# Poverty and Humility in Gitanjali

> Theme guide for Gitanjali by Rabindranath Tagore.

Spiritual wealth is found in simplicity and humility; the poet embraces poverty as a dowry and finds God among the poorest, lowliest, and lost, rejecting material pride and finery.

## Where it surfaces

- [III](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gitanjali_se/chapters/iii): The poet sits like a beggar maid, drawing her skirt over her face, embodying humility and poverty of spirit.
- [VIII](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gitanjali_se/chapters/viii): The 'healthful dust of the earth' and the 'great fair of common human life' are valued over the isolating luxury of princely robes.
- [IX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gitanjali_se/chapters/ix): The imagery of the beggar at his own door and the rejection of desire's unclean gifts underscores humility.
- [The Footstool of the Divine](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gitanjali_se/chapters/x): The divine is found among the poorest, lowliest, and lost, and pride cannot approach that depth.
- [XXXVI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gitanjali_se/chapters/xxxvi): The prayer begins with a plea to strike at the root of penury in the heart and includes a resolve never to disown the poor.
- [XLI](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gitanjali_se/chapters/xli): The poet embraces poverty as her dowry, sitting like a beggar maid, drawing her skirt over her face in humility and shame.
- [XLIX](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gitanjali_se/chapters/xlix): The poet sings in a corner of a humble cottage, and the Divine chooses this simple setting over the grand hall, highlighting the value of humility.
- [The Beggar's Gift](https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gitanjali_se/chapters/l): The poet's beggarly state and the divine's request highlight the virtue of giving from one's poverty.

## Links

- HTML: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gitanjali_se/themes/poverty_and_humility
- Themes index: https://www.betterreads.dev/discover/gitanjali_se/themes