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Rabindranath Tagore and Interfaith Dialogue

Manas Kumar Ghosh B.Sc., B.A., B.Th., M.Th.

A thesis submitted to Charles Sturt University for the degree ofDoctor in Ministry

March 2010

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Table of Contents

Certificate of authorship................................................................................iii

Acknowledgements.......................................................................................... iv

Abstract..............................................................................................................v

Chapter One: Introduction..............................................................................1

Chapter Two: Tagore’s Quest for God.......................................................16

Chapter Three: Tagore and Hinduism........................................................63

Chapter Four: Tagore and Christianity..................................................... 99

Chapter Five: Tagore and Islam................................................................ 142

Chapter Six: Tagorean Guidelines for Interfaith Dialogue................... 184

Chapter Seven: Conclusion........................................................................ 206

Bibliography.................................................................................................. 213

CAMDEN THEOLOGICAL LIBRARY

ANUT0697397B

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Certificate of Authorship

I, Manas Kumar Ghosh, hereby declare that this submission is my own work and that, to the best of my knowledge and belief, it contains no material previously published or written by another person nor material which to a substantial extent has been accepted for the award of any other degree or diploma at Charles Sturt University or any other educational institution, except where due acknowledgement is made in the thesis. Any contribution made to the research by colleagues with whom I have worked at Charles Sturt University or elsewhere during my candidature is fully acknowledged.

I agree that this thesis be accessible for the purpose of study and research in accordance with the normal conditions established by the Executive Director, Library Services or nominee, for the care, loan and reproduction of theses.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I take this opportunity to acknowledge the support I have received in writing this thesis from a number of people. Firstly, I would like to thank my supervisor, Dr. William Emilsen, for his great support and encouragement I have received all through the work. I would also like to thank Professor Garry Trompf, my co-supervisor, for his assistance. I would also like to thank Uniting Church’s School of Continuing Education for providing me with some travel assistance to go to India for the purpose of this research.

I wish to thank my friends and the members of my family for their love, support and encouragement, especially my wife Nabanita, my daughter Sayontonee, my son Solon who have provided me with great inspiration.

Finally I thank God for the love, grace and mercy without which I would not have been able to complete this task.

Manas Xumar Qfiosfi

Abstract

This thesis explores the writings of the Indian poet and Nobel Laureate in

Literature, Rabindranath Tagore, with the aim of establishing guidelines for

interfaith dialogue in Australia. It argues that Tagore’s insights are

particularly pertinent to contemporary multicultural and multi-religious

Australia because Tagore’s family back background was a confluence of

Hinduism, Christianity, and Islam, his writings demonstrate a deep

understanding of all three religions, and the university he founded, Visva-

Bharati, has as one of its aims, the express purpose of encouraging harmony

and unity among the world religions. Moreover, Tagore is greatly respected

by adherents of the three religions: excerpts from his writings are

incorporated into Christian books of devotion, his songs are sung by Hindus

and Muslims, and he is the author of the national anthems of both

Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim nation, and India, a predominantly

Hindu one.

This thesis traces Tagore’s spiritual journey from his childhood through to his

mature years and notes his understanding of God, which was rooted in the

ancient Upanishadic belief of an impersonal Supreme Being and evolved into

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a personal God he called Jivan Devata, the Lord of life. The thesis also

explores the influences of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam upon Tagore, and

his understanding of the oneness of God, and God’s love, truth, peace as the

common truths inherent in these three religions which have potentials to bind

people of these three faiths in harmony.

The thesis concludes with eight Tagorean guidelines for interfaith dialogue

designed particularly, though not exclusively, for use in the Uniting Church in

Australia. They are offered as a means for defusing tension and

misunderstanding among the adherents of different faiths in Australia and as a

constructive way towards a more informed, tolerant and harmonious society.

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Chapter One

Introduction

The objective of this research project is to develop guidelines for interfaith

dialogue for the church, especially the Uniting Church in Australia, from the

writings of the Indian poet and Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore.

The impetus for taking up this research project grew out of my ministry as a

Minister of the Word in the Uniting Church in Australia in Sydney. Being a

minister from an Indian background has offered me opportunities to share

my faith with people belonging to other faiths and also to engage in

constructive interfaith dialogue. On a number of occasions I have been

invited by people belonging to other religious faiths to solemnise “house

warmings”, weddings and other ceremonies in which people from many

different religions were involved. I have also ministered at church services

for the “Families and Friends of the Missing People in Australia”, where

people of all faiths (and no faith at all) gathered for worship. On a regular

basis I organise and participate in interfaith services such as the Interfaith

International Day of Peace, the Order of Australia Interfaith Service, and

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other civic services. These occasions have prompted a genuine need on my

part for reflection on interfaith dialogue.

With Australia becoming an increasingly pluralistic society, following the

influx of immigrants after World War II, most suburbs in major cities like

Sydney are home to a broad spectrum of people belonging to the major

world religions, as well as people who have converted to, or married into

families of other faiths. Schools, colleges, universities and workplaces are

becoming increasingly religiously diverse. This diversity of faiths is

reflected in the results on religious affiliation in the 2006 Australian census:

Christians (63.9 per cent), Buddhists (2 per cent), Muslims (1.7 per cent),

Hindus (0.7 per cent), Jews (0.4 per cent) and other religious groups (0.5 per

cent).1 Australia’s changing religious landscape makes it ripe for healthy

interfaith dialogues in order for Australians to understand and appreciate one

another’s religious faith and to help create a more informed, harmonious and

peaceful country.

Another reason for taking up this project stems from the ripple effect of

global events on Australian society. The perennial crises in the Middle East,

1 Figures received from Australian Bureau of Statistics, http://www.censusdata.abs.gov.au.

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the post 9/11 global unrest and the recent “war on terror” have contributed

significantly to tension between people of different faiths all over the world,

and Australia is not exempt from this. This unrest has been accelerated

dramatically by the Bali bombings in 2002 and the Cronulla riots in 2005.

There are many misconceptions, prejudices and biases in people’s minds

about other religions which arise mainly from a lack of proper understanding

of other faiths. Thus, there is much to explore and learn about each other -

for building confidence, goodwill, better understanding and a sense of

community among people of different faiths so that all may live together

peacefully and harmoniously in Australia.

The final reason for engaging in this study is that while the Uniting Church

in Australia’s commitment to interfaith dialogue both in the Assembly and

Synods is praiseworthy, it is primarily confined to dialogues between the

Abrahamic faith traditions, namely Judaism, Islam and Christianity. In my

view this is deficient because it does not reflect the reality of Australian

religious life. So I have included an East Asian religion, that of Hinduism, in

this dissertation.

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It is now pertinent to outline why I have selected Tagore for this study.

Firstly, Tagore was a prolific writer. Although he is known to the world

primarily as a poet, there are many other expressions of his creativity. His

literary output was quite enormous by any measure. The complete works of

Tagore as officially published by the Visva-Bharati University consist of 27

large volumes, containing two additional volumes of previously unpublished

works.2 This vast literary corpus of some 200 separate books includes more

than one thousand poems, two thousand songs, sixty plays, and numerous

novels, short stories, essays, sermons, speeches and accounts of his travels to

five continents. His writings cover a vast array of subjects, such as art,

ecology, education, philosophy, religion, politics, social theory,

epistemology and international affairs. Many of these deal directly or

indirectly with interfaith dialogue and building peace and harmony among

people of different religions.

Secondly, Tagore was a true polymath. His achievements were “visvan-

dhara and yugan dhara”, that is, “holding all and holding the age”.3 It is not

an exaggeration to say that he “exemplified an extraordinary nexus of talents

2 Rabindra Rachanabali, (Collected works of Rabindranath Tagore), Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1984-1989, Rabindra Rachanabali: Achalita Sangraha (Collection of previously unpublished works) 2 vols, Visva- Bharati, Calcutta, 1985, 1986.3 Niharranjan Ray, An Artist in Life: A Commentary on the Life and Work of Rabindranath Tagore, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, 1967, p. 17.

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and gifts”, and he has been hailed as “the Leonardo da Vinci of the Indian

Renaissance”.4

Thirdly, Tagore has universal appeal. He was conscious of writing not

merely for his own country and time, but for all countries and times, which

is why he has been called “Viswa Kabi”, the world poet. It is not surprising

that six decades after his death Tagore is still considered a “towering figure

in the millennium-old literature of Bengal and ubiquitous in the literature

and psyche of the people of India and Bangladesh”.5 Nor is his influence

confined to India and Bangladesh. In the West his books continue to be

published, his poetry read and studied, and his spiritual writings included in

anthologies. Apart from Mahatma Gandhi there is no other Indian writer

with such universal appeal.

Fourthly, Tagore was not an ivory tower figure. He was engaged both

theoretically and practically in interfaith dialogue. On a theoretical level he

did not gloss over bigotry in his own religion or in others. Nor did he dilute

the differences that existed between religions and cultures to make them

palatable. Rather, Tagore believed that the sharper and more clearly defined

4D.S. Sharma, cited in K.R. Srinivasa Iyengar, Rabindranath Tagore, Popular Prakashan, Bombay, 1965, p. 3.5 Amartya Sen, The Argumentative Indian, Penguin Books, London, 2005, p. 89.

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the differences, the more stimulating would be the ultimate discovery that

“truth has many voices, beauty many forms and civilizations many

patterns”.6 On a practical level he appealed to practitioners of all religions

not just to “open their eyes and see”7 but also to join hands with people of

other faiths to work together for implementation of the great values of their

religions for the common good of humanity.

Finally, I have selected Tagore because his writings and person have special

appeal for the peoples of three faith traditions - Hinduism, Islam and

Christianity. For example, two of Tagore’s songs are the national anthems of

two nations: India, where the dominant religion is Hinduism, and

Bangladesh, where the majority of people are Muslim. Affection for him

among Hindus is understandable, but among Muslims it is equally strong.

The following lines from a contemporary Muslim poet are typical:

I always go to you [Tagore]

As a man goes to sympathetic hearts at a time of sorrow,

Or to give the happy news of a successful wedding,

Or as a sick man looks at his face in a mirror,

Or as young men and women (like Narcissus)

Enjoy their own bodies:

6 Krishna Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1980, p. 11.7 Rabindranath Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, ed. S.K. Das, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1994, p. 46.

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With the same desires I go to your creations ...

Not only among Hindus and Muslims is Tagore highly regarded. Christians,

especially the Bengali-speaking Christians of both India and Bangladesh,

think highly of his poetry. They have incorporated many of his songs into

their hymnals. For example, Dharmageet (1988), the official hymnal of the

Bengali-speaking Christians of the Church of North India, and the Upasana

Sangeet (1998), the official hymnal of the Church of Bangladesh, contain 17

and 67 of Tagore’s songs respectively. Tagore demonstrated a capacity to

transcend religious differences and to unite people of Abrahamic and non-

Abrahamic faiths.

The approach of this thesis is interdisciplinary. It adopts a historical-literary

approach and it will use hermeneutical practice in literary studies to explore

Tagore’s poetry and prose. While working with the literature of Tagore in

developing guidelines for interfaith dialogue, I am mindful of Ezra Pound’s

insistence that “literature is often dangerous, subversive and chaotic, an

anarchic celebration of the creative possibilities of language”.8 9 But I am one

with T.R. Wright, a scholar on religious literature, in believing that literature

8 Cited by William Radice in Pandulipi, Journal of the Bangla sahitya Samity, Vol. XVII, (2000)9 Ezra Pound, Literary Essays of Ezra Pound, New Directions Publishing Corporation, London, 1956, pp. 20-21.

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has the ability to express truths about life and provide “a more acceptable

means of talking about God than theology”.10 In adopting a historical­

literary approach I first explore the writings of Tagore and select those

relevant to interfaith dialogue. Through textual analysis I examine how

Tagore interpreted his own religious experiences, and his constructive

insights into other religions. I also explore how he transmuted his

interactions with people of other faiths into writings so that they had a

unifying influence upon their adherents. In addition I will look beyond

Tagore to the structures within which he wrote, and beyond those structures

to the larger world out of which they were created. Although Tagore’s

writings reflect the life experiences of people of a different era and culture, I

am convinced that his insights can transcend the Indian context and

contribute to the development of inter-religious harmony in Australia.

It is necessary to take into account some of the difficulties encountered when

studying Tagore. First, since the bestowal of the Nobel Prize in Literature in

1913 and Tagore’s subsequent popularity, many people in India and in the

West have blindly revered Tagore as a mystic and turned him into an object

of unintelligent veneration. They look upon his Nobel Prize-winning book

10 T. R. Wright, Theology and Literature (Signposts in Theology), Basil Blackwell Ltd., Oxford, 1988, p. 2.

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Gitanjali as the whole of Tagore’s canon. Such an iconic admiration in fact

inhibits a true appraisal of the many facets of Tagore’s work. His genius, in

fact, lies in the “variety and versatility” of his writings, and to estimate his

significance only by his devotional and religious poems is to miss a very

large part of his significance.11 Tagore himself was disconcerted by this

stereotyped image of his work.12

Reading Tagore’s writings through translations creates a second potential

difficulty. Translations do not fully capture the physical sensations and

associations that the original words carry. Tagore suffered badly in

translation, even when the translations were done by him.13 So it has been

important to go to the originals in Bengali.

A third difficulty relates to the enormous literature on Tagore and interfaith

dialogue. It is too vast for any one person to read, let alone understand.

Therefore, I have limited my reading in these two areas. First, in order to get

a balanced and comprehensive picture of the myriad-minded Tagore, I have

explored literature on and about Tagore written by authors from the East and

11 B.M. Chaudhuri, Homage to Rabindranath Tagore* Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur, 1961, p.n.12 Edward Thompson, Rabindranath Tagore: His Life and Work, Association Press, Calcutta, 1961, p. 36.13 Ajit Kumar Ray, Rabindranath Tagore: A Poet of the Earth, Faculty of Asian Studies, The Australian National University, Canberra, 1988, p. 12.

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the West such as Edward Thompson’s Rabindranath Tagore - Poet and

Dramatist (1926), Krishna Kripalani’s Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography

(1962), Mary Lago’s Imperfect Encounter (1912), Mary Lago and Ronald

Warwick’s Rabindranath Tagore - Perspectives in Time (1989), Amartya

Sen’s The Argumentative Indian (2005), Kalyan Sen Gupta’s The

Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore (2004), Jose Chunkapura’s The God of

Rabindranath Tagore (2002), Stephen N. Hay’s Asian Ideas of East and

West: Tagore and his Critics in Japan, China, and India (1970), William

Radice’s Rabindranath Tagore: Particles, Jottings, Sparks: The Collected

Brief Poems (2000), Niharranjan Ray’s An Artist in Life (1967), Ajit Kumar

Ray’s A Poet of the Earth (1988), Ernest Rhys’ Rabindranath Tagore-A

Biographical Study (1915), Mair Pitt’s The Maya-Yogi and the Mask - A

Study of Rabindranath Tagore and W.B. Yeats (1997), Krishna Dutta and

Andrew Robinson’s Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-Minded Man

(1996), Uma Dasgupta’s Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography (2004) and

Abu Sayed Ayub’s Modernism and Tagore (1995).

Second, I have limited my selection of writings of eminent scholars

committed to the field of ecumenism and interfaith dialogue to works such

as S. Wesley Ariarajah’s Not without My Neighbour: Issues in Interfaith

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Relations (1999), Michael Amaladoss’ Making All Things New: Dialogue,

Pluralism, and Evangelization in Asia (1990), John Hick’s The Rainbow of

Faiths: Critical Dialogues in Religious Pluralism (1995), Eric J. Sharpe’s

Understanding Religion (1983), Raymond Panikkar’s Unknown Christ of

Hinduism (1981), Keith Rowe’s Living with the Neighbour Who is Different

(2000), Donald Swearer’s Dialogue: The Key to Understanding Other

Religions (1977), Walter Bruggemann and George W. Stroup’s (eds) Many

Voices, One God: Being Faithful in a Pluralistic World (1998), Lesslie

Newbigin’s The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (1989), Harold Coward’s (ed)

Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Perspective and Encounters (1989), Leonard

Swidler’s (ed) Muslims in Dialogue (1992) and Hans Kting’s Christianity

and the World Religions (1985).

In this dissertation the key term is interfaith dialogue. The word “dialogue”

derives from two Greek words, “dia”, which means “through”, and “logos”,

which means “word”. The Macquarie Dictionary (1992) defines dialogue as

“a state of communication between parties in which cautious goodwill may

lead to formal agreements.” The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian

Church (2000) refers to interfaith dialogue as a “cooperative and positive

interaction between people of different faith traditions at both the individual

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and institutional level with the aim of deriving a common ground in belief

through a concentration on similarities between faiths, understanding of

values, and commitment to the world.” Dialogue in this dissertation is not

confined to a narrowly specific religious field, but relates to the arena of

everyday life where people struggle for justice, peace and harmony, for we

meet the true “other” not in an “artificial milieu”, but as a fellow traveller in

the concerns of real life.14 This dissertation takes into account the broader

aspects of dialogue where one is not syncretistic or condescending, but is

prepared to look at the “other” in the light of “universal existential reality”

and prepared to show interest in the unknown of the faith of the “other” even

if it is unconvincing.15 Neither is the “other” viewed as a threat, but rather as

a committed partner to engage with in genuine and meaningful

communication that enables both to see their differences and similarities,

and also have the courage and humility to learn from one another and

undergo changes if necessary.

This dissertation has seven chapters. Chapter One has provided an overview

of the importance of this inquiry, Tagore’s relevance in interfaith dialogue,

the methodology applied to this dissertation, the scope of literature used in

14 Raymond Panikkar, “The Ongoing Dialogue”, in Harold Coward (ed.), Hindu-Christian Dialogue: Perspectives and Encounters, Orbis Books, New York, 1989, p. ix.15 Panikkar, “The Ongoing Dialogue”, p. xi.

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the dissertation, the meaning of the term “interfaith dialogue”, and the

potential benefit of this task to ministry in Australia. Chapter Two traces

Tagore’s quest for God, and analyses his understandings of the divine which

evolved through five stages. Chapter Three identifies and discusses Tagore’s

understanding of the Hindu religion and its influences upon him, most

notably those of the Brahmo Samaj and Vaishnavism. Chapter Four

examines Tagore’s understanding of Christianity and the prominent

Christian images and metaphors in his writings.

Chapter Five identifies various Islamic influences upon Tagore and

discusses prominent Islamic images and metaphors in his writings. This

chapter also discusses the influence ^xf the Sufi mystics, Kabir and Iqbal, and

the Bauls, the mendicant singers of Bengal,(on Tagore^ Chapter Six presents

eight guidelines for interfaith dialogue, drawing on Tagore’s understanding

and experience of the three religions Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.

Finally I draw the conclusion of my research: that Tagore’s guidelines for

interfaith dialogue have a valid role in the Uniting Church in Australia in

helping to create a harmonious and peaceful Australia.

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This dissertation sees its potential benefit to ministry in religiously

pluralistic Australia, where people of different faiths need to engage in

dialogue to build better understanding and relationships so that the plurality

can be celebrated and a harmonious and peaceful Australia can be built.

Often interfaith dialogue takes place with those religious groups with whom

we feel some identity, even if this is an identity of conflict. For most

Christians the dialogue remains at the Abrahamic level. So dialogue with

Jews is seen as acceptable because Jews are seen as distant relatives. While

dialogue with the Muslims is more problematic, especially for conservative

Christians, it is still achievable on the grounds that Muslims and Christians

share a monotheistic faith. But when it comes to the eastern religions,

dialogue becomes more challenging. In Tagore’s writings there are resources

that are important for interfaith dialogue between Christians, Muslims and

Hindus. His writings are acceptable to people of these three religions

because Tagore himself rose above the parochialism of his own religion, and

with a deep sense of self-scrutiny, empathy, objectivity and balance, sought

to understand Islam and Christianity. In Tagore’s writings, time and again, I

have come across elements of truth which he has expressed with passion,

eloquence, balance and mastery. These truths transcend the boundaries of

territory, religion and culture. It is expected, therefore, that Tagore’s writings

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offer a valuable resource for interfaith dialogue for the church in Australia,

especially the Uniting Church which has set a priority on interfaith dialogue.

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Chapter Two

Tagore’s Quest for God

In the eight decades of Tagore’s life, significant events shaped his spiritual

quest for God. This chapter will examine those events and trace his spiritual

journey through five stages from his early childhood to his maturity in order

to appreciate Tagore’s developing understandings of God and humanity.

Childhood and Adolescence (1861-1878)

Tagore was bom on 7 May 1861 at Jorasanko in Calcutta, the youngest of

the thirteen surviving children of Maharishi Debendranath Tagore

(1817-1905) and Sarada Devi (1830-1875). Tagore’s childhood and early

boyhood were mostly spent within the confines of his ancestral home and

under the tutelage of family servants, which he later dubbed “servocracy”1,

as his mother had died in his early childhood and his father travelled

extensively. In Tagore’s household socio-religious “dos and don’ts” were

strictly followed. A childhood incident might explain the severity of the

servocracy. To tame the restless young Tagore one of the servants hit upon a

strategy. He would place Tagore in a convenient spot and draw a chalk line

1 Krishna Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1980, p. 39.

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around him, warning that if he ever stepped outside, he would meet the same

fearful calamity that Sita faced when she transgressed the circle around her.2

Fortunately this place of confinement was close to a window which

overlooked the outer grounds where there was a bathing pool with a large

banyan tree on one side and some coconut trees on the other. In his

circumscribed and regimented childhood the world outside the window was

like an oasis for him. He gazed outside and watched the peculiar rituals and

antics of each bather, and later in the day when the pool was deserted he

engrossed himself in watching the play of light and shadow on the giant

banyan tree. Remembering this banyan tree, Tagore later wrote:

With tangled roots hanging down from your branches,

O ancient banyan tree,

You stand day and night like an ascetic wrapt in meditation.

Do you recall the child whose fancy played with your shadows?3

He survived the confinement and the strict regime of the servants because of

his “boundless curiosity” in his surroundings and his interest in the most

trivial objects.4 His imagination took him beyond the walls, and this

“beyond” created in him a deep sense of mystery, and aroused in him an

2 This story is taken from the Ramayana. King Rama’s wife Sita was confined within a safety circle drawn around her by her brother-in-law Lakshman. The demon king Ravana came in the guise of a beggar and asked for alms from Sita. When Sita stepped out of the safety circle to give alms Ravana kidnapped her and took her to his kingdom in Lanka.3 Rabindranath Tagore, Reminiscences, Macmillan, London, 1917, p. 65.4 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 39.

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earnest desire to get in touch with it. Another childhood incident might

describe the joy of liberty he experienced by doing what he was not allowed.

One day he took a long shower in his father’s bathroom. It was not so much

for the comfort of the bath, as he reminisced later, but “to give reign to my

desire to do just as I fancied.”5 While such acts might give an impression

that he did these sorts of things just for the thrill of entering into a forbidden

territory, they actually gave expression to his deeper longing to know the

unknown and to venture outside the boundaries imposed upon him. This

sense of wonder and his delight in seemingly ordinary experiences of life

were his spiritual assets.

As Tagore grew up, this sense of wonder with its particular emphasis on the

“beyond” grew stronger in him. He wrote, “Every morning as I awoke, I

somehow felt the day coming to me like a new, gilt-edged letter with some

unheard of news awaiting me on the opening of the envelope.”6 A little

playmate in the household would tell him that she had just been to the

“king’s palace”, a wonderland hidden in their own house. Tagore longed to

go but “never seemed to get there”.7 He never gave up his search. He was

particularly drawn to anything that was mysterious and he allowed his

5 Tagore, Reminiscences, pp. 16-17.6 Tagore, Reminiscences, p. 45.7 Tagore, Reminiscences, p. 20.

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imagination to fly with freedom. The restless seeking of the “beyond” was

not without pain and disappointment as he expressed in one of his poems:

There I had voiced the pain that while swimming

towards the lotus that lies out of reach,

in order to get hold of it,

it drifts farther and farther away

with the ripples caused by one’s own movement.8

This pain and disappointment were his companions in his search for the

person and mystery of God.

Tagore’s quest for the “beyond” was fearless. In his childhood days before

he had mastered the English language, he read Charles Dickens’ The Old

Curiosity Shop and other novels. Although he did not understand these

books fully, the incomprehensibility kindled his imagination and helped him

to seek the “beyond”. In later life he defended this approach, “... whoever

goes back to his early childhood will agree that his greatest gains were not in

proportion to the completeness of his understanding.”9 But Tagore never

gave up his quest. We see this trait in his recitation of the Gayatri Mantra,10

which he did daily after he was initiated into Brahminhood at the age of

8 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 26, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1976, pp. 619-620.9 Tagore, Reminiscences, p. 75.10 Gayatri Mantra is a hymn from Rigveda and considered to be the epitome of all Vedas. The mantra “Om Bhur Bhuva Suvaha, Tat savitur varenayam, Bhargo devasya dhimahi, dhiyo yo n a prachodayaf' means “We meditate on the glory of the Being who is the creator of earth, firmament and heaven, who is fit to be worshipped. Who is the remover of all sins and ignorance. May he enlighten our intellect.”

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eleven. Tagore was too young to comprehend the fuller meaning of the text

but the words “earth, firmament and heaven” moved him deeply and

encouraged him to seek the “beyond”.11 This yearning for transcendence

kept him seeking for the “beyond” and expanding his horizon throughout his

life.

At the age of fourteen Tagore wrote a poem named “Banaphul”. It is the

story of a young girl who finds her joy and companionship first in nature,

then in human love. Because of social restrictions and prohibitions, that joy

is short-lived. The poem demonstrates the young Tagore moving into the

realm of nature and human love to find the “beyond”. At the same time he

realised the conflict between finding one’s heart’s desire, and social

prohibitions.

It would be intriguing to raise a question at this stage as to whether

“Banaphul” hinted of a secret love relationship with his sister-in-law

Kadambari Devi. She was only a little older than Tagore when she came to

the Tagore household as the wife of Tagore’s elder brother Jyotirindranath

Tagore. The relationship was special for the young Tagore who was brought

11 Tagore, Reminiscences, p. 72.

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up under the strict regime of servants and within the confinement of the four

walls of the Tagores’ ancestral home and who also missed much of his

mother’s love in a large family. For Tagore, Kadambari was the harbinger of

the outside world. When Tagore lost his mother, at the age of thirteen years

and ten months, his brother and Kadambari “poured their affection on himu/>

and gave to this motherless boy a home in their household such^he had never

known before.”12 Kadambari became his playmate, confidante, mother and

admirer. Tagore realised his adolescent longings, the ideal of love in

Kadambari, which he expressed in the following words written a few months

after his mother’s death:

Without the shower of your love,

Our hearts would become like a desert,

Love and devotion, kindness and affection,

Would all wither away.

You are this world’s music and poetry,

Heaven itself dwells in your heart.13

So even at this early stage in Tagore’s life the “beyond” he had been

searching for was taking on new shapes: the outside world beyond the

confinement of his ancestral home; then the freedom of wandering in nature;

12 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 60.13 Rabindranath Tagore, quoted in Prabhat Kumar Pal, Ravijivani, vol. 1, Ananda Publishers, Calcutta, 1993, p. 194.

22

and then human love and more specifically feminine love and

companionship. The love was not erotic, but semi-human and semi-divine

and in some sense personified in Kadambari. At the same time he had this

deep frustration at not being able to fully access and realise that “beyond”

which he could put at the centre of his life. His longing is reflected in these

lines:

The thick groves of flowers vibrate with the melody of flute,

Casting off all fear and shame, come dear one, come.14

The poem is modelled on Vaisnava love poetry and the “dear one” in the

poem is not necessarily a particular human or divine personality, but

someone transcending the reality of nature and human being.

In the early period of Tagore’s life while he was relentlessly seeking the

transcending “beyond” and struggling to name it, there are some references

to God. In one poem he wrote:

Oh God, why did you place me in the midst of pomp and splendour,

Where everyone’s heart is like a machine,

Where love and devotion and every faculty

Is governed by harsh and merciless laws?

The show of heartless grace, the cruel laws of artificial civility

The affected smile of gentleness is not for me.15

14 Rabindranath Tagore, quoted in Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 70.

23

Though these lines express Tagore’s anguish at going through formal

education, they also express his understanding of God who decides where a

person should be bom and what should be his or her destiny.

Youth (1878-1900)

In 1878 Tagore first went to London to study. It was a life-changing

experience. His seventeen-month stay in England was not academically

fruitful but this first exposure to Christian Europe and its society, religion,

literature and politics brought some radical changes to his way of thinking.

There he started forming independent views and opinions about literature,

human society, family life and the freedom of women. This visit also

contributed to the formation of his universal outlook that became the

hallmark of his social, political and religious thought. In 1880 he returned to

India without a degree but deep within him “the East and West joined

hands.”15 16 In his spiritual quest, however, he still felt lost “in the forest of his

heart.”17 He kept on searching and longing as is evidenced from a ballad

composed during the period:

Come O beloved, come.

Endless this waiting, waiting by the window,

15 This incomplete poem was found in Malati Puthi (Malati Manuscript) of Rabindranath Tagore, quoted in Prabhat Kumar Pal, Ravijivani, vol. 1, p. 188.16 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 26, p. 631.17 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 1, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1940, p. 123.

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Sitting alone, ever hoping,

Feeble in body, never a wink of sleep,

I await your coming, gazing at the road ...

A waiting that knows not day or night.18

Tagore’s time in England may be termed as “the dark night of the soul” and

one wonders what was the undefined image of the ideal beloved. However,

in one of his writings for the journal Bharati in 1881 a clue to the identity of

this beloved is found. Writing about the English poets, Tagore noted that

though their love poems had overtones of discontent and dissatisfaction they

were not of despair, but were full of love. Tagore realised that to express

their love those poets had to “build an imaginary idol”.19 In his writings in

Bharati Tagore emphasised this notion: “Love wants first and foremost the

object of that love and wants to get it in every possible way. Even if I get

nothing, I love that object. In love, it is the object that I want.”20 Yet the

object of his love was still not God, which is evident in the poem,

You are the witness, O God, how much I love.

You know, when I behold her face, such delight fills my heart.21

18 Tagore, Rabindra Rachananbali, vol. 1, p. All.19 Rabindranath Tagore, The Real Companion, quoted in Prabhat Kumar Pal, Ravijivani, vol. 1, p. 110.20 Tagore, Rabindra Rachananbali, vol. 1, p. 360.21 Tagore, Rabindra Rachananbali, vol. 1, p. 23.

