RABINDRANATH TAGORE

Life Sketch

Viswakavi (World Poet) Rabindranath was born on May 9, 1861 in Bengal. His father Maharihi Devendranath Tagore was a rich man and an aristocrat and his mother was Sarada Devi. Rabindranath Tagore was not sent to any school. He was educated at home by a tutor. Rabindranath was not happy, getting educated within the four walls. He was a curious and creative child.

Though he was educated at home, he studied many subjects and there was a method in his studies. He would get up early. After physical education he would study Mathematics, History, Geography, Bengali and Sanskrit. In the afternoon, he learnt drawing, English and play games. On Sundays he would learn music and conduct experiments in science. Reading plays was of special interest to him. He was happy to read plays of Kalidas and Shakespeare. He had a special interest in Bengali, which was his mother-tongue.

For further studies, he was sent to a public school at London, where he became a student of Prof. Henry Morley whose lectures influenced Rabindranath to take interest in English literature. He developed interest in English culture, traditions and literature. While studying in England, he wrote a poem “Broken Heart”. After 18 months in England, he returned to India without taking any degree.

Rabindranath started writing poetry. “Gitanjali” is a well-known collection of his poems. Rabindranath Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1913. Rabindranath Tagore was the first Indian to get a Nobel Prize and the British Government conferred on him knighthood and gave the title of “Sir”.

Rabindranath started a school at Bolpur, a village 112km. north of Kolkata. This school developed into Shantiniketan. Students come to Shantiniketan from many countries. It specializes in arts, crafts, music and dance besides rural reconstruction.

He established Viswabharathi University near Santiniketan in 1921. It is now a university of the Central Government.

Rabindranath Tagore was also a good artist. He started to learn painting at the age of 60. He drew more than 2000 pictures, which were exhibited in many countries. What makes Rabindranath Tagore special for Indians is “Jana gana mana” and it is our National Anthem. Rabindranath Tagore wrote it when he visited Madanapalli in Andhra Pradesh on the eve of the Rishi Valley School Anniversary at the invitation of Dr. Arundale, the Principal. Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru had the greatest respect for Rabindranath Tagore. He was a great philosopher and a teacher. He was called “Gurudev” by all. He breathed his last on August 7, 1941, leaving his thoughts and ideas for all to follow.

Philosophical Idea

Rabindranath was a philosopher, poet, dramatist, teacher, essayist and painter of outstanding repute. His philosophy of life was based on the ideals of dedication, patriotism and naturalism. Although he was an ideal philosopher, but the thoughts of naturalism, pragmatism and individualism are also reflected in his philosophy. The values which contributed a lot towards enrichment of his life are discussed as follow:

(1) Idealist:

Tagore believes that man should realize the "ultimate truth" which will liberate him from the worldly bondage. Experience according to him is within the world of illusion (Maya). He thoughts the world is the place of both truth and illusion (Maya).

In Tagore's view man is born with enormous surplus force which is excess of his physical need. This surplus is the limitless potentiality of human personality and creativity. In this lies the infinite future of man. The surplus potentiality manifests itself in man's religious spiritual and moral activities. As an idealist he was an ardent supporter of truth, virtues and values. According to Tagore, "By art man can experience the wholeness of life. The fine arts were nothing but intellectual and spiritual discipline. He said Bhakti can spiritualize Kama.

(2) Humanist:

Tagore said nature and man are created by supreme power. There is a strong link between man and nature. So man should act naturally to feel the presence of superpower within him. Love fellowmen in a natural way. Realization of self is the essence to realize the Godhood.

(3) Naturalist:

Tagore said nature is the great teacher which is not hostile to man. Nature is kind, generous and benevolent like mother. In his view, "Education diverted from nature has brought untold harm to young children." Man should develop his relation with the nature as his fellowmen.

(4) Patriotism:

Tagore was a great poet and patriot. His writings were filled with patriotic values. He had joined in freedom movement to make the country free from foreign yoke. Sense of national service, patriotic feeling, dedication etc. was fostered through his writings. "Jana Gana Mana Adlii Nayak Jai Hai" is the famous National song which elicited a strong sense of integration.

