Rabindranath Tagore - timeless human icon

“In the normal course of events many men and women are born with remarkable talents; but occasionally, in a way that transcends nature, a single person is marvellously endowed by Heaven with beauty, grace and talent in such abundance that he leaves other men and women far behind, all his actions seem inspired and indeed everything he does clearly comes from God rather than from human skill.”
- Giorgio Vasari
(On Leonardo da Vinci)

Kalakeerthi EDWIN ARIYADASA

When we go about celebrating the 151st ‘Kabirpranam’ - the birth anniversary of Rabindranath Tagore, we cannot help but feel troubled at least vestigially - by a nagging sense of remorse. Our conscience is irked, that, we have not been able to re-discover adequately, the quintessential human spirituality, Sage Rabindranath Tagore, so starkly and eloquently symbolized.

Immediately on being born in the Jorasanko Mansion in Calcutta, to his parents Debendranath Tagore and Sarada Devi, he inherited a strong spiritual streak, with his first breath itself as it were. For ages, his family had been engrossed in philosophies, Dharma and spirituality.

His ultra - privileged social status, endowed upon him a loftiness of stature, that, as a matter of course, made him view the lives of ‘common’ men and women, with a keenly sensitive curiosity. The name ‘Tagore’ was a form of respectful address, with which, he and the members of his family were greeted by the ordinary folk.

The term ‘Tagore’ meant ‘Holy Lord’. Over the centuries, it became their family name.

Indian spiritual legacy

His cloistered youth and the excessive pampering lavished upon him, are strangely evocative of some aspects of the youthful days of Prince Siddhartha. The parallel seems to extend far deeper, than one would have normally thought. It is said, that, the Jorasanko Manor was in an area of North Calcutta, rife with poverty and accompanying vices. Young Tagore was forbidden to leave the Manor for any purpose. Travelling to school was the only exception.

Young Prince Siddhartha’s doting father, the King, resorted to severe protective measures, to keep the heavy stench of ordinary life in the world outside, from obtruding upon the tender life of his royal son.

The resultant spiritual isolation, they were compelled to experience, persuaded both Prince Siddhartha and young Rabindranath Tagore, to look profoundly inwards in a sustained soul - searching.

Religious institutions

The philosophic heritage of perennial India, enriched the inner being of Young Rabindranath Tagore, to such an extent, that early on, he became a spiritual autodidact polymath.

Spurning formal education Rabindranath took to prolonged contemplation. When you come to think of it, the Indian spiritual legacy, young Rabindranath became heir to, was even more glorious than the philosophic heritage Prince Siddhartha acquired. This is simply because, Rabindranath became the beneficiary of a spiritual treasure, youthful Prince Siddhartha did not have access to.

The record of the 2,500 year old odyssey of Buddhism and the spiritual adventure of Prince Siddhartha, Ascetic Siddhartha and Gautama the Buddha, was the Fortune that was available to Rabindranath but not to Prince Siddhartha.

Rabindranath Tagore, was deeply learned in the age - old institutions of India’s religious life. This is quite evident from a statement made by Rabindranath Tagore, way back in 1935.

‘At the end of the Tapasya (austere asceticism) the Buddha rose up and manifested himself to the World. In the glory of that manifestation, the true India was revealed. The light spread far beyond the geographical boundaries of India, to eternize His advent in the history of mankind. India became a land of pilgrimage, that is to say, people of other lands were drawn to her by bonds of kinship; for, through the words of the Buddha, India had accepted all men as kin.”

Rabindranath Tagore re-discovered the perennial religious institutions of India. Rabindranath practiced India’s other perennial religious rite as well.

This, of course, is Abhinishkramana (Renunciation). Though he lived right in the midst of the hum and buzz of an agitated India, Rabindranath was serenely objective.

The two great Indians of our time, Mahatma Gandhi and Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, delved deep into the timeless culture of ancient India, in search of perennial wisdom, to remedy contemporary discords.

Mahatma Gandhi’s Quest culminated with ‘Ahimsa’ (non-violence). He transformed it into a potent weapon to subdue the mightiest empire history has known. Gurudev too acquired vigour and strength from the identical source - the timeless wisdom of ancient India.

National anthem

Gurudev discovered a spiritual tranquility that would prove a bond to weld mankind together. While Mahatma’s ‘Ahimsa’ had to be articulated mostly in turbulent mass contexts, Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore’s healing philosophy emerged in songs, poetry, drama, art and discourses, as a soul message whispered intimately to the resonant human heart.

Tagore’s body of works is a composite sermon. The inherent theme of all his thoughts, was the effort to discover the essential humanity of all men and women. His works like Gitanjali which won him the Nobel Prize for Literature, may not be fully appreciated by a world, that has no time for lyricisms that go beyond the materialistic preoccupations of the anxious masses of our day, who are driven by some seemingly aimless collective agony.

In a world of crowded loneliness where billions are in touch with each other, the sense of humanity is largely lost.

Gurudev Tagore yearned to educate men and women to be human. For this he is a Timeless Human Icon. MIs-directed rash scholarship, may very well miss his essential humanity. As we celebrate his birthday, it seems to be the right resolve to seek ardently the essential humanity embedded in his myriad words.

We adore the Gurudev as a composer of National Anthems as well.

For the Republic of India, he created ‘Jana gana mana’. The national anthem of Bangladesh ‘Amar Shonar Bangla’ is a Tagore song. Our own ‘Sri Lanka Matha’, is the work of a pupil of Gurudev Tagore. - Ananda Samarakone.

But, it is essential to remember, that Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore created the anthem for the whole of mankind, when he wrote this poem for humanity.

‘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 haven of Freedom, my father let my country awake'.

While singing this human Anthem, let us dedicate to the rediscovery of this timeless human icon. Rabindranath Tagore, who celebrated life-long, the essential unity of the whole of humanity.