Decency and Indecency in Art

There is a serious difference of opinion also among artists and litterateurs with regard to decency
and obscenity in art. The conservative among them or the connoisseurs of art and literature are
somewhat like the supporters of the cult of Varnashrama (the Hindu caste system). They think
that a little deviation from the established tradition will tarnish the purity of art or literature.
Excessively worried about matters of caste and outcaste, about the analysis of decency and
vulgarity in art or literature, they lose sight of its main objective. If writing and drawing, chisel
and hammer get themselves entangled in he wranglings of so-called ethics and morality, they
cannot make any contribution to any section of the people. If you open a book to find that it
contains only the tall topics of morality, you will have a headache before you read even five
pages of it. In a movie if only moral ideals are paraded over and over again to the exclusion of
everything else, the public will never appreciate that film. The conclusion of all of this is that the
thought of public welfare alone should be the main criterion of all artistic and literary creation,
and that thought will take form only though artistic joy only then can subtle intellect awaken in
crude minds. So when the artists or litterateurs have to march forward creating such a flow of
delight, they cannot afford to cling to any fastidious notions of so-called purity or impurity, for it
will retard progress. Excessive prudery, like mysophobia (fear of contamination), will obstruct
their path of movement.
These mysophobic, conservative writers will compose poems about seas, mountains and
moonlight will paint literary pictures of the drawing-rooms of the aristocratic Ballygunge elite
but it will offend their pens to write about the endless humiliations, the low standard of living
and the vulgar dirtiness of the neglected, uneducated society of the villages, because these
matters are unpleasant. The abominable life of corrupt women, the obnoxious environment of the
slums, the carnal cravings of antisocial human beasts all these they seek to avoid, because they
are unacceptable by the standards of decency and decorum.
The human mind has many ideas and propensities that are normal and natural. But the
mysophobic artists or litterateurs, with their touch-me-not-or-I-might-lose-my-purity mentality,
want to avoid all these. They think that these propensities, if given place in literature, will
jeopardize society. I cannot support this orthodox, rightist mentality.
Yet those who are leftists in the world of art are even more dangerous. The defect of the rightists
is their inaction, and that of the leftists is their hyper-activity, based on selfishness. It seems as
though they are deliberately seeking out the dark and dirty aspects of life and, like flies, growing
fat on the secretions of societys festering sores. It must be remembered that flies do not heal
sores rather they exacerbate them, because the very pus of these sores provides them with their
vital juice. So the filthy aspects of society are the only wealth on which these artists and
litterateurs subsist.
If art or literature is created revolving around the evil propensities of the human mind, people
will naturally gravitate towards it in large numbers, and the creators of such literature will earn a

great deal of money thereby; indeed, this is the only aim of their artistic creation. Engaged in the
quest of evil, obscenity and vulgarity, they, too, lose sight of the primary goal of art.
In such matters of decency or indecency, the middle path is the best: that is, we must not deviate
from the ideal. At the time of pursuing the path of benevolence we shall not bother as to which of
these decorum or vulgarity, decency or indecency the brush, the pen, the chisel or the
hammer, has become contaminated with during its march ahead. If we do so, we will stray from
our path.
I am not prepared to accept any hard and fast rule that literature must be created centering on
good citizens alone, nor am I inclined to agree to the policy that crude and mean people have to
be presented as low or vile before the readers or spectators. In my opinion whatever artists create
must have the fullest touch of their sympathetic minds. Those who are inferior and neglected,
who are helpless and destitute whom the society considers infernal maggots they are the very
people who are the most unrepresented in the salons of literature. They are mute; and so the
heavy responsibility of expressing the sentiments that are hidden in their tormented minds has to
be borne by the artist alone. The litterateur or the artist, has to take the responsibility of enabling
them to rise up and sit in the same row with the rest of society, after dusting off the dirt from
their bodies.
Mundane and Transcendental Love
Many people complain that a major part of modern literature is full only of the whimperings of
cheap erotic love. I cannot but agree with their complaint. Such allegations can be brought not
only in the sphere of literature but in every sphere of art. After seeing Bombay-made films it
seems as though juvenile society has, indeed, no other job than busying itself with so-called love
as though every college girl of any respectable community is engaged in amorous escapades,
throwing all decency and decorum overboard. In fact, the mentality of those artists and
litterateurs who depict only this type of situation is nothing but impotent.
Whatever be the profound, philosophical implications of the word prema, or love, the true
characteristic of prema is supra-physical beyond the bondage of any limitation. When artists,
absorbed in the essence of love, try to convey it to the people through their language, rhetoric
and subtle suggestions, the sweetness of their artistic genius reaches the apex of expression. But
then this creation of the artist cannot be regarded as popular literature or art, because the subtle
sense which is capable of comprehending that transcendental feeling is, indeed, undeveloped in
most people. We do find at places in the literature of Rabindranath Tagore some semblances of
this pure, supra-physical love, but whenever Rabindranath tried to give expression to it, he
became unintelligible to the mass. The transcendental thoughts and ideas of the sweet, graceful
shlokas of the Upanisads are also incomprehensible to the common people.
This sublime prema or love has established itself for all eternity beyond the limits of time, space
and person. Infinite love is the ultimate ecstatic expression of finite love. This very sense that

