The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore - (Bloomsbury Introductions to World Philosophies) by Ramin Jahanbegloo (Hardcover)

Book Synopsis

Where does the great Bengali poet and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore stand in today's global world?

The legacy of Rabindranath Tagore is vast. No writer in the history of India and Asia in general matches his variety and range of creation. In this book, Ramin Jahanbegloo looks beyond the poetry and literature for which Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize, showing how his thinking enriches every branch of the humanities - philosophy, pedagogy and the arts.

Each chapter is dedicated to one aspect of Tagore's philosophy: his vision of human nature and its relation to Nature and God; his views on interculturality and dialogue among cultures; the idea of universal education and its influence on modern educative institutions. Reading Tagore as an intercultural thinker, Jahanbegloo seeks to understand how he confronted violent and fanatic orders. He places an emphasis on Tagore's social and political contributions, his dialogue with Gandhi and his approach to colonialism.

Attempting to bring civilisations and cultures closer together, Tagore answered many of the intellectual, moral and spiritual crises of his time. His work has inspired writers and intellectuals from different parts of the world for more than a century. This far-reaching exploration of the many facets of Tagore's multi-dimensional thoughts allows us to understand why.

Review Quotes

Ramin Jahanbegloo's comprehensive survey of the varied aspects of Rabindranath Tagore's thought is a timely attempt to remind us of its continuing relevance. It is particularly noteworthy that Jahanbegloo's approach to his subject is itself Tagorean in spirit and style. Whether temperamentally sympathetic to Tagorean idealism or more critically oriented, the reader will find this study an excellent starting point for further exploration of a fascinating body of work.

This is a fluently written introduction to various aspects of the life and work of the Bengali poet-thinker Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). Ramin Jahanbegloo highlights various crucial themes from Tagore's pedagogic philosophy, religious cosmology, and sociocultural cosmopolitanism. His delineation of the Tagore-Gandhi relationship is especially insightful. He brings Tagore's motifs into active conversation with contemporary debates - indeed, to echo his idiom, Tagore can be resituated as our "contemporary".

About the Author

Ramin Jahanbegloo is the Executive Director of the Mahatma Gandhi Centre for Nonviolence and Peace Studies and the Vice-Dean of the School of Law at Jindal Global University- Delhi-India.