25

At the age of eighteen Tagore had his first and most important experience

which might be termed “spiritual”.22 One day at early dawn when he was

watching the sun rise from the veranda of the house where he was living

with his favourite brother Jyotirindranath and his beloved sister-in-law

Kadambari Devi, he felt that “a sudden spring breeze of religious experience

for the first time came to my life and passed away, leaving in my memory a

direct message of spiritual reality”,23 a message of cosmic unity. He felt as if

some ancient mist was lifted from his eyes. The invisible screen of the

common place was removed from all things and all men, and their ultimate

significance was intensified in his mind.24 In a moment the face of the world

revealed an inner radiance of joy. For four days Tagore remained in this

“self-forgetful state of bliss”, but the mystical experience of the unity of his

consciousness with the whole of creation - exactly the experience described

in classical Hindu terms as unity of the individual soul (atman) with the

Universal Soul (Brahman) - left its indelible stamp on his memory. He

rediscovered himself through this experience and it brought about a

tremendous change in his life. Celebrating this experience of all-pervading

light and power, Tagore wrote “The Awakening of the Waterfall”:

22 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachananbali, vol. 20, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1945, p. 424.23 Rabindranath Tagore, Jibansmriti, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1921, p. 222.24 Rabindranath Tagore, The Religion of Man (Lectures delivered at Manchester College, Oxford), Indus, New Delhi, 1993, p. 58.

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After a long time a light has entered the dark cave ...

I do not know why after so long my heart has been awakened ...

I am suddenly able to see this world in a new light.

... I do not know how, but my heart today has woken up.

Where can I find so much happiness, such beauty, so much play!

I experience great joy,

My heart is full.25

The period of morbid introspection was over and a new light had dawned.

Tagore continued,

My heart wants to rise like a star in the sky,

And in sheer joy, bloom like a flower looking heavenward,

... I would like to be lost among the stars

And my heart on its own accord breaks forth in song ...

My heart wants to rise up in the sky and smile down like the dawn.26

At the age of 23 on 9 December 1883 Tagore married Mrinalini Devi. In

1884, at the behest of his father Maharshi Debendranath, Tagore took up the

role of the secretary of the Brahma Samaj. He took the role seriously and

during his tenure as secretary composed over 60 hymns for the Samaj’s

worship.

25 Tagore, Rabindra Rachananbali, vol. 1, pp. 56-61.26 Tagore, Rabindra Rachananbali, vol. 1, pp. 96-100.

27

A few years later at his father’s request he took charge of their family estates

in Shelidah (presently in Bangladesh). This new role exposed him to yet

another world of rural Bengal and for the first time he acquired a direct and

intimate experience of Hindus and Muslims living side by side. This

experience gave him a better understanding of the bond that held these two

communities together. Their economic hardship and misery, Tagore

understood, could not be changed simply by appealing to their religious

sentiments, but by uniting them through education and cooperative activities.

Tagore firmly believed that poverty sprang from disunity. In order to bring

change to the lives of his employees Tagore started a school for the Hindu

and Muslim children at Shelidah.27

Reading Tagore’s writings from his youth one can notice a gradual

progression in his quest for the beloved. The initial period of bewilderment

was over. Tagore now had a glimpse of his beloved, “Like the gentle spring-

breeze, she passed over my heart. She stooped down to me, touched me, and

hundreds of flowers blossomed.”28 But he was not content with such a

passing encounter. He was longing for a constant presence and a total union

with the beloved. This longing was terrible, like “unending thirst”, “a knife

27 Rabindranath Tagore, Social Work, 1915 (Translated into English by B. N. Ganguli), Visva-Bharati Quarterly, vol. 7, 1961, pp. 19-30.28 Tagore, Rabindra Rachananbali, vol. 1, p. 105.

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in the breast”.29 However painful it was he was persistent and untiring in his

quest, which kept him “ever awake in a mixture of joy and pain.”30 Two

significant developments in Tagore’s spiritual journey took place during this

period. Firstly, “the beloved” he was seeking to centre his life and love on

was no longer a woman or any other human being but God. In January 1881

he rewrote a hymn which he had previously dedicated to his sister-in-law

Kadambari. He now rededicated it to God for worship in the Brahmo Samaj,

You alone I’ve made my life’s pole-star.

Never again to lose my way in this ocean.

May you always shine wherever I be!

Your light the balm of my eyes.

Your face is hidden in my heart.31

At this time Tagore also realised that the ordinary language of expressing

human love was worthy of being used in offering love to God.

Tagore’s writings in this period of his youth demonstrate a rich variety of

appellations for God. Of these, Vidata, which literally means the One who

ordains and controls life and the events of the universe, occurs most

frequently. For Tagore, Vidata is the creator of the universe, the controller of

29 Tagore, Rabindra Rachananbali, vol. 1, p. 143.30 Rabindranath Tagore, Gitabitan (collection of songs), Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1993, p. 295.31 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 318.

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all life and events in the universe, and the One who differentiates individuals

for specific purposes.

Antaryami, which means the One who dwells within the hearts and minds of

human beings, is another name for God widely used by Tagore. For Tagore,

Antaryami has penetrating knowledge of the inner selves of human beings,

even the secrets of their thoughts. Antaryami is omniscient: “You God

[Antaryami], you who dwell within ... You know everything.”32

Another frequently used name for God is Pita, which means Father. For

Tagore, Pita is a merciful, loving, ever-forgiving, tenderly affectionate

Father who calls us to himself with a voice of love.33 When the Brahmo

Samaj was going through schism Tagore wrote in a hymn, “Standing at the

door of the Father’s [Pita’s] house forget all hurt feelings.”34 Here Tagore

portrays the image of God as the Universal Father where all warring factions

can come together and be reconciled in the infinite wealth of the Father’s

love. This image of God is particularly helpful in interfaith dialogue and in

resolving conflict among people of different religions.

32 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 165.33 Tagore, Gitabitan, pp. 831-832.34 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 838.

30

It is pertinent here to raise the question of whether Tagore called God

“Mother” [Mata] at this time. From his writings we do find that he called

God as Mother [Mata] on a number of occasions, and explained that Indians

often called God “Mother” and in the Sanskrit language the word for father

Pitaru is used in its dual form, meaning both Father and Mother.35 For

Tagore, God as Mother is the giver of life, and provider of sustenance,

sunshine, comfort and protection. Later in life when Tagore was tired of all

the media and public attention on him, some of which was positive and

encouraging, some annoying and discouraging, he sought refuge and

protection in this Mother.36 Tagore embraced both the masculinity and

femininity of God when he wrote: “With daring, man has recognized God as

Mother, the bringer of joy, and as Father who ordains the good of the human

spirit.”37

Besides “Father” and “Mother”, Tagore used many other endearing

relational terms for God such as Pranes (God of the heart),38 Pranasakha

(Companion of the heart),39 Hridaya Nath (Lord/Ruler of the heart),40

35 Rabindranath Tagore, Personality, Macmillan, London, 1917, p. 159.36 Rabindranath Tagore, Chithipatra, vol. 7, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1960, p. 61.37 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachananbali, vol. 27, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1986, p. 502.38 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 127.39 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 121.40 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 212.

31

Jyotirmaya (Radiant/Luminous One),41 Priyatama (Dearly Beloved)42 and

Sakha (Friend)43 The consistent use of these names in his writings makes it

clear that Tagore understood God not only as the creator and ruler of human

beings and the universe but also the One who is bound with his creation in a

close loving relationship.

Tagore also attributed God’s greatness, majesty and supremacy with words

like Maharaj (The Great King),44 Amritamurati Raja (The Eternal King)45,

Mahaprabal Bali (The Almighty)46 and Devadideva (God of gods)47, and

beautiful metaphors such as “truth”, “good”, “loving” and “[the] guiding

light in darkness”48, “the deep ocean of peace”, “immense reservoir of

joy”,49 50 “ever-wise”, “ever-new”, “ever-good” and “ever-beautiful”,50

“perfect joy” and “perfect goodness”.51 The attributes and metaphors Tagore

used to describe God have close resemblances with the attributes and

metaphors Christians and Muslims use to describe God. Even after

describing God with such a plethora of names and metaphors Tagore

41 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 171.42 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 845.43 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 183.44 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 191.45 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 832.46 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 186.47 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 202.48 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 179.49 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 154.50 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 212.51 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 170.

32

nevertheless was forced to acknowledge their inadequacy when he admitted,

“He [God] is beyond description”.52

While Tagore’s God may have dwelt in eternal light and goodness, the world

was still God’s temple,53 and God’s preferred dwelling place was “the heart

of human being.”54 He urged people to prepare their hearts by conscious

effort so as to welcome God. In this way they became God’s priest: “Tell me

O loving Ruler of the heart, what riches shall I offer to you? Whatever I

have, take all of it, O Lord.”55 Tagore believed that hope and joy are founded

in God and when people have God in their hearts the fullness of joy fills

their hearts and they are infused with new hope.

Tagore also constantly mentioned humanity’s need for God’s love and

forgiveness. He was aware that only God’s guiding light could dispel the

darkness that blinds the eye and causes one to lose all sense of direction.56

Tagore’s God is also the provider of unfailing companionship, consolation,

52 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 843.53 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 475.54 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 213.55 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 214.56 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 947.

33

comfort, and courage. The prayer, “Be our refuge, O strength of the weak”

was his constant companion.57

Human life, for Tagore, was a God-given vocation, and to fulfil God’s will,

people should attempt to fulfil their potential with God’s assistance. In the

course of fulfilling this vocation, when Tagore himself faced doubts and

uncertainties, his prayer was, “Let your will be done, O Merciful God. Be it

pain, be it sorrow that you give me, I will bear everything.”58 He was

confident that when his life’s journey was over God was his final repose.59

By the end of 1900 Tagore’s understanding of God had changed from

“something beyond” to “someone at the centre of his life”, as One in whom

his heart’s longing could be satisfied, his life’s pole star: “Lord, I will

immerse all my desire in the ocean of your love, all the pain of separation I

will forget in the immortal joy of union with you.”60 Tagore’s spiritual thirst

longed for perfect union with God:

You have given a lot, a lot have you given to me.

But my longing is not yet satisfied ...

When so much you have given,

57 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 828.58 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 52.59 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 833.60 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 165.

34

Still more must you give,

I won’t return without having You, I won’t.61

Gitanjali Period (1900—1913)

The third phase of Tagore’s life roughly corresponds with the first decade of

the twentieth century and is marked by three major events which influenced

Tagore and his writings of this period. The events are: the founding of

Santiniketan School in 1901; the partitioning of Bengal in 1905; and

Tagore’s reception of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1913.

In December 1901, Tagore founded his experimental school in Santiniketan

in a rural setting on the outskirts of Calcutta. The school was built on a plot

of land where his father Debendranath had started an ashram in 1863 to

enable people from all religious backgrounds to gather for prayer and

meditation. Tagore’s objective in founding Santiniketan School was to

reform education along more traditional Indian lines where students from all

religions could live and learn together in almost monastic simplicity. While

Tagore appreciated Western education, he noticed that it was only benefiting

the upper classes of the Indian society. He was convinced that education in

India would be incomplete without the knowledge of rural India because the

61 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 167.

35

majority of the Indians lived in rural areas. Tagore’s idea was to make

education a part of daily life. He wanted students to be surrounded by nature

for he believed that they could learn from the nature about environmental

values. Another important principle in his school was freedom. The students

were given encouragement to make decisions concerning their own lives and

the running of day-to-day activities of the school.

From its inception the school was catholic in its religious approach. Students

and teachers came from diverse religious and caste backgrounds. Tagore

wanted them to be exposed to diverse religious traditions so that they could

learn good values from each of them and identify the “divisive customs from

the past”. In so doing, Tagore’s hope was to “cleanse the student’s heart of a

slavish submission to orthodoxy” so that the children could grow up without

the blinkers of prejudice and be prepared to rid society of divisions and

strife.62

The second event was the partitioning of Bengal in 1905 by Lord Curzon,

the Viceroy of India. The partition was based on religious lines, polarising

Hindus and Muslims who had hitherto coexisted peacefully for centuries. It

62 Uma Dasgupta, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2004, p. 22.

36

prompted Tagore to use his literary genius to write speeches and compose

patriotic songs to unite Hindus and Muslims. These writings, says Tagore’s

biographer, were free of any trace of “jingoism or incitation of crude

passion”.63 Tagore’s message of unity appealed to both communities. In the

following song he appeals to Hindus and Muslims to rise above then-

differences and unite:

Let the soil and the waters and the air and the fruits of Bengal be holy,

my Lord! ...

Let the minds and the hearts of all the brothers and sisters of Bengal be

one, my Lord!64

For Tagore, the bond between the two communities was God-destined and

he was convinced that nothing could break the tie.65 Tagore understood the

importance of the task of reconciliation between different communities and

insisted Hindus, Muslims and Christians to participate in this task.66 He was

aware of the difficulty of finding mass support for the task. But Tagore’s

indomitable zeal could not be diverted, even if he had to walk alone.67

Tagore, however, did not walk alone. On 16 October 1905, Partition Day, a

large crowd took to the streets of Calcutta singing Tagore’s “Let the soil and

63 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 207.64 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 255.65 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 266.66 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 251.67 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 244.

37

the waters and the air and the fruits of Bengal be holy, my Lord!” On their

way when the procession came near a stable where Muslim ostlers were

working, Tagore went to them and tied a thread (rakhi) around their wrists, a

traditional Hindu symbol of brotherhood. The rest of the crowd held back

apprehending rows. But Tagore “walked alone” and nothing happened. After

that Tagore also tied rakhis on the wrists of the mullahs in the main mosque

of Calcutta. The Mullahs appreciated Tagore’s friendly gesture.68

The third event marks Tagore’s reception of the Nobel Prize in Literature for

Gitanjali in 1913. After celebrating his fiftieth birthday in 1911, Tagore fell

ill. While he was resting and recuperating at his family property in Shelidah,

he translated some of his Bengali poems into English which resulted in his

famous collection, Gitanjali (Song Offering). In May 1912 he sailed for

England and on board continued his work of translation. In London he met

William Rothenstein who had visited Tagore in 1910 in Calcutta, and gave

him his manuscript of Gitanjali. Rothenstein was so impressed with the

poems that he soon organised a meeting with Tagore and William Butler

Yeats. The fame of Tagore soon spread among other literary giants like Ezra

Pound and Ernest Rhys. They were instrumental in introducing Tagore’s

68 Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson, Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-Minded Man, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1995, p. 145.

38

literary work to the West. In October 1912 Tagore travelled to the United

States and a month later the India Society published the first English

Gitanjali which became his best known and most acclaimed book of poems,

earning him the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

During the period 1900-1912 Tagore produced a prolific harvest of literature

which included five books of verses, three books of songs, four novels,

seven plays, a great number of essays and letters on a variety of topics.

Gitanjali (Song Offering) is a collection of 103 poems, 52 of which are

selected from the Bengali volume of the same name published in 1910, and

the rest incorporated from his nine other books of poetry among which were

Chaitali (1896), Kalpana (1900), Naivedya (1901), Shishu (1903), Smaran

(1903), Utsarga (1903), Kheya (1906), Gitimalya (1910) and Achalayatan

(1912). Most of these selections belonged to the devotional genre of

Tagore’s lyrics. There are songs on and about nature in Gitanjali, but the

main theme is Tagore’s painful and passionate striving to realise God for

which he was willing to surrender his whole being to God. Tagore’s

impatience to find God in this life is also reflected in the songs,

What my heart wants is you,

O it is you.

39

Apart from you I have no one in this world,

I have nothing.69

Tagore knew that his pilgrimage was a pilgrimage of sorrow, ordained by

God himself. He knew that he had to abandon all his pride and it was not

easy to “drown pride in tears”. Even his work for others Tagore saw as part

of the same striving for he wanted to see God where the ordinary people

toiled and suffered.

The West was “enchanted” with the mysticism of the songs in Gitanjali. It

found the songs replete with spiritual yearning. The poet Ernest Rhys

described the songs of Gitanjali as “the vehicle of a great emotion that

surpassed its imagery.”70 Perhaps the reason for GitanjalV s appeal was that

it came out at a time when the West was worn out by the storm and struggle

for material power and worldly gain that led to World War I. In the songs of

Gitanjali the West heard a mystic call from afar for the “rehabilitation of its

lacerated soul” and found in them “a heaven of rest”.71 The Times Literary

Supplement compared the contents of Gitanjali with those of the Psalms and

noted that Tagore addressed a God “realized by his own act of faith and

69 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 326.70 Ernest Rhys, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biographical Study, Macmillan, London, 1915, p. 96.71 Niharranjan Ray, An Artist in Life: A Commentary on the Life and Work of Rabindranath Tagore, University of Kerala, Trivandrum, India, 1967, p. 164.

40

conceived according to his own experience of life.”72 Though Tagore came

from the East and Gitanjali as noted above was a product of Tagore’s own

act of faith and experience of life, it was not totally strange to the West.

W.B. Yeats observed that the West was moved because in it “we have met

our own image.”73 Many of Tagore’s western readers saw in it the humane

spirit of Christianity reflected back at them in pure form. For many in the

west Tagore “brought back the ideal of the first beatitude transfigured.”74

Frances Comford, Charles Darwin’s granddaughter, was typical of many.

On meeting Tagore in Cambridge in July 1912, she exclaimed, “I can now

imagine a powerful and gentle Christ, which I never could before.”75

In Gitanjali Tagore used a rich variety of new names for God, besides those

mentioned earlier. The following list indicate their frequency in ascending

order76: Thou (1), Life of my life (4), Master Poet (7), Our Master (11),

Master (15), Love (17), only Friend, Beloved (22), Friend (23), Father (35),

Lord (36), King, Lord of Silence, Holy One (39), Lover (41), The King of

the dark dreary house, The King of the fearful night (51), Lord of my heart

(52), King of all Kings (56), Darling (57), Poet (65), Thou spotless and

72 Times Literary’ Supplement, 7 November 1912, p. 492.73 Cited in Dutta and Robinson, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 169.74 Dutta and Robinson, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 169.75 Cited in Dutta and Robinson, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 169.76 The numbers within the brackets denote the song number in Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali, Macmillan, Madras, 1992.

41

Serene (68), Innermost One (72), Lord of my life, Lord of all worlds (76),

Sun Ever Glorious (80) and My God (102). These rich and diverse names of

God show Tagore’s untiring probing of God’s mystery and his

understanding that the greatness of the Infinite could not be fully described

with finite words. The songs of Gitanjali also indicate that Tagore’s long

journey on distant paths, wandering the world and knocking at many alien

doors, was over, and he “returned to his own place and found God who

dwells within the heart.”77

Tagore was in love with God. This loving relationship is portrayed in the

following poem which is compelling in its entirety,

I came out alone on my way to my tryst.

But who is this that follows me in the silent dark?

I move aside to avoid his presence but I escape him not.

He makes the dust rise from the earth with his swagger;

He adds his loud voice to every word that I utter.

He is my own little self, my lord, he knows no shame;

But I am ashamed to come to thy door in his company.78

Tagore’s closeness with God is also reflected in many other affectionate and

endearing names found in other books in the Gitanjali period. Some of the

77 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 10, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1986, p. 145.78 Tagore, Gitanjali, song no. 33.

42

names are “Life of my life”, “My only friend”, “My Affectionate One”, “My

Best beloved”, “My Darling”, “My Lover”, “My Sweetheart”, “My life’s

favourite”. At this stage he also used the word “You”79 to address God,

which suggests that he was able to enter into a deeper union with the divine

and attain a personal and profound relationship with God. This relationship

with the divine was so precious to Tagore that he was most concerned that

his writing would be acceptable to the One to whom he offered it, his God.80

It is in this Gitanjali period that Tagore, for the first time, described God as

the “King of dark night”. The dark night symbolised for Tagore human pain,

suffering, anxiety and doubt. For Tagore the King of darkness was a

conqueror over all these, even death. For Tagore the incomparable victor

over death, destroying all fear, is the God who is enthroned in awe-inspiring

majesty.

Tagore saw God’s relationship with humans as essentially a relationship of

love, a love that is spontaneous and self-giving, “you give yourself to me in

love.”81 God’s love for humans, as Tagore saw, is patient, forgiving and

79 Bengali language has three different expressions for the word “you”. The one Tagore uses here is used between lovers.80 Prabhat Kumar Pal, Ravijivani, vol. 5, Ananda Publishers, Calcutta, 1990, p. 26.81 Tagore, Gitanjali, song no. 65.

43

liberating, and the liberating nature of God’s love makes it different from all

other love. The steadfastness of God’s love is clearly described in Gitanjali:

“By all means they try to hold me secure who love me in this world. But it is

otherwise with thy love which is greater than theirs and you keep me free.”82

God, as portrayed by Tagore in his writings, is love, constantly involved in

creation, and God comes down silently, even uninvited, and dwells with

human beings, and journeys with them in their everyday walk, and in their

joys and sorrows.83 In a classic passage, Tagore described God’s advent:

“He comes, comes, ever comes. Every moment and every age, every day and

every night he comes, comes, ever comes.”84 While God always comes to

human beings, Tagore was aware that human response to God’s coming was

not always spontaneous. So Tagore prayed to God to come in such a way

that neither fear nor shame may prohibit people from responding to God’s

love.85 He depicted this reciprocal relationship in one of his songs:

When thy golden chariot appeared in the distance, my hopes rose high.

The chariot stopped where I stood.

Thy glance fell on me and thou earnest down with a smile.

I felt that the luck of my life had come at last.

Then all of a sudden thou didst hold out thy right hand and say ‘what

hast thou to give to me?’

82 Tagore, Gitanjali, song no. 32.83 Rabindranath Tagore, Poems, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1986, p. 77.84 Tagore, Gitanjali, song no. 54.85 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 78.

44

Ah, what a kingly jest was it to open thy palm to a beggar to beg.86

Tagore understood God as the giver of vocation to human beings. He

believed that God has a good purpose for every human being who is good.

He himself accepted God’s will for his own life. In words reminiscent of the

Lord’s Prayer, he wrote, “Let your will be done in my life.”87 Not only did

he submit himself to God’s will, he exhorted others to do the same,

“Remembering that God wills your good, be humbly submissive, conquer

your own desires, banish the least of fears.”88 In a wedding sermon he

advised a couple, “God has called you to the field of work. Enter into it and

set yourself to work with indomitable enthusiasm and hope.”89 Tagore

believed that God not only entrusted people with works and responsibilities

but also empowered them to carry out those tasks and make the burden

lighter for them. Such knowledge prompted Tagore to pray to God,

Give me strength, O give me strength, give me the force in my heart, to

tread the path of simplicity and goodness, to forgive all offences, to

overcome pride, to check evil inclinations ... make my heart pure,

radiant and beautiful, make it watchful, formidable and fearless ... set

86 Tagore, Gitanjali, song no. 50.87 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 194.88 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 948.89 Prabhat Kumar Pal, Ravijivani, vol. 5, p. 367.

45

free that which is bound. May your peace giving will be transfused into

all my activities.90

Examining the Gitanjali period of Tagore’s life we find that he attained a

deeper personal and profound relationship with God. The God he attempted

to describe by many names is the one indescribable God, the creator of the

whole universe and of all people, who is present in all human beings and

acts through them to fulfil his goals. It is also evident from Tagore’s writings

that God is essentially love, fullness of truth and perfect happiness. Tagore

was confident that human life in its entirety, from beginning to the end, was

encompassed by God. He expressed his desire that at the end of his mortal

life he would encounter “Fullness” and come face to face with the “Truth”,91

“When my work shall be done in this world, O King of kings, alone and

speechless shall I stand before thee face to face.”92

Post-Gitanjali Period (1913-1927)

This period from 1913 to 1927 is distinguished by World War I, Tagore’s

extensive travels to different parts of the world delivering lectures, and his

transformation of the school into an International University where people

90 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 51.91 “Fullness” and “Truth” are the names used by Tagore for God92 Tagore, Gitanjali, song no. 76.

46

from the East and the West could meet, interact and learn from one another,

a place according to the university’s motto “where the world meets in one

nest” (Yatra viswam bhavati ekanidam).

In the post-Gitanjali period Tagore wrote five books of poems, three books

of songs, seven dramas, two comedies, two books of essays, two books of

short stories, two novels and several other epigrams, travel diaries and

hundreds of letters. From this vast array of writings I will focus mainly on

three books, Sadhana (1916), Personality (1917) and Creative Unity (1922)

because these three books spell out the fundamental tenets of Tagore’s faith,

and his understanding of God, human beings and the universe.

Tagore wrote Sadhana during his six-month stay in America in 1912-1913.

It contains eight lectures originally delivered at Harvard University in 1913.

In it Tagore explained his understanding of God as revealed in the sacred

text of the Upanishads and manifested in the life of today. He emphasised

that humans can know God because God reveals himself to all human races

in ever-new forms and charms. He wrote, “In a multiplicity of forms and

forces lies his outward manifestations; but his inner manifestation is in ouri

47

soul.”93 He espoused the Upanishadic teachings that our relationship with all

through union with God is the ultimate goal of humanity. Tagore pointed out

in Sadhana that to achieve harmony and unity between the individual and

the universe there must be communication with the surrounding world and

consideration of others as God’s children.94 This unity, for Tagore, was not

just philosophical speculation but achievable through meditation,

compassion and service.95

In Sadhana Tagore saw God as Brahma, the all-conscious and all-pervading

spirit96, the world’s God97, the Self-revealing One98, the Supreme Lover99,

the Universal and Infinite One100, Giver of Thyself101 and the Singer of

Eternal Melodies102. He also described God in Sadhana as the Truth, and for

him the only way of attaining the Truth was through seeing others as own.103

For him God was the highest joy that unifies all joy.104 In Sadhana Tagore

<?expressed his idea that sin was not just wrong deed, but an attitude of life

A

93 Rabindranath Tagore, Sadhana (Essays and lectures delivered in the United States), Macmillan, Madras, 1988, p. 31.94 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 5.95 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 11.96 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 21.97 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 26.98 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 31.99 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 97.100 Tagore, Sadhana, p.70.101 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 113.102 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 123.103 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 110104 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 127.

48

that only thought about the finite material things of life, that believed that

our own self was the ultimate truth, and that we humans were not essentially

one but existed for our own separate individual existence.105

Personality contains six lectures of Tagore which were delivered during his

second visit to America in 1916—1917. These essays are expositions of his

thoughts on art, religion, woman and education on the basis of his personal

experience (hence the name). In Personality Tagore explains that the world,

as long as it is a mere object of our perception, remains “a guest and a

foreigner” to us, but it becomes completely our own when we try to realise it

with all our faculties and emotions. Similarly, Tagore said that God is unreal

to us as long as God remains a merely theological concept. But God

becomes real to us when we embrace God with our feelings and emotions.106

In Personality Tagore explains the importance of human individual

separateness and collective unity using an analogy from nature where there

is separateness and unity. As a tree is separate from its surroundings by its

individuality, and needs to fight for its own survival, it is also dependent

upon its surroundings in the soil, air and sun. The more perfect the harmony

of separateness and unity, the better. The more perfect the unity with its

105 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 129.106 Tagore, Personality, p. 4.

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world of the sun and the soil and the seasons, the more perfect the tree

becomes in its individuality. The same holds true for human beings: the

harmony of our unity with others makers perfect as individuals.107/=•

In Personality we also hear Tagore’s call to human beings to free their wills

from selfish desires and aims in order to serve others, for he believed that

when human wills were freed from selfish limitations they could discern a

world transcending the moral realm of humanity and find the “ultimate

truth” - the realm of love. Love is complete union for it opens for us “the

gate of the world of the Infinite One” who is revealed in the unity of all

personalities.108 Tagore had an invincible faith in humanity which was built

on his conviction of the divinity of human beings. He believed that the unity

ofTiuman race had its foundation in the Universal Spirit which pervaded all

human beings of all races and cultures. Referring to the great word of the

Upanishads ‘I am He’, Tagore affirmed that the word carried the assurance

of the “truth of a grand unity” between individual human beings and God.

This unity is the spiritual identity of human beings which brings them

107 Tagore, Personality, p. 79.108 Tagore, Personality, p. 83.

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dignity and the sense of divinity in every human beings.109 In Personality

Tagore also affirmed the omnipresence of God. He said,

God belongs to our home as well as to our temples. We feel his

nearness in all the human relationships of love and affection, and in our

festivities. He is the chief guest whom we honour. In seasons of flowers

and fruits, in the coming of the rain, in the fullness of the autumn, we

see the hem of His mantle and hear his footsteps. We worship him in all

the true objects of our worship and love. In the woman who is good we

feel him, in the man who is true we know him.110

Here we find some striking parallels between Tagore’s understanding of

God and the Christian understanding of God. For in a Christian home God is

also the chief and most honoured guest; a Christian also rejoices in seeing

the “hem of His mantle” and “hearing his footsteps”, in the fullness of

seasons; a Christian will also thank God for “the woman who is good” and

for “the man who is true”.

Creative Unity contains essays and lectures which Tagore delivered in

America during his third visit there in 1920-1921. These lectures reveal his

fundamental tenet of life and religion, art and aesthetics. His main thesis in

this book is that the Infinite is mysteriously united with self and the Infinite

109 Tagore, Personality, p. 31.110 Tagore, Personality, p. 27.

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is ever creative. Tagore called God in Creative Unity as the One, the

Love111, the Truth occupying all space and time112, the reality of the ideal

perfection113, and the one who rejoices in his creation.114 In Creative Unity

we find quotations from the Bible and allusions to Biblical themes, such as

“the kingdom of God”.115 He also makes reference to the death of Christ,

comparing Christ, the despised teacher of Galilee on one hand, and the

representative of the proud Roman Empire on the other. He wrote, “On that

day there was, on the one hand, the agony, the humiliation, the death; on the

other, the pomp of pride and festivity in the Governor’s palace. And today?

To whom, then shall we bow our head?”116

Examining the books Sadhana, Personality and Creative Unity, it becomes

evident that Tagore understood God as a “Person” who is supreme, immortal

and infinite, who is the source of all consciousness, goodness and joy. As we

journey with Tagore in his spiritual quest we notice that in the post-Gitanjali

period Tagore no longer saw love, truth, unity and goodness as separate

qualities of God, but as the very essence of God, and so God became for

Tagore the Love, the Truth, the One and the All. He also insisted that this

111 Rabindranath Tagore, Creative Unity, Macmillan, Madras, 1988, p. viii.112 Tagore, Creative Unity, p. 4.113 Tagore, Creative Unity, p. 24.114 Tagore, Creative Unity, p. 36.115 Tagore, Creative Unity, p. 111.116 Tagore, Creative Unity, p. 108.

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God was the universal God for all human beings. He wrote, “You are there

for me. You are there for all.”117 Tagore’s God revealed his own self to all

human races and to the universe in a multiplicity of forms. The most perfect

manifestation of this infinite God is in the heart of finite human. He wrote in

Sadhana, “The revelation of the infinite in the finite, which is the motive of

all creation, is not seen in its perfection in the starry heavens, in the beauty

of the flowers. It is in the soul of man.”118 Knowing this God, who dwells in

our souls, according to Tagore, is beyond human reason or analytical

knowledge, but is possible by a loving and harmonious relationship with the

Infinite and through the joy he brings. It is an intense consciousness of not

actually “knowing” but “being” in perfect harmony in loving relationship

with God.