artists try to awaken in the popular mind when they devote themselves to the task of
establishing the link between the finite and the infinite, between the mundane and the
transcendental this very awareness though not purely transcendental, verily bears the highest
importance in the realm of art. Through expressions which are comprehensible to ordinary
intelligence, it gradually leads the sweetness of the human mind to a supra-sensible dreamland.
Rabindranaths poem Urvashii is a composition of this type. There is no dearth of physicality
in the poem, nor is it difficult to understand; and yet its crude materiality gradually expands into
a subtlety beyond understanding.
Love that is completely physical is not love at all in terms of philosophy. Therefore philosophy
will not, and perhaps should not, entertain such love at all. But can an artist ignore it? It is in
every great or small incident of life that an ordinary person feels pleasure or pain. Even love
concerned with the body is not something completely cut off from pleasure and pain. How then
can the artist, given to delineating human happiness and sorrow sworn to giving form to the
impact of human grief and pain, hopes and desires neglect this physical love? Regarding this,
no artist or litterateur can dispute the statement of Rabindranath:
Ore kavi sandhya haye ela,
Keshe tomar dhareche ye pak
Base base urdhvapane ceye
Shuntecha ki parakaler dd ak?
Kavi kahe, sandhaya hala batde,
Base achi laye shranta deha
Opare oi pallii hate yadi,
Ajo hatdhat dake amay keha.
Yadi hethay bakul tarucchaye,
Milan ghatde tarun-taruniite
Dutdi ankhir pare dutdi ankhi,
Milite cay duranta samdgiite
Ke tahader maner katha laye
Biinar tare tulbe pratidhavani
Ami yadi bhaver kule base
Parakaler bhala mandai gani.
[O poet! Evening has come
Your hair is streaked with grey
Are you listening to the call of the other world,
As you sit and gaze at the sky?
Ah! Yes, evening has come, replied the poet
And here I sit, with limbs tired and frail
Waiting for a sudden call from yonder village A call that might come even today.

If here under this shady Bakul tree

Two young hearts meet in longing long
And two pairs of eyes seek to merge as one
In the eloquent melody of song
Who will play on the strings of the lyre
Who will echo the secrets of their hearts
If I sit on the shores of the ocean of time
And ponder the virtue and vice of my life?]
Here it must be noted that artists must seek to exhibit before people the simple form of truth,
sweetened with the sweetness of their hearts. But it is a matter of great regret that a class of
modern artists, in the realms of poetry, novels, cinema, drama, etc., employ all their artistic
talents for the sole purpose of kindling peoples crude sensuality, instead of portraying human
propensities with the idealistic outlook of a true artist what to speak of portraying their subtle
human feelings. Without giving indulgence to conservatism, I would say that this class of artists
is truly a blot on society.
Plays and Dramas
Some time ago complaints were frequently heard from the lovers of drama that after the great
poet Girishchandra, accomplished dramatists are no longer in evidence, and that although other
branches of literature have rapidly developed, drama is gradually dying out. Their complaints
cannot be easily dismissed; rather they deserve the attention of the drama-loving populace, the
dramatists and actors, and the well-wishers of society. Why are good dramas not being produced?
Why is there not a good drama in dramatic literature, modelled with the touch of a rare genius
like Rabindranath? Perhaps by good drama the complainants mean box-office dramas, and it is
precisely because most of Rabindranaths dramas are lacking in box-office appeal that they do
not take them into account.
In literary parlance we may divide drama into two categories: first the box-office play, and
secondly, the witty stage play of high literacy excellence, which demands a little extra intellect to
understand which in English literature is called drama. The first, the box-office plays, are a
part of Epochal Literature, and thus it is necessary for the writers of such plays to be wellconversant with the problems of the contemporary era. It is only when it gives just expression to
current problems through songs and dance, uproar and tumult, laughter and tears, joys and
sorrows, that a play becomes a box-office hit. Even slight or sizeable lapses in characterization
and treatment of conflict do not in the least diminish the popular appreciation of this class of
drama. Light-hearted audiences of mediocre intelligence go home happy after laughing, crying
and enjoying songs and dances for sometime: they do not even feel like criticizing or
commenting on the underlying ideas and language of the drama. So the dramatists too have to
wield their pens in accordance with the demand of their patrons, the common people. If they
have any drawbacks or shortcomings of their own as litterateurs or artists, they can easily

