Friday, March 16, 2012

Bichitra, religion and Rabindranath ( contd-12)

Rabindranath read the essay "Amar Darma" in a meeting of the Bichitra on 3rd Oct, 1917 at 6 pm. Rabindranath himself explained the motto of this essay;
" Recently, I found in a paper that I possess a theology.and that has its own meaning.Criticism was published in "Narayana" in Asharh issue of 1320 [1917] under the title " Dharma Prachare Rabindranath".Before this discussion, Bipin Chandra Paul wrote in "Bijoya" in 1917 titled " Rabindranather Brhma Sangeet". Rabindranath mentioned the two criticisms. The writer of Narayana wrote regarding his idea of religion  ;
" The direction in which Rabindranath could not see the power, vigour, might, struggle, conflict, dust, cloud , thunder all are the manifestation of Siva."
-- in the present time the individual conflict, racial contradictions may be uglier but they are the ingredients of human life and leads to the unity of man to man.
Ajit Kumar Chakraborty in  another essay titled " Shaktir dharma o Anander dharma", criticised the above essay.
Tagore is unequivocal in his faith. He appreciates the intellectual triumphs of science, but he writes as a poet and philosopher. Man must always be a music-maker and dreamer of dreams; he must never lose, in his material quests, his longing for the touch of the divine. He traces the growth of the idea of God from primitive notions to universality. Today, as he says, all barriers are down and the “the God of humanity has arrived at the gates of the ruined temple of the tribe.” His book rings with joy and affirmation overstepping all limitations of race and creed.
“His estimates of western civilization are searching and some of them written in acid…one reads much between the lines-but Tagore recognizes the true strength of the west and the faults of the east. The lectures are actually a superb and haunting criticism and evaluation of life from the viewpoint of an immemorial philosophy by a wise man.” -Christian Century