When we examine Tagore’s understanding of the relationship between God

and human beings in the post-Gitanjali period, we notice that while he

acknowledged that human consciousness, individuality and personality are

God’s gift, he also emphasised that they are part of human beings too

because the same God is “the Supreme Consciousness at the source and

117 Rabindranath Tagore, Fruit Gathering, Macmillan, London, 1916, p. 206.118 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 34.

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centre of every conscious being.”119 In spite of this connection and intimacy

between God and human beings there are differences between them, because

God is the creator, the Infinite and the Supreme, while humans are creatures,

finite and dependant on God. While Tagore stressed this aspect of difference

between the relationship, he nonetheless stressed the fact that the

relationship rested on the foundation of love, which is evident from some of

the names like “beloved”, “sweetheart” with which he addressed God.

Tagore acknowledged that life was a gift from God and life has a God-given

purpose to fulfil. In fulfilling this purpose God accompanies, guides,

empowers and protects human beings and accepts whatever humans bring in

love and freedom to cooperate with God. According to Tagore, when we

fulfil God’s purpose, God’s glory is manifested. The task may not be easy:

Tagore compared life to a perilous voyage, but he was confident that in this

voyage God was at the helm.

From Tagore’s writings of the post-Gitanjali period we also observe that

Tagore used words like freedom, realisation, emancipation and mukti, which

119 Tagore, Personality, p. 154.

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he himself translated as “liberation of the soul”120 - words akin to the word

“salvation”. Tagore saw salvation on two levels: salvation or liberation in

this life, and the final salvation. Salvation in this life, for him, was freedom

from pain, suffering, sin and whatever interfered with God’s purpose for

human beings and posed obstacles to achieving that purpose. The final

liberation, on the other hand, was the perfect realisation of the Infinite. For

Tagore the freedom or mukti is “freedom in the unity of truth”121 which

results from knowing the truth about God, human beings and the universe

not only at an intellectual level, but also by living and realising the truth in

relationships of perfect harmony, love and union. Mukti or salvation at both

levels can be attained only through love and union. Tagore wrote, “There is

no other way to free oneself from that which is destructive in the world

except love.”122 When we experience the love of God fully within our

hearts, it can flow out to others and the universe, and then this world can be

free from conflicts.123

Tagore explained that every individual needed to go through three different

stages to attain salvation. The first is santam, which means true peace which

120 Tagore, The Religion of Man, p. 112.121 Tagore, The Religion of Man, p. 114.122 Rabindranath Tagore, Chithipatra, vol. 3, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1942, p. 11123 Tagore, Chithipatra, vol. 3, p. 11

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can be attained by subduing one’s own self. The second stage is the sivam

which means the true goodness which is the activity of the soul when the

self is subdued, and the final stage is advaitam which means the oneness

with God, self and the universe, in love.124

Tagore was aware that the path to mukti or salvation is not free from

suffering and pain and so humans need God’s grace which is available

through prayer. For Tagore, prayer is as muchas an expression of one’s

faith, trust, hope and love for God, as it is an acknowledgement of one’s

finitude, sinfulness and dependence on God. However prayer is no substitute

for hard work; rather, it is necessary to take responsibility for one’s own life

and work with the grace of God. Tagore prayed,

This is my prayer to thee my Lord, strike at the penury in my heart.

Give me the strength lightly to bear my joys and sorrows. Give me the

strength to make my love fruitful in service. Give me the strength never

to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might. Give me

the strength to raise my mind above daily trifles. And give me the

strength to surrender my strength to thy will with love.125

Prayer for Tagore was essentially the desire to place God at the centre of his

life and to always do God’s will and serve God faithfully.

124 Rabindranath Tagore, Letters to a Friend, George Allen and Unwin, London, 1929, p. 71.125 Tagore, Gitanjali, song no. 36.

56

In exploring Tagore’s understanding of God up to this point of his life, it is

clear that God continued to be the primary object of his heart’s longing. His

seeking for total union with God has become even stronger. He was

confident of God’s presence, sustenance, encouragement and empowerment

of God in his daily life and in his quest to know and experience “life” and

“joy” more fully than he had hitherto glimpsed.126

Mature Years (1927-1941)

The final fourteen years of Tagore’s life were marked by several trips

overseas and within India delivering lectures, and writing as many as

seventeen volumes of verse, seventeen volumes of lectures, essays and

addresses, two books of stories, an autobiographical account of the early

years of his life and several volumes of letters. In our exploration of

Tagore’s spiritual quest, this period of his life is paramount for the purpose

of this dissertation because the long process of the evolution of his

understanding of God, the universe and humans culminates at this stage.

Tagore’s religious views are crystallised in the Hibbert Lectures he delivered

at Oxford University in 1930, which were subsequently published in The

126 Tagore, Fruit Gathering, p. 185.

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Religion of Man (1931). This book is a mature summary of Tagore’s

pluralistic and humanistic thinking developed over the years. I will focus

here on this book, for according to Tagore, it was “the evidence of his

personal life brought into a definite focus”.127

The greatest influence upon Tagore’s religious belief came from ancient

Indian thoughts of the Upanishads and the Vedanta. His early education and

upbringing implanted in his mind these ancient religious ideals. But he could

not accept this influence in an abstract fashion. Therefore he came under the

influence of Vaishnavism, the teachers of the Bhakti-marga, and the lyrics of

poet-saints like Kabir, Hafiz and the Bauls. These influences helped Tagore

to reconcile the abstract and impersonal nature of the Upanishadic Brahman

with the personal God of the bhaktas. This enabled Tagore to have a firm

faith in a personal God who is also the omnipresent reality - the Brahman.

Tagore outlines his reasons for his belief in a personal God in Religion of

Man. He argued that human beings could not be interested in anything with

which they could not have an inter-communion. Humans do not take an

active interest in the unapproachable Brahman because that is merely an

127 Tagore, The Religion of Man, p. 7.

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abstract principle. He said, “Just as the physiology of our beloved is not our

beloved, so the impersonal law is not our God.”128 Tagore thus felt that God

had to be brought nearer to humans. The declaration of “that Thou art” is not

enough, the throb of “that” must be felt within human hearts. Man can take

interest in the Absolute only when it is humanised. Like the Baul singers of

Bengal who do not profess anything about the Brahman yet sing in the glory

of God, Tagore also called God “The Man of his heart” - his Jivan Devata.

Tagore was convinced that God could not be realised through a powerful

and coercive experience, for such experience can form a negative image of

God. The relationship between God and humans can only be a relationship

of love, of an all-comprehensive and powerful feeling of oneness. Such a

relationship is possible only if the “lover” and the “loved one” are conceived

as personal. Our God then has to be God and man at the same time and “if

this faith be blamed for being anthropomorphic”, Tagore reasoned, “then

man is to be blamed for being man.”129

Tagore never hesitated in attributing personality to God. While he accepted

the Upanishadic description of the Brahman, for him the “personality”

remained the most important character of God and so he called God “The

128 Tagore, The Religion of Man, p. 114.129 Tagore, The Religion of Man, p. 130.

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Supreme Person”. Tagore knew from his own experience that in sorrow and

in suffering, when “existence became tasteless and unmeaning”, “when the

heart is hard and parched up”, he looked towards the “Supreme Person” and

prayed, “come upon me with a shower of mercy.”130 This personal God

became his last hope that sustained life and gave strength. Therefore Tagore

believed that the object of human love - their God - must be one with whom

an emotional relationship of love, hope and faith was possible. Tagore felt

strongly about this kind of emotional bond between humans and God. He

also believed that humans were not strangers in the world, resting in a

wayside inn. Humans live in a world which they take to be their own with

which their lives were essentially bound. That is why humans must have a

faith in the reality of a God who would satisfy the emotional urge of

humans. Tagore said, “My world is given to a personal me by a personal

Being.”131 Tagore named this personal Being as the Jivan Devata. This Jivan

Devata reconciled the metaphysical demand of the Upanishads with the

emotional need of human beings. Jivan Devata is the meeting point of the

Vedantic Absolute and the theistic God. Tagore also described Jivan Devata

as the supreme principle of love and it is in this love all distinctions melt

away. This name Jivan Devata sums up Tagore’s understanding of the

130 Tagore, Gitanjali, Song no. 39.131 Tagore, Personality, p. 19.

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relationship between God and humanity. He described Jivan Devata as “the

Innermost Spirit of my being”, “the Infinite that became defined in humanity

and came close to me so as to need my love and cooperation.132 So Tagore

wrote,

That is why Thou take delight in me

That is why Thou hast come down to my level

Without me, O Lord of the three worlds

Thy love would not have found fulfilment.133

The Jivan Devata not only inspired and guided Tagore’s works, but

practically spoke and acted through him. At its feet Tagore brought all his

joys and sorrows, dedicated all his life’s songs, music, dreams and

achievements. He wrote, “Through my words, it is you who speak, blending

your voice with mine ... I say what you make me say.”134 The Jivan Devata,

for Tagore, is none other than God and it is the best name that represents

Tagore’s idea of God as having an intimate and personal relationship with

himself, and with every individual. Tagore was confident that his Jivan

Devata, the God of life, would be at the helm of the boat in his final voyage.

He believed that with death all the mysteries would be over for him and as

he would see the face of Jivan Devata, he would see “the everlasting face of

132 Tagore, The Religion of Man, p. 60.133 Tagore, Gitanjali, song no. 59.134 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 4, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1986, pp. 55-56.

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truth”.135 He expressed it in the song which he had composed to be sung at

his death,

In front lies the ocean of peace,

Launch the boat, Helmsman.

You will be the comrade ever,

Take, O take him in your lap ...

Giver of freedom, your forgiveness, your mercy.

Will be wealth inexhaustible in the eternal journey.

May the mortal bonds perish ...

And may he know in his fearless heart the great Unknown.136

Looking closely at 80 years of Tagore’s spiritual journey it is clear that

Tagore’s quest for, and understanding of, God though rooted in the ancient

Hindu faith of his family evolved throughout his life, and at the end arrived

to what he called “the religion of man”. His spiritual quest started with

exploration in the nature and he was profoundly influenced by a deep sense

of its wonder and mystery. He realised the presence of a pervasive spirit

behind nature and yearned for deeper knowledge for the unseen through his

poems. He wanted to know the Creator of the universe who was working

behind the physical manifestation of nature’s beauty and mystery. Tagore’s

heart ached for union with the Creator. Following the Vaishnava tradition he

135 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 453.136 Tagore, Poems, p. 218.

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searched for God as a lover. He made no distinction between the lover and

the beloved in offering his flowers of devotion. He became familiar with the

same Spirit of God in the pages of Vedas and Upanishads. Understanding

God’s all pervasive nature, in his spiritual quest in mature years Tagore

sought contact with God through human beings. As he became convinced

that God was more intimately manifest in human beings than just as an

installed deity, he realised the futility of looking for God and offering

prayers in temples alone. Tagore’s God was thus the result of a sustained

quest for a suitable form of religious expression. He came to the end of his

quest by humanising God and finding a place for God among the poor and

the low and the lost. The God, for Tagore, dwells in every human being

irrespective of their colour, caste and creed. This God was the object of

Tagore’s love, devotion and service, and the basis for interfaith dialogue.

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Chapter Three

Tagore and Hinduism

There are two general views regarding Tagore’s religious belief. One view

suggests that he was a Vedantic, a thinker who drew his inspiration from the

Upanishads. The other view suggests that he was an advocate of a theism, more

or less like, if not identical with, Christianity.1 The perspective is shaped by

context. Generally people in the East strongly feel Tagore’s Vedantic affiliation,

and people in the West sense his Christian resonances.

In this chapter I will discuss Hindu influence on Tagore. But at the outset I will

briefly introduce Hinduism. Ninian Smart rightly commented that even to talk of

a single entity called Hinduism “can be misleading”,2 for there is a great variety

of philosophies, customs, rituals, forms of worship, gods, myths, arts and music

that are loosely contained within the bounds of Hinduism. Even the term “Hindu”

is problematic because it is not given by the practitioners of the religion. The

term “Hindu” started as a geoculturally descriptive term. It is derived from the

word Sindhu, a Sanskrit word meaning river, which is found in many Hindu

scriptures, and applied to the river now called the Indus which acted as a natural

1 S. Radhakrishnan, The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore, Macmillan and Co. Ltd. London, 1918, p. 2.2 Ninian Smart, The World’s Religions, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 1992, p. 43.

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north-western boundary against invasion of the subcontinent. The plural

“Hindus” was first used by the Persians to denote the people who lived on the

subcontinental side of the river boundary. Later, in the eighth century CE when

the Muslims arrived, they distinguished between Hindus and Muslims - Hindus

being Indians other than Muslims. The idea was picked up and continued by the

British who wrote and spoke as if all Hindus belonged to the same religion,

which they described as Hinduism. The term “Hinduism”, therefore, was used as

an umbrella word to cover a multiplicity of traditions, cults, practices and beliefs,

many of which had little or no relationship with each other.3

Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, a Hindu scholar, philosopher, comparative religionist

and statesman, published in 1927 a book named The Hindu View of Life, which

has since been reprinted several times and continues to be a popular introduction

to Hinduism. The essence of Hinduism, Radhakrishnan claimed, is the Vedanta.

By “Vedanta” Radhakrishnan meant Advaita Vedanta; that is, the non-dualist or

monist standpoint expressed in the Upanishads. He states that “the Vedanta is not

a religion, but religion itself in its most universal and deepest significance.”4

Radhakrisnan, like his famous advaitic predecessor Swami Vivekananda

(1863-1902), brought this viewpoint up to date in dialogue with contemporary

3 Geoffrey A. Oddie, Hinduism - A Christian Perspective in the context of a Multicultural Society, Victorian Council of Churches, Hawthorne, Australia, not dated, pp. 6-7.4 S. Radhakrishnan, The Hindu View of Life, Unwin, London, 1980, p. 18.

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Western thought. In short, Radhakrisnan’s and Vivekananda’s basic teaching is

that there is only one reality that is eternally real: Brahman. All other existences

are only phenomenally real, a transient appearance, the result of congenital

spiritual ignorance that we must ultimately overcome. In this sense Brahman is

identical with our deepest self, the Atman. The goal of life is to realise, on the

basis of appropriate ethical lifestyle, the deepest self, or the Brahman.5

This chapter examines four different Hindu influences on Tagore: his family, the

Upanishads, Vaisnavism, and the Brahma Samaj.

Family

In order to obtain a clear picture of the family influence on Tagore’s spiritual life

I will briefly look at the life of his grandfather Dwarakanath Tagore, and then his

father Debendranath Tagore who had enormous influence on his son’s moral and

intellectual development.6

Dwarakanath Tagore (1794-1846), the founder of the Jorasanko branch of the

Tagore family, was the second son of Rammoni Tagore and Menaka Devi. He

was a remarkable man and ushered the family into its special role in Bengali

5 Julius Lipner, “A Hindu View of Life” in The Meaning of Life in the World Religions, ed. Joseph Runzo and Nancy M. Martin, Oneworld, Oxford, 2007, p. 112.6 Krishna Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1980, p. 22.

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history and culture. Dwarakanath received his formal education in a school in

Calcutta run by a Mr Sherboume, son of an English father and a Brahmin mother.

He was proficient in Persian, Arabic and English. He was a leading businessman,

philanthropist, and India’s first industrial entrepreneur. He was counted as a

highly respected leader of Calcutta’s Hindu community and was consulted by the

British government upon practically all questions of public welfare.7 It was

through his encouragement that the Zeminder Council, the Indian Bank, the

Union Bank, the Hindu College, the Medical College and other institutions were

founded, and it was through his philanthropy that they flourished. Dwarakanath

played a leading part in Bengal’s bitter battle against the infamous “black” Press

Act of 1824, and secured the Act’s repeal.

Dwarakanath was a cosmopolitan by nature and his house was open not only to

his country people but to people of every nation. He had close contacts with

royals and radicals both in India and Europe.8 During two trips to England and

Europe in 1842 and 1845-46, he was received with deep respect. In England he

was welcomed by Queen Victoria and dined with her at Buckingham Palace, and

was granted the “Freedom of the city of Edinburgh”. He met English writers and

intellectuals such as Charles Dickens, Count D’Orsay, William Thackeray,

7 James W. Furrell, The Tagore Family: A Memoir, Thacker, Spink and Co., Calcutta, 1892, p. 36.8 Uma Dasgupta, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2004, p. 2.

67

Douglas Jerrold, Mark Lemon and Henry Mayhew. On the continent, he met

France’s Emperor Louis-Philippe and the King of Italy. In Rome he was

presented to Pope Gregory XVI and he apologised for keeping his turban on,

explaining that in India it was a mark of respect to a dignitary. Among the

radicals, he met George Thompson in London, a firebrand opponent of slavery,

who returned to Calcutta with him in 1842 at his invitation.9 Because of the royal

pomp with which he travelled Europe he was called “the Oriental Croesus”, and

earned the title “Prince Dwarakanath Tagore”.

Dwarakanath was a Brahmin but not strictly orthodox. An incident might

illustrate his heterodoxy: on his return from England in 1842, orthodox Hindus

protested against what they considered Dwarakanath’s violation of the rules of

caste, in crossing the sea and eating with outcastes. They insisted on his

performing an expiatory ceremony to avoid excommunication. But Dwarakanath

refused to comply with their demands and after a considerable amount of time the

agitation was abandoned.

Noted among Dwarakanath’s philanthropy is his contribution towards the

advancement of education. Ignoring strong opposition from orthodox Hindus, he

9 Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson, Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-Minded Man, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1996, pp. 8-26.

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promoted education for Hindu women. He not only contributed money for the

foundation of the Medical College in Calcutta but also supported its advancement

with great zeal. When the college opened its anatomy department, Dwarakanath

was personally present and witnessed the dissection of a human body in order to

encourage medical students, because touching a cadaver was considered an

abhorrence of the gravest nature in the eyes of orthodox Hindus. Such was his

courage and determination to advance the cause of scientific medical studies,

even in the face of bitter opposition from Hindu religious leaders.

Dwarakanath’s liberal and enlightened beliefs brought him close to the great

reformer of the time, Raja Ram Mohan Roy, who founded the Brahmo Samaj.

Dwarakanath’s whole-hearted support for Roy helped popularise the Samaj

widely. He gave his unstinting help to Ram Mohan Roy in order to reform

Hinduism and rid it of evil practices such as suttee, the burning of a widow alive

on her husband’s funeral pyre.

Dwaraknath’s love for literature, art, music and meeting the best minds of the

world made a profound impact on Tagore. Tagore restored Dwarakanath’s vision

of the Upanishadic perception of becoming one with the whole world and making

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that a dominant element in the evolution of his cultural ideology.10 Both

Dwarakanath and Rabindranath had a sense of national pride yet both appreciated

the energy and discipline of the West. Both shared a vision of East and West’s

cooperation to advance humanity’s progress. Dwarakanath’s uncompromising

attitude to Hindu orthodoxies and his relentless fight against the evil practices of

Hinduism left indelible impressions upon Tagore.11

Debendranath Tagore, the eldest of Dwarakanath’s three sons, was bom in 1817.

He grew up in luxury and pomp until his youth when he became aware of the

contradiction between two extreme ways of life - the one of worldly success and

self-indulgence of his father, and the other of piety and self-abnegation of his

pious mother Digambari Devi. This awareness made him introspective and

brooding. Watching alone his grandmother on her deathbed by the bank of the

Ganges River when he was eighteen, he was seized by an intense spiritual elation

and lost his normal consciousness. He recorded this in his autobiography,

Autobiography of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore (1916): “I was as if no longer

the same man. A strong aversion to wealth arose within me. The coarse bamboo-

mat on which I sat seemed to be my fitting seat, carpets and costly spreading

10 Dasgupta, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 6.11 Dasgupta, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 6.

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seemed hateful, in my mind was awakened a joy unfelt before.”12 Although

Dwarakanath expected that his eldest son Debendranath would follow his

example and reach the topmost heights of rank and fame and worldly honours,

this religious experience set Debendranath on a different course. His aspirations

were directed towards the spiritual rather than the material world.

Debendranath decided to give away many of his personal belongings to his

friends and others. But divesting himself of material possessions did not bring

him the joy and the understanding for which he longed. He avidly read books on

religion and Western philosophy in order to deepen his faith and draw closer to

God, but still he found no satisfaction. One day when in deep despair, he came by

chance on a tom piece of paper, a page from a Sanskrit book, on which was

inscribed the first verse of the Isapanishad:13

God is immanent in all things,

in whatsoever lives and moves in the universe;

enjoy therefore without being attached;

covet not wealth belonging to others.

12 Debendranath Tagore, Autobiography ofMaharshi Debendranath Tagore, Macmillan & Co., London, 1916 (Translated into English by Satyendranath Tagore and Indira Devi)13 Isapanishad: Isa means first. So it is the first of the Vedic Upanishads. Upa means near and anishad means sit down. These are spiritual teachings imparted by an enlightened spiritual master to his disciples sitting near him. Ipanishad contains eighteen two-line Sanskrit verses covering a wide spectrum of philosophy, religion, ritualism and metaphysics in a concise manner. It was written by Vyasadeva. isavasyam idam sarvam yat kihca jagatyam jagattena tyaktena bhuhjitha ma gOdhah kasya svid dhanam.

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This verse made a deep impression on Debendranath and later too on his son

Rabindranath Tagore. After this incident Debendranath’s faith started taking deep

root in God and he started tasting divine joy.

After his father’s death in 1846, Debendranath became the patriarch of the

Tagore family and managed the family’s businesses and vast estates. He fulfilled

all these roles and obligations with great care, paid off his father’s numerous

personal and business debts and still increased the zamindari income

considerably.

Debendranath loved travelling. Like the sages of the past he loved the lofty,

snow-capped mountains. Almost every year he travelled over the western plains

of the Himalayas and spent time in contemplation and in enjoying the beauty and

grandeur of nature. His autobiography is full of vivid descriptions of nature and

astute observations on human life. The English writer on mysticism, Evelyn

Underhill, compared the autobiography with those of Henry Suso, Madame

Guy on, and St. Teresa.14

14 Debendranath Tagore, Autobiography of Maharshi Debendranath Tagore, p. v.

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In 1856 Debendranath was overcome by a persistent and morbid sense of

renouncing all material things and worldly affairs, and he longed to retire

permanently to his beloved Himalayas. However, the sight of a waterfall during

one of his many visits to the mountains changed this desire. He observed the

blind destiny of the pure water of a waterfall which as soon as it entered the

plains became muddied and yet fertilised the land and helped humankind. He

thereupon came to understand the importance of his work. He returned to the

world of his duties in Calcutta, and continued on with the religious and social

movement he had started. The young Tagore, on number of occasions,

accompanied his father on his sojourns to the Himalayas. On these occasions

Debendranath would teach his son to memorise verses from the Bhagavad-Gita

and the Upanishads.l5 The close association between the young Tagore and his

father during these sojourns was the most formative influence on his mental and

moral development, and stimulated a strong desire within him to emulate his

father’s spiritual example.

Debendranath was critical of Hinduism’s idolatrous practices and meaningless

rituals. He studied the Upanishads thoroughly and, being enlightened by them, he

rejected both the polytheism of popular Hinduism and the absolute monism of the

15 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindraachanabali (collection of Tagore’s works), vol. 11, Editors R K Dasgupta et. al., Government of West Bengal, Calcutta, 1989, p. 200.

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Advaita Vedanta philosophy. He worshipped a personal God who he believed to

be present both in the individual soul and in the universe. This was essentially

Debendranath’s theistic position, which he decided to spread among others. So in

1839 he along with his friends and followers founded a purely theistic association

named Tattvabodhini Sabha (Theistic Association). The members of the

association dedicated themselves to the worship of one God and to disseminating

the basic tenets of the Hindu faith as propounded in the Upanishads.

Eleven years prior to the foundation of Tattvabodhini Sabha, Raja Ram Mohan

Roy had founded the Brahma Sabha]6 (also known as Samaj). During the British

rule in India, Roy realised that the emerging knowledge from the West could not

be ignored. He was deeply appreciative of the liberal philosophical traditions of

Hinduism and at the same time loathed its evil practices, like the caste, suttee and

dowry systems. So he founded the Brahma Samaj, a religious movement to

popularise the enlightened ideas of Hinduism and to rid it of its evil practices. His

desire was to make Brahma religion a universal religion consistent with the

changing world of his time. 16

16 Brahma Sabha (Samaj): It literally means the society of worshippers of the “One True God”. Brahma means one who worships Brahman or the Supreme Spirit of the universe and Samaj means community of people.

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When Debendranath found parallels between his own ideas and those of Roy, he

joined the Brahma Samaj and amalgamated his organisation with it in 1843. He

subsequently transformed the Samaj into a vigorous centre of a living and

dynamic faith.17 Debendranath gave Roy’s philosophical ideas an institutional

form: he gave the Samaj organisation, spiritual and ethical discipline and

sacraments. Under Debendranath’s leadership, according to Krishna Kripalani,

the Samaj became “a crusade for social and moral reform working as a powerful

ferment in the moribund Hindu Society of the day.”18

Debendranath did not secede entirely from the established Hindu religion; rather,

he wished to reform it. He opposed the extreme positions held by some Brahmos

and Hindus: the one of rejecting everything of the traditional Hindu religion, and

the other of claiming that everything in Hinduism was holy and honourable. So

even after his acceptance of Brahma religion, some religious functions at his

house continued to be held according to the prescriptions of the Hindu faith such

as the Upanayana or the sacred thread ceremony of the Brahmins. In 1872

Debendranath arranged and personally presided over the Upanayana of

Rabindranath Tagore and his two brothers according to the Hindu rites.19

17 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 2518 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 2519 The investiture with the sacred thread and initiation in the Vedic rites is considered as the ‘second birth’ for the Brahmins. The Brahmins are known as twice born.

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However, he was a staunch opponent of what he considered were idolatrous and

superstitious practices within the Hindu faith. His thoroughgoing theism was a

new interpretation of Hinduism that rejected all forms of idolatry and refused to

compromise it or explain it away. His son Rabindranath’s theism was of the same

clear and unequivocal kind.

Debendranath’s personality, asceticism and faith in One God as described in

Vedic Hinduism had a profound influence upon Tagore’s intellectual and

spiritual development. Tagore consciously and unconsciously imbibed much

from his father’s strength of character, honesty, love for nature, dedication to

ideals and religious devotedness. His father’s example had a strong impact on

Tagore’s own attitude towards the Hindu religion.20 In the introduction to his

book Sadhana (1916), Tagore wrote, “The writer has been brought up in a family

where texts of the Upanishads are used in daily worship; and he has had before

him the example of his father.”21 Much of what Tagore thought, felt and wrote

was conditioned by this influence.

While we notice the influence of Hinduism on Tagore’s life, it is to be noted as

well that he had only an “ironic acceptance of the orthodox Hindu society of the

20 Rabindranath Tagore, On The Edges Of Time, Greenwood Press, Westport, Conn., 1958, p. 6.21 Rabindranath Tagore, Sadhana, Macmillan, Madras, 1988, p. 7.

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day”22 and “never missed an occasion to ridicule Hindu orthodoxy and its

fantastic pretensions.”23 His attraction to Hinduism was “confined to his

admiration of the philosophic wisdom of the Upanishads and the literary heritage

of Sanskrit.”24 Although he distanced himself from orthodox Hinduism, and

challenged and criticised many aspects of its teachings and practices, he was not

opposed to Hinduism per se and imbibed much inspiration from its scriptures.

Upanishads

Of all the Hindu scriptures it was the Upanishads that influenced Tagore the

most. The religion of his paternal home was based upon the utterance of Indian

sages in the Upanishad.25 26 Tagore had learnt the Gayatri Mantra at the time of his

sacred thread ceremony when he was a young boy. Since then he recited mantra

everyday and considered it as the epitome of the Upanishads26 The mantra

helped Tagore understand that God, the Eternal Spirit, was the creator of the

universe and that there was an essential unity between the creator and the

creation. The Eternal Spirit whose power creates the universe also irradiates the

human mind with the light of a consciousness to realise unity. According to

Tagore, our relationship with all through union with God is “the ultimate goal

22 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, p.193.23 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, p.147.24 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, pp. 175-17625 Rabindranath Tagore, The Religion of an Artist, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1988, p. 15.26 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 5.

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and fulfilment of humanity.”27 The spirit of the teachings of the Upanishads,

according to Tagore, is to “embrace all”.28

In The Religion of Man (1930), we find Tagore’s God does not live in splendid

isolation in a holy Hindu temple guarded by overzealous priests, nor confined to

secluded places. Tagore’s God, who^he found in the Upanishads, wasc

everywhere, pervading and transcending the world: “Isa vasyamidam sarvanT,

that is, “By the Lord is covered all - all that changes in this changing world.”

Tagore felt God’s presence in the beauty and glory of the creation. He saw God

in the changing seasons, in the flowers and fruits, in the coming of the rain.

Tagore’s God was personal and he felt God’s nearness in all human relationships

of love and affection. Tagore was convinced that God could be found in every

person and could be loved. He wrote, “In the woman who is good we feel Him, in

the man who is true we know Him, in our children He is born again and again,

the Eternal child.”29

Tagore’s familiarity with the Upanishads and their influence upon him are

evident in the ease and frequency with which he quoted from them and referred

to them in his writings. The central point gleaned from the Upanishads and

27 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 11.28 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 12.29 Rabindranath Tagore, Personality, Macmillan, Madras, 1985, p. 93.

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developed by Tagore which is particularly pertinent to this thesis is his

understanding of the relationship between God, human beings and the universe.

Everything in the universe, according to Tagore, is linked by the all-pervading

Spirit, who is also one’s own spirit, “the breath of the soul.”30 “The consciousness

of the soul”, he wrote in Creative Unity, “is the consciousness of oneness beyond

all boundaries.”31 The truth is in the expression of a harmonious unity in which

the two reveal the One.32

Tagore discerned that the ultimate end and the fulfilment of humanity, as taught

by the Upanishads, was the state of realising our relationship with all, of entering

into everything through union with God, for the Upanishad taught that the

“emancipation of our soul lies in its realising the ultimate truth of unity.”33 This

ultimate truth, according to Tagore, can only be realised when in following the

Upanishadic teachings, we realise others in us and ourselves in others.34

Tagore found hope for future humanity in the writings of the Upanishads, as they

taught adherents to recognise each human as “kindred”. For Tagore, this

identification was not an “anthropomorphic hallucination” but “crossing the

30Tagore, Sadhana, p. 13.31 Tagore, Personality, pp. 66-67.32 Rabindranath Tagore, Creative Unity, Macmillan, London, 1922, p. 6.33 Tagore, Creative Unity, p. 45.34 Rabindranath Tagore, Letters from Russia (A translation by Sasadhar Sinha of Russ iar chithi), Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1984, p. 147.

