The
origin of Indian culture and philosophy marks the beginning of literary
criticism in India .
Indian poetic theory bears evidence to the impact of rich, cultural,
philosophical and religious heritage on Sanskrit literature. The theory of
beauty is not only confined to literary forms of Poetry, Literature and Drama
but is also applicable to other arts like music, dance, painting, and sculpture.
The Hindus first developed the science of music from the beginning of Vedic
Hymns. The Samaveda was
especially meant for music. And the scale with seven notes and three octaves
was known in India
centuries before Greeks had it…
The
new aesthetics that began with the impact of western thought culminates in Sri
Aurobindo’s philosophy of art. Sri Aurobindo bases his philosophy on ancient
Indian thought and experience revivified, regenerated and reshaped in his own
being. He is one of the most significant outstanding thinkers who helped in
recovering the lost tradition in aesthetics. The western concept of Art’s for
Art’s sake is true only up to a certain point in Indian aesthetics. Aesthesis
is not merely confined to reception of poetry and art but it extends to
everything in the world. In Sri Aurobindo’s aesthetics all the dualities of
ugliness, pain and pleasure are within the sphere of aesthetics. It encompasses
heaven as well as earth, evil as well as good, spirit as well as matter. There
can be an aesthetic response in truth also – a joy in the beauty, a love
created by its charm, a rapture in the finding an aesthetic joy in its
expression.
Tantra
focuses on the energy of creation, the Divine Shakti, and its manifestation
through the world of forms. Tantra provides a first basis for a serious
potential significance to life and rebirth. Sri Aurobindo describes the tantric
perspective: “The Tantric solution shows us a supreme superconscient Energy
which casts itself out here into teeming worlds and multitudinous beings and in
its order the soul rises from birth to birth and follows its million forms,
till in a last human series it opens to the consciousness and powers of its own
divinity and returns through them by a rapid illumination to the eternal
superconscience.”
We
can see here the essence of the idea of an evolution of forms, and a
progressive embodiment of ever higher levels of consciousness in these
successively developed forms. We see here a real potential value and meaning to
the life and struggle we experience in the universe. The tantric proposition
thus approaches a solution that can answer all the questions and concerns.
Where
the tantric approach is still incomplete is that it still posits as the
eventual goal the abandonment of life into a supreme superconscience, so that
eventually the significance it attributes to life is ephemeral and temporary in
nature. Sri Aurobindo points out that “We find at last the commencement of a
satisfying synthesis, some justification of existence, a meaningful consequence
in rebirth, a use and a sufficient though only temporary significance for the
great motion of the cosmos.”
The
difficulty remaining is essentially that there is obviously so much
consciousness, energy, effort and organization involved in the manifestation of
the universe that we still cannot find it sufficient as a rationale for all of
this, that the goal remains one of “escape”. As Sri Aurobindo points out: “…the
supreme Energy constructs too long and stupendous a preparation for so brief
and so insufficient a flowering.”
Savitri faces the giant head of Life: A Talk by RY Deshpande at Savitri.in on 6 November 2012
Even
as the hungry wolves and hounds in the dangerous vital world are attacking
Savitri, she is alert enough to recall the savior Name. At once peace comes to
her. A similar situation was encountered by Aswapathy when he entered into the
depths of Night. He dared into Hell’s kingdom with a prayer upon his lips and
the great Name. Savitri with that savior name immediately enters into nameless
peace. However, there is yet a greater danger, of the terrible Life-Force in
the depths of darkness. Here could exist Falsehood and Error leading to
dangerous situations.
Early Women's Writings
in Orissa, 1898-1950: A
Lost Tradition - Sachidanandan
Mohanty (Author) Publication Date: January 6, 2005
Focusing
on the early literary experiences of women in the east Indian state of Orissa,
this volume offers valuable insights into the conditions for these women at a
time when the region witnessed the advent of Brahmo Samaj, the campaign for
widow remarriage, the legal movement for the abolition of untouchability, the
rise of women's education and trade union movements, and the struggle for
national independence.
Trapped in a sieve The verbal attacks on women by self-appointed
guardians of Indian culture show it is open season on ‘modern’ women in a
tradition-entranced society. Sagarika
Ghose writes. HT November
08, 2012
A
fashionable cultural conservatism dominates a land in the throes of the seismic
shocks of liberalisation and westernisation. Elaborately dressed ladies lined
up on karva chauth to view their husbands through sieves and fast for their
eternal health… Tradition has returned with a bang and asking questions about
patriarchal festivals or the glorification of wifehood is seen as
anti-national, anti-tradition, in short a spoilsport in the return-to-roots
party. No wonder increasingly the modern woman is Public Enemy No. 1 and
assertive women in public are vilified as creatures who deserve a public
stoning… Modern women or the idea of the modern woman who is different from the
stereotypical bharatiya nari is on a collision course with an already
patriarchal society like India
in the throes of rediscovering its traditions. While a colourful fiesta of
annual rituals are happy and positive features, yet when they go hand-in-hand
with upholding backward values, they start to become deeply dangerous. Sagarika Ghose is deputy editor, CNN-IBN.
Rewrite the
Purusa-sukta Sagarika Ghose: IE
Apr 15, 2003
Dalit
historian Kancha Ilaiah has a suggestion. Just as the Vatican meets periodically to
modernise catholicism, he says, the shankaracharyas should meet in conclave to
modernise Hinduism. They should not only re-write the Purusa-sukta, but they
should also decree that everyone, every woman, every tribal, every dalit, has
the right to be priest of God and God is not the exclusive preserve of the
brahmin. The event will have tremendous symbolic value, provide a turbine
charge to India ’s
quest for modernity and Bhim Rao will at last be vindicated. The event will
have tremendous symbolic value, provide a turbine charge to India 's quest
for modernity and Bhim Rao will at last be vindicated…
Perhaps
for the renewal of Indian society, to create a spiritual awakening and to
revitalize our culture, indeed to become a social democracy even as we are a
political democracy, we need, as a conscientious public, to re-write the purusa
sukta. Imagine what a thrill such an exercise will send out through our land.
Imagine the amazing symbolic power of such a revision. Imagine the massive
cultural and social renaissance it will create if the shankaracharyas or the
heads of mathas or the mahamandaleswars at Varanasi all decided that for the sake of a
massive spiritual and democratic symbol, they will rewrite this ancient yet
fundamentally unjust hymn. Imagine the power of change. Sagarika Ghose's Blog: Re-write the Purusa-Sukta 9 Feb 2006 – There is a wonderful
work on the Indian caste system called Homo
Hierarchicus by Louis Dumont.
A
festival of music and dance to celebrate the lives and poetic compositions of
women bhaktas and sufis (6th to 18th Century AD) 6, 7, 8, 9 November
2012. Daily 6 p.m to 9 pm ICCR audotorium, Azad Bhavan IP Estate, Behind ITO,
New Delhi. Program 9th Nov
2012:
13.
M.S. Sheela (South Indian classical music)
14. Revathi Ramachandran (Bharatnatyam)
15. Saswati Sen. (Kathak)
16. Anjalee Kaul (14. Revathi Ramachandran (Bharatnatyam)
15. Saswati Sen. (Kathak)
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