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East/West: Gandhi/Tagore
Worth seeking out, warranting reprinting, this is a dense, substantial, but readible biography, less concerned with literary criticism than with the psychological dynamics and political realities of Tagore's creative life.Ultimately, it is about East and West, which is to say, about Tagore the globalist who sought integration of east and west, as contrasted with Gandhi, the nationalist.Tagore believed that the human condition was first of all cultural, Gandhi regarded it as first of all political.This is a comprehensive but penetrating study not only of Tagore, but of modern India.

Very Captivating ...
One day I was visiting my friend, and he gave me this book to read. I always knew Tagore from my childhood, but this relevation was too captivating... I still wish I have the book wherever I see myriad flowers .... A must for a Tagore Fan. ... Read more

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This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery. ... Read more

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Poet, playwright, and novelist Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was one of the towering cultural figures of modernIndia, winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. Of hismany works, the most enduringly popular has been Gitanjali,or Song Offerings, likely due to the honesty with which theseverses articulate the poet's personal, and humanity's eternal,spiritual quest. Although steeped in Hindu roots, the poemsare universal in their appeal, reflecting an ecumenical passionfor and joy in a union with the divine; they have the capabilityof bringing together compassionate, seeking minds of allfaiths. Certainly they are worth reading and rereading in thesetimes of troubling religious strife. Inspired by his first reading of Gitanjali, artist Mark W. McGinnis created 103 exquisite nine-by-nine-inch paintings after the fashion of Indian Kangra style paintings of the late 18th century. His paintings are intended not simply to be illustrations ofTagore's verses butimages inspired by them and the artist's understanding of the creative mind behind them. ... Read more

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Magical
I can only second the previous reviewer's comments about the beauty of the book itself.The art is a joy to contemplate and fully complements the presentation of the writing.

Much as I adore Rabindranath Tagore I feel that he didn't do justice to his own poetry in his translation from the Bengali.For a more literal, just as poetic, and complete rendering of "Gitanjali" I highly recommend James Talarovic's SHOW YOURSELF TO MY SOUL Show Yourself To My Soul.

Even so, GITANJALI: OFFERINGS OF SONG AND ART is a deeply spiritual, exquisite book, made all the more so by the miniatures by artist Mark W. McGinnis.I will be buying additional copies of this book in the belief that they will find their way into the hands of those who will cherish the book as I do.

Images add another dimension to Song Offerings
Rabindranath Tagore's "Gintanjali" or "Song Offerings" have been stopping people in their tracks for almost 100 years with their gentle reminder that the spiritual is also everyday personal and can change a world.So it is no wonder that artist Mark McGinnis stopped everything else when he read the poems; the delightful surprises in "Gintanjali: Offerings of Song and Art" are the 103 exquisitely detailed and elegantly simple paintings that he painted to accompany them.
The paintings become windows, doors and skylights that invite readers to take another step out of their everyday lives.The paintings gently lead the eyes while the words take root.The songs begin to resonate in another way as we pause just a little longer, and quiet becomes visual in McGinnis' well-thought art.
This is also a beautiful book to hold.The weight of the paper and the quality of the printing complement a simple and elegant design that allow readers to discover the luminous quality of this art and these songs.McGinnis' paintings are dropped like jewels, usually one on each page, with a poem underneath.Each becomes its own composition.Each stands alone yet flows into the whole.
Those who have already read Tagore's songs will find another dimension in this edition.Those who have encounter them for the first time in this book will be introduced to a double feast.
... Read more

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The brilliant and immensely prolific Indian writer Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) is known the world over for his accomplished works in an astoundingly wide range of genres: fiction, short stories, poetry, drama, and essays. During the final year of his life, while suffering from the painful illness that would eventually end in his death, Tagore completed four volumes of poetry that expressed the emotional turmoil of facing one's own imminent extinction. Appearing here for the first time in English is a selection of these extraordinary poems that captures as closely as possible the beauty and subtlety of Tagore's original Bengali verses. A marked departure from Tagore's earlier work, these poems are, as the translators say, "so compact that it is almost as if [he]...were going beyond words, as if language no longer suffices, and yet, of course, the language radiates meaning." Poised between life and death, Tagore is awed by the beauty of this world and glimpses in it the presence of the infinite ("Such splendor illuminates a deathlessness/ hidden in the everyday by our senses' limits"). At other times, "alone by sorrow's last window," he is gripped by the sheer terror of experiencing the relentless approach of death. Tagore was so weak at the end that he had to dictate his poems. Although the pain was often excruciating and the fear and anger overwhelming, he still exulted in life. In these poems, from his deathbed, he conveys the intense joy of living and his ultimate triumph over death. ... Read more

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Final poems by Tagore
I cannot recommend a book more than this one. I have read and re read this book so many times.This man's insight, joy, acceptance and fear of his impending death comes forth brilliantly in the Last Poems.Please read them, and read them again.I believe I will get his other poetry as well.WOWand Wendy Barker's translation captures the spirit of the author's work.She has to be commended as well.

