A Poet in the Milieu of Science

Rabindranath Tagore and his Engagement with Science

Abstract

Rabindranath Tagore, the famous Nobel Laureate literature from India is mainly known for his creation in art, literature and music. However, since, his childhood he had deep curiosity and regard for science. His initiation to astronomy by his father Debendranath Tagore and later on his interest in life-science enabled him to pursue his search for the origin of the Universe. Rabindranath’s deep-rooted belief in integrating human consciousness with nature manifested through his perception of environment in many ways during his days in Santiniketan. His close association with famous physicist and biologist, Jagadish Chandra Bose and later on his five meetings with great mathematician Albert Einstein took him different levels of understanding science. His disagreement with Einstein on the question of existence reality independent of human beings was rooted in Oriental philosophical tradition. It also echoed the basic understanding of quantum mechanics. Tagore was always enthusiastic about popularisation of science and his last seminal work in the realm of science, Visva-Parichay (Introduction to the Universe), was a major addition to that trend.