Patriotism is on of the highest feelings, almost spiritual. Patriotic songs mostly give a goose skin and a rise of overwealming feelings. Apart from the Russian anthem which I naturally find very powerful, another song which has a deep impact on me is the national song of India (though distinct from the national anthem of India) – VANDE MATARAM.
As today is the Independance Day of India, I dedicate this post to my numerous Indian readers and friends – you have a great Motherland, please keep the deepness, beauty and glory of it up!
The English Translation of the song goes like this :
Mother, I bow to thee!
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
bright with orchard gleams,
Cool with thy winds of delight,
Dark fields waving Mother of might,
Mother free.
Glory of moonlight dreams,
Over thy branches and lordly streams,
Clad in thy blossoming trees,
Mother, giver of ease
Laughing low and sweet!
Mother I kiss thy feet,
Speaker sweet and low!
Mother, to thee I bow.
Who hath said thou art weak in thy lands
When the sword flesh out in the seventy million hands
And seventy million voices roar
Thy dreadful name from shore to shore?
With many strengths who art mighty and stored,
To thee I call Mother and Lord!
Though who savest, arise and save!
To her I cry who ever her foeman drove
Back from plain and Sea
And shook herself free.
Thou art wisdom, thou art law,
Thou art heart, our soul, our breath
Though art love divine, the awe
In our hearts that conquers death.
Thine the strength that nervs the arm,
Thine the beauty, thine the charm.
Every image made divine
In our temples is but thine.
Thou art Durga, Lady and Queen,
With her hands that strike and her
swords of sheen,
Thou art Lakshmi lotus-throned,
And the Muse a hundred-toned,
Pure and perfect without peer,
Mother lend thine ear,
Rich with thy hurrying streams,
Bright with thy orchard gleems,
Dark of hue O candid-fair
In thy soul, with jewelled hair
And thy glorious smile divine,
Lovilest of all earthly lands,
Showering wealth from well-stored hands!
Mother, mother mine!
Mother sweet, I bow to thee,
Mother great and free!
————————–
It is probably the most powerful and the most beautiful odoration for the Motherland which I ever heard…
LOVE; axinia
A very special film – and this great poem, THANK YOU!
thats a really great poem.
Axinia, thank you! 🙂
Vande Mataram is indeed a beautiful song dedicated to the Motherland.
In many countries, including India, citizens call the country as the Motherland. In other countries, like Russia and France (to name just two that I am aware of), the country is called as the Fatherland. This does baffle me 😕
As a person who knows a lot about two countries that give a different gender to their land, I guess you can write a post on this for your ShaktiPower blog. 🙂
thanks, An alien Earthlin.
Let me humbly correct you that you probably mistaken Russia for Germany – it is Germany which calles its Land “fatherland” (Vaterland). For France I am not sure, I guess you are right. Faterland sounds indeed strange, for the land itself is normally felt like the part of the Mother-Eearth, a feminine nature…That is indeed a mystery. I may follow your suggestion and write on it on Shaktipower blog 🙂
Thanks for correcting me, Axinia.
Till today, I believed the Russians called their country as Motherland . . . you also wrote about the Mother Motherland Statue in Russia in another post, but I read this line in Russia’s National Anthem on the Wikipedia link you gave:
Славься, Отечество наше свободное
(Be glorious, our free Fatherland)
After your reply, I went to the link again and discovered this line in Russia’s National Anthem:
Нам силу даёт наша верность Отчизне
(Our devotion to our Motherland gives us strength)
I guess Russians honour both the mother and the father equally! 🙂
Looks like Motherland and Fatherland are used in different countries:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Motherland
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fatherland
So sweet of you Axinia to think of us Indian readers. Thank you! Vande Mataram is my favourite patriotic song.
Beautiful Axinia!! Thanx.
Sooo thoughtful of you, dear friend.
Indeed, patriotism is one of the highest emotions.
Patriotism is love.
(The video you selected is very appropriate.)
VANDE MATRAM
GARV SE KAHO HUM HIDUSTANI HAIN.
HAPPY INDEPENDENCE DAY
If I were to ever erect a flag upon land, it would not be for a nation, but for all of humanity. We are all one. =)
India is my motherland too (I from Austria) put my spiriual home is
there
Thank You!!! You make it sound better…
Thank you Axinia!!!
That was very nice of you.
Wish you, your family and all your blog readers “Peace, Love and Happiness”.
Thanks Axinia…:)….Vande Mataram!!!….
I see you as the one celebrating true sense of freedom 🙂 (not only for a particular country….thats how our flag was designed,if I am correct….to depict the true sense of freedom of not only India but also world)
thank you, Ramya, I do celebrate the true sense of Freedom, for Everyone! – which I believe starts with the freedom at heart and mind.
@axinia:) thanks for the translation 🙂 i like listening to various national anthems 🙂
@raj: thanks for the links 🙂
Very sweet of you. Thanks 🙂
Awaiting your visit 🙂
Moonlight Links…
Tagged your site as moonlight at iLinkShare!…
А что, неплохо!