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.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 08, 2018 من Outlook.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة January 08, 2018 من Outlook.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Dera, Drugs And Despair
Punjab poll pitch is seeing interesting twists and turns this election season
Allure Of Hatefulness Beyond Hate Speech
Polarisation between the Hindus and the Muslims is an unappetising reality, an ugliness that will not go away even after the votes get counted
Shine Off Sonar Bangla
Since the ant displacement movements against the Left Front government in 2006-08, Bengal has seen increased corruption, communalisation of politics and the rise of welfarism
Carnatic Cauldron
For the BJP-led NDA, 400 paar will remain a dream if the South Indian states choose to look the other way
The Young & the Restless
A new crop of young Dalit leaders shine in Uttar Pradesh's political Armament
In The Name Of Ram
For the people of Hazaribagh, famous for its Ram Navamii, life is a tussle between peace, processions and politics
Shell Company?
The power play between the BJP and the BJD in Odisha appears to be an electoral gimmick. Post elections, they may have each other's back
Peak Season in the Pir Panjal
Politicians excel at stirring up emotions at election time, and Kashmiris are torn between responding with cries or slogans
Seeds of Betrayal
Forget about doubling their income, Haryana's farmers are living a life in penury
Capital Contest
Could an alliance of former foes prevent a hat-trick for the BJP in Delhi?