Rabindranath Tagore’s Santiniketan Essays: Religion, Spirituality and Philosophy

This book provides a critical introduction and translation of fifty Santiniketan (Abode of Peace) essays written by Rabindranath Tagore between 1908 and 1914. It provides key insights into Tagore’s fundamental meditations on life, nature, religion, philosophy and the world at large.

As the first of its kind, this volume is a definitive collection of Tagore’s Santiniketan essays translated into English which contains a substantial amount of scholarly material on them. The essays look at Tagore’s ideas of universality, his socio-cultural location along with the development of his thought, his reflections on Buddhism, Vaisnavism, Baul philosophy, the Bhagavadgita and to a great extent the Upanishads and their contemporary relevance. It also connects Sri Ramakrishna’s concepts of vijnana and bhavamukha with Tagore’s thought, an original contribution, through the study of these essays. A nuanced exploration into translation theory and praxis, it fills a lacuna in Tagore Studies by bringing to the fore profound religious, spiritual and philosophical knowledge in Tagore’s own voice.

This volume will be useful for scholars and researchers of Translation Studies, Tagore Studies, Language and Literature, Cultural Studies and readers interested in Tagore’s philosophical ideas.