Leave this Chanting and Singing
Leave this Chanting and Singing
Leave this chanting and singing and telling of beads!
Whom dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut?
Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee!
He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground
and where the pathmaker is breaking stones.
He is with them in sun and in shower,
and his garment is covered with dust.
Put off thy holy mantle and even like him
come down on the dusty soil!
Deliverance? Where is this deliverance to be found?
Our master himself has joyfully taken upon him
the bonds of creation; he is bound with us all for ever.
Come out of thy meditations and leave aside thy flowers and incense!
What harm is there if thy clothes become tattered and stained?
Meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of thy brow.
—–By Rabindranath Tagore
यो जप-तप र भजन छोड
यो जप-तप र भजन गाउने काम छोड!
तिमी यो अँध्यारो कोठामा, बन्द ढोकाभित्र, कसलाई पूजा गर्दैछौ?
आँखा खोल, भगवान् तिम्रो अगाडि छैनन्!
उहाँ त उता छन् जहाँ किसानले कडा जमिन जोत्दैछन्,
जहाँ बाटो बनाउनेले ढुङ्गा फुटाउँदैछन्।
उहाँ तिनैसँग छन्, घाम र वर्षामा,
उनको लुगा धुलोले ढाकिएको छ।
तिमी पनि पवित्र बस्त्र उतार, र उहाँ जस्तै
यसै धुलाम्मे भूमिमा झर!
मोक्ष? त्यो मोक्ष कहाँ भेटिन्छ र?
हाम्रो स्वामी स्वयंले खुशीसाथ सृष्टिको बन्धन लिनुभएको छ;
उहाँ सधैं हामीसँगै बाँधिनुभएको छ।
तिमी ध्यानबाट बाहिर निस्क, फूल र धूपको थालो छोड!
के बिग्रन्छ र यदि तिम्रा लुगा च्यातिन्छन् वा फोहोर हुन्छन् भने?
उहाँलाई भेट, र पसिना बगाउँदै
उनैसँग श्रममा उभिनु!
—-रवीन्द्रनाथ ठाकुर
About the Writer
Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) was a great Indian poet, philosopher, painter, and social reformer. He became the first Asian to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913 for his famous collection Gitanjali. Tagore’s writings express spirituality, humanism, and the unity of mankind. He is also the composer of the national anthems of India and Bangladesh.
Summary
“Leave this Chanting and Singing”
Rabindranath Tagore’s poem “Leave this Chanting and Singing” is a spiritual and philosophical work that emphasizes the idea that God does not live inside the dark corners of closed temples but among the common people who work hard every day. The poet directly addresses the worshipper and asks him to stop chanting hymns, counting beads, and isolating himself in artificial devotion. Instead, he should open his eyes and realize that God is present in the daily struggles of life. He is with the farmer who tills the hard soil, and with the roadmaker who breaks stones under the burning sun and pouring rain. God wears dusty clothes, because He shares the labor and pain of mankind.
The poem also questions the concept of deliverance. According to Tagore, deliverance or salvation is not found through rituals, flowers, or incense, but through selfless service, work, and unity with fellow human beings. God Himself has accepted the bonds of creation and is bound with all living beings forever. Therefore, one must not seek Him in meditation alone but in action, toil, and sweat. The poet urges us to come down from pride, leave aside empty rituals, and meet God in the soil, dust, and struggle of humanity.
A. Find the words from the poem which have the following meanings.
a. a small piece of glass or stone threaded with others to make a necklace – bead
b. to prepare and use land for growing crops – tilling
c. a piece of clothing – garment
d. a layer of something that covers a surface – mantle
e. the state of being rescued from danger, evil or pain – deliverance
f. a substance that produces a pleasant smell when you burn it – incense
g. covered with marks – stained
h. hard unpleasant work that makes you very – tired
B. Find the modern equivalents of the following archaic words used in the poem.
dost – do
thou – you
thine – your
thy – your
C. Answer the following questions.
a. Who is the poem addressed to?
Ans: The poem is addressed to the religious minded people who go to temple, chant mantras, sing bhajans and count beads in the name of worship.
b. What does the speaker advise people?
Ans: The speaker advises people not to chant, sing or count beads to please god. Instead, he advises them to seek god in a tiller/farmer and a pathmaker who do toilsome labour in sun and shower. He tells them to do toilsome labour.
c. Where do people try to find the god?
Ans: People try to find god in the lonely and dark corner of the temple.
d. Where, according to the speaker, does the god actually reside?
