The two 20th-century intellectuals had met in person when Tagore visited England earlier in 1912, beginning a cross-cultural philosophical friendship.
BSS
14 October, 2026, 11:05 am
Last modified: 14 October, 2026, 11:20 am
The official social media platforms of the Nobel Prize have shared a rare, 114-year-old handwritten letter exchanged between literature laureates Rabindranath Tagore and Bertrand Russell, highlighting a historic intersection of Eastern philosophy and Western thought.
The Nobel Prize showcased the document with the caption, "Take a look at this 114-year-old correspondence between literature laureates Bertrand Russell and Rabindranath Tagore," drawing widespread global attention to the rare letter preserved in the Bertrand Russell Archives at McMaster University Library in Canada.
The correspondence, written by Tagore on 13 October 1912, reveals that the Indian poet had just finished reading Russell's analytical article titled "The Essence of Religion", published in the "Hibbert Journal."
Tagore wrote to the British philosopher that the piece deeply resonated with him, noting that the discussion reminded him of a sacred verse from the Upanishads — ancient Sanskrit texts that form the foundations of many Hindu traditions.
The two 20th-century intellectuals had met in person when Tagore visited England earlier in 1912, beginning a cross-cultural philosophical friendship.
In the letter, Tagore connects their shared ideas about transcending the ego by transcribing the classical Sanskrit verse, followed by an English translation and commentary on how the "infinite self" overcomes the limitations of the "finite self" to live without fear.
The exchange took place at a major turning point in global literary history. Less than a year after writing the letter, Tagore became the first non-European to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, in 1913, for his poetry. Russell received the same honour 37 years later, in 1950.
Cultural historians and literary archivists view the Nobel Committee's international feature of the letter as a reminder of a period of philosophical exchange, showing how ancient Vedic insights and modern Western thought converged to address universal questions about the human condition.