Thoughts on education; comprises excerpts from his writings and an exhaustive study on his educational philosophy.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941), at about the start of the nineteenth century, was advocat‐ ing that the study about religion has to be included in university‐level education in the East. The university he envisioned and founded (Visva‐Bharati) included in its curriculum such a study. Shortly a er India’s regaining independence in 1947 and becoming a secular state, that institution was inaugurated as a central university with an advanced institute for philosophy and the study of religion. This essay answers whether his (...) understanding of studying religion would accommodate the approach to the academic study of religion associated with the mod‐ ern Western research university. It also inquires the extent that the curriculum for the study of religion at Visva‐Bharati evidences such an approach. The answers it advances draw primarily on his two essays, Eastern University and Hindu University, which o er his vision of univer‐ sity level education; on commissioned reports for higher level education in the new India as a secular state; on developments in the academic study of religion in the West, especially the United States; on the relatively recent revised curriculum for such a study at Visva‐Bharati University; and on ideas of social imaginary and the comparative study of religion articulated by Western scholars. (shrink)

The most of Tagore’s ideas expressed in his books and usual writings that draw attention by the Tagore’s scholars, a layman/woman cannot connect easily. The letters focused in this article are written in a simple language, though personal, rooted in daily experiences of Tagore himself—he shares in a very simple and lucid language. Often, the charges against Tagore’s philosophy are made that he is too idealistic and beyond realization. The paper attempts to argue based on these (...) letters that his ideas are not that idealistic and are deeply rooted in the daily life of human beings and can be realized. Tagore’s concern is to find out the basis of the religion that unites human beings, and he is searching for it in the truth of man’s nature. Tagore realizes that teaching of religion can never be imparted in the form of lessons, but he finds it in the living personality of man. This article is trying to concentrate on the letters Tagore had written to Indira Devi and Hemantabala Devi, expressing his religious thinking. The eagerness to realize the unity of the soul of man and universe with the Universal Man expressed the letters to Indira Devi. The criticism towards the blind faiths of Hinduism and image worship focuses on the letters to Hemantabala Devi. Many essential documents are expressing the religious thinking of Tagore, but these letters are the purest expressions of him and reflect a live image of Tagore’s mind. (shrink)

Rabindranath Tagore is remembered today chiefly as a poet, and his fame as a poet has often eclipsed his great contributions to other fields of literature and life — especially education. Tagore pondered deeply on the fundamental problems of education — aims, curriculum, method, discipline, values and medium — and wrote and experimented on them freely and extensively. Tagore is perhaps the only literary genius in contemporary history who devoted a major part of his life to thinking (...) about education and creating an educational institution of international significance. Also, the institution he created at Santiniketan proved to be the most global and sustainable among the progressive educational institutions launched by individual thinkers such as Froebel and Russell. This edition revives a classic work, the first comprehensive, full-length account of Tagore’s educational thought and activity, commemorating his 150th birth anniversary. It presents a detailed chronological survey of Tagore’s educational writings and institutional activities in the perspective of his life and thought in general. The book also contains a detailed review and critical discussion on almost all major aspects of his educational work. Through an overall evaluation of Tagore’s unique contribution to education and his message to the world, it seeks to correct some common misconceptions that have existed from time to time about Santiniketan and Visva-Bharati. The book will help form a more complete view of Tagore’s life and work, filling as it does the gaps and voids in the literature that has grown around him, and reinforcing its relevance today. It will be of value to educationists, teachers, policymakers, those interested in modern Indian history and philosophy of education._ _. (shrink)

This critical volume addresses the question of Rabindranath Tagore's relevance for postmodern and postcolonial discourse in the twenty-first century. The volume includes contributions by leading contemporary scholars on Tagore and analyses Tagore's literature, music, theatre, aesthetics, politics and art against contemporary theoretical developments in postcolonial literature and social theory. The authors take up themes as varied as the implications of Tagore's educational vision for contemporary India; new theoretical interpretations of gender, queer elements, feminism and subalternism in (...) Tagore's literary and social expressions; his language use as a vehicle for a dialogue between positivism, Orientalism and other constructs in the ongoing process of globalization; the nature of the influence of Tagore's music and literature on national and cultural identity formation, particularly in Bengal and Bangladesh; and intersubjectivity and critical modernity in Tagore's art. This volume opens up a space for Tagore's critique and his creative innovations in present theoretical engagements. (shrink)

