The man behind Jana-Gana-Mana
Perhaps the two reasons India still remembers Rabindranath Tagore is his nobel prize and the national anthem. Outside Bengal, his home, he is known very little for what he did to this country and even less for who he was. So here is a small article on the man on his birthday.
1) In his younger years, Rabindranath Tagore attempted to blend spiritual and romantic notions in the human soul and the mystic divine in his poems, before he moved on to write about oppression and imperialism.
2) He was a fierce critic of nationalism. Power, according to him, is a scientific product made in the political laboratory of the nation, through the dissolution of personal humanity. He often compared the world with a hydraulic press which can unleash an impersonal but effective pressure.
3) He was a humanitarian and the voice of the voiceless India. He spoke for the poor and the slaved and firmly believed that rural reconstruction through basic education and application of scientific methods to agriculture was the way to deal with poverty.
4) He travelled extensively throughout his life. He set foot in thirty countries in five different continents.
5) Though he was liberal and open-minded, he was also apprehensive of advancements at the cost of humanity. He wrote, "In the West the national machinery of
commerce and politics turns out neatly compressed bales of humanity which have their use and high market value; but they are bound in iron hoops, labelled and
separated off with scientific care and precision. Obviously God made man to be human; but this modern product has such marvellous square-cut finish, savouring of
gigantic manufacture, that the Creator will find it difficult to recognize it as a thing of spirit and a creature made in His own divine image."
6) He also wrote extensively on western civilization. Though he felt a deep association between the west and the east was necessary, he knew mere mimicking will do no good - "I believe that it does India no good to compete with Western civilization in its own field. But we shall be more than compensated if, in spite of the insults heaped upon us, we follow our own destiny."
7) He also believed in "each nation to its own culture". He wrote, "The culture, which has so kindly adapted itself to our soil—so intimate with life, so human—not only needed tilling and weeding in past ages, but still needs anxious work and watching. What is merely modern—as science and methods of organization—can be transplanted; but what is vitally human has fibres so delicate, and roots so numerous and far-reaching, that it dies when moved from its soil. Therefore I am afraid of the rude pressure of the political ideals of the West upon our own."
8) He fought against untouchability and succeeded in gaining access to Guruvayoor temple for the Dalits.
9) Much like Buddha, he felt abdicating power was the only way to throne humanity. In a letter to Gandhi he wrote, "Power in all it's forms is irrational, - it is like the horse that drags the carriage blindfolded."
10) He was a non-Gandhian in Gandhian times. Though Tagore admired Gandhi immensely and conferred the title "Mahatma" on the latter, he also differed sharply with him on core issues like nationalism, education system(Tagore favoured formal education, Gandhi leaned more towards "hands-on" education) and religion(Tagore favoured science over religion).
11) He renounced his knighthood(conferred upon him in 1915) in 1919, in response to Jallianwalabagh massacre.
#HappyBirthdayGurudev
1) In his younger years, Rabindranath Tagore attempted to blend spiritual and romantic notions in the human soul and the mystic divine in his poems, before he moved on to write about oppression and imperialism.
2) He was a fierce critic of nationalism. Power, according to him, is a scientific product made in the political laboratory of the nation, through the dissolution of personal humanity. He often compared the world with a hydraulic press which can unleash an impersonal but effective pressure.
3) He was a humanitarian and the voice of the voiceless India. He spoke for the poor and the slaved and firmly believed that rural reconstruction through basic education and application of scientific methods to agriculture was the way to deal with poverty.
4) He travelled extensively throughout his life. He set foot in thirty countries in five different continents.
5) Though he was liberal and open-minded, he was also apprehensive of advancements at the cost of humanity. He wrote, "In the West the national machinery of
commerce and politics turns out neatly compressed bales of humanity which have their use and high market value; but they are bound in iron hoops, labelled and
separated off with scientific care and precision. Obviously God made man to be human; but this modern product has such marvellous square-cut finish, savouring of
gigantic manufacture, that the Creator will find it difficult to recognize it as a thing of spirit and a creature made in His own divine image."
6) He also wrote extensively on western civilization. Though he felt a deep association between the west and the east was necessary, he knew mere mimicking will do no good - "I believe that it does India no good to compete with Western civilization in its own field. But we shall be more than compensated if, in spite of the insults heaped upon us, we follow our own destiny."
7) He also believed in "each nation to its own culture". He wrote, "The culture, which has so kindly adapted itself to our soil—so intimate with life, so human—not only needed tilling and weeding in past ages, but still needs anxious work and watching. What is merely modern—as science and methods of organization—can be transplanted; but what is vitally human has fibres so delicate, and roots so numerous and far-reaching, that it dies when moved from its soil. Therefore I am afraid of the rude pressure of the political ideals of the West upon our own."
8) He fought against untouchability and succeeded in gaining access to Guruvayoor temple for the Dalits.
9) Much like Buddha, he felt abdicating power was the only way to throne humanity. In a letter to Gandhi he wrote, "Power in all it's forms is irrational, - it is like the horse that drags the carriage blindfolded."
10) He was a non-Gandhian in Gandhian times. Though Tagore admired Gandhi immensely and conferred the title "Mahatma" on the latter, he also differed sharply with him on core issues like nationalism, education system(Tagore favoured formal education, Gandhi leaned more towards "hands-on" education) and religion(Tagore favoured science over religion).
11) He renounced his knighthood(conferred upon him in 1915) in 1919, in response to Jallianwalabagh massacre.
#HappyBirthdayGurudev
Comments