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 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;

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.

By: Rabindranath Tagore

Question:

1. What is this poem entitled?
2. What do you mean by "dead habits"?
3. When will our head be held high?
4. Who has composed this poem?
5. When does the mind hold high?
6. Why is the world divided into parts?
7. Where should our arms be directed?
8. In what situations is knowledge not free?
9. What happens if the mind is full of fear?
10. What is the essence/ theme of the poem?
11. What does the poet wish for his country?

Answers:

1. This poem is entitled 'Where the Mind is Without Fear'.
2. Rabindranath Tagore describes the old customs and rituals as dead habits
3. The head will be held high when knowledge is free.
4. Rabindranath Tagore has composed this poem.
5. The mind will be held high when the knowledge is free and where the world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls.
6. The world is divided into segments because of the 'narrow domestic walls' like the caste system, social classes, religions, color, creed, and so on.
7. Our arms should be directed towards the perfection of knowledge and wisdom.
8. Knowledge is not free in the narrow domestic world.
9. If the mind is full of fear, mindless practicing of obsolete customs and traditions, old beliefs, superstitions, and narrow-minded attitudes.
10. The theme of "Where the Mind is Without Fear" by Rabindranath Tagore is freedom from colonization and what it takes to achieve that.
11. The poet wants the people to be wise enough to lead happy and peaceful life where they can enjoy their freedom well.