About The Society
The impetus for organizing a Tagore Society in New York City came from the fast approaching centenary of Rabindranath Tagore which was to take place in 1961. On October 30, 1959 Renuka Biswas, the then secretry of the Tagore Society of Philadelphia, Mr. Prafulla Mukherji, the Executive Secretary of Tagore Centenary Committee, Dr Rose Mukherji. Kamala and Sarat Mukherjee met at the residence of Kamala and Sarat Mukherjee to discuss the possibility of forming a Tagore Society in New York. ... Read More
Rabindra Nath Tagore, the Nobel Laureate
Rabindranath Tagore was born at a time when India was seething with unrest and discontent. Following the Sepoy War, the government had just changed from the hands of the British East India Company to the British Crown. On the one hand there were persecution by the rulers and religion bigotry, superstition and social inequity among people, while on the other hand the followers of Raja Ram Mohan Roy, the father of modern India, together with other forward looking men and women were striving for regeneration of the country. One of the foremost among them was Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, the father of the poet.
The purpose of the Tagore Society, as a non-profit cultural organization is to promote the ideals of universalism and humanism as exemplified by the life and works of the Indian poet, Rabindra Nath Tagore, and to bring Indian and Americans close together through cultural activities.
The main objective of the society is to stimulate the understanding of these ideals through lectures, symposiums, music, dance, drama, art exhibits and other relevant activities. An enthusiastic group of talented members mounted, as its first program, a Spring Festival based on Tagore’s “Cycle of Spring” on March 26, 1960 at the Community Church of New York. The successful program was directed by Dr. Penelope Estabrook (music) Dr. Jayasree Roychowdhury (dance) and Dr. Basabi Sarbadhikari.
Aspect of Tagore's Philosophy
I have ventured to outline some aspects of Tagore’s philosophy of life- though he never claimed to be a philosopher but was content to remain an artist- as it touched some of the basic problems of our times. Rooted in ancient traditions of India, he was open to the inspiration of other civilizations, and travelled and contracted many religious cultures in Asia and the West. His life was interwoven with the thoughts and aspirations of an entire epoch of mankind.
Tagore expressed his philosophy through the integral yet widely diversified field of what is called the Religion of Man. “God loves to see me”, say Tagore, “not his servant, but himself who serves all”.
A twentieth-century poet and seer, he was above all a poet of humanity. His poetry images a perfection of life attainable through the purity of our personal and interpersonal relationship in a community. The great universe of life blends its beauty and its law with our human existence when in our behaviour we allow beauty and truth guide our individual lives. The achievements of science, the progress of technological culture, even the intellectual gifts of art are relevant in terms of what we do for our inner growth and for the well-being of the human community as a whole. ... more
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