Acc 291 Reflective Summary Week 3 Essay Example for Free

Acc 291 Reflective Summary Week 3 Essay Calculating stock, dividends, and stock splits Stock is buying into ownership of a company. It is buying into their assets as well as their earnings. To calculate stock one must understand how to calculate the earnings per share. To calculate the earnings per share take the net earnings and divide by the outstanding shares. Dividends are cash distributions that companies pay out regularly to shareholders from earnings. Profitable companies pay dividends. To calculate dividends for dollar amount take the number of owned shares and multiply by the dividend per share. Stock split is increasing the number of outstanding shares that is owned by dividing each share. Each stockholder receives an additional share, but the value of each is reduced by half. Two shares equal the original value before the share split took place. The calculation of stock splitting is very complicated. See more:  Mark Twains Humorous Satire in Running for Governor Essay Differentiate types of stocks issued by corporations. There are two basic types of stocks that corporations can issue. Common stock and preferred stock are the two types; both have different benefits and possible opportunities. Common stock is the most basic type of stock you can obtain from a corporation. Since it’s the basic type of stock that you can purchase it has its limitations and is very limited in value. Owning a common share of the corporation shows that you own a fraction of company and its value is directly impacted by the company’s monetary successes and failures. Most see owning common shares as a risky investment  and this is why the owners will receive their profits after the preferred stock is disbursed. Preferred stock is the other type of stock that corporations issue. The main benefit of owning a preferred share of a corporation is that your dividends are received before common shareholders. Unlike common shareholder benefits, preferred stock is based on a fixed dividend payment. If the company goes out of business or liquidates their assets, preferred shareholders still receive the money back they invested and this is disbursed before common stockholders receive theirs as well. The only setback is that preferred stock cannot doesn’t gain as much in value as the common shareholder profit because of the fixed payment. Preferred stock also has a division of classes that is based on market prices, restrictions, etc. All in all, depending on the investor’s needs and financial opportunities both stock options have their benefits and possible setbacks. Reference: http://www.stanford.edu/~mikefan/stocks/whatarestocks.html Fan, 2006 Cardinal Money Management Oracle thinkquest. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://library.thinkquest.org/3088/stockmarket/typesofstocks.html Reflection Summary Assignment 1 Reflection Summary Assignment

Capital Punishment Essay - The Death Penalty in Canada and the USA :: Argumentative Persuasive Essays

The Death Penalty in Canada and the USA The death penalty, also referred to as capital punishment, has been abolished in Canada since 1976, but still exist in a few American States. The last execution in Canada took place in 1962. I disagree with the death penalty for several reasons. My first reason is that I find it extremely inhumane to take someone's life in order to demonstrate the power of the law. Another reason for my disapproval of the death penalty, is the amount of money that it takes to put someone to death, as it would cost the same to keep an inmate in jail for life, as it would to put that same inmate to death. My third and final reason, is the guilty conscience that is placed on everyone involved: the jury who convicted the accused to death; the witnesses to the execution; and the jail warden who must give out the execution; and the person who pulls the switch or induces the poison. Early societies were based on a simple code of law: "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth". Today, now that our society has become more advanced, we do not function by this ancient code of punishment. For example, we do not rape the rapist's daughter; we do not kidnap the kidnapper's children; but if the death penalty were permitted, we would " kill the killer". So why, as educated citizens, would we want to lower ourselves to this level? Do we feel that we need to show the power of the police force by killing the killers? The death penalty is extremely barbaric and is often botched in order to let the accused suffer for several minutes. Society by now must realize that two wrongs certainly do not make a right. You do not show society anything, by killing the killers, except your ignorance for human life and well being. Some thought has been that if you do "kill the killer", it will deter others from committing such a terrible crime. However, murder rates in Canada have remained the same and there is no significant difference when comparisons are made of those States who still have the death penalty. A widely publicized execution might reduce homicides, but only for a brief period. Therefore, I do not feel that Canada should permit such a deplorable undertaking of a human life. I know they must be punished, but there is a better way. Prior to putting someone to death, the accused's lawyer will attempt

Motherhood as Vocation

Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution reveals the trials and tribulations of mothers everywhere and across time through the voice and experiences of its author, Adrienne Rich.   This classic piece of feminist literature is an exceptionally relevant work even after the thirty years since its original publication.   Motherhood, as described by Rich, is a â€Å"Sacred Calling† with a healthy dose of irony.   From this description it is not entirely clear the depth of Rich's personal experience and perception of motherhood.   In reading the book, though, her message of motherhood as a skewed institution becomes entirely clear. Rich describes her experiences in motherhood as being fairly forgettable save for the exception of â€Å"anxiety, physical weariness, anger, self blame, boredom and divisions within† herself.   These feelings seem to sum up the experiences of many mothers and, yet, we also often hear of the fine points of mothering, as well.   We hear of the joy in hearing a child's first words.   We hear of the fun in taking a toddler to the park for exploration. Even the trials we hear of regarding the trouble-making teens seem laced with a subtle but happy sentimental reflection.   Rich's reflections on motherhood, though, only seem to fixate on the loneliness, fears and negativity associated with the difficult occupation of motherhood.   Readers are not privileged to the enjoyable aspects of her motherhood experiences.   In fact, readers are made to believe that, perhaps, all motherhood was for Rich was the trials and tribulations. The view of motherhood that readers get from Rich's descriptions is that she feels put upon, oppressed by the institution of motherhood and a part of a culture (motherhood) that is undervalued and under-appreciated.   