Although his first language was Bengali, he started his writings in Bengali but later translated many of them into English, which became the milestone for his literary career. – An excerpt from the first chapter of Rabindranath Tagore’s book Sadhana – The Realisation of Life.Rabindranath Tagore, a multitalented personality, can be explained as "here is god's plenty." He was a poet, a novelist, a painter, a social reformer, a composer, a philosopher etc., and was also known as Gurudev. In the pursuit of wealth you really give up everything to gain a few things, and that is not the way to attain him who is completeness. Hence the spirit of the teachings of Upanishad is: In order to find him you must embrace all. He who is bent upon accumulating riches is unable, with his ego continually bulging, to pass through the gates of comprehension of the spiritual world, which is the world of perfect harmony he is shut up within the narrow walls of his limited acquisitions. We have a glimpse of the same truth in the teachings of Jesus when he says, “It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of Heaven” – which implies that whatever we treasure for ourselves separates us from others our possessions are our limitations. Where a man tries to raise himself to eminence by pushing and jostling all others, to achieve a distinction by which he prides himself to be more than everybody else, there he is alienated from that Spirit. In the end Tagore’s captivating and rational explanations will leave you feeling breathless, exhilarated and brimming with peace, happiness and joy, as you become aware of the tremendous unifying force behind this immensely diverse and awe-inspiring Creation!Įnclosed below is a beautiful sample of one of the many profound passages found in this book: Sadhana is one of those rare books that need to be read slowly, as each sentence contains an immense amount of wisdom to be digested!
Tagore masterfully brings the spiritual truths behind these profound questions to light, with his lucid explanations of the Sanskrit verses of the Upanishads (Indian spiritual texts dating to ~800 B.C.) and the eternal teachings of Lord Jesus and Buddha. A repository of the timeless wisdom of the East, Sadhana is one of the most profound books on spirituality that you will ever read! We highly recommend it as a starter book to any seeker of spiritual wisdom.Ĭompiled and translated by Tagore from his Bengali lectures, the book consists of eight essays, in which Tagore answers some of the most profound questions of life: Why did God create this world? Why would a Perfect Being, instead of remaining eternally concentrated in Himself, go through the trouble of manifesting the Universe? Why does evil exist? Do love and beauty have a purpose? “Sadhana – The Realisation of Life” is a breathtaking collection of spiritual discourses given by Rabindranath Tagore to the boys in his school, in Bolpur, West Bengal.
It is not in destroying anything that is positive and real, but that which is negative, which obstructs our vision of truth.” “True deliverance of man is the deliverance from ignorance. Book Summary: Sadhana – The Realisation of Life
Level: Beginner (A great starter book on spirituality!)ĭownload a friendly pdf version of ‘Sadhana’, for easy printing, reading and forwarding.ĭownload a photographed copy of the original book courtesy The Internet Archive.
– Rabindranath Tagore translating a verse from the Upanishads in ‘Sadhana’įREE BOOK!This book is available for a free download because its original copyright owned by the Macmillan Company has expired. “From unreality lead me to the real, from darkness to light, from death to immortality.”