l RABINDRANATH TAGORE [1861-1941] Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, mystic, painter and Nobel laureate for literature i s among the

leading personalities of Modern India. He was awarded the Nobel priz e in Literature for his collection of well known poems Gitanjali. Early years of Rabindranath Tagore Born in Calcutta on May 7, 1861, Rabindranath was the youngest of fourteen child ren. His father, Debendranath Tagore, was a Sanskrit scholar and a leading membe r of the Brahmo Samaj. Rabindranath's early education was imparted at home. In s chool, while others use to learn their lessons, he would slip into more exciting world of dreams. Inspired by his older nephew, he wrote his first poem when he was hardly seven. At the age of seventeen, his first book of poems was published . In 1878, he went to England for further studies but returned back in just seve nteen months as he did not find the studies interesting. Rabindranath now started devoting most of his time to writing poems, plays, shor t stories and novels. In 1883, he got married to Mrinalini Devi. He taught his w ife Bengali and Sanskrit. Period of 1891-1900 This period saw Tagore publish a series of works, many based on the traditional village society of contemporary Bengal. In 1891, Rabindranath went to Shileida a nd Sayadpur to manage his father's estates. Living among the rural poor, he beca me acutely sensitive to their hardships. Many of the Tagore's themes centre arou nd village life, introduction of 'western' elements, and their natural surroundi ngs. His 1912 collection Galpa Guccha is based completely on rural Bengal. His o ther notable works in this period include Sonar tari, Kalpana and Chitra. Shantiniketan, Gitanjali and the Freedom Movements Tagore was keenly aware of India's socio-political condition under British rule. He supported the Swadeshi movement and had been deeply influenced by the religi ous renaissance of 19th century India. Coming out strongly against orthodox ritu alism he wrote, "Leave this chanting and singing and telling of beads! Whom dost than worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut? Open t hine eyes and see thy God is not before thee!" (Vs 11, Gitanjali) In 1901, Tagore established Shantiniketan, (near Bolpur, Bengal) an institution blending Indian and Western methods of education. Tragically, between 1902 and 1907, Tagore lost his wife, son ad daughter. But ou t of his pain emerged some of his most tender work, including "Gitanjali", publi shed in 1910. This collection of verses, translated into English by the poet him self, non Tagore the 1913 Nobel Prize for Literature. Two years later, Tagore wa s knighted by the British Empire. But in 1919, the horror of the Jallianwalla Bagh massacre stunned Tagore and he renounced his title. In a letter to the Viceroy he wrote, "The disproportionate severity of the punishment inflicted upon the unfortunate people and the method of carrying it out, we are convinced, are without parallel in the history of civ ilized governments and these are the reasons which have painfully compelled me t o ask your Excellency to relieve me of my title.. " Tagore remained a true patri ot, supporting the national movement and writing the lyrics of the "Jana Gana Ma na", which is India's national anthem. Between 1916 and 1941, Tagore published 21 collections of songs and poems and he ld lecture tours across Europe, the Americas, China, Japan, Malaya, Indonesia et

c ... In 1924, he inaugurated the VISVA BHARATI UNIVERSITY at Shantiniketan, an All India Centre for culture. Tagore died in Calcutta on 7th August, 1941. Tagore's works are classics, renowned for then lyrical beauty and spiritual poig nancy. He is remembered for his literary genius and Shantiniketan remains flouri shing institute. In Tagore's own words, "The world speaks to me in colours, my s oul answers in music". Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore was a creative epoch in whose wake, great legions of inspired writers, poets, singers, musicians, linguists, historians, artists and philosophers emerged in India. Tagore, despite the fact that he wrote mainly in Bengali, was the living voice of India. The extent of his influence on Bengali culture was so vast that no meaningful account is possible in the space of an ar ticle. The prohibitive and virtually impossible task of presenting Tagore s suprem e mastery in any other medium outside Bengali remains a major stumbling block. T o accomplish this, access to the translations and interpretations of Tagore s work should be broadened and not held back. Tagore s genius, as well as, his human lim itations in the areas of his life and works must be critically evaluated and not stashed away in a forgotten iron safe of presumed perfectionism. Speech (lecture) in China during tour (1924), published in China (1925), Visva Bharati Quarterly (1949), Boundless Sky (1964). A Chinese author writes : The terrible tragic aspect of the situation in China is that, while the Chinese nation is called upon to throw away its own civilizatio n and adopt the civilization of modern Europe, there is not one single educated man in the whole Empire who has the remotest idea of what this modern European c ivilization really is." The word civilization being a European word, we have hardly yet taken the trouble to find out its real meaning. For over a century we have accepted it, as we may accept a gift horse, with perfect trust, never caring to count its teeth. Only v ery lately we have begun to wonder if we realize in its truth what the western p eople mean when they speak of civilization. We ask ourselves, Has it the same mea ning as some word in our own language which denotes for us the idea of human per fection ? Civilization cannot merely be a growing totality of happenings that by chance ha ve assumed a particular shape and tendency which we consider to be excellent. It must be the expression of some guiding moral force which we have evolved in our society for the object of attaining perfection. The word perfection has a simple and definite meaning when applied to an inanimate thing, or even to a creature w hose life has principally a biological significance. But man being complex and a lways on the path of transcending himself, the meaning of the word perfection as a pplied to him, cannot be crystallised into an inflexible idea. This has made it possible for different races to have different shades of definition for this ter m. The Sanskrit word dharma is the nearest synonym in our own language, that occurs to me, for the word civilization. In fact, we have no other word except perhaps some newly-coined one, lifeless and devoid of atmosphere. The specific meaning of dharma is that principle which holds us firm together and leads us to our bes t welfare. The radical meaning of this word is the essential quality of a thing We have for over a century been dragged by the prosperous West behind its chario t, choked by the dust, deafened by the noise, humbled by our own helplessness, a nd overwhelmed by the speed. We agreed to acknowledge that this chariot-drive wa s progress, and that progress was civilization. If we ever ventured to ask, Progr ess towards what, and progress for whom ? it was considered to be peculiarly and

