Rabindranath Tagore and psychotherapy

Rabindranath Tagore’s official motto for the university he founded, Visva-Bharati, translates as ‘where the world meets in one nest’. He aimed to create a place where a true meeting of people from all around the world can happen; where different intellectual, artistic, and practical ideas and practices could be brought together; and where people from a wide variety of backgrounds could learn from each other. Through the creation of this institution, as well as through his travels and correspondences, and through his beautiful and accessible way of writing and communicating, Tagore facilitated many fruitful encounters.
This idea of truly coming together has been realised in some areas more than others. In many realms, an openness towards learning from each other is only just beginning. One such area is that of psychotherapy and counselling, which is currently dominated by a Euro-American hegemony. In Indian psychotherapy literature it has often been expressed that, instead of ‘blindly follow[ing] Western models,’ there is a need for developing ‘cultural adaptations and systematic indigenization’. This chapter aims to begin a conversation about Tagore’s potential contribution to psychotherapy and counselling.