Remembering Rabindranath Tagore on His Death Anniversary: 10 Quotes by The Bard of Bengal

His poems, short stories and novels are an inspiration to many even today.

Rabindranath Tagore, who was born Robindronath Thakur, was a poet, writer, music composer and painter, who hailed from West Bengal in India. He was very well known for his work on Bengali literature and music, and in 1913, he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in Literature. Today, August 7, we mark the death anniversary of the Bard of Bengal who passed away on this day in 1941.

India’s national anthem, “Jana Gana Mana“, was composed by Rabindranath Tagore, and some of his other known works included Gitanjali, Gora, and Ghare-Baire. His poems, short stories and novels are an inspiration to many, and some of his quotes and sayings, like the ones below, are remembered even today.

1. Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky.

2. Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them.
Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.

3. If you cry because the sun has gone out of your life, your tears will prevent you from seeing the stars.

4. Faith is the bird that feels the light when the dawn is still dark.

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

6. Reach high, for stars lie hidden in you. Dream deep, for every dream precedes the goal.

7. The small wisdom is like water in a glass: clear, transparent, pure.
The great wisdom is like the water in the sea: dark, mysterious, impenetrable.

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

9. Don’t limit a child to your own learning, for she was born in another time.

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