Your Royal Highnesses,
Your Excellency Madam Margot
Wallstrom, Foreign Minister of Sweden,
Your Excellency the Governor of
Uppsala,
Vice Chancellor of Uppsala University
Professor Eva Akesson,
Distinguished Guests, Ladies &
Gentlemen,
It is a privilege for me to visit
Uppsala University and share my thoughts on the contemporary relevance of
Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore, India’s national poet and the first non-European
to win the Nobel Prize for literature as well as Mahatma Gandhi, the father of
the Indian nation.
I have spent two packed days in this
beautiful country. Robust bonds bind our two countries, not the least, a
steadfast devotion to democratic values and a fundamental commitment to global
peace and non-violence.
Global peace was a
value both Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi espoused.To speak on this subject in
Uppsala University is therefore particularly relevant for two reasons:
First, Gurudev or Respected Teacher as Tagore was
called by Mahatma Gandhi and the rest of our country visited Sweden in 1921 and
1926. During his visit in 1921, he also visited Uppsala where he met Nobel
Laureate Archbishop Nathan Söderblom and familiarized himself with Odinslund,
the historical royal burial site from Viking times. Thereafter, in an
ecumenical spirit, he made a visit to the Cathedral.
I express the deep
gratitude of my delegation and myself, indeed of all my people, to theUniversity
of Uppsala for having installed a bust of Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore in its
Department of Foreign Languages. This bust commemorates the centenary of the
award of the Nobel Prize to Tagore and stands as a reminder of his special link
to Uppsala. I am delighted to know that 27 of Tagore’s works have been
translated into Swedish and are widely appreciated.
The second reason I am particularly
happy to be addressing you on the topic of world peace is because this hallowed
centre of studies nurturedDag Hammarskjöld,a great Swede andthe second Secretary-General of the United Nations.Hammarskjöldat the age of47years and 255days was the youngest to
have held the post. He held office for two terms beginning from 1953 till his
unfortunate demise on September 12, 1960 in a plane accident in Congo. His
contributions to the cause of peace brought him respect and popularity across
the world.
I wonder how many of you know that
this noble diplomat was also blessed with immensespiritual
wisdom. One of his legacies at the United Nations is the creation of the Room
of Quiet, which exists to this day. Dag Hammarskjöld was aware that the first
step towards finding peace outside is to find it within. He knew that
meditation and quiet are important conditions for this quest.
Ladies and
Gentlemen,
The Constitution of
UNESCO begins with the following words,
"Since wars
begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defences of peace
must be constructed;
That ignorance of
each other’s ways and lives has been a common cause, throughout the history of
mankind, of that suspicion and mistrust between the peoples of the world
through which their differences have all too often broken into war;...”[1].
These words ring as
true today as they did when UNESCO was founded in 1945.
Enduring peace can
only be established on the basis of humanity’s moral and intellectual
solidarity. Political and economic agreements will not on their own build a
lasting peace. Peace has to be founded on the belief that there is only one
humanity and, to use Tagore’s words:
"Where the
world has not been broken up into fragments by narrow domestic walls”.[2]
Ladies and Gentlemen,
Rabindranath Tagore was a renaissance
man and such men are found rarely in history. In their personality, they
capture not just the times they live in but also many complex questions that
transcend geography and are pertinent for all countries and communities across
the world.
Tagore was a versatile genius. He was
not just a poet and author, but also a composer, painter, philosopher and
educationist. He was the perfect ambassador of our country at a time when
little was known about India in the outside world. Throughout his life, he was
fascinated by the idea of interaction between civilizations through the
exchange of knowledge about their cultures and literatures which reflect the
universal values of humanity. In a world fettered by race, creed and colour,
Rabindranath Tagore promoted internationalism for a new world order based on
diversity, open-mindedness, tolerance and co-existence. He travelled far and
wide preaching the religion of truth and harmony, and of love and compassion.
