1/ Is it a coincidence that exactly 120 years ago, on this very day, the 20th day of Shravan, Rabindranath Tagore wrote a poem "Deeno Daan", about a temple?
A loose translation of some of the excerpts:
@narendramodi, I Dedicate this to your vanity.
A loose translation of some of the excerpts:
@narendramodi, I Dedicate this to your vanity.
@narendramodi 2/ ----------------------------------------
“There is no god in that temple”, said the Saint.
The King was enraged;
“No God? Oh Saint, are you not speaking like an atheist?
On the throne studded with priceless gems, beams the golden idol,
“There is no god in that temple”, said the Saint.
The King was enraged;
“No God? Oh Saint, are you not speaking like an atheist?
On the throne studded with priceless gems, beams the golden idol,
@narendramodi 3/ And yet, you proclaim that it is empty?”
“It is not empty; It is, rather, full of royal pride.
You have bestowed yourself, O King, not the God of this world”,
remarked the saint.
The King frowned, “Two million golden coins
“It is not empty; It is, rather, full of royal pride.
You have bestowed yourself, O King, not the God of this world”,
remarked the saint.
The King frowned, “Two million golden coins
@narendramodi 4/ were showered on that grand structure which kisses the sky,
I offered it to the gods after performing all the necessary rituals,
And you dare claim that in such a grand temple,
There is no presence of God”?
I offered it to the gods after performing all the necessary rituals,
And you dare claim that in such a grand temple,
There is no presence of God”?
@narendramodi 5/ The saint calmly replied, “In the very year in which, twenty million of your subjects were struck by a terrible drought;
The pauperised masses without any food or shelter,
came begging at your door crying for help, only to be turned away;
The pauperised masses without any food or shelter,
came begging at your door crying for help, only to be turned away;
@narendramodi 6/ they were forced to take refuge in forests, caves, camping under roadside foliages, derelict old temples;
and in that very year
when you spent two million gold coins to build that grand temple of yours,
that was the day when God pronounced:
and in that very year
when you spent two million gold coins to build that grand temple of yours,
that was the day when God pronounced:
@narendramodi 7/ “My eternal home is lit by everlasting lamps,
In the midst of an azure sky,
In my home are the foundations built with the values of:
Truth, Peace, Compassion and Love.
The poverty stricken puny miser,
Who could not provide shelter to his own homeless subjects,
In the midst of an azure sky,
In my home are the foundations built with the values of:
Truth, Peace, Compassion and Love.
The poverty stricken puny miser,
Who could not provide shelter to his own homeless subjects,
@narendramodi 8/ Does he really fancy of giving me a home?”
That is the day God left this temple of yours.
And joined the poor beside the roads, under the trees.
Like the emptiness of the froth in the vast seas,
Your mundane temple is as hollow.
It is just a bubble of wealth and pride.’
That is the day God left this temple of yours.
And joined the poor beside the roads, under the trees.
Like the emptiness of the froth in the vast seas,
Your mundane temple is as hollow.
It is just a bubble of wealth and pride.’
@narendramodi 9/ The enraged King howled,
“Oh, you sham cretin of a person,
Leave my kingdom this instant’.
The saint replied calmly,
“The very place where you have exiled the Divine,
Please banish the devout too".
“Oh, you sham cretin of a person,
Leave my kingdom this instant’.
The saint replied calmly,
“The very place where you have exiled the Divine,
Please banish the devout too".
@narendramodi 10/ _Rabindranath Tagore,20th of Shravan 1307 of the Bengali calendar_ _(CE1900 of the Western calendar)_
