The poet isn't concerned with decent human habits, but rather with 'dead habits' or superstitious beliefs and acts. Tagore likened those old and outdated habits to a gloomy desert that might block a pure water river. Habits are actions that we tend to repeat without thinking about it. They become automatic behaviors that come naturally without requiring much effort. For example, when you go to bed at night, you probably don't stop to think about what time you went to sleep and what time you will wake up in the morning. You just do it automatically: get into bed, turn out the light, and off you go! So, habits are actions that we tend to repeat without thinking about it. Some people say that we all have hundreds of habits but only a few strong ones that last throughout our lives. These are the ones that shape who we are today. Habits can be good or bad depending on how you use them.