18.
In 1961, for Tagore’s birth centenary, I wrote a book on him. At that time, a very great Bengali literary figure happened to come to the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. According to Sri Aurobindo, he was one step behind nirvana. This gentleman’s name was Sri Anirvan. ‘Anirvan’ means one who has not yet reached the nirvana stage. He was a very great figure, a sage-savant. He stayed for a few days at my friend’s place. One day I went to see him and I read out my whole book on Tagore to him. Afterwards, Sri Anirvan wrote, “His comments on Rabindranath are penetrating.” Then he said, “I do not like your title,” and he changed the title of the book. He gave the title Rabindranath: The Myriad-Minded.I offer my soulful gratitude to the soul of Sri Anirvan for having written the introduction to my book. It was also most kind of Sri Anirvan to give the title Rabindranath: The Myriad-Minded.39
RTM 120,2. June 7th, 2002. Previously unpublished. It seems that the word ‘myriad-minded’ was first used to describe Tagore by Oxford University in 1940 when it conferred upon him an Honorary Degree. Sir Maurice Gwyer, who gave the oration, said, in part: “Here before you is the myriad-minded poet and writer, the musician famous in his art, the philosopher proven both in word and deed ...” Ref: Krishna Dutta and Andrew Robinson, Rabindranath Tagore: The Myriad-Minded Man, Tauris & Co, London, 2009, p. 353. — Ed.↩
Sri Chinmoy, Rabindranath Tagore: the moon of Bengal’s Heart, Agni Press, 2011
