Part 15 - Salient features of the philosophy of Jagannatha

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE PHILOSOPHY OF JAGANNATHA AND THEIR CONTEMPORARY RELEVANCE Dr. G. C. Nayak Jagannatha, to my mind, is the most fascinating contribution of Indian Culture to the world and one of the most significant manifestations of human culture. Jagannatha-consciousness is so all-pervading that it has the capacity to provide nurture to all levels of human existence-rich or poor, learned or ignorant, sinner or virtuous, male or female, well-bred or ill-bred, foreigner or a native. 1 The learned in scripture finds a successful manifestation of the Vedantic 'Brahman' in Jagannatha. In his eyes Jagannatha is that Ultimate Reality about which the Upanisads, the pinnacle of Sruti, tirelessly sing. Jagannatha's origin may have nothing to do with the Vedas and Upanisads. Even Sayanacarya's explicit reference to purusottama in his commentary on Rg Veda may not be regarded as constituting a proof of Jagannatha being a Vedic god and Sricaitanya's reference to Him as one who is sung by the Upanisads may well be viewed as merely an eulogy of a devotee, proving nothing. It may be that the aboriginal Sabara who used to worship this image was simply unaware of any significance whatsoever which is attributed to it in later days. But such information, though useful, is not adequate for the understanding of the phenomenon called Jagannatha. A genetic enquiry is no doubt important, but it is not enough. What is still more important is to note that Jagannatha is a unique event in human history which has displayed an astonishing capacity of accommodating as well as fulfilling the aspirations of varieties of people irrespective of their caste, creed, religion or race. Various antagonistic, and sometimes mutually contradictory, theories have been built and continue to flourish centering round Jagannatha, He being identified at different times with Brahman, Krsna, Rama, Bhairava, Daksinakali, Gajanana, Jina or Buddha according to the needs of the devotees. Jagannatha culture thus comprehends within itself and yet transcends all considerations of caste, creeds, religion or race; it reminds us of the

Upanisadic conception of Brahman as both saguna and nirguna which is neutrally disposed towards contending metaphysical doctrines and religious beliefs. It is true that the mysterious entity which is supposed to be hidden inside the image and is transferred at the time of Navakalevara from the old to the new image is called Prahma and Jagannatha is known as Daru Brahma. And yet this is not all that is there to it. Here there is a strange amalgamation of the sacred and the profane, the philosophical and the secular, the unfamiliar and the familiar, and it partly explains the mysterious attraction this culture has for the mass mind, the laity. Look, for example, at the profuse pourings of abusive words, out of devotion of course, on Jagannatha as Kala Sarpa (the serpent of time) or simply as Jaga. His pomp and grandeur are beyond comparison when you find Him ascending the car during the car festival. He is no doubt an aristocrat par excellence, the king of kings, and yet for whom does He come out of the temple to ascend the car? Certainly not for the fortunate few who are born with silver spoon in their mouth, bur for the unfortunate millions, the down-trodden, the neglected who are otherwise deprived of the normal amenities of life on account of rigid social customs. Moreover, it is quite intriguing to find that Jagannatha undergoes physical suffering as we do. At the time of 'Anavasara' he has to take rest in confinement and live on a prescribed diet, and it is significant that the Daitas attend to Him during this period. Still more astonishing is the fact that the Lord has to transmigrate from one image to another and get reincarnated at the time of Nava Kalevara as is the fate of us all according to the Bhagavadgita. It is for this that inspite of being the ultimate object of worship, Jagannatha is also at the same time one of us a very near and dear one. He is in the words of the Bhagavadgita, "durastham cantike ca tat." None, may he be Dasia Bauri, the poorest of the poor, Balram Das the infatuated or Salabeg the non-Hindu devotee, is alienated from Jagannatha consciousness. Humanism of a unique variety which I would call 'common-ism', is manifested here when the Lord of the lowliest and the down-trodden descends from His throne to appease the hunger of His Jajpuria friend in distress, Bandhu Mohanty. This is how the story runs and the anecdotes are built

up around Jagannatha through out the ages. Jagannatha culture thus presents to humanity what I would regard to be a unique example of common-istic spiritualism. Spiritualism is usually connected with something sacred, holy, and uncommon. But here is a form of spiritualism, which, with all its emphasis on the Holy and the uncommon, is of the common place and is meant for the commoner. As is well known, the lowliest of the low even is not deprived of the Mahaprasad. Being enveloped by Jagannatha consciousnes Mahalaksmi does not mind the humiliations she had to suffer on account of her visit to the cottage of a Candala lady. It is of course another matter that this consciousness has not gone deep enough in to our own life and conduct; it is indeed deplorable that even now the so-called 'untouchables' and people of alien origin are debarred from visiting the Lord inside the temple. The philosophy which is at the back of and pervades this unique culture is however both spiritualistic and commonistic which I would designate as commonistic spiritualism. The gap between theory and practice is not astonishing; what is astonishing here is that the theory has been put to practice at least to an extent which is both visible and tangible, as for example, during Pahandi. This unique ideology needs to be consciously propagated and put to practice at different levels, gradually perhaps but steadily, so that it may enter into the very bone and marrow of the nation which is confronted with disintegration and discord on all hands. The differences in respect of religion, language, caste, creed, colour and customs can not, and for that matter need not, be abolished in favour of an imaginary oneness; the only requirement is that differences should be able to exist side by side without discord. A nation must make room for variety and diversity, and it is all the more true of our nation on whose bosom diverse cultures have flousished at different times leaving their indelible impression. Integration of these diversities to a harinonious whole is a practical necessity. Jagannatha philosophy which comprehends within itself and makes room for both the sacred and the profame, the uncommon and the common, the religious and the secular and is not incompatible with the demands of diverse caste, creed, and ideologies can easily provide a basis for the way the national integration should be worked out. One word of caution here.