This volume discusses the development of the dialogue between Tagore (1861-1941) and Gandhi (1869-1948) during 1915 and 1941, about many things of personal, national, and international significance---satyagraha, non-cooperation, the boycott and burning of foreign cloth, the efficacy of fasting as a means of resistance and Gandhi's mantra connecting "swaraj" and "charkha". The author, Bindu Puri, argues that the debate was about more fundamental issues, such as the nature of truth and swaraj/freedom and the possibilities of untruth that Tagore (...) saw in Gandhi's movements for truth and freedom. Puri shows that the differences between the two men's perspectives came from differently negotiated relationships to (and understandings of) tradition and modernity. Tagore was part of the Bengal renaissance and powerfully influenced by the idea that the Enlightenment consisted in the freedom of the individual to reason for herself. Gandhi, on the other hand, remained close to the Indian philosophical tradition which linked individual freedom to moral progress. Puri points out that Tagore cannot, however, be unreflectively assimilated to the Enlightenment project of Western modernity, for he came fairly close to Gandhi in rejecting the anthropocentricism of modernity and shared Gandhi's belief in an enchanted cosmos. The only single-authored volume on the Tagore-Gandhi debate, this book is a welcome addition to the existing literature. (shrink)

Very few studies are available to understand the philosophical views of Rabindranath Tagore in the light of his attitude and realization of Islam vis-à-vis idea of universalism. Fact remains that the Islamic civilization has thoroughly been recognized in the academic circles but its depth and learning have not been studied up to expectation. European historians and philosophers seem to be hesitant to acknowledge the contribution of Islamic civilization over the centuries. Even a majority of Eastern scholars are critical (...) about welcoming the actual merit of Islam. Rabindranath Tagore being one of the brightest stars in the galaxy of poets and writers made a serious study on the philosophy and writings of many Muslim thinkers and ultimately brought to our notice an extraordinary feeling about Islamic ideas and philosophy. Rabindranth Tagore seems to have sought the inner meaning of Islam and developed a kind of value- based attitude towards human life and the universe. It is likely that through his Gitanjali and Religion of Man in particular were presented with an objective to stimulate and guide men in search of Ultimate Truth and Oneness of God. It is said that Rabindranth Tagore was acquainted with the verses of the Qur‟an in his childhood and in this respect his father Maharishi Devendranath Tagore imbibed in him many theological aspects of Islam as a religion. The paper intends to explore how Tagore was influenced by Islam and as a poet-thinker he nurtured the idea of eternal truth from the Upanishads, the Tripitakas as well as the Bible and through a particular discipline and inner uplift he came to the conclusion that aggregate of essentials of diversity cannot be judged in the light of mere logic and arguments. This feeling seems to have prompted Tagore to find out the inner truth of the universe and side by side to propagate the idea of universal humanism throughout the world. Philosophy and Progress, Vol#61-62; No#1-2; Jan-Dec 2017 P 53-66. (shrink)

"The nature of reality has been a long-debated issue among scientists and philosophers. Rabindranath Tagore met Albert Einstein at the latter's house in Kaputh, Germany on 14th July 1930 and had a long conversation on the nature of reality. This conversation has been widely quoted and discussed by scientists, philosophers and scholars from the literary world. The important question that Tagore and Einstein discussed was whether the world is a unity dependent on humanity, or the world is a (...) reality independent on the human factor. Einstein took the stand adopted that reality is something independent of the mind and the human factor. On the other hand, Tagore adopted the opposite view. Nevertheless, both Einstein and Tagore claimed to be realists--their conceptions of reality were obviously fundamentally different. Where does the difference lie? Can it be harmonized at some deeper level? Can Wittgenstein, for example, be a bridge between the two views? This volume consists of a selection of scholarly essays from the points of view of literature and philosophy and history and brings together for the first time a gamut of views on this important subject from scholars of eminence. It will be useful for scholars and researchers of philosophy, literature, history and political studies"--. (shrink)

in this article I tried to show the present scenario of educational structure of India which is far away from the vision of Tagorean Brahmacharyasram.