No rage against the dying of light
Inheriting a famous family name means nothing unless the bearer of this burden strives to achieve things that are extra-ordinary. I salute & congratulate Saranindranath (Tagore) and the co-author Wendy Barker for taking up the immense challenge of translating Rabindranath's Final Poems. Authors successfully carry the sacred torch of translating Bengali Literature to reach out to the world body in the new millenium that was once ignited by Tagore himself. It is interesting to rediscover this "mystic" poet from India who once became the sensation of America. In 1912, the famous Chicago based "Poetry" magazine ran an issue on Tagore before his visit to the Americas. Tagore became the Poet's Poet and Writer's Writer of many literary protagonists of west such as W B Yeats, Robert Frost and Ezra Pound. It is all the more befitting to publish this book in a time when the world is discovering the great literary genre of Indian English through the works of Rushdie, Roy and Naipaul.

It is a bit unusual to have a 40-page preface (by Wendy Barker) and introduction (by Saranindranath) in poetry book that contains only 59 pages of poems. But after reading these prologues I am convinced that they were necessary. Particularly Saranindranath's lucid explanation of Rabindranath's complex religious philosophy is very interesting. Before his death, Tagore wrote the Final Poems from his sick bed during 1940 and 1941. Through these poems, we understand and feel the maturity of a great genius of all times who explored the human inquiry through thousands of songs & poems, hundreds of essays, short stories, numerous novels & paintings. The Final Poems are divided into three sections: Sickbed, Birthday and Last poems. Being a serious reader of world literature, I completely appreciate the difficulties the translators were subjected to. However one can still smell the aroma original rose in many simple verses such as...Words of emptiness rise, compassion-filled, a meaning beyond understanding...Please read the rest, you will be enlightened. ... Read more

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This collection was designed for optimal navigation on Kindle and other electronic devices. It is indexed by category, making it easier to access individual books, stories and poems. This collection offers lower price, the convenience of a one-time download, and it reduces the clutter in your digital library. All books included in this collection feature a hyperlinked table of contents and footnotes. The collection is complimented by an author biography.

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Rabindranath Tagore
Works of Rabindranath Tagore. Gitanjali, Songs of Kabir, The Home and the World, Sadhana, Stray Birds, The Fugitive, Fruit-Gatheringand more (mobi)

The word and the deed were never far from each other in Tagore's life and not surprisingly he advocated the Universal Man. He was a polymath: a poet, fiction writer, dramatist, painter, educator, political thinker, philosopher of science. He was also a genius in music, choreography, architecture, social service and statesmanship. Over six decades Tagore gave the world some 2,500 songs, more than 2,000 paintings and drawings, 28 volumes of poetry, drama, opera, short stories, novels, essays and diaries and a vast number of letters.
I would enthusiatically recommend this ebook. The variety and quality of the poems are unbelievable!

Works of Rabindranath Tagore
Works of Rabindranath Tagore. Chitra, The King of the Dark Chamber, The Post Office, The Crescent Moon, Songs of Kabir and other plays, stories, poems ... Published by MobileReference (mobi).

Rabindranath Tagore won the Nobel prize in literature in 1913. He is widely believed to have been the greatest writer in the Bengali language. His ouvre, which include voluminous prose and poetry works, profoundly changed the landscpe of Bengali literature, and also modernised the language into its current form. ... Read more

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one of my favorites
Read this book a few years ago and it still haunts me. Tagore is a poet and his writing hits you in the heart as much as the head, regardless of your religion. Just finished Unamuno's Tragic Sense of Life and it reminded me of this wonderful book, which I will be re-visiting soon.

A book that promotes spiritual growth
In this beautiful book, Rabindranath Tagore sets forth a new religion, which he calls the "Religion of Man." The Religion of Man differs radically from most organized religions, in the way it defines God; in its views on the origins of man and the cosmos, on revelation, and on authority; and in its commandments.

God is defined as the Universal Spirit, the Spirit of Life, the Eternal Spirit of human unity beyond our direct knowledge, the Super Soul that permeates all moving things, the Supreme Person, Man the Eternal. This God dwells not in the heavens but in the heart of every human being.

The creation myth of this religion is the story of evolution. The first stage of Life's evolution was the physiological process, which seems to have reached its finality in man. The second stage of evolution, the spiritual process, is continuing. The evolutionary process has as its ultimate goal, not the attainment of Heaven or of nirvana or satori, but the release of each individual's consciousness from the illusory bond of the separate self and the realization of the spiritual unity of all human beings.

