Quote by Rabindranath Tagore that states "A mind all logic is like a knife all

blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it"?

What's the point of this quote by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore?

A mind all logic is like knife all blade. It bleeds the hand that uses it. I had to read the quote
once, twice and thrice and then was I able to graph out the meaning of syllables. This is what a
quote should be, no cheesy dialogue no extensive use of verbs, just plain simple “logic”

Let's work on the quote, quote is quite confusing at first, I'm not driven by impulse which made
me sit down and look at it with ease, otherwise It could have been pronounced grammatically
incorrect by an intellectual.

Let's now break the quote into three parts.

First:- A mind all logic.

A mind which is fully governed by logic, without any fundamental knowledge about the topic on
which decision is made.

Second:- Is like a knife all blade.

What is more useful blade of knife or its handle? Both equally. The writer (used for sake of
writing the answer) Is now drawing a connection between the two phrases linked by the
conjunction “is”. A parallel has been drawn which suggests logic could only be so much
important that it can't overrule the need of having knowledge about the think.

Third:- Makes the hand that uses it bleed.

No platonic explanation needed here, it's quite simple and easy to understand if you have
understood what was said before. Now both the sentences earlier are compared to an reaction.

What would you expect squeezing the blade of knife with your hand? Blood! While for the
other sentence we can assume blood to be symbolic to “pain”.

I must admit this is one of the best pieces of phrases I have ever seen, make no independent
sense, but cumulatively mean the world.

A mind working on logic without humane values such as compassion, sympathy, empathy, care,
respect, love, etc. is exactly like a sharp knife that will cut all those who will mishandle it.
Without the above mentioned values human mind becomes evil. In place of the good values, it
operates under the influence of nefarious and immoral tendencies such as greed, malice,
jealousy, hatred, selfishness, etc., which always harm others and give deeper cuts than a real
knife.

Often we judge people without knowing their situations or circumstances. It is our logical mind
that sets up the standard to judge each and everyone we meet in our lives. Logical people
thinks logically without being concerned about how other people would feel or think.

As they say, too much of anything causes harm. A knife all blade can ease the work but it
reduces the probability of people choosing those knifes because none will think of hurting
themselves for ease. The same way, being too logical can ease your life to take decisions, but at
some point of time it increases the probability of afflicting pain to yourself and your tribe.

Being Logical is a value that should be followed in life. But it is not the ‘only value’ that should
be followed.

In conclusion, we can say that we must not carry the sharpness of cold logic in our minds only;
we should call the warmth of love and compassion in it too.

When your knife has no handle, you have no way to hold it or use it. It simply cuts your hand.
When you are all logic, you have no compassion and no creativity. You have no way to use your
logic and it simply becomes a way to hurt yourself or others. There is no logic in compassion, in
art, in music.

Logic without a balance can become a destructive force. Logically speaking that is.

By : Jatin Sharma

MBA 2018-2020