As preparations are in full swing in Ayodhya for the consecration of the Ram Temple on January 22, 2024, a poem written by Rabindranath Tagore in 1900 is getting circulated widely across social media platforms. This iconic poem, in very many ways, reflects the controversies that have come up with regard to the consecration, including the function’s boycott by spiritual leaders such as the Shankaracharyas. The poem was originally written in Bangla with the title ‘Deeno Daan’ (‘Destitute Donation’). The AIDEM is reproducing the poem’s Translation in English and Tamil along with. The Tamil translation is by R Vijaya Sankar, Group Editor of The AIDEM.

There is No God in that Temple, A Poem by Rabindranath Tagore

“There is no god in that temple”, said the Saint.

The King was enraged;

“No God? Oh Saint, aren’t you speaking like an atheist?

On that throne studded with priceless gems, beams the golden idol,

And yet, you proclaim that it is empty?”

“It is not empty; rather, it is full of royal pride.

You have bestowed yourself, oh King, not the God of this world”,

Remarked the saint.

The King frowned, “2 million golden coins

were showered on that grand structure that kisses the sky,

I offered it to the Gods after performing all the necessary rituals,

And you dare claim that in such a grand temple,

There is no presence of God”?

The Saint calmly replied

“In the very year in which twenty million of your subjects were struck by a terrible drought;

The desperate masses without any food or shelter,

came begging at your door crying for help, only to be turned away,

they were forced to take refuge in forests, caves, camping under roadside foliages, derelict old temples;

and in that very year,

when you spent 2 million gold coins to build that grand temple of yours,

that was the day when God pronounced:

‘My eternal home is lit by everlasting lamps,

in the midst of an azure sky.

In my home the foundations are built with the values

of Truth, Peace, Compassion and Love.

This poverty-stricken puny miser,

Who could not provide shelter to his own homeless subjects,

Does he really fancy he can give Me a home?’

That is the day God left that Temple of yours.

And joined the poor beside the roads, under the trees.

Like the emptiness of the froth in the vast seas,

Your mundane temple is hollow.

It is just a bubble of wealth and pride.”

The enraged King howled,

“oh you sham cretin of a person,

Leave my kingdom this instant”.

The Saint replied calmly,

“To the very place to which you have exiled the Divine,

Banish now the devout too”.