Truth in the Religion of Man is not that which was revealed only to a chosen few in the distant past. It is not reached through the analytical process of reasoning. It does not depend for proof on some corroboration of outward facts or the prevalent faith and practice of a group of people. Rather, the truth is revealed to every person every day, if we but listen. Truth comes like an inspiration and brings with it an assurance that it has been sent from an inner source of divine wisdom. This truth comes through an illumination, almost like a communication of the universal self to the personal self.

Every human being is capable of experiencing such illumination (the mystical experience). Although some people are more successful at actualizing this potentiality than others, most people have had at one time or another at least a partial vision of the universal unity. Furthermore, we can each increase our power of realization through "disciplined striving"--through our participation in nature, literature, arts, legends, symbols, and ceremonials, and through the remembrance of heroic souls who have personified this truth in their lives.

The truth, Tagore says, is inside us, like a song which has only to be mastered and sung. It is like the morning which has only to be welcomed by raising the screens and opening the doors.

Tagore calls Zarathustra the first prophet of the Religion of Man. Zarathustra, who spiritualized the meaning of sacrifice, was the first to address his words to all humanity, regardless of distance of space or time. He emancipated religion from the exclusive narrowness of the tribal God, the God of a chosen people, and offered it the Universal Man.

The only commandment in the Religion of Man is that the individual who has realized the Divine Truth accept his or her responsibility to communicate this truth in word and deed to others.

Tagore stresses that his understanding of the Religion of Man came to him through his personal experience of the holy, not from knowledge gathered or through any process of philosophical reasoning. However, he acknowledges that certain factors enabled him to be receptive to these visions. One was the feeling of intimacy with Nature that he had from early childhood. Another formative experience was the songs he heard from wandering village singers, belonging to a popular sect of Begal, called Bauls. The Bauls, who have no images, temples, scriptures, or ceremonials, express in their songs an intense yearning of the heart for the divine which is in Man. In addition, from childhood, he was immersed in the philosophy of the Upanishad, which holds that the world is pervaded by one supreme unity and that true enjoyment can be found only through the surrender of our individual self to the Universal Self.

Tagore, who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913, believed that the task of the poet and artist is to direct our attention to the Infinite and to remind us that it ever dwells within each of us. He performs this task admirably in this book.

A Beautiful, Enlightening Book
This is a great book of spirituality with a nearly musical presentation.

Fabulous recipes and great pictures!
This book is great:the recipes are all from the west coast and are very unique.The BEST cioppino I have ever tasted is from this book. ... Read more

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The Crescent Moon. please visit www.valdebooks.com for a full list of titles ... Read more

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This deluxe edition of the Tagore classic features themanuscripts of the original Bengali poems.The English translationdone by the poet himself appear on the right hand pages.The bookalso includes: Introduction by W.B. Yeats; the English translation ofthe Introduction to the French edition; photographs of the medal andcitation of the Nobel Prize awarded to Tagore; a selection ofnewspaper clippings; Tagore's Nobel Prize acceptance speech. ... Read more

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A journey through the Sacred
I stumbled over these poems for the first time a few years ago and was immediately captivated by the depth,humility and transcendence of spirit that speaks through them. It is almost overwhelming and a great companion for any meditation or prayer practice.For me Tagore definitely ranks among the highest mystic master poets of all time andthis collection of "songs" reminds the reader of Rumi quite a bit.
Unfortunately I don't speak Sanskrit and can only imagine the " true music" created by these poems in their original tongue - and it wouldn't surprise me if the English translation is not more than a meager shadow of its original self - still...that being said the reading of it nevertheless manages to transfer its divine beauty and truly draws the reader's heart close to its spiritual source. It is almost like a healing elixir for heart and mind - and for me the impact is being inbreathtaking awe of the sacred origin of all!!!
For any lover of poems,prayers and sacred,verbal inspirations this is a treasure rarely found in today's world! ... Read more

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Tagore was a fierce opponent of British rule in India. In this work he discusses the resurgence of the East and the challenge it poses to Western supremacy, calling for a future beyond nationalism, based instead on cooperation and racial tolerance. "Great Ideas": throughout history, some books have changed the world. They have transformed the way we see ourselves - and each other. They have inspired debate, dissent, war and revolution. They have enlightened, outraged, provoked and comforted. They have enriched lives - and destroyed them. Now Penguin brings you the works of the great thinkers, pioneers, radicals and visionaries whose ideas shook civilization and helped make us who we are. ... Read more

