COMMONWEALTH ASSOCATION FOR
EDUCATION, ADMINISTRATION AND
MANAGEMENT
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 3
ISSN NO 2322- 0147
MARCH
2014
Intravitreal Drug Delivery Devices: An Update
Excellence International Journal of Education and
Research (Multi- subject journal)
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research
VOLUME 2
ISSUE 3
ISSN 2322-0147
Tagore’s thought on Educational Sustainability in 21st Century
Subhankar Ghosh
Research Scholar
Department of Education, Visva-Bharati,
Santiniketan-731235
Email Id: sghosh.edu.vb@gmail.com
Abstract
Man is a creation of nature and he interacts with nature to learn everything throughout his
life. The basic concept of naturalism is nothing but to advocate the realistic description of life. It
believes that knowledge can be gained through observation, interaction, accumulation and
generalization. Nature fascinated Tagore and the four walls of a school failed to captivate the
ever enquiring mind of the Rabindranath as a child. Rabindranath Tagore was the first nonEuropean to win the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. He was highly influential in introducing
the best of Indian culture to the West and vice versa, and he is generally regarded as the
outstanding creative artist of the modern Indian subcontinent. Tagore's theory of Nature-Based
Education (Tapavan Siksha) is marked by naturalistic & aesthetic values. He had a belief that
“The widest road leading to the solution of all our problems is education”. Education can
develop a new pattern of life. Tagore's system of education emphasizes the intellectual, physical,
social, moral economic and spiritual aspects of human life. By which a man can develop an
integrated personality. Rabindranath Tagore’s educational model has a unique sensitivity and
aptness for education within multi-racial, multi-lingual and multi-cultural situations, amidst
conditions of acknowledged economic discrepancy and political imbalance. Tagore’s idea of
sustainable education must be gleaned through his various writings and educational experiments
at Santiniketan. In general, he envisioned an education that was deeply rooted in one’s
immediate surroundings but connected to the cultures of the wider world. He felt that a
curriculum should revolve organically around nature. In this paper the author try to emphasis on
Tagore’s Nature based education for sustainable India.
Keywords: Tagore and his Life, Aims of Education, Nature-Centric Education, Sustainable
Educational Thought. .
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Introduction
It was a period of educational & social reforms in India when the mystic Rabindranath
Tagore an eminent scholar, great educationist & profound thinker were born. He was born into a
Jamindar family known for its socio-religious & cultural innovations during the 19th Bengal
Renaissance. The social & cultural involvement of his family later played an important role in
the formulation of Rabindranath’s educational priorities. Usually he was not educated in so
called formal education system or any institution. But he was clearly a man of innovative
learning with all original ideas about world-wide education. His ideas must be gleaned through
his various writings & the educational experiments at Santiniketan. In general, he envisioned an
education system that was deeply rooted in one’s immediate surroundings but connected to the
cultures of the wider world. According to him curriculum should revolve organically around
nature. He also emphasized upon the importance of an empathetic sense of interconnectedness
with the surrounding world. Tagore's educational efforts were ground-breaking in many areas.
Early Life and Contribution
Rabindranath Tagore was born in Calcutta, in 1861 into a wealthy, artistic family. He
started to write poetry at the age of eight. His early education was through private tutors at home,
but later, he went to England to study law. After that he returned to India within one year without
earning a degree. Though his early writings were in Bengali, he also wrote in English &
translated some of his Bengali poems into English. Most of his work is imbued with a mystical
quality & often borders on the devotional. He was awarded by the Nobel Prize in literature in
1913, when he was fifty-two years old, most notably for his work Gitanjali, or Song Offerings.
From his early childhood, Tagore lived & breathed poetry. He learned the essence of poetic style
from the great poets themselves. In his Reminiscences, he writes of one Bihari Lal Chakravarti
& how his sister-in-law admired his poetry & memorized the lyrics of many of them. Tagore
would say that one writes poetry, not to explain something or to convey a moral, but rather to
convey a feeling. Even the creative artist or scientist must retreat into silence to sort out ideas or
to make a discovery, to find the underlying patterns. Few people can accept the challenge of
seclusion. This is called Sadhana. It is not an easy task. But it must be done by the poet, the
scholar, the scientist to emerge stronger, & more illumined. Tagore had the temperament of the
Upanishadic sage & felt that education should be imparted in that spirit. In 1901 he founded, a
heritage (Ashram) in Santiniketan (which literally means ‘Yatra Visvam Bhavtyekanidam’).
From that time there he began an experimental school & created a veritable forest retreat.
Aims of Education
Tagore, not being an educationist in the strict academic sense, did not talk about the aim
of education in a wellformulated logical way. His statements scattered in his writings do give
some idea about his education. In ‘Laksys O'Siksa’- Aims & Education, a letter written in
August, 1912, Tagore makes it clear that the aims & ideals in the life of a nation should first be
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clearly apprehended & formulated before its educational system is determined for “What we
want to be & what we want to learn are inseparably connected together”(Tagore, 1351B.S., p.