(5) Internationalist:

Rabindranath Tagore was in favour of one world creation of unit amidst cultural, colour and religious diversities is the need of the time for peaceful co-existence in the globe. Forgetting selfishness one we should work to establish world culture based on love, affection fellow feeling and mutual understanding. Cosmopolitan feelings are explicit in his writings and paintings. Tagore's internationalist thought and attempt for making united world is appreciated all over the world.

(6) Vedantist:

Tagore's philosophy reveals that he was a vedantist in true sense of terms. He had faith in one Supreme Being that is the Brahma. He finds unity in diversities in the world and a spiritual unity between man and man, man and nature. The relationship between god and man must be like the relationship between love and joy. He believes both the presence of God in all manifestation of matter and spirit.

Educational Idea

Rabindranath Tagore was primarily an educationist rather than a political thinker. He put emphasis on 'naturalism' for framing educational model. In education, freedom is the basic guiding force for inculcating interest within a student who will derive inspiration from nature to pursue any branch of knowledge he likes. The establishment of Shantiniketan fulfilled the desired goal of Tagore in the educational front.

1. Unity of West and East:

Tagore's education marked a novel blending of the ideas of the East and West. The spiritualism of Indian philosophy and progressive outlook of the western people were blended together to give rise to an educational philosophy which marked its distinction in comparison to other educationists of India.

2. Natural growth in natural circumstance:

Tagore envisaged that nature is the best teacher to the pupil. Nature will provide the student with necessary situation to earn knowledge. No pressure should be exerted upon the student to learn anything. It is nature which will be the guiding force to inculcate the spirit of learning in the mind of a student to pursue the education he likes. It will shape his behavior and character.

3. Goodbye to book-centered education:

For the first time in the arena of education, Tagore established a new mile-stone. With boldness and firmness, he rejected a book-centered education for students. To him it is not just to confine the mind of boys and girls to text-books only. It will kill the natural instincts of a student and make him bookish. It will kill his creative skill. So, students should be freed from the-book-centered education and should be given a broader avenue for learning.

4. Freedom to learner:

Tagore had championed the cause of freedom. The same he wanted to implement in the field of education. With that object he had opened Shantiniketan, Sri Niketan and Brahmachari Ashram. Accordingly, he gave free choice to students to develop their interest in any field they like. To him, education should be after the heart of a man. He explained freedom in three-categorized ways i.e. freedom of heart, freedom of intellect and freedom of will.

Education imparted in a natural way will lead to the fulfillment of these three freedoms. One may pursue the vocational education or education of an intellect, or education in any branch of the arts or one may become a sansei by observing celibacy.

5. Teaching - practical and real:

According to Tagore, teaching should be practical and real but not artificial and theoretical. As a naturalist out and out, Tagore laid emphasis on the practicality of education. That will definitely increase the creative skill within a learner. That creativity will bring perfection in the learning process and the student will be a master in his own field but not a slave to mere theoretical knowledge which one delves deep.

6. Palace of fine arts (dance, drama, music, poetry etc.:

Tagore attached great importance to the fine arts in his educational curriculum. To him, game, dance, music, drama, painting etc. should form a part of educational process. Students should take active part in these finer aspects of human life for these are very essential to enrich soul.

In his words "Speaking is for mankind and music for nature speaking is clear and limited by its needs; whereas music is mystic and expressive for a romantic eagerness. That is why; speaking creates nearness between man and man, while music helps us to identify ourselves with nature. When the harmonies of sounds are released with our expression then speaking loses much of its limited significance, but on the contrary getting together of the two muses had an all pervading character".

7. Education for rural reconstruction:
Tagore was aware about the rural poverty of our country. So, he wanted to eradicate it through education. The practical training imparted in different crafts to the students will make them skilled artisans in their field. They can remove the poverty of the rural bulk by applying their education helping thereby in the process of rural reconstruction.