Tagore’s views on
‘nationalism’ reveal his distaste for parochialism, racial divide and social
stratification. He firmly
believed that world peace could never be achieved until big and powerful
nations curbed their desire for territorial expansion and control over smaller
nations. In his view, war was a consequence of aggressive western materialism
that developed in the early part of the 20th century, with science divorced
from spirituality. According to the Poet, the East and the West must meet on a
common ground and on terms of equal fellowship: "where knowledge flows
in two streams - from the East and from the West"[3]and "in their unity is
perceived the oneness of Truth that pervades and sustains the entire Universe.”[4]As he put it
pithily: "It was
Buddha who conquered the world, not Alexander.”[5]
If Tagore was the
intellectual and spiritual torch bearer of global peace, it was theMahatmaor
the Great Soul who showed the world thatSatyagraha or Truth Force andAhimsaor
Non-Violence can be marshalled to create a more just world. Mahatma Gandhi
commenced his experiments with the use of truth against violence in South
Africa and then developed it to create in India a peace movement of a kind the
world had never before seen. This movement not only resulted in the
independence of India but also heralded the end of colonialism worldwide. I am
happy to inform this audience that on January 09 of this year, we in India
marked a hundred years since Gandhiji’s return from South Africa.
Gandhiji said; ‘My
Life is My Message’[6]. Our former Prime Minister Indira
Gandhi in her foreword to the 90thVolume of the monumental
compilation of Gandhiji’s writings – ‘The Collected Works of Mahatma Gandhi’,
explained the significance of these words. She wrote: "He was one of
those who spoke as he thought and acted as he spoke, one of those few on whom
no shadow fell between word and deed. His words were deeds, and they built a
movement and a nation and changed the lives of countless individuals”.[7]What is this shadow that
Prime Minister Indira Gandhi spoke of? It is the shadow of untruth and
falsehood. Only a person who saw Truth as God could speak of Life itself as a
message.
The Apostle of
non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi had the same profound faith in humanism and
openness of mind as Tagore did. He said "I do not want my house to be
walled in on all sides and my windows to be stuffed. I want the cultures of all
lands to be blown about my house as freely as possible. But I refuse to be
blown off my feet by any. I refuse to live in other people’s houses as an interloper,
a beggar or a slave”.[8]
Gandhiji, like
Tagore, had an abiding concern with Nature and the unique placement of human
consciousness in an intricate, intimate and harmonious relationship with
nature. Another important message Gandhiji gave was that economics is of no use
without ethics. This simple injunction creates a moral frame within which human
ingenuity has to function. The limits to human greed have to be defined by
inner imperatives and not external constraints. This inner imperative that he
called beautifully "still small voice”[9]is available to all of us, if we
cultivate the capability to listen and follow its dictates.
By placing ethics at
the heart of economics, Gandhiji gave us an idea whose significance is
timeless. This is the idea of Trusteeship based on faith which is a unique
human capacity. All of us live by and through trust. Gandhiji asked us to be
Trustees and to have faith in the goodness of our hearts and the hearts of
others. This goodness would enable us to act as Trustees of what are both ours
and not ours.
For Mahatma
Gandhiji, Ahimsawas not
just a method or an instrument. It requires recognition of the humanity of
others, including the humanity of those we seek to challenge.Ahimsa is based on the idea that others are
capable of recognising Truth and acting upon it however misguided or even
oppressive they might be in the short term.Ahimsais not just non-injury.
It is an active force that embraces the other, eradicating differences between
I and You. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore and Gandhiji both recognised that the
use ofAhimsawill eventually free the unjust and the oppressor from the
need and desire to perpetuate injustice and suffering to others.
It happens rarely in
history that two seers, two persons who are capable of addressing not only
their times but generations to come, work in close dialogue. The simultaneous
presence of Poet Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi is a unique blessing that modern
India received and we believe that this good fortune places upon us a special
responsibility to involve ourselves actively in the promotion of dialogue
amongst different religions, faiths, cultures and civilizations.
