When Bertrand Russell's article reminded Rabindranath Tagore of Upanishad verse | A century old letter between Nobel laureates

On 13 October 1912, Rabindranath Tagore wrote to Bertrand Russell from Alfred Place in South Kensington. He thanked Russell for a kind letter and said he would ask Dr Seal to visit Russell at Cambridge when possible. The letter then turned to philosophy and spiritual experience.

Tagore said he had read Russell’s article on the “Essence of Religion” in the latest Hibbert Journal with great interest. The article reminded him of an Upanishad verse saying that words and mind return baffled before the Infinite, while knowledge of Brahman’s joy frees a person from fear.

Tagore used the verse to explain his own view of religion. He argued that the Infinite is not reached through imposed authority or ordinary intellectual knowledge alone. Instead, people realize it by breaking through the narrow self and freeing their will and love. The letter shows a direct exchange between two major thinkers before either received a Nobel Prize.

Rabindranath Tagore was an Indian poet and writer whose collection Gitanjali brought him the 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature. He became the first non-European and first Asian laureate to receive a Nobel Prize in any category. The article also identifies him as the only Indian recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature to date.

Bertrand Russell was an English mathematician and philosopher. He later won the 1950 Nobel Prize in Literature for varied and significant writings that championed humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought. His article on the “Essence of Religion” prompted Tagore to reflect on an Upanishad verse.

They are remembered internationally because their work crossed disciplinary and cultural boundaries. Tagore’s poetry helped make his thought part of Western literature, while Russell’s philosophical and humanitarian writing earned global recognition. Their 1912 correspondence captures this meeting of literary, religious, and philosophical ideas before both became Nobel laureates.

Tagore read Russell’s article on the “Essence of Religion” with great interest. It led him to recall an Upanishad verse describing the Infinite, or Brahman, as something before which words and mind return baffled. The verse also says that knowing Brahman’s joy makes a person free from fear.

The key connection was between intellectual understanding and lived realization. Tagore wrote that knowledge alone cannot apprehend Brahman. A person must instead live the life of the Infinite and avoid being trapped within the limits of the finite self. This creates a deeper joy beyond the ordinary pleasures and pains of selfish life.

Tagore therefore presented religion as direct realization rather than a creed imposed by authority. He said the experience becomes possible when people break through the bonds of the narrow self and set their will and love free. His response turned Russell’s article into a reflection on spiritual freedom, fear, and the limits of ordinary thought.

The Upanishads are a group of ancient Indian philosophical and religious texts. They explore questions about ultimate reality, the self, knowledge, consciousness, and liberation. Their discussions often take the form of teachings and dialogues, moving beyond ritual practice toward reflection on the deepest meaning of existence.

In the article, an Upanishad verse says that words and mind return baffled when they try to reach Brahman. Brahman is explained there as the Infinite. The same verse says that a person who knows Brahman’s joy becomes free from fear. Tagore used this passage to interpret what he found meaningful in Russell’s article.

The Upanishads remain important because they provide foundations for influential Indian philosophical and religious ideas. They shaped discussions of Brahman, the self, knowledge, and spiritual freedom. In Tagore’s letter, they are not presented as a distant historical source. They become a living framework for explaining why true religious understanding involves transforming one’s relationship with the limited self.

Tagore interpreted the Upanishad verse as a claim about transformation, not just belief. Knowing Brahman means realizing the joy of the Infinite. That joy frees a person from fear because the person is no longer confined within the narrow limits of the finite self.

He explained that ordinary pleasures and pains belong to selfish life. When people live only inside that limited identity, their fears remain tied to personal gain, loss, and suffering. By living the life of the Infinite, they reach a greater joy that rises above those limits. Tagore called this joy the positive perception of Brahman.

For Tagore, this freedom cannot be gained through intellectual knowledge alone. It requires breaking through the bonds of the narrow self and setting one’s will and love free. He also insisted that this is not a creed imposed by authority. It is an absolute realization, reached through a lived change in how a person understands selfhood and connection with the Infinite.

Tagore wrote the letter on 13 October 1912. He received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1913, so his award came about one year after the correspondence. The article presents this as a major development in his international recognition.

Russell received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950. From Tagore’s 1912 letter to Russell’s award was 38 years. From Tagore’s 1913 Nobel Prize to Russell’s 1950 Nobel Prize was 37 years. These dates show that the correspondence came well before both men received Nobel recognition.

The timing also highlights the different paths of their public reputations. Tagore’s award followed Gitanjali’s English translation and recognition of his poetic writing. Russell’s later award honoured varied writings that championed humanitarian ideals and freedom of thought. Their letter therefore predates two major literary milestones separated by nearly four decades.

The Nobel Prize in Literature is an international award recognizing important literary achievement. In Tagore’s case, the prize citation praised his profoundly sensitive, fresh, and beautiful verse. It also credited him with making his poetic thought, expressed in his own English words, part of Western literature.

The recognized work was Gitanjali, or Song Offerings, a collection of poems that Tagore translated into English himself. That translation gave readers beyond India direct access to his poetry in English. It helped the collection receive international attention and led to his 1913 Nobel Prize.

Tagore’s achievement was historically significant. He became the first non-European and first Asian laureate to receive a Nobel Prize in any category. The article also says he remains the only Indian recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature to date. His English version of Gitanjali therefore connected Indian poetic thought with readers and literary culture in the West.