THE SPIRITUAL MOTIFS OF SUBMISSION AND SUPPLICATION IN GITANJALI: TAGORE’S SEARCH FOR PEACE 1Mohammad Tajuddin & 2. Muhammad Safiur Rahman, Assistant Professors, Department of English Language and Literature, International Islamic University Chittagong, Bangladesh Abstract The collection of poems in Gitanjali extensively highlights Tagore‟s sense of spirituality and piety in both subjective and objective levels. Rabindranath Tagore‟s Gitanjali is an outstanding work which brought him international fame and Nobel Prize in literature in 1913. In both personal and historical context the poems create and develop extraordinary motifs of submission and supplication throughout the book with Tagore‟s belief in a supreme God, Who, according to the poet, can bestow peace and mercy on him and the world. This paper argues that Tagore actually searches for internal and external peace during the troubled period of his life and the contemporary world through his supplication and submission to almighty God, and God‟s presence and remembrance in his life becomes source of peace and pleasures. Tagore supplicates and submits to God in every possible way to acquire peace, and he finds peace through His presence in every sphere of his life. Though Tagore‟s poetic narration seems to have been influenced by pantheism of Hinduism and partly by its incarnation concept, his surrender or submission to God in Gitanjali essentially reflects the oneness of God which brings Tagore closer not only to the Islamic monotheism but also to other Semitic religions such as Christianity and Judaism. The objective of the paper is to discuss the issues of submission and supplication of the poet to God. This paper analyses the text of the poems, along with the life of the poet and the contemporary issues, and aims at showing in a new perspective how Tagore searches for peace through his submission and supplication to one God in Gitanjali. Keywords: Gitanjali, submission, supplication, devotion to God, love, peace Introduction: Tagore‘s Gitanjali is a spiritual quest divine he merges his individual self with the for the divine, for the supreme power or almighty universal. He finds God in human beings. In God- the all guiding force in nature and human life. subjective levels the poet‘s supplication to God with The poet‘s search for the infinite and all powerful a very endearing language and tone produces a deep ever present God in the finite things: nature, human sense of compassion and understanding between the beings, days and nights, and seasons of the year, in poet and God. It is love of the poet which provokes the temple, in the river, and the mountains and at his him to supplicate and submit himself to God to door steps. Thus the search becomes romantic and acquire peace, and here love is reciprocal between the idealistic at the same time. Also, his search for the poet and God. The poet is overwhelmed with almighty God is very down to earth when the poet pleasure for God‘s presence in his life in time of his deals human affairs in the poems in a very objective happiness and sorrow, and everywhere. The spiritual manner. He can realize God through exceeding the fervor of Tagore is immense in presenting God in limitations of his own soul and self, through his every sphere of his life, and he presents God universal sense of humanity and love for all human sometimes as a father, an appeaser and as friend as if beings as well as all creatures. To understand the God were caressing him all the time. Sometimes, he 22 behaves as a mystic as if he mingled with the divine. The poet‘ search for God is meant for peace, for the That through total submission of one‘s self and will fulfillment, unity and meanings of life and death. to the will of one almighty God one can acquire God‘s presence around the nature and around his peace is the true teaching of Islam, the most existence provides him peace, as if the poet were monotheistic religion of all in the world. Islam never alone in the terrible and harsh world. So the believes in one loving God Who is kind and merciful poet submits and supplicates to ever present God who and He keeps account of every affair of human lives. is not far from him and he, therefore, finds peace Christianity like Judaism truly believes in one God through his submission and supplication. The poet except for the confusing Christian concept of so submits to an all powerful, all pervading God with called trinity, which does not really exist in the bible. full devotion and supplicates Him for things that the Islam believes that not only the Earth but also the poet does not possess, and praises Him for not having whole Universe is surrounded by Him and His throne some things at His will and asks Him for things he is is placed over the