tagore on technology

8/2/2019 Tagore on Technology

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Celebrating 150Celebrating 150thth Birth Anniversary ofBirth Anniversary of GurudevGurudev RabindranathRabindranath TagoreTagore

IIT PatnaIIT Patna

Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high

Where knowledge is free

Where the world has not been broken up into fragments

By narrow domestic walls

Where words come out from the depth of truth

Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection

Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the

dreary desert sand of dead habit

Where the mind is led forward by thee

Into ever-widening thought and action

Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake.

Rabindranath Tagore, born on 9th May 1861


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Tagore beyond cultTagore beyond cult

Educationalist

Composer of our National anthem

First Indian to win Nobel Prize

Novelist PlaywrightPoet

Philosopher

Painter

Rural Planner

Religious Reformer Philanthropist

Teacher

Activist

Statesman Political Visionary

Linguist

Administrator

Choreographer

Entrepreneur

Economic Reformer


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Debate withDebate with BapuBapu

Formerly, in Europe, peopleploughed their lands mainly by

manual labor. Now, one man

can plough a vast tract by

means of steam engines and

can thus amass great wealth.

Formerly, when people wanted

to fight with one another, they

measured between them their

bodily strength; now it is

possible to take away

thousands of lives by one man

working behind a gun from a

hillThis civilization is irreligion,

and it has taken such a hold on

the people in Europe that

those who are in it appear to

be half mad. According to the

teaching of Mohammed this

would be considered a Satanic

Civilization. Hinduism calls it a

Black Age.

It must be shunned.It must be shunned.

Hind Swaraj

Independence is not merely forproducing ones own cloth. To

eradicate the root of captivity

from our mind we need

knowledge, we need science. I

do not want my house to be

walled in on all sides and my

windows to be stuffed.

to call upon man to make the

easiest of offerings to the

smallest of gods is the greatest

of insults to his manhood. To

ask all the millions of our

people to spin the Charkha isas bad as offering the tomato

to Jagannath.

Religion or politics cannot

replace economics as they

cannot feed people or give

them a better livelihood.

European civilization has

promoted all aspects of

freedom wealth and power

but neglected human dignity.

The Call of Truth

self-sufficient

village basedeconomy

minimal use of

modern technology

limiting our needs

co-operative

economic movement

understanding the

technology and using

it with dignity

endless quest for

knowledge


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DramaDrama MuktadharaMuktadhara -- Politics of Big DamsPolitics of Big Dams

State of Uttarakut ruled over people of Shivatarai

Uttarkut restricted trade of Shivatarai by putting wall on Nandisankata pass

River Muktadhara connected Shivatarai with Uttarakut on which Uttarakut built a Dam

Shivatarai people destroyed the wall and started free exchange of trade and labour

with outer world

Uttarakut king decided to dry up Shivatarai by controlling flow of Muktadhara

Uttarakut prince joined Shivatarai people and demolished the dam

Tagore praised great Vibhuti of human

innovation

Advocated for free exchange of trade and

labor

But asserted that life and environment is

gift of god and human cannot take that

away from others


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AchalayatanAchalayatan-- BrahminicalBrahminical Accumulation ofAccumulation of

KnowledgeKnowledge

An academy that practices learning without understanding

knowledge without application

Access restricted for commoners, burocratic hierarchy in education

Training minds as per kings order.

Guru came with an army of labors and peasants destroyed the hierarchyGuru ordered the academy to open for commoners as it is the doer who

needs this knowledge primarily

Tagores philosophy was deep routed in Upanishada where quest for knowledge is thesole drive for human action. Knowledge is immortality.

Knowledge cannot be acquired without action and application


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RaktakarabiRaktakarabi-- Conflicts within CapitalismConflicts within Capitalism

Denounces a system where the sole motivation is profit

Exploitation comes not only in terms of underpayment and

oppression but also from disrespect to human identity:

treating man as machine, uprooting man from nature

Labours protest, king came out and joind the to rebels

Burocracy opposed the king, opposed the changes- king

utters: My machines do not obey me

I have no doubt in my mind that the West owes its true greatness, not so much to its marvellous

training of intellect, as to its spirit of service devoted to the welfare of man. Therefore I speak

with a personal feeling of pain and sadness about the collective power which is guiding the helm

of Western civilisation. It is a passion, not an ideal. The more success it has brought to Europe, themore costly it will prove to her at last, when the accounts have to be rendered.

The civilisation appears to me as sandwiching mankind by stones up and bottom. Though it

appears shining from outside, natures own laws are being neglected and once nature will come

out with its own justice and take revenge.

East and West


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Blessings of a Technological WorldBlessings of a Technological World

In Asia, Japan was first to realize that to confront the mighty Europe they also have to

be equal in technical power. They assimilated European technology but not mimicked it.

In Japan

I have come to my last pilgrimage. I heard about enormous difficulties for them but I have seen them

overcoming difficulties. They progressed with advancement in technologies and distributed the fruit

among many. The arid lands of far places like Turkmenistan is chosen for industrialization and they

sent unskilled local labors to big industries for advanced training. They are spending huge money for

overall education and also looking after complete development of human being. I saw so many

schools and dispensaries in Moscow. And every thing is possible as profit is not their main motif.

Letters from Russia

Introduction of small scale industries in SreeniketanAgro-engineering

Gandhiji on IISC Inauguration Ceremony: Just as some of the experiments in your laboratories go on

for twenty-four hours, let the big corner in your heart remain perpetually warm for the benefit of the

poor millions. I tell you, you can devise a far greater wireless instrument, which does not requireexternal research ,but internal and all research will be useless if it is not allied to internal research,

which can link your hearts with those of the millions.

So, great minds think alike

tagore on technology

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