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Subramania Bharati Quotes


A collection of quotes of Subramania Bharati

Let us dream of a service so pure, so vast, so daring that in all our life, from the first moment to the last, there shall not be found a single thread of self !

In every question that comes before you, make it your rule to assume that India has the essential. She has only to learn how to use it. She has unity, must organize and direct it. Has passionate love of country, must avail herself of it. Has abundance of democratic sense and method, must discover how to make use of it. (November 1907 Bala Bharata)

Nivedita, Mother,
You, temple consecrated to love,
You, Sun dispelling my Soul’s darkness,
You, rain to the parched land of our lives,
You, helper of the helpless and lost,
You, offering to grace,
You, divine spark of Truth,
My salutations to thee. (Swadesha Gitangal)

…..

But Mother, know you not your child?
Can the mother sleep when the child awakes her?
Is the mother’s heart unmoved by the cries of the
child? Mother! Great Bharat’s queen!
Know you not that in eighteen languages sweet
We sing your praises in manifold ways?
Come, come, and give us the blessings of your reign!
Rise, O rise, Mother mine!

….

The mighty Himavan is ours—
There is no equal anywhere on earth;
The generous Ganga is ours—
Which other river can match her grace?

……

Although divorced from the joys of the hearth
And consigned to dungeons dark;
Although forced to exchange
A time of cheer for days of gloom;
Although ten million troubles rage
To consume me entire;
Freedom! Mother I shall not forget
To worship you.

…..

What is life without unity?
Division can only spell ruin.
Could we but hold fast to this truth,
What more shall we need?


Wearer of athi leaves and the young moon,
The ash-smeared in an eternal trance;
The dark-hued asleep on the ocean;
Revealer of wisdom to Muhammad;
Father of Jesus;
Even thus different sects describe
That eternal One; its nature is
Effulgent knowledge;
He who knows That is free from care;
May we praise that Grace
And gain immortal life. (Puthiya Athisudi’)

….

The inner ear will open to sounds; the inward eye
Will glow; It will blaze forth; manliness will be
his gift;
One can issue forth in the directions
And plant the flag of victory; why, one can
Hold the venomous serpent in hand;
One can live for all time, never cowed down
By poison, illness, or dire enmity. (Vinayakar Nanmani Malai)

….

Having tuned aright a stringed lute,
Shall we cast it on a rubbish heap to rot?
Listen, Mother Might! You’ve given me life
And lit this lamp of reason.
A burden, this to earth unless
My thoughts can be turned to deeds.
Vouchsafe me this power of action
To achieve my country’s good. (on mother goddess Shakti)

….

You manifest as all, O Kali,
Everywhere you;
The bad and the good,
Aren’t they the Divine’s play?
The five elements, O Kali,
And the senses, all yourself:
O Kali, you are knowledge
Beyond the mind (on goddess Kali)

As the worlds mightily clash
And crash in resounding thunder,
As blood-dripping demon-spirits
Sing in glee amid the general ruin,
To the beat and the tune, O Mother,
You leap in ecstatic dance!
Dread Mahakali! Chamundi! Gangali!
Mother, Mother, You’ve drawn me
To see you dance.