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A book very much for our times
This Penguin reprint is important and timely. I believe that, among other things, Tagore's NATIONALISM should be thoroughly read and carefully thought about by every member of both the British Parliament and the U.S. Congress and White House. (There are also closely related things in the middle pieces of Tagore's CREATIVE UNITY and in his LETTERS TO A FRIEND.) The indictment of the nationalism developed in the West and the account of the contrasting ways in which human beings have related to each other in older civilisations of the East have the strongest application to our own times. Knowledge of them could also promote a more sympathetic understanding of current suspicion of and hostility to the West. The West has given much to the rest of the world, but Tagore shows and/or reminds us that it also owes the world the gravest apology. He himself writes at one point in the later CREATIVE UNITY that the post-WW1 move to 'internationalism' made little difference to the arrogance and greed that still governed much of the West's behaviour to the rest of the world. Those vices obviously still govern much of it now, as in the appalling invasion of Iraq. The full and proper making of that grave apology to the rest of the world could help promote worldwide peace by being the start of a more concilatory because penitent attitude in the West - to, among others, the so-called Islamic 'extremists'. ... Read more

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He loved the people of his country and strove for the rights of the rural poor to dignity and social justice. ... Read more

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Translation of a major work by Rabindranath Tagore ... Read more

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Discover How Tagore’s Spiritual Life and Vision Can Enlighten Your Own

Rabindranath Tagore is one of the most influential mystic poets and teachers of his time. Deeply spiritual and profoundly sensitive, his verse speaks to people from all backgrounds who seek a deeper understanding of self, country, creation, God, and love.

This beautiful sampling of Tagore’s two most important works, The Gardener and Gitanjali, offers a glimpse into his spiritual vision that has inspired people around the world. Poems from The Gardener explore youth and earthly love, while excerpts from Gitanjali express divine love and Tagore’s difficulty in satisfying it.

Overwhelmingly mystical and lovely in its simplicity, this unique collection offers insight into Tagore’s heavenly desires, his ongoing quest for Brahama Vihara, the joy eternal, and illuminates the remarkable diversity that made him the most important bridge between the spirituality of the East and West in the first half of the twentieth century.

Rabindranath Tagore’s philosophical and spiritual thoughts transcend all limits of language, culture, and nationality. In his writings, the poet and mystic takes us on a spiritual quest and gives us a glimpse of the infinite in the midst of the finite, unity at the heart of all diversity, and the Divine in all beings and things of the universe.

—from the Preface by Swami Adiswarananda, Minister and Spiritual Leader of the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York ... Read more

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Tagore is simply a superb mystic
What else can be said about Tagore's poetic mysticism that has not been already said? Tagore is deeply moving ... Read more

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Rabindranath Tagore was a Bengali polymath who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.He was a poet, visual artist, playwright, novelist, educationist, social reformer, nationalist, business-manager and composer. Gitanjali (Song Offerings), Gora (Fair-Faced), and Ghare-Baire(The Home and the World) are among his best-known works.The King of the Dark Chamber was written in 1914.The play is an allegory of an individual's spiritual and personal awakening in their quest for beauty and truth.The relationship between Sudarshana, the Queen and the King is symbolic for the relationship between man and the Divine. ... Read more

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For the first time in English, here is the sequence of poems Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore (1861?1941) worked on his entire life?the erotic and emotionally powerful dialogue about Lord Krishna and his young lover Radha.

These "song offerings" are the first poems Tagore ever published, though he passed them off as those of an unknown Bengali religious poet. As the first and last poems Tagore wrote and revised, they represent the entrance and exit to one of the most prolific literary lives of our contemporary world.

These English versions are the result of a five-year collaboration between a Bengali scholar, who provided richly associative literal translations, and the celebrated poet Chase Twichell, who shaped the poems into English.

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The Oxford India Tagore focuses on Rabindranath Tagore's views on nationalism and his work on education through his essays, letters, lectures, addresses, and poetry edited by Uma Das Gupta. Tagore's writings are given as substantial excerpts or as full texts in order to enable the reader to follow his argument closely and seriously.
Divided into five sections - 'Autobiographical', 'Founding a New Education', 'The Problem of India', 'East and West in the Scientific Age', and 'A Self-Respecting Nationalism as Our Salvation' - the volume takes readers closer to Tagore's life and thought, and shows how persistently he sought a solution to the problems of his times in a new and creative education and in national self-reliance, rather than in the political road to the Western model of a territorial nation-state. The book makes it clear that in many ways Tagore's educational work and his own nationalism were rooted in an original vision of India's history which amounted to a deviation from both the colonialist historiography and the nationalist ideology of those times. The book will be a valuable addition to the 'Oxford India' series which include the writings of Ghalib, Premchand, Ramanujan, Nehru, and Gandhi. This edition will appeal to all those who adore Tagore, as also students and researchers of Indian history, culture, and literature. ... Read more