THE CRISIS in civilization in one form or the other has persisted. Problems of power, mass hysteria and political structure have remained unresolved.In our country the last hundred years or so have acquired unusual significance. These years saw the fruition of a new political and social consciousness, the end of the colonial rule and the challenges of the future. Many events and personalities have left an indelible mark on our history. But towering above them all, are the two greatest personalities of our time, Tagore and Gandhi.

Tagore and Gandhi have brought in a new dignity to the total human endeavour of our times, adding in the process a new dimension to the history of the world.Tagore and Gandhi in the different ways are representative of the new awakening and resurgence set in by the impact of the west in the 19th century. Tagore in the depth and range of his creativity is without an equal. But his lineage has to be traced back to Rammohan Roy (1774-1833) rightly regarded as the pioneer of the Indian Renaissance. The social reformism of Rammohan flowed from his rationalist temper and his religious reformism was the result of his knowledge of Christian Theism and his own deep explorations into the religious tradition of the East in Upanishads.

His advocacy if the human rights owed much to the study of his political thought of the West and of England in particular. The educational and social reforms of Rammohan had actually set tone of all the important reform movements in the 19th century.Dwarakanth Tagore (1794-1946), grandfather of Rabindranath, was a close associate of Rammohan and shared his inclination to adopt the positive aspects of Western Culture in India. Maharshi Devendranath Tagore (1817-1905), his father, gave a new thrust to religious reforms through his upholding the spirit of monotheism but the zeal for social reforms ebbed in time. Rabindranath took his philosophical insights of Rammohan and of Devendranath in a new direction giving human individuality and spirituality a sharper focus.

Tagore was, however, more of a non-conformist and a non-traditionalist. Tagore's creative vision saw men and the universe in a new harmony and yet there was nothing in it which could undermine or reject empirical knowledge.Tagore creative literature held forth the spirit of the Renaissance in all amplitude. Tolstoy of 'War and Peace' is a greater novelist than Tagore, as Shakespeare is by far the greatest poet or dramatist, but in the totality of his literary creation- he is also one the great composers in modern times-Tagore remains unique. His prose especially his novels bring out deep and critical awareness of social realities.Like Tagore, Gandhi was not a Hindu in the traditional mould; his unorthodoxy, however, was pf different kind.

Apart from the influence of Vaisnavism and Jainism, his formative years were marked by contact with the west, as well as Christianity. The Bhagawad Gita and the New Testament exerted a profound influence on him and his Satyagraha and passive resistance in South Africa had already brought about a transformation in his personality when he met Tagore for the first time in 1915.By that time Tagore had developed much admiration for Gandhi's work in South Africa.

This was the first of the several meetings in which they discussed about their different perceptions of what could be the right course of action to solve the country's problems. An important point that emerged from these meetings was that Tagore was in complete agreement with Gandhi with regard to his enunciation of the basic principles of truth, non-violence and love but doubted their proper applicability in all situations which involve a mass, social or political upheaval. Tagore was also passionately advocating the primacy of reason in evaluating the social and political process in India. Tagore and Gandhi shared great mutual respect and appreciation for each other. In other words, the moral ties of friendship between them were deeper than the intellectual differences which they had.

First of all, there was much that was common in their philosophical outlook. Both Tagore and Gandhi put emphasis on the spiritual essence of the human individual and did not subscribe to the philosophy of Absolute Monism which gives no quarter to man as an independent entity.

By the same token, Tagore and Gandhi were averse to the power of the State and looked upon it's impersonally with distrust. Tagore wanted social change to be gradual through the adoption of western science and technology as well as the social organization of skills of individuals and small rural communities. Gandhi wanted- actually worked for a structural change, Gandhi's social action programme on problems like untouchability was not only more concrete, it was also more radical.In essence, both Tagore and Gandhi arrived at a world-view which is positive deeply attuned to a creative understanding of the human essence of life. Their contributions to modern Indian culture cannot be judged in isolation from the humanism of our time. This is the living tradition, which Tagore and Gandhi, in their unique ways have enriched and reinterpreted.