Perfect integration or harmony is a myth. Let not anyone be unduly critical of Jagannatha only because it is not comprehensive or harmonious in this mythical sense. It should certainly satisfy us if we are able to achieve what I would call a 'working' integration. In this working sense Jagannatha undoubtedly presents to us the phenomenon of an integrated and comprehensive whole, and it may not be entirely baseless to expect that the nation can be integrated through Jagannatha, provided it is consciously propagated in every nook and corner of the country through different media and also through our educational curriculum. National awards and honours of the highest order need to be bestowed on those who would put this ideology to practice through conscious effort. Otherwise, Jagannatha philosophy, lofty though it may be, is bound to be restricted in its impact, as is the case at present, and the fissiparous tendencies are likely to take the upper hand in a multilingual and multireligious country as ours. The task is Herculean and it needs gigantic efforts on our part in all possible manner with Jagannatha as our model. Let us consider in this connection another Herculean problem that confronts our society even at present in the latter part of the 20 th Century, viz. casteism. That casteism should be a burning issue and hence a subject-matter for discussion even in the latter part of 20 th century is itself a sure indication of the fact that human nature, inspite of so much of talk today about progress and enlightenment, continues to be governed by irrational impulses. It is only one of those practices against which the spirit of humanity should naturally revolt and yet such practices continue to be there on account of deep-rooted prejudices in the mind of man which wap his judgement and paralyse his noble instinct. How else can one account for the problem of apartheid, for example, which stares us in our face even in the so called modern age. Slavery was practised in Greece with the assumplion that Greeks were superior to barbarians, and Sati was prevalent in India being backed by the myth of eternal bliss to be enjoyed by the wife of the deceased only if she takes to the course of self-immolation on the funeral pyre of her husband. Such practices might have been abolished at present more or less, but they point to the overwhel-

ming power of myth on the minds of men belonging to different generations and civilizations. Some myths die a natural course of death with the passage of time or are made inefficacious in a changing society while others continue to hold sway for a long time over the minds even of so called civiliseed people or race, not to speak of primitive minds. The myth that the whites are intrinsically superior to the blacks is very much alive even now among white men, at least some of them, and caste superiority is even now considered to be a matter of great pride for some of the so-called highborn in our society. This leads to recial segregation and conflict on the one hand and caste wars on the other causing a menace to the progress of humanity in general and of societies like ours in particular. Since the issue is not only not a dead one but also has a contemporary relevance, it needs to be examined in its various aspects and implications at some length. Myths are not all of the same type nor are they all entirely baseless. Some myths may have found their inspiration from certain undeniable facts of nature or of human existence although in the long run the course of development of such myths may have taken a vicious turn. One such myth is that of casteisin. It is no doubt true that men are born with different capacities and inclinations and that they are not equal in their initial endowments. Human equality is no less a myth which is quite popular amongst some preachers who do not always sincerely believe what they preach. Differences and distinctive traits of character are undeniable facts of human life. On this factual basis the celebrated varnasrama dharma was conceived in the first place. A mention of four classes is found to have been made through poetic imageries in the Purusa Sukta of Rg Veda; nothing however is said here about the caste being determined by birth. In the Bhagavadgita the fourfold distinction of classes is said to have been based on the individual's characteristics and function (Guna and Karma). The duties assigned to individuals in a society are to be determined by their psycho-somatic constitution, so that each individual may grow to achieve his best, and the society at large may benefit, by the division of labour in accordance with divergent qualities of men. In the Mahabharata we find clear

