INSPIRATION VALUES FROM Sri RABINDRANATH TAGORE - PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND HUMAN VALUES

INSPIRATION VALUES FROM Sri RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Thakur was born on 7^th May, 1861, in Calcutta to Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi. He lost his mother at a very early age and his father used to travel extensively. Hence he was raised by his servants. He was the youngest among the thirteen kids to his parents.

            Tagore family had a lead role to play in the social reform movements of Bengal like the Bengal Renaissance which was started by Raja Ram Mohan Roy. Their family included philosophers, civil servants, musicians, composers, writers, novelists etc.

            Tagore did not prefer to attend schooling; instead he was tutored at home by his brother. He learned anatomy, geography, history, literature, math, Sanskrit and English along with swimming, gymnastics and wresting. During his visit to Santiniketan estate of his father at Amritser, he read several Biographies, books on modern Science, Sanskrit, Poetry of Kalidasa etc. Then he went to Dalhouse (Himalayan Hill Station), and which had a high impact on his write-up works.

            Tagore was sent to public school of Brighton, England (1878) to study Barrister. He was joined in University of London, but again he left that, instead preferred to study works of Shakesphere, Peligo Medini, Cariolanus and Antony and Cleopatra. He was impressed with the European folk tunes and he started considering the best of European and native traditions.

            In 1883 he was married to Mrinalini Devi and has 5 children. He moved to Shelaidaha, where he lost his wife and a child. He had to manage his ancestral estate and that that time he did his best works which, include Manasi poems and Galpaguccha which had 84 stories in 3 volumes. The poverty in rural Bengal moved him. In 1901 he started his model school Viswa Bharathi, which he dedicated to the emerging Western and Indian philosophy and education. He wrote several poems, novels, stories, text books for that. He implemented Brahmacharya and teaching was under trees, in nature. In 1912 he went to England on an extensive tour with his son (as he was 51), and during this time he met Romain Rolland and Bertrand Russell. He says all good values of humanity have a family tie and they must be exchanged among nations. At sixty, Tagore took up drawing and painting; successful exhibitions of his many works, which made a debut appearance in Paris upon encouragement by artists he met in the south of France were held throughout Europe. He was likely red-green color blind, resulting in works that exhibited strange color schemes and off-beat aesthetics. Tagore was influenced by scrimshaw from northern New Ireland, Haida carvings from British Columbia, and woodcuts by Max Pechstein.

            He won Noble prize for literature in 1913 for this translation songs offering- Gitanjali (1912), which incorporates the themes of divine and mans love. Its preface was written by Irish poet William Butler Yeats. He started his appreciation for English literature retaining the native culture. Hence he was regarded as a creative artist of the modern Indian subcontinent. In 1915 The British have crowned him with Knighthood, but Tagore has returned it back condemning the Jallian Wala Baagh massacre (1919), that killed 370 people and wounded 1200.

            He was an active agricultural economist and has set up an Institute for Rural Reconstruction. He has supported Gandhiji’s protest. He pooled funds to vitalize knowledge in villages and break them free from the clutches of ignorance. He also visited South Eastern countries as well as United States. He covered around 30 countries spanning 5 continents.

            In 1934, Earth quake hit Bihar and thousands were killed. Gandhiji referred it as Karma and Tagore did not hesitate to give a statement that his statements were ignorant. Tagore was moved by the poverty of Calcutta and the socio-economic decline in Bengal. He wrote the unrhymed hundred line poem which was used by Satyajit Ray in his film Apur Sansar. Tagore wrote several prose, poems and dramas during that period.

            He expanded his territory even to science which is revealed in Visva-Parichay (1937), and it is a collection of essays. He had profound respect for scientific laws and had explored the fields of Biology, physics and astronomy which is seen in his stories Tin Sangi and Galpasala.

            Tagore expired on 8^th of August, 1941at the age of 80years, but he left a legacy. He modernized Bengali art and his contribution in summary include novels, stories, songs, dance-dramas and essays on political as well as personal level. His novels were known for their unnatural contemplation. He has composed national anthems for India and Bangladesh (Jana Gana Mana and Amar Shonar Bangla). He has extended his music and lyrics to Srilankan National anthem too. Tagore is immortalized by his work and the love in the heart of people of India.