Yet motherhood is perhaps the most vital institution of all.   So while the integral components of this institution, the mothers, must embark on the grand journey for which they received the sacred calling, they are not justly rewarded but, instead, penalized for participating.  Ã‚   Therein, perhaps, lies the biggest irony of all: motherhood is the institution that keeps civilization running and, yet, this multifaceted position has become one of the least valued. Throughout history, as Rich sees it, mothers have not received the admiration they are due.   Instead, they have been oppressed and treated as though their roles are to be expected but not appreciated.   In addition to this hegemonically accepted perception of motherhood, women have been made to feel as though their main function as a human being is to reproduce.   Thus, women have been made to feel as though they are only true women through the act of bearing and raising children. At the time of the book's writing, the Women's Movement was in full swing and the sad state of the institution of motherhood had become even more pitiful.   Although women were entering the workforce more and more, mothers were still being treated as second class citizens who were expected to maintain their roles of mother over all else.   But, the situation was becoming even worse.   Now, women were elated to be welcomed (or somewhat welcomed) into the workforce and, yet, they were soon to be expected to take on everything in addition to motherhood! Things have progressively gotten worse for women in the institution of motherhood.   With the Women's Movement and its combining with the established role of motherhood, women have bought in to the ideal that they are, in fact, expected to take on everything.   Women have been allowed to work the long days just like men, but something is different between the sexes: women are still expected to tend to the children and the household just as much as the pre-Women's Movement days. So, really, women are taking on the jobs of at least two people and being sold on the idea that this is the best of both worlds.   Rich's trials took place in the confines of her own household without the added trouble of trying to incorporate her working life.   In Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution, Rich sounds most bothered, in her motherhood experiences, by the boredom of her life and the lack of outside outlets available to her.   That is, Rich's story appears to be one of a bored mother with only her children to focus on.   For someone like Rich who had career aspirations and maybe didn't necessarily even possess the drive to have children, the institution of motherhood only served to hold her back and push her down. The institution of motherhood is one that is certainly oppressive.   I believe it is, as Rich suggests, a means by which patriarchal influences have maintained control over womankind.   However, part of being a mother is the desire to want to mother.   I believe that times have changed somewhat since the time of the writing and more and more women are seeing that they do not have to bear and raise children out of obligation.   Of course, there is the new problem that women feel the need to be Superwomen and do it all, but at least the weight to bear children is a flexible one that can be lifted if desired. Hegemonic ideals will always dominate, but personal choice can have a greater influence if we have faith in ourselves and our roles in life.   Although the institution of motherhood may always be tainted by the facets that serve to oppress mothers everywhere, personal choice can ultimately dictate our place in the world, individual roles of motherhood and the ability to enjoy that role if it is ones true chosen path.   

The Second American Revolution - 901 Words

The Second American Revolution Thesis Statement â€Å"The Civil War may also be termed as the second American Revolution in terms of the political, social and economic changes that occurred during the war† Introduction American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865. The war began because President Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860, was very persistent on preserving the Union, which was threatened by the issue of slavery. The North was growing rapidly in wealth and population, and it was clear to the Southern slave states that the North would eventually be strong enough to carry a constitutional amendment abolishing slavery (Faust, p. 995). The Republican Party had been formed in 1854 to oppose slavery. Consequently, when Lincoln†¦show more content†¦However, the final victory was for the people of south. . North was dependent on the south because the major crops such as tobacco, sugar cane, cotton and rice were produced in South. One major change was the success of the industrial capitalist in capturing and using the state for the purpose of strengthening their economic position (Ford, p. 518). The changes in the tariff, public land, banking, railroad, and contract labor legislation were the major indicators of the economic revolution. Prohibition on trafficking and abolishment of slavery were other revolutionary changes during the war. This war was a fight for the right of freedom. The southern democrats were in favor of slavery, whereas the northern party was against it (Johnny, p.54). However, the victory of Abraham Lincoln brought freedom to the estate and created the concept of equal rights for the black slaves. The concept of equal rights was promoted with three major amendments in the U.S. constitution providing same opportunities and voting rights to the black and whites. The Reconstruction Acts, which were also a significant part of this fight, made the South give equal political rights to blacks. The main objective of this act was to guarantee equal social and political rights of the freed slaves. The gradual disappearance of the institution in the northern states created many supporters of slavery for fear that the growing influence ofShow MoreRelatedThe Second American Revolution891 Words   |  4 PagesThe Second American Revolution Thesis Statement â€Å"The Civil War may also be termed as the second American Revolution in terms of the political, social and economic changes that occurred during the war† Introduction American Civil War was fought between 1861 and 1865. The war began because President Abraham Lincoln, elected in 1860, was very persistent on preserving the Union, which was threatened by the issue of slavery. The North was growing rapidly in wealth and population, and it was clear toRead MoreKentucky And The Second American Revolution Essay2385 Words   |  10 PagesTitle: Kentucky the Second American Revolution The War of 1812 Author: Hammack, James Walla Pages: 112 Sophie Ratliff World History 2nd Period The first thing that started the events leading up to the war was the attainment of William Pitt to power in England in April 