We are all a part of the same, great body. The beat, our beat, unifies our hearts and our spirits with love and light. Listen, feel, and celebrate the connection.

Isn't it comforting to know that we are a part of something truly miraculous? That there is great strength in our diversity?

Hindu poet, philosopher, and artist Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) celebrated life with romantic grace in such passionate writing as Gitanjali and The Religion of Man. The prolific writer of over 100 books of verse, 50 dramas, and 40 works of fiction was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913—the first Asian to receive the honor.

“The mountain remains unmoved at seeming defeat by the mist,” he once said.

Born on this day in Calcutta to a celebrated Brahmin family, the youngest of 14 children, he wrote his first poem at age seven. His beautiful and poignant writings played a critical role in India's cultural emergence in the late 19th century.

“The world speaks to me in colors, my soul answers in music,” he said, and believed in jivan-devata, “life-god,” a creative, continuous force.

A poet, a seeker, an artist, Tagore has been called the greatest Bengali writer, profoundly changing the scope and depth of the language with his wisdom and insights.

“God respects me when I work and loves me when I sing.”

More TAGORE Quotations