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limiting barriers of the individual, to become more than man, to become one with

all.”35 This idea, for Tagore, was neither merely intellectual nor emotional, for in

it he found an ethical basis for human service. The teaching of the Upanishads

that the “Supreme Being is all pervading” implies that the Supreme Being is the

innate good in all, so when humans are truly united in knowledge, love and

service with all beings they realise their own self in the all pervading God who is

the essence of all goodness.36

Although the influence of the Upanishad upon Tagore was strong, it must be

noted that he did not accept the Upanishadic doctrines of karma and samsara, the

transmigration of souls, and the doctrine of maya, the idea that the visible world

is unreal; nor did he accept the monistic interpretation of the Upanishads by

Sankaracharya,37 the best known classical and most important Hindu philosopher.

Tagore’s interpretation of the Upanishads was neither slavish nor literal. He

believed that the religious texts like the Upanishads were “endowed with

boundless vital growth” and that the meaning of those words which came out of

the experiences of great hearts could never be exhausted by any one system of

35 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 14.36 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 15.37 Sankara (7887-820?): Philosopher and theologian, bom in Kerala, Southern India, became a Hindu ascetic and exponent of the Advaita Vedanta school of philosophy. He reformed Hinduism with a monistic interpretation of the Vedanta, which ascribed all reality to a single unitary source, which he identified as ‘Brahma’. He declared all plurality and difference as nothing but illusion.

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logical interpretations; rather, “growth” took place through the explanations

given to them “by the commentaries of individual lives”.38

Tagore had learnt from many different minds and drew upon various sources, the

influences of which enriched, balanced and modified each other. In the scope of

this dissertation, I will now look into the influence of Vaishnavism upon Tagore

which helped him modify the philosophy of the Upanishads, with their emphasis

on bhakti, the attachment in devotion and obedience to a personal God.

Vaishnavism

Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism distinguished from other schools by its

worship of Vishnu and his associated incarnations Rama and Krishna. Vaishnavas

believe that there is only one Supreme God, who simultaneously permeates all

creation and exists beyond it, being both immanent and transcendent. The

distinctive religious belief of the Vaishnavas is its emphasis on God as a person.

One popular name for God among the Vaishnavites is Purushottama, “the

Supreme Person”.

38 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 7.

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Vaishnavism was introduced to South India by the philosopher Ramanuja in a

revolt against the dry and sterile intellectualism of the Vedanta philosophy. It was

brought to North India by Ramanada in the fifteenth century and because of its

casteless nature, it drew many followers. The songs and poems of Chaitanya in

the fifteenth century and Tulsidasa in the sixteenth century are filled with loving

devotion to Rama. Bengal has a remarkable tradition of Vaishnavism.

As a young boy Tagore was first introduced to Vaishnavism by his friend and

Vaishnava devotee Shreekanta Singh39 and his elder brother Dwijendranath. He

was fascinated by the Vaishnava literature’s lyrical movement, the metrical

boldness and the directness of its imagery. Tagore acknowledged, “If you ask me

what gave me boldness when I was young, I should say that it was my early

acquaintance with the old Vaishnava poems of Bengal, full of freedom in meter

and expression.”40 Tagore read the Vaishnava poems collected by Akshay Sarkar

and Saroda Mitter and was attracted by the magnetic Vaishnava lores. He recalled

this experience in his autobiography, Reminiscences: “One noon the clouds had

gathered thickly. Rejoining in the grateful shade of the cloudy midday rest hour, I

lay prone on the bed in my inner room and wrote on a slate the imitation of

39 Sukumar Sen, Rabindrasilpe Premachaitanya O vaishnava Bhavana ( Love Consciousness and Vaishnava Thought in Rabindranath’s Artistic Creations), Ananda Publishers, Calcutta, 1986, p. 7.40 Rabindranath Tagore, ‘My Life’ in Lectures and Addresses by Rabindranath Tagore selected by Anthony. X. Soares, Macmillan, London, 1955, p.3.

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Maithili poem, ‘Gahana kusuma kunja majhe' ... (in the midst of the flower

garden ...).” The line was followed by others and they swelled into poems which

were subsequently published in the magazine Bharati under the title

Bhanusingher Padabali.41

The key note in Vaishnavism is love. The Infinite God and finite human beings

are eternally bound by the relationship of love, and both are equally eager to be in

the company of the other. According to the Vaishnava faith, God needs human

beings as much as human beings need God for the fulfilment of love. God’s love

finds its finality in human love. Tagore was inspired by this idea and tried to

weave a firm relationship between the two. He wrote, “In our country the

Vaishnavas have realised this truth that God has to rely on human souls for the

fulfilment of his love.”42 He was impressed by the Vaishnava idea that in the

abiding relationship of love between God and human beings lies the “greatest

glory of human existence.”43

Vaishnavas do not subscribe to the absolutistic conception of God. Their

conception of God is humanistic for they believe that we cannot love the

“Absolute” but can love a “Personal God” who can be imagined in “human form”

41 Rabindranath Tagore, Reminiscences, Macmillan, London, 1917, p. 43.42 Tagore, Personality, p. 102.43 Tagore, Sadhana, pp. 95-96.

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playing with finite human beings as friend and lover. Vaishnavas try to eliminate

the distance between God and humans in order to make the relationship stronger.

In Tagore we find a similar idea. According to him, human beings may only

respect a remote, indifferent Absolute, but they cannot love God. So, for Tagore,

God is a most near and dear person for whose companionship humans long. He

wrote, “You are my own, my own ... I have caught you and wrapped you, my

love.”44 Tagore was particularly influenced by the Vaishnava idea of Lila, the

endless activity of God’s love in creation. Creation is the reflection of the

spontaneous overflow of God’s love and joy, and that is why it is endless. God

creates human beings, showers upon them the varied gifts of nature and woos

them to join in the eternal activity of love.45

Tagore was also influenced by the Vaishnava idea of Abhisara, the journey of

love. Like the Vaishnavas, Tagore believed that the truth of human life was to

realise the Eternal in love and in complete union with Him in this journey of love.

Along the journey to realise complete union there may be viraha, pangs of

separation, but they are also sweet in anticipation that in this journey God is also

active, and there will be reunion. Along the journey Tagore found touches of the

Eternal in the beauties of nature and in the love of fellow humans.

44 Rabindranath Tagore, The Gardener, Macmillan, Madras, 1988, p. 111.45 Rabindranath Tagore, Crossing, Rupa and Co, New Delhi, 1976, p. 73.

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We can conclude that the Vaishnava influence upon Tagore helped him

understand God as the “Supreme Lover”, whose touch we experience in all our

relations of love - the love of nature’s beauty, the love of fellow human beings,

and the love of the beloved. This love illuminates our consciousness of reality

and although there are numerous obstacles along the journey of love it finds its

fulfilment in perfect union with the Supreme Lover.46

Brahmo Samaj

Now I will examine the influence of the Hindu reform movement47 Brahmo Samaj

on Tagore. To understand this influence, it is necessary to provide a brief history of

the Samaj.

The name Brahmo Samaj is derived from two words: Brahmo, which means a

worshipper of Brahma, the one true God, and Samaj, which means a society or

community. So together Brahmo Samaj means the society of the worshippers of the

one true God.

46 Tagore, The Religion of Man, p. 66.47 Lindsay Jones (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Religion, 2nd Edition, Thomson Gale, Michigan, 2005, p. 1028.

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As British rule consolidated in India during the eighteenth century, two factors

contributed to the formation of the Brahmo Samaj in the next century. Firstly, the

Hindu social system had begun to stagnate and placed too much emphasis on

destructive traditions and practices, such as the caste system, child marriage and

Suttee. Secondly, there emerged an English educated class of Indians who fulfilled

the administrative and economic needs of British rule. Their new-found knowledge

of Western ideas and standards made them aware of the social evils of traditional

Hinduism, and soon a number of religious and social movements began to reform

Hindu religion and society.48

Prominent among this group of reformers was the Brahmo Samaj. It was founded in

1828 by India’s first modem reformer, Ram Mohan Roy, with the objectives of

reforming Hinduism from within by retrieving the treasures of Indian and Hindu

traditions; incorporating into it new ideals and techniques brought in from the West;

fighting against the narrow orthodoxy and superstitious practices of Hinduism; and

claiming the universality of the Hindu religion.49

48 For a detailed study of these movements read J.N. Farquhar’s Modern Religious Movements in India, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 1967, pp. 74-81.49 Frans L. Damen, Crisis and Religious Renewal in the Brahmo Samaj (1860-1884), Department Orientalistiek, Katholieke Universiteit, Leuven, Belgium, 1983, p. 3.

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Roy was bom into a Hindu Brahmin family whose members were renowned for their

piety and orthodoxy. He studied Sanskrit, English, Arabic and Persian. He translated

Sanskrit texts on Vedanta from the Upanishads. His skill in Arabic helped him study

the Qur’an in its original language, which convinced him of the errors of Hindu

idolatry. His first published essay, Tuhfat al-Muwahiddin (literally, “A Present to the

Believers in One God”), was a lengthy rationalistic appeal on monotheism written in

Persian. It resonated with Islamic objections to idolatry and superstition.

During his years of employment with the East India Company, Roy undertook

serious study of Tantric and Jain literature as well as Christian theology and Muslim

Sufi and mutazillite (rationalistic Islamic theology) thought. He had, as a result,

come to the conclusion that there was a basic unity underlying the Hindu, Muslim

and Christian religions. In 1820 he published The Precepts of Jesus, the Guide to

Peace and Happiness, which was a collection of all the moral, ethical and spiritual

precepts of Jesus as recorded in the four gospels, without reference to the miracles. It

was a daring venture since there was a strong prejudice against Christianity at that

time. But what prompted him to take such a bold step is best described in Roy’s own

words:

This simple code of religion and morality is so admirably calculated to elevate

men’s ideas to high and liberal notions of One God, who has equally subjected

all living creatures, without distinction of caste, rank or wealth, to change,

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disappointment, pain and death; and has equally admitted to all to be partakers

of the bountiful mercies which he has lavished over nature, and is also so well

fitted to regulate the conduct of the human race in the discharge of their various

duties to God, to themselves and the society, that I can not but hope the best

effects from its promulgation in the present form.50

Roy received severe criticism for this publication from William Carey and Joshua

Marshman, Baptist missionaries from Serampore. They viewed the absence of

reference to the miracles in Roy’s Precepts as insufficient for the purpose of human

salvation and branded him a “heathen”.51 The accusations gave rise to a controversy

which finally turned upon the doctrine of the Trinity. In his defence Roy appealed to

Christians to support his stand on the unity of the Godhead with arguments from the

Hebrew Scriptures and the Greek New Testament.52

In 1821 Roy came into contact with two other Baptist missionaries, William Yates

and William Adam in Calcutta, and helped them to translate the four gospels into

Bengali. Roy’s position on the Trinity led to friction with Yates, but received

support from Adam, who himself later converted to Unitarianism. Roy and Adam,

with the help of four other Bengalis and five British people, established the Calcutta

50 Ram Mohan Roy, Precepts of Jesus: The guide to Peace and Happiness (1820), in The English Works of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, eds. Kalidas Nag and Debajyoti Burman), Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, Calcutta, 1946, p. 485.51 Sivanath Sastri, History of the Brahmo Samaj, R. Chatterjee, Calcutta, 1919, p. 32.52 Sastri, History of the Brahmo Samaj, p. 33.

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Unitarian Committee in 1821.53 Under the leadership of Adam, Unitarian services

were held in Calcutta and Roy was one of their major supporters. He approved of the

Unitarian “rejection of polytheism and idolatry under every sophisticated

modification” and of its belief in the doctrine of “divine unity” which resounded

with the teachings of the Vedas.54 Although Roy actively supported the Unitarian

Church, he gradually moved away from Unitarianism and formed the Brahmo

Samaj55

The Brahmo Samaj was founded on the simple code of religion and morality

grounded in a belief in the one ultimate being who is “the animating and regulating

principle of the whole collective body of the universe” and who is the “origin of all

individual souls”.56 The first Brahmo Samaj place of worship was consecrated in

January 1830. Its trust deed declared that the new place was open to all sorts of

people without distinction.57 Roy strictly mandated that “no graven image, statue, or

sculpture, carving, painting, picture, portrait or the likeness of anything” should be

admitted in the premises of the prayer house, and neither should there be any

53 Brian A. Hatcher, Remembering Ram Mohan: An Essay on the Reemergence of Modern Hinduism, in History of Religions, Vol. 46, no. 1, Aug. 2006, The university of Chicago Press, p. 21.54 Roy, The English Works of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, pp. 193-194.55 J. N. Pankratz, The Response of the Brahmo Samaj, in Modern Indian Responses to Religious Pluralism, Ed. Harold G. Coward, State University of New York Press, NY, 1987, p.22.56 Roy, The English Works of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, p. 198.57 Roy, The English Works of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, p. 213.

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sacrifices of any animal or other living creatures.58 He also made sure that no

element of the worship, whether a sermon, prayer or hymn, could be offered to

“revile, slight or contempt” others; instead, they should promote “charity, morality,

piety, benevolence, virtue and the strengthening of the bonds of union between men

of all religious persuasions and creeds.”59

The congregational form of Brahmo worship was similar to that of Christian

worship, but all other elements were of Hindu character. The Vedas and

Upanishads were read in Sanskrit and explained in Bengali, hymns based on

Sanskrit texts or devotional themes were sung in Sanskrit or Bengali, and Vedic

prayers were chanted in Sanskrit. The dominant theological themes of the

worship were the unity of God, the inadequacy of worship through images, the

centrality of reason in understanding God, the importance of service to others as

an expression of one’s belief, the primacy of direct experience of God, and

tolerance of the view that all knowledge of God was but partial. Roy was grateful

for the Christian revelation through which the One True God, the Universal

Being, was made known, and especially for the life and teachings of Jesus, but in

58 Roy, The English Works of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, p. 213.59 Roy, The English Works of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, p. 213.

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his writings he also insisted that the Universal Being was also revealed through

the Hindu scriptures, such as the Upanishads and the Vedas.60

In its infancy the Brahmo Samaj faced several crises. First, there was the problem

of identity. Adam was disappointed that the Samaj did not become more rooted in

Indian history and culture. He expressed his disappointment in a letter to a friend

in January 1829:

There has accordingly been formed a Hindu Unitarian Association, the

object of which is, however, strictly Hindu and not Christian, i.e., to teach

and practise the worship of the One Only God on the basis of the divine

authority of the Veda, and not of the Christian Scriptures. This is the basis of

which I have distinctly informed Ram Mohan and my other native friends

that I can not approve.61

Adam hoped that the Brahmo Samaj would prove to be a “step towards

[Unitarian] Christianity”62, but his hope was not realised.

There were also problems of leadership. After Roy’s death in 1833, there was no

leader of equal standing to take his place. His scholarly critique and polemical

skills were sorely missed. So, too, was his advocacy for tolerance and mutual

respect between religions.

60 Roy, The English Works of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, pp. 3-4 and 135-189.61 Sophia Dobson Collet, The Life and Letters of Raja Ram Mohan Roy (3 rd ed.), Sadharan Brahmo Samaj, Calcutta, 1962, p. 222.62 Collet, The Life and Letters of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, p. 247.

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Five years after Roy’s death, the Brahmo Samaj was revitalised under the

leadership of Debendranath Tagore. Firstly, he set about removing caste

distinctions in the Samaj and polytheistic and idolatrous practices in the homes of

its members. To correct these he established a covenant for Samaj members

which included vows renouncing caste, idolatry and affirming patterns of worship

as taught in the Vedanta.63 He also created new liturgies with non-idolatrous rites

for Brahmo schooling and propagation. Under Debendranath Tagore’s leadership,

the Samaj moved closer to mainstream Hinduism. It drew adherents from among

educated Hindus and by 1847 the number of covenanted Brahmos reached 767.64

In 1848 Debendranath compiled a book titled The Brahma Religion, selecting

from the Upanishads verses that appealed to him and reflected his ideas of true

religion.65 In essence Debendranath’s creed may be summarised in the following

three articles:66

1. In the beginning there was naught. The one Supreme alone existed. He

created the whole universe.

63 For full covenant see, Sastri, History of the Brahmo Samaj, p. 558.64 Pankratz, The Response of the Brahmo Samaj, in Modern Indian Responses to Religious Pluralism, Ed. Harold G. Coward, State University of New York Press, NY, 1987, p. 27.65 P.K. Mukhopadhyay, Rabindra Jibankatha, Ananda Publishers, Calcutta, 1988, pp. 4-5.66 Debendranath Tagore, Brahmadharmah (The Braham Religion), Translated by Hem Chandra Sarkar, Calcutta,1928.

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2. He is the God of Truth, Infinite Wisdom, Goodness and Power,

Eternal and All Pervading, the One without a second.

3. In His worship lies our salvation in this world and the next.

The Samaj went through another period of change when Keshab Chandra Sen

joined the Samaj in 1857 during Debendranath’s long absence from Calcutta. Sen

had initially supported the changes introduced by Debendranath, but later he and

many of the younger members of the Samaj felt that there were inconsistencies in

the Samaj’s principles and practices. For example, the use of sacred thread worn

by male Brahmins as signs of their identity, residual caste distinctions within the

Samaj, objections to inter-caste marriages and widow remarriage were

questioned. Sen was more sympathetic to Christianity than Roy. For example, he

elevated the place of Jesus in the Samaj. In a lecture on “Jesus Christ: Europe and

Asia”67 given in May 1866 in Calcutta, he emphasised Jesus’ identity as an

“Asiatic”. This identification of Jesus as an “Asiatic”, and Christianity as a

religion of “Asian origin”, helped Sen to promote Christianity’s great principles

of charity and self-sacrifice. He also saw it as a way of breaking down barriers

between Europeans and Indians.68

67 Prem Sundar Basu, Life and Works of Brahmananda Keshav, Navavidhan Publication Committee, 1940, pp. 96- 106.68 Basu, Life and Works of Brahmananda Keshav, p. 106.

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Not everyone in the Samaj was happy with the direction Sen was taking it. His

appreciation for Jesus was construed by his opponents in the Samaj as a rejection

of Hinduism and a capitulation to Christianity.69 Not even his lecture on “Great

Men” in September 1866, which had a broader focus than Jesus, could allay the

fears of his opponents, who remained convinced that the Samaj was veering

towards Christianity.

Consequently there was a split in the Samaj, and a new group, the “Brahmo

Samaj of India”, was formed in November 1866, under the leadership of Sen.70

The new Samaj stressed universality and openness to all religions. It expressed

this universalism in its resolution, “Men and women of every nation and caste,

who believe in the fundamental doctrines of the Brahma Dharma, shall be eligible

as members[s] of the Brahma Samaj of India.”71 It drew its inspiration from

broader sources. It produced a new book of scripture readings named Shloka

Sangraha, which consisted of theistic texts from Hindu, Muslim, Christian and

other scriptures. At the opening the new temple in August 1869, Sen declared in

words reminiscent of those used earlier by Roy for the Brahmo Samaj that no

prayer, hymn, sermon or discourse was to be delivered or used that countenanced

or encouraged any manner of idolatry, sectarianism or sin. Services were to be

69 Sastri, History of the Brahmo Samaj, p. 11.70 Sastri, History of the Brahmo Samaj, p. 113.71 Basu, Life and Works of Brahmananda Keshav, p. 119.

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conducted in such a spirit that men and women, irrespective of caste, colour, and

condition, could unite in one family.72

Under Sen’s leadership the new Samaj spread rapidly throughout Northern India

and successfully brought Brahmoism to more than one hundred provincial towns

and villages throughout India.73 Sen’s attitude towards other religions changed

little during his lifetime. In 1869, for example, he delivered a speech titled “The

Free Church” where he acknowledged that there are “delusions and errors” in

every human search for God. But he also insisted that there was truth in all these

efforts. Eventually, he believed, there would come a time when all human

aspirations for God would be realised, and “instead of a hundred hostile churches,

there shall be one vast cathedral, where all mankind shall worship with one heart

the Supreme Creator.”74 He maintained the position throughout his life that “All

religions are dispensations of God, sent to the world at special times for the

salvation of humanity.”75

The new Samaj flourished for about a decade, at which point signs of dissent

became visible within the organisation. Some members were apprehensive about

72 Basu, Life and Works of Brahmananda Keshav, p. 176.73 Damen, Crisis and Religious Renewal in the Brahmo Samaj (1860-1884), p. 4.74 Basu, Life and Works of Brahmananda Keshav, p. 169.75 Basu, Life and Works of Brahmananda Keshav, p. 572.

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the Samaf s spiritual culture and the authoritarian leadership of Sen. So, in 1878

there was another schism leading to the formation of the “Sadharan Brahmo

Samaj”. This new Samaj had a more structured organisation, continued

missionary activity and educational and social services, and it kept essentially the

same theological perspective as that of the Brahmo Samaj of India, without the

highly personalised and devotional emphasis of Sen.

After the second schism, Sen, with the intention of revitalising the Samaj and

uniting all creeds, converted the Brahmo Samaj of India into The New

Dispensation. But soon after his death in 1884, this New Dispensation broke into

insignificant parties. Several attempts were later made to unify the different

Brahmo groups, but they failed. As a result, the Brahmo movement lost much of

its influence.

Tagore's association with the Brahmo Samaj came through strong familial links.

His grandfather Dwarakanath Tagore, a friend of Roy, was closely involved in

the conception and founding of the Samaj and his father, Debendranath Tagore,

lent able leadership to the fledgling Brahmo movement in the mid-nineteenth

century. As a child Tagore was constantly exposed to the important rites and

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ceremonies of the Brahmo Samaj.16 He witnessed morning and evening prayer

sessions held in his home. Tagore later wrote of his involvement, “I was bom in a

family which at that time was earnestly developing a monotheistic religion based

upon the philosophy of the Upanishads.”76 77 The religion he was referring to was

that of the Brahmo Samaj. Later, at the age of twenty, Tagore himself became

intimately involved with the Samaj when he became its secretary.

It is not surprising, then, that the theology of the Brahmo Samaj and Tagore’s

theological understandings merge on a number of important points. One of the

dominant theological themes of the Brahmo Samaj was the primacy of direct

experience of God. Tagore had this direct experience, which was discussed

earlier in this dissertation. Like the Brahmo Samajis, Tagore believed that human

beings needed to be consciously aware of God’s presence at the centre of their

life and activities. He expressed this sentiment in a song,

I praise your name in the whole world,

In all the activities of my life I praise you;

Body, mind and all my wealth,

I pledge to you today.78

Referring to Ram Mohan Roy’s influence on him, he wrote, “He found strength

and inspiration in God. If we also want tmly to achieve something, following the

76 P.K. Pal, Rabijivani, vol. 1, Ananda Publishers, Calcutta, 1993, p. 39.77 Tagore, The Religion of Man, p. 57.78 Rabindranath Tagore, Gitabitan, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, p. 184.

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footsteps of Ram Mohan, we should place God at the centre of all our tasks.”79 In

a wedding song he exhorted a young couple: “Of the boat that you launched

today together, make Him the Helmsman, who is the Helmsman of the world.”80

For Tagore, God was the Helmsman, the ultimate and the highest truth, and the

source of all joy.

Tagore was also deeply influenced by the Brahmo Samaj’s understanding of the

universality of the One True God, that is, that the revelation of the One Supreme

God was shared by people throughout the world and all participated in it through

their particular cultural and national form. He was also impressed by the

synthesis of the world religions, notably Hinduism, Islam and Christianity, in the

Brahma Samaj. It is to be noted here that Tagore always acknowledged that Ram

Mohan Roy was the first great man of his age with the comprehensiveness of

mind to realise the fundamental unity of the spirit in Hindu, Muslim and

Christian cultures. Ram Mohan Roy, for Tagore, represented India in the fullness

of truth based not upon rejection but on perfect comprehension. The Brahmo

Samaj’s openness to the truth of the One Supreme God made Tagore “ever in

search” and “ever a traveller” for the truth.81 His understanding of the

79 Pal, Rabijivani, p. 380.80 Tagore, Gitabitan, p. 609.81 S. Ray (ed.), Rabindranather Chintajagat: Dharma Chinta, Granthalay, Calcutta, 1989, p. 69.

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universality of the One True God led him to live a life committed to seeking a

creative unity and harmony among peoples of all religions, races and cultures.

After examining the various influences of Hinduism upon Tagore, especially

those which came from his family, the Upanishad, Vaishnavism and the Brahmo

Samaj, we may conclude that Tagore absorbed a sense of God’s immanence from

Hinduism. This sense of immanence shaped Tagore’s understanding of the “unity

of all reality” which was central to his understanding of God, human beings and

the universe. Tagore imbibed the Vaishnava tradition’s understanding of God as a

personal God, who is a lover and a beloved, whose love finds fulfilment in loving

human beings and who dwells within human hearts, and he expressed these

images passionately in his poems and songs. The liberal Hindu influences of his

grandfather Dwarakanath Tagore, father Debendranath Tagore, Ram Mohan Roy

and the Brahmo Samaj helped Tagore see God beyond the bounds of Hinduism as

the One True God whose revelation is shared by all human beings albeit through

their particular cultural and national form. He was deeply influenced by their

openness to the truth of the One Supreme God and he developed this idea in his

writings, and proposed it to his readers as an ideal with the potential to unite all

human beings of all times irrespective of their religions and races.

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Chapter Four

Tagore and Christianity

Was Tagore a Christian? There has been much discussion on this question. When

Tagore first became known in the West, many identified his poetry and message

with the teachings of Christianity, or at any rate with the religious views and

philosophies prevalent in the West. “Sir Rabindranath Tagore is not a poet who

brings us news from the East but one who returns to us what we have already

lent,” wrote an English publicist.1 This is obviously an overstatement. But

although Tagore did not confess himself a Christian, his understanding of God,

the universe and humanity was regarded by Friedrich Heiler, German theologian

and historian of religion, and others as a fruit of Christian missions in India.2

In this chapter I will trace the various Christian influences on Tagore and how he

appropriatedxit'in his writings.

The influence of Christianity came upon Tagore from different quarters. When he

was bom, India was under British mle. Although British India was not a Christian

country as such, Christian influence in different spheres of life was quite visible.

1 Quoted by A. Aronson, Rabindranath Through Western Eyes, Kitabistan, Allahabad, India, 1943, p. 19.2 Quoted by Sigfrid Estbom, The Religion of Tagore, The Christian Literature Society For India, Madras, 1949, P-12-

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Describing the influence of the British upon India, D.S. Sharma writes: “the

Indian mind was thrown off its balance.”3 Sharma continues, “The two forces

Western style education and Christian missions acting in combination produced

in the minds of the educated classes for a time either a thoroughgoing scepticism

or partial leaning towards Christianity.”4 As part of the educated class, Tagore’s

family was not free from this influence. Tagore acknowledged that his family was

a “confluence of three cultures - Hindu, Mohameddan and British.”5

Tagore’s earliest noteworthy exposure to Christianity took place in 1875 when he

studied at St. Xavier’s College, a renowned educational institution in Calcutta run

by Jesuit priests. Tagore had studied in different schools prior to St. Xavier’s but

they seemed to him “such a hideously cruel combination of hospital and gaol”6

for he could not conform himself to the method of studies practised in those

schools. Later he complained wittily, “The Government board of education was

not consulted when I took birth in the world.”7 Tagore studied at St. Xavier’s for

a short period, and the result was no better. However, he held one precious

memory of St. Xavier’s till late in his life: the memory of its teachers. “I possess

a memory which elevates my impression of the teachers there to an ideal plane,”

3 D S Sharma, The Renaissance of Hinduism, Benares, India, 1944, p. 68.4 Sharma, The Renaissance of Hinduism, p. 69.5 Rabindranath Tagore, The Religion of Man, Indus, New Delhi, 1993, p. 156.6 Rabindranath Tagore, Reminiscences, Macmillan, London, 1917, p. 107.7 Tagore, Reminiscences, p. 107.

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he recollected.8 Among the teachers, Father De Peneranda especially left an

indelible impression upon the young Tagore to whom he was “a man of a really

religious mind and a tender heart, a Christ-like soul.”9 Later in his life Tagore

reminisced:

His [Fr. Peneranda’s] features were not handsome, but his countenance had

for me a strange attraction. Whenever I looked at him his spirit seemed to be

in prayer, a deep peace seemed to pervade him within and without. I cannot

speak for other boys, but I felt in him the presence of a great soul, and even

today, the recollection of it seems to give me a passport into the silent

seclusion of the temple of God.10

Tagore was influenced by Christianity when he stayed in Christian homes during

his studies in England. In 1878, at the age of seventeen, Tagore went to England

to study. During his stay in England he lived with Dr. and Mrs Scott, a pious

Christian lady. Tagore experienced in the family a love and acceptance that

transcended the borders of race and religion. He later recalled, “In a very short

time I became like one of the family. Mrs Scott treated me as a son, and the

heartfelt kindness I got from her daughters is rare even from one’s own

8 Tagore, Reminiscences, p. 107.9 Tagore, Reminiscences, p. 109.10 Tagore, Reminiscences, p. 109.

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relations.”11 He stayed in this house for some months, but it lived in his memory

throughout his life.12

In London he had the opportunity during his leisure hours to attend sittings of the

House of Commons, where he listened to the speeches of John Bright, a Quaker

and Liberal statesman committed to political and religious equality. There is

perhaps nothing specifically Christian about Bright’s speeches, but Tagore was

immensely impressed by their “large-hearted, radical liberalism”, which was

undeniably an expression of Christian values. These impressions lingered in

Tagore’s mind for many years.13

Tagore had many Christian friends with whom he had long association, intimate

discussions, conversations and correspondences. But some were very special to

him, like W.B. Yeats, Katherine Mansfield, Earnest Rhys, Evelyn Underhill, Ezra

Pound, H.G. Wells and Emily Dickinson. Regarding the influence of these

friends on Tagore, Krishna Kripalani, an early biographer of Tagore, commented:

The best gift which Tagore brought back from his several visits to

Western countries was not the great honours that were showered on

him, for great honours are great burdens in the end, but the friendship

11 Tagore, Reminiscences, p. 165.12 Tagore, Reminiscences, p. 167.13 Estbom, The Religion of Tagore, p.31.

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he made with some of the finest minds of the West. They broadened his

humanist sympathies which were already broad enough, and deepened

his understanding of the intellectual and spiritual urges that have

spurred the Western mind to great achievement.14

Tagore himself acknowledged his indebtedness to his association with these

friends in Creative Unity: “I have been fortunate in coming into close touch with

individual men and women of the Western countries and have felt with them their

sorrows and shared their aspirations. I have known that they seek the same God,

who is my God.”15

Of the many Christian friends Tagore had, he spoke of some as having had a very

special influence upon his life. One such was a young Swedish man named

Hammargren who came to Calcutta when Tagore was young. For Tagore,

Hammargren embodied Christ’s sacrificial love. He served the poor and

downtrodden in India and spent himself in reckless generosity. Tagore was so

impressed with Hammargren’s Christian example of selfless love and humility

that he cherished his “deathless memory”. In Hammargren, Tagore saw “divine

light” and considered him “as one of those immortals in the paradise”.16

14 Krishna Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1980, p.247.15 Rabindranath Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol.2, edited by S K Das, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1996, p. 53216 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol.2, pp. 532-534

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Two other remarkable Christians, Charles Freer Andrews and William

Winstanley Pearson, both English missionaries, also had a profound influence on

Tagore. Andrews came to India in 1904 as a missionary of the Cambridge

Mission to Delhi. He first taught at St. Stephen’s College, Delhi. But after ten

years of teaching he left St. Stephen’s in order to be free to work among the

poor.17 His love for the poor earned him the nickname “Deenabandhu” which

literally means “the friend of the poor”. Tagore first met Andrews in England in

1912, one evening when Yeats was doing a reading from Gitanjali. This meeting

resulted in a lifelong friendship between the two.