1804. It marked the beginning of a new and uncompromising British attitude toward neutrals that soon led to a crisis in Anglo-American relations. Next, Pitt took office and this caused the British to send naval officers to AmericaRead MoreAbraham Lincoln And The Second American Revolution957 Words   |  4 PagesAbraham Lincoln and the Second American Revolution â€Å"Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution†, written by James M. McPherson, one of America’s historians. McPherson has also written,† Battle Cry of Freedom: The Civil War Era†, â€Å"Tried by War: Abraham Lincoln as Commander-in-Chief†, â€Å"Crossroads of Freedom: Antietam† and many other history related books. â€Å"Abraham Lincoln and The Second American Revolution† consists of seven essays throughout on important themes in American history and unusualRead MoreCivil War as the Second American Revolution Essay965 Words   |  4 PagesThe Civil War could easily be seen as the second American Revolution considering it brought about significant change in history in the political, social, and economic aspects. Prior to the civil war, there had been a policy of slavery in the South which was a main cause of the conflict between the Union and the Confederacy. In the post-war period, slavery had been abolished which brought ab out much change in not only the social but economic aspect as well. There are many points from which the CivilRead MoreThe Civil War: The Second American Revolution? Essay examples1083 Words   |  5 Pageswhat author James M. McPherson discloses to the readers in his book, What They Fought For: 1861-1865, as he credibly recreates the issues and incidents of the civil war through the words of the soldiers themselves. James M. McPherson is a famous American historian, author, and editor that has a fascination with the Civil War. According to Amy Lifson, McPherson’s enthusiasm for the Civil War truly began when he was a graduate student at John Hopkins University, studying the abolitionist that had anRead MoreThe Second American Revolution: Expressions of Canadian Identity in News Coverage at the Outbreak of the United States Civil War1216 Words   |  5 Pagesarticle, â€Å"The Second Revolution†: Expressions of Canadian Identity in News Coverage at the Outbreak of the United States Civil War. Gabrial’s article is about how the Canadian identity was challenged by the American Civil War. In particular, he argues that Canadian identity is significant in five important themes: the importance of British identity, antipathy toward Americanism and suspicion of American democracy, a well-grounded fear of American militarism, a patronizing sympathy for Americans in crisisRead MoreMod ernism : The Age Of Rebellion Essay1228 Words   |  5 Pagesevolved communication joined the modern lifestyle. The second industrial revolution was influential, the amount of progress it brought in the 1920’s gave America the ability to move forward and advance. The second industrial revolution industrialized not only technology, but caused time period called the roaring 20’s in which the average American took advantage of the progresses from the second industrial revolution. Throughout the roaring 20’s, Americans began to think more about life as these rapid changesRead MoreSimilarities Between The French Revolution And American Revolution1067 Words   |  5 PagesThe American Revolution and the French Revolution The late 1700’s was a time for cutting-edge inventions, literary and philosophical achievements, upcoming and rising leaders, and lastly, revolutions. The American revolution took place from 1770 to 1783. The French Revolution began in 1789 and lasted for a decade Both the American and French Revolution occurred at the same time and the citizens were both fighting for freedom from a monarchy, there are many important similarities and differencesRead MoreFrench Revolution: the Solution to Class Inequality1141 Words   |  5 PagesThe French Revolution was one of the most important events that occurred in the history of France. The revolution crumpled the Old Regime and completely transformed the social and political system of France. The people of France sought to establish a more egalitarian society through their newly created Republic. When Enlightenment thinkers such as John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and Baron de Montesquieu introduced individual liberty, natural rights and equality the ideas of revolution emerged. AsRead MoreThe Enlightenment Ideas Of The American Revolution1423 Words   |  6 PagesWilliam Win Soe World Studies 10 Mr. Key Nov 8. 2017 The Enlightenment’s ideas in the American Revolution People in America were mad and broke. The colonies did not like the idea of paying high taxes to the King of England. In order to show their rage and anger, they did it by not paying taxes. The King of England was frustrated by the colonist s action and send an army to the Americas to sort this problem out. However, the people of America wanted to be free from England, so with the help

Marketing Marketing Across Boundaries - 1369 Words

ASSIGNMENT NUMBER; 1 MODULE CODE; BU 7752 MODULE TITLE; Marketing Across Boundaries TUTOR NAME; TERRY SMITH, SET 1 STUDENT NUMBER; 1426418 INTRODUCTION No establishment is self-reliant; it is rooted in an environment containing different components. So every manager should devote time to understand the effect of these components on their organisation (Czinkota Kotabe). Therefore there should be proper marketing planning, to analyse what is happening in the market. Taking into consideration, an MNC, Nestle, it is one of the multinational companies which have numerous small companies running under it. The company always focused on the needs and demands of their customers which helped them to expand their goodwill (Nestle, 2014).Different marketing tools can be used to weigh up a company’s aggressive marketing environment. In this assignment we use 3 tools to evaluate nestles competitive environment. 1) Porters Five Force Model Porter’s Five Forces Model is a vital tool to expand business policies and to examine the industrial inflections. Five factors in connection to nestle will be discussed to emphasize the magnetism and efficiency of the market (kasi august 9th 2012). Threat of New Entrants Every company would face a threat of new entrants if the market is very attractive. But it becomes extremely difficult for a novel company to enter into a market which is limited to a few resources. Even though Nestle has consummated a strong market image, thereShow MoreRelatedInternational Marketing Across The National Boundaries Essay1757 Words   |  8 PagesIn global marketing, the marketing across the national boundaries lies between the potential complexities of international marketing which precisely defines what is involved in it. On the other hand the orders received from other national boundaries are responded by the independent broker too. The company is also involved in the transaction of selling its products and services to the broker with some efforts put in along with the considerations and long term commitment. Majorly it involves the resourcesRead MoreDifferent Levels Of Market Involvement And Modes Of Entry Essay1251 Words   |  6 PagesDifferent levels of market involvement and modes of entry. In global marketing, the marketing across the national boundaries lies between the potential complexities of international marketing which precisely defines what is involved in it. On the other hand the orders received from other national boundaries are responded by the independent broker too. The company is also involved in the transaction of selling its products and services to the broker with some efforts put in along with the considerationsRead MoreWhat is Boundary Spanning? 