131). A survey of Tagore's educational writings makes it clear that in some places he has clearly
mentioned the aims but in other places they have to be inferred from contexts. Tagore had
developed a well-integrated view of life & the role of education in it & his object in establishing
a group of institutions was to find a worthy educational medium for the expression &
implementation of his ideas. The aims of education prescribed by him did not emerge from a
world outside but emerged from his experience, practice & experiments. This is the reason that
he mentioned, “The highest education is that which makes ourlife in harmony with all
existences” (Tagore, 1917g, p.142). According to Tagore the broad inclusive aim of education is
the development of all the potential faculties of an individual leading to an all-round, harmonious
development of his personality. This broad aim was the product of his philosophy towards life
that is of total acceptance of life.
Tagore and Sustainable Education
Tagore & his sustainable educational thought are well-known in the field of education
across the globe. With that object he had opened Santiniketan, Sriniketan & Brahma Chari
Ashram. Accordingly, he gave free choice to students to develop their interest in any field they
like. To him, education should be after the heart of a man. He explained freedom in threecategorized ways i.e. freedom of heart, freedom of intellect and freedom of will. Education
imparted in a natural way will lead to the fulfillment of these three freedoms.
Freedom
of
Heart
Freedom
of
Intellect
Educational
Freedom
Freedom
of
Will
Fig-1: Tagore’s thought of Educational Freedom
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Tagore believed that education can teach people to realize oneness of the globe. This learning
cannot be receptive; a person should be able to use what he learns through different sources. Not
only was Tagore concerned with the education of the intellect, but also he was duly conscious of
the education of the body. In fact, he attached so much importance to the healthy physical
development of children in early years that he eloquently advocated their free, spontaneous
movements & play in joyous natural surroundings, even at the expense of studies, if necessary.
Education for international understanding & universal brotherhoods are another important aim of
his educational philosophy. Tagore’s educational philosophy also aims at the physical
development of the child. He gave much importance to sound & healthy physique. Yoga, games
& sports are prescribed in Santiniketan as an integral part of the education system. He advocated
internationalism & he saw that education is the only way to achieve this. So, in 1917, he
conceived of a new type of university that would become a world center for the study of all great
ideas from all corners of the world. Using the money from his Nobel Prize, he created the VisvaBharati in December 1921. Today, it is one of the Central Universities with National Importance
in India. He further believed that global peace could only be achieved through intellectual &
artistic co-operation between nations & often referred to the cult of nationalism which is tearing
the globe apart.
Nature- Based Learning
In his early childhood experiences of school life made him believe that the educational
system of that time was not concerned with the growth of children, it was rather preparing
children for a society of clerks. Since that time Tagore had been aware of this discrepancy &
tried to build an institution where children would have more freedom to explore & learn by
themselves in the open learning environment of nature. In his very first educational writing,
'Siksar Herpher,' he advocated a free, joyous, spontaneous life of impulses for young children in
the two fold field of nature & imagination so that it may serve to make their body alert &
develop them in all respects (Tagore, 1351 B.S.). Tagore also greatly emphasized the intellectual
development of the child. By intellectual development he means development of imagination,
creative free thinking, constraint curiosity & alertness of the mind, Child should be free to adopt
his own way learning which will lead to all round development. Tagore frustrated with the
denatured situation of academic learning process & promoted the system on the model of forest
solitude or under the open sky. He insists that no mind can grow properly without living in
intimate communion with nature. Those situations present to the learner a situation, which
stimulates his imagination & creativity, & combats the boredom of mechanical learning. He also
referred to the significance of educating the senses & the intellect. Now in this 21st century
Indian national educational system should try to discover the characteristics of his unique
innovative education system. The innovation is not commercialism, imperialism or nationalism,
but rather universalism. Its aim was to develop individual personality by the means of
harmonious interaction & union of the spirit with the environment.
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Tagore and Religious Education
Tagore has given religion a place of high importance in education, but for him it did not
involve the formal teaching of any religious dogma. True religiousness, he believed, is as natural
as respiration; it is as much a vital part of ourbeing as breathing. Religious training for him is a
spirit, an inspiration, pervading every aspect of human life, affirming its relationship with the
highest of values & giving sense of kinship with the Real. If education fails to cultivate the
quality of human understanding & strengthen the sense of human unity, then that education is
considered superficial & misguided. Similarly, Tagore emphasized the importance of discipline
in a moral life & he suggested that real discipline means protection of raw, natural impulses from
unhealthy excitement & growth in undesirable directions. Tagore’s moral & spiritual aims of
education were varied in nature. He advocated the power of self-determination, the ideal of peace
& tranquility, liberation of self from all kinds of slavery, & his educational institutions provided
opportunity for it. He said, “The character of good education is that it does notoverpower man;
it emancipates him” (Tagore, 1351 B.S., p.62). Sociability & human fellow-feeling was
considered as an indispensable equipment of a truly educated person. This social aim gets
expression in Tagore's message for the education of the feeling or 'Bodher-Sadhana' as he puts
it.
