Publisher's Synopsis
"[Tagore's] lyrics…display in their thought a world I have dreamed of all my life long." --W.B. Yeats. Rabindranath Tagore (1861--1941) is the most important poet of modern-day India. This literary giant's writings have inspired millions of readers for generations. The Heart of God is a beautiful collection of 77 poems that explores life's mysteries, including the joy of love, the beauty of nature, and the inevitability of death. Representing Tagore's "simple prayers of common life," each poem is an eloquent affirmation of the divine in the face of both joy and sorrow. Tagore was born into a wealthy family in the Bengali city of Calcutta during British colonial rule. Immensely talented, he would become a distinguished writer, educator, playwright, composer, social reformer, and philosopher. As a poet, Tagore is a master, having been awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913--the first non-European to be given this honor. Along with Mahatma Gandhi, Tagore is considered to be the foremost intellectual and spiritual advocate for India's liberation from imperial rule. This new edition of The Heart of God includes a foreword by Tagore scholar Bashabi Fraser, who describes the profound wisdom of Tagore's writings and the lasting importance of this beautiful collection, as well as a moving Preface by Nobel Peace Prize recipient Albert Schweitzer. Like the Psalms of David, these simple prayers transcend time and speak directly to the human heart.