Andrews’ love for India and his struggle for India’s freedom and the

emancipation of oppressed Indians elsewhere were remarkable. In 1913 he went

to South Africa to take part in the civil rights movement that was going on under

the leadership of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi. Two years later Andrews

brought together Tagore and Gandhi in 1915 in Santiniketan. This meeting and

others mediated by Andrews during Gandhi’s non-cooperation movement in the

early 1920s led to a close and intimate friendship between Tagore and Gandhi,

despite their fundamental differences in temperament and ideology. While he

17 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol.2, p. 247.

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continued his teaching at Santiniketan, Andrews kept his passion alive to help

free the poor and the oppressed Indians, and maintained his support for India’s

freedom movement. He also travelled to Fiji to fight for the rights of indentured

Indian labours there. His contribution to India’s freedom movement was

acknowledged by the Indian government which issued a stamp in his honour.

Andrews acted as an intermediary for Tagore in many matters - educational,

social, political, literary and financial. He helped Tagore in much of his

translation work and accompanied him on his several journeys both within India

and overseas. Andrews’ gift of reconciliation, humility and a passion to serve the

poor and the oppressed impressed Tagore immensely. At a memorial service for

Andrews at Santiniketan, Tagore reminisced:

In no man have I seen such triumph of Christianity ... What an unmixed,

wonderful love he had! How much he has done for us, unending labour,

absolutely selfless and without asking for fruit! He was not in the least proud

of all that he had done - a true Christian.18

Andrews helped Tagore to distinguish Christianity from British imperialism. In

the 1930s when India’s struggle for independence was suppressed by the British

with brutal force, Tagore observed through Andrews’ life the difference between

18 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, pp.427-428

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those who profess true Christianity and those who just bear the name of Christ. In

Tagore’s lamentation we find his discovery of the difference:

It is a great pity that the Europeans have come to us as imperialists rather

than as Christians and so have deprived our people of their true contact with

the religion of Jesus Christ. A few individuals like C.F. Andrews, whom we

have known as true followers of their teacher, have created in us a respect

for Christianity which the most brutal lathi [batons] charges, shootings and

detentions without trial of the British Government in India have failed totally

to dissipate.19

Tagore was so impressed by the Christ-like qualities in Andrews that to welcome

him to Santiniketan, he wrote a poem which not only acknowledged their

friendship, but expressed Tagore’s belief that Andrews was “a gift of Christ” to

Santiniketan. The poem also reflects Tagore’s familiarity with biblical images,

From the shrine of the west you have brought us living water:

We welcome you friend.

The East has offered you her garland of love.

Accept it and welcome, friend.

Your love has opened the door of our heart,

Enter, and welcome, friend.

You have come to us a gift of the Lord.

We bow to Him, friend.20

19 Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson, Selected Letters of Rabindranath Tagore, Cambridge University Press, UK, 1997, p. 488.20 Dutta and Robinson, Selected Letters of Rabindranath Tagore, p.196.

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Tagore saw in Andrews “a noble embodiment of the Sermon on the Mount.”21 In

the foreword to Andrews’ book The Sermon on the Mount, Tagore described their

friendship as “a rare companionship of soul”. He found in Andrews “no taint of

selfishness, no strain of ambition, only a single-minded offering of the spirit to its

Lord.” Tagore acknowledged that the God of Andrews’ adoration was “the friend

of those whom society despises.” Tagore was convinced that Andrews drew

support and confidence from his [Andrews’] God in prayer, and “rejoiced in the

victory of his Christian faith over all obstacles, whenever any man, Indian or

foreign, was freed from the bonds of scorn.” Tagore was moved with his “endless

kindness to the outcastes of India”. Tagore considered Andrews’ “genuine

unbounded love” to be “the highest blessing” of his life.22

William Winstanley Pearson had studied philosophy at Oxford and botany at

Cambridge, and went to India as a missionary with the London Missionary

Society’s educational enterprise in Calcutta in 1912. Like Andrews, Pearson

broke away from his organisation and joined Tagore at Santiniketan. But unlike

Andrews, Pearson adopted the narrower family of Santiniketan and found

contentment and satisfaction in becoming one with the students and staff and in

21 Rabindranath Tagore, Foreword to C. F. Andrews’ book, The Sermon on the Mount, George Allen and Unwin Ltd., third impression, London, 1949, p. v.22 Tagore, The Sermon on the Mount, pp. vi-ix.

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his teaching at the Santiniketan School. He was a successful teacher and wrote a

book about Tagore’s school, Santiniketan: The Bolpur School of Rabindranath

Tagore (1917). He learned Bengali and translated some of Tagore’s writings into

English, including Tagore’s famous novel Gora. He was Tagore’s close friend,

associate and secretary. He travelled in different parts of the world with both

Tagore and Andrews. Wherever he was, he was the friend of the poor and the

oppressed. His love for India and Indians was immense. Even on his deathbed, it

is said, he muttered, “My one only love - India!”23 This love was reciprocated by

the Indians. “The best loved Englishman in India” - this is how the London

correspondent of the Manchester Guardian described him.24

Tagore was deeply touched and moved by Pearson’s friendship and his qualities.

In a letter to Pearson from Illinois dated 15 January 1913 we see a glimpse of

Pearson’s influence upon Tagore. Tagore writes, “I feel I have known you all my

days and the light of our love will ever become brighter in days to come and help

us to our way to God. I am looking forward to the time when I shall meet you in

India and take up the same mission of spiritual service.”25 Again Tagore’s

admiration for Pearson’s humility and life of self-denial is expressed in the

dedication of Balaka (1916), a collection of poems:

23 Cited in Rolland and Tagore, ed. Alex Aronson and Krishna Kripalani, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1945, p. vii.24 Cited Rolland and Tagore, Aronson and Kripalani, p. vi.25 Uma Dasgupta, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2004, p.96.

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Thy nature is to forget thyself;

but we remember thee.

Thou shinest in self-concealment

revealed by our love.

Thou lendest light from thy own soul

To those that are obscure.

Thou seekest neither love nor fame;

Love discovers thee.26

Tagore was greatly impressed by the way Pearson embraced and loved the poor

students of Santiniketan School and served them with the love of Christ without

looking for any reward and recognition. In a letter to Pearson dated 8 August

1913, Tagore acknowledged Pearson’s friendship, his gifts and his contribution to

the life of Santiniketan, “It has been given to you my friend, to bring to us the

glad assurance that God’s love has its living source in the West also ... This

precious gift you have brought to our boys unasked and they will never forget it

in their lives. It will open their hearts and will make them ready to receive the

best that West can give them.”27

26 Rabindranath Tagore, The English Writings of Tagore, Vol. I, Sahitva Akademi, ed. S.K. Das, New Delhi, 1994, p. 32227 Dasgupta, Rabindranath Tagore, p.96.

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Examining the profound friendship between these two missionaries and Tagore, it

can be inferred that they were influenced by one other. Andrews’ and Pearson’s

Christian spirituality deeply influenced Tagore, as his spirituality did them. One

of Tagore’s biographers commented that “Andrews and Pearson were of greatest

help to Tagore in his task of making and preserving friendship beyond the

frontiers of India and of adapting Santiniketan to form a haven of rest and a

meeting place of culture for the world.”28 Their friendship laid a foundation for

interfaith dialogue.

Western literature also had a powerful influence on Tagore, especially the

English poets. In Tagore’s family, English literature was cultivated with great

enthusiasm and early in his life Tagore came in contact with the poetry of Shelley

and Keats and later Wordsworth, Swinburne and Browning. In Reminiscences

(1917) Tagore recollects, “Daily came poets to our house, to discourse of poetry.

There were crowds of learned litterateurs, men who intoxicated us with French

and English verse.”29 In 1878 when Tagore was a student at London University,

he studied English under Henry Morley, a prolific English writer. Morley opened

before Tagore the wide world of Western literature. After his return to India he

continued reading English literature widely. He became enamoured of the

28 G.D.Khanolkar, The Lute and the Plough: A life of Rabindranath Tagore, The Book Center Pvt. Ltd., Bombay, 1963, p. 197.29 Tagore, Reminiscences, p. 27.

English poets and translated various works of Shelley, Browning and other

English poets.30 Tagore’s understanding of the impact of literature on people was

wide and liberal. He believed that literature had the power to cross borders and

unite the world. Tagore was struck with how English literature gained a hold on

people’s lives.31 He also noted the West’s good fortune in having the Bible as the

foundation of its literature, a book from the East beautifully translated into

English. In it he saw a close connection that was forged between the East and the

west.

Tagore wanted the best of Western literature for India. He sought that which was

“vivid and forceful”, “broadly human and deeply true”, “the thundering life blood

of the West”32. He was aware that English literature is steeped in Christian

culture and that many of its writers that appealed to him held a Christian

philosophy of life. This is the case especially with Browning, of whom Tagore

was a great admirer.

Tagore also read other western poets and writers in English translation. Among

them the most prominent was the Russian Christian Socialist Leo Tolstoy. Many

of Tolstoy’s ideas were inspired by the New Testament, especially the Sermon on

30 Surendranath Das Gupta, Rabindranath The Poet and The Philosopher, Mitra & Ghosh, Calcutta, 1948, p.144.31 Dasgupta, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 89.32 Dasgupta, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 90.

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the Mount. In his writings, Tolstoy depicted Christ as the friend of the poor and

the downtrodden. The social interpretation Tolstoy gave to the teachings of Christ

stirred Tagore. In particular, for Tagore, it meant a discovery of the radical

reforming elements in the Christian Gospel.33 Tolstoy also influenced Tagore in

airing his views on social reform non-violently and without directly associating

himself with the political movements of the day.34

In addition to literature, Tagore also discovered Western philosophy at an early

age. Tagore’s brother Dwijendranath introduced him to Western philosophy

when he was sixteen. Tagore studied western philosophers like William James

and Rudolf Eucken who were deeply rooted in Christian faith. He was attracted

to James’ Pragmatic Theory of Truth, which stated that the value of any truth was

utterly dependent upon its use to the person who held it. Tagore’s understanding

of truth was shaped by it and he practised truth in his entire life. Tagore saw in

Christ the embodiment of the truth Christ proclaimed.35 Tagore was particularly

interested in Eucken’s ethical activism, which said that the human soul had the

capacity to overcome its non-spiritual nature to achieve a spiritual life. Tagore

expounded it when he divided human life into two realms: the realm of necessity

33 Nathan Soderblom: Jesu Bargsprediakan och var tid, Quoted by Sigfrid Estbom, The Religion of Tagore, The Christian Literature Society for India, Madras, 1949, p. 32.34 Hiralal Seth, Tagore on Socialism and Russia, Tagore Memorial Publications, Lahore, (n.d.), p,14ff.35 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p. 319.

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and the realm of surplus. Humans can overcome this realm of necessity, the non­

spiritual nature, and attain spiritual life, the realm of surplus.36 Tagore’s

philosophical writings bear witness of the influence of Christianity.

Unlike many of his time in India, Tagore was not under the impression that the

West was devoid of spirituality and was great only materially. He believed that

no nation could be tmly great except through spirituality, and the history of the

West’s philanthropy, sacrifice and charity were the proof of it.37 Tagore also

noted the active love of humanity and spirit of martyrdom for the cause of justice

and truth in the Western countries, which were an inspiration to him.38

While Tagore acknowledged with gratefulness the influences of the West and

especially that of Christianity, he also believed that the East and West had much

to learn from each other.39 He was so convinced about this reciprocity that when

he founded the Visva-Bharati University in Santiniketan, he wrote, “Santiniketan

will not bring forth its fullness of flowers and fruit if it does not send its root into

the Western soil.”40 It was not just science and technology that he wished the East

to learn from the West, it was its ideals as well: “when streams of ideals that flow

36 Tagore, The Religion of Man, p. 27.37 Quoted from R.J. Paul, Tagore and his Life-Campaign, p.44.38 Rabindranath Tagore, The Religion of Man, Indus, New Delhi, 1993, p.88.39 Sigfrid Eastbom, The Religion of Tagore, The Christian Literature Society For India, Mysore City, p.39.40 Marjorie Sykes, Rabindranath Tagore, Longsman Green, Bombay, 1945, p.88.

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from the East and from the West mingle their murmurs in some profound

harmony of meanings it delights my soul”,41 he said in his Hibbert Lectures.

Reflection of Christian influences upon his writings

Christian influences seep deep into Tagore’s writings. This influence is most

apparent in his following works: Gitanjali (1912), Gitimalya (1914), and

Naivedya (1902).

Gitanjali

In the introduction of the first limited edition of Tagore’s most famous book,

Gitanjali, W.B. Yeats wrote, “I have carried the manuscript of these translations

about with me for days, reading it in railway trains, or on the top of omnibuses

and in restaurants, and I have often had to close it lest some stranger would see

how much it moved me. These lyrics, full of subtlety of rhythm, of untranslatable

delicacies of colour, of metrical invention - display in their thought a world I

have dreamed of all my life long.”42

Like Yeats, many readers in the West found much in Gitanjali that resembled the

best thought in Christianity. The biblical scholar and orientalist Rendel Harris is

41 Tagore, The Religion of Man, p.88.42 Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali, Macmillan, London, 1913, p. ix

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typical. He wrote of Gitanjali, “The things that are said here sparkle like

diamonds with many facets; one moment you seem to be reading a handbook of

Christian devotion, the next moment, after the manner of the Sufis, all creeds, all

buildings that house creeds, mosques as well as churches, are left far behind, and

the soul is heard singing like a lark.”43 Reviews of Gitanjali were equally

effusive. The Times Literary Supplement compared Gitanjali to the Psalms of

David.44 The Baptist Times wrote, “We have been waiting anxiously for some

indication of the effect of Christian ideas on a truly representative Hindu mind.

Here, surely, is the person we have been longing for - one sent before the chariot

of the Lord to make His path straight.”45

Christians saw in Tagore’s poems the promise of a new dawn. Their expression

of love, thanksgiving and joy had universal appeal. The songs in Gitanjali affirm

Tagore’s belief in God’s indwelling presence in human hearts, God’s holiness,

God’s truth, and human aspiration to achieve God’s holiness through spiritually

discipline life. The following song is typical:

Life of my life, I shall ever try to keep my body pure,

knowing that thy living touch is upon all my limbs.

I shall ever try to keep all untruths out from my thoughts,

43 Rendel Harris, in The Golden Book of Tagore, eds. S M Mitra et al., The Golden Book of Tagore Committee, 1990, Calcutta, p. 104.44 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, p.233.45 Cited by Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, p.241.

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knowing that thou art that truth which has kindled the light of reason in my

mind.

I shall ever try to drive all evils away from my heart and keep my love in

flower,

knowing that thou hast thy seat in the inmost shrine of my heart.

And it shall be my endeavor to reveal thee in my actions,

knowing it is thy power gives me strength to act.46

Tagore’s understanding of God as the source of strength to overcome sorrows,

and of the need to surrender to God’s will to serve the poor, are reminiscent of

the Christian understanding of God, which is reflected in Tagore’s prayer:

This is my prayer to thee my Lord -

strike, strike at the root of penury of my heart.

Give me the strength lightly

to bear my joys and sorrows.

Give me the strength to make my love

fruitful in service.

Give me the strength

never to disown the poor or bend my knees before insolent might.

Give me the strength

to raise my mind high above daily trifles.

And give me the strength

to surrender my strength to thy will with love.47

46 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p. 44.47Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p. 53.

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The inclusion of this prayer in A Book of Worship for School48 for students in

England suggests its universal appeal.

Tagore was deeply influenced by Christian orthopraxy. In it he found a basis for

interfaith dialogue. People from different faiths can come together and join hands

to uplift the poor and the needy. He was so impressed by Christ’s admonition,

“When you do it to the least of my people, you do it to me”, that he put it into his

own words:

Here is thy footstool and there rest thy feet where live the poorest and

lowliest, and lost.

When I try to bow to thee, my obeisance can not reach down to the depth

where thy feet rest among the poorest, and lowliest and lost.

Pride can never approach to where thou walkest in the clothes of the humble

among the poorest, and lowliest and lost.

My heart can never find its way to where thou keepest company with the

companionless among the poorest, the lowliest and lost.49

Christ’s coming to the world, for Tagore, was not just a historical moment that

took place two thousand years ago. He believed that Christ comes to us in all

seasons of nature and in all the varied moods and circumstances of life that we go

48 H. F. Matthews, A Book Of Worship for Schools, The Epworth Press, London, 1957, p.l 15.49 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p. 45.

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through. His conviction of Christ’s presence in every day and in every aspect of

human life is reflected in the following lines:

Have you not heard his silent steps?

He comes, comes ever comes.

Every moment and every age, every day and every night

he comes, comes ever comes.

Many a song have I sung, in many a mood of mind,

but all their notes have always proclaimed,

‘He comes, comes ever comes.’

In the fragrant days of sunny April, through the forest path

he comes, comes ever comes.

In the rainy gloom of July nights, on the thundering chariots of clouds

he comes, comes ever comes.

In sorrow after sorrow, it is his steps that press upon my heart,

and it is the golden touch of his feet

that makes my joy to shine.50

Tagore loved children. In their innocence, simplicity, wholehearted acceptance of

life and unprejudiced love Tagore saw the key to the future world as a peaceful

meeting place of people of all colours, races and creeds. This is also a key to a

peaceful interfaith dialogue where, like children, one accepts the other, and

despite the negative forces around they engage themselves in knowing one

another to build a better world. This image of children’s open-hearted acceptance

50 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, pp. 56-57.

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of the other has a striking similarity to Christ’s teaching about children as the key

to entering the kingdom of God. Tagore captured this idea in the following song:

On the seashore of endless worlds children meet.

The infinite sky is motionless overhead

and the restless water is boisterous ...

On the sea shore of endless worlds is the great meeting of children.51

Tagore’s God who is the creator of the universe is not different from the God

Christians worship. The images Tagore draws in these songs are reminiscent of

the images Christians draw in their prayers and hymns in a worship. The

following and three other songs expressing Tagore’s adoration to God are

included in the Oxford Book of Prayer (1985).52

Day after day, O Lord of my life, shall I stand before thee face to face?

With folded hands, O lord of all worlds, shall I stand before thee face to

face?

Under thy great sky in solitude and silence, with humble heart shall I stand

before thee face to face? ...

And when my work shall be done in this world, O King of Kings, alone and

speechless shall I stand before thee face to face?53

51 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p. 63.52 G. Appleton (Ed.), Oxford Book of Prayer, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1985. Nos. 36, 893-899.53 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p. 69.

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In the scope of this dissertation it is not possible to quote all the songs in

Gitanjali that are actually prayers offered to God. Many of these songs have been

incorporated into Christian worship. Dharmageet (1988), the official Bengali

hymnal of the Church of North India, contains 17 of Tagore’s songs, many of

which are sung regularly in worship. Upasana Sangeet (1998), the official

hymnal of the Church of Bangladesh, contains 67 of Tagore’s songs,

outnumbering the songs written by any other single Christian hymn writer in

those hymnals. These hymns cover every aspect of Christian life, from

meditation, devotion, confession, baptism, confirmation and Holy Communion to

marriage, wedding and funerals. Their place alongside the hymns and songs of

great Christian hymn writers and theologians like Martin Luther, Charles Wesley,

William Carey and R.P. Greaves makes these songs especially significant.

The God Tagore portrayed in Gitanjali, the Rev. KJ. Saunders observed, was not

an “impersonal, imperturbable absolute of Hindu philosophy, but in fact whether

He be explicitly Christ or not, he is at least a Christ-like God”. Saunders also

observed in these songs Tagore’s supplication that had the “deep core of all

Christian experience”, dedicated to “none other than Jesus Christ.”54

54 Rev. J. K. Saunders, International Review of Mission, 1914, p. 149.

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Gitimalya

Gitimalya [Song-Garland], published in 1914, presents some of the best songs

written during Tagore’s English sojourn, or during his return journey upon the

high seas. According to Edward Thompson, it is perhaps Tagore’s “greatest book

of songs.”55 The songs in Gitimalya are rich with Tagore’s intimate experience of

God. Even in his dreams Tagore feels the experience,

Oft thou touchest me with dawn,

swiftly, laughingly withdrawn!

Came what messenger of late,

pushing past sleep’s closed gate?56

In Gitimalya one can notice Tagore’s tireless efforts to describe the mystery of

God, and his realisation that the Ultimate Reality was beyond description.

However, Tagore never considered his attempts to describe God as futile. Rather,

in the thrill of discovering, knowing and intimately loving God, Tagore poured

forth many names to describe God. Gitimalya is full of joyful songs of service,

trust in God and thankfulness for the beauty of the world. These are aspects of

Christian piety.

55 Edward Thompson, Rabindranath Tagore: Poet <6 Dramatist, Oxford University. Press, London, 1926, p.234.56 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali (collection of Tagore’s works), vol. 2, ed. P. K. Mukhopadhyay, Govt, of West Bengal, 1982, p.320.

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Tagore understood Christ’s eschatological parable warning his followers “to

watch, lest coming suddenly he take them unawares.” He realised the urgency of

keeping himself ready for the return of the master as he put it in one of the songs

in Gitimalya:

They have all gone to the woods in this moonlit night,

in the wind that is drunken with spring’s delight.

I will not go ...

Rather, this room with care

I must scour and cleanse and prepare.

For if he remembers me, then

He will come, though I know not when.57

Naivedya

Naivedya (Offering), consisting mainly of religious sonnets, was published in

1902. The poems in Naivedya are pure, simple and moving. In Naivedya Tagore

compares the human soul’s longing for God with one of the oldest images of

Eastern thought: the image of the river flowing to the sea, which is spontaneous,

natural and inevitable. The poems highlight the common joy and happiness that

wake at every person’s door and bloom everywhere. The Gospel idea of

simplicity of life and easy access to God are overlaid in the poems of Naivedya.

Naivedya's chief quality is that it creates an atmosphere of life which is lived by

57 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 2, p.346-347.

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all ordinary people everyday and yet they are filled with God, in whom we live

and move and have our being. It is by the path of this daily life that the invisible

God intersects with human beings. The God of Naivedya is no differentWthe

Christian God, who enters our lives, our joys and sorrows, and our poverty and

agonies. Tagore wrote,

In thine own time, is a moment leaps to light

The impossible, from somewhere out of sight!

In its own radiance hid, yet robed alone

In the ever-possible and ever-known!58

Earlier in the chapter I mentioned that when asked about Christian influence on

Gitanjali, Tagore is quoted as saying that he had “never read the Bible”. But in

Naivedya one can see evidence of biblical influence on Tagore’s thoughts. For

example, the following sonnet is reminiscent of the Parable of the Ten Virgins

(Matthew 25:1-12),

On the heath, in the hard way,

these who have fallen at the inn’s threshold,

drugged with emotion, senselessly drunken with passion,

these who did not keep themselves ever ready and wakeful,

stunned and stupefied,

they knew not when the pilgrim host of the universe

58 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali (collection of Tagore’s works), vol. 1, ed. P. K. Mukhopadhyay, Govt, of West Bengal, Calcutta, 1980, p. 990.

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went on to the distant hill, sounding the conch of victory!59

In another poem from Naivedya we hear the echo of the Son of Man’s stark

message in Luke 12:4-7: that there is nothing to fear in the world, but the Master

of the world,

Thou art the refuge of all, is this word vain?

O king, fear is only faithlessness toward thee ...

O King of Kings, what king shall I fear ...

Can fear of death touch him, O deathless one!

Where are the folk, where the king, where anyone whom I should fear?

Thou art forever, and I am forever thine!60

We have examined three of Tagore’s poetical works - Gitanjali, Gitimalya and

Naivedya - and observed how God is represented in them. God is not attired in a

Christian doctrinal jacket, but nor are the images and metaphors for God

unchristian.

In the following prose works of Tagore, I will examine how he presents Christ

and Christianity.

Dharma Prachar (Preaching Religion)

59 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 1, p. 985.60 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 1, p. 986.

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The first mention of Christ is found in Dharma Prachar (Preaching Religion). It

is based on a reported incident in 1888, in which some Hindu revivalists launched

a cowardly assault on a Salvation Army preacher. At the time such British

preachers dressed themselves as Hindu ascetics and adopted an Indian way of life

which enraged the Hindu revivalists. Until the preaching practice was changed

many lives were needlessly sacrificed in these attacks. Tagore had no sympathy

for the Hindu assailants and exposed their conspiracy in Dharma Prachar in a

literary style which Edward Thompson, a Methodist missionary, wrote of, saying

“It flames with contempt, so unutterable that it uses an almost comic meter,

expressing itself in snatches of bitter laughter.”61

Mono, Bhuto, haste! Get your shoes laced!

If we find a chance, we’ll kick that padre swine!

Clap! Then insult bawl! If he’s calm through all,

Let a score (or more) Bengali lads combine!

Trip him, push him flat! I’ll snatch his hat!

Gird your loins up! Hit him! Knock the Christian down!

Protect our Hindu faith, our Aryan land’s renown!62

In this satirical poem Tagore not only exposed the cowardly character of the so-

called guardian of the Aryan religion but in contrast depicted the true nature of

Christ’s love, compassion and care in the preaching of the Salvationist:

61 Thompson, Rabindranath Tagore, p.86.62 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 1, p.395.

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Blessed be thy love, blessed be thy name!

Build thy kingdom, Lord, the New Jerusalem!

From thy world let hatred, rage and malice go!

Wipe the mourner’s eyes, banish death and woe!

Unto souls athirst the living water give!

Loving Jesus, in thy grace let sinners live!63

Seven Essays

Tagore started celebrating Christmas in Santiniketan from 1910, and on those

occasions he delivered lectures on the teachings of Christ.64 Of these lectures,

seven have been published in the form of essays: Jisu Charit (The life of Jesus,

25 December 1910); Christo Dharma (Christianity, 25 December 1914);

Christotsava (The festival of Christ, 25 December, 1923); Christmas Anniversary

(25 December 1924); Manab Sambondher Devata (God in relationship with

human, 25 December 1926); Borodin (Christmas, 25 December, 1932) and

Christo (Christ, 25 December, 1936).

Jisu Charit

63 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 1, p. 397.64 Rabindranath Tagore, Letters to a Friend, Allen and Unwin, London, 1928, p. 46.

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In his address Jisu Chant, delivered on 25 December 1910, Tagore portrayed

Christ as the proclaimer of universal love and humanity. Tagore noticed the

antagonism, even outright opposition, of some Hindus to Christianity and

Christian missionaries. He was critical in this essay of the malicious feelings of

Indian Hindus against Christ and Christianity. But he also reasoned in Jisu Charit

that it was the defensive reaction of the Hindus against the bigotry of the

overzealous missionaries who placed too much emphasis on conversion and the

establishment of the supremacy of Christianity. However, Tagore reminded the

Hindus that by attacking Christians in the name of defending their own religion

they were not attacking the Christians but Christ. Tagore’s own distress and pain

for these attacks on Christians, and particularly on Christ, are reflected in this

essay, and he reminded Hindus of the shame and dishonour their attacks brought

to the great religious heritage of India.65

In Jisu Charit Tagore also criticised those Indians who refused to accept

European education because of their infatuation with proving every indigenous

thing as the best. By their actions, Tagore commented, they (the Indians) failed to

accept the truth.66 In this essay Tagore pointed out that by just maintaining

tradition, ritual, worship and superstition Indians neglected thousands of

65 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali (collection of Tagore’s works), vol. 11, ed. R. K. Das Gupta,Govt, of West Bengal, Calcutta, 1989, p. 259.66 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 260.

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downtrodden people. He believed that the Christian educationists and

philanthropists who came to help the suffering should not be persecuted. Tagore

affirmed that those followers of Jesus demonstrated the truth of God’s love with

their lives. He believed that Hindus could learn from their example and

teachings.67

In Jisu Charit we see Tagore’s understanding of the “Kingdom of God” as Jesus

preached. Tagore explained to the Santiniketan students that Jesus’ “Kingdom of

God” was not an earthly kingdom of power, worldly pleasures or riches, but one

belonging to the poor, the needy and the meek. Tagore also emphasised in the

essay the bold truth Jesus proclaimed in the Sermon on the Mount: “blessed are

the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”68 Tagore observed in Jisu Charit that

Jesus did not see human beings as a machine but rather as God’s creation, and

that is why maintenance of law and outward worship were never more important

to Jesus than serving the suffering humanity. Tagore appreciated the way Jesus

embraced the outcasts, accepted the invitation of sinners and instead of

condemning them, invited them to salvation.69

Christadharma

67 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 260.68 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 262.69 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 263.

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Tagore wrote Christadharma (Christianity) on 25 December 1914 as his

Christmas address to the students of Santiniketan. In this essay Tagore described

Christianity as the religion that reveals God in Jesus Christ and expresses God’s

love and compassion through him.70 For Tagore, Christ was the greatest because

he loved the least, the unloved and the uncared for. With his choicest words,

Tagore expressed his devotion to Christ: “With the light of the bright firmament,

with all the beauty of the world, with his wholehearted love Christ wooed the

human beings.”71 For this reason Tagore believed that Christ was not confined to

the pages of history but belonged to all human beings. He confessed that human

beings sin when they go against Him. On the other hand when human beings

unite with Christ they receive salvation.72 Tagore taught the universality of

Christ’s truth to his students at Santiniketan. He said, “We will accept the

teachings of Christ, not because they belong to the Christians, but the truth

belongs to humanity.”73

In Christadharma we also see the depth of Tagore’s relationship with Christ. It

was not superficial. As he was generous in offering his love to Christ he was also

honest in venting his frustration and anguish to Christ. Tagore was deeply

70 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 187.71 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 187.72 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 189.73 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 189.

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shocked by the impact of World War I. He wrote this essay on Christmas day,

feeling sad and disappointed. In deep anguish he prayed to the saviour of human

beings:

O Dear,

What do I offer

with my own hands this morning?

Songs of this morning?