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The key to understanding the essence of globalisation is found in the reasons why commodity flows and divisions of production occur. Which is highly important sinceRead MoreAnalysis of the Pros and Cons of Globalization1212 Words   |  5 PagesGlobalization Introduction The continued accelerating pace of change in globalization is forcing an entirely new level of emphasis on individualized, highly targeted marketing across the many regions and countries of the world. Global marketing today must contend with a wider array of constraints, both economic and cultural, that as ever been the case in the past (Gupta, 2003). These constraints fuel a high level of creativity and focus on how to overcome cultural and economic constraints throughRead MoreMarketing Across Culture Success or Dilemma1130 Words   |  5 PagesTable of contents Marketing across culture: 3 Reasons of this dilemma 3 Proposed solution: 5 Pluralism: 6 Cultural analysis before marketing: 6 Change management strategy: 7 Marketing across culture: Marketing across culture is one of the biggest issues which multinational companies have been confronting nowadays. Since marketing is an important factor for the propagation of a particular product or company, marketing plan should also be effective simultaneously. Every organizationRead MoreThe Type Of International Strategy1189 Words   |  5 PagesTYPE OF INTERNATIONAL STRATEGY International strategy has been used by Volkswagen and Suzuki, which involved autonomous subsidiaries. International strategy can be considered an ethnocentric strategy which is characterized by the application of the marketing strategy of the home country to all foreign markets without adaption to local environment (Morschett, Schramm-Klein, Zentes, 2011). They used the multinational type of strategy, which focused on the local responsiveness. Subsidiaries operated onRead MoreThe Tools And Skills Used By Managers Functioning815 Words   |  4 Pagescertain skillsets in order to be successful. This paper will draw from the text of Carpenter, Taylor, and Erdogan (2009) as well as the work of Griffith and Hoppner (2013) on marketing management of global businesses to highlight the expertise required to motivate and lead a team across all cultural and language boundaries. By using the expanding options available to management today, leaders in global business can solicit the best, hig hest quality results from their teams. 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It can include managing external stakeholders, multifunctional and virtual teams. Thus, in this structure the employment from different departments of the organization temporarily work together. In the matrix structure, there is no particular

Essay on Personal Transformation from Gilgamesh to Chihiro

Personal Transformation from Gilgamesh to Chihiro Regardless of the setting and the time, maturity and development are key processes that reshape individual’s character. Although on the surface, Hayao Miyazaki’s film, Spirited Away and The Epic of Gilgamesh have nothing in common based on their different historical and geographical settings, they are tied together by the genre called â€Å"Bildungsroman†. A genre that focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood, also known as a coming of age novel. The film, Spirited Away, is about Chihiro, a young girl who is taken down an unusual road by her parents while moving to a new home in an unfamiliar town. Their curiosity leads them into what appears†¦show more content†¦On his journey home however, a snake retrieves the plant. Gilgamesh fails in his journey to defeat his fate, yet comes upon him a sense of humility and acceptance of his true destiny. He returns home to serve Uruk and its citizens. With the help o f their companions, the main characters must overcome a series of obstacles before they can discover their full potential. In the beginning of the story, Chihiro is a spoiled child forced into the fantastic world. Chihiro becomes completely separated from everything she has known and must find her way back to reality. Her adult guidance is stripped away from her when her parents are turned into pigs after being greedy and eating plenty of food that did not belong to them. Chihiro is then forced to step up and save her own parents: â€Å"Im sorry my sister turned your parents into pigs, but theres nothing I can do. It’s just the way things are. Youll have to help your parents and Haku by yourself† (Miyazaki). Never having been cast such responsibility, Chihiro does a pretty good job. In order to survive in the spirit world, Chihiro takes a job at the bath house run by Yubaba. There she performs hard tasks most kids her age would not be able to grasp. Chihiro taking a jo b is a first step into her reaching adulthood, as providing an income and hard work are grown up responsibilities. While she is working there, she faces some difficult challenges which the other

Coming out free essay sample

Song Offerings Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee For more FREE books visit our website: www. spiritualbee. com Dear Reader, This e-book is a reproduction of the original â€Å"Gitanjali – Song Offerings† by Rabindranath Tagore, first published in 1913. This book is now in the public domain in the United States and in India; because it’s original copyright owned by the Macmillan Company has expired. As per U. S. copyright law, any book published in the United States prior to January 1st 1923 is in the public domain in the United States. Under Indian copyright laws, works enter the public domain 60 years after the author’s death. A photographed version of the original book is also available for download at our website www. spiritualbee. com/gitanjali-poems-of-tagore/ Book Summary: â€Å"Gitanjali† is one of Rabindranath Tagore’s best known works for which he received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. Many of the verses in Gitanjali are beautiful prayers written after a gut-wrenchingly painful period in Rabindranath Tagore’s life, during which he lost his father, wife, daughter and a son in quick succession. His unfathomable pain and unshaken devotion to God are captured in the moving proseverses of Gitanjali, which Tagore dedicated as â€Å"Song Offerings†. For a reader uninitiated in