





































Education, Language and Sociology Research 

ISSN 2690-3644 (Print) ISSN 2690-3652 (Online) 

Vol. 6, No. 4, 2025 

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Original Paper 

Between Battle and Bhakti: Cognitive Crisis and Spiritual 

Rebirth in Tagore’s Gitanjali and the Bhagavad Gita 

Dr. Anupamratanshanker Nagar1 

1 Principal, Gurukul Mahila Arts & Commerce College-Porbandar, Gujarat, India  

2 Affiliated with Bhakta Kavi Narsinh Mehta University, Junagadh, Gujarat, India  

 

Received: September 10, 2025   Accepted: September 25, 2025   Online Published: October 11, 2025 

doi:10.22158/elsr.v6n4p19      URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.22158/elsr.v6n4p19 

 

Abstract 

Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel laureate and one of the defining voices in world literature, frequently 

engaged with India’s philosophical and spiritual heritage, drawing deeply from foundational texts like 

the Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita. This research paper closely examines Tagore’s interpretation 

and creative recontextualization of the Bhagavad Gita, focusing especially on how he weaves its core 

themes into his poetry, prose, and broader philosophical outlook. By delving into textual comparisons, 

intertextual resonances, and Tagore’s own writings—most notably “Gitanjali”—this study demonstrates 

both Tagore’s fidelity to and his innovation upon the Gita’s teachings. Through a synthesis of spirituality, 

universalism, and poetic imagination, Tagore refashions the Gita’s doctrine of duty, detachment, and 

devotion for the modern world, emphasizing an inner transformation that transcends sectarianism, 

ritualism, and fatalism. The analysis traces the evolution of central ideas—dharma and cognitive crisis, 

the human-divine relationship, creative evolution, and the poeticization of surrender—illustrating 

Tagore’s singular role in rendering ancient Indian wisdom both globally accessible and existentially 

relevant. 

Keywords 

Rabindranath Tagore, Bhagavad Gita, reinterpretation, dharma, spirituality, universalism, Gitanjali, 

Indian philosophy, intertextuality, poetic transformation 

 

1. Introduction: Tagore, Modernity, and the Indian Philosophic Tradition 

Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was raised at the intersection of tradition and modernity, in a family 

deeply immersed in the study of sacred Hindu texts. While his father held the Upanishads in especially 

high regard, the Bhagavad Gita also shaped the spiritual and philosophical climate around Tagore. In his 

mature works, Tagore moves beyond mere reverence, aiming to re-articulate the ethical-spiritual insights 



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of the Gita in a voice that harmonizes with twentieth-century anxieties, global movements, and individual 

yearnings. This paper explores how Tagore engages creatively with the Gita’s teachings, reinterpreting 

its motifs of crisis, action, and transcendence within the context of poetic realization and humanism. 

 

2. Tagore’s Hermeneutics: Approaching the Gita through Modern Eyes 

Tagore’s approach to the Gita is best understood through a hermeneutic, or interpretive, lens. He resists 

dogmatic readings, instead seeking out the vital spirit of the text. For Tagore, the Gita’s central 

predicament—Arjuna’s paralyzing doubt upon entering the battlefield—mirrors the existential impasse 

of modern humanity: the tension between inherited conventions and the demand for creative self-

actualization. 

Tagore interprets Arjuna’s crisis not merely as a historical or mythic drama, but as a representation of 

psychological and spiritual crisis—akin to what modern psychology names “cognitive dissonance” 

(2021). Just as Krishna in the Gita guides Arjuna beyond mere compliance with duty to a sense of 

detached action (nishkama karma), Tagore understands true fulfillment as an active—yet ego-free—

participation in the cosmic order. 

 

3. Method: Thematic Parallels: Duty, Detachment, and Surrender 

3.1 The Ethics of Action: Dharma Redefined 

The Bhagavad Gita emphatically urges Arjuna to “do your duty, but do not concern yourself with the 

results” (2.47). Tagore finds in this mandate a call to embrace life’s challenges as opportunities for self-

discovery and divine cooperation. He adapts the Gita’s doctrine into a poetic-theological framework 

where dharma is not externally imposed, but emerges from the soul’s yearning for wholeness. 

In works like “Gitanjali,” the surrender to God is depicted as creative freedom—the poet is not bound by 

fatalism, but is liberated through spiritual alignment. This is especially evident in the recurrent motif of 

offering, where life and work become “songs” dedicated to the divine. 

