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Sadhana, the Realisation of Life (LibriVox Reading)

Rabindranath Tagore

A modern volunteer audio reading of Tagore's essay collection Sadhana, which explores Indian philosophy and spirituality.

Sadhana is one of Tagore's own philosophical works, shown here through a modern volunteer reading rather than his own voice.

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LibriVox volunteer reading of Sadhana, the Realisation of Life, by Rabindranath Tagore (modern recording, not the author's voice).

About this source

What it is

Sadhana, the Realisation of Life is a collection of essays by Rabindranath Tagore, originally based on lectures he gave at Harvard University. The essays describe Indian beliefs, philosophy and culture from different points of view. This particular audio file is a LibriVox volunteer reading of the text, recorded in modern times and dedicated to the public domain — it is not Tagore's own voice.

Why it matters

Sadhana shows Tagore as a philosopher as well as a poet, explaining Indian spiritual ideas to a Western audience. His lectures at Harvard reflect his role as a bridge between Indian and Western thought in the early 20th century.

Look closer

  • Why is it important to know that this recording is a modern reading, not Tagore's own voice?
  • What might Tagore have hoped to achieve by lecturing on Indian philosophy at an American university?
  • What questions would you ask about how the ideas in this text were received by Tagore's original Harvard audience?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Rabindranath Tagore on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Title page of the book Gitanjali (Song Offerings) by Rabindranath Tagore, a collection of prose translations made by the author from the original Bengali, with an introduction by W. B. Yeats, published by Macmillan and Co., London, 1913.Book

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Song Offerings

Rabindranath Tagore · 1912

Black and white photograph of Rabindranath Tagore leaving a building, Sigtuna, May 1921.Photograph

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Tagore Leaves the Sigtuna Foundation

Bertil Waldén · May 1921

Title page of Gitanjali (Song Offerings) by Rabindranath Tagore, a collection of prose translations made by the author from the original Bengali, with an introduction by W. B. Yeats. Macmillan and Co., Limited, London, 1913.Book

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Gitanjali

Rabindranath Tagore · 1910

Black and white photograph of Rabindranath Tagore standing with K.B. Westman and M. Björkqvist, Sigtuna, May 1921.Photograph

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Tagore with K.B. Westman and M. Björkqvist

Bertil Waldén · May 1921

Piano sheet music score titled 'Jana Gana Mana' by Rabindranath Tagore, in D minor/F major key with 4/4 time, tempo 96, two staves (treble clef) with dynamics like f, p, ff and a fermata at the end.Document

Primary source

Jana Gana Mana

Rabindranath Tagore · 11 December 1911

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