Ladies and
Gentlemen,
India, with its
population of 1.25 billion has been home to the harmonious mingling of
ethnicities and religions for centuries. We are clear that lasting peace can be
built only on a foundation of mutual respect which was consistently and
eloquently advocated by both Tagore and Gandhiji.
Mahatma Gandhi
influenced many leaders across the world through his thoughts and action
includingMartin
Luther King Jr, Lech Wałęsa, Steve Biko,Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Dalai Lama
and Aung San Suu Kyi. Martin Luther King Jr went to the extent of saying,
"Christ furnished the spirit and motivation, while Gandhi furnished
their method.”[10]He said on another occasion: "If
humanity is to progress, Gandhi is inescapable. He lived, thought and acted,
inspired by the vision of humanity evolving toward a world of peace and harmony.”[11]
The Mahatma once
asked: "What difference does it make to the dead, the orphans, and the
homeless, whether the mad destruction is wrought under the name of
totalitarianism or the holy name of liberty and democracy?”[12]
Ladies and
Gentlemen, I have no hesitation in stating that the ideas of truth, openness,
dialogue and non-violence espoused by Tagore and Gandhiji provide the best way
forward for aworld confronted with intolerance, bigotry and terrorism. Their
values and their vision are more relevant today than any time before in a world
desperately searching for permanent solutions to conflicts and tensions. These
ideals therefore need to be propagated far and wide, especially amongst the
youth.
I thank the Uppsala University for having signed an agreement with
the Indian Council for Cultural Relations for establishing a Chair in Indian
Studies, which I am sure will also disseminate knowledge about the life and
work of Tagore and Mahatma Gandhi amongst the Swedish people.
Permit me to end this lecture with
the words of Tagore from his famous telegram to the Swedish
Academy after winning the Nobel Prize. I convey to each and every one of you
"my grateful appreciation of the breadth of understanding which has
brought the distant near and has made a stranger a brother”[13].
When all is said and
done, a willingness to understand what is distant and different is the best way
to ensure global peace.
Thank you.
Jai
Hind!
[1]http://portal.unesco.org
[2]Tagore,
Rabindranath, 2011, Gitanjali, Poem No. 35 Line 3, New Delhi, UBSPD
[3]Tagore
Rabindranath, 1996, English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, Ed S.K. Das, Vol.
3, Essay on ‘The Meeting of the East and the West’, pg. 376, Delhi, Sahitya
Akademy
[4]Tagore
Rabindranath, 1996, English Writings of Rabindranath Tagore, Ed S.K. Das, Vol.
3, Essay on ‘The Meeting of the East and the West’, pg. 376, Delhi, Sahitya
Akademy
[5]Tagore,
Rabindranath, (Tran. Surendranath Tagore), 1985,Home & The
World, Pg No.180, New Delhi, Macmillan India Limited
[6]While visiting
Bengal in 1947, Gandhiji was asked to give a message to the people of India, to
which he responded, "My life is my message”. http://gandhiashramsabarmati.org
[7]Collected Works
of Mahatma Gandhi,1984, Vol.90- Part V, Foreword by Mrs. Indira Gandhi, New
Delhi, Publications Division
[8]Gandhi, Mahatma,
1924, Young India 1919-1922, pg. 460, Madras, S. Ganesan
[9]Gandhi, Mahatma,
1924,Young
India, 1919-1922, Pg. 1012, Madras, S. Ganesan.
[10] King,
Martin Luther, 1958,Stride Toward Freedom The
Montgomery Story, pg.85, New York, Harper & Brothers
[11] King ,
Coretta Scott, 2001, The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr. pg. 71, New York,
Newmarket Press
[12]Gandhi, M.K.,
1942,Non-Violence
in Peace and War, Vol.1, Ch.142, pg.377, Ahmedabad, Navjeevan Publishing House.
[13]Telegram from
Rabindranath Tagore, read by Mr. Clive, British Charge d’Affairs, at the Nobel
Banquet at Grand Hotel, Stockholm, December 10, 1913. http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/literature/laureates/1913/tagore-speech.html
***
AKT/SH/AK