The Hindu : Buddhism, Bhakti and the VHP

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Tuesday, Dec 24, 2002

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Buddhism, Bhakti and the VHP — II

By Gail Omvedt

Much of the radicalism of the sants of the bhakti movement has been masked by the fact that the history, interpretation and institutionalisation of the movement has been in upper-caste hands.

KABIR, WHO lived in the early 15th century, was himself a "Julaha" — a low-caste indigenous weaver — in contrast to the "Sayyids" and "Pathans" who claimed a noble, foreign origin. He was influenced not only by Islam, but also by Sahajiya Buddhism, and always contrasted his own views with those of both "Hindus" and "Turks" (the word he normally used, rather than "Muslim"). His contemporary, Ravidas, celebrates the way in which people of all castes could win fame and honour as bhaktas (devotees); in Vaudeville's translation, Ravidas describes Namdev, Kabir and himself as follows:

"He who was known as a holy man, who was all devotion,

by birth was nothing but a lowly calico printer!

He whose family observed `Id' and butchered cows,

was revered as a Siddha in the three worlds!

He whose family used to drag dead cattle throughout Varanasi,

is bowed down to by Brahmans and Acharyas..."

The problem with all the sants, especially the Dalits who had much less outlets of their own, is that their records have been kept in the control of the upper castes who had every reason to misinterpret their message. In the case of Ravidas, Dalit tradition itself preserves some sayings that are more radical than most of those carelessly accepted as authentic. Today, an organisation in Vancouver honouring Guru Ravidas is joining with other Dalits in the U.S. to sponsor a major conference in July; such people remember such Ravidas sayings as these:

``Ravidas says don't do puja to Brahmans, who are without merit;

honour instead the feet of Chandalas who are full of merit...

Dependency is evil, the dependent are miserable;

Ravidas considers dependence the lowest of all."

As for Mira, she was a rebel against patriarchal Rajput traditions whose love for Krishna as "mountain-lifter" was her way of escaping from the bondage of marriage. Very few authentic Mira bhajans have been recovered, but an Indian scholar, Parita Mukta, wandered less than a decade ago through villages in Gujarat and Rajasthan, visiting the homes of weavers, Dalits and other sections of the rural poor and recorded the bhajans they sang of Mirabai. These are very different from the "traditional" ones accessible on cassettes, CDs and in films. They not only depict Mira as a rebel finding refuge among the poor, but stress that it was her guru, Ravidas, who gave her strength to resist. In the words of a low-caste woman kirtan-singer, imagining a dialogue:

``Mira found a guru in Rohidas, she bowed at his feet and asked his blessing:

`I have nothing to do with caste or other divisions, let the world do what it will, I offer you my body, soul and mind.'

`I skin animals and dye the skins, my work is to dye.'

`This dyeing is dear to me, dye my soul in it.'

Bai Mira found a guru in Rohidas,

She touched his feet - take me to the other side."

Tukaram came at the end of this long line of bhakti radicals and identified his Varkari movement with all of them, describing people of all castes and communities, but especially Dalits, women and Muslims, as "Vishnu-Das". Rather than the scriptural Vishnu, his "god" was actually Vithoba, the strikingly non-violent indigenous deity of Pandharpur. Tukaram's life-long conflict with religious and political ruling forces is well known. As a Shudra, even one from a fairly well-off farming family, he found that his "caste was low", that "I have no right to learn to write" (Gatha #2766). He was brought up before the village council; his notebooks were thrown into the river to drown the power of his words, and he was in the end murdered, as Sanskrit professor A.H. Salunkhe argues in his Vidrohi Tukaram, reviewing all the various theories about Tukaram's sudden disappearance, and giving convincing, if circumstantial evidence. Tukaram's offence is fairly clear in many of the abhangs or song-poems which have survived. He attacked both kings who "exploited starving people" and "vile Brahmans who are only thieves" (Gatha #267), but most often castigated religious hypocrites, and challenged caste in powerful, biting language. For instance, he wrote comparing Ravidas to Brahmans who put on airs and paraded their "panditry":

"He's a devotionless Brahman, let his face burn.

From what concubine was he born?

Blessed is the mother of the Vaishnava Chamhar;

his lineage and his caste is pure (refrain)

It is not simply what I say -

this is the decision given anciently.

Tuka says, let this greatness burn up in fire,

I don't want to even see these evil men." (Gatha #1319)

"He's not a Brahman who abhors

the touch of a Mahar.

What retribution can he pay?

he won't throw his life away! (refrain)

A Chandala drives him wild,

it's his heart that's defiled.

Tukaram says, his caste's defined

by what fills his mind.'' (#55)

Much of the radicalism of the sants of the bhakti movement has been masked by the fact that the history, interpretation and institutionalisation of the movement has been in upper-caste hands. Temples at which saguna bhaktas worshipped continue to have Brahman priests; in the case of Tukaram's beloved Pandharpur, it was not until after Independence under the leadership of the Gandhian, Sane Guruji, that the temple itself was opened to Dalits — in spite of the fact that Dalits such as Chokhamela were among the greatest sants of the movement.

Even today, the VHP nearly controls the Varkari movement, while the Kabirpanth has been quite highly Sanskritised. Yet, as Dalit and Bahujan consciousness grows throughout the country, this is unlikely to last. Babasaheb Ambedkar himself had used much stronger language about the gods of Hinduism than any book which today upsets the VHP, but when the Shiv Sena demanded in 1988 to ban his "Riddles of Rama and Krishna", edited by Vasant Moon and published by the Government of Maharashtra, they had to confront a powerful resistance. Progressives all over the State rallied to support the publication, with some pointing out that Bal Thackeray's own father had used strong language as a non-Brahman activist in earlier years, and finally when Dalits mobilised a march of lakhs in Mumbai the Shiv Sena simply gave up. Such a mass-based movement is only beginning to develop in States such as Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat.

Still, the consciousness of human rights is growing — and it has Indian origins. Tukaram confronted state-backed priesthood in the 1640s, the same period when Galileo was brought before the Inquisition in Europe and forced to abjure his scientific beliefs; part of Galileo's danger to the Church was because, like the Varkaris, he had written his evidence that the earth moved around the sun, and not vice versa, in Italian, the language of the people. Many social scientists, ranging from historian Richard Barnett to economist Sanjay Subramanian, are now analysing the 15th-17th centuries, the very period of the radical bhakti movement, as the "early modern" era in India. Tukaram, building on the long bhakti and Sufi traditions, can be seen as a forerunner of the modern movement for human rights:

"The slavery of Kaliyug will end,

shattered will be illusion's bonds,

all will have prosperity, power and honour...

Brahman, Ksatriya, Vaishya, Shudra,

and Chandala all have rights (adhikar),

little children, women and men, even prostitutes;

Tuka says, through experience we have broken down the walls,

The devotees take many divine joys.'' (#1142)

(Concluded)

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