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Where the Mind is without Fear (question answers & summary)

 

Where the Mind is without Fear

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;
Where words come out from the depth of truth;
Where tireless stirving stretches it's arms towards
perfection;
Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way
into the dreary desert sand of dead habit;
Where the mind is led forward by thee into ever-
widening though and action;
Into that heaven of freedom, my father let my country awake
Rabindranath-Tagore



Summary:

“Where The Mind Is Without Fear” is a pre-independent poem in which the poet sincerely urges to God to awake his fellow beings for the realization that the essential need to live in a free and united country. He wants his countrymen to awake and enjoy the life of full dignity and honour.

His countrymen would not be superstitious or believers of blind faith rather than they would lead the life of enlightened and educated.

He wishes to the people, to be honest, open-minded and industrious. Then only they would stretch their ‘arms towards perfection’ and the nation can actually achieve the apex of success.

They need to use their reasons over their blind faiths and must be ready to accept new thoughts and ideas. He requests God to free his country from manipulation, corruption, and slavery. He yearns for an awakened country where there would be freedom of the mind and expression of ideas.

The poem invokes the deep patriotic feelings. Our country is subjugated by castes, creed, superstitious beliefs and biased ideas. Tagore earnestly appeals to God that a country would be where people’s ‘head is high’ and ‘knowledge is free’.

His country would not be divided and fragmented into pieces due to their narrow thoughts. They should express their words not from the mind but from ‘the depth of truth’ and heart.

He urges God to guide his countrymen for moral awakening to fight for their rights against British inhuman rules. Liberate them from the fear of oppression, repression, and subjugation. Unshackle the chains of fear and direct them to the paths of progress and prosperity.

They should be confident not confined. There would not be injustice and inequality in the country on the basis of caste, creed, and gender.

Countrymen should be unprejudiced and open-minded accepting the new challenges and changes. They should lead their lives of decency and dignity.

To conclude “Where The Mind Is Without Fear” is a poem in which Tagore reveals his personal quest for the Divine and characterized by a variety of original themes both in thought and expression.

Therefore, this poem is remarkable to a great extent which expresses the intensity of the feeling of freedom. His poem is universal in its appeal and envisions the ‘heaven of freedom’ and happier future for mankind.



Question Answers:

Q.1  Why does the poet compare reason with stream?
Ans. The poet compare reason with stream because both are ever changing, ever flowing and ever moving forward to achieve their goal.

Q.2  What are the two qualities of mind presented in the poem?
Ans. The two qualities of mind presented in the poem are fearlessness and continuous struggle to achieve perfection in life.

Q.3  What is mean by the expression "knowledge is free"?
Ans. The expression "knowledge is free" means equal opportunity for all to get education without any bondage of caste, language or religion etc.

Q.4  To whom is the poem addressed?
Ans. The poem is addressed to the almighty God. It is a prayer to God for India and all Indians by poet.

Q.5  Why does the poet compare "dead habit" to "dreary desert sand?
Ans. The poet compares "dead habit" to "dreary desert sand" because just as a river loses its identity when it goes to desert similarly our good sense losses its existence when involved in bad habits. Both are limitless, and unproductive.



Match the words in column A with the words in column B:

Column A            Column B
   High                     Body (Mind)
   Fear                   Courage (Fear)
Knowledge            Narrow (Wide)
Fragments       Imperfection(Perfection)
Perfection              Bondage (Freedom)
   Wide                     Low (High)
 Freedom           Ignorance (Knowledge)
   Mind                   Whole (Fragments)

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