universe and His power permeates unable to understand, explain, feel or cannot attain as everything in the earth and the whole universe. a finite and weak human being. Sometimes, Tagore‘s Unlike pantheism (everything is God) Islam as a pure poems in Gitanjali take the form of prayer and monotheistic religion emphasizes the oneness of God prostration to God and highlight the extreme humility strongly. All created things belong to Him. In other with full submission, just as the Muslims prostrate words, everything is not God but everything belongs with humility in their five times prayers and to God. So all created things are the signs of one supplicate God. Tagore, as a Hindu, seemingly uncreated God. Therefore, Islam believes that human presents a pantheistic view of God in his narration of beings can understand by their capability the Gitanjali. Though pantheism means the presence of existence of God by observing His signs in the earth God in everything or everything is God, Tagore, and the universe such as the light and darkness, the while addressing God in poems of Gitanjali, seems to seasons and their changes etc. Amazed at the be addressing one God and supplicating Him alone surprising creation of God and His infinite capacity with full submission. The idea of pantheism as revealed in the vast universe, human beings as finite everything is God, virtually contradicts even with the creature are logically supposed to surrender to His idea of the oneness of God as mentioned in the Hindu infinite power and Him, to worship Him alone to religious scripture. Tagore must have been partly acquire peace here in the world and the hereafter. influenced by such confusing ideas of Hinduism as Islam, which comes from the root word silm which ―incarnation‖, ―pantheism‖ and ―samskara‖. means peace. It also means ―surrender‖ or However, Tagore‘s involvement with Brohmma ―submission‖. So, Islam basically means ―peace‖ Somaj established by the laudable Hindu religious acquired (by somebody) by submitting one‘s will to reformer, Raja Ram Mohon Roy (1774), is significant the will of almighty God. (Naik, 2015). in the sense that Tagore finally speaks of one God and is against idol worship like other learned Hindus. Indirectly, like the teachings of Islam, Tagore in his Brhamo Somaj speaks for one God and against idol Gitanjal expresses the full submission to one worship. Tagore in his many speeches refers to the almighty God, and supplicates Him in many ways to teachings of the Upanishads, scriptures of Hinduism, acquire peace and talks about peace accordingly. and talks about one God in Gitanjali accordingly. So What Tagore says, in his spiritual and philosophical the supplication and submission motifs of Gitanjali lecture, Sadhana- the Realization of Life delivered at seem to be compatible with or conforming to the Harvard University in 1913, is noteworthy as to Islamic teachings of monotheism (oneness of God) to achieving immense pleasure (peace) through some extent and vice versa and compatible also with submission of one‘s self to God (Hossain, 2002, p. the true teachings of other Semitic religions such as 4). Tagore says, Christianity and the Judaism which also teach ―Man's abiding happiness is not in getting basically monotheism. anything but in giving himself up to what is 23 greater than himself, to ideas which are humanity as it was during Tagore‘s time. But the larger than his individual life, the idea of his message of Tagore‘s Gitanjali for peace has not been country, of humanity, of God. They make it lost yet. In Gitanjali, Tagore, with endearing poetic easier for him to part with all that he has, not language, presents before humanity the need of expecting his life. His existence is miserable supplication and self submission to God to achieve and sordid till he finds some great idea peace, which is a basic teaching of every religion which can truly claim his all, which can based on the scriptures, especially Islam. He seeks release him from all attachment to his and gets peace through self submission and suggests belongings. Buddha and Jesus, and all our these for all humanity. In this regard, Tagore‘s great prophets, represent such great ideas. Gitanjali becomes a search for the infinite divine They hold before us opportunities for spirit and peace through which the poet wants to surrendering our all. When they bring forth convey a message of peace, unity and brotherhood to their divine alms-bowl we feel we cannot the world. The objective of the paper is, therefore, to help giving, and we find that in giving is our analyze the motifs of submission and supplication in truest joy and liberation, for it is uniting Gitanjali in a new perspective to present the issues to ourselves to that extent with the infinite‖.