Indian Philosophies In Gitanjali Poem by Bijay Kant Dubey

Tagore's Gitanjali seems to be a book of Indian philosophy,
Indian thought, culture and tradition,
The heritage and legacy of it,
So much so full of Vedism, Upanishadism and Puranic elements.

Instead of fatalism and its acceptance, he approaches the Divine
Without doubting Him,
With his full blind faith,
Accepting the writ of Destiny and its concurrence.

The philosophy of karmayoga is therein when he exhorts to walk alone
If none comes hearing the call,
Then walk alone.

Something he has got from the concept of sadhna,
Seasoning in the furnace of hard work and forebearance,
Do your work, wait not for the fruit of it.

What it is satyam is shivam and shivam sundaram,
Satyam shivam sundaram,
Truth, beauty, goodness.

The philosophy of maya is therein
As and when he talks of the unison,
Trying to meet Him in the cottage
With the folded hands.

Yama as the messenger of God or the God of Death lies
Pictured in Gitanjali
And the soul doing the mrituyanjaya-japa,
The death conquering mantras.

In the Kathopnishada, there lie in discussions in this context
Between Nachiketa and Yama,
The debatees on life and death.

Savitri's following into the footsteps of Yama's carrying
Of Satyavan's soul
And the return of life
After a questioning and follow-up too conjures up.

King Harishchandra guarding the ghat as a chandal
And in his duty
Failing to recognize his snake-bitten dead son Rohit
Which Sabya is with to cremate
And he not allowing her to cremate without taking the taxes
As for truth sake.

Siddharta's accomplishment of sadhna under a peepul tree
After escaing from the house one midnight
After leaving Yasodhara and Rahul in bed
As for the betterment of the world, too is an image.

In the wails of Yasodhara and Sabya, we can hear the breaking
Of Maya,
Illusion as wife, son, daughter, house and the world
And the soul's maya for the body too.

King Bhartrihari's vairagya, renunciation as for infidelity
Of Pingla, the queen
And her false love for the king
And he leaving the palace, turned into a wandering sadhu,
A renouncer.

Shankaracharya's interpretation of the cycle
Of repeated birth and death
With the bhaja-govindam, recite the name of the Lord
Also serves as the context to the string of outpourings
And it is said that the Lord Shiva Himself has shown him
As Daridranarayan.

Philanthropy, charity, chastity, piety, purity and clarity,
All these he talks about in this work,
The world of maya-moha,
The jiva, creature and the Parmatma, Greater Soul.

One lamp, earthen lamp meeting into the Dazzling Light,
The source of all,
Lead us from darkness to light
And let there be light.

Sometimes he approaches the Divine in too much of his confidence
Calling Him his kith and kin, near and dear ones,
But sometimes the terror of death strikes the poet
And he sees Him as dreadful Yama standing before to take him away,
I mean the jiva, creature, the soul of his.