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.
Only Thee That I want thee, only thee---let my heart repeat without end. All desires that distract me, day and night, are false and empty to the core. As the night keeps hidden in its gloom the petition for light, even thus in the depth of my unconsciousness rings the cry ---`I want thee, only thee'. As the storm still seeks its end in peace when it strikes against peace with all its might, even thus my rebellion strikes against thy love and still its cry is ---`I want thee, only thee'.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote expresses an intense longing for love and devotion, highlighting the emptiness of other desires.
Rabindranath Tagore's quote reveals a deep yearning for a singular, true love that transcends all distractions and superficial desires. The speaker emphasizes that despite the chaos and challenges of life, the desire for true love remains constant and profound, likening this yearning to the natural forces at play between darkness and light, and turmoil and peace. It suggests that nothing else matters as much as this deep connection with the beloved, symbolizing love's importance in navigating life's complexities.
Themes
In practice
Example use cases
This quote is suitable for a wedding ceremony to emphasize the depth of love between partners.
More from Rabindranath Tagore
All quotes →Music fills the infinite between two souls. This has been muffled by the mist of our daily habits.
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.
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.
If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars.
To be outspoken is easy when you do not wait to speak the complete truth.
Similar quotes
When someone we love suffers, we suffer with that person, and we would not have it otherwise, because the suffering and the love are one, just as it is with God's love for us.
In a strange way, I had fallen in love with my depression.
Rarity gives a charm; so early fruits and winter roses are the most prized; and coyness sets off an extravagant mistress, while the door always open tempts no suitor.
Once you become more and more watchful of your inner workings things become simple. Then a few things have to be dropped. One has not to be jealous if one wants to be loving. It becomes so clear that there is no question about it; one can simply see the point that if you are jealous, love is impossible. Jealousy is bound to create misery. Jealousy is part of ego, the shadow of the ego, the shadow of a shadow - and love needs egolessness. They can't go together, they can't co-exist.
Love ambushed you, it lay in wait, dormant for days or years. It was the red thread, the peach stone, the kiss, the forgiveness. It came after you, it escaped you, it was invisible, it was everything.
Have you ever felt the longing for someone you could admire? For something, not to look down at, but up to?