respondence, too, with Mohandas Karamchand
GANDHI and they were mutual admirers.
As a result of his refined aesthetic sensibili-
ties, his love of nature, and his extensive travels
in Europe, America, the Middle East, and the Far
East, Tagore developed a philosophy of universal
brotherhood and cultural exchange. Above all he
believed in the immanence of the divinity and the
reflection of that divinity in human beings. As a
result he is known and read as a philosopher as
well as a literary figure. Perhaps because of his
openness of spirit, Tagore’s literature and philoso-
phy have found an audience in realms far away
from the quiet beauty of the Bengal of his time of
which he so passionately wrote.
Further reading: Mohit Cakrabarti, The Philosophy of
Education of Rabindranath Tagore: A Critical Evalua-
tion (New Delhi: Atlantic and Distributors, 1988); Jose
Chunkapura, The God of Rabindranath Tagore: A Study
of the Evolution of His Understanding of God (Kolkata:
Visva-Bharati, 2002); Vijay Dharwadkar and A. K.
Ramanujan, eds., Oxford Anthology of Modern Indian
Poetry (New York: Oxford University Press, 1994);
Krishna Dutta and Mary Lago, eds., Selected Short
Stories of Rabindranath Tagore (London: Macmillan,
1991); Kalyan Sen Gupta, The Philosophy of Rabindra-
nath Tagore (Burlington, Vt.: Ashgate, 2005); Uma Das
Gupta, Rabindranath Tagore: A Biography (New Delhi:
Oxford University Press, 2004); Vishvanath Naravane,
An Introduction to Rabindranath Tagore (Delhi: Macmil-
lan Company of India, 1977); Rabindranath Tagore,
Collected Poems and Plays of Rabindranath Tagore (New
York: Macmillan, 1949); ———, Gitanjali (Song Offer-
ings) (London: Macmillan, 1926); ———, The Religions
of Man (London: Unwin Books, 1970).
Taittiriya Upanishad
The Taittiriya Upanishad is an UPANISHAD of the
Black YAJUR VEDA. It is considered one of the old-
est Upanishads. It consists of three sections.
The first section is devoted to teaching; it out-
lines elements of the sacred study of the VEDAS.
The second section is named for its description
of the ANANDA (infinite bliss) of the BRAHMAN
(ultimate reality). While in passing, defining the
terms self and ultimate reality, it introduces the
five SHEATHS that make up a human being. These
are the sheath of food, the sheath of breath, the
sheath of mind, the sheath of understanding, and
the sheath of bliss.
In the final section, named after the teacher
Bhrigu, these five levels of being are fully described:
the sheath of food describes the external body and
the sheath of bliss lies in the core of the heart, as
the ultimate Self or brahman. The Upanishad con-
cludes with a memorable chant, the vision of the
sage who realizes brahman: “I am food; I am food; I
am food. I am the food-eater; I am the food-eater; I
am the food-eater.... Earlier than the gods; at the
navel of immortality... [I see] the golden light!”
The food is the manifest universe. The food-eater
is the transcendent reality. The sage understands
that in SELF-REALIZATION he encompasses all the
manifest and unmanifest world.Further reading: Swami Chinmayananda, Discourses
on Taittiriya Upanishad (Madras: Chinmaya Publication
Trust, 1962); Swami Gambhirananda, trans., Eight Upa-
nishads with the Commentary of Sankaracarya (Calcutta:
advaita Ashrama, 1972–73); Patrick Olivelle, trans.,
The Early Upanishads (New York: Oxford University
Press, 1998); S. Radhakrishnan, The Principal Upa-
nishads (Atlantic Highlands, N.J.: Humanities Press,
1994).tamas See GUNAS.
tanmatra
The tanmatras (subtle elements) are categories in
the SAMKHYA and YOGA list of 24 categories; they
mediate between the five ELEMENTS (panchabhuta)
and the five powers of knowing. The subtle ele-
ments are sound, touch, form, taste, and smell.
Among the elements sound is connected to ethertanmatra 435 J