Rabindranath Tagore's Santiniketan Essays: Religion, Spirituality and Philosophy

New York: Routledge, 2020. 1st Printing. Trade Paperback. Very Good. 6x0x9. Signed by author. First printing. Signed by author on title page with inscription, "To David for the interesting conversation. 7 November 2019." Stain on page ridge. 2020 Trade Paperback. xv, 154 pp. This book provides a critical introduction and translation of fifty Śāntiniketan (Abode of Peace) essays written by Rabindranath Tagore between 1908 and 1914. It provides key insights into Tagore’s fundamental meditations on life, nature, religion, philosophy and the world at large. As the first of its kind, this volume is a definitive collection of Tagore’s Śāntiniketan essays translated into English which contains a substantial amount of scholarly material on them. The essays look at Tagore’s ideas of universality, his socio-cultural location along with the development of his thought, his reflections on Buddhism, Vaiṣṇavism, Bāul philosophy, the Bhagavadgītā and to a great extent the Upanishads and their contemporary relevance. It also connects Sri Ramakrishna’s concepts of vijnāna and bhāvamukha with Tagore’s thought, an original contribution, through the study of these essays. A nuanced exploration into translation theory and praxis, it fills a lacuna in Tagore Studies by bringing to the fore profound religious, spiritual and philosophical knowledge in Tagore’s own voice. This volume will be useful for scholars and researchers of Translation Studies, Tagore Studies, Language and Literature, Cultural Studies and readers interested in Tagore’s philosophical ideas.