The morning is tired with the heat of the scorching sun.74

World War I made Tagore angry. He couldn’t accept the fact that some

Christians supported this inhuman war. So he turned back in anguish to Christ

and asked him to judge those perpetrators:

When mad in their mirth,

They raised dust to soil thy robe,

0 Beautiful, it made my heart sick.

1 cried to thee and said,

‘Take thy rod of punishment and judge them’.75

But Tagore realised that in Christ’s judgement there was no cruelty, no

expression of anger. Instead, the light of tender mercy from the body of Christ

74 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p. 19575 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p. 170.

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reflected on those who were throwing dust on Him. Tagore only saw forgiveness

in Christ as he wrote,

Ah, but thy justice was vigilant.

A mother’s tears were shed on their insolence:

the imperishable faith of a lover hid their spears

of rebellion in its own wounds.

Thy judgment was in the mute pain of sleepless love:

in the blush of the chaste:

in the tears of the night of the desolate:

in the pale morning light of forgiveness.76

Christotsav

In the essay Christotsav (The Festival of Christ), which he presented at

Santiniketan on 25 December 1923, Tagore stressed the relationship between

God, human beings and Jesus Christ. Tagore explained in this essay the joy God

had in creating human beings and God’s sadness when people are separated from

God. Tagore was confident in his understanding that it was Christ who brought

the immortal message of God’s love and God’s longing to be reconciled with

human beings.77 He also knew that God’s love was fulfilled only in human hearts.

So Tagore, at the beginning of this essay, quotes one of his songs,

Thus it is that thy joy in me is so full.

76 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p. 170.77 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 264.

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Thus it is that thou hast come down to me.

O thou Lord of all heavens,

Where would be thy love if I were not?78

In Christotsav Tagore expounded Christ’s selfless love and mercy to the poor and

the needy of the world. However he did not refrain from criticising those who

deviated from his teachings by emphasising the institutional elements of

Christianity. He was disappointed that time and again in history many who called

themselves Christians ignored and dishonoured Christ’s teachings. Tagore

lamented, “Not once, but time and again they have crucified Christ.”79 To deny

the teachings of Christ, according to Tagore, was equal to the sin of killing

Christ. But Tagore understood the glory of Christ’s death, as he concluded the

essay with the words, “Death could not hold him. He [Christ] became

immortal.”80

Christmas Anniversary

In his address Christmas Anniversary on 25 December 1924 at Santiniketan,

Tagore explained the personality of Christ who he called “the great Master”, who

opened before humanity the vision of “a new vista of truth”. Tagore pointed out

78 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 2, p. 267.79 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 265.80 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 266.

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that Christ’s personality was an embodiment of all that was “true, good and

beautiful”. He also found in Christ the fundamental light of personality, that is,

love. This love is the principle of the spiritual world, the principle of unity, and

Christ through his own intimate realisation of this love made it possible to unite

with others and illumine their hearts with a radiance of joy.

In Christmas Anniversary Tagore observed how Jesus emphasised the fatherhood

of God. He was impressed that Christ called the Supreme Being-as “Father” and

thus made God not an “alien” to human beings but bound him in intimate

relationship. Christ presented God not as an object of fear but of love, and he

preached that the “Father’s love was the supreme truth for human beings”.81

Tagore highlighted to his audience that Christ, the “great Master”, preached this

vital truth, not through words, but through his life and death. He admonished his

students at Santiniketan to recognise this principle of love and make it the centre

of their spiritual lives.82

Manab Sambandher Devata

Tagore preached Manab Sambandher Devata (God in relationship with human)

at Santiniketan on 25 December 1926. In this essay he emphasised the unity of

81 Rabindranath Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 4, ed. Nityapriya Ghosh, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 2007, p. 548.82 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 4, p. 550.

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relationships that are pure, intimate and eternal. He compared this unity with the

unity of relationship between God and Christ, who said, “My father and I are

one.”83 He stressed that the truth and the nature of the Father God is revealed in

the son, Jesus Christ. Tagore observed in this essay that although a similar idea of

the revelation of the infinite through the finite was found in Hinduism, it

remained confined to the scriptures and not found fulfilled in everyday dealings

with human beings. But it was Christ who not only revealed the Father God in

himself, he actually manifested the Father’s love and “saved humanity”. Tagore

highlighted Christ’s teaching of “Love thy neighbour” as an essential part of

Christianity.84

Baradin

Baradin (Christmas) was published on 25 December 1932. In this essay, Tagore

saw Christ as the “eternal light” who came to our horizon as a new one at his

birth. With his eloquence he compared the eternal nature and newness of Christ’s

light with the light of the stars. As light from the stars travels many light years

before it catches our eyes, the light of Christ, Tagore said, had been shining since

eternity, before it was visible to humanity at his birth. Tagore reminded of the

hollowness of celebrating Christ’s life only on Christmas day as a ceremonial

83 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 266.84 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 267.

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duty. He stressed that in accepting Christ into our lives and committing ourselves

to him lie the true celebration of Christmas. Tagore saw Christ as the “eternal

truth” and believed that the day when people would be able to accept others as

their brothers and sisters with genuine love, then on “that very day the Son of

God will take birth in our hearts, that very day would be Christmas, no matter

what date it is.”85

He expressed in Baradin his sadness as he observed the celebration of Christmas

in the midst of a violent world: “Christmas comes seldom in our lives. But comes

His violent death on the cross day after day.”86 He saw the contradiction that

while churches all over the world were worshipping Christ who brought the

message of peace on earth, outside the churches the world was stained with the

blood of human beings. Tagore lamented that those who were worshipping Christ

on Christmas day with “habituated utterings of praise, were sending death

warrants from the sky with cannons and mortars and thus mocking his good

news.”87

Tagore, as we saw in Baradin, was not criticising Christ, but the human attitude

towards Christ and their meaningless celebration of Christmas. Tagore reminded

85 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 268.86 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 268.87 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 268.

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his readers that Jesus called human beings “the children of the eternal God” and

called us “to be reconciled with one another”. He emphasised Jesus’ sacrificial

death for the truth, Jesus’ invitation to be reconciled with one another, and

humanity’s rejection of this invitation.88 So Tagore asked his audience at

Santiniketan in 1932 to celebrate the life of Christ by repenting of the “disgrace

and the shame” that humans had brought on themselves by violating Christ’s

teachings. He felt that best way to celebrate Christ’s birth was bowing our

“insolent heads at His feet” in introspection, and humbling ourselves.89

Christo

Tagore delivered his address Christo (Christ) on 25 December 1936. Tagore’s

biographer Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay noted the poet’s deep brooding over

the preparation for the impending war (World War II) when he was writing the

essay. Tagore was convinced that the emancipation of humanity could only be

achieved by following the non-violent teachings of Christ.90 Tagore was aware of

the violent mood of the impending war which was hovering over the world at that

time. But he believed that as in the natural world the trees and plants absorb the

poisonous gases that the animal world leaves, similarly it is Christ who embraces

the violence of the world in him and shows humanity the way to salvation.

88 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 268.89 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 268.90 Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay, Rabindra Jibani, vol. IV, p. 488.

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Tagore noted in Christo that the acute greed of the world was responsible for

violence between human beings. In Christo he remembered Christ who came

“not to give direction to find gold or silver mines, not to give counsel to prepare

roads of stdl and concrete over bodies of the poor, but came to give the most \

valuable thing that human being needed - salvation.”91

Although Tagore was critical of the attitudes of the so-called bearers of Christ’s

name, he admired the true followers of Christ, who not only emancipated

themselves from the “cardinal passions”, but “toiled hard to free human beings

from their suffering”. Tagore admired their dedication and courage in going to

every corner of the world, crossing all natural and human made obstacles to

spread the love of God. He also noted that instead of engaging themselves in silly

arguments and preaching their ideologies, these great people kindled light into

dark lives, and gave themselves to others in love and care.92

Tagore’s celebration of Christmas was not limited to Santiniketan, but extended

outside Santiniketan as well. As I look at these celebrations I find that they gave

him opportunities to express his own view of Christ and to make Christ relevant

in contemporary human life. Tagore was able to debunk the myth of the popular

91 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 269.92 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11, p. 270.

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celebration surrounding Christ’s birth to offer Christ’s true message and real

importance in human life. So he was able to celebrate Christmas “in one comer of

his bedroom” when he was visiting Chicago in 1912. Yet in that humble

celebration Tagore felt the presence of Christ, for he believed that “when the God

of the celebration himself is present can there be anything more we need?” In that

humble comer Tagore “bowed before Him, prayed to Him and received his

blessings.”93

The Child

When Tagore visited Munich in 1930, he went to Oberammergau to witness the

Passion Play. The presentation of Christ’s last hours and his life of sacrifice so

overwhelmed him that for two days he hardly spoke to a soul, but went on and on

writing blank verse about Christ’s life and death. The resulting poem was

published in 1931 as The Child and is the first poem that Tagore wrote directly in

English. After returning to India he made a Bengali version of it. The poem is

like a brilliant gem cut by a master hand.94 As in many of his other writings, in

The Child Tagore manifests his understanding of Christ as “the path”, “the

wounded healer”, “the hope”, “the peace”, “the eternal” and finally “the exalted

one”:

93 Rabindranath Tagore, from a letter to Hemlata Devi on 25th December, 1912.94 Khanolkar, The Lute and the Plough, p. 310.

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Victory to Man, the new-Bom, the ever-living.

They kneel down, the king and the beggar, the saint

and the sinner, the wise and the fool, and cry:

Victory to Man, the new-Bom, the ever-Living.95

In exploring Christian influence upon Tagore I found he imbibed Christianity

from many and varied sources: his school life, his trips overseas on several

occasions, his prolonged contact with Christian friends and thinkers, and

Christian literature. Many of his writings bear the testimony of Christian

influence upon him as I have discussed in detail in this chapter. Tagore had great

regard for Christianity, but he criticised institutional Christianity, which in his

lifetime was particularly arrogant in its aggressive missionary zeal and showed

disregard to other religions. His antipathy towards those missionaries who came

with an attitude of superiority is reflected in his writings: “they came with a

professional mission of teaching sectarian creeds.”96 He viewed them as

enterprises destroying the values of other religious traditions.97 Tagore also had a

definite aversion to any dogmatic theology. He wrote,

Your speech is simple, my master,

But not theirs who talk of you.98

95 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p.482 ff.96 Rabindranath Tagore, Creative Unity, Macmillan, London, 1922, p. 103.97 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 24, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1986, p. 375.98 Rabindranath Tagore, Fruit Gathering, Macmillan, London, 1916, p. 182.

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Christianity played an important role in deepening his understanding of God,

God’s relationship with human beings and the universe. It strengthened his belief

in God as love, and love as the binding force between God and human beings,

and between human beings. The biblical concept of God as the Father was

compatible with his Upanishadic understanding of God where it is said, “Om pita

no’si, pita no bodhi” which means “Thou art our Father, give us the

consciousness that thou art our Father.”99 The greatest influence that Christianity

had on him was in its expression of the dignity of humankind as manifested by

God becoming human in Jesus Christ. This broadened his concept that in Christ

one can see the true image of perfect humanity, the perfect realisation of the ideal

human, “The Eternal Man”. He wrote, “Christ, by his birth has shown the union

of man with God.”100 The Christian idea of God’s presence in every human

being, and the imperative to recognise this presence in every human being and to

love and serve them, influenced Tagore greatly. He practised this in his life and

put it in his writings, and asked others to emulate it. Christian influences upon

Tagore helped him to cast those things from his own religious heritage which he

considered unworthy and incompatible with his religious convictions. It also

helped him to be unsparing in his criticism of his own religion, society and

people for their bigotry, narrow-mindedness and intolerance to other faiths and

99 Rabindranath Tagore, Personality, Macmillan, London, 1917, p. 155.100 Rabindranath Tagore, Christo, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1986, p. 44.

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their practitioners. Tagore asked his readers to turn their attention to the Christ

who came from the realm of eternity to us and brought the invitation to freedom.

Tagore asked his readers not to despise Christ, or hurt him, by saying, “You are

not one of us.”101 Rather, Tagore asked them to free themselves from all bonds of

race and superstition, and greet Christ with a spirit of humility and devotion,

saying, “You are all ours, because through you we have discovered ourselves.”102

Just a few months before his death in 1941 he paid tribute to Christianity’s

contribution to uniting humankind in love: “We recognise that this religion

[Christianity] knew how to unite mankind at least in one point, in the dedication

to the neighbour. This is highest recognition for a religion.”103

101 Tagore, Christo, pp. 16-17.102 Tagore, Christo, pp. 16-17.103 Tagore, Christo, p. 72.

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Chapter Five

Tagore and Islam

In this chapter I will explore the sources of the Islamic stream within the

Tagore family, its influence on Tagore and his writings, Tagore’s own views

on Islam, and contemporary Islamic estimations of Tagore, all of which can

be helpful in formulating a guideline for interfaith dialogue.

The Tagores were Brahmins\ But there is a curious little prefix Pirali* 2

attached to the term Brahmin for the Tagores. Even for a casual Indian

reader this word Pirali sounds like an Islamic word, and its juxtaposition

with Bramhin makes it almost oxymoronic. The word Pirali, therefore,

needs some investigation which might throw light on Tagore’s claim to

Islamic influences on his family. This investigation takes us back to around

1000 CE, when after a long period of political, religious and social upheaval,

Bengal was taken from a Buddhist ruler and consolidated as a powerful

Hindu kingdom. In order to restore the Hinduism in Bengal, King Adisura

' Brahmins belong to the top of the Hindu caste ladder of four rungs: Brahmins (priests), Kshatriyas (warriors), Vaishyas (business people) and Shudras (farmers and artisans).2 Pir in Persian means “saint” and Pirali means “following the ways of life of Islamic devotion”.

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invited five Brahmins from Kanauj, a Brahminic stronghold in western

India. One of these five Brahmins is said to be the ancestor of the Tagores.3

But unlike these other Brahmin families, the Tagores became tainted by

contact with Muslims, as goes the most widely accepted story of Tagore’s

ancestry.

Two Brahmin brothers who were descendants of one of the five legendary

Brahmins invited from Kanauj were trusted officers of Mohammed Tahir Pir

Ali, the vizier of the governor of Jessore. In a cruel joke4 set by Pir Ali Khan

these two brothers lost their Brahmin caste and were forced to convert to

Islam by Pir Ali while their other two brothers escaped only to carry the

stigmatic term Pirali as a prefix to their caste name Brahmins. The family

fell in the hierarchy of caste and was looked down upon by orthodox

Hindus.5 This caste degradation was still a stigma upon the Tagore family

even at the time of Tagore’s wedding in 1883. Despite their wealth, high

social status and intellectual and moral leadership in the community, no

orthodox Brahmin would intermarry with the Tagores. So Tagore’s wife was

3 Rabindranath Tagore, On the Edges of Time, Orient Longman, Calcutta, 1958, p. 2.4 The full story can be found in Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson, Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad- Minded Man, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1996, pp. 17-18.5 Krishna Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1980, p. 15.

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chosen from the few Pirali Brahmin families that still existed in the small

provincial town of Jessore.6

The social exclusion arising from the Pirali episode was not all negative.

Ironically it helped strengthen the Tagore family. Having lost the pride of

caste, they became fearless, defiant and adventurous. They became

entrepreneurial. They pushed cultural boundaries. They challenged religious

orthodoxy. They were open to the winds of change. It is not an accident that

Tagore’s biographer writes that the Tagore family represented “a fine fusion

of the three great strands of culture - Hindu, Muslim and Christian.”7

Apart from the ancestral connections with Islam, there were many other

streams of Islamic influence upon Tagore. When he was a young boy he was

introduced to the poems of the fourteenth century Persian poet Hafiz

(Shamsuddin Mohammad) by his father, who, a Persian scholar himself,

according to Tagore was “intoxicated with Hafiz verses”.8 Tagore’s father

recited Hafiz’s poems to Tagore and translated the poems with a “fervour of

6 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 114.7 Kripalani, Rabindranath Tagore, pp. 15-16.8 Rabindranath Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, edited by S.K. Das, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1996, p. 648.

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enjoyment that touched my heart”.9 This influence on the young Tagore was

so profound that years later when he visited Iran in 1932 he publicly

expressed his gratitude for Hafiz’s poems and spoke of the deep impact they

had on his and his father’s life.10

The Muslim employees on the family estate at Shelidah in north-east Bengal

(present-day Bangladesh) were also to influence the young Tagore. After a

protected childhood, mostly confined to the bounds of the family home in

Calcutta, Tagore made several visits to Shelidah with his elder brother,

Jyotirindranath. These visits introduced him to various Muslim people at

Shelidah. Later in his life when he took full charge of the estates, he made

several long trips to Shelidah. These visits imbued him with a rich

appreciation of Islamic religion and culture, especially that of rural Bengal.

He tapped into Islamic spiritual sources which lay hidden under the

dominant culture and which later would find expression in many of his

writings, especially his short stories. Tagore’s Shelidah experience not only

enriched his appreciation of Islamic religion and culture, but also enabled

him to experience the possibility of Muslims and Hindus living in harmony.

9 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 648.10 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 648.

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Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson have observed that Shelidah formed

the “foundation of his [Tagore’s] attitude to Muslim-Hindu relations”.11

Tagore’s interaction with the Muslims of Shelidah became deeper when he

met the followers of Lalan Shah Fakir (c. 1774-1890), a folk poet-singer.

Lalan was bom into an orthodox Hindu family but was abandoned after he

contracted smallpox. An elderly childless Muslim couple rescued him and

raised him as a Muslim. Lalan acquired a sound knowledge of Islam,

particularly of Sufism. His songs are an eclectic mix of Sufi mysticism and

Hinduism which emphasised that the love of God requires the love of all

human beings, irrespective of their caste, creed and religion.

Tagore was much attracted to the simple philosophy of Lalan, which

expressed in simple earthy language that both Muslims and Hindus were

children of the same God. Tagore spent hours in discussion with his

followers at Shelidah.12 It is not difficult to detect Lalan’s influence on

Tagore’s own songs. For example, in the following song Tagore echoes

Lalan Shah’s philosophical and musical tradition:

My soul-mate lives within my soul

11 Dutta and Robinson, Rabindranath Tagore, p. 119.12 Quoted by Dr. Alamgir Hussain in A Study on Bengali Folk Heritage, p. 18, http://www.mukti- mona.com.

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Thus I see him everywhere

He belongs within my eyes, in the stream of lights

So he is never lost

So he is always before me wherever I cast my eyes.13

Tagore was also influenced by the Muslim poet Mohammed Iqbal

(1873-1938), who later became the Poet-Patriot of Pakistan. Iqbal was bom

in north-west Punjab into a Kashmiri Brahmin family that had converted to

Islam. He studied in Cambridge and Munich where he did his doctoral thesis

on Persian metaphysical thought. He practised law and taught philosophy.14

He also practised speculative exegesis of the Qur’an and championed the

right of ijtihad (independent judgement). His most famous book was his

Reconstruction of Religious Thoughts in Islam (1930), an attempt at

synthesising Eastern and Western thought.

There are some striking parallels between Iqbal and Tagore. Both admired

the West’s vitality and self-assertion but disliked its materialism,

competitiveness and spiritual emptiness, and both felt that India could renew

itself by adopting the best values of the East and West. Tagore was

13 Rabindranath Tagore, Gitabitan, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1993, p. 216.14 Adam K. Webb, “The Countermodem Moment: A World-Historical Perspective on the Thought of Rabindranath Tagore, Muhammad Iqbal, and Liang Shunting” in Journal of World History, vol. 19, No. 2, University of Hawai’I Press, 2008, p. 189.

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especially attracted to Iqbal’s idea of reforming Islam. While Iqbal affirmed

the basic principles of Islam he thought that its “institutional expression

needed adapting to new circumstances”. In his book Reconstruction of

Religious Thoughts in Islam Iqbal insisted that instead of taking refuge in the

“immobility” of Islamic laws, Muslims should open themselves to new

interpretations. He called for “revitalising Islamic practices” by focusing on

the true “spirit of Islam” rather than its “static customs”.15 Similarly, Tagore

felt that Hinduism had experienced an “intellectual ossification” over the

centuries, and its ritualism and caste hierarchy had shrunk Hinduism into a

“paralysed limb on the body of the universal man”. Much like Iqbal, Tagore

spoke of a universalism that was compatible with Hinduism.16 Both saw the

Ultimate Reality as being dynamic, both shared a humanistic world view,

and both shared a belief in the value of the individual self in relation to the

Infinite. Iqbal and Tagore wanted to take the best of all civilizations and

build a new one that was greater than the sum of its parts.17 This universality

did not mean a loss of individuality, or “vague cosmopolitanism”, because

both believed that only by maintaining individuality in matters in which

individuals are separate can they arrive at their real unity in which they are

15 Mohammed Iqbal, Reconstruction of Religious Thoughts in Islam, (paperback edition), Kazi Publication, Pakistan, 1999, pp. 140-144.16 Rabindranath Tagore, Towards Universal Man, Asia Publishing House, New York, 1961, pp. 63-64.17 Webb, “The Countermodem Moment”, p. 207.

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one. Tagore likened the universal humanity to a divine harp of many strings,

where each individual would play their part to create one grand music.

Indeed the university at Santiniketan was founded to foster this very

universality.

Tagore was also influenced by Kabir, the fifteenth century mystic, poet and

religious reformer. Kabir was bom around the year 1440 of Muslim parents

in Varanasi, but became a disciple of the celebrated Hindu religious leader

Ramananda (c. 1400-1470), whose syncretistic piety he made his own.

Ramananda introduced Kabir to Sufism and particularly to the writings of

Jalaauddin Rumi (1207-1273) and Saadi (c. 1184-1283). Kabir’s message

was simple. He said that God was not confined to any single religious

denomination but dwelt in every human heart, and it was important to empty

oneself of vanity and selfishness so that love of God and one’s fellow human

beings might flourish. Kabir wrote,

I [God] am neither in temple nor in mosque

I am neither in Kabba nor in Kailash.

Neither am I in rites and ceremonies,

nor in Yoga and renunciation.

If thou art a seeker,

thou shall at once see me in a moment of time.

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Kabir says, “O sadhu! God is the breath of all breath.”18

Kabir believed that only by “breaking away from the clutch of all

narrowness” could one attain the unattainable and one’s heart be filled with

love.19 Kabir conceived of the pervasiveness of God in nature and in human

expression of love and joy. It was as though the whole world was God’s

playground.20 Kabir explained that God was pervasive through and through

for God did not want people to suffer pain in search for him. In one of his

dohas or short poems, Kabir advised his followers, “Know yourself then, for

God is in you from head to foot. Sing with gladness, and keep your seat

unmoved within your heart.”21 In the simple language of the people Kabir

carried his message of love and unity from village to village and to the

shrines of both Hindus and Muslims.

Tagore translated many of Kabir’s poems which were published as One

Hundred Poems of Kabir (1914) with an introduction by Evelyn Underhill,

an eminent English writer on mysticism. This was the only major work of

translation that Tagore undertook in his entire literary career, which in itself

18 One Hundred Poems of Kabir, translated by Rabindranath Tagore, D.C. Publishers, New Delhi, 2003, poem no. 1.19 One Hundred Poems of Kabir, poem no. 55.20 One Hundred Poems of Kabir, poem no. 89.21 One Hundred Poems of Kabir, poem no. 83.

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suggests how influential Kabir’s mysticism was for Tagore. In Underhill’s

introduction to One Hundred Poems of Kabir, she finds striking

resemblances between Tagore’s and Kabir’s poems, especially their use of

common images and symbols such as frail vessel, flute, vina, journey and

voyage. Tagore’s debt to Kabir’s mysticism is undeniable. But it was not

just “mysticism” that Tagore found in Kabir. An investigation of Tagore’s

One Hundred Poems of Kabir by Sabyasachi Bhattacharya has observed that

Tagore chose those poems where Kabir’s anti-institutionalism was most

intense.22 Bhattacharya catalogues Kabir’s (and Tagore’s) dissent from

established religion and rituals with the following verses from the former’s

poems: “The Yogi dyes his garment, instead of dyeing his mind ...”; “The

Mullah cries aloud to him/And why? Is your God deaf?”; “Tell your beads,

paint your forehead with the mark of your god ... but a deadly weapon is in

your heart.”23 It is apparent that Kabir’s scepticism of ritualistic excesses in

both Hinduism and Islam appealed to Tagore. Bhattacharya also noticed

Tagore’s affinity with Kabir’s anti-sectarianism by observing that when

Tagore’s translation of Kabir’s poems was published in London (1914) and

in New York (1917), he was also engaged deeply with the issue of

“harmonizing different faiths and conflicting claims of primordial

22 Sabyasachi Bhattacharya, “Introduction”, in One Hundred Poems of Kabir.23 Bhattacharya, “Introduction”.

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loyalties”.24 In other words Tagore’s interest in Kabir and the Sufi poets was

an attempt to address rising communal discord in India, especially between

Hindus and Muslims.

When Tagore was in the United States in 1917 for the publication of the

New York edition of One Hundred Poems of Kabir, he praised Kabir for his

battle against the parochial sectarianism and ritualism of both Hinduism and

Islam. It is obvious from this speech that Tagore shared Kabir’s vision of

unity among people of both religions. Less obvious is Kabir’s influence on

Tagore’s distinction between dharma (religion) and dharma tantra (religious

system), the former containing the message of liberation, the latter with its

rigid rules spelling enslavement.

Another group that was to have an Islamic influence on Tagore was the

Bauls.25 The Bauls are mendicant, religious singers, mostly found in the

Indian state of West Bengal and Bangladesh. They sing devotional songs

with a one-stringed instrument called an ek-tara, and a small drum called a

dubki. Their simple earthy songs express their beliefs, which are similar to

24 Bhattacharya, “Introduction”.25 In 2005, the Baul tradition was included in the list of “Masterpieces of the Oral and Intangible Heritage

of Humanity” by UNESCO.

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those of Sufism.26 Although they comprise only a small fraction of the

Bengali-speaking people their influence on the Bengali culture is

considerable.

There are two theories about the origin of the Bauls. One attributes the

beginning of the Baul movement to Birabhadra, the son of the fifteenth-

century Vaishnava saint Nityananda. The other finds their origin in eighth-

century Persia, with a branch of a Sufi sect called the Ba ’al which later

migrated to the Indian subcontinent. The votaries of this sect were also

wandering minstrels. Scholars have observed some remarkable similarities

between the Bauls in India and the Ba ’als in Persia: both wear Alkhalla, an

ochre robe of coarse fabric; both are mendicant singers and dancers; both

sing songs celebrating spiritual longings and divine rapture. The Baul songs

also abound with Sufi motifs like dhikr (recollection), fana (divine rapture),

sama (spiritual audition) and murshid (the mystic mentor).27

There are two classes of Bauls: ascetic Bauls and ordinary Bauls. The ascetic

ones renounce family life and society and survive on alms. They take shelter

26 Carol Soloman, “Baul Songs”, in Religions of India in Practice, ed. Donald Lopez, Princeton UP, New Jersey, 1995, p. 187.27 Alokeranjan Dasgupta and Mary Ann Dasgupta, Roots in the Void: Baul Songs of Bengal, K.P. Bagchi and Co., Calcutta, 1977, p. 8.

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in community houses called akhda which are located at some distance from

the rest of the village communities. Akhdas also grow up around abodes or

graves of their gums. Women dedicated to the service of the ascetic Bauls

are called sevadasis (seva means “service” and dasi means “servant”). A

male Baul may have one or more sevadasis associated with him. Those

Bauls who choose family life live with their wives, children and relations in

a secluded part of a village. They do not mix freely with other members of

the community. Only an ascetic Baul can initiate a person into Baulhood.

The Baul tradition is entirely oral, and is transmitted from gum to disciple

and from singer to singer. They keep no historical records and their rationale

is that they are followers of the simple way. They compare their reluctance

to keep record with the words, “Do the boats that sail over the flooded river

leave any mark?” No, all that is necessary is to keep oneself “afloat in the

stream of devotion”.28

Although the Bauls have no creed or dogma there are beliefs they hold in

common. Their songs, for example, describe their longing for God; their

pain at separation from God; and the obstacles they need to overcome in the

28 Kshitimohan Sen, Medieval Mysticism of India, Luzac and Company, London, 1929, p. 209.

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realisation of God, or what they call “true liberation”. An overwhelming

sense of the presence of God drives the Bauls “mad” in search for him. They

see “love” in terms of “longing for the Supreme Being”.29 Their intense

feelings of pain at being separated from the Supreme Being are expressed in

song after song:

Ah, where am I to find Him, the Man of my Heart?

Alas, since I lost Him, I wander in search of Him,

Thro’ lands near and far.30

They know that the agony of separation from the Supreme Being cannot be

overcome by rational reflection:

Oh, these words and words, my mind would none of them,

The Supreme Man it must and shall discover.

So long as Him I do not see, these mists slake not my thirst.

Mad am I; for lack of that Man I madly run about;

For his sake the world I’ve felt;

for Bisha [a Baul] naught else will serve.31

The obstacles to finding God are not just outward circumstances but all more

their own desires and antipathies. The Bauls liken the senses to six thieves

robbing the true meaning of life; six lazy field-hands not repairing the dyke

29 Soloman, “Baul Songs”, p. 190.30 A traditional Baul song, quoted in Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 177.31 A traditional Baul song written by Bisha, a gardener by caste, quoted in Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 177.

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of the heart that is broken; six drunken ferrymen who can not steer a straight

course. Only when humans overcome the snare of themselves can they hear

the sound of the flute of the Eternal within their own hearts. Only then does

the Bauls’ “madness” turn into “madness of joy”, an ecstatic dance of joyful

liberation. This joy of union with God is called farm, the Sufi term for

“divine rapture”, the Bauls’ chief goal.32

The Bauls believe that the human body is the temple of God, the “cosmic

abode of the all-pervading Supreme Being”, the Maner Manush (Man of the

Heart),33 the playground of love between “the man of the heart and the

man”, and that’s why it is the holy of the holies. The Bauls feel God’s

presence within their hearts and so don’t feel the need to go to any special

place to find him. They sing,

“Why call so loudly to One who is near?

Wherever you are, he is ...

Why search for him in Dacca and in Delhi?

Oh mind, how could you be so stupid in this life?

There is a room within a room -

Take a look and see who stays there.”34

32 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 173.33 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 174.34 A Baul song, translated by Dasgupta and Dasgupta, in Roots in the Void, p. 48.

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The Bauls see their relationship with God as one of mutual love; indeed, for

the Bauls, “love” is nearly a synonym for God.35 Like a lover, God is always

with the Baul: at home and away, in confidence and doubt, in life and in

death. So the Bauls sing, “Ever two and ever one, of this the name of

Love.”36 The Bauls’ catholicity of belief and the primacy of love are

portrayed in the following song:

... All of us

In our different ways

Think of God.

He is the dispenser of love -

Beyond senses and feelings.

