Gitanjali · Chapter
LXXI explained
The poet reflects on the divine's self-separation into the individual self, describing life as a play of maya where the divine hides and seeks within creation, with all existence vibrating with the tune of 'thee and me'.
What happens
The poet reflects on the divine's self-separation into the individual self, describing life as a play of maya where the divine hides and seeks within creation, with all existence vibrating with the tune of 'thee and me'.
Themes in this chapter
The Pain of Separation and Longing
The divine's self-separation creates a poignant song of tears, smiles, alarms, and hopes, with all ages passing in hiding and seeking.
Divine Love and Devotion
The poet sees himself as the divine's own defeat of self, with the great pageant of 'thee and me' overspreading the sky.
Characters to notice
- The Poet
The speaker who contemplates the divine's maya and his own role as the severed self.
- The Divine
The one who sets a barrier in its own being and calls the severed self in myriad notes.
Key passages
“That I should make much of myself and turn it on all sides, thus casting coloured shadows on thy radiance—such is thy maya.”
The divine's illusion (maya) causes me to focus on myself and project colorful distortions onto your pure light.
The poet explains that self-importance and ego are part of the divine's playful illusion.
“In me is thy own defeat of self.”
Through me, the divine experiences its own self-limitation or surrender.
The individual self is seen as the divine's chosen form of self-restriction.