Critiquing 21st Century Creative Violence: Tagore’s Concord (Milan) and Harmony (Samanjaysya) Imagining “One World”

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Ayanita Banerjee (Ph.D)

University of Engineering and Management.New-Town, Kolkata. West Bengal. Email: abayanita8@gmail.com

 Volume 13, Number 2, 2021 I Full-Text PDF

DOI: 10.21659/rupkatha.v13n2.30

 Abstract:

Modern science, acclaiming the success of the creative human brain as ‘progressive changes’ in the 21st century continues to prosper through prominent images of scientism, ingestion, cartelized capitalism, chemistry and rocket technology to name a few. Introspecting the 21st century from the given nexus, we are quite likely to conclude that it has remained a century when the human destructiveness has reached its creative pinnacle. ‘Creative progression’ disguised under the garb of SARS COVID-19 is currently ransacking mankind, resulting in mass genocide, destruction of cultures and worldviews. The creative human self now remains predisposed with the activation of low-grade mental illness. depression, anxiety and trauma. Tagore’s ‘creative self’ with a magisterial rebuke had always protested the prevalent dominant theories of violence and counter- violence down the time line. His philosophical vision intertwined with the humane self of ‘being’ instead of ‘becoming’ counterpoises this ‘creative enigma’ of scientific and material human progression even to this day. Standing on the threshold of the 21st century we earnestly look forward to reminiscence Tagore’s vision of Concord (milan) nurturing the “living bonds in a society” and brewing Harmony (samanjaysya) as the “wholeness and wholesomeness of human ideals” to provide a remedy for re-thinking the possibilities of “One World” (my italics) defined in terms of ‘becoming’ instead of ‘humane -being’.

 Keywords: Tagore, creative violence, mechanization, concord, harmony, one world