Tagore, it is our humble recommendation that they read the prose-verses of Gitanjali only after gaining familiarity with some of his other works. His books My Reminiscences, Glimpses of Bengal, Sadhana and Nationalism are a great place to start and are available for a free download at our website www. spiritualbee. com/free-spiritual-books/ In that way the reader will have gained a fuller perspective and a rich contextual background, to weight Tagore’s words against. When one reads the works of Tagore, one detects a clear stream of spirituality and an intense love for Nature that flows through most of his books. It is no exaggeration that the more works of Tagore one reads, the more one falls in love with this simple and beautiful poet. He shone forth brightly his lamp of timeless wisdom of the East ? that this Universe has been created out of pure love, and it is only our love for each other together with peace, justice and freedom that will sustain it. â€Å"The Upanishads say: â€Å"From joy does spring all this creation, by joy is it maintained, towards joy does it progress, and into joy does it enter. It means that Gods creation has not its source in any necessity; it comes from his fullness of joy; it is his love that creates, therefore in creation is his own revealment. † Rabindranath Tagore explaining a verse of the Upanishads, in his book â€Å"Sadhana – The Realisation of Life† It is no wonder that in India, Rabin dranath Tagore is revered as â€Å"Gurudev† ? â€Å"a teacher embodying God-like knowledge†, a title conferred upon him by Mahatma Gandhi. We hope that you enjoy reading this masterpiece as much as we did! Since knowledge grows by sharing, do forward this e-book to your friends and family. Kind regards, The Spiritual Bee Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 2 Acknowledgements We would like to express our sincere thanks to The Free-Dictionary (www. thefreedictionary. com) for providing meanings to English words and terms in use during the early 1900s. Terms of Use We have tried our utmost to maintain the integrity of the original work. However during the transcribing process it is possible that some errors may have crept in. By reading, downloading, altering or distributing this book you agree to indemnify us of all errors, liabilities, cost and legal expenses. Painted by Nandalal Bose Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 4 GITANJALI (SONG OFFERINGS) BY RABINDRANATH TAGORE A COLLECTION OF PROSE TRANSLATIONS MADE BY THE AUTHOR FROM THE ORIGINAL BENGALI WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY W. B. YEATS NEW YORK THE MACMILLAN COMPANY 1920 EDITION (FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1913) Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 5 TO WILLIAM ROTHENSTEIN Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 6 PREFACE THESE translations are of poems contained in three books ? Naivedya, Kheya, and Gitanjali ? to be had at the Indian Publishing House, 22 Cornwallis Street, Calcutta; and of a few poems which have appeared only in periodicals. Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 7 INTRODUCTION By W. B. YEATS A FEW days ago I said to a distinguished Bengali doctor of medicine, I know no German, yet if a translation of a German poet had moved me, I would go to the British Museum and find books in English that would tell me something of his life, and of the history of his thought. But though these prose translations from Rabindranath Tagore have stirred my blood as nothing has for years, I shall not know anything of his life, and of the movements of thought that have made them possible, if some Indian traveller will not tell me. † It seemed to him natural that I should be moved, for he said, I read Rabindranath every day, to read one line of his is to forget all the troubles of the world. I said, An Englishman living in London in the reign of Richard the Second had he been shown translations from Petrarch or from Dante, would have found no books to answer his questions, but would have questioned some Florentine banker or Lombard merchant as I question you. For all I know, so abundant and simple is this poetry, the new Renaissance has been born in your country and I shall never know of it except by hearsay. He answered, We have other poets, but none that are his equal; we call this the epoch of Rabindranath. No poet seems to me as famous in Europe as he is among us. He is as great in music as in poetry, and his songs are sung from the west of India into Burmah wherever Bengali is spoken. He was already famous at nineteen when he wrote his first novel; and plays, written when he was but little older, are still played in Calcutta. I so much admire the completeness of his life; when he was very young he wrote much of natural objects, he would sit all day in his garden; from his twenty-fifth year or so to his thirty-fifth perhaps, when he had a great sorrow, he wrote the most beautiful love poetry in our language; and then he said with deep emotion, words can never express what I wed at seventeen to his love poetry. After that his art grew deeper, it became religious and philosophical; all the aspirations of mankind are in his hymns. He is the first among our saints who has not refused to live, but has spoken out of Life itself, and that is why we give him our love. Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Sp iritual Bee 8 I may have changed his well-chosen words in my memory but not his thought. A little while ago he was to read divine service in one of our churches ? we of the Brahma Samaj use your word ‘church’ in English ? t was the largest in Calcutta and not only was it crowded, people even standing in the windows, but the streets were all but impassable because of the people. Other Indians came to see me and their reverence for this man sounded strange in our world, where we hide great and little things under the same veil of obvious comedy and half-serious depreciation. When we were making the cathedrals had we a like reverence for our great men? Every morning at three ? I know, for I have seen it ? one said to me, he sits immovable in contemplation, and for two hours does not awake from his reverie upon the nature of God. His father, the Maha Rishi, would sometimes sit there all through the next day; once, upon a river, he fell into contemplation because of the beauty of the landscape, and the rowers waited for eight hours before they could continue their journey. He then told me of Mr. Tagores family and how for generations great men have come out of its cradles. To-day, he said, there are Gogonendranath and Abanindranath Tagore, who are artists; and Dwijendranath, Rabindranaths brother, who is a great philosopher. The squirrels come from the boughs and climb on to his knees and the birds alight upon his hands. I notice in these mens thought a sense of visible beauty and meaning as though they held that doctrine of Nietzsche that we must not believe in the moral or intellectual beauty which does not sooner or later impress itself upon physical things. I said, In