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HISTORICAL NOTES

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 88, NO. 7, 10 APRIL 20051187

Einstein and the Indian minds: Tagore, Gandhi and Nehru

Rasoul Sorkhabi

‘[I] have the greatest admiration for Gan-dhi and for the Indian tradition in gen-eral.’

—Albert Einstein, 1950In reading Albert Einstein’s biographies

1–6

,I noticed that he had connections withthree great Indian minds of the earlytwentieth century: Rabindranath Tagore(1861–1941), Mahatma Gandhi (1869–1948) and Jawaharlal Nehru (1889–1964).Of course, Einstein as well as these threeIndian leaders were famous in their life-times, so these connections should not comeas a surprise. But my interest in this topicgrew as I wondered what drew these greatminds together. Einstein was not the typeof person to be attracted to the exotic Eastfor shallow sentimental reasons. This articlechronicles Einstein’s connections withthese three men, and shows how Einsteinsaw some of his ideas and ideals in theIndian mind embodied, to varying degrees,in Tagore, Gandhi and Nehru. Of all Ein-stein’s biographers, Abraham Pais

4,5

haspaid more attention to his Indian connec-tions. While, in writing this historical es-say, I have benefited from Pais’ research, Ihave also added information and ideasusing other sources.This year marks the fiftieth anniversaryof Einstein’s death. This article is offered ashomage to these four intellectual giants,and as a way of remembering some aspectsof their lives and thoughts. However, theimportance of this topic goes beyond thisannual occasion because the first half of thetwentieth century, during which these gen-tlemen lived, was devastated by two worldwars, and as we are in the early years of anew century and as the world is still im-mersed in prejudice and violence, these greatminds are quite relevant to our times and toour generation.

Einstein and ‘Rabbi’ Tagore

Einstein (born in 1879) was eighteen yearsyounger than Tagore. Tagore won the NobelPrize in literature in 1913; Einstein wonthe Nobel Prize in physics in 1922.Einstein used to refer to RabindranathTagore as Rabbi Tagore

. The first time theymet each other was in Germany shortlybefore World War I. In 1912, Tagore visitedEurope. His reminiscences of meeting withEinstein were published much later. Tagoreremarked

:Einstein has often been called a lonely man.Insofar as the realm of the mathematicalvision helps to liberate the mind from thecrowded trivialities of daily, I suppose heis a lonely man. He is what might be calleda transcendental materialism, which reachesthe frontier of metaphysics, where therecan be utter detachment from the entanglingworld of self. To me both science and artare expressions of our spiritual nature, aboveour biological necessities and possessedof an ultimate value

. .Einstein is an excellent interrogator. Wetalked long and earnestly about my ‘religionof man’. He punctuated my thoughts withterse remarks of his own, and by his ques-tions I could measure the trend of his ownthinking.During their discussion, an important dif-ference of opinion between Tagore andEinstein revolved over whether there wastruth in the world independent from humanmind. Tagore argues that ‘the truth of theUniverse is human truth

. when our uni-verse is in harmony with man, the eternal,we know it as truth, we feel it as beauty.’Einstein replies: ‘I agree with regard to thisconception of Beauty, but not with regardto Truth.’ Tagore insists that ‘truth is real-ized through man’. Einstein illustrates hispoint of view: ‘For instance, if nobody is inthis house, yet that table remains where itis.’ To which Tagore replies: ‘Yes, it re-mains outside of the individual mind butnot the universal mind. The table which Iperceive is perceptible only by the samekind of consciousness which I possess.’ Inhis article, Tagore summarizes their discus-sion: ‘I could see that Einstein held fast tothe extra-human aspect of truth. But it isevident to me that, in human reason, factsassume a unity of truth which is only possi-ble to a human mind.’

Einstein continued to believe in extra-human existence of truth and even coinedthe term ‘objective reality’

to highlight hisbelief. The relation of truth to human mindseems to have occupied Einstein for dec-ades. Pais

remembers that in 1950 whileaccompanying Einstein on a walk fromPrinceton University to his home, Einstein‘suddenly stopped, turned to me, and askedme if I really believed that the moon existsonly if I look at it.’ The discussion bet-ween Einstein and Tagore is closely relatedto the ‘anthropic principle’ later developedin physics and cosmology (see ref. 11 fordetailed information) even though it hasescaped the attention of many authors.In 1929, Tagore sent a postcard (dated 22December) to Einstein from India: ‘Mysalutation is to him who knows me imperfectand loves me. My best wishes.’

