The Dialectic of God: the Theosophical Views of Tagore and Gandhi

By Satya Sinha

This is the first book which compares the philosophical views of Tagore and Gandhi, who were the most important thinkers of Modern India. They have not conceived God in traditional way but rather in humanistic way which relates to present day thinking mind. Neither have left any systematic presentation of their ideas about God.It has been deciphered from their poerty, writings, speeches, discourses and letters.Present-day concept of God has evolved from rudimentary ideas of God. Even in the present scientific age, we come across different ideas about God in different men. The layman, the man on the street with little or no education has an idea of God much different from the idea of God which a cultured and educated holds.Almost all the Indian contemporary thinkers have been influenced by the basic scriptures of the Hindus. Tagore and Gandhi have also been influenced by them. Tagore and Gandhi both had contacts with the Muslims and the Christian missionaries who had come to India. Of these, the Christian missionaries made scathing attacks on the Hindu religion and practices. Both Tagore and Gandhi visited Europe and came into contact with the Unitarian Christianity. It is possible that their thinking about God might have been influenced by such contacts.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing India
• Release date: May 5, 2015
• ISBN: 9781482847482

Satya Sinha

Dr Satya Sinha is Associate Professor and former Head, Philosophy, Sri Arvind Mahila College, MU, Patna, Bihar. She is a leading researcher of Gandhian Philosophy. Her area of specialisation also includes Philosophy of Religion and Indian Philosophy. She has published several research papers in International and National Journals of Philosophy.

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Contents

Foreword

Preface

Chapter – 1

Thinking About God In General

Chapter – 2

Influence That Shaped Tagore’s And Gandhi’s Thinking About God

Chapter – 3

God In Tagore

Chapter – 4

God In Gandhi

Chapter – 5

Dialectics And Sysnthesis Of God

Bibliography

Dedicated to

my parents,

Late Sri Rajendra Prasad

and

Late Smt. Urmila Prasad

whose dialogic conversation have enriched

the moral and spiritual dimensions of my life.

Foreword

The Dialectic of God: The Theological Views of Tagore and Gandhi is the most evocative title of the book written by Dr.Satya Sinha of Sri Arvind Mahila College, Patna, Magadh University. It is evocative for two reasons. First, it deals with the problem of God which is considered to be outdated in modern age and reappearing in the Post-modern age. Secondly, dialectic involves thesis, anti-thesis and synthesis. Hegal was the champion of Idealistic nature of dialectic. Karl Marx claimed that he has made the Hegalian dialectic upside down. According to Marx, dialectic in Hegal is standing on its head. Dialectic process in Hegal was idealistic but dialectic process in Marx is materialistic. Hegal believed in God: Marx disbelieves in God. A dialectic is not a debate. It does not result in victory for one party, but rather the transformation of the conceptual arena within which any disagreement could be formulated.

Here I will not be discussing all the intricate and comparative account of Tagore and Gandhi on dialectic of God. The authoress has made an important attempt of theological study of contemporary Indian thinkers. It is highly readable and critically important book. I must mention that both Tagore and Gandhi respect different religions. They are thoroughly secular since they respect other faiths though they are deeply rooted in Hinduism.

Dr.Satya Sinha has addressed the methodological problems by giving the title as Dialectic of God. The authoress has made an attempt to deal with methodological reflection that have made possible to explain historical consciousness moving on to the theological deliberations. In this work dialectic has a more differentiated meaning than is frequently attributed to it by interpreters. Ordinarily, dialectic runs in contradictions. The dialectic of God is the dialectic of contraries. It is not the dialectic of yes or no, true or false; but it is dialectic of contraries and not of contradictions.

It stipulates the dialectic that though God is good yet evil persists. The concern of Dr.Satya Sinha is with the dialectic of good and evil, but not good and not evil. In a dialectic of contraries each opposed principle of change is given its proper place in the unfolding drama of history. In Tagore and Gandhi, we do not find dialectical process which runs in contradictories. Here dialectic of God is quite different from conventional dialectical process which runs in contradictories. The dialectic in Tagore and Gandhi is the dialectic of God and Evil.

This book attempts to study the concept of God in Rabindranath Tagore and mahatma Gandhi. Dr.Satya Sinha is conscious about the fact that the study may appear to be outdated in the present scientific age. It is true that Tagore and Gandhi have been very much alive to the scientific temper of the contemporary age. They have not conceived God in the traditional way. They have studied Indian scriptures which have been source of traditional concept of God. Tagore and Gandhi conceived God more or less in humanistic way. Dr Satya Sinha asserts that treatment of the problem of God must respond to the demands of the modern age. Tagore is known outstanding poet, a humanistic philosopher who tries to give logical arguments. Tagore draws inspiration from the scriptural tradition of India. His early education and close friendship with some humanitarian Christians also left a permanent impression on his mind and work. According to Tagore the finites are not illusory but real. The Vedantic Absolute did not appeal to Tagore. God cannot be found in the temple or in the sky but can be found in the open land where the tiller is tilling the land in scorching sun. He considers God as a person because a personal God alone can give the satisfaction that religious man longs. Tagore conceives God as Saguna and Nirguna both. This sounds contradictory. According to Tagore, man is both finite-infinite. Man realizes God by developing his higher nature. Man tries to be divine. Tagore contemplates that God also wants to realize Himself in man. Tagore has humanized God. Tagore is divinizing man and humanizing God. Tagore has conceived God, nature and man as one. Gandhi is also not an abstract thinker. Gandhi’s idea of God is essentially the idea of a Hindu God. But Gandhi was not a dogmatic thinker. Gandhi has been experimenting with Truth. He changed his position from ‘God is Truth’ to ‘Truth is God’ since atheist may deny God but cannot deny ‘Truth’. Hence Gandhi says that Truth is God". In this change there is no logical problem since it is in tune with logical rules of conversion as stipulated by Aristotle. Gandhi like Tagore believes in personal God. Both are Vaishnavite. The idea of love plays dominant part in both. Both Tagore and Gandhi were humanists. Both are concerned with the welfare of man. Both emphasise the dignity of man. Both conceived God in theistic manner. Both Tagore and Gandhi conceive intimate relationship between God and nature. Tagore and Gandhi both have similar explanations regarding the problem of evil. Both believe that the world is real and the world is imperfect. Evil is real. Both Tagore and Gandhi lay emphasis on service to humanity for realising God. God resides in the heart of the poor. But there are differences between Tagore and Gandhi. Tagore’s approach is aesthetic but Gandhis approach is ethical. For Tagore, the Real is the beautiful; for Gandhi the Real is the Good. Gandhi’s humanism has a moral basis. Tagore divinizes humanity.

