Words of Wisdom—Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore (May 7, 1861–August 7 1941) was an Indian writer, philosopher, and reformer who was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. He was instrumental in reshaping Indian literature, and the Sri Lankan national anthem was inspired by his work.

Below we list some words of wisdom from Rabindranath Tagore.

“He who is too busy doing good finds no time to be good.”

“He who wants to do good knocks at the gate: he who loves finds the door open.”

“It is very simple to be happy, but it is very difficult to be simple.”

“Compliments win friends, honesty loses them.”

“The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence.”

“The main object of teaching is not to give explanations, but to knock at the doors of the mind.”

“The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.”

A teacher can never truly teach unless he is still learning himself. A lamp can never light another lamp unless it continues to burn its own flame. The teacher who has come to the end of his subject, who has no living traffic with his knowledge but merely repeats his lesson to his students, can only load their minds, he cannot quicken them.”

“I've travelled all around the world to see the rivers and the mountains, and I've spent a lot of money. I have gone to great lengths, I have seen everything, but I forgot to see just outside my house a dewdrop on a little blade of grass, a dewdrop which reflects in its convexity the whole universe around you.”

“Go not to the temple to put flowers upon the feet of God, first fill your own house with the fragrance of love. Go not to the temple to light candles before the altar of God, first remove the darkness of sin from your heart. Go not to the temple to bow down your head in prayer, first learn to bow in humility before your fellow men. Go not to the temple to pray on bended knees, first bend down to lift someone who is down trodden. Go not to the temple to ask for forgiveness for your sins, first forgive from your heart those who have sinned against you.”

“The most important lesson that man can learn from life, is not that there is pain in this world, but that it is possible for him to transmute it into joy.”

“The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough.”

“Unless you have found God in your own soul, the whole world will seem meaningless to you.”

“The cure for all the illness of life is stored in the inner depth of life itself, the access to which becomes possible when we are alone. This solitude is a world in itself, full of wonders and resources unthought of. It is absurdly near; yet so unapproachably distant.”

“Blessed is he whose fame does not outshine his truth.”

“We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.”

“Power said to the world, "You are mine." The world kept it prisoner on her throne. Love said to the world, "I am thine." The world gave it the freedom of her house.”

“I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy.”

“To find God, you must welcome everything.”

“Death is not extinguishing the light; it is only putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.”

Copyright © Scott Petullo, Stephen Petullo