INSPIRATIONAL VALUES THAT COULD BE LEARNT FROM THE LIFE OF TAGORE

He was a Savior: He addressed on the issues of society like poverty, untouchability, helplessness and ignorance of people, essentially of humanity. He detailed the poverty of Calcutta in his Unrhymed hundred line poem the vision of which is seen in Satyajit Ray’s film Apur Sansar.

His views on humanism: Tagore was one of the pioneers of the Boycott Movement in Bengal but when he found it growing violent and indiscreet, he withdrew his support for it and condemned it though his writings. Tagore gives highest place to man. To him, Man is the creator of the creator. As a main lead of human freedom, he is a seeker of peace and hence, follows Gandhi’s ideal- non-violence, ahimsa. He realizes that he has some commitment to his fellow- beings. His most powerful criticism against its in humanistic and violent tendencies is expressed through his works.

His opinion on Education: Tagore never believed on class room learning and hence established a school of its kind that teaches in nature. He says,” The highest education is that which does not merely gives us information, but makes our life in harmony with all existence”. He understands the difference in generation gap and states,” Don’t limit a child to your won learning for he was born in another time.” A child must be guided and not restriction. He also stated that educating women is important as “Educating a man , will educate a man while  educating women, will educate generations.”

Self-Direction: His education was self directive. No one could tell him but everyone at home guided him. But he was a master in the subjects of his interest, from science to astronomy; Sanskrit to English indicates that he is a self-made man. He states “None of the world’s problems will have a solution until the World individuals become thoroughly Self-educated.” He says everyone will learn out of their own experiences. He has revealed himself through his art.

Universalism vs culture: The first feature of Tagore's thought was his firm belief in the "non-fragility" of Indian culture and civilization; he believed that it was broad and of many parts, each related to and influenced by the other. Tagore, did not believe that there was a conflict between the cultures and civilizations of the East and the West, and was against "closing the shutters" to outside influences. His words about existence of God,”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 and see thy God is not before thee! He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground and where the path maker is breaking stones. He is with them in sun and in shower, and his garment is covered with dust”. Tagore's attitude toward cultural diversity was ahead of his time. He wanted Indians to learn what is going on elsewhere, how others lived, what they valued, and so on, while remaining interested and involved in their own culture and heritage. Indeed, in his educational writings the need for synthesis is strongly stressed

His opinion on freedom: Tagore it was of the highest importance that people be able to live, and reason, in freedom. His attitudes toward politics and culture, nationalism and internationalism, tradition and modernity, can all be seen in the light of this belief. Nothing, perhaps, expresses his values as clearly as a poem in Gitanjali:

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

Tagore’s simplicity: Though he comes from a family with good back ground, he kept himself simple. He poems reveal how humble one has to be in front of his almighty. “My debts are large, my failures great, my shame secret and heavy; yet I come to  ask for my good, I quake in fear lest my prayer be granted. Through his own works he states that service to mankind is important “I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold service was joy”.

His spirituality: His work on Getanjali is a conversation of man to god. Many of his poems state the necessity to accept humanity and then go for spirituality.

Face to Face
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.
In this laborious world of thine, tumultuous with toil
and with struggle, among hurrying crowds
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.

The statement he says about God “In this playhouse of infinite forms I have had my play, and here have I caught sight of him that is formless.

His love for nature:  As his life reveals he is inspired by nature and then he started writing all his early poems. He relates everything aspect of life to natural forms and explains as follows:

Faith: Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark. Birds keep singing at the appearance traces of light revealing their faith in life that light is going to come and the existing darkness will go off.

He says “The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough”. In life we should live the moment and not waste it counting on how much time is left to fulfill things that we have to do.

Strength: He who seeks God to remove all the hurdles must read the following words of Tagore “Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless when facing them”. Ask God to give us strength to face the problems and never ask to remove them and make path of life easier. 

Optimist: If I cant make it through one door, I’ll go through another door – or I’ll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present. He always insists on working with one’s own capabilities with confidence. “Everything comes to us that belong to us, if we create the capacity to receive it.”

Positivity towards Life: Clouds come floating into my life, no longer to carry rain or usher storm, but to add color to my sunset sky. These are words during his last stages.”Death is not extinguishing the light, but putting out the lamp because the dawn has come.”

His statement on what One can do in his life” Great calm, generous detachment, selfless love, disinterested effort: these are what make for success in life. If you can find peace in yourself and can spread comfort around you, you will be happier than an empress.”