Collected Works of Nolini Kanta Gupta - Vol. 7

POETRY and mantra are not one and the same thing. I shall try to point out the difference between the two. Poetry can turn into mantra; not only that, poetry must needs be so. The highest form and the most perfect perfection of poetry lie in the mantra. Likewise a mantra can manifest itself in the shape and form of poetry. But that is a thing we hardly meet with.

Let us now focus our attention on something else. When we study the Gita or the Upanishads or the Vedas, the idea never flashes across our mind that we are reading poetry; our consciousness enjoys a delight which surpasses that of poetry. Here is a clear proof. When we speak of genuine poetry, we hardly think of the Veda-Upanishad-Gita. To serve our purpose we immediately resort to the works of Valmiki, Kalidasa and Bhavabhuti. Yet, as a matter of fact, the Gita, the Upanishads and the Vedas can easily stand on the same footing with the greatest poetry. However natural or mundane may be the delight in poetic creation, it can never surpass the poetic greatness of the mantra. Neither the ancient poet Valmiki nor even Homer or Shakespeare are an exception. It is said that "the highest art is to conceal art". The famous poets of to-day cannot so easily conceal themselves in their poetic creation as did the poets of the Veda-Upanishad-Gita. When the Upanishad says,

"This is the highest Refuge, the Refuge supreme,

When one realises it, one shines in the status of the

Brahman",

or when the Gita says,

"Unperturbed in the midst of sorrow,

Undated in the midst of happiness,"

we do not at first or at all discern that we have come across one of the highest pitches of poetry. But this is the type of poetry that we would like to call mantra.

What is poetry? It is delightful speech. There can hardly be any better definition of poetry than this. Admitting this fact I would like to say that the definition of mantra is the Brahman manifested as sound. At both the places we see the glory and greatness of vak (speech). But there is a subtle border-line. On one side vak grows into the mantra, on the" other vak grows into poetry however beautiful and great it may be. The real thing is this: when vak does not assert itself in the least, when it does not hanker after displaying its own skill, remains self-enamoured like a deer with the fragrance of its musk, having no other object than to possess inner delight, then only it amounts to a mantra. When vak abounds in mere words; it simply comes down to the category of poetry.

But it is not that mantra means something solely dealing with spiritual disciplines or religious practices. Even the experiences and realisations of this terrestrial world can reveal themselves through the mantras provided their fundamental truth is the truth of delight.

Take the famous utterance of Shakespeare:

And in this harsh world draw thy breath in pain,

or Dante's:

Lasciate ogni speranza voi ch' entrate,

(Abandon hope, all ye that enter here,)

or Valmiki' s :

Apahrtya sacim bharyam sakyam Indrasya jivitum.

Na ca Ramasya bharyarh mamapaniyasti jivitam.

(Even after stealing Sachi, the consort of Indra, one may

remain alive.

But kidnapping me, the wife of Rama, one cannot

retain one's life.)

In these phrases we observe nothing of so-called spirituality. Here we get the utterance of common men like you and me. But I place them on the same footing with the mantras, or here speech is not the dress or outer garb of an experience, but the realisation of an inner delight, and it has become inseparably one with that inner delight. That is why mantra sublates speech, unveils its inner potency and gives a concrete shape to that reality. Speech does not retain its normal free individuality here it becomes faithful by obedience to the truth beyond speech. There is a type of form that retains its own uniqueness, its own independent value. There the manifestation of the Spirit is secondary, however beautiful and charming it may be; it is based on ignorance or partial lesser knowledge and it is perishable. The beauty of Greek sculpture is of this type. The Greeks wanted to express this lesser beauty and charm of life. But there is another type which surrenders its independent existence and becomes the vehicle and embodiment of Immortality. I believe herein lies the secret of India's sculpture, and the aim of many Indian spiritual disciplines was this Immortality.

Kalidasa is a great poet – he stands in the vanguard of the world's greatest poets. He really deserves this place. Yet he is only a poet and does not seem to be a seer or creator of mantras like the poets of the Upanishads.

What Matthew Arnold said of the poet Wordsworth we all know. In places where Wordsworth's poetry, he says, reaches the acme of perfection one feels as if the poet has

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disappeared: Nature herself has used his pen. I would like to say that the speciality of all the mantras lies in this impersonality. The poet cannot claim to be a seer or creator of mantras so long as there is the stamp of an individual ego in his creation. In such a case he is nothing more than a poet. When the poet is fully conscious of himself as a poet and nothing more, he rarely forgets the excellence of his creation. That is why with a heart full of pride Bhavabhuti could declare:

"Whatever may be their knowledge, my efforts are not for those who look down upon me. I believe I have some equals on earth, and if not I will have some from the womb of future, for time has no end and the earth too is boundless."

From this point of view Milton and Virgil may be looked upon as mere poets. Those who consider Shakespeare, Homer and Valmiki superior to Milton, Virgil and Kalidasa come to such a conclusion from a subtler consideration. One group of poets makes use of vaikhari vak, while the other of pasyanti vak.

Seer as poet and poet as poet are different, because of their difference in speech. Vaikhari vak is the word that stands in its own value and glory, maintains its own separate dignity and greatness, giving free scope to the inherent power of sound, voice and articulation. Hence the inner Being, the true Being of delight, does not always relish even the sweet noise – as Hamlet speaks out: it is all words, words, words – or as Jayadeva declares:

Mukharam adhiram tyaja mañjiram

(Take away your restless garrulous anklets.)

Pasyanti vak is the spontaneous voice, the soundless sound of this inner Being; it is the truth-vision's own lovely streak.

Vaikhari vak is predominant in Bengali poetry. Pasyanti vak is hardly available, rare, nay, it will be no exaggeration to say that it is totally lacking. No doubt, beautiful poetry

has been written in Bengali. It may be said that the creation of beautiful poetry in Bengali has been considerable. But, as a contrast, what about the seer-poets? Rabindranath? Perhaps the power of poetry has reached its acme in Rabindranath. But what about the mantric power in his creation? In spite of having Rabindranath, it may well be asked to what extent we get the true Aryan speech in our varied and rich creation.

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