สำนักราชบัณฑิตยสภา

24 The Journal of the Royal Institute of Thailand Volume III - 2011 24 Rabindranath Tagoreûs Contributions to Thailand and the World çI do no more than assert that if correct reasoning and the dictates of common sense induce the belief of a wise, uncreated Being who is the supporter and ruler of the boundless universe, we should also consider him, the most powerful and supreme existence, › far surpassing our powers of comprehension or description.é (de Bary, 1966: vol. II, 22-23) Roy believed that Hinduism, especially as expressed in the Vedas, preaches the Universal God. Roy started to purify the ancient belief of thoughtless and unreasonable customs such as the caste system. Rammohun Roy established Brahmo Samaj (the Society of the Worshippers of God) in 1828-30. After his death, Brahmo Samaj was supported by Dwarkanath Tagore, Royûs close friend, and later on, by Dwarkanathûs son, Debendranath Tagore who was Rabindranath Tagoreûs father. Debendranath Tagore set down eighteen principles for his followers. In the first principle he said: çThe Brahmo religion is a spiritual religion. Its seed-truth is this: by the soul shall thou know the Supreme Soul. When God is seen in the soul, then, indeed, is He seen everywhere. The dearest dwelling-place of Him who is the root of all this complexity, the One Sovereign of all this universe, is the soul of man. If ye know not the soul, then all is empty. The soul is the knowledge of God.é (de Bary, 1966: vol. II, 59-60) As already mentioned earlier, Rabindranath also knew well about Buddhism. In his poetry, one can see the influence of Brahmo Samajûs teaching and Buddhist philosophy clearly. Let me quote a few lines from his poem ç To the Buddha é: çThou giver of immortal gifts, give us the power of dedication, claim from us our greed and pride of self.é While people usually pray to the Buddha for wealth, health and long life, Tagore prayed for the power of dedication, power to get rid of greed and pride. His aim is the universal good, not personal gain. From reading Tagoreûs works, one can feel his underlying religious philosophy. He was a truth seeker and his message is the universal truth. Womenûs emancipation The persistent belief that women are of the inferior sex, still current in India of Tagoreûs time, was unacceptable to Tagore. Many of his works, especially his plays, show that Tagore was concerned with raising the status of 16-28_mac9 5/3/12, 11:13 PM 24