the East you know how to keep a family illustrious. The other day the curator of a Museum pointed out to me a little dark-skinned man who w as arranging their Chinese prints and said, That is the hereditary connoisseur of the Mikado, he is the fourteenth of his family to hold the post. ’ He answered. When Rabindranath was a boy he had all round him in his home literature and music. I thought of the abundance, of the simplicity of the poems, and said, In your country is there much propagandist writing, much criticism? We have to do so much, especially in my own country, that our minds gradually cease to be creative, and yet we cannot help it. If our life was not a continual warfare, we would not have Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 9 taste, we would not know what is good, we would not find hearers and readers. Fourfifths of our energy is spent in the quarrel with bad taste, whether in our own minds or in the minds of others. I understand, he replied, we too have our propagandist writing. In the villages they recite long mythological poems adapted from the Sanscrit in the Middle Ages, and they often insert passages telling the people that they must do their duties. â€Å" II I have carried the manuscript of these translations about with me for days, reading it in railway trains, or on the tops of omnibuses and in restaurants, and I have often had to close it lest some stranger would see how much it moved me. These lyrics ? which are in the original, my Indians tell me, full of subtlety of rhythm, of untranslatable delicacies of colour, of metrical invention ? display in their thought a world I have dreamed of all my life long. The work of a supreme culture, they yet appear as much the growth of the common soil as the grass and the rushes. A tradition, where poetry and religion are the same thing, has passed through the centuries, gathering from learned and unlearned metaphor and emotion, and carried back again to the multitude the thought of the scholar and of the noble. If the civilization of Bengal remains unbroken, if that common mind which ? as one divines ? runs through all, is not, as with us, broken into a dozen minds that know nothing of each other, something even of what is most subtle in these verses will have come, in a few generations, to the beggar on the roads. When there was but one mind in England Chaucer wrote his Troilus and Cressida, and though he had written to be read, or to be read out ? for our time was coming on apace ? he was sung by minstrels for a while. Rabindranath Tagore, like Chaucers forerunners, writes music for his words, and one understands at every moment that he is so abundant, so spontaneous, so daring in his passion, so full of surprise, because he is doing something which has never seemed strange, unnatural, or in need of defence. These verses will not lie in little well-printed books upon ladies tables, who turn the pages with indolent hands that they may sigh over a life without meaning, which is yet all they can know of life, or be carried about by students at the university to be laid aside when the work of life begins, but as the Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 10 generations pass, travellers will hum them on the highway and men rowing upon rivers. Lovers, while they await one another, shall find, in murmuring them, this love of God a magic gulf wherein their own more bitter passion may bathe and renew its youth. At every moment the heart of this poet flows outward to these without derogation or condescension, for it has known that they will understand; and it has filled itself with the circumstance of their lives. The traveller in the red-brown clothes that he wears that dust may not show upon him, the girl searching in her bed for the petals fallen from the wreath of her royal lover, the servant or the bride awaiting the masters home-coming in the empty house, are images of the heart turning to God. Flowers and rivers, the blowing of conch shells, the heavy rain of the Indian July, or the parching heat, are images of the moods of that heart in union or in separation; and a man sitting in a boat upon a river playing upon a lute, like one of those figures full of mysterious meaning in a Chinese picture, is God Himself. A whole people, a whole civilization, immeasurably strange to us, seems to have been taken up into this imagination; and yet we are not moved because of its strangeness, but because we have met our own image, as though we had walked in Rossettis willow wood, or heard, perhaps for the first time in literature, our voice as in a dream. Since the Renaissance the writing of European saints ? however familiar their metaphor and the general structure of their thought ? has ceased to hold our attention. We know that we must at last forsake the world, and we are accustomed in moments of weariness or exaltation to consider a voluntary forsaking; but how can we, who have read so much poetry, seen so many paintings, listened to so much music, where the cry of the flesh and the cry of the soul seem one, forsake it harshly and rudely? What have we in common with St. Bernard covering his eyes that they may not dwell upon the beauty of the lakes of Switzerland, or with the violent rhetoric of the Book of Revelation? We would, if we might, find, as in this book, words full of courtesy. I have got my leave. Bid me farewell, my brothers! I bow to you all and take my departure. Here I give back the keys of my door ? and I give up all claims to my house. I only ask for last kind words from you. We were neighbours for long, but I received more than I could give. Now the day has dawned and the lamp that lit my dark corner is out. A summons has come and I am ready for my journey. Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 11 And it is our own mood, when it is furthest from A Kempis or John of the Cross, that cries, And because I love this life, I know I shall love death as well. Yet it is not only in our thoughts of the parting that this book fathoms all. We had not known that we loved God, hardly it may be that we believed in Him; yet looking backward upon our life we discover, in our exploration of the pathways of woods, in our delight in the lonely places of hills, in that mysterious claim that we have made, unavailingly, on the women that we have loved, the emotion that created this insidious sweetness. Entering my heart nbidden even as one of the common crowd, unknown to me, my king, thou didst press the signet of eternity upon many a fleeting moment, This is no longer the sanctity of the cell and of the scourge; being but a lifting up, as it were, into a greater intensity of the mood of the painter, painting the dust and the sunlight, and we go for a like voice to St. Francis and to William Blake who have seemed so alien in our violent history. III We write long books where no page perhaps has any quality to make writing a pleasure, being confident in some general design, just as we fight and make money and fill our heads with politics ? ll dull things in the doing while Mr. Tagore, like