East and West Rabindranath Tagore

The essay “East and West” (Pūrva o Paścim, 1908) by the Indian writer and philosopher Rabindranath Tagore (1861–1941) is offered in a Russian translation from Bengali for the first time. It articulates questions similar to those posed by the Russian philosopher P. Ya. Tchaadayev in the 19th century: the need for Indi­ans to understand themselves adequately, to clarify India’s place in history, and in the East – West dimension, to understand the essence of India’s existence and her own path in relation to the humanity existence and the prospects for develop­ment in the Modern world. Reflection within the conventional “Tchaadayev para­digm” was a feature of thinkers of the Bengal Renaissance (XIX – early XX c.). Hence, R. Tagore depicts the essence of Indian history as the constant inclusion of different Others into its society and considers the meaning of India’s history to be the constant expansion of human interaction and cooperation for the sake of affirming truth and goodness. The meeting of East and West on Indian soil is beneficial both for her own development and for all human history as an exam­ple of understanding, dialogue and synthesis.