Example: 

In “Gitanjali” poem 50, Tagore writes,  

“I have made my life a string of pearls to be clasped together by the thread of your will. 

The world is yours.” 

This poetic gesture transforms the Gita’s message of action-without-attachment into an 

intimate, aesthetic act. 

3.2 Bhakti and Universal Love 

The Gita is celebrated for its emphasis on Bhakti, or loving devotion to the divine (notably in chapters 

9-12). Tagore’s interpretation, however, is neither ritualistic nor sectarian. For him, the divine is not a 

distant, formless absolute, nor a punitive authority, but a personal, immanent presence—intimately 

involved in the unfolding of life. 

Example: 



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Tagore’s poems rarely name “Krishna,” but the divine is felt everywhere, as a companion, beloved, and 

teacher. In his lectures, Tagore explains, “My religion is the reconciliation of the Upanishads and the Gita 

with the exigencies of modern life: love that aspires not for heaven, but for the realization of the divine 

in humanity” (2021). 

3.3 Cognitive Crisis and Spiritual Rebirth 

Tagore brings to the fore the process of inner crisis and resolution, paralleling Arjuna’s battlefield 

paralysis and subsequent emergence into knowledge. Tagore extends the motif—found in both the Gita 

and mystic traditions such as the Bhakti movement—of agonized surrender leading to spiritual rebirth. 

Example: 

In “Gitanjali” poem 96, he writes:  

“When my heart is dry and parched up, come upon me with a shower of mercy.” 

The crisis is not simply intellectual, but existential and affective, illustrating how the frameworks of the 

Gita are mapped onto modern spiritual longing. 

3.4 The Human-Divine Relationship: Tagore’s Poetics of Immanence 

Tagore’s reimagining of the Gita departs in striking ways from the prevailing Vedantic orthodoxy of his 

time. He insists that the ultimate reality is personal; that the divine has “joy in his creation” and delights 

in beauty, growth, and creativity. 

3.5 The Divine in Nature and Art 

Tagore’s poems, with their constant reference to the natural world—trees, rivers, light—universalize the 

divine. This echoes the Gita’s claim (10.20-10.42) that all wonders are manifestations of Krishna, the 

Supreme. Through landscape and lyricism, Tagore democratizes spiritual experience, inviting everyone 

to recognize the infinite in the everyday. 

Example: 

In Gitanjali 1:  

“Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure. … At the immortal touch of thy hands my 

little heart loses its limits in joy.”  

Tagore’s God is the musician, the artist, the silent friend—never distant, but always present. 

3.6 The Synthesis of Science and Spirit 

Tagore’s modernity is further seen in his reconciliation of science and spirituality. The Gita’s metaphysics 

is often read as antagonistic to scientific rationalism, but Tagore’s engagement with evolution (in both 

natural and creative terms) re-grounds Gita’s insights in a contemporary idiom. He speaks of divine life 

as the principle of evolution, “rising from matter to consciousness and from self to selflessness.” 

 

 

 

 

 



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4. Literary Transcreation: Innovation through Poetic Form 

4.1 From Dialogue to Monologue: Transforming Gita’s Discourse 

Whereas the Gita’s wisdom emerges as a dialogue between Krishna and Arjuna, Tagore’s spiritual drama 

unfolds in a poetic monologue—an internal conversation with the divine. The dialogue becomes a lyrical 

journey, mirroring the solitary quest of the modern soul (2023). 

4.2 The Lyricization of Duty and Surrender 

A notable literary achievement in Tagore’s transcreation is his ability to infuse abstract doctrines with 

concrete imagery. He translates the Gita’s call for surrender (sarva dharman parityajya, 18.66) into 

human experiences of loss, hope, and creativity. 

Example: 

“Leave this chanting and singing and telling of beads!  

Whom dost thou worship in this lonely dark corner of a temple with doors all shut?  

… Open thine eyes and see thy God is not before thee!  

He is there where the tiller is tilling the hard ground …” (“Gitanjali”, poem 11). 

This powerful re-articulation transforms the Gita’s call for karma yoga into a poetry of active compassion. 

4.3 Comparative Analysis: The Gita and Gitanjali Side by Side 

While much literary criticism notes the Upanishadic influences on Tagore, a systematic comparative 

approach reveals illuminating parallels and creative divergences vis-à-vis the Gita. 