This book provides an analytical understanding of some of Tagore’s most contested and celebrated works and ideas. It reflects on his critique of nationalism, aesthetic worldview, and the idea of ‘surplus in man’ underlying his life and works. It discusses the creative notion of surplus that stands not for ‘profit’ or ‘value’, but for celebrating human beings’ continuous quest for reaching out beyond one’s limits. It highlights, among other themes, how the idea of being ‘Indian’ involves stages of evolution (...) through a complex matrix of ideals, values and actions—cultural, historical, literary and ideological. Examining the notion of the ‘universal’, contemporary scholars come together in this volume to show how ‘surplus in man’ is generated over the life of concrete particulars through creativity. The work brings forth a social scientific account of Tagore’s thoughts and critically reconstructs many of his epochal ideas. Lucid in analysis and bolstered with historical reflection, this book will be a major intervention in understanding Tagore’s works and its relevance for the contemporary human and social sciences. It will interest scholars and researchers of philosophy, literature and cultural studies. (shrink)

Discussions on the nature of reality between Albert Einstein and Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali poet, philosopher and Nobel laureate, have provoked interest among both physicists and philosophers since their first publication in 1930/31. This article points out their relevance to past and present debates about the meaning of quantum mechanics.

The book is a thematic study of Tagore's conceptual project of harmonizing the one and its many across several fields such as spirituality, aesthetics, social existence, and others.

Ludwig Wittgenstein's interest in the writings of Rabindranath Tagore, is recognized among scholars worldwide though little has been written on his fascination with Tagore's poetry and symbolic plays. In Language, Limits, and Beyond, Priyambada Sarkar explores Tagore and Wittgenstein's philosophical arguments on the concept of 'threshold of language and meaning', highlighting the systematic connections between Tagore's canon and Wittgenstein's early works. Situatingher study in the early 1900s, when Tagore's poetry had just become available in Europe, (...) Sarkar finds similarities between Tagore's and Wittgenstein's exploration of the limits of language. She argues that Wittgenstein's early philosophy can be better understood when juxtaposed with Tagore.Drawing parallels between the worlds of philosophy and poetry, Sarkar identifies the point of convergence of their two philosophies in the realm of language, tracing how they reach surprisingly similar conclusions through entirely different paths of inquiry. Sarkar finally claims that such important points of contact will help one to arrange the pieces of the Tractarian jigsaw puzzle in a manner where all the pieces of logic, language, world, and the mystical will fall into place and form acoherent picture. (shrink)

This book brings together the political thought of Gandhi and Tagore to examine the relationship between politics, truth and conscience. It explores truth and conscience as viable public virtues with regard to two exemplars of ethical politics, addressing in turn the concerns of an evolving modern Indian political community. The comprehensive and textually argued discussion frames the subject of the validity of ethical politics in inhospitable contexts such as the fanatically despotic state and energised nationalism. The book studies (...) in nuanced detail Tagore’s opposition to political violence in colonial Bengal, the scope of non-violence and _satyagraha_ as recommended by Gandhi to Jews in Nazi Germany, his response to the complexity of protest against the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, and the differently constituted nationalism of Gandhi and Tagore. It presents their famous debate in a new light, embedded within the dynamics of cultural identification, political praxis and the capacity of a community to imbibe the principles of ethical politics. Comprehensive and perceptive in analysis, this book will be a valuable addition for scholars and researchers of political science with specialisation in Indian political thought, philosophy and history. Gangeya Mukherji is Reader in English at Mahamati Prannath Mahavidyalaya, Mau-Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh, India. (shrink)

The Indian, Rabindranath Tagore, and the American, Ralph Waldo Emerson, were poets and lecturers with a philosophical bent whose insights sprang from a common grounding in absolute idealism and who played a prominent role as public sages in the cultural renaissance of their countries. They are perfect figures for comparative study. Yeager Hudson pursues that study with appropriate familiarity, willingness to expound the intricacy, and admirably equitable judgment. He doubly rewards the general reader by introducing us to each of (...) the philosophical thinkers and to both as related and contrasting. It is agreeable to follow the philosophical balance sheet dressed for each master under the several headings of epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and aesthetics. Paired epigraphs piquantly open each chapter, and Hudson gathers remarkable quotations from both authors to feed his analysis. The flavor of Tagore and Emerson emerges from these pages. Hudson astutely recognizes Emerson’s genius as writer in the rhetorical mode, rather than, as with Tagore, in the lyrical. Emerson excels as essayist, Tagore as storyteller. (shrink)

