『님의 沈默』에 나타난 타고르(R. Tagore)의 사상적 영향 고찰

Abstract

This research is aimed at considering what influence Manhae got from Tagore in ideological aspects and what similarity exists between Manhae’s ‘Nim' and Tagore’s ‘Lord' through comparative research on Tagore’s poems having a great influence on Manhae as a means of interpreting the concept of ‘Nim’ which is a key word of the poem 『Nim-ui Chimmuk』(Silence of My Beloved) by Manhae. A lot of literary person in Korea showed a sentimental response to Tagore’s literature from the 1910s until 1920s, but it was Han, Yong-woon who deeply accepted Tagore’s literature and thought at the same time. Initially, Tagore was introduced as a Buddhist, but it’s not a big problem even if Manhae accepted Tagore as ‘Indian philosopher’, i.e. ‘Buddhist philosopher’ because the Buddhism in India is regarded as a branch of Hinduism and the doctrine of Buddhism is also based on the pith of Indian philosophy–Upanishad. On the one hand, it’s quite natural that Manhae, as a literary person, Buddhist philosopher, and reformer, was favorable to Tagore the world-famous poet who won the Nobel Prize for Literature and also was a thinker of a country under colonial rule as a person from the Buddhist country India. The basis of Tagore’s thought is a Buddhist scripture – Upanishad - in ancient India which underlies the Beomaieryeo(an idea of Brahman and Atman get into oneness free from samsara). Thus, the ‘Nim’ expressed in Tagore’s poems is Brahman-the absolute being as the basis of life and also the object of love and bliss. In addition, man can get back to bliss, love, and life again when Brahman and Atman come into oneness. Likewise, the ‘Nim’ in 『Silence of My Beloved』by Manhae means Tagore-expressed ‘Chu’(Lord) who is a being imbuing a human being with eternal life and love. Manhae is showing a similar attitude toward a view of the world and thinking method of life based on Upanishad and Buddhism while under the influence of Tagore, but he also shows dissimilarities in the perception of reality and its counteracting method. In addition, the ‘Nim’ expressed in his poem『Silence of My Love』 cannot be the ‘Nim’ connoting the same meaning. Nevertheless, the main stream of Tagore’s poems and『Silence of My Beloved』 is to commonly explore the essence of ‘Love’ and ‘Being’ and show the common point that the object of love is a transcendentalist, the absolute being, the only being, i.e. the basis of life.