[23] RABINDRANATH TAGORE'S GITANJALI 45: A CRITICAL STUDY OF IMMANENCE, TRANSCENDENCE, AND OMNIPRESENCE

How to Cite the Article: Ritwika Mondal & Arunava Roy (2026). Rabindranath Tagore's Gitanjali 45: A Critical Study of Immanence, Transcendence, and Omnipresence. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research & Reviews, 5(6),289-294. https://doi.org/10.56815/ijmrr.v5i6.2026.289-294

Abstract

In this paper we will analyse a famous poem- "Have you not heard his silent steps? / He comes, comes, ever comes" (Gitanjali-45) by the first NonEuropean Nobel Prize winner Rabindranath Tagore. The poem is a potent structural and thematic microcosm of Tagore’s spiritual philosophy, which rests on the confluence of classical Indian Bhakti (devotional) traditions, Upanishadic monism and Western Romanticism. This study looks at the role of temporal, seasonal, and psychological imagery in Tagore’s negotiation of the delicate dialectic between divine transcendence (the absolute, unapproachable reality) and divine immanence (the deity in the material world). The study shows how Tagore deconstruct linear time into a continuous spiritual present by analysing the rhythmic repetition of the phrase "He comes, comes, ever comes". The paper also looks at the making of nature and the human interior. It shows that natural phenomena like the perfumed pathways of April and the thundering chariots of July are not mere simply decorative backdrops but active externalizations of the soul's shifting devotional landscapes. Finally, the poem’s unique approach to suffering is assessed, in which grief is re-imagined as a familiar touch of the divine. This study argues for a redefinition of the spiritual journey in Gitanjali 45, not as an ascetic detachment from the world, but as an ecstatic, everyday anticipation of a God who is continually arriving, through close textual analysis and historical-contextual mapping.