the form of a prayer. Tagore is asking that his country may awake into the state he describes. This suggests that, as matters currently stand, the clear stream of reasonhas lost its way into the sand of dead habit, and it is habit that governs people's actions, or lack of them. Tagore's hope for change, however, is predicated on the idea that this habitual passivity is not an endemic state. Habit muddies and blocks the stream of reason, but this may not be so in the future.

The images Tagore uses are themselves hopeful. Habit is not actively malevolent; it is merely sluggish and unimaginative. A sufficient quantity of reason would overcome it, as a river or a cataract would overwhelm the sand where a stream merely dries up. The actions of most people are governed by dead habit now, but this is not a state of affairs that can last forever, precisely because there is no life in habit. It is the water which symbolizes reason that gives life and enables growth.

In this poem, Tagore compares reason in its ideal, perfect state to "a clear stream." In its imperfect state—improperly directed—reason is, Tagore implies, comparable to "a dreary desert sand of dead habit."

A clear stream connotes clarity, movement, and direction. The implication is that reason, in its ideal state, should be clear rather than muddled, lively rather than still, and directed or purposeful rather than purposeless. A stream also eventually "becomes" or feeds a river, which, in turn, eventually becomes or feeds an ocean. Thus the comparison implies that reason purposefully directed will eventually become or feed something bigger than itself, whether that be a bigger thought or a practical application of the initial thought.

On the other hand, a desert is a barren environment, lifeless and still. A desert is a hostile environment for life just as a mind that is lifeless and still is a hostile environment for thought. A desert, unlike a stream, also does not obviously become anything bigger than itself.

In response to your second question, I think the poem implies that our actions are governed by both the clear, purposeful reasoning symbolized by the stream and by the still, lifeless reasoning symbolized by the desert. One might infer that the better actions are governed by the first type of reasoning.

In this poem, Tagore compares reason to a clear stream; this is meant as a very positive image. A clear stream shows what is at its bottom without distortion. It is water we might trust as drinkable. (This poem was written in a time before pesticides were dumped into water.) A clear stream is attractive: its waters help renew us, and it is not deceptive. Tagore says that reason is like this.

He contrasts reason with "dead habit," which he says is like "dreary desert sand." Desert sand does not help, sustain, or renew us—while clear water does. Desert sand is dead and arid.

Tagore wrote his poem when the Indian people were still oppressed under British rule in India. He wanted his people to embrace reason and not be stranded on the desert of dead habit. He believed that if/when the Indian people could get beyond fear and to a place of dignity and knowledge, they would be able to see clearly and find their way to a "heaven of freedom." He urged them to awake from their dead habit and not be held back.