disguise them through cheap humour, so that what they have written for the public may justify its
existence by offering them a little jollity.
The form and presentation of most of the films of modern India, particularly those with the
Bombay trade-mark, pertain to this category of drama. There is nothing to ponder or comprehend
about these plays; there is hardly any question of reality or unreality in them either. If there is any
expression of the age in them, well and good; if not, no harm. But as I have already said, a drama
may be considered successful only if it combines excitement with the vivid portrayal of the era.
But for this portrayal of the problems of the age in the drama, it is essential for the dramatist to
have a clear conception of his or her age. Those who have this are, indeed, genuine dramatists; in
such presentation there occurs a wonderful blending of the public demand and the dramatists
talent.
Most of the compositions of Rabindranath do not fall into this category of plays. He was a real
poet and so his dramas, though not neglecting the demand of the age, always sought to remain
outside the purview of that era. Thus his dramas were seldom popular in the theatre, where most
spectators go for a little amusement and not for appreciating the niceties of literature; but they
received the unstinted approbation of the real connoisseurs of art and literature. Those members
of the audience who were unable to properly appreciate the subtle nuances of his dramas on the
stage, could experience an indescribably wonderful joy as readers of those very dramas. This
type of dramatic presentation, which in English is called drama, is called Natdayana in Samdskrta.
The playwrights draw their vitality from this very Natdyayana.
It is noteworthy that some of these dramas written somewhat in the style of box-office plays,
enjoy greater popularity even than the box-office plays; and from this it is evident that although
the common people are fond of riotous hilarities, they have in them a dormant aesthetic sense
which may be aroused through song and dance as well as through the medium of the portrayal of
pleasure and pain, laughter and mirth. Of course, with the increase in the number of educated
people with literary taste, drama, too, is becoming a stage success in many countries. Previously
the theatre owners suffered appreciable loss when Shakespeares dramas were staged. But now
with the increase in the number of literature-lovers. Shakespearean dramas have far surpassed
even the box-office plays in popularity.
Most of the dramatic compositions of the great poet Girishchandra fall into the category of plays,
for he was associated with the professional theatre. He was well aware that dramas, if staged,
would not receive any appreciable reception in the society of his time, and thus he took to
writing plays. He himself was a reputed actor, and so theatre-goers were great admirers of every
character in almost every drama written by him. Yet it must not be forgotten that although he had
to write plays for the sake of his professional career, he had within him a deep aesthetic poetic
genius, and so most of his plays had the touch of drama - the suggestion of supra-sensibility. In
fact, judging Girishchandras compositions with an impartial mind, it must be admitted that he
chose the middle path between drama and plays. As he expressed in his own language:

Alga tare bol otdhena

Td anle chenre komal tar.
[Loose strings no tune impart
But tension tears the tender strings apart.]
I cannot wholly agree with those who say that no good dramas have been produced after the
death of Girishchandra; but then I cannot absolutely disagree with them, either. Rather, I would
say that after Girishchandra we have had quite a number of good dramatists as well as good
actors, but not of the calibre of Girishchandras genius: he was a rare combination of a powerful
actor and a successful dramatist.
Among the modern critics we notice a sizeable difference of opinion regarding the necessity of
song and dance in drama. There is no doubt that background music greatly helps in the creation
of dramatic atmosphere. This background music does not fall exactly in the category of songs
and lyrics: it is just a subtle device to help the mind apprehend the sentiments portrayed; there is
nothing natural or unnatural about it. People go to the theatre knowing that they are going to
watch a dramatic performance, and they feel no difficulty in accepting music as a natural part of
the drama. But I cannot accept that songs must be in dramas. Let there be an abundance of songs
and dances in those plays which are written to elicit cheap applause from the audience, or let
there be absolutely unnatural songs forced into the mouths of the hero and the heroine as
explanations of each event or situation; but while writing dramas one must be extremely careful
in this regard. There are plays in which after a tragic event, such as the death of a dear one, the
bereaved mother or wife starts singing a plaintive song, and that, too, to the accompaniment of
rhythmic musical instruments. Those who do not analyse this objectivity may perhaps be moved
to emotion by such a song of lamentation, but those who are connoisseurs or lovers of literature,
will leave the hall in utter disgust; it is not only unreal, it is absolutely offensive to the taste.
Even heroes and heroines who