It is notclear what the occasion was for sending thispostcard; it may have been for new year’sgreetings.The second Einstein–Tagore meetingtook place on 14 July 1930 at Einstein’ssummer house in Caputh near Berlin. Thisdialogue was written down by a friendwho was present, and has been publishedboth in India

and in the USA

. Most of their talks were about music. Einsteinwas not apparently happy with the seconddialogue and wished that it had not beenpublished.On 30 September 1930, Romain Rollandwrote to Einstein asking him for a contri-bution to a book to be presented to Tagoreon the occasion of his 70th birthday thefollowing May. Einstein replied on 10October 1930:I shall be glad to sign your beautiful textand to add a brief contribution. My con-versation with Tagore was rather unsuccess-ful because of difficulties in communicationand should, of course, never have beenpublished. In my contribution, I should liketo give expression to my conviction thatmen who enjoy the reputation of greatintellectual achievement have an obligationto lend moral support to the principle of unconditional refusal of war service

.Interestingly, two days after this letter, amanifesto was released by Einstein, Tagoreand Rolland, appealing against conscriptionand the military training of youth

TheGolden Book of Tagore

came out in 1931,and its preface was signed by Einstein,Gandhi and Rolland. Einstein’s contributionto the book reads:You are aware of the struggle of creaturesthat spring forth out of need and dark de-sires. You seek salvation in quiet contempla-tion and in the workings of beauty.Nursing these you have served mankind

HISTORICAL NOTES

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 88, NO. 7, 10 APRIL 20051188

by a long, fruitful life, spreading a mildspirit, as has been proclaimed by the wisemen of your people

.In May 1931, Tagore sent a postcard, writtenin Bengali and English, to Einstein thankinghim for his tribute: ‘The same sun is newlyborn in new lands, in a ring of endlessdawns

.’ The third (and probably the last)Einstein–Tagore meeting took place on14 December 1930 during Einstein’s one-week visit to New York. No record of thismeeting was ever published. We have thefollowing telegram sent by Einstein aboardship to Tagore: ‘I congratulate you from myheart with your meeting. May it be givento Tagore also on this occasion to work successfully in the service of his ideal tobringing nations together

.’In 1932, when Tagore was visiting Te-hran, an Iranian mathematician asked hisopinion about Einstein. This is what Tagoresaid:In addition to his reputation in mathematicsand science, he is a good and kind manwho has withdrawn himself from the worldand its superficialities. He is devoted tohumanity and peace. He is a sincere sup-porter of peace and has pledged his life tothis cause. In his speeches in America hehas expounded the harm of war and thebenefits of peace. He is indeed a great man.He is in no way fanatic about race, andlooks upon all peoples as equal. Einsteinis the greatest thinker of this age

Einstein and Mahatma Gandhi

Einstein and Gandhi never met each otheralthough they desired to do so. Einstein’sfirst recorded admiration for Gandhi is asearly as July 1929 in an interview withthe

Christian Century

.The only Einstein–Gandhi correspon-dence, which we know of, took place in1931. This letter was sent to Gandhi throughSundaram, an acquaintance of Gandhi,who had visited Berlin, where Einsteinwas then living. At that time, Gandhi wasvisiting London to attend the RoundtableConference on Indian Constitutional Reform.On 27 September 1931, Einstein wrote him:You have shown by all you have done thatwe can achieve the ideal even withoutresorting to violence. We can conquer thosevotaries of violence by the non-violentmethod. Your example will inspire andkeep humanity to put an end to a conflictbased on violence with international helpand cooperation guaranteeing peace of theworld. With this expression of my devotionand admiration I hope to be able to meet youface to face

22,23

.On 10 October 1931, Gandhi replied fromLondon:I was delighted to have your beautiful lettersent through Sundaram. It is a great con-solation for me that the work I am doingfinds favor in your sight. I do indeed wishthat we could meet face to face and thattoo in India at my Ashram

24,25

.Einstein’s admiration of Gandhi was not,however, extended to Gandhi’s ideas oneconomics. In an interview with the

