The angry Brahminical god has tried to dominate the aboriginal, ambiguous deities. Then came the poet-saints, who transformed worship into an act of deep, silent personal love.
THE line of the title of this piece does not come from an atheist. Akappey Cittar, the Tamil Siddha from around the fifteenth century who wrote it, is marking his distance from orthodoxy by proclaiming ‘pure nothingness’. Not just the Lord, but for him, he himself does not exist, nor does the Self or the preceptor. Much of the world of appearances does not exist either. Only ‘pure void’ exists. But his is a minority voice, overwhelmed and overpowered by a strong binary that Chapter 1343(15) of the Raja Dharma Parva of the Mahabharata proposes.
Without fear of punishment and of violence, says the Mahabharata, neither fame nor prosperity can be attained on this earth. Gods who had killed (Rudra, Skanda, Agni, Varuna, Yama, Surya, Vayu, Kubera, the Vasus, the Maruts, the Sadhyas, the Vishvadevas) have greater respect and veneration than those gods prone to peace, self-control and restraint (Brahma, Dhata, Pushan). Depending on the context, people in India have chosen to portray their gods as angry, violent and punishing; or as benign, compassionate and loving. The story of god/gods in one of the religious traditions in India, then, is the story between two impulses: the retributive and the compassionate. Put differently, the contest is between reassertion of a Sanskritic and Brahminical universe upon forces of marginality, ambiguity, liminality, transformation and non-transcendence. In other words, the avarna, folk, aboriginal and rural battle against a dominant monochromatic view that seeks to impose itself.
This story is from the January 08, 2018 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the January 08, 2018 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Muslim Question
In the time of polarisation politics and othering, how to respond to the banality of hate?
Voters' Cold Wave
Heat wave, voter apathy and cyclic migration are blamed for the poor voter turnout in Bihar. Political parties are clueless about what impact will it have on election results
Occupy Ivy League
Students protesting in American universities are asking the US government to rethink its policy towards Israel
Left Side Story
Personal attacks, lower voter turnout and the BJP’s determined campaigning: how has Kerala voted this time?
Across the Pir Panjals
The newly carved-out constituency of Anantnag-Rajouri is set to witness a very close contest
Gashes in the Red Sand
Residents of the tribal district of Gadchiroli resist development models that destroy the environment
When Taps and Hope Run Dry
Peaking water scarcity and pervasive groundwater contamination have increased migration from many districts of Rajasthan.
Pilgrim's Politics
Two-time MP from Varanasi, Narendra Modi, is sculpting the eternal city in his image
Under The Model Town
Muslim ghettos in Ahmedabad are dilapidated and neglected
The Master Strategist
The Assam chief minister enjoys popularity both as an administrator and a politician despite his relentless anti-Muslim rhetoric