สำนักราชบัณฑิตยสภา

The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 21 Srisurang Poolthupya However, if we read any book of Tagoreûs poetry, we shall be spiritually uplifted in the same way. For example, Tagoreûs Fruit-Gathering inspires me even though I cannot get the entire meaning from the English translation, because poems are to be felt, not just read. Let me quote poem IV to illustrate what I mean: çI woke and found his letter with the morning. I do not know what it says, for I cannot read. I shall leave the wise man alone with his books, I shall not trouble him, for who knows if he can read what the letter says. Let me hold it to my forehead and press it to my heart. When the night grows still and stars come out one by one I will spread it on my lap and stay silent. The rustling leaves will read it aloud to me, The rushing stream will chant it, and the seven wise stars will sing it to me from the sky. I cannot find what I seek, I cannot understand what I would learn; but this unread letter has lightened my burdens and turned my thoughts into songs.é (Tagore, 1927: 4-5) Education Rabindranath Tagoreûs view on education is widely accepted and put into practice especially at Santiniketan while he was still alive. His idea behind the founding of Vishva-Bharati University in Santiniketan in 1918 was to make the place ça rendezvous for Western and Asian scholars and a conduit between Asiaûs past and present, so that the ancient learning might be rejuvenated through contact with modern thinking.é (Dutta & Robinson, 1995: 220) Vishva- Bharati University became a reality in 1919. Its nucleus comprised three departments: fine arts, music and indology. The Department of Indology was founded for the study of Buddhist literature, Vedic and Classical Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit and later on, Tibetan and Chinese. This department remains popular with foreign students and scholars up to the present. Many Thai students have studied here. 16-28_mac9 5/3/12, 11:13 PM 21