence. It is a prayer to the Almighty for a hassle free nation free
from any kind of manipulative or corrupted powers.
Summary
Rabindranath Tagore sketches a moving picture of the nation; he would like India to be. In lines 1-2, the
poet pledges to the Almighty that his country should be free from any fear of oppression or forced
compulsion. He wants that everyone in his country should be free to hold their heads high in dignity. He
dreams of a nation where knowledge or education would be free that is education should not be
restricted to the upper class only but everybody should be free to acquire knowledge. There should not
be any caste distinctions or gender distinction when it comes to education. In the succeeding line,
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
Tagore, in his poem ‘Where The Mind Is Without Fear’ wishes for a world which is not ‘fragmented’ by
prejudices based on caste, creed, color, religion or other baseless superstitions. Prejudices and
superstitions should not divide the people in groups and break their unity (line 4). He wants a nation
where people are truthful, not superficial and words should come out from the depth of their hearts
(line 5). The sixth line of ‘Where The Mind Is Without Fear’ talks about the poet yearning for a country
where people would strive without getting tired to reach perfection leaving behind prejudices and old
traditions. In the next line, line 7, Tagore wants the power of reason to dominate the minds of his
countrymen, he does not want the ‘stream of reason’ to be lost amongst outdated customs and
traditions and only that can direct the mind towards selfless thoughts and everlasting action.
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

2. In the final line of the poem, Tagore asks the ‘Father’, presumably God to awaken his country into such a
heaven of freedom.
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.
The poem is patriotic in nature considering the independence and the happiness of the countrymen as
the most important factor. If a country lacks such requirements, the countrymen can never be at peace.
Consequently, the society will be full of disharmony and social unjust. The poem sends a message that
the society should be free from all social evils, only then it can lead to progress. Therefore, Tagore prays
to God to create such an ideal society for his motherland.
Where one feels fearless and honored, where knowledge is free, where the whole world is united,
where one expresses sincere feelings, where one tries so reach perfection continuously, where new
ideas are not disturbed by dead tradition and where the mind is directed to generous thought and
action, let my country awake in such heaven of freedom. In the world our mind should be fearless and
we should be respected. Knowledge should be free there. The world should not be divided into smaller
parts by the narrow conception of nationalism. The reality should be sincerely represented. We should
aim to reach perfection. Our mind should be led towards selfless thought and action. In such an ideal
place our country should be awakened. The poem might be trying to show the value of knowledge,
courage, self-dignity, altruism, sincere, and reasonable thought. If all these qualities are found in the
countrymen of a particular country, the country itself will be the heaven. The poem has run away from
the harsh reality and tried to establish an imaginary heaven. Will it be possible for us to create such an
ideal place here on earth? How can we fight into remove evils if we run away from everyday life? Is such
an ideal desire alone enough to face the reality?The poem has described how we should live fearlessly
and proudly. It has also pointed out the cause of war between nations – the artificial borderline. I came
to know how dead habit hinders progress -the check of the reason.
This poem is a reflection of the poet’s good and ideal nature. He has utmost faith in God. He prays to
God with all his heart that He should guide the countrymen to work hard, speak the truth and take the
country forward with a logical approach. Rabindranath Tagore aspires to see the country and his people
to be in peace and prosper. He loves his country a lot and wishes for its welfare and growth. This poem
in this selection has been taken from his English ‘Gitanjali’. Tagore had deep religious roots and his work
reflects profound humanism. He was both a patriot and a global citizen. In the poem, ‘Where the Mind
Is without Fear’, Tagore sketches a moving picture of the nation he would like India to be.
A nation where everyone within the fold of the brotherhood is free to hold up one’s head high and one’s
voice can be heard without having any apprehension or fear of oppression or forced compulsion.
He talks about a nation where the knowledge is not restricted by narrow ideas and loyalties! The British
rule had robbed India of its pride and dignity by reducing it to a ruined nation. The India of Tagore’s
dream is a country where her people hold their heads high with their pride in knowledge and strength
born of that knowledge where all countrymen must come out of the age-old philosophy of constricted

3. loyalties of caste, creed and religion. Prejudice and superstitious which narrow the mind and divide
people should be a thing of the past.
It should be a nation where the words of truth come out from the depths of the heart and are spoken
out courageously in the open for the world to hear. People should work for perfection in the clear light
of reason leaving aside all superstitious rituals, beliefs and narrow-mindedness.
It should be a nation where everyone is free to toil and work hard for anything they desire either for
their own or for the good of the nation. Everyone is encouraged to strive tirelessly till they attain full
satisfaction in reaching their goals and perfection.
It should be a nation where blind superstitious habits of thought and action have not put out the light of
reason. Where people’s mind should not dwell in the mistakes of the past nor be possessed by it. On the
other hand they should be led by the power of reasoning to be focused on the future by applying logical
thought and action. Tagore’s only prayer to the Supreme Ultimate is leading the nation to such an ideal
state of heaven. It is only by the universality of outlook and an abiding passion for the realization of
great human ideals that India will achieve her true freedom. This way alone she will realize her destiny.