Time is endless in thy hands, my lord (Song 82) by Rabindranath Tagore

 

Time is endless in thy hands, my lord (Song 82) by Rabindranath Tagore 

Time is endless in thy hands, my lord. There is none to count thy minutes.

Days and nights pass and ages bloom and fade like flowers. Thou knowest how to wait.

Thy centuries follow each other perfecting a small wild flower.

We have no time to lose, and having no time we must scramble for our chances. We are too poor to be late.

And thus it is that time goes by while I give it to every querulous man who claims it, and thine altar is empty of all offerings to the last.

At the end of the day I hasten in fear lest thy gate be shut; but I find that yet there is time.

Time is endless in thy hands, my lord. There is none to count thy minutes.

 

The poem reflects on the nature of time. In the world of humans, time feels fleeting and always running out. Days, nights, and years slip away quickly. However, God exists beyond the flow of time, in a place that is still and eternal. While God can wait forever, people are always rushing, trying to catch every moment. They’re so pressed for time that they can’t afford even a second of delay.

Because of this constant urgency, people focus on their worldly duties, leaving little to no time for God. The poet realizes he has given all his time to others and has none left for God, leaving His altar empty. Feeling guilty, he hurries to God’s temple, afraid he might find the doors closed. Yet, when he gets there, he sees that the doors are always open because in God’s realm, time is infinite. God is patient, always waiting with open arms for people to turn back to Him.

The poet regrets spending so much time on earthly matters, feeling he’s lost forever. But he finds comfort in knowing that God’s grace is timeless. No matter how long it takes, if he sincerely seeks God’s love, he will find the doors open. The poet feels that he has wasted his words on meaningless things and now has nothing left to offer God. But the moment he remembers God, he realizes that God’s home is always ready to welcome him back. People may get lost in life’s distractions, but whenever they turn to God, they find He has been waiting for them all along, ready to embrace their return.