the Indian civilization itself, has been content to discover the soul and surrender himself to its spontaneity. He often seems to contrast his life with that of those who have lived more after our fashion, and have more seeming weight in the world, and always humbly as though he were only sure his way is best for him: Men going home glance at me and smile and fill me with shame. I sit like a beggar maid, drawing my skirt over my face, and when they ask me, what it is I want, I drop my eyes and answer them not. At another time, remembering how his life had once a different shape, he will say, Many an hour have I spent in the strife of the good and the evil, but now it is the pleasure of my pl aymate of the empty days to draw my heart on to him; and I know not why is this sudden call to what useless inconsequence. An innocence, a simplicity that one does not find elsewhere in literature makes the birds and the leaves seem as near to him as they are near to children, and the changes of the seasons great events as before our thoughts had arisen between them and us. At times I wonder if he has it from the literature of Bengal or from religion, and at other times, remembering the birds alighting Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 12 on his brothers hands, I find pleasure in thinking it hereditary, a mystery that was growing through the centuries like the courtesy of a Tristan or a Pelanore. Indeed, when he is speaking of children, so much a part of himself this quality seems, one is not certain that he is not also speaking of the saints, They build their houses with sand and they play with empty shells. With withered leaves they weave their boats and smilingly float them on the vast deep. Children have their play on the sea-shore of worlds. They know not how to swim, they know not how to cast nets. Pearl fishers dive for pearls, merchants sail in their ships, while children gather pebbles and scatter them again. They seek not for hidden treasures, they know not how to cast nets. W. B. YEATS. September 1912. Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 13 GITANJALI Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 14 1 THOU hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life. This little flute of a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales, and hast breathed through it melodies eternally new. At the immortal touch of thy hands my little heart loses its limits in joy and gives birth to utterance ineffable1. Thy infinite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine. Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill. 2 WHEN thou commandest me to sing it seems that my heart would break with pride; and I look to thy face, and tears come to my eyes. All that is harsh and dissonant in my life melts into one sweet harmony ? and my adoration spreads wings like a glad bird on its flight across the sea. I know thou takest pleasure in my singing. I know that only as a singer I come before thy presence. I touch by the edge of the far spreading wing of my song thy feet which I could never aspire to reach. Drunk with the joy of singing I forget myself and call thee friend who art my lord. 3 I KNOW not how thou singest, my master! I ever listen in silent amazement. The light of thy music illumines the world. The life breath of thy music runs from sky to sky. The holy stream of thy music breaks through all stony obstacles and rushes on. 1. Ineffable: too great or intense to be expressed in presentation by The Spiritual Bee Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book words; unutterable. 15 My heart longs to join in thy song, but vainly struggles for a voice. I would speak, but speech breaks not into song, and I cry out baffled. Ah, thou hast made my heart captive in the endless meshes of thy music, my master! 4 LIFE of my life, I shall ever try to keep my body pure, knowing that thy living touch is upon all my limbs. I shall ever try to keep all untruths out from my thoughts, knowing that thou art that truth which has kindled the light of reason in my mind. I shall ever try to drive all evils away from my heart and keep my love in flower, knowing that thou hast thy seat in the inmost shrine of my heart. And it shall be my endeavour to reveal thee in my actions, knowing it is thy power gives me strength to act. 5 I ASK for a moments indulgence to sit by thy side. The works that I have in hand I will finish afterwards. Away from the sight of thy face my heart knows no rest nor respite, and my work becomes an endless toil in a shoreless sea of toil. To-day the summer has come at my window with its sighs and murmurs; and the bees are plying their minstrelsy at the court of the flowering grove. Now it is time to sit quiet, face to face with thee, and to sing dedication of life in this silent and overflowing leisure. Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 16 6 PLUCK this little flower and take it, delay not! I fear lest it droop and drop into the dust. It may not find a place in thy garland, but honour it with a touch of pain from thy hand and pluck it. I fear lest the day end before I am aware, and the time of offering go by. Though its colour be not deep and its smell be faint, use this flower in thy service and pluck it while there is time. 7 MY song has put off her adornments. She has no pride of dress and decoration. Ornaments would mar our union; they would come between thee and me; their jingling would drown thy whispers. My poets vanity dies in shame before thy sight. O master poet, I have sat down at thy feet. Only let me make my life simple and straight, like a flute of reed for thee to fill with music. 8 THE child who is decked with princes robes and who has jewelled chains round his neck loses all pleasure in his play; his dress hampers him at every tep. In fear that it may be frayed, or stained with dust he keeps himself from the world, and is afraid even to move. Mother, it is no gain, thy bondage of finery, if it keep one shut off from the healthful dust of the earth, if it rob one of the right of entrance to the great fair of common human life. Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tag ore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 17 Drawn by Nandalal Bose MY SONG HAS PUT OFF HER ADORNMENTS 9 O FOOL, to try to carry thyself upon thy own shoulders! O beggar, to come to beg at thy own door! Leave all thy burdens on his hands who can bear all, and never look behind in regret. Thy desire at once puts out the light from the lamp it touches with its breath. It is unholy ? take not thy gifts through its unclean hands. Accept only what is offered by sacred love. Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 18 10 HERE is thy footstool and there rest thy feet where live the poorest, and lowliest, and lost. When I try to bow to thee, my obeisance cannot reach down to the depth where thy feet rest among the poorest, and lowliest, and lost. Pride can never approach to where thou walkest in the clothes of the humble among the poorest, and lowliest, and lost. My heart can never find its way to where thou keepest company with the companionless among the poorest, the lowliest, and the lost. Painted by Surendranath Kar HERE IS THY FOOTSTOOL Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 19 11 LEAVE this chanting and singing and telling of beads! Whom dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut? Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee! He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground and where the path-maker is breaking stones. He is with them in sun and in shower, and his garment is covered with dust. Put off thy holy mantle and even like him come down on the dusty soil! Deliverance? Where is this deliverance to be found? Our master himself has joyfully taken upon him the bonds of creation; he is bound with us all for ever. Come out of thy meditations and leave aside thy flowers and incense! What harm is there if thy clothes become tattered and stained? Meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of thy brow. 12 THE time that my journey takes is long and the way of it long. I came out on the chariot of the first gleam of light, and pursued my voyage through the wildernesses of worlds leaving my track on many a star and planet. It is the most distant course that comes nearest to thyself, and that training is the most intricate which leads to the utter simplicity of a tune. The traveller has to knock at every alien door to come to his own, and one has to wander through all the outer worlds to reach the innermost shrine at the end. My eyes strayed far and wide before I shut them and said Here art thou! The question and the cry Oh, where? melt into tears of a thousand streams and deluge the world with the flood of the assurance I am! Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 20 13 THE song that I came to sing remains unsung to this day. I have spent my days in stringing and in unstringing my instrument. The time has not come true, the words have not been rightly set; only there is the agony of wishing in my heart. The blossom has not opened; only the wind is sighing by. I have not seen his face, nor have I listened to his voice; only I have heard his gentle footsteps from the road before my house. The livelong1 day has passed in spreading his seat on the floor; but the lamp has not been lit and I cannot ask him into my house. I live in the hope of meeting with him; but this meeting is not yet. Drawn by Nandalal Bose THE SONG I CAME TO SING Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 1. Livelong: Complete, whole; of time long or seemingly long, especially in a tedious way. 21 14 MY desires are many and my cry is pitiful, but ever didst thou save me by hard refusals; and this strong mercy has been wrought into my life through and through. Day by day thou art making me worthy of the simple, great gifts that thou gavest to me unasked ? this sky and the light, this body and the life and the mind ? saving me from perils of overmuch desire. There are times when I languidly linger and times when I awaken and hurry in search of my goal; but cruelly thou hidest thyself from before me. Day by day thou art making me worthy of thy full acceptance by refusing me ever and anon1, saving me from perils of weak, uncertain desire. 15 I AM here to sing thee songs. In this hall of thine I have a corner seat. In thy world I have no work to do; my useless life can only break out in tunes without a purpose. When the hour strikes for thy silent worship at dark temple of midnight, command me, my master, to stand before thee to sing. When in the morning air the golden harp is tuned, honour me, commanding my presence. 16 I HAVE had my invitation to this worlds festival, and thus my life has been blessed. My eyes have seen and my ears have heard. It was my part at this feast to play upon my instrument, and I have done all I could. Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 1. Ever and anon: An old English phrase meaning now and then; frequently; often. 22 Now, I ask, has the time come at last when I may go in and see thy face and offer thee my silent salutation? 17 I AM only waiting for love to give myself up at last into his hands. That is why it is so late and why I have been guilty of such omissions. They come with their laws and their codes to bind me fast; but I evade them ever, for I am only waiting for love to give myself up at last into his hands. People blame me and call me heedless; I doubt not they are right in their blame. The market day is over and work is all done for the busy. Those who came to call me in vain have gone back in anger. I am only waiting for love to give myself up at last into his hands. 18 CLOUDS heap upon clouds and it darkens. Ah, love, why dost thou let me wait outside at the door all alone? In the busy moments of the noontide work I am with the crowd, but on this dark lonely day it is only for thee that I hope. If thou showest me not thy face, if thou leavest me wholly aside, I know not how I am to pass these long, rainy hours. I keep gazing on the far away gloom of the sky, and my heart wanders wailing with the restless wind. 19 IF thou speakest not I will fill my heart with thy silence and endure it. I will keep still and wait like the night with starry vigil and its head bent low with patience. Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 23 The morning will surely come, the darkness will vanish, and thy voice pour down in golden streams breaking through the sky. Then thy words will take wing in songs from every one of my birds nests, and thy melodies will break forth in flowers in all my forest groves. 20 ON the day when the lotus bloomed, alas, my mind was straying, and I knew it not. My basket was empty and the flower remained unheeded. Only now and again a sadness fell upon me, and I started up from my dream and felt a sweet trace of a strange fragrance in the south wind. That vague sweetness made my heart ache with longing and it seemed to me that it was the eager breath of the summer seeking for its completion. I knew not then that it was so near, that it was mine, and that this perfect sweetness had blossomed in the depth of my own heart. 21 I MUST launch out my boat. The languid hours pass by on the shore ? Alas for me! The spring has done its flowering and taken leave. And now with the burden of faded futile flowers I wait and linger. The waves have become clamorous, and upon the bank in the shady lane the yellow leaves flutter and fall. What emptiness do you gaze upon! Do you not feel a thrill passing through the air with the notes of the far away song floating from the other shore? Gitanjali: Spiritual Poems of Rabindranath Tagore An e-book presentation by The Spiritual Bee 24 22 IN the deep shadows of the rainy July, with secret steps, thou walkest, silent as night, eluding all watchers. To-day the morning has closed its eyes, heedless of the insistent calls of the loud east wind, and a thick veil has been drawn over the ever-wakeful blue sky. The woodlands have hushed their songs, and doors are all shut at every house.