The Song of Free by Swami Vivekanand

The Song of the Free

                                                           Swami Vivekanand

The wounded snake its hood unfurls,
The flame stirred up doth blaze,
The desert air resounds the calls
Of heart-struck lion's rage.

The cloud puts forth it deluge strength
When lightning cleaves its breast,
When the soul is stirred to its in most depth
Great ones unfold their best.

Let eyes grow dim and heart grow faint,
And friendship fail and love betray,
Let Fate its hundred horrors send,
And clotted darkness block the way.

All nature wear one angry frown,
To crush you out - still know, my soul,
You are Divine. March on and on,
Nor right nor left but to the goal.

Nor angel I, nor man, nor brute,
Nor body, mind, nor he nor she,
The books do stop in wonder mute
To tell my nature; I am He.

Before the sun, the moon, the earth,
Before the stars or comets free,
Before e'en time has had its birth,
I was, I am, and I will be.

The beauteous earth, the glorious sun,
The calm sweet moon, the spangled sky,
Causation's law do make them run;
They live in bonds, in bonds they die.

And mind its mantle dreamy net
Cast o'er them all and holds them fast.
In warp and woof of thought are set,
Earth, hells, and heavens, or worst or best.

Know these are but the outer crust -
All space and time, all effect, cause.
I am beyond all sense, all thoughts,
The witness of the universe.

Not two nor many, 'tis but one,
And thus in me all me's I have;
I cannot hate, I cannot shun
Myself from me, I can but love.

From dreams awake, from bonds be free,
Be not afraid. This mystery,
My shadow, cannot frighten me,
Know once for all that I am He.

Answer the following questions in 15-20 words each:

1. What is the rhyme scheme in the first stanza?

Answer: ABAB

2. Whom does the poet address in stanza 4?

Answer: The poet addresses his soul in stanza 4.

3. “When lightening cleaves its breast.......” What does “its” refer to here?

Answer: “Its” refers to ‘cloud’ here but in the deeper meaning it is ‘man’s heart’.

4. Point out an example of metaphor in the poem.

Answer: ‘And mind its mental dreamy net’.

5. Which dreams does the poet refer to in the concluding stanza?

Answer: The poet refers to the dream of ‘materialistic gains’ in the concluding stanza.

Answer the following questions in 30-40 words each:

1. What ideas does the poet want to suggest by referring to activities in nature in the first two stanzas?

Answer: The poet says that a snake spreads out its hood when it’s injured, flames get strong with the blaze, desert wind is echoed, lion gets annoyed on troubling, clouds show strength in the form of lightening. In the same way, great people reveal or unfold their best when shaken from inside i.e. when their soul is enlightened.

2. In stanza 5, why does the poet say “I am He”?

Answer: The poet proclaims his oneness with the god by saying “I am He”. It’s believed in the Hindu culture that every object has a part of eternal soul in it. The poet also declares that he is not a common human being; he is enlightened one; he posses godly elements in him. He has become an incarnation of the god.

3. Explain the words: “I was, I am, I will be.”

Answer: The poet declares the permanent existence of the soul. It does not take birth or never dies, it transforms from one form to another. So the poet says that his human body can extinct but his soul will remain alive forever.

4. What is the poet’s view on human soul?

Answer: The poet confirms the Hindu view of human soul i.e. it’s immortal.  It existed in this world before the creation of the universe; and it’s present now and will remain permanent in future also. It never takes birth and dies’ it transforms from one form to another.

Answer the following questions in 150 words each:

1. Explain the following stanza with reference to the context:

All nature wear one angry frown,
To crush you out - still know, my soul,
You are Divine. March on and on,
Nor right nor left but to the goal.

               Answer:

               Reference: These lines have been extracted from the poem ‘The Song of the Free’ composed by Swami Vivekanand.

Context: The poet addresses his soul and inspires it to work tirelessly towards the goal.

Explanation: The poet highlights the challenges, problems and difficulties of life. The world and nature may go against us creating hardships and challenges. Our fate may be extremely unfavourable and we may face darkness of despair everywhere. We may experience failure in friendship and betrayal in love.  The nature may try to crush us and destroy us but we must not give up, become weak and defeated. Basically we have Divine nature so nothing can defeat us. We need to march ahead without getting distracted to reach our ultimate goal.

2. What inspiring message does the poem convey?

Answer: Swami Vivekananda wrote this powerful poem to depict the true nature of human being. Man is beyond body, mind and intellect. The essence of human being is one indomitable spirit which has infinite dimension and eternal existence.

Swami urges not to be afraid of the problems, difficulties and challenges of life. These are the tests of life which make us strong and confident. We should march ahead without getting distracted and disturbed fearlessly to achieve our goal. The poet presents a very clear picture of this pure spirit. Spirit is immortal and eternal. It is not limited by the law of causality. It cannot be observed and explained by human mind and intellect. Bookish knowledge fails to explain this ultimate reality.

We need to know our true nature. Once we know who we really are, all problems, difficulties, hatred, jealousy, weakness and cowardice disappear. Our hearts get filled with courage, love, bliss and peace.