Tagore's Subject Consciousness: Perspectives on Divinity

Abstract

: As a pioneer of cross-cultural dialogue between the East and the West, Tagore’s creation of a subject consciousness is of great significance to the understanding of Asian civilisation, but it has not received due attention in academic circles. His construction of subjectivity reflects the characteristics of Asian civilization. Under the influence of the thought of Brahma, humanity is the spiritual subject in the relationship with nature and the divine. Tagore’s transcendent subject is different from the West’s subject which is completely defined by apposition with the object. As a force of reflection, the subject consciousness infiltrates Tagore’s thinking on the relationship between Eastern and Western civilisation from the perspective of cosmopolitanism using the Asian philosophies of the relationship among nature, others and even the self. Tagore’s construction of subjectivity is of great significance for communication and mutual learning between Eastern and Western civilisation.