MY RESPONSE TO THIS STATEMENT OF TAGORE

"The highest education is that which does not merely give us information but makes our life in harmony with all existence." - Rabindranath Tagore, awarded the 1913 #NobelPrize in Literature. #WorldBookDay

MY RESPONSE TO THIS STATEMENT OF TAGORE

The highest education is that which induces, inspires and energises us to transcend phenomenal existence that is our own relativistic identity as well, and be self-conscious of the Self or the Absolute Existence which alone is. This is the ultimate Truth before which all relative truths pale into insignificance. What Tagore says is wishful thinking for in a universe of endless entanglements and confusing contradictions there can never be a harmony, however dearly aspired for, through both factual data collection or intellectual, emotional and moral reflection and response to such, however creatively endeavoured. All of phenomenal life is bound in the principle of energetic imbalance which never allows harmony as Tagore conceives in his philosophical fancy. Harmony in the real sense is possible only in the transcendence of phenomena which was not the poet's domain. Rishis have internally attained such spiritual balance and lived their lives post-realisation as Jeevanmukta with perfect control over Nature internal and near perfect control of the forces without as our Yogic shastras (Patanjali Yoga Sutra) claim. The harmony Tagore alludes to is wishful and never materialised in his own life but did so in the lives of Ramakrishna, Vivekananda, Shankaracharya, Buddha, Chaitanya and the like through their pursuit of the renunciate's life which was not Tagore's as he himself has affirmed in his celebrated poem 'Bairagya sadhaney mukti shey amar noy...' which adorns his autobiographical analytical study, 'Atmaparichay'. Hence, the poet's noble aspiration notwithstanding, his statement is fallacious and indubitably false.

Written by Sugata Bose