And yet,

It is only in the essence of loving,

That God is found ...37

The Bauls do not recognise any divisions among humans, either social or

religious. They rebel again caste and class. They justify their rejection of

caste system with a simple logic: “Are the lower planks of a boat of any

lesser importance than the upper?”38 They hold that all human beings are but

35 Deben Bhattacharya, The Mirror of the Sky: Songs of the Bauls from Bengal, George Allen and Unwin Ltd., London, 1969, p. 32.36 Rabindranath Tagore, Creative Unity, Macmillan, London, 1922, p. 81.37 Bhattacharya, The Mirror of the Sky, p. 39.38 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 176.

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sojourners on the same road toward God.39 In India the Bauls are often

regarded as symbols of Hindu-Muslim unity.40

The Bauls do not place any special emphasis on any special deity, temple or

sacred site because they believe that God is in every human being and

everywhere. They put this conviction in simple words,

I would not go, my heart, to Mecca or Medina,

For behold, I ever abide by the side of my Friend.

Mad would I become, had I dwelt afar, not knowing Him.

There’s no worship in Mosque or Temple or special holy day.

At every step I have my Mecca and Kashi [Varanasi];

sacred in every moment.41

The Bauls find institutional religion and organised religious systems as

hindrances to finding God. They lament,

The road to you is blocked

By temples and mosques.

I hear your call, my Lord,

But I can not advance -

Masters and teachers bar my way

Your one way, alas, is lost in diverse paths.

39 A Baul song written by Lalan Phakir, compiled in Banglar Baul o Baul gan (Bengal’s Baul and Baul Song) by Upendranath Bhayttacharys, Orient Book Co., Calcutta, AD 1957-58, song no. 102.40 Jeanne Openshaw, Seeking Bauls of Bengal, University of Cambridge Publications, Cambridge, 2002, p. 288.41 A traditional Baul song quoted in Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 177. Kashi (also known as Varanasi) is one of the most sacred sites of the Hindus.

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In front of your door are so many padlocks .. .”42

Their knowledge of God is devoid of theological platitudes for they believe,

Simple words can overcome

Ignorance and belief...

He who has broken

The barriers of words,

Has conquered limits:

Allah or Jesus, Moses or Kali [Hindu goddess],

The rich or the poor,

Sage or fool

All are one and the same to him.43

The influence of Bauls on Tagore was almost an accidental event. It first

took place in 1913 when Tagore was struggling to maintain his links with

the Brahmo Samaj. He chanced to hear a song from a Baul and was deeply

struck by its simplicity and intensity of religious expression. Tagore later

wrote that it was “alive with an emotional sincerity”, and it spoke of an

“intense yearning of the heart for the divine”.44 After that incident Tagore

sought to understand the Bauls and to study their songs. Indeed, in 1915-16,

42 Baul song written by Madan and translated by Bhattacharya, in The Mirror of the Sky, p. 37.43 Anonymous Baul song, translated by Deben Bhattacharya, in The Mirror of the Sky, p. 44.44 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, pp. 129-130.

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he edited and published twenty Baul songs in the literary journal Prabasi

(Calcutta).

Tagore composed many songs using Baul tunes and Baul imagery. The

reference to “the Man of the heart” in the following stanza is typical of Baul

influence on Tagore:

O my mind,

You didn’t wake me up when the Man of your heart

Came to your door.

You wake up in the dark

At the sound of His departing footsteps.

My lonely night passes on a mat on the floor.

His flute sounds in darkness.

Alas, I can not see him.45

The Bauls’ agony at the separation from God, and their longing to be united

with God, have been captured in Tagore’s songs. Tagore implores God not

to leave him for a moment,

Destroy all the hurdles of the path of love.

Please do not, do not keep anything between us.

Please do not, do not stay away.46

45 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 4, ed. R.K. Dasgupta, Government of West Bengal, Calcutta, 1987, pp. 389-390.46 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 4, p. 550.

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Like the Bauls, Tagore understands human weaknesses in their search for

God. So he begs,

If ever the door of my heart remains closed,

O my Lord

Break it open and come near to me.

If ever your dear name does not sound on the string

Of my instrument,

Please remain my Lord, and never go away.47

Tagore used Baul imagery not only in poems and songs but also in his

novels, plays, lectures and essays.48 In his famous novel Gora (1909), for

example, he quotes a Baul song which sets the mood of the novel:

Within the cage, the unknown bird comes and goes.

If only I could catch him,

I would keep him fettered with the irons of my mind 49

The “unknown bird” symbolises God for the Bauls. Like the Bauls, Tagore

was ever in search of the “unknown bird” and wanted to have uninterrupted

union with the “unknown bird”. Again like the Bauls, Tagore was aware of

human tendencies of biding God with their own doctrines and rituals and

47 Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 4, p. 550.48 Tagore, Creative Unity, p. 69 ff.49 Rabindranath Tagore, Gora, in Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 7, ed. P.K. Mukhopadhyay, The Govt, of West Bengal, 1985, p. 627. This song was written by Baul Lalan Phakir.

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their futilities. This Baul song was like a mantra on the mind of young

Tagore in his quest for God.50

In many of Tagore’s dramas too there are Baul characters whose main

functions were to sing appropriate Baul songs. In the literary journal of

Prabasi in 1915-1916, he edited and published twenty Baul songs. After

coming in contact with the Bauls, D.P. Mukherjee observed, Tagore’s songs

and his poems “became simpler, less abstract, more direct and human, more

social, and more vital.”51

The Baul influence on Tagore, however, was more than literary: it touched

the core of his religious beliefs. The Bauls’ simple language, their intense

devotion, their inclusivity, their understanding of the indwelling God who

transcends caste, creed and religion appealed to Tagore immensely. He was

also deeply influenced by the Bauls’ desire to unite Hindus and Muslims,

and their sense of universal humanity,

All the world is the Veda [Hindu Scripture],

all creations the Koran.

Gather ever fresh wisdom from the universe.

50 Sukumar Sen, Bangla Sahityer Itihas (History of the Bengali Literature), vol. 1, Calcutta University Publications, Calcutta, 1948, p. 396.51 D.P. Mukherjee, Tagore, p. 82. quoted by Singfrid Estbom in The Religion of Tagore, The Christian Literature Society for India, Mysore, India, 1949, p. 23.

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The eternal wisdom shines

within the concourse of the millions of humanity.

The simple has its thirty millions strings

Whose mingled symphony ever sounds.

Take all the creatures of the world into yourself.

Drown yourself in that eternal music.52

Most importantly, Tagore was attracted to their belief in the humanity of

God. It left an indelible impression upon him. Tagore found in the idea of

the humanity of God a clue to the inner meaning of all religions which he

later developed in his Hibbert Lectures, The Religion of Man (1930). He

wrote, “God-man is your definition. It is not a delusion but truth. In thee, the

infinite seeks the Finite, the perfect knowledge seeks love, and when the

form and the Formless are united love is fulfilled in devotion.”53 There the

Bauls’ message of the universality of the One God becomes central.

Although Tagore was considered by many as a “world poet”, his heart and

soul were rooted in India. For Indians, especially for Hindus, it was easy to

relate to his characters, images, contexts and themes. In Tagore’s writings

there is naturally more material on Hinduism than on Islam, nevertheless,

52 Baul Song, translated by Tagore, in The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 180.53 Rabindranath Tagore, “The Religion of Man”, in Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 130.

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Islamic themes are very much evident, and consequently his appeal among

Muslims was also very strong, and this will be discussed more fully towards

the end of this section. The Islamic themes in Tagore’s writings have not

hitherto received extensive investigation. This is a subject for future

research. In this dissertation I have limited my investigation to those texts

that are explicit with Islamic themes, and are relevant for interfaith dialogue.

They are: Gora (1909) an immensely popular novel, Musalmanir Galpo

(The Story of a Muslaman) (1941), Kabuliwala (A man from Kabul) (1892),

Muslim Women (1908), Prachya Samaj (Western Society) (1908), The Way

to Unity (1923) and Lectures in Iran and Iraq (1932).

Gora (1909)

Gora is Tagore’s longest and most celebrated novel. It is set in colonial

India in Calcutta around the time when the ideas of the Brahmo Samaj were

widespread among the “educated” Hindus who shunned their own religion

as primitive and even barbaric. The novel’s main character Gora (which

literally means “fair complexion”) is an Irish child who was orphaned when

his soldier father was killed in the Mutiny of 1857 and his mother died in

childbirth. Gora was adopted by a childless Hindu woman and raised in an

orthodox Brahmin family. He grew up to be a fiercely patriotic young man

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and a defender of orthodox Hinduism. He was convinced that the

redemption of modem India was only achievable by its people returning to

their Hindu roots. He soon attracted a following of young Brahmin men who

wanted to oppose modernism and westernisation. In the course of the novel,

Gora had occasion to interact with a prominent Bramho family who rejected

idolatry and the caste system as outdated evils, and who exemplified a way

of life which combined love and respect for India with a universalism whose

attractiveness was hard to resist. Finally, Gora’s spiritual journey passes

from a narrow, rigid religion to enlightenment. Gora proclaims, “In me there

is no conflict of communities - Hindu, Muslim and Christian.”54

In Gora there are several episodes which demonstrate Tagore’s

understanding and appreciation of Islam. In the early chapters of the novel,

Tagore portrays Gora as someone who learns from a Muslim family the

value of the Islamic sense of justice. When Gora, a city dweller, leaves home

to see rural India he comes to a predominantly Muslim village, where he is

met by a Hindu barber family (barbers belong to the lowest rung of the

Hindu caste ladder) who take care of a Muslim boy. The village did not

submit to the unjust impositions of tax by the British ruler. The barber

54 Tagore, Gora, p. 835.

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humbly shares with Gora, “Desire to stand up against those who are

powerful seemed to him extreme stubbornness and foolishness of

Muslims.”55 With this statement Tagore expresses a great truth about the

general spirit of the Muslims - a commitment to stand against injustice.

Gora observes that to uphold this sense of justice, ordinary Muslim peasants

were not afraid to stand against the powerful landlords and their

corroborators.

The Islamic sense of justice is reinforced by another episode in the novel in

which an elderly Muslim porter is treated harshly and unjustly by a high

caste Hindu. When Gora comes to his rescue, the elderly porter is confused

by the contradiction that while he was unjustly treated by one high caste

Hindu, another high caste Hindu comes rescues him. In Gora’s reminder to

the Muslim porter that Allah would not forgive him for witnessing

humiliation and not protesting, Gora [and Tagore] share a word of deep

insight on Islamic justice: “One who tolerates wrong is also blameworthy

because he facilitates wrongdoing in the world.”56 In Gora Tagore

demonstrates his appreciation of Muslims as a people not bound by territory,

55 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p.735.56 Tagore, Gora, p. 690.

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language or race, but by the bond of humanity, and Islam’s principles of

universal justice.

Musalmanir Galpo (1941)

Musalmanir Galpo51 (The story of a Musalman) was written two months

before Tagore’s death. It highlights Islamic hospitality, religious tolerance,

and the freedom and courage of Muslim women. The main character in the

story is Kamala, a pretty orphaned Brahmin girl who was raised with much

love and affection by her uncle, while her aunt always considered her a

burden and treated her accordingly. So, when a proposal of marriage comes

from a rich, powerful businessman who has all the vices and a wife at home,

her aunt approves the marriage despite Kamala’s protest and her uncle’s

sympathy.

After the marriage, as Kamala and her groom return to the groom’s house,

they are attacked by bandits. The husband flees for his life and Kamala is

rescued by an old Muslim man, Habir Khan. Knowing the purity customs of

the day which dictate that after such an incident Kamala would not be

welcome in either her in-laws’ or her uncle’s home, Habir Khan offers to 57

57 Rabindranath Tagore, Musalmanir Galpo, in Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 9, ed. R.K. Dasgupta, The Govt, of West Bengal, 1988, pp. 598-600.

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accept her into his own home as his daughter, and assures her safety and

freedom to maintain her own Hindu religion. Kamala, initially hesitant, but

remembering the ill-treatment at her aunt’s place, accepts Habir Khan’s

proposal. Karim, Habir Khan’s son, falls in love with Kamala and marries

her. At the request of Kamala, Habir Khan converts her to Islam.

Time passes and now Kamala’s cousin Sarala is to be married. In a strange

twist of fate, the same bandits attack Sarala and her husband on their way

back to the husband’s house. This time it is not Habir Khan but Kamala who

comes to Sarala’s rescue. Kamala says to her cousin, “Sister, have no fear. I

am here to bring to you the shelter of him [Habir Khan] who gives shelter to

everyone. He is not concerned with anyone’s caste.”58

Tagore concludes the story with a moving and poignant monologue from

Kamala,

Uncle, please accept my regards. Don’t be afraid, I won’t touch your

feet. Now please take Sarala back to your home. She is still

unblemished. Please tell my aunt that I had grown up with so much of

her provisions against her will. I could never imagine that today I would

be able to repay in this way. I have brought a red silk dress for her.

58 Tagore, Musalmanir Galpo, p. 600.

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Please take it and this brocade seat. In future if ever my sister is under

distress, please remember that she has a Muslim sister to protect her.59

In this moving short story Tagore depicts the painful plight of a hapless

Hindu woman and the atrocious caste prejudices in her society, and in sharp

contrast, the magnanimous character of a Muslim man, Habir Khan. Habir

Khan is a type of the Good Samaritan who risks his own life to save the life

of a woman of another religion and offers her protection and hospitality. He

doesn’t force his religion upon her, but rather ensures her a safe environment

in which to practice her own. Habir Khan represents the best in Islam - he is

open, generous, tolerant and strong. The story also portrays women in Islam.

Muslim women are widely perceived by non-Muslims as being oppressed by

men and held back by their religion. Tagore helps open the eyes of his

readers to the freedom that Muslim women can enjoy. They are not only

able to secure their own rights, but they can also defend the rights of other

women. In Musalmanir Galpo, Tagore highlights the courage of Muslim

women who stand up for themselves and oppose injustice and

discrimination.

59 Tagore, Musalmanir Galpo, p. 600.

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Kabuliwala (1892)

Kabuliwala60 is one of Tagore’s finest short stories. It was made into three

major films in three different languages: Bengali, Hindi and Malayalam.61 In

this story Tagore depicts “love” in Islam that breaks through all barriers of

religion, culture and national boundaries. The story is set in an idyllic middle

class Bengali family comprising a genial father, a hausfrau mother and their

lively five-year-old daughter, Mini. Mini meets Rahaman, a Kabuliwala (a

man from Kabul) who comes to their door to sell dried fruits and spices.

After some initial hesitancy, they soon become good friends, despite the

differences of age, race, language, religion and culture. Rahaman loves to

see Mini and tell her stories of his faraway homeland, Kabul. At every

meeting he gives her a fistful of dry nuts as a gift.

One day in a fit of rage Rahaman assaults a debtor, who abuses him and

denies his debt. He is sentenced to gaol for eight years. On his release after

eight years, Rahaman rushes to Mini’s house with some of her favourite

fruits and nuts. But it is the day of Mini’s wedding and she fails to remember

him. Rahaman is shattered.

60 Rabindranath Tagore, Kabuliwalah, in Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 9, pp. 105-110.61 The screen version of the story in Bengali won the Government of India Gold Medal for best Indian feature film produced in 1957.

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Rahaman begs Mini’s father to see her once and then puts his hand inside his

robe and brings out a small, dirty piece of paper. With great care he unfolds

it, smoothes it out with both hands on Mini’s father’s writing table, and

shows the impression of a little hand. He has no photograph, not even a

drawing, but only the impression of an ink-smeared hand. It is that of his

own little daughter who he carried with him when he came to the streets of

Calcutta to sell fruits and nuts.

The moving conclusion to the story comes in Mini’s father’s words:

Tears came to my eyes. I forgot that he was a poor Kabuli fruit-seller,

while I was - but no, what was I more than he? He also was a father.

That impression of the hand of his little Parbati [daughter] in her

distant mountain home reminded me of my own little Mini.62

The father immediately sends for Mini to come. Ignoring all ritualistic

barriers, clad in her red silk wedding dress, with the sandal paste on her

forehead and adorned as a young bride, Mini comes out and stands bashfully

before Kabuliwala. Rahman is overwhelmed. He knows that it is not

possible to revive their old friendship. But at last he smiles and says: “Little

one, are you going to your father-in-law's house?”63 She blushes at the

question, and stands before him coyly. When Mini has gone, Kabuliwala

62 Tagore, Kabuliwalah, p. 109.63 Tagore, Kabuliwalah, p. 109.

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heaves a deep sigh and sits down on the floor. The idea suddenly comes to

him that his own daughter too has grown in these long eight years, and he

wonders if she could remember him.

Mini’s father takes out some money and gives to Rahaman. He encourages

him to go back to his own daughter, and says, “May the joy of meeting your

daughter bring good fortune to my Mini!”64 Of course, the gift to Rahaman

curtailed some of the trappings of the wedding festivities - the electric

lights, the military band and so on. But to Mini’s father the wedding feast

was “all the brighter for the thought that in a distant land a long-lost father

met again with his only child.”65

In this evocative story Tagore once again breaks down the barriers of

geography, race, religion and status to highlight the characteristics of

unconditional love. Little Mini’s love towards the Kabuliwala and vice versa

reminds readers of the universality of love that knows no bounds and

barriers. The Kabuliwala’s love is a reminder of all the love the eternal and

universal father has for all his children. This story is of special significance

today, in light of the current war on terror in Afghanistan and of the negative

64 Tagore, Kabuliwalah, p. 110.65 Tagore, Kabuliwalah, p. 110.

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stereotyping of Afghani Muslims since 9/11, showing that in the hearts and

minds of the Muslim people of that rugged land love can flourish and flow

as it does in any other land.

Muslim Women (1908)

Muslim Women66 is Tagore’s critique of an essay written by an unnamed

English woman living in Turkey which narrates the plight of a Muslim

woman who is not allowed to visit her parents for years after her marriage.

Frustrated and desperate, one day she leaves her husband’s home in disguise

and goes to her parents and begs them not to send her back. The woman falls

gravely ill at her parents’ home and seeing her condition the father begs the

son-in-law for a divorce. This request so angers the son-in-law that he kills

their two little children and sends their bodies to their mother, the sight of

which ends the mother’s life as well.

In this essay Tagore is critical about an outsider, an English woman,

maligning Islam and Muslim attitudes to women. Tagore was sympathetic

towards oppressed women of any creed or race, but he was opposed to the

66 Rabindranath Tagore, Musalman Mahila, in Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 13, ed. R.K. Dasgupta, The Govt, of West Bengal, 1990, pp.459-460.

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negative stereotyping of Islam as a violent faith, which is surely one of the

most important points to remember in interfaith dialogue.

Prachya Samaj (Western Society) (1908)

In Prachya Samaf1, Tagore responds to Hon. Justice Amir Ali’s response to

Muslim Women. Prachya Samaj reflects Tagore’s unbiased approach

towards any religion and his serious reflection on them.

In his article, Justice Ali compares and catalogues the negative attitude of

Hindus and Christians towards women by citing the third century BCE

“Hindu Law giver” Manu and early Christian theologians such as Tertullian,

Chrysostom and Cyril of Alexandria. Ali concedes that under their

leadership and prescriptions women were persecuted, tortured and even

killed. In comparison, Ali points out the marked difference in Islamic

attitude towards women. Prophet Muhammad reformed the debaucheries of

Arabic society and placed honour and respect upon the women and allowed

them greater freedom and rights. While Muhammad’s reformation was just a

beginning, providing a direction, it was a pity that it stopped there, Justice

Ali regrets. 67

67 Rabindranath Tagore, Prachya Samaj, in Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 13, pp. 460-462.

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Tagore develops All’s last point that Islam has failed to move forward in the

direction that its prophet had begun. Tagore compares the situation in Islam

with the hatching of an egg. If an egg doesn’t receive the warmth and

nurture of the bird, it will spoil. Similarly, if a religion is not allowed to

evolve and move forward, it will be stagnant and polluted. While on the one

hand this essay appreciates Prophet Muhammad’s insight into the plight of

women and his reformation in Islamic attitude towards women, it also

challenges Muslims not to remain static in one period of time in history, but

to move forward in the progressive direction of the Prophet with modem

scholarship and ideas so that the Prophet’s ideals are fulfilled.68

The Way to Unity (1923)

In the essay The Way to Unity, Tagore focuses mainly on the unity between

Hindus and Muslims. He observes that in both religions one group was

trying to break down barriers between the two religions and bring them

closer through dialogue and cooperation, and another group was trying to

close the doors for dialogue, maintaining separate identities. While Tagore

respects their separate identities, he also believes that the practitioners of

68 Tagore, Prachya Samaj, p. 462.

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both religions need to see the bigger picture of humanity as a whole. Tagore

had noticed during the Swadeshi Movement (1905-1908) in Bengal that

political leaders were seeking unity between Hindus and Muslims for

political convenience, but he was not content with such efforts because they

were based on a common fear or hatred of foreign rule. Instead, Tagore

believed that the basic foundation for unity should be grounded in the

“universal ideal of truth”.69

Tagore also observes that instead of uplifting the universal ideal of truth,

religious leaders often make perverse use of their religion, building with it

permanent walls around them to ensure their separate identities. He found

that the spiritual essence of both religions was compromised by extraneous

rules and regulations that had built up over the centuries. These rules and

regulations tended to separate the two communities and cause conflict. In

The Way to Unity, therefore, Tagore appeals to both Hindus and Muslims to

“cast off the shackles of their non-essentials” and “free their mind from the

grip of unmeaning dead tradition”.70 Tagore’s plea for unity is for the sake of

all humanity. He calls both to offer generosity and extend hospitality to each

69 Rabindranath Tagore, “The Way to Unity", in Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 461.70 Tagore, “The Way to Unity”, p. 465.

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other even if it is risky. He believes that true unity can only be achieved

when people are “not afraid of accepting truth from all sources.”71

Lectures in Iran and Iraq (1932)

Tagore visited Iran and Iraq in April-May 1932 at the invitation of His

Imperial Majesty, Reza Shah Pahelvi, King of Persia and His Majesty, King

Faisal of Iraq. In Iran Tagore admires the “Islamic hospitality and warm

friendliness” which the Iranians extended to strangers. He remembers with

deep gratitude the two great Sufi mystic-poets, Hafiz and Saadi, from whom

his father Debendranath “derived deep consolation, assimilating them in his

devotional life”.72 Tagore also remembers how those poems “touched his

heart” and “aroused his imagination” when his father recited them to him in

his boyhood days. Moreover, Tagore recalls the “perennial truth” of their

simple message of “brotherhood, freedom and establishment of peace and

goodwill among all humanity”.73 In his addresses Tagore reminisces about

the contribution of these poets to the building up of peace and harmony

among all people, and challenges his audience to draw inspiration from their

message so that discord is not brought into this “beautiful world, which

71 Tagore, “The Way to Unity”, p. 465.72 Rabindranath Tagore, “Lectures in Iran and Iraq”, in Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 648.73 Tagore, “Lectures in Iran and Iraq”, p. 649.

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bear[s] the touch of God’s own hand”.74 Reza Shah respected Tagore’s

message of unity between two cultures and in order to continue the

relationship between them, announced on behalf of his people that he would

endow a chair at the Visva-Bharati University at Santiniketan.

Tagore’s lecture in Iraq recalls Iraq’s proud history and its place as a link

between the West and the East. He also reflects on the contribution of the

Arabian Muslims to the spiritual and intellectual life of India. He appeals to

the Iraqis to voice their “universal ideal” of love, peace and harmony to the

whole world and urges them to send their “men of faith” to the world to

unite different racial and religious communities under the one “banner of

fellowship and love”75 and concludes his lecture with the prayer,

In the name of all that is sacred and eternal in Man, in the name of the

great Prophet and for the sake of the reputation of your great Religion, I

appeal to you to advocate the cause of human fellowship, the tolerance

of different creeds and customs, and sympathetic neighbourliness which

are necessary for civilised life of co-operation.76

74 Tagore, “Lectures in Iran and Iraq”, p. 654.75 Tagore, “Lectures in Iran and Iraq”, p. 658.76 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 658.

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It is evident from Tagore’s writings that he esteemed Islam. He valued the

literary, musical and architectural contributions of Muslims to India.77 He

appreciated the freedom of religion accorded by the Islamic rulers to their

citizens in India. Tagore also had great admiration for poets like Hafiz,

Jallauddin Rumi and Saadi who tried to broaden the ideals of Sufism and

bind people of different faiths together. Tagore wrote, “Those who have

studied the lives and writings of our medieval saints and all the great

religious movements that sprang up in the time of Muslim rule, know how

deep is our debt to this foreign current that has so intimately mingled with

our lives.”78 Tagore was unbiased and criticised the Hindus whenever they

treated the Muslims unjustly. During the Swadeshi Movement in 1905 when

Muslims were being attacked by Hindus in the name of swadeshi, he was

“deeply distressed and shocked” and in protest at the atrocities he resigned

from every single national committee in one day.79 Tagore’s appreciation of

Islam was not limited to his writings and lectures. It is also evidenced in his

ideals of Visva-Bharati University. He established the Nizam Chair of

Islamic Studies at Visva-Bharati in 1937 to foster the teaching of Islam

alongside other world religions.80

77 Rabindranath Tagore, “The Centre of Indian Culture”, in Tagore, Towards Universal Man, p. 223.78 Tagore, “The Centre of Indian Culture”, p. 223.79 Uma Dasgupta, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2004, p. 4.80 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 2, p. 568.

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I have hinted earlier in the chapter at how Tagore’s writings appealed to

many Muslims. In the following section I will examine scholarly Islamic

responses to Tagore and his writings. Muhammed Shahidullah (1885-1969),

a modem literary academic, declared Tagore a “universal” man who drew on

images from Qur’an, Persian mystic poets, the Bible and sayings by Sanskrit

sages.81 Kazi Abdul Wadud (1894-1970), a prominent Bangladeshi essayist,

also observed Tagore’s universal ideals. He noted in his speech on Hindu-

Muslim Conflict at Visva-Bharati University in 1936 Tagore’s non-sectarian

principles and contribution to building religious harmony among people.82

Golam Mostafa (1897-1964), a poet and prose writer popular among

Bengali Muslims, has also found similarities between the contents and ideals

and that of Islam. In Mostafa’s opinion no non-Muslim poet could have

expressed such a deep understanding and appreciation of the essentials of

Islam as did Tagore.83 Jasimuddin (1903-1976), a well-known poet from

Bangladesh, also appreciated Tagore’s impartiality during any communal

unrest between Hindus and Muslims in India. Humayun Kabir (1906-1969),

a literary scholar, philosopher and a former minister for education in the

81 Mahmud Shah Qureshi, “Literary Assessments of Tagore by Bengali Muslim Writers” in University of Toronto Quarterly, vo. 77, no. 4, Fall 2008, p. 1135.82 Mahmud Shah Qureshi, “Literary Assessments of Tagore by Bengali Muslim Writers”, p. 1137.83 Mahmud Shah Qureshi, “Literary Assessments of Tagore by Bengali Muslim Writers”, p. 1138.

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government of India, esteemed Tagore’s legacy to India’s religious and

educational thought. He noted that the key to Tagore’s influence was his

desire for human liberation.84

After the independence of India and the creation of Pakistan in 1947, the

chaotic post-colonial East Pakistan witnessed some anti-Tagore sentiments

emerging among military rulers of East Pakistan. In a recent article by

Anisuzzaman titled “Claiming and disclaiming a Cultural Icon: Tagore in

East Pakistan and Bangladesh”, he identifies two main reasons for the anti-

Tagore sentiments. The first was that the ruling military government of

Pakistan tried to portray Tagore as a “Hindu poet”, and secondly, that

Tagore’s ideals were antipathetetic to Pakistan. These anti-Tagore

sentiments were heightened during the celebration of Tagore’s centenary in

1961, when the military government of East Pakistan portrayed the

celebration as a conspiracy to unite the two Bengals.85 Similar sentiments

were expressed during the war between India and Pakistan in 1965, when

Radio Pakistan and Dhaka Television stopped broadcasting Tagore’s works

and other items of “Indian origin”. These anti-Tagore sentiments, however,

proved counter-productive. Contrary to the desired effect to malign Tagore,

84 Mahmud Shah Qureshi, “Literary Assessments of Tagore by Bengali Muslim Writers”, p. 1141.85 Anisuzzaman, “Claiming and disclaiming a Cultural Icon: Tagore in East Pakistan and Bangladesh”, in University of Toronto Quarterly, vol. 77, no. 4, Fall 2008, p. 1058.

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they only enhanced Tagore’s immense popularity as a peacemaker and

reconciler. While anti-Tagore sentiment prevailed among the ruling military

class, Tagore’s popularity remained as strong as ever among the intellectuals

and ordinary citizens.86 Soon the very name of Tagore galvanised the

Bengali-speaking Muslims, Hindus and Christians of East Pakistan to rebel

against their military rulers. Tagore became the “guiding spirit” of their

freedom movement. The myth of “sonar Bangla” [Bengal of Gold], evoked

by Tagore in 1905, became a reality with the creation of independent

Bangladesh in 1971. Tagore’s “amar sonar bangla” [my dear Bengal of

gold] became the national anthem of Bangladesh. For modern-day

Bangladeshis Tagore continues as a “life force drawn from the endless

treasure of human values and religious faiths”.87 Rafiq Azad, a contemporary

poet, gives voice to their feelings towards Tagore,

He [Tagore] is the air we breathe - the green engulfing Bengal.

He is with us, always ...

In personal setbacks, in our collective crises,

He forever guards, caresses, inspires us to be dauntless ...

He is always relevant to us as we seek the path to enlightenment...

Whether individually or collectively, he is dear to us all.88

86 Anisuzzaman, “Claiming and disclaiming a Cultural Icon”, p. 1062.87 Mahmud Shah Qureshi, “Literary Assessments of Tagore by Bengali Muslim Writers”, p. 1149.88 Rafiq Azad, “My Rabindranath’s Relevance” (1905), quoted by Anisuzzaman, “Claiming and disclaiming a Cultural Icon”, p. 1067.

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In this chapter I looked at the influence of Islam upon Tagore and his

writings. His references to Islamic themes in novels, short stories and

addresses reveal his clear understanding of Islam. Tagore’s own

Upanishadic belief of monotheism has a resonance in the monotheistic

belief of Islam and its appeal to universality. Tagore was particularly

influenced by the orthopraxies of Islam - Islam’s universality, sense of

justice and hospitality. The Islamic influence that came upon Tagore through

Sufism, Kabir and the Bauds helped Tagore in his effort to bring the Hindus

and the Muslims to an understanding of universal path which neither of them

could take exception. Tagore challenged both the Hindus and the Muslims,

as did Hafiz, Kabir and the Bauls, to examine the external apparatus of their

respective religions which obscured the truth and separated the two

communities. Tagore’s credibility and acceptance by the vast majority of

Muslims both in India and Bangladesh, and their recognition in Tagore’s

writings, was a beacon of light for unity among humanity, paving the way

for a fruitful interfaith dialogue between the two communities.

