Rabindranath Tagore "Gitanjali 11" translation

Gitanjali 11
by Rabindranath Tagore
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

 
Leave this vain chanting and singing and counting of beads:
what Entity do you seek in this lonely dark temple with all the doors shut?
Open your eyes and see: God is not here!
He is out there where the tiller tills the hard ground and the paver breaks stones.
He is with them in sun and shower; his garments are filthy with dust.
Shed your immaculate mantle and like him embrace the dust!
Deliverance? Where is this "deliverance" to be found
when our Master himself has joyfully embraced the bonds of creation; he is bound with us all forever!
Cease your meditations, abandon your petals and incense!
What is the harm if your clothes become stained rags?
Meet him in the toil and the sweat of his brow!
 
Keywords/Tags: Rabindranath, Tagore, Hindi, translation, God, temple, monks, singing, chanting, meditations, incense, beads, garments, robes, vestments, deliverance, salvation, dust, sweat, brow, toil, labor