Other editions of book Great Ideas V Nationalism

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.

Man's history is being shaped according to the difficulties it encounters. These have offered us problems and claimed their solutions from us, the penalty of non-fulfilment being death or degradation. These difficulties have been different in different peoples of the earth, and in the manner of our overcoming them lies our distinction. The Scythians of the earlier period of Asiatic history had to struggle with the scarcity of their natural resources. The easiest solution that they could think of was to organize their whole population, men, women, and children, into bands of robbers. And they were irresistible to those who were chiefly engaged in the constructive work of social co-operation. But fortunately for man the easiest path is not his truest path. If his nature were not as complex as it is, if it were as simple as that of a pack of hungry wolves, then, by this time, those hordes of marauders would have overrun the whole earth. But man, when confronted with difficulties, has to acknowledge that he is man, that he has his responsibilities to the higher faculties of his nature, by ignoring which he may achieve success that is immediate, perhaps, but that will become a death-trap to him. For what are obstacles to the lower creatures are opportunities to the higher life of man. To India has been given her problem from the beginning of history—it is the race problem. Races ethnologically different have in this country come into close contact. This fact has been and still continues to be the most important one in our history. It is our mission to face it and prove our humanity by dealing with it in the fullest truth. Until we fulfil our mission all other benefits will be denied us

An important essay+lecture by eminent classic Bengali poet; novelist and philosopher that India had; Rabindranath Tagore; 'Nationalism' sustains an air of modernism that is almost unimaginable; in it's thought and approach; to have been delivered in early twentieth century. 'OUR REAL PROBLEM in India is not political. It is social. This is a condition not only prevailing in India; but among all nations. I do not believe in an exclusive political interest. Politics in the West have dominated Western ideals; and we in India are trying to imitate you. We have to remember that in Europe; where peoples had their racial unity from the beginning; and where natural resources were insufficient for the inhabitants; the civilization has naturally taken the character of political and commercial aggressiveness. For on the one hand they had no internal complications; and on the other they had to deal with neighbours who were strong and rapacious. To have perfect combination among themselves and a watchful attitude of animosity against others was taken as the solution of their problems. In former days they organized and plundered; in the present age the same spirit continues - and they organize and exploit the whole world.'

In this volume we venture to the East. To met a writer who speaks a common language of love and mysticism which continues to convey valuable insights into universal themes in contemporary society. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) who was a gifted Bengali Renaissance man, distinguishing himself as a philosopher, social and political reformer and a popular author in all literary genres. He was instrumental in an increased freedom for the press and influenced Gandhi and the founders of modern India. He composed hundreds of songs which are still sung today as they include the Indian and Bangladeshi national anthems. His prolific literary life has left a legacy of quality novels, essays, poems and in this volume one of his plays. He earned the distinction of being the first Asian writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913. Many of his poems are also available as an audiobook from our sister company Portable Poetry as well as ebooks of stories and essays. Many samples are at our youtube channel http://www.youtube.com/user/PortablePoetry?feature=mhee The full volume of poems can be purchased from iTunes, Amazon and other digital stores. Among our readers are Shyama Perera and Ghizela Rowe

"Sir Rabindranath Tagore is a Chrysostom, and his book, which is chiefly concerned with political theory, is a prose poem. Especially beautiful are the passages describing this secular life of India under her rulers and conquerors....His book is an arraignment of the Western state organized for power....The aspect of any one of the western states organized for power is anathema to him, driving as it does it tentacles of machinery deep into the soil; and to him therefore what he calls nationalism is 'a crude epidemic of evil.' Like Ruskin, he passes judgment upon our commercialism, with its barbarity of ugly ornament, and the standards of value of the western industrial state and its mechanical progress in which 'the civilization of humanity has lost its path in the Wilderness of Machinery.' 'The nation has thriven long upon mutilated humanity. Suddenly, all its mechanism going mad, it has begun the dance of the Furies, shattering its own limbs, scattering them into dust. It is the fifth act of the tragedy of the unreal.' He hopes, it would seem, for a Utopia such as Samuel Butler's where men have destroyed the machine they had made." We are delighted to publish this classic book as part of our extensive Classic Library collection. Many of the books in our collection have been out of print for decades, and therefore have not been accessible to the general public. The aim of our publishing program is to facilitate rapid access to this vast reservoir of literature, and our view is that this is a significant literary work, which deserves to be brought back into print after many decades. The contents of the vast majority of titles in the Classic Library have been scanned from the original works. To ensure a high quality product, each title has been meticulously hand curated by our staff. Our philosophy has been guided by a desire to provide the reader with a book that is as close as possible to ownership of the original work. We hope that you will enjoy this wonderful classic work, and that for you it becomes an enriching experience.

Nationalism emphasizes Tagore’s political and philosophical views on human understanding and its weakness for power and material hoardings. Packed with erudition and analysis, it expounds the idea of a moral and spiritual growth for human welfare. the lectures—written in a lucid, metaphoric, poetic prose—are loaded with a piercing vision of the future and are a critique on his views on spirituality and humanity.