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Chapter Six

Tagorean Guidelines for Interfaith Dialogue

Dialogue is “the common adventure of the churches”.1 As we face global

and local issues like poverty, terrorism, peace, justice and the environment,

“dialogue holds the most promise”.2 Pope John XXIII foresaw the promise

of dialogue. In his opening message at the Second Vatican Council, he

called “all men to work along with us in building up a more just and

brotherly city in this world”. His call was not just for Christians but for “the

rest of men of goodwill ... that through love God’s kingdom may shine out

on earth in some fashion as a preview of God’s eternal Kingdom.”3 The

importance of the task has been recognised by Christians of all

denominations. The Beirut Ecumenical Conference on World Cooperation in

April 1968 emphasised the importance of the churches working together

with “other religions who acknowledge God and preserve valuable humane

and religious elements in their traditions” to cooperate in the service of the

1 “Baar Statement” made by delegates from the Orthodox, Protestant and Roman Catholic traditions at a consultation held in Baar, Switzerland in January 1990, under the auspices of the Dialogue sub-unit of the World Council of Churches.2 Donald K. Swearer, Dialogue: The Key to Understanding Other Religions, The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1972, p. 13.3 Walter Abbot S. J., The Documents of Vatican 11, Guild Press, New York, 1966, p. 6.

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human family.4 It is not surprising, therefore, that the importance of this task

has become incumbent on the Uniting Church in Australia. In response to

Christ's call within Australia's multicultural, multi-religious landscape, the

Uniting Church’s National Working Group on Relations with Other Faiths

was established in 1994 to promote knowledge and understanding of other

living world faiths and their communities. This Working Group seeks to

develop wherever possible a commitment to promote respect and tolerance

for the integrity of the beliefs of other faiths, cultures and traditions. Since

the formation of the group a number of initiatives have been taken to help

Uniting Church members to relate to people of other religious backgrounds.5

Its other goal is to consider ecumenical and interfaith ways of pursuing local

and global issues of justice. Notable among its work is the Uniting Church’s

ongoing dialogue with the Jewish community and its solidarity with Jews in

denouncing anti-Semitism.

The Uniting Church in Australia recognises the importance of fostering

neighbourly relationships with people of other faiths as one of its missions.

With this objective in mind, in 1997 the church requested the Commission

on Doctrine to prepare a document on theological issues in interfaith

4 Sodepax Report: “World Development: The Challenge to the Churches”, The Ecumenical Center,Geneva, 1968, p. 7.5 See Uniting Church in Australia Relations With Other Faiths website http://assembly.uca.org.au/rof

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relationships. The response was a study book called Living with the

Neighbour Who is Different (2000)6 by Keith Rowe, a Uniting Church

minister and interfaith theologian. The report recognises the reality of the

present state of the world that is “cruelly divided”, and it identifies religious

differences as one of the key components of this disunity. It also notes that

religion often adds passion and fuel to the unrest.

Living with the Neighbour Who is Different emphasises five key bases for

interfaith dialogue. First, it reminds Christians of their “divine obligation” to

act in neighbourly love towards those who belong to other religions.

Secondly, it emphasises the power of love for creating harmony and peace.

Thirdly, it points to the importance of conversation as a vehicle for

expressing love. Fourthly, it affirms that peacemaking is synonymous with

the Kingdom of God that Jesus proclaimed. Finally, it reminds Christians

that they need to be fully aware that others may find distinctly different ways

of describing this end in terms of their traditions.7

Rowe’s book presented the Uniting Church with a theological platform for

engaging in interfaith dialogue. It took away some of the fear, suspicion and

6 Keith Rowe, Living with the Neighbour Who is Different, Uniting Education, Australia, 2000.7 Rowe, Living with the Neighbour Who is Different, p. 7.

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even threat. Instead it promoted Miroslav Volfs “theology of embrace”,8

which called Christians to embrace, respect and appreciate those who are

different. Rowe advocated a more “catholic” approach to other faiths, one

that is tough-minded and determined but also one that recognises a reality

that transcends one’s own culture, nationality and religion.9

In this dissertation I have traced Tagore’s spiritual journey. I have examined

the influences of Hinduism, Christianity and Islam upon him, and his own

reflections on these three religions. His spiritual journey was a quest to find

a basis of unity among humanity. His own religious background in

Hinduism’s Upanishadic perception of One Creator God who pervades all

creation, and in all, and unites all human beings, made a strong impact on his

understanding of God and humanity. In it he found an affinity towards

Christianity and Islam and a basis for human unity. Tagore compared the

different religions as several mountain peaks with different altitudes,

temperatures, flora and fauna, and yet belonging to the same chain of hills

with the same foundation. He found no barriers of communication among

them. In this image he saw the divine unity among the world religions to

which the religious leaders belonged and drew inspiration from and

8 Rowe, Living with the Neighbour Who is Different, p. 7.9 Rowe, Living with the Neighbour Who is Different, p. 8.

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proclaimed in their life, “I am one with the Supreme, with the Deathless,

with the Perfect.”10 In his own lifetime Tagore witnessed the evil

consequences of parochialism and sectarianism. So his appeal to humanity

was to not entrench behind barriers, or nourish a spirit of rejection, but to

meet in mutual understanding and trust on the common field of cooperation

and glad acceptance of that which carries in itself the best.11

Tagore’s understanding of God, humanity and human unity have tremendous

value in interfaith dialogue as this understanding was bom in him not just as

the fruit of some intellectual exercise, but as a result of his involvement and

engagement with people from diverse religious, social and cultural

backgrounds in India and abroad. His lifelong dialogue was not with reified

systems of thought, but with people who embodied those religious ideas in

their own lives and lived up to them. His dialogue as a Hindu was not with

something called “Christianity” or “Islam” in the abstract, but with

Christians and Muslims with whom he mbbed shoulders on a daily basis

throughout his whole life. Because his was a life of dialogue, there is much

to learn from him about interfaith dialogue which could help us in today’s

pluralistic Australia.

10 Rabindranath Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, ed. S.K. Das, vol. 3, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1996, p. 105.11 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p.469.

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In the following section I identify eight Tagorean guidelines for interfaith

dialogue.

Tagore’s first guideline for interfaith dialogue is a commitment to the

fundamental oneness of God. Tagore was convinced that there is only one

God who is the creator of the whole universe and of all peoples, who is

present in all human beings, and who ordains the life and destiny of every

living being. He believed that God revealed himself to all human races in a

multiplicity of forms and the most perfect manifestation of this infinite God

was in the finite, in the heart of human beings. He wrote, “The revelation of

the infinite in the finite, which is the motive of all creation, is not seen in its

perfection in the starry heavens, in the beauty of the flowers. It is in the soul

of man.”12 God is in a personal relationship with each human being, which is

why he believed God is called by so many different names.

While God can be called by so many different names, it is important to

realise that they are not adequate, and the Infinite God is always more than

can be defined, described or understood. For Tagore, the realisation of the

12 Rabindranath Tagore, Sadhana, Macmillan Pocket Edition, Madras, 1988, p. 34.

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fundamental oneness of God was as important as the acknowledgement of

limitations of human understanding and language about God, because it

allowed people of different faiths to meet one another in humility and

reverence to explore one another’s faith traditions and be enriched by the

ways in which others experience and understand God.

For Tagore, we do not possess God, but rather God possesses us. We belong

to God.13 While this may be a theological quantum leap, it challenges us to

work further with each other. Diana Eck, in Encountering God, reminds us

that while tolerance enables coexistence, it does not push us into

engagement with people of other faith traditions.14 While Tagore is aware of

the doctrinal, liturgical and ritualistic differences among religions, he is also

aware that the differences are not always religious, as they are often

construed, but rather are the result of racial, cultural, economic, political and

historical influences. His appeal is to make critical assessment of these

factors to see the fundamental oneness of God.

Tagore held that once people realised the fundamental oneness of God, they

would come to value one another’s faiths. This common acknowledgement

13 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 47.14 Diana L. Eck, Encountering God: A Spiritual journey from Bozeman to Banaras, Beacon Press, Boston, 1993, quoted in Current Dialogue, no. 33, July 1999. p. 40.

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of God as the creator of the universe and of all beings is a valuable starting

point for interfaith dialogue, for it enables people to question and learn from

each other’s faith traditions and ultimately grow in their understanding of

God.

2 The second Tagorean guideline for interfaith dialogue is the embodiment of

divine love. As we have seen, Tagore’s writings placed great emphasis on

God’s love. Though he acknowledged that the senses and reason have their

role in knowing God, he was convinced that it was in and through a lived

relationship of love that we know God intimately. In this essential

relationship of love, the creator and the creation are bound together.

Tagore did not see love as just one of the attributes of God, but identified

God as love, which is not unlike the Christian understanding of God as love.

This love is self-giving. Tagore wrote, “Thou give thyself to me in love.”15

In this love, Tagore believed, God carried human beings from birth until

their death. He described it as tender, full of affection, patient and forgiving.

Because God is love, God doesn’t stay apart and distant in transcendent

majesty but comes into the human realm, stays with them and joins them in

15 Rabindranath Tagore, Gitanjali, Macmillan, Madras, 1992, song no. 65.

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their everyday walk of life.16 Indeed, God not only comes to human beings

in love, but this love is so powerful that it draws people towards God, and

invites them to be partners in God’s creative activity. For Tagore, this world

is “God’s love taking form” and human beings are invited to “help it with

their own love”.17 Tagore saw the human response to God’s love - the

surrender of self in love and freedom, and participation in God’s creative

work in and for the world - as the best homage to God. He wrote, “Let me

live truly my God ... when all the strings of my life will be tuned, then at

every touch of mine will come out the music of love.”18 Tagore understood

that paying this homage was not easy. But one must be true in one’s

response to love “even at the cost of unhappiness, at the risk of being

misunderstood, forsaken and hated.”19

Tagore believed that the embodiment of love was fundamental to developing

a healthy pluralistic society. This basic tenet, he believed, was fundamental

to Christianity, Hinduism and Islam, and a key starting point in interfaith

dialogue. Wherever and whenever the emphasis is in God’s love, human

16 Rabindranath Tagore, Poems, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1986, p. 77.17 Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds, Macmillan, New York, 1916, p. 325.18 Tagore, Stray Birds, p. 327.19 Rabindranath Tagore, Letters to a Friend, Allen and Unwin, London, 1928, p. 8.

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surrender to God’s love, and the embodiment of love, there is potential for

creating a better and more peaceful world.

2 The third guideline for interfaith dialogue offered by Tagore concerns the

centrality of truth to all religious traditions. Tagore called God “truth”20 and

he believed that this truth had been apprehended from many religious

perspectives. He invited people of all religions to discern the truth within

their own traditions, and thus come to an appreciation of the truth underlying

all religions. From his own religious experience, which was nourished by

different religious faiths, he came to the conclusion that no single

manifestation of truth, no matter how great and exalted, can exhaust the

possibilities of truth.21 In the words of Stanley J. Samartha, an

internationally renowned interfaith theologian, there are echoes of Tagore.

Samartha wrote, “Divine Truth is always received in earthen vessels. How

can it be otherwise? No one who is part of a particular community of faith

shaped by certain linguistic, social and historical factors, can escape this

cultural relativity.”22

20 Rabindranath Tagore, Rabindra Rachanabali, vol. 11 ,Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1986, p. 137.21 Rabindranath Tagore, Creative Unity, Macmillan, London, 1922, p. 16.22 Stanley J. Samartha, in Frontier, vol. 17, no. 2, Summer 1974, London.

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For Tagore, fidelity to the truth of God required from every genuine seeker

not only the proclamation of that truth as known in one’s own religious

tradition or experience, but also openness to seek, find and acknowledge that

truth in others’ religions. This attempt to appreciate and understand the

religious tmth of another religion is one of the great challenges in interfaith

dialogue. Understanding an idea or concept or world view of another

religion is not sufficient; one must try to understand how a host of ideas and

images, religious symbols and liturgies, songs and stories have shaped an

entire world of meaning. One must attempt to glimpse what truth looks like

from the standpoint of the other. Openness in dialogue to the truth as

understood by the other may seem threatening to some, but we can do no

less if we are to elicit in the “other” an openness to the truth as we

understand it. If it is a risk for Christians to try to understand the truth of

Islam or Hinduism, it is no less a risk for a Muslim or a Hindu to try to

understand the truth of Christianity. “We are responsible for the image of

one another,” Diana Eck points out, and “no one will do a service to their

own religion by distorting the truth of the others.”23 Tagore pleaded with his

readers to “open their eyes and see” the truth in their religions and to bring

23 Diana L Eck, “Gandhian Guidelines for a World of Religious Difference” in Gandhi on Christianity, ed. Robert Ellsberg, Orbis Books, Maryknoll, New York, 1995, p. 90.

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them in open dialogue with the rest of creation.24 Thus, by entering into

dialogue with other faith traditions, he believed, one finds the opportunity to

enhance one’s own understanding of the truth, and not only that, it leads to a

deeper commitment to the truth, and an openness to grow and act together

for universal justice and peace, which Hans Kting describes as “global

ethics”25.

The fourth guideline Tagore offers for interfaith dialogue is the primacy of

relationships. In interfaith dialogue Tagore emphasised the importance of

dialogue between people, rather than with systems of thought. Like Martin

Buber, the twentieth century Jewish philosopher, Tagore gave primacy to

relationships.26 Relationships are central to interfaith dialogue because it is

there that something more of the sacred is discovered, as Buber has

eloquently put it: “every particular Thou is a glimpse through to the eternal

Thou.”27

24 Rabindranath Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, ed. S.K. Das, Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1994, p. 46.25 Hans Kting, Tracing the Way: Spiritual Dimension of the World Religions, translated by John Browden, Continuum, London, 2002, p. xv.26 Martin Buber, / and Thou (translated D. Cairns), T and T Clark, Edinburgh, 1937, p. 7.27 Buber, / and Thou, p. 7.

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Relationality is fundamental to Tagore’s understanding of interfaith

dialogue. Throughout his writings he placed enormous importance on one’s

relationship with God and the accompanying treatment of other persons as

spiritual beings who are also in relationship with God. Tagore put it simply:

when we realise others in us and ourselves in others, then alone we attain the

truth.

According to Tagore, the ultimate end and fulfilment of humanity as taught

by the Upanishads is “the state of realizing our relationship with all, of

entering into everything through union with God.”28 He explained that to

attain the goal of human life of being at peace and at -one with God, one

needs to be in perfect harmony with other human beings and with nature,

and thus in undisturbed union with God. This holistic understanding of

existence, of how each of us and every part of the creation is related to each

another and to God, is critical in interfaith dialogue. Different religions and

cultures may articulate it differently. But in the scope of this dissertation we

can say that this Upanishadic view is echoed in Christianity and Islam. All

three believe in one God the Creator who relates to all believers. The

common view of the three is that meaningful life is intimately tied to

28 Tagore, Sadhana, p. 12.

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relationship, whether defined primarily in terms of human-divine or human-

human relationships. In all three we find a common characteristic of a

movement away from self-centredness towards relationship. It is in

relationship that we find recognition and value for each other. This

relationship can provide the means and space by which our differences can

be transformed or held in fruitful tension.

§ The fifth guideline offered by Tagore places importance on the unity of

humanity. Tagore noted that from the beginning of human history when

individuals gathered together as a community, they instinctively realised a

“mysterious source of power” in their meeting which was creative, and

“spontaneously gave rise to a richness of social life”.29 For Tagore, this

ineffable spirit of unity was the first great discovery of humanity, the

“fundamental truth of creation”.30 Tagore observed that in the human world

this fundamental truth is realised in religious rituals and symbols and had

great potential for good.

It should not be forgotten by those involved in interfaith dialogue that the

word “religion” comes from the Latin “religio”, meaning “to bind”. Religion

29 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p.639.30 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p.639.

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binds people in an oikoumene, an open household for God. But often people

are bound on the basis of chauvinism of regionalism, ethnocentriSsm and

nationalism. Tagore never explained away the differences of religion,

ethnicity or nationality. But he was convinced that in spite of the differences,

all humans are united by God. This fundamental unity underlines the deeper

relatedness of all humans, a relatedness that is manifested and lived out in

goodness and love. In Tagore’s words, “man’s highest truth is in the union

of co-operation and love.”31 Tagore also believed that by losing our

individualistic ego when we realise our affinity with the Infinite we could

achieve unity.32

Tagore was convinced that all humans are created in the image of God, and

he believed that when every human endeavour, expression and dream,

religious and otherwise, enables them to move to the realm of freedom,

creativity and love, then the Infinite-in-finite is revealed and humans find

their unity with God and others. Tagore called it the fundamental unity that

binds all things - God, human beings and the universe, and creation finds its

fulfilment when all live in unity and in harmony.

31 Rabindranath Tagore, The Religion of Man, Indus, New Delhi, 1993, p. 100.32 Tagore, Sadhana, pp. 133-134.

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The sixth guideline that Tagore advocated was a friendly study of the world

religions. From our inquiry in this dissertation we have seen Tagore’s clear

understanding of the three religions, which informed his study of those

religions. In his writings on the subject of other religions he did not try to

find fault with them or demonise them. He always tried to find the inherent

values and compelling truth in those religions. From the inception of

Santiniketan School in 1901, religion was taught within a holistic discussion

of spirituality, and not in a dogmatic or sectarian way. Concerning the non­

sectarian position of the school, Tagore wrote, “The heterogeneity of our

religious beliefs does not present us with any difficulty whatsoever.”33 The

birthdays of the great religious leaders were celebrated and students used to

take part in active social work in the villages with Hindus, Muslims,

Christians and tribal peoples. When Tagore’s school turned into Visva-

Bharati University in 1921 he imbued the university with the same spirit of

friendliness and openness towards religion. An editorial in Nation in London

applauded Tagore for the values he had enshrined in the university: “Amid

the turmoil and shouting one may still catch the quiet words of an Indian

pleading the cause of understanding, friendliness, and forebearance, as

33 Rabindranath Tagore, My School, Macmillan, London, 1917, p. 136.

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though they, and not devastating conflicts, were the most natural things in

the world”.34

An attitude of friendliness prevailed at the university. Its very motto, Visvam

Bhavatyekanidom, meaning “where the world makes its home in a single

nest”, encouraged students, scholars and teachers from around the world to

go there to learn, teach and interact with people from different faith

traditions.

1/^Tagore’s seventh guideline for interfaith dialogue is a commitment to mutual

critique. Friendliness and openness to other religions did not mean to Tagore

that any of the world religions was beyond criticism. While Tagore imbibed

generously from Christianity, Hinduism and Islam, he never accepted any

views uncritically. Whenever he found an element in a religion that was

unethical and went against humanity, he was quick to criticise it as going

against the true spirit of religion, and as such considered it a denial of the

truth.

34 ‘Nation and Athenaeum”, in Nation, 9 April 1921, London, p. 49.

201

Tagore opposed superstitions, the caste system, and the suppression of

women in Hinduism. He was critical of the bigoted imperialist missionaries

who advocated the supremacy of Christianity and undermined the religion of

Christ. He challenged Muslims to practise the teachings of Prophet

Muhammad on women and tolerance for people of other faiths, and to move

forward in the direction laid down by their religious leaders.

Tagore saw self-criticism as an integral part of interfaith dialogue, for he

believed that uncritical adherence to any religion had the potential to

stagnate one’s religion. Self-criticism doesn’t mean that one is to be less

committed to one’s own faith, but it does mean that one must have the

courage to question those things in one’s own religion that hurt and harm

humanity. Tagore believed that dialogue partners must also have the grace to

listen and take seriously the objections that others might have of their

religious beliefs. As the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre once stated,

“The other is an intermediary between myself and my ego. He is the key to

understanding myself, and experiencing my existence.”35 Only when we are

honest in criticising our own bigotry and wrongdoings can we gain the trust

to question and criticise others.

35 Jean-Paul Sartre, quoted in Mohammad Al-Sammak’s “The Culture of Dialogue in Islam” in Current Dialogue, No. 48, December 2006, pp. 20-25.

202

^ The final guideline for interfaith dialogue that Tagore advocated was joint

ethical actions. Tagore was not an impractical dreamer. He practised

interfaith dialogue both theoretically and practically. Through his writings

he rebelled against sectarianism, religious communalism and fanatical

patriotism. He was against the “shut-eyed habit” of blind ritualism of any

religion and appealed,

Leave this chanting and singing and telling

of beads! Whom dost thou worship in this

lonely dark corner of a temple with doors

all shut? Open thine eyes!36

On a practical level he appealed to practitioners of all religions not just to

“open their eyes” but also to join hands with people of other faiths to work

together for the implementation of the great values of their religions because

Tagore was convinced that God could be met when people worked together_____jtk*

for Common good of humanity. So, Tagore challenged:

Come out of your meditations and

leave aside your flowers and incense!

What harm is there if your clothes become tattered and stained?

Meet him and stand by him in toil and in sweat of your brow.37

36 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p. 46.

203

Tagore believed that creating a new brave world of peace and harmony was

an enterprise where both humans and the divine were to be engaged in a

creative process. He wrote,

I had gone a-begging from door to door in the village path,

when your golden chariot appeared ...

and I wondered who was this King of all kings!

My hopes rose high and I thought my evil days were at an end,

and I stood waiting for alms to be given unasked ...

Your glance fell on me and you came down with a smile.

Then of a sudden you held out your right hand and said

‘What hast thou to give to me?’37 38

Tagore, forgetting his own high caste privileges, worked with the

untouchables to uplift them. To give shape to his “ideal of the spiritual unity

of all races”39, in 1913 he started his great educational experiment in his

beloved Santiniketan, which literally means “abode of peace”. He put his

heart and soul into transforming the school to Visva-Bharati University

where “East and West would meet in fellowship, on equal terms, without

distinction of caste, or creed, or race”. He considered this to be a “divine

37 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p. 46.38 Tagore, Gitanjali, song no. 50.39 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 628.

204

task”.40 In a letter to Mahatma Gandhi on 19 February 1940, Tagore

mentioned what Visva-Bharati meant to him: “It is like a vessel, carrying the

cargo of my life’s best treasure.”41 This centre of international

understanding, which he built with his vision and determination to foster

world peace through mutual understanding conducted in the spirit of

goodwill and cross-cultural cooperation, roused amused contempt among

some of his nationalist contemporaries. But he never lost his vision and

faith, nor judged his opponents harshly. He stood fast in his vision and

consistently worked for a harmonious and peaceful world. His prayer was:

Where the mind is without fear

and the head is held high;

Where knowledge is free;

Where the world has not been

broken up into fragments

by narrow domestic walls;

Where the clear stream of reason

has not lost its way into the

dreary desert sand of dead habit; ...

Into that heaven of freedom,

my Father, let my country awake.42

40 Uma Dasgupta, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2004, p. 22.41 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 3, p. 29.42 Tagore, The English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, vol. 1, p. 53.

205

It was precisely in his passion to journey beyond “the dreary desert sand of

dead habits” and to engage in ideas from outside the “narrow domestic

walls” that Tagore dedicated his life, and for this very reason he is relevant

for interfaith dialogue today. If we engage Tagore seriously he will “open

our eyes” and help us to see God, humanity and the universe in a new light

through the eyes of fellow travellers on the spiritual path. The world that

Tagore invites us into is not the dream world of a poet; it is real, or better

still, it becomes real when we engage with others in dialogue.

206

Chapter Seven

Conclusion

In the preface to his revised edition of The Faith of Other Men (1962),

Wilfred Cantwell Smith, former Director of Harvard’s Center for the

Study of World Religions, explains the omission of the words “man” and

“other” in the new title Patterns of Faith Around the World (1998). The

deletion of “man” is obvious, but the deletion of “other” raises a more

subtle issue. Religions other than one’s own can no longer be described

as “other”. “We all now live, and know that we live,” says Smith, “in a

pluralist context. They are instances of us. They are part of the human

community that is we.”1 This remarkable way of describing the changes

and transitions taking place in the world certainly fits the situation in

Australia. Australia is now what Hans Ucko calls an “irreducible

pluralistic”2 society where our corporate life demands more than just

tolerance of the presence of people of other faiths. “It is about,” as

Maurice Merleau-Ponty, the French phenomenological philosopher puts

it, “learning how to perceive what is ours as if it were foreign to us and to

perceive what is foreign to us as if ours.”3 In this new situation what has

1 Wilfred Cantwell Smith, Patterns of Faith Around the World, Oneworld Publications, Oxford, 1998, 8-

A term used by Wesley Araiarajah in his opening remark at the “Thinking Together” session held under the auspices of the Interreligious Relations and Dialogue, World Council of Churches in 2000.3 Quoted by Hans Ucko in his address to the Bossey Workshop (17-22 April, 1999), Switzerland.

Rabindranath Tagore to offer to the Church, especially the Uniting

Church, engaged in interfaith dialogue? I offer six concluding

observations.

First, Tagore, as we have observed, had a “catholic” personality. He went

beyond the barriers of his culture, nationality and his race. While he

enriched the culture he had inherited, he was not limited by it. He looked

around and realised that humankind was one. He looked within and

realised that the same Universal Spirit animated all. Tagore foresaw what

Wilfred Cantwell Smith has described as “the human community that is

we”,4 and Tagore, himself, poetically expressed it: “When one knows

thee, then alien there is none, then no door is shut.”5 As a poet, Tagore’s

spirit was tuned to the eternal rhythm that beats in the heart of humanity.

As a musician he sought the ultimate harmony in which all discords are

dissolved.

Secondly, Tagore’s claim that his family was a confluence of three

religions gave him special insight into Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.

He saw in each of these religions the manifold ways of God’s revelation.

He found God’s truth and wisdom in their teachings, and in the love and

4 Cantwell Smith, Patterns of Faith Around the World, p. 8.5 Rabindranath Tagore, Gitabitan, Visva-Bharati, Calcutta, 1906, p. 232.

208

holy living of their adherents. He saw religious plurality as an expression

of God’s creativity, something to share and celebrate.

Thirdly, we have observed in this dissertation that Tagore’s own life was

profoundly dialogical. His entire literary career was shaped by a wide

variety of people from different faith backgrounds. He cultivated

meaningful relationships with people of other faiths and respected their

religious beliefs. The Christian belief in the centrality of Christ and the

Muslim allegiance to the Qu’ran never deterred Tagore from having a

meaningful dialogue with adherents of those religions. He appreciated

and admired the religious convictions of C.F. Andrews and W.W.

Pearson, both Anglican priests and Kaji Nzrul Islam, a Muslim poet.

From their religious experiences Tagore affirmed the working of Spirit of

God in their lives, and learned from them. Tagore’s dynamic of dialogue

was not confined within the bounds of university or theological

seminaries. He was just as comfortable and confident discussing religion

with the peasants of Shelidah as he was with intellectuals like Romain

Rolland and Albert Einstein.

Fourthly, Tagore offered a bridge in interfaith dialogue. He had

acceptability and credibility among the adherents of Christianity,

Hinduism and Islam. Kana Mitra in “Exploring the Possibility of Hindu-

209

Muslim Dialogue” observes that Hindus and Muslims are often

suspicious of Christian initiatives in dialogue, which they fear as a

“covert way of converting”.6 However, Tagore was respected and revered

by the three religious communities and considered to be above the

perceived motive of “conversion”.

Fifthly, Tagore’s songs demonstrate the power of music in facilitating

interfaith dialogue. Most people find the medium of music an easy and

acceptable way of entering into religious traditions other than their own.

Music breaks down barriers and draws people into an experience of

community and togetherness. People feel drawn to one another in

powerful ways through music. As we have observed in this dissertation

Tagore’s songs have binding appeal to Hindus, Muslims and Christians.

Two of his songs are the national anthems of two countries, India, a

predominantly Hindu country, and Bangladesh, a predominantly Muslim

country. His songs are extensively used in Christian worship services

both in India and Bangladesh.

Sixthly, Tagore’s influence in interfaith dialogue was not limited to

intellectual discussions but also expressed in practical actions. He

practised interfaith dialogue first through the work of the Visva-Bharati

6 Kan a Mitra, “Exploring the Possibility of Hindu-Muslim Dialogue” in Muslims in Dialogue: The Evolution of a Dialogue, ed. L. Swidler, The Edwin Mellen Press, Lewiston, NY, 1992, pp. 277-291.

210

University’s village reconstruction, education and rural development

projects, and, secondly, through his lectures and speeches, promoting

united action for justice, peace and harmony in the world.

Finally, Tagore offers eight specific guidelines for interfaith dialogue. In

brief they are: (i^that God is One, the Creator of all; (if) that God is Love,

Sand this love brings God to human and invites them to be partners in

God’s creative activity; (iii) that God is Truth and this truth has been

apprehended from many religious perspectives; (iv) that God is in

relationship with humanity and this relationship between God and

humans is the foundation for relationship between humans; (v) that unity

among humanity is based on the fundamental premise that we all are

created by one God; (vi) that a friendly study of the world religions,

interpreted with the tools of modem scholarship, can help dialogue

partners gain a better and informed understanding of their own religion

and that of others; (vii) that mutual criticism is an integral part of

interfaith dialogue, and when carried out with sensitivity and respect for

the other’s faith, there can be deepening of the participant’s own faith and

a greater appreciation of the other’s; (viii) that the common values in the

world religions can lead to joint ethical action on global issues of social

justice, equity and the environment to make a better, safer, more

harmonious and peaceful world.

211

In religiously pluralistic Australia^here antagonism between religions is

perplexing and grieving al|< Hans Kiing, one of the most prominent

theologians of interfaith dialogue today, reminds us that “there is no

peace among the nations, without peace among the religions. No peace

among the religions, without dialogue between the religions.”7 In this task

of religious dialogue Tagore, a man loved, respected and revered by

people of many faiths, left a cherished legacy to the world. His ideas have

great potential for people engaged in interfaith dialogue; they offer a way

that will not only enrich the lives of the participants in interfaith dialogue

but is also replete with possibilities for multicultural Australia.

Tagore never visited Australia, but he and his vision are not strange to

Australians. H. Duncan Hall from Sydney notes in his homage “To

Tagore” in The Golden Book of Tagore (1931) that there are common

elements between Indians and Australians, especially in their appreciation

of nature, their fusion of nature and human spirit in their daily life, and

their aspiration for a better humanity. With Hall, the author is convinced

that Tagore offers Australians a “fuller vision” of the oneness of

7 Hans Kiing, Islam: Past, Present and Future, translated by John Bowden, One World, Oxford, 2007, p. xxiii.

212

humanity,8 and a valuable platform from which to engage in interfaith

dialogue. ^<£z>cl hf

H. Duncan Hall, “To Tagore”, in 77ie Golden Book of Tagore, ed. R. Chatterjee, The Golden Book Committee, Calcutta, 1931, p. 105.

213

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