GraphicSurvey

in 1935, Einstein was quoted tohave said:I admire Gandhi greatly but I believe thereare two weaknesses in his program; whilenonresistance is the most intelligent wayto cope with adversity, it can be practicedonly under ideal conditions. It may be fea-sible to practice it in India against theBritish but it could not be used againstthe Nazis in Germany today. Then, Gandhiis mistaken in trying to eliminate or mini-mize machine production in modern civi-lization. It is here to stay and must beaccepted

.As Einstein’s mild criticism of Gandhi’sideas on economics and the limitation of his non-violence movement were basedon Einstein’s own analysis and an honestcommentary on Gandhi, his admiration of Gandhi and the ideas of non-violent waysof solving political problems were equallyhonest and significant. In 1939, Einsteinreceived a letter (dated 12 January) fromS. Radhakrishnan, then a professor of East-ern religions at Oxford and one of Gandhi’sfollowers, requesting him to contribute toa volume of articles planned to be pub-lished on Gandhi’s 70th birthday; Einsteingladly accepted and contributed the follow-ing to the

Birthday Volume Gandhi

(1939):Mahatma Gandhi’s life’s work is uniquein political history. He has devised a quitenew and humane method for fostering thestruggle for liberation of his suppressedpeople and has implemented it with greatestenergy and devotion. The normal influencewhich it has exerted on the consciouslythinking people of the entire civilizedworld might be far more lasting than mayappear in our time of overestimation of brutal methods of force. For only the work of such statesmen is lasting who by exampleand educational action awaken and establishthe moral forces of their people.We may all be happy and grateful thatfate has given us such a shining contempo-rary, an example for coming generations

.For the same occasion, Einstein also madea statement about Gandhi, which was firstpublished in his anthology,

Out of My Later Years

(1950):A leader of his people, unsupported by anyoutward authority: a politician whose suc-cess rests not upon craft nor the masteryof technical devices, but simply on theconvincing power of his personality; a victo-rious fighter who has always scorned theuse of force; a man of wisdom and humility,armed with resolve and inflexible consis-tency, who has devoted all his strength tothe uplifting of his people and the bet-terment of their lot; a man who has con-fronted the brutality of Europe with the

Einstein with Tagore, Germany, 1930 (ref. 5).

HISTORICAL NOTES

CURRENT SCIENCE, VOL. 88, NO. 7, 10 APRIL 20051189

dignity of the simple human beings, andthus at all times risen superior.Generations to come, it may be, willscarce believe that such a one as this everin flesh and blood walked upon this earth

.Gandhi was assassinated on 30 January1948. Three weeks later, a memorial servicewas held for Gandhi in Washington, D.C.,and Einstein wrote the following eulogy:Everyone concerned with a better futurefor humankind must be deeply moved bythe tragic death of Gandhi. He died a vic-tim of his own principle, the principle of nonviolence. He died because, in a time of disorder and general unrest in his country,he refused any personal armed protection.It was his unshakable belief that the useof force is an evil in itself, to be shunnedby those who strive for absolute justice.To this faith he devoted his whole life,and with this faith in his heart and mindhe led a great nation to its liberation. Hedemonstrated that the allegiance of mencan be won, not merely by the cunninggame of political fraud and trickery, butthrough the living example of a morallyexalted way of life.The veneration in which Gandhi has beenheld throughout the world rests on the rec-ognition, for the most part unconscious,that in our age of moral decay he was theonly statesman who represented that higherconcept of human relations in the politicalsphere to which we must aspire with allour powers. We must learn the difficultlesson that the future of mankind willonly be tolerable when our course, in worldaffairs as in all other matters, is based upon justice and law rather than the threat of naked power, as has been true so far

.Toward the end of the same year, on 2November 1948, Einstein sent a message tothe Indian Peace Conference, with theseclosing words: ‘Let us do whatever is withinour power so that all the peoples of theworld may accept Gandhi’s gospel as theirbasic policy before it is too late

.’After Gandhi’s assassination, an artistfrom Calcutta and a physics professor fromAmbala sent letters to Einstein criticizingthe late Gandhi for his negative attitudetoward science and industrialization, andshowing their dismay as how Einstein couldrespect such an irrational person. In replyto the Calcutta-based artist, Einstein wrote:‘There may be some truth in your criticismof Gandhi’s attitude towards technology.I think, however, that his merits with re-spect to the liberation of India and theprinciple of nonviolence are so unique that itseems not justified to search for such asmall weakness in such as great personal-ity.’ And writing to the physics professsor,Einstein responded: ‘