The Indian, Rabindranath Tagore, and the American, Ralph Waldo Emerson, were poets and lecturers with a philosophical bent whose insights sprang from a common grounding in absolute idealism and who played a prominent role as public sages in the cultural renaissance of their countries. They are perfect figures for comparative study. Yeager Hudson pursues that study with appropriate familiarity, willingness to expound the intricacy, and admirably equitable judgment. He doubly rewards the general reader by introducing us to each of (...) the philosophical thinkers and to both as related and contrasting. It is agreeable to follow the philosophical balance sheet dressed for each master under the several headings of epistemology, metaphysics, ethics, politics, and aesthetics. Paired epigraphs piquantly open each chapter, and Hudson gathers remarkable quotations from both authors to feed his analysis. The flavor of Tagore and Emerson emerges from these pages. Hudson astutely recognizes Emerson’s genius as writer in the rhetorical mode, rather than, as with Tagore, in the lyrical. Emerson excels as essayist, Tagore as storyteller. (shrink)

The British Romantics and American Transcendentalists were deeply influenced by translations of Indian philosophical and literary texts. These writers in turn influenced English-educated Indians in the late colonial period. Living at opposite ends of the globe at different times and in vastly different societies, Thoreau and Tagore, in different but overlapping ways, drew on the Hindu concept of rebirth to explore human relationships with non-human animals. This essay presents an overview of their imaginative forays in this regard, and examines (...) in particular Thoreau’s translation of an extract from the ancient Sanskrit text, the Harivaṃsha and Tagore’s story Strīr Patra (A Wife’s Letter). (shrink)

This is the first one-volume guide in English, or indeed in Bengali, to the full spectrum of Tagore's multi-faceted genius. It has two parts: critical surveys of the chief sectors of his artistic output and its reception; specialized studies of particular topics. The authors are among the leading Tagore experts from India and abroad. They have drawn upon all relevant material in Bengali, English, and other languages, including the entire body of untranslated Bengali works that comprise the (...) greater part of Tagore's oeuvre. They have also considered the historical and cultural context of his time. The book includes an index of all primary works cited, with full details of their complex history of transmission, and a reading list for Tagore studies in English. It will be an indispensable guide for all scholars, students and informed general readers, even those who can access Tagore in Bengali. (shrink)

ABSTRACT This article explores Rabindranath Tagore’s vision of the future, continuously engaged with and drawing from the past, in relation to my own creative practice as theatre and film director, curator, and singer-performer, a practice that continuously engages with the resonances of Tagorean utopia. Through three case studies from the author’s creative engagement with Tagore’s utopia, the article explores the building of transcultural utopias in which Tagore and Leonard Elmhirst participated and how Dartington Hall rapidly became (...) a magnet for artists, writers, philosophers, and musicians; Tagore’s opera Tasher Desh, a powerful political satire on fascism/free will; and the author’s feature film Life Goes On and the Tagorean construct of the absent-present mother figure. (shrink)

This essay is a study on national self-determination and justice from the differing perspectives of John Rawls and Rabindranath Tagore. Both thinkers have addressed the problem of conflict caused by national loyalties. Influenced by Immanuel Kant’s philosophy of cosmopolitanism, John Rawls articulates the “Law of People” that suggests that mutual consent consists in economic interdependence among nations and tolerance for cultural diversity under monitored conditions of the international relations. Such an arrangement is not inclusive as it excludes the subaltern (...) perspectives and reinforces the hierarchies between East and West. Tagore offers post-colonial versions of nationalism and cosmopolitanism that call for a creative and spiritual unity of nations through cultural exchange where each is equal in dialogue. The essay makes a case for Tagore’s cosmopolitanism being more inclusive than Rawls, yet, limited in its accommodation of the “other” as Tagore’s creative unity domesticates this “other” on the basis of spiritual familiarity. The essay also critiques Martha Nussbaum’s cosmopolitanism that suggests reconciliation of both. It makes a case for a paradoxical understanding of hospitality, friendship and otherness theorized by Jacques Derrida as the basis of self-determination and global justice. (shrink)

Unabashedly metaphysical in his treatment of aesthetics, F. W. J. Schelling’s lectures are a bold effort to fill a gap in his system of Idealistic philosophy. He had to treat the philosophy of art because “Philosophy is absolutely and essentially one: it cannot be subdivided”. The titanic system that Schelling insists on bringing on stage to study art is enough to frighten the wits out of current-day aestheticians. The theoretical movement here is downward from the Olympian heights of absolutism through (...) a rigorous deduction toward works of art. The system never quite gets to particular works of art. This sounds mad. The intimacy of aesthetic experience and the delightful particularity of works of art are beclouded by such grandiose theorizing. (shrink)

