Unity is achieved by celebrating differences, not eliminating them.
The themes of unity and difference, as they emerged in Rabindranath Tagore’s philosophy, were examined by his great-grand-nephew in Calcutta on a rainy Sunday evening.
Saranindranath Tagore, associate professor of philosophy at the National University of Singapore, said the poet, the first Asian and non-European to win the Nobel, offered a counter to the European concept of unity.
Saranindranath is the great-grandson of Abanindranath Tagore.
“Some recent French philosophers have argued that the European Enlightenment tradition spawned a way of thinking that flattened difference by imposing a narrative of unity achieved through imposition. Tagore offers a counter-enlightenment conception of unity that celebrates difference without sacrificing unity,” said Saranindranath.
“Tagore’s account of human unity admits difference. Because unity is not achieved by eliminating differences but by celebrating these differences.... Lest the poet’s position be misunderstood, he is not thinking of human beings as ruthless nomads shaped by what he called colourless cosmopolitanism. But rather, his view is that
universal humanism textured by the idea of unity embracing difference must
begin at home. The world requires a home,” said Saranindranath.
One of Tagore’s most profound novels is called Ghare Baire (The Home and the World). It explores the clash between traditional values and Western modernity, critiquing radical nationalism through a complex love triangle.
Saranindranath delivered his lecture at Netaji Bhavan on Elgin Road. The theme was “Unity and Difference: Rabindranath Tagore’s Humanism”.
Tagore’s voice rings with urgency today, said Saranindranath.
“He insists that love of one’s own tradition cannot exclude the love for other traditions because all traditions are ultimately unified in consciousness understood in terms of a capacity to produce meanings in the various shapes of human expression.
“The realisation of this unity, for Tagore, must be fostered at the individual level, where each human being develops an infinite openness.... This is the juncture where the metaphysical rudiments of humanism meet the deeply practical field of education... To develop an attitude that respects all differences while remaining conscious of our oneness means to live life with a consciousness that is hospitable, shaped by an attitude of openness to the world. The doors of the home must be, in the inimitable gesture of hospitality, open to the world,” he added.
Saranindranath asserted that Tagore had, late in his life, realised that his “expansive humanist sensibilities” were endangered by the rise of militant nationalism. But he remained a firm believer in humanism till the end, Saranindranath said, reading from Tagore’s last public address, “Crisis in Civilisation,” delivered on April 14, 1941.
“... the demon of barbarity has given up all pretence and has emerged with unconcealed fangs, ready to tear up humanity in an orgy of devastation.... As I look around, I see the crumbling ruins of a proud civilisation strewn like a vast heap of futility. And yet, I shall not commit the grievous sin of losing faith in Man. I would rather look forward to the opening of a new chapter in his history after the cataclysm is over and the atmosphere rendered clean with the spirit of service and sacrifice.”
Sunday’s programme was hosted by the Netaji Research Bureau. The grand-nephews of Netaji, brothers Sugata and Sumantra Bose, said Subhas Chandra Bose championed the idea that unity does not mean conformity but harmony.
“Unity is not about uniformity but about harmony. The Azad Hind Fauj was an unparalleled showcase of harmony, of the communities and people of the subcontinent. Netaji showed that this could be done: unity could only be forged not by the enforcement of uniformity but in the realm of harmony,” said Sumantra Bose, author and political scientist.
Historian Sugata Bose said Netaji understood the need to respect religious faith. “But in his public life, he never made any distinction among Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Christians. In a major speech in Pune, at the Maharashtra Provincial Conference (1928), he made a powerful argument for cultural intimacy among India’s different communities. He lamented the fact that religious communities were so exclusive. He felt — he used that phrase — that religious fanaticism was the biggest obstacle in the path of cultural intimacy,” Sugata Bose said.