Aims Of Education

The aims of education as reflected in educational institution founded by Rabindranath Tagore in Santiniketan are as follows:

(1) Self Realization:

Spiritualism is the essence of humanism; this concept has been reflected in Tagore's educational philosophy. Self-realization is an important aim of education. Manifestation of personality depends upon the self-realization and spiritual knowledge of individual.

(2) Intellectual Development:

Tagore also greatly emphasized the intellectual development of the child. By intellectual development he means development of imagination, creative free thinking, constant curiosity and alertness of the mind. Child should be free to adopt his own way learning which will lead to all round development.

(3) Physical Development:

Tagore's educational philosophy also aims at the physical development of the child. He gave much importance to sound and healthy physique. There were different kinds of exercises. Yoga, games & sports prescribed in Santiniketan as an integral part of the education system.

(4) Love for humanity:

Tagore held that the entire universe is one family. Education can teach people to realize oneness of the globe. Education for international understanding and universal brotherhood is another important aim of his educational philosophy. The feeling of oneness can be developed through the concepts like fatherhood of God and brotherhood of man all creatures are equal on this earth.

(5) Establishment of relationship between man & God:

Man bears the diverse qualities and potentialities offered by God. These qualities are inborn and innate. The relationship between man and God is strong and permanent. However the dedication to spiritualism and sacredness will lead to the harmonious relationship with man, nature and God.

(6) Freedom:

Freedom is considered as an integral aspect of human development. Education is a man-making process, it explores the innate power exists within the man. It is not an imposition rather a liberal process their provides utmost freedom to the individual for his all-round development. He says, Education has leaning only when it is imparted through the path of freedom".

(7) Co-relation of Objects:

Co-relation exists with God, man and nature. A peaceful world is only possible when correlation between man and nature will be established.

(8) Mother tongue as the medium of Instruction:

Language is the true vehicle of self-expression. Man can freely express his thought in his mother-tongue. Tagore has emphasized mother tongue as the medium of instruction for the child's education.

(9) Moral and Spiritual Development:

Tagore emphasized moral and spiritual training in his educational thought. Moral and spiritual education is more important than bookish knowledge for an integral development of human personality. There must be an adequate provision for the development of selfless activities, co-operation and love fellow feeling and sharing among the students in educational institutions.

(10) Social Development:

According to Tagore, "Brahma" the supreme soul manifests himself through men and other creatures. Since He is the source of all human-beings and creatures, so all are equal. Rabindranath Tagore therefore said, "service to man is service to god". All should develop social relationship and fellow-feeling from the beginnings of one's life. Education aims at developing the individual personality as well as social characters which enables him to live as a worthy being.

Method Of Education

(1) Teaching through Tours and Trips:

Tagore believed that the subjects like history, geography, economics and other social sciences can be effectively taught through excursions and tours to important spots. By this students will get an opportunity to observe numerous facts and gain first-hand knowledge through direct experience.

(2) Learning by activities:

Rabindranath Tagore said that for the development of child's body and mind, learning through activity is essential. Therefore he included activities like climbing tree, drama, jumping, plucking fruits, dancing etc. in his educational programs.

(3) Narration-cum-discussion and debate method:

Narration-cum-discussion and debating activities were organized Tagore's education center to develop oratory abilities of the students. Students were encouraged to solve problems of various areas through rational debate and thorough discussion.

(4) Heuristic Method

Rabindranath Tagore introduced heuristic method as an important method of teaching in his educational institution. In this method first, the students, are asked questions to clarify their doubts on topics and teachers try to satisfy them by their correct answers. Then the teacher asks the questions to students to evaluate how far the students are able to comprehend the topic discussed in the class.

Conclusion

Rabindranath Tagore, a true philosopher developed an ideal experimental education institution in Santiniketan. Tagore was a great advocate of spiritual education and also stressed on harmonious development of the child with equal emphasis on mental, social and emotional growth. Tagore was the greatest prophet of modern Indian renaissance who sought to bring change through education.