Biography Of Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore
Writer, poet, and human rights activist, Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature and was instrumental in the revival of modern India. Tagore is best known for his poetry but the poet was also an accomplished writer of play scripts, short tales, and even articles. He was a keen participant in a variety of cultural, social, and artistic pursuits. The media has described him as the “first 20th century’s most global man.
“So I would like to reiterate that we could have a real perception of man unless we feel an affection for him. Civilization has to be evaluated and valued not by the power it has accumulated, however, but by the degree to which it has grown and expressed, through the laws, institutions, and rules the humanity-centered love.”
Short Biography Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath was born May 7, 1861, in Calcutta. The father of his son Debendranath Tagore was a leading figure within the Brahmo Samaj – a revolutionary Hindu organization that wanted to advocate a monotheistic interpretation of the Upanishads and to move off from rigidity in Hindu Orthodoxy that they believed was a hindrance to India. Debendranath Tagore also urged his family members to study English.
Rabindranath started writing at the age of five and was impressed by his fluid writing style as well as his spontaneous pieces. He largely resisted formal education and spent a lot of time studying at the home. In 1878, he went to England and hoped to study legal studies at University College, London, but he was unable to finish the course.
After his return to India in the year 1900, Tagore relocated to Shantiniketan to establish an ashram that was his main focus for writing and his opinion regarding the subject of education. Tagore chose the name of the Ashram which was Shantiniketan which means “Abode of Peace.’
“Love is the ultimate purpose of all that we encounter. It isn’t just an emotion; it’s the truth and happiness that is at the heart of everything.”
Friendship with Gandhi
Tagore was close to Gandhi as well as loved the latter a lot. However, despite his friendship, the two could disagree with his beliefs. For instance, he was not in agreement with Gandhi’s views regarding the Swaraj protests, and he criticized Gandhi when Gandhi declared that an earthquake was God’s punishment for the ill-treatment of the Dalits within India. However, despite their frequent differences of opinion, they were able to appreciate one another. When Gandhi was on a fast to death the man who accompanied him was Tagor who was able to convince Gandhi to end his fast and take care of his health.
Nobel Prize for Literature 1913
It was 1913 when Tagore received his Nobel Prize for literature for his work ” Gitanjali The award brought his work to the attention of all nations and his name became famous throughout the globe.
“My debts are large, my failures great, my shame secret and heavy, yet I come to ask for my good, I quake in fear lest my prayer be granted.” Gitanjali
Biography Of Rabindranath Tagore
Rabindranath Tagore along with Einstein
This provided Tagore the chance to tour extensively, giving recitals and lectures across different countries. Tagore also met some of the most influential contemporary artists of the time including W.B. Yeats, George Bernard Shaw, Romain Rolland, Robert Frost, and Albert Einstein.
Tagore was a love for nature. Many poems he wrote about the simple beauty of nature. For Tagore, his faith was located in the beauty and mystery of nature, as well as in temples or sacred books.
Tagore is a prolific music composer. He composed more than 2500 songs, which were well-known and widely performed throughout Bengal. As with his writing and poetry, he departed from the traditional rigors to create an emotional or spiritual appeal. Tagore is the only one to be the composer of the national anthems of two nations – the Indian version of Jana Gana Mana and Bangladesh’s Amar Shonar Bangla.
Tagore was a defender of the cause of British imperialism, however, Tagore also believed that Indians were required to educate themselves He also said the reason for British rule was in part because of the state India was slipping into. Particularly in the past, he had a strong opinion about the obsession of India with caste.
The ultimate truth about man’s life does not lie in the intellect nor his possessions, but in the way he reflects his mind, and in his expansion of empathy across all barriers of color and caste, in the recognition of the world not only as a storage place for power but an abode for man’s soul with its constant beautiful music and inward light of God’s presence.” Tagore, The Poet’s Religion In Creative Unity (1922) 1. 11
It was 1919 when Tagore reinstated his knighthood to protest against the Jallianwala Bagh Massacre in which hundreds of innocent Indian protesters were shot dead.
Tagore is a polymath and near the close of his life, the artist took up painting as well as pursuing an interest in sciences. Tagore was also an internationalist, praising nationalism, while also writing songs and articles that argued in favor of the general idea of the Indian freedom movement.
“Patriotism is not our only spiritual refuge; my only hope is the human race. I will never purchase glass at the cost of diamonds and will never let patriotism prevail over humanity throughout my life. ”
– Rabindranath Tagore
Biography Of Rabindranath Tagore
Tagore’s perspective on religion
Tagore had a diverse view of religion. He was raised in an old-fashioned Hindu family and was instructed to meditate and pray from a young age. He recalls the calmness of mind he experienced by performing mantras like the Gayatri Mantra, but at the same time, was a distance from the more formal elements of religion. He was inclined to view religion as more than just scriptures or places of worship, but rather the way we live our lives. According to him:
“My religion is my life – it is growing with my growth – it has never been grafted on me from outside.” * Tagore To Robert Bridges, 8 July 1914.
He was keen to steer clear of any kind of fanaticism and saw the value of his own Hindu faith as its ability to recognize multiple paths to reach the destination. The goal of his life was to see the harmony of different religions thrive in India and not just from acceptance but from an understanding of the many merits that other religions offered.
“The Idea of Freedom, that India strived for was based on realizing spiritual unity…India’s greatest achievement, which remains in her soul is waiting to bring together in itself Hindu, Moslem, Buddhist and Christian but not through violence, not through the resignation of apathy instead, but through the harmonious of active collaboration.” Tagore in Berlin 1921.
But, he was opposed to the Hindu caste system.
Tagore’s poems often hint at an ethereal vision of the universe.
“In this playhouse of infinite forms I have had my play, and here have I caught sight of him that is formless.” Gitanjali Gitanjali
“The human soul is on its journey from the law to love, from discipline to liberation, from the moral plane to the spiritual.”
Death
Tagore died on the 7th of August 1941, following a lengthy and painful illness. He was 80. The funeral was held at his home with his family.
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