Educational Practices
Basically to understand his theory correctly, it is necessary to know the educational
system in India at that time & the childhood experiences of Tagore as a student which greatly
influenced the idea of the unique school of Santiniketan. Tagore's educational theory was put
into practice in his school at Santiniketan, which started with only five students on the roll. A
history of the origin & development of the institution reveals that from such a small start the
school has grown to a University, Visva-Bharati, with different departments in Humanities,
Science, Art, Music, Education, Chinese Studies, & Advanced Studies in Philosophy & Village
Welfare. In 1922, the Department of Village Welfare at Santiniketan was further developed to
include extended work on Rural Reconstruction, Village Education, Craft-Training; Agricultural
Research & Training was named Sriniketan. Tagore's practical aspect of education also includes
a description organization of daily activities in which freedom, games & sports, art, &
entertainments at night are emphasized. Tagore’s organization of curriculum was not narrowed
down to only text book learning, but it provided a fullness of experience for children from
multiple sources.
Teacher and Teaching
Role of Teachers’ is very vital in molding the future of a country & as such, it is
considered the noblest profession. Teachers are the ideals to their pupils. An educational institute
should not be just confined to teaching & learning but it is the place where the seeds of
discipline, devotion & commitment are planted with deliberate efforts. A constructive
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companionship between teachers & students has to be developed. There was a time when a
teacher was considered next to God. It is rightly said in Sanskrit, “Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu,
Gurudevo Shri Maheswara/ Guru Sakshat Param Brahma Tasmai Sri Guruwai Namah”. Tagore
envisaged that nature is the best teacher to the pupil. Nature will provide the student with
necessary situation to earn knowledge. No pressure should be exerted upon the student to learn
anything. It is nature which will be the guiding force to inculcate the spirit of learning in the
mind of a student to pursue the education he likes. It will shape his behavior & character.
According to Tagore, teaching should be practical & real but not artificial & theoretical. As a
naturalist, Tagore laid emphasis on the practicality of education that will definitely increase the
creative skill within a learner. A letter entitled “Siksavidhi”- The Method of Education - is
devoted to the problem of the philosophy of educational method in some of the fundamental
aspects as well as in the context of the existing socio-political & educational conditions in India.
Education through Mother-tongue
The use of English in education prevented assimulation of what was taught & made
education confined only to urban areas & the upper classes rather than rural areas.Tagore
stressed on the unnaturalness of the system of education in India, its lacks of links with the
nation & its management, which was in the hands of a foreign government. He argued that to
educate India’s entire population & restoring the flow of culture from the educated classes to the
rural population would not come about unless the mother-tongue was adopted as the medium of
teaching.
Conclusion
Though India has always been known for social values, rich culture & character of its
people, which can be rectified only by imbibing our value oriented educational system, of-course
a big challenge. Rabindranath Tagore believed that all human beings, intellectual, & moral
should be nurtured in a good educational system. He emphasized the cultivation of intellect &
also appreciated the contribution that western science can make to the progress of India.
However, this power of reasoning cannot be gained through mere book reading. Today Tagore’s
impact on education in India has not been well recognized & through literature review it was
found that educational work of Tagore deserves more scrutiny. It needs to be recognized &
evaluated by educationists around the world. His impact on education has been felt more but it
has not been articulated' by researchers, or educationists. A nation with atomic power is not a
strong nation but a nation with people with strong character is indeed a strong nation. Therefore,
for the sustainable human development there is a need of value based education, ethical
education, as well as need based education. Besides sustainable educational system, the special
focus should be on inclusive growth with inclusive educational policies & programmes.
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References
1. Dasgupta, T. (1993). Social Thought of Rabindranath Tagore: A Historical Analysis.
Abhinav Publications.
2. Hogan, P. C.; Pandit, L. (2003). Rabindranath Tagore: Universality and Tradition.
Fairleigh Dickinson University Press.
3. Kripalani, K. (2005). Tagore—A Life. National Book Trust of India.
4. Lago, M. (1977). Rabindranath Tagore. Boston: Twayne Publishers.
5. O’Connell, Kathleen. (2002). Rabindranath Tagore: The Poet as Educator. Calcutta:
Visva-Bharati.
6. Ray, M. K. (2007). Studies on Rabindranath Tagore. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers.
7. Sen, A, (1997). Tagore and his India. New York Review of Books.
8. Tagore, Rabindranath. (1929). Ideals of Education. The Visva-Bharati Quarterly (AprilJuly), 73-4.
Webliography
http://www.globalsolidarity.org/articles/nonformal.html
http://www.itihaas.com/modern/tagore-profile.html
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