 

Aspect Bhagavad Gita Tagore’s Gitanjali 

Form Philosophical dialogue Lyric monologue 

Crisis 
Arjuna’s paralysis,  

moral struggle 

Poet’s longing,  

existential yearning 

Resolution 
Intellectual reasoning,  

duty, surrender 

Emotional catharsis,  

creative release 

Divine presence Avatar (Krishna), cosmic absolute 
Personal, immanent,  

the beloved 

Bhakti Concept Surrender to Krishna 
Universal love,  

creative surrender 

Action 
Nishkama karma  

(action without desire) 
Offering life as a song to the divine 

 

In the broader context of Indian reform movements, Tagore’s reinterpretation stands against both 

mechanical ritualism and the rigidities of inherited authority. He learns from the Gita that the real enemy 

of spiritual growth is not desire itself, but clinging to the fruits of desire and refusing open-ended 

relationship with the divine. 



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This is evident in his critique of traditionalism in poetry and essays—”Let the old forms die if they cannot 

serve life!”—and in his practical experiments with Santiniketan, where education, art, and service 

become united acts of devotion. 

4.4 Illustrative Case Studies: Individual Poems and Prose Examples 

To see Tagore’s engagement with the Gita in action, individual poems from “Gitanjali” and less-studied 

essays (such as “The Religion of Man”) bear deeper scrutiny. 

In “Gitanjali” 75, Tagore writes:  

“Deliverance is not for me in renunciation.  

I feel the embrace of freedom in a thousand bonds of delight.” 

This neatly turns the ascetic interpretation of the Gita’s teachings on its head, promoting a joyful embrace 

of worldly involvements—a hallmark of Tagore’s spiritual humanism. 

Tagore’s essay “The Religion of Man” frames Krishna not as a sectarian god but as an image of the 

Supreme Person (Purushottama), the creative principle in all beings, attuned to the “unending music” of 

the universe. Here the Gita becomes a living text—constantly evolving in meaning as human self-

understanding grows. 

4.5 Globalization and the Recontextualization of the Gita 

Tagore was keenly aware of the need to make Indian spiritual insights accessible to a global audience. 

His English translations of “Gitanjali,” and cross-cultural lectures, such as those at Oxford and Harvard, 

reframe the Gita’s teachings for seekers of all backgrounds, stripping away dogmatic apparatus and 

emphasizing universality (Lakshmi, 2023). 

Through a “religion of man”—neither dogmatic theism nor empty secularism—Tagore channels the Gita 

into a vision of spiritual democracy: each person must find and follow the divine within, regardless of 

historical or cultural boundaries. 

4.6 Critical Appraisal: Limitations and Critiques of Tagore’s Approach 

Scholars occasionally critique Tagore’s poetic universalism as risking vagueness or overlooking harsh 

realities found in the Gita’s context of warfare and crisis. While Tagore embraces the agony of doubt and 

longing, some may contend that his lyricism softens the Gita’s existential realism. However, as Amartya 

Sen and others note, Tagore’s aestheticization is itself an ethical and philosophical strategy, reframing 

violence and strife as inner psychological drama, open to catharsis and transformation. 

 

5. Conclusion 

Rabindranath Tagore’s reinterpretation of the Bhagavad Gita is as much an act of poetic creation as it is 

of philosophical exegesis. By moving the battle from Kurukshetra to the interior life, Tagore universalizes 

the Gita’s dilemmas and aspirations, making them legible and urgent for modern humanity. Through an 

original synthesis of action, surrender, love, and creativity, Tagore not only preserves but rejuvenates one 

of India’s foundational texts. His works urge ongoing renewal of spiritual tradition—rooted in but never 

shackled by the past. 



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References  

A reflection of Rabindrabhabnai SriMadbhagvadgita and Tagore’s Gitanjali. (2021). International 

Journal of Hinduism & Philosophy. 

Divine Love and Consciousness in Tagore’s Gitanjali. (2023). International Journal of Research 

Publication and Reviews. 

How The Bhagavad Gita and Gitanjali Reframe Crisis, Cognitive Dissonance, and Spiritual Rebirth. 

(2021). International Journal for Advanced Research in Science, Communication, and Technology, 

8(3), 1-13. 

Lakshmi, D. V. (2023). Rabindranath Tagore as a Philosophical Poet. Creative Saplings. 

 

 