Gandhi’s auto-biography is one of the greatest testi-monies of true human greatness

. . Doyou believe it justified to murder anyonewho has some opinion different fromyours?’ The Ambala professor sent two moreletters calling Gandhi a Hitler and justifyinghis assassination; Einstein obviously did notconsider these letters worthy of replying

.Einstein’s admiration of Gandhi lastedto the end of his life. He had a portrait of Gandhi in his house, which still exists.Einstein praised Gandhi on numerous oc-casions

5,15,23

. On 18 July 1950, during abroadcast by the United Nations under thetitle, ‘The pursuit of peace,’ Einstein said:I believe that Gandhi held the most enlight-ened views of all the political men in ourtime. We should strive to do things in hisspirit; not to use violence in fighting forour cause and to refrain from taking partin anything we believe is evil

.And in 1952, in a letter to the Asian Con-gress for World Federation, held in Hiro-shima on 3–6 November, Einstein wrote:Gandhi, the greatest political genius of ourtime, indicated the path to be taken. He gaveproof of what sacrifice man is capable of once he has discovered the right path.His work in India’s liberation is livingtestimony to the fact that man’s will, sus-tained by an indomitable conviction, ismore powerful than material forces thatseem insurmountable

.Writing in 1947, Frank Philipp recalls thatwhen he visited the House of Friends inLondon, the headquarters of the Quakers,he saw pictures of three men in the secre-tary’s office: Gandhi, Albert Schweitzerand Einstein. ‘I was rather surprised at thiscombination and asked the secretary whatit was that these three persons had in com-mon. Amazed at my ignorance, he informedme: All were pacifists

.In the Einstein Archive at Princeton, Paishas found the following piece by Gandhi,but in German (apparently translated bysomeone), about Zionism. Einstein, a Ger-man Jew who fled to America, supportedthe ideals of Zionism although he was notin favour of violence in Palestine. This noteis undated and it is not clear if it was ad-dressed to Einstein, but its existence inthe Einstein Archive suggests Einstein’sinterest in Gandhi’s assessment of Zionism.The note has been translated into Englishby Pais:The Zionism in its spiritual sense is a nobleaspiration, but the Zionism which aims atthe re-occupation of Palestine by Jewsdoes not appeal to me. I understand theyearning of the Jew to return to the landof his forefathers. He can and should dothat in so far as this return can be achievedwithout English or Jewish bayonets. Inthat case the Jew who goes to Palestinecan live in perfect peace and friendshipwith the Arabs. The real Zionism whichrests in the hearts of the Jews is an aimone should strive and give one’s life.Such a Zionism is the abode of God. Thetrue Jerusalem is a spiritual Jerusalem.And that spiritual Zionism can be real-ized by the Jew in every part of theworld

Einstein and Pundit Nehru

The late Indira Gandhi once remarked that‘My father’s three books –

Glimpses of World History

An Autobiography

and

The Discovery of India

– have been compan-ions through life

’.

Indeed these threebooks, which Nehru wrote in the midst of his struggles for India’s liberation (andoften as letters from prison cells to hisdaughter), have taught many readers (in-cluding this author) about history and India.Nehru was fascinated with modern science;thus he appreciated the significance of Einstein. In

Glimpses of World History

(1934–35), Nehru refers to Einstein andthe theory of relativity, and describes himas ‘the greatest scientist of the day

.’In

The Discovery of India

, Nehru quotesEinstein: ‘In this materialistic age of ours,the serious scientific workers are the onlyprofound religious people.’ Then Nehruadds a footnote that ‘Fifty years ago,Vivekananda regarded modern science asa manifestation of the real religious spirit,for it sought to understand truth by sincereeffort

’.In October 1949, Nehru (then the firstPrime Minister of an independent India)visited the USA. It was probably duringthis trip that Nehru met Einstein and gavehim a copy of

The Discovery of India

.We have the following letter from Ein-stein to Nehru dated 18 February 1950, fromPrinceton, expressing his impressions of Nehru’s book:Dear Mr Nehru,I have read with extreme interest yourmarvelous book

The Discovery of India

.The first half of it is not easy reading fora Westerner. But it gives an understand-