The small wisdom is like water in a glass: clear, transparent, pure. The great wisdom is like the water in the sea: dark, mysterious, impenetrable.
Rabindranath TagoreRead
A message came from my youth of vanished days, saying, 'I wait for you among the quivering of unborn May, where smiles ripen for tears and hours ache with songs unsung.' It says, 'Come to me across the worn-out track of age, through the gates of death. For dreams fade, hopes fail, the fathered fruits of the year decay, but I am the eternal truth, and you shall meet me again and again in your voyage of life from shore to shore.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote reflects on the transient nature of life and the enduring quest for truth and connection beyond mortality.
Rabindranath Tagore's quote meditates on the passage of time and the inevitable fading of dreams and hopes as life progresses. It conveys a sense of longing for deeper truths and connections that transcend the physical world, suggesting that while our earthly experiences may be ephemeral, there is an eternal aspect of existence that binds us together across time. The imagery of 'quivering of unborn May' symbolizes potential and new beginnings, while the encouragement to 'come to me' speaks to the universal desire for reunion and understanding in the journey of life.
Themes
LifeTruthTimeConnectionJourney
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of cherishing relationships, I could use this quote to emphasize the enduring nature of love.
More from Rabindranath Tagore
All quotes →Music fills the infinite between two souls. This has been muffled by the mist of our daily habits.
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True deliverance of man is the deliverance from Avidya i.e. ignorance. It is not in destroying anything that is positive and real, for that cannot be possible, but that which is negative, which obstructs our vision of truth.
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The same stream of life that runs through my veins night and day runs through the world and dances in rhythmic measures. It is the same life that shoots in joy through the dust of the earth in numberless blades of grass and breaks into tumultuous waves of leaves and flowers.
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If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars.
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To be outspoken is easy when you do not wait to speak the complete truth.
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