~ Yashika Sehgal and vanshika bansal
It takes a special worldview to see God in all, in every career. As well as a certain degree of sensitivity and openness of spirit. Rabindranath Tagore was born into a wealthy family. It’s possible to get alienated under such situations, cut off from the realities of the majority. It is possible to be insulated from all of life’s conveniences. Gurudev, as he is known, is a powerful figure in his home state of West Bengal. The sheer amount of his fiction ranges from verse, life poem, portraits, fiction, essays, songs.
The Indian Education Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore
Tagore’s educational theory is based on four basic principles: naturalism, humanism, internationalism, and idealism. These values are shared by both Shantiniketan and Visva Bharathi. He believed that schooling should take place in a natural setting. He believed in allowing children to express themselves freely. “Children have their active subconscious mind, which, like a tree, can collect food from the surrounding environment,” he said. He also said that a school should not be seen as “a dead cage in which living minds are fed chemically cooked food.”
What is education according to Tagore?
“Education,” he says, “means allowing the mind to discover the supreme truth that frees us from the bonds of dust and gives us riches, not of things but inner light, not of strength but love.” It’s an enlightenment process. It is a gift from God. It aids in the realisation of the truth.”
Education aims to bring in man’s perfection by eradicating ignorance and ushering in the light of information. It should allow us to live a full life – one that is economically, intellectually, artistically, socially, and spiritually balanced. His school, Shantiniketan, was established to cultivate a passion for nature, impart knowledge and wisdom in one’s native language, providing freedom of mind, spirit, and will, a natural environment, and ultimately enriching Indian culture.
Religion according to his philosophy
Religion was ideal for Tagore. His ‘Visva Bharati World University’ symbolised his spiritual nobility. The poet expresses the values of Visva Bharathi in the pamphlet titled “The Centre of Indian Culture.”
‘In education, the most inspirational environment of creative action is significant,’ he writes. The institution’s primary purpose must be positive, with room for all types of intellectual inquiry. Community, spirituality, intelligence, aesthetics, economics, and social factors must all be considered while teaching. True education entails seeing how our education and experience are inextricably linked to our environment at any stage.”
Tagore, one of the most radical educators of his day, established many schools and a university in Shantiniketan, West Bengal. He dreamed of a holistic education that was embedded in one’s community and environment but still is linked to the larger world. Tagore was a leader in intercultural understanding and peace education, as well as environmental respect and intimacy, rural regeneration and social interaction, and creative skills and imagination.
Tagore hasn’t published a single book on school. His theories can be found in a variety of writings. They can also be seen in the educational institutions he created, which are living and growing experiments rather than scholastic institutions.
Self-discipline and self-government: work formula of Tagore
The focus on Discipline counteracts Tagore’s critique of punishment and allowance for rights. He put a strong emphasis on consistency and order during his early years at Santiniketan. Tagore, on the other hand, his work formula argued that instilling self-discipline in children was important, because “cruel slavery, in which to drill the infant min is demoralising perfect obedience at the expense of individual responsibility and mental initiative” He was persuaded that as students are free and treated with patience, consideration, and reverence, their respect rises. Tagore instilled in his students the ability to think objectively and express themselves.
Works of Rabindranath Tagore
He was considered one of Asia’s greatest poets. He also received the Nobel Prize in Literature in the year 1913 for his book Geetanjali or Song Offerings, a collection of poems.
- Through Gitanjali, he aims to teach us a variety of moral values. This includes staying away from corruption. He believes that all human beings are lured by one thing or the other. But corruption cannot be a way to get those temptations. He also writes that our lives are intertwined with others and therefore we must help others during their hard times. He wants us to realise that there are bigger problems in the world than our own problems. We must stop living in a bubble and focus on more important issues and see how we can contribute to resolving them.
- Chokher Bali or A grain of sand is a Bengali novel. The story of this novel revolves around an extra-marital affair. It teaches us passion, desires, needs and wants, unfulfilled dreams and most of all honesty. This book also makes us understand the complexity of relationships.
- Sadhana: The Realisation of Life- this book connects some teachings of Gautam Buddha to that of Jesus Christ. It has a lot of values which we should inculcate in our lives such as virtues of man, love, compassion, gratitude.
- Ghare Baire or The Home and the World raises questions regarding Indian identity. It examines the feeling of nationalism among Indians. As the book proceeds, it raises issues such as personal freedom, religious belief, self-identity.
- Postmaster is a heartfelt story that revolves around the lives of a hardworking, young postmaster and his relationship with a young girl who lives in a remote village. It is a tale of love and affection which teaches us the simplicity of life.
- Sheshar Kabita or the Last Poem is a love story between two highly educated and intelligent people. It teaches us the value of love over money.
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