Two of my favourite poems by Rabindranath Tagore. Lines which impart strength and courage. Here are the English translated versions of the originals in Bangla:
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.
Walk alone
If they answer not to thy call, walk alone
If they are afraid and cower mutely facing the wall
O thou of evil luck, open thy mind and speak out alone.
If they turn away, and desert you when crossing the wilderness
O thou of evil luck, trample the thorns under thy tread
And along the blood-lined track travel alone.
If they do not hold up the light when the night is troubled with storm
O thou of evil luck, with the thunder flame of pain ignite thy own heart and let it burn alone.
