Part six — Tagore's songs: translations and commentary
RTM 155-172. For Western audiences, Sri Chinmoy would sometimes preface his performance or recitation of Tagore's songs by offering an illumining translation of the Bengali words. In addition, he often commented on the significance of Tagore's message in the song. Several of these songs have not previously been translated into English.1. 'Nibir ghana andhare jwaliche dhrubha tara'155
“In the tenebrous gloom shines the Pole-Star;O my mind, in the immense expanse of night, lose not your Way.
Dead with depression and despair,
O my heart, cease not your singing.
Breaking asunder the prison of delusion, fulfil your life ...”
In this song, Tagore compares the Pole-Star, fixed and steady in the dark night, with the light of the mind and heart which illumines the unlit existence of human life.
155. On 20 March 1966, Sri Chinmoy offered a recital of nine songs at the Indian Cultural Centre in New York. His programme included the two songs by Rabindranath Tagore that begin this section. Before performing them, Sri Chinmoy gave a brief introduction and also his own translation into English of Tagore’s Bengali words. This introduction and both translations appear in: Sri Chinmoy, Eternity’s Breath, New York: Sri Chinmoy Lighthouse, 1972, pp. 91-92.]↩
Sri Chinmoy, Rabindranath Tagore: the moon of Bengal’s Heart, Agni Press, 2011