Ans: God actually resides with the hard-working people such as a tiller and a pathmaker who do toilsome labour even during sun and rain. God is with the people doing socially useful productive works.
e. How can people have a glimpse of the god?
Ans: People can have a glimpse of the god by involving themselves in hard work without saying sun and rain and by earning their bread with the sweat of their brow.
f. Why can’t god rescue people?
Ans: The god can’t rescue people because he himself is not free. He is in love with his creation. He has bound himself to the work of creation and to the objects he has created.
g. What does the speaker ask people to do in the last stanza?
Ans: The speaker asks people to come out of their meditations, leave their flowers and incense aside; and toil in sun and shower to have a glimpse of god.
Extra 25 Question For Exam
1. What is the speaker asking someone to stop doing?
Answer : The speaker is asking someone to stop chanting, singing, and telling beads.
2. Where is the person worshipping in the poem?
Answer : The person is worshipping in a lonely dark corner of a temple with closed doors.
3. Where is God according to the poem?
Answer : God is present where the tiller is tilling the hard ground and where the pathmaker is breaking stones. He is with people in their daily labour and struggles.
4. What is the condition of God’s garment?
Answer : God’s garment is covered with dust, indicating that He is involved in the toil and labour of the world.
5. What is the poem about?
Answer : The poem is about finding God in the everyday world, through hard work and dedication.
6. How is the master described in the poem?
Answer : The master is described as having joyfully taken upon himself the bonds of creation and being bound with all of humanity forever.
7. Where does the speaker ask the person to stand with God?
Answer : The speaker asks the person to stand by God in toil and in the sweat of their brow, meaning to be actively involved in hard work and labour alongside God.
8 . Who is the author of the poem?
Answer : The author of the poem is Rabindranath Tagore.
9. What is the speaker’s main message in the poem?
Answer : The speaker’s main message is that God is not to be found in religious rituals or in isolation, but in the world of work and toil.
10 . How does the speaker describe the temple where the person is worshipping?
Answer : The speaker describes the temple as a lonely dark corner with closed doors, suggesting a sense of isolation and detachment from the outside world.
11. Where does the speaker say that God is?
Answer : The speaker says that God is in the world, working alongside people in the fields and on the roads.
12. What is the significance of the dusty garment of God?
Answer : The dusty garment of God signifies His active involvement in the world and His association with the toil and labor of humanity.
13 . What is the speaker’s view on deliverance?
Answer : The speaker questions the conventional notions of deliverance and suggests that it might not lie in detachment and isolation but in actively participating in the world’s struggles and bonds.
14 . What does the speaker mean by “flowers and incense”?
Answer : The speaker uses the term “flowers and incense” to refer to the symbolic objects that are often used in religious rituals.
15 . What does the poem suggest about the presence of God in our lives?
Answer : The poem suggests that God is not confined to religious places and rituals but is present in the daily toil and labor of life, and finding Him requires an active engagement with the world and its struggles.
16. What harm does the speaker say there is if one’s clothes become tattered and stained?
Answer : The speaker says that there is no harm if one’s clothes become tattered and stained because these are just outward signs of one’s work. What matters is that one’s heart is pure.
17. What does the speaker mean by “deliverance”?
Answer : The speaker means freedom from the bonds of traditional religious practices.
18. What does the speaker mean by “come down on the dusty soil”?
Answer : The speaker means to get involved in the everyday world and to work hard.
19. What does the speaker mean by “meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of thy brow”?
Answer : The speaker means to find God through our work and our relationships with others.
20. What does the speaker mean by “meditations”?
Answer : The speaker uses the term “meditations” to refer to the practice of focusing the mind on God or on spiritual matters.
21. What does the speaker mean by “chanting and singing”?
Answer : The speaker uses the terms “chanting and singing” to refer to the rituals and practices of organised religion.
22 . What does the speaker mean by “telling of beads”?
Answer : The speaker uses the term “telling of beads” to refer to the practice of reciting prayers or mantras while counting beads on a rosary.
23. Why does the speaker say that God is not in the temple?
Answer : The speaker says that God is not in the temple because God is not confined to any one place. God is present in the world, in the midst of people’s lives.
24. What does the speaker say one should do to meet God?
Answer : The speaker says that one should meet God by joining in the work of the world, by working alongside others to create a better world.
25. What does the speaker mean by “the bonds of creation”?
Answer : The speaker uses the term “the bonds of creation” to refer to the interconnectedness of all things. We are all bound together in the web of life, and God is present in that web.
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