ridiculously oriental to entertain such doubts about the absoluteness of progres s. Of late, a voice has come to us bidding us to take count not only of the scie ntific perfection of the chariot but of the depth of the ditches lying across it s path In India we have a species of Sanskrit poem in which all the complex grammatical rules are deliberately illustrated. This produces continual sparks of delight i n the minds of some readers, who, even in a work of art, seek some tangible proo f of power, almost physical in its manifestation. This shows that by special cul tivation a kind of mentality can be produced which is capable of taking delight in the mere spectacle of power, manipulating materials, forgetting that material s have no value of their own. We see the same thing in the modern Western world where progress is measured by the speed with which materials are multiplying. Th eir measure by horse-power is one before which spirit-power has made itself humb le. Horse-power drives, spirit-power sustains. That which drives is called the p rinciple of progress, that which sustains we call dharma; and this word dharma I believe should be translated as civilization Western society, for some ages, had for its central motive force a great spiritual ideal and not merely an impetus to progress. It had its religious faith which was actively busy in bringing abou t reconciliation among the conflicting forces of society. What it held to be of immense value was the perfection of human relationship, to be obtained by contro lling the egoistic instincts of man, and by giving him a philosophy of his funda mental unity. In the course of the last two centuries, however, the West found a ccess to Nature's storehouse of power, and ever since all attention has been irr esistibly drawn in that direction. Its inner ideal of civilization has thus been pushed aside by the love of power . Our living society, which should have dance in its steps, music in its voice, be auty in its limbs, which should have its metaphor in stars and flowers, maintain ing its harmony with God s creation, becomes, under the tyranny of a prolific gree d, like an overladen market-cart, jolting and creaking on the road that leads fr om things to the Nothing, tearing ugly ruts across the green life till it breaks down under the burden of its vulgarity on the wayside, reaching nowhere. For, t his is called Un-reason, as your teacher has said, and Un-reason soon ceases. QUOTATIONS A mind all logic is like a knife all blade. It makes the hand bleed that uses it . Asks the Possible of the Impossible, "Where is your dwelling place ?" "In the dreams of the impotent", comes the answer. Facts are many, but the truth is one. Men are cruel, but Man is kind. A dewdrop is a perfect integrity that has no filial memory of its parentage. Asks the Possible of the Impossible, "Where is your dwelling-place?" "In the dre ams of the Impotent," comes the answer. Beauty is truth's smile when she beholds her own face in a perfect mirror. Bigotry tries to keep truth safe in its hand with a grip that kills it. Children are living beings - more living than grown-up people who have built she lls of habit around themselves. Therefore it is absolutely necessary for their m ental health and development that they should not have mere schools for their le

ssons, but a world whose guiding spirit is personal love. Do not say, "It is morning," and dismiss it with a name of yesterday. See it for the first time as a new-born child that has no name. Love is not a mere impulse, it must contain truth, which is law. Beauty is truth s smile when she beholds her own face in a perfect mirror. Music fills the infinite between the two souls. Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because the daw n has come. Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because the daw n has come. For Complete Life & Biography of RABINDRANATH TAGORE - CLICK HERE

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