The Centre Of Indian Culture: "The butterfly counts not months but moments, and has time enough."

By Rabindranath Tagore

In this volume we venture to the East. To met a writer who speaks a common language of love and mysticism which continues to convey valuable insights into universal themes in contemporary society. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) who was a gifted Bengali Renaissance man, distinguishing himself as a philosopher, social and political reformer and a popular author in all literary genres. He was instrumental in an increased freedom for the press and influenced Gandhi and the founders of modern India. He composed hundreds of songs which are still sung today as they include the Indian and Bangladeshi national anthems. His prolific literary life has left a legacy of quality novels, essays, poems and in this volume one of his plays. He earned the distinction of being the first Asian writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. Many of his poems are also available as an audiobook from our sister company Portable Poetry as well as ebooks of stories and essays. Many samples are at our youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/PortablePoetry?feature=mhee The full volume of poems can be purchased from iTunes, Amazon and other digital stores. Among our readers are Shyama Perera and Ghizela Rowe

• Language: English
• Publisher: A Word To The Wise
• Release date: Aug 20, 2013
• ISBN: 9781780009650

Rabindranath Tagore

Rabindranath Tagore was born in May 1861. He was a Bengali poet, Brahmo Samaj philosopher, visual artist, playwright, novelist, and composer whose works reshaped Bengali literature and music in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He became Asia's first Nobel laureate when he won the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature. His works included numerous novels, short-stories, collection of songs, dance-drama, political and personal essays. Some prominent examples are Gitanjali (Song Offerings) , Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire (The Home and the World). He died on 7th August 1941.

Book preview

Rabindranath Tagore – The Centre of Indian Culture

In this volume we venture to the East. To meet a poet and novelist who speaks a common language of love and mysticism which continues to convey valuable insights into universal themes in contemporary society.

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) a gifted Bengali Renaissance man, who distinguished himself as a philosopher, social and political reformer and a popular author in all literary genres.  He was instrumental in an increased freedom for the press and influenced Gandhi and the founders of modern India. 

He composed hundreds of songs which are still sung today which include the Indian and Bangladeshi national anthems. 

His prolific literary life has left a legacy of quality novels, essays and in this volume he writes wisely on Indian Culture (in his day India encompassed modern day Pakistan and Bangladesh).  His work and artistry earned him the distinction of being the first Asian writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913.

Index of Contents

The Centre of Indian Culture

Rabindranath Tagore – A Biography

The Centre of Indian Culture

I

The question which I intend to discuss in the present paper is, what should be the ideal of education in India. Instead of holding my listeners' minds in suspense till the very end, let me briefly give the answer in the beginning before entering into a detailed discussion. On each race is the duty laid to keep alight its own lamp of mind as its part in the illumination of the world. To break the lamp of any people is to deprive it of its rightful place in the world festival. He who has no light is unfortunate enough, but utterly miserable is he who, having it, has been deprived of it, or has forgotten all about it.

India has proved that it has its own mind, which has deeply thought and felt and tried to solve according to its light the problems of existence. The education of India is to enable this mind of India to find out truth, to make this truth its own wherever found and to give expression to it in such a manner as only it can do.

In order to carry this out, first of all the mind of India has to be concentrated and made conscious of itself and then only can it accept education from its teachers in a right spirit, judge it by its own standard and make use of it by its own creative power. The fingers must be joined together to take, as well as to give. So when we can bring the scattered minds of India into co-ordinated activity, they will then become receptive as well as creative - and the waters of life will case to slip through the gaps, to make sodden the ground beneath.

The next point is that, in education, the most important factor must be the inspiring atmosphere of creative activity. And therefore the primary function of our University should be the constructive work of knowledge. Men should be brought together and full scope given to them for their work of intellectual exploration and creation; and the teaching should be like the overflow water of this spring of culture, spontaneous and inevitable. Education can only become natural and wholesome when it is the direct fruit of a living and growing knowledge.

The last point is that our education should be in full touch with our complete life, economical, intellectual aesthetic, social and spiritual; and our educational institutions should be in the very heart of our society, connected with it by the living bonds of varied co-operations. For true education is to realize at every step how our training and knowledge have organic connection with our surroundings.

II

All over India, there is a vague feeling of discontent in the air about our prevalent system of education. Signs have lately been numerous of a desire for a change - there seems to be an urgent of life in the subsoil of our national mind, sending forth new