Rabindranath TagoreSadhana: The Realisation of Life

It has brought clarity to my thoughts.The beautiful translation has touched the heart.Those who are seekers for the meaning of life must read this book. I am really grateful for the great work done.And definately thanks to kindle for uploading such a great book.

some issues with kindle quality

Nice book....

Awesome content

Very sentimental stories are compiled in this book to make it reader very touching.

Great reading.

Good

Great...

For readers lost in the materialism of New Age spiritualism, there are classic gems out there, free on the Kindle. Tagore's 'Sadhana' is one of them, only he says it with much more passion. Born in 1861 during the midst of the Victorian age while India was still a part of the British colonial empire, Rabindranath Tagore was largely self taught. An early proponent of Indian nationalism, he became the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize in literature. In the west, he is most famous for his poetry. However, he was a prolific writer, penning novels, short stories, songs, dramas, and essays. Multi-talented, he even painted.Familiar with both classics, to me the verse of his award winning 'Gitanjali' is matched word for word by the eloquence of his prose in 'the Sadhana.' In this series of essays Tagore seeks to reconcile diverse streams of Indian thought as well as provide a response to western colonialism; asking such timeless questions as why did God create the world? Why is there suffering, and does love have a purpose? His answer is composed through a comparison of Christianity, Buddhism, and Hinduism, excavating spiritual gems from each religion to offer timeless insights. Like the ancient Greek philosopher Plotinus, Tagore perceived one spirit immanent and transcendent to nature. For Tagore this spirit was Brahma, from the the Hindu scripture the Upanishads.He begins with a contrast of the western and Indian relationship with nature, in which he critiques the western ideal of mastering nature. Instead he emphasizes harmony. His criticism foreshadows those of contemporary ecologists.He continues with an essay advocating self knowledge, as it is self knowledge which leads to cosmic consciousness. Next he tackles the problem of evil, showing that evil is impermanent in a universe that is striving for the good. Tagore declares that the goal of life is to move toward perfection and through living a virtuous life one can realize one's life in the infinite. He states that we are often responsible for our own suffering and it is through the elimination of selfishness that we can realize our true nature.Then he offers a meditation on love, illustrating how the universe is born out of love, all forms are a manifestation of Brahma's love, and through love in action we can realize freedom. Not a proponent of renouncing the world, Mr. Tagore instead proposes integrating contemplation, work and play; emphasizing that it is through action in the world that one can find Brahma. He feels that we should take joy in our work, making it playful, because the products of work are a reflection of our attitude towards that work. This thought leads him into a contemplation of beauty, linking it with truth and harmony. To him, beauty is an expression of the divine.He ends with an essay contemplating the attainment of the the transcendent in which he declares that God cannot be possessed, it can only be experienced. Utilizing analogies to express his thought process, he includes that of a river flowing into the ocean to illustrate that even though it is seeking, the river can never become the ocean, although they both contain the same essence - water. The same is true of spirituality. We are born of spirit, we seek it, yet spirit is not our personal vehicle to do with as we will. Instead, spirit moves us as it moves through us. Throughout, he is deeply metaphorical, forcing the reader into a contemplative mode as the reader reflects on his or her own relationship with the divine, as well as how they manifest the divine into the world.No amount of summarizing can do justice to the subtle thoughts contained within the Sadhana. Each reader will get something different from it, and each re-reading will lead to new insights. Although zen states that words are likened to a finger pointing to the moon, never quite capturing the truth; the Sadhana provides a reader with a good start. It is a jewel to be treasured.

A romantic, metaphor-filled, highly imaginative reflection on life by a renowned Indian poet and devotee of a dualistic school of thought. The author makes a laudable effort to unify various religious pathways through the use of wisdom in ancient sacred texts.What the work lacks in scientific rigor is more than compensated for with sentiment and intuition. The poet and Nobel laureate appeals, with eloquence and vigor, to the reader's feelings, to the extent of asserting that rational thought comprises what ancients referred to as maya, or magical illusion. He relies therefore upon ancient wisdom, and his subjective consciousness , far more than natural, verifiable observations and inferences. An interesting read, nevertheless, for sentimental and imaginative enjoyment.

This is one of the best books I've read on the subject. Its a theoretical treatise on the subject of spirituality so unless one has an introduction into the subject, it might sound very conceptual and dry. With that small caveat however, this is a work of pure poetic genius. Tagore's simple and lucid style of explaining the human condition and his arguments against the materialistic (Western / industrialised) way of life are both eloquent and compelling. A fantastic read.

I went through this work as a Christian philosopher and theologian and was very impressed by the way this great Indian intellectual took his life with God very seriously. I liked it and would recommend not as a religious book but as a theist philosophical work of a great intellectual.

A must reading choice for those who seek Ancient Wisdom AND have good references. Tagore knows how to make good analogies that lead the reader to apprehend Cosmic Laws.