reference to these qualities being the determinant factors of varna even if there are also instances to the contrary. "He is called a brahmana", says the Mahabharata, "in whom are truth, gifts, abstention from injury to others, compassion, shame, benevolence and penance... If these charactristics are observable in a Sudra, and if they be not found in a brahmana, then such a Sudra is no Sudra, and such a Brahmana is no Brahmana". (12.182. 3-4 & 8) In Sukra's Nitisara there is an explicit mention that "not by birth are the Brahmanas, Ksatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras-separated but by virtues and work." (I. 75-76) The idea is not very much different from that of the Chandogya Upanisad were Satyakama, whose birth is unknown, is declared as a brahmin by his preceptor on account of his steadfast adherence to truth. This ideal for social organisation in which society is viewed as a perfect organism of which different parts are allowed to function in the best of their capacity, however, degenerates very easily into a rigid caste system, promoting mutual hatred amongst different castes and encouraging abominable practices such as untouchability. The birth in a particular caste or subcaste now becomes the determinant of the fate of an individual and he is either tortured or extolled simply on account of his birth in a particular caste for which he is not at all responsible. So long as it remains a fad with some people, the society at large would continue to be a victim of what I would call the scourge of casteism and consequently an all-round progress would simply be a will O' the wisp in such a society. Growth of a particular section of the society at the cost of others, it should be remembered, is not progress; it is a disease, a case of social malignancy which unfortunetely is the fate of our country in spite of plenty of liberating forces of a Gandhi, Buddha or Nanak being at work here at different times. Only a few handful of faddists and dogmatists would be sufficient check to the progress of any society unless they in their turn are deliberately checked by a greater force. The question here for consideration of all concerned is this. Men are endowed with different capacities and aptitudes, no doubt; but how and why should birth in a particular caste be taken to determine their capacities and aptitudes, and consequently also the

direction of their development? If heredity is to be taken into account so also we should not lose sight of variations, and it is simply inhuman to block the free development of a human personality on the basis of his birth. Human beings are not equal in their endowments, it is true, but each human being is entitled to equal opportunity for the development of his personality and it is the duty of the society to provide the individual with such opportunities and get the best out of him in return. Social stratification in that case would of course be inevitable, but one can be made to see that there is no rational justification for allowing the social positions to be immutably fixed by birth. Last it may appear to be more platitude to some, it is worth pointing out in this connection that such platitudes need to be repeated times without number through mass media, for it is not impossible that the innermost recesses of human heart, sometimes clouded by darkest of prejudices, may get illumined after all by a mere so called platitude. It is a problem of human rights and dignity to man. If there is some point in the saying that Reality is socially constructed, as I think there is, then so much, it should be admitted, would depend on our own initiative. No extraterrestrial agency is either available or necessary for solving problem which is man's own creation. Jagannatha culture of Orissa, a common-istic culture par excellence as I would call it, with its unique practices at the time of anavasara and carfestival, and its unprecedented custom of people belonging to different castes including so called untouchables partaking of Mahaprasad from the self-some pot, could give a diffinite direction to the entire society in this regard." While admitting that caste consideration is very much there as usual in Jagannatha-worship it is also astonishing to note how the apparently invincible fort of casteism has crumbled to pieces from time to time under the pressure of what I would regard as the common-istic components of this unique culture. And this precisely is what is encouraging from our standpoint in the present context. It may not be too much therefore to think that a continuous progagation of and further development in the line of this common-istic culture and what I would call the philosophy of

common-istic spiritualism as envisaged in Jagannatha can function as a suitable antitode to many of the evils confronting the contemporary society of ours. To elaborate the point a little further : "Rcinam vaicitryad sjukutilananapathajusam, Ninam eko gamyah tvam asi payasam arnavaiva" (As waters flow to the occan, so also people with different tastes and aptitudes sind in you their ultimate goal), the idea so nicely expressed in these words of Puspadanta in the 'Siva Mahimna' finds its application in Jagannatha in a much more manifest form, though certainly not in a perfect manner, since perfection in this sense is only a myth. This is largely due to its basis in a unique philosophy of commonistic spiritualism with its universal appeal which has also been put to practice from time to time centering round Jagannatha amidst all odds, and what I mean to say is that a cue could be taken from this for our guidance in tackling some of the major contemporary issues like national integration. REFERENCE 1. Cf. "Srutiganasikhagitacarito", Jagannathastaka of Sri Caitanya" (also ascribed to Sankaracarya), 4 th verse. 2. The reference here is to the well-known Vedic mantra, Ado Yad daru plavate sindhoh pare apurusam | Tada rabhasva duhrano tena gaccha parastaram || Rgveda, X, 155, 3. 3. Cf. John Plamenatz, 'The use of Political Theory'. A Quinton (ed) Political Philosophy (Oxford, 1967), where Plamenatz aptly points out in another context, "in primitive societies, men can perhaps do without a systematic philosophy just as they can do without a dogmatic religion. In the eyes of a sophisticated student of a primitive society, the customs and beliefs belonging to it may form a coherent whole; he may see how they fit together to make it the peaceful and contented society which it is. But in the eyes of primitive man, they are not a coherent but a familiar whole; he does not see how they fit together." 4. Cf. Svetasvatara Upanisad, 3, 17: "Sarvendriyagunabhasam sarvendriyavivarjitani, sarvasya prabhum isanani sarvasya saranam brhat", 5. Cf, also the deep common-istic leanings of the culture evident even in the popular literature or Jagannatha apart from the practices, e.g. in Laxmi Purana where Mahalaksmi, inspired by Jagannatha consciousness, delares with a unique sense of dignity; "Muhin Candaluni jebe jeki debi anna. Bhojana kariba tebe kaliya ganina" i.e. "when I, who has been accused of being a Candala lady, would cook and hand over the food to you, then only you can have your meals, O Lord".