9.

Bande Mataram...

Mother, I bow to Thee...

This was the original national anthem of India, and the source of profound inspiration in the long struggle for India’s independence.

The lines of the song were written by Bankim Chandra Chatterjee, the greatest novelist of Bengal and one of her men of supreme genius. The song appears in one of his greatest novels, Ananda Math.

No Indian will forget the role that this national song, Bande Mataram, played in the patriotic feeling of the Indian people. It served a Divine purpose in energising them in their long struggle for freedom. From the burning hearts of India’s patriots, its flames of incantation rose high into the sky.

Many different tunes have been put to this song over the years. The present one was composed by a great musician of India, Dilip Kumar Roy.

Sri Chinmoy, Eternity’s Breath, Sri Chinmoy Lighthouse, New York, 1972