Creative Unity This book is a result of an effort made by us towards making a contribution to the preservation and repair of original classic literature. In an attempt to preserve, improve and recreate the original content, we have worked towards: 1. Type-setting & Reformatting: The complete work has been re-designed via professional layout, formatting and type-setting tools to re-create the same edition with rich typography, graphics, high quality images, and table elements, giving our readers the feel of holding a (...) 'fresh and newly' reprinted and/or revised edition, as opposed to other scanned & printed (Optical Character Recognition - OCR) reproductions. 2. Correction of imperfections: As the work was re-created from the scratch, therefore, it was vetted to rectify certain conventional norms with regard to typographical mistakes, hyphenations, punctuations, blurred images, missing content/pages, and/or other related subject matters, upon our consideration. Every attempt was made to rectify the imperfections related to omitted constructs in the original edition via other references. However, a few of such imperfections which could not be rectified due to intentional\unintentional omission of content in the original edition, were inherited and preserved from the original work to maintain the authenticity and construct, relevant to the work. We believe that this work holds historical, cultural and/or intellectual importance in the literary works community, therefore despite the oddities, we accounted the work for print as a part of our continuing effort towards preservation of literary work and our contribution towards the development of the society as a whole, driven by our beliefs. We are grateful to our readers for putting their faith in us and accepting our imperfections with regard to preservation of the historical content. HAPPY READING! (shrink)

Hindu mystic, poet, teacher, Nobel prize winner, Rabindranath Tagore stands among the greatest of Asiatic poets of all time. William Butler Yeats says that this 19th century writer "like Chaucer's Forerunners, writes music for his words and (that he) is so abundant, so spontaneous, so daring in his passon, and so full of surprise". John Alden Carpenter, the noted American composer, has set several of these beautiful lyrics to music.

One of India's most famous writers offers an articulate and accessible introduction to Indian spirituality. This collection of essays by Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore is based on a lecture series he presented at Harvard University. Oriented towards a Western readership, the essays examine different aspects of Indian culture and philosophy. They address as their central concerns the relationship between humanity and the divine, the ultimate goal of human existence, and how this goal can be achieved. An author whose creative (...) works are infused with spirituality, Tagore is uniquely qualified to communicate the sacred underpinnings of Indian life to the outsider. Sadhana is an enjoyable and edifying read. (shrink)

The relation of the individual to the universe.--Soul consciousness.--The problem of evil.--The problem of self.--Realisation in love.--Realisation in action.--The realisation of beauty.--The realisation of the infinite.

ABSTRACT This article focuses on the transcultural utopian imaginings of futures in early twentieth-century India and Britain, with Indian poet Rabindranath Tagore, anticolonial politician M. K. Gandhi, and British Christian activist C. F. Andrews at the center. Homing in on two trips made to England by Tagore and Gandhi, especially their visits to Woodbrooke Quaker College in Birmingham, and on Gandhi’s visit to Lancashire, the article shows how British Christian and Quaker utopians and Indian utopians cooperated with each (...) other. The article excavates the utopian experiments of Corder Catchpool, also a Quaker, in Darwen, Lancashire, where Gandhi stayed. Religion should be accorded an important place in our understanding of utopia, the article argues. A human propensity to create a paradoxical sense of futurity that does not negate the past, one that Tagore highlights in The Religion of Man, is found in all the utopians discussed. (shrink)

The Major Part Of The Study Is An Analysis Of The Development Of An Educational Theory And Praxis--A Practical Activity Shared By The Three Great Reformers, Tagore, Gandhi And Aurobindo. The Work Reveals That All Of Them Were Consistent In Their Self Under-Standing And In Their Articulation Of The Nature Of Man And The Building Of Future Humanity Through Education. The Three Reformers Offer A Challenge To Both East And West As We Enter A New Age In Both Religion (...) And Education With The Twenty-First Century Pressing Upon Us. (shrink)

This is a review of Guh'as magnum opus which honestly problematises Tagore's Mussolini episode.

On philosophy and Christian theology of humankind as perceived by Toba-Batak people in Sumatera Utara, Indonesia.

Collected essays publ. in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of Tagore's birth.

Rabindranath Tagore, Nobel laureate, one of the greatest figures in world literature Focus on nationalism and education, themes of topical relevance Includes critical introduction and select bibliography Fits in with our clutch of books on Tagore.