In the poem "Where the Mind Is Without Fear," what is the explanation of the lines "Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way / Into...

In "Where the Mind is Without Fear," Tagore hopes people will take an active role in making decisions that define the world and their place in it.

The vision that Tagore reveals in "Where the Mind is Without Fear" is steeped in contrasts.  His fears counter his hopes.  For example, when he wishes to see that "the clear stream of reason has not lost its way," it reflects how he wants people to make informed...

In "Where the Mind is Without Fear," Tagore hopes people will take an active role in making decisions that define the world and their place in it.

The vision that Tagore reveals in "Where the Mind is Without Fear" is steeped in contrasts.  His fears counter his hopes.  For example, when he wishes to see that "the clear stream of reason has not lost its way," it reflects how he wants people to make informed and substantive decisions. Tagore envisions the "clear stream of reason" as people caring about what affects them.  He wants people to use their voice to take action.  This image is contrasted with the "dreary desert sand of dead habit." Tagore sees the informed and active way that people can make their decisions as the opposite of simply conforming to external standards. We can see this in Tagore's use of "dead habit." For Tagore, when people passively make decisions, it resembles a "dreary desert."  This is the opposite of the "clear stream" of his hopes.

Tagore is terrified by a world where people are alienated and withdrawn.  He rejects a world where people do not use their voice to make decisions.  When Tagore seeks to avoid "the dreary desert of dead habit," he wants people to use reason to actively guide their voice as they take meaningful action.