Dr.R.C.Sinha

Former Professor & Head

Department of Philosophy

Patna University, Patna

Former Senior Fellow

Indian Council of Philosophical Research,

New Delhi

Date: 27.03.2015

Preface

The present work is an attempt to study the concept of God in Rabindranath Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi. The study may appear to be outdated in the present scientific age. It is true that the belief in the existence of God controlling this universe of ours from some other world beyond has fallen into dispute. But it is also true that the thinkers under study have been very much alive to the scientific trend of thought. They have not conceived God in the traditional way, although they have studied the scriptures which have been the source of traditional concept of God. They have conceived God more or less in humanistic way which may be acceptable to the present-day thinking mind.

Religious thinking is not dead or inert. It must respond to the demands of the age. Both Tagore and Gandhi belong to an age when superstition was giving way to scientific mode of thought. The influence of the Western thought was also there. It is interesting for a scholar to study how these two thinkers thought about God. Tagore is a poet and his thinking about God is characterized by his poetic imagination. Gandhiji is a cool thinker. He is a philosopher down to the earth. And yet their thinking about God presents some common features. These considerations have made it imperative to undertake a study of their ideas about God. This study will involve not only an exposition of their ideas about God, but also a comparison between their ways of thinking. The comparison will not only bring out their similarities but also pin-point their differences.

A number of studies have been undertaken in recent years to study the thought of Tagore and Gandhi. S.R.Radhakrishnan’s The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore is perhaps the first work to present Tagore’s philosophy systematically. It tries to interpret the philosophy and message of Tagore. B.G. Ray’s The Philosophy of Rabindranath Tagore is another attempt to highlight the philosophical aspects of Tagore’s thinking. V.S. Narvane’s An Introduction to Rabindranath Tagore is also a scholarly work giving useful material to a student of philosophy. There are other works on Tagore which deal with his life and personality. In the same way a number of works on Mahatma Gandhi have been undertaken. L.M. Latta’s The Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi is perhaps an authentic presentation of the philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi. Gopi Nath Dhawan’s The Political Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi gives an exposition of the political ideas of Gandhi. Mahadev Prasad’s Social Philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi brings out the social and the political ideas of Gandhi. I Sundaram’s Gandhian Thought and Philosophy deals with the different aspects of Gandhian thinking. Thus, we have not yet come across any work exclusively on Tagore and Gandhi’s conception of God. The present work is a modest attempt to present their ideas about God systematically.

Neither Rabindranath Tagore nor Mahatma Gandhi has left any systematic presentation of their ideas about God. Their ideas about God have to be deciphered from their poetry, writings, speeches, discourses and letters. As these thinkers are non-academic, a study of their thinking requires a certain amount of sympathy. The present work, therefore, has been sympathetic but not dogmatic. The present study has been divided into five chapters. The first chapter introduces us with the general thinking about God. It begins with how a layman thinks about God and ends with how philosophers have conceived God. A brief idea of God as conceived by the various scriptures is also given here. The second chapter discusses the influences that shaped Tagore and Gandhi’s thinking about God. The third chapter gives an exposition of God according to Tagore. It also discusses the relation of God to the world and man. The fourth chapter discusses the concept of God in Gandhiji. It discusses the nature of God and God’s relation to man and man’s relation to God. The fifth chapter is the concluding chapter. It brings out the salient points in their thinking about God and highlights the similarities and differences in their thinking about God.

I would like to beg an apology of the scholars who have been trained in tradition, for not having used proper diacritical marks in spelling Sanskrit words and technical terms.

I consider it my solemn duty to acknowledge my debt to my parents who always encouraged me and saw to it that I become academically capable for doing research work.

I take this opportunity for expressing my deep sense of gratitude to my husband, Er. Janak Raj Varma who took interest in the progress of my work and gave valuable support. I also acknowledge my appreciation and love for my children, Er. Varun Raj and Dr. Kshitish Raj, who co-operated with me during my studies and made possible for me to devote long hours to my studies.

Dr. Satya Sinha

Chapter – 1

THINKING ABOUT GOD IN GENERAL

Man is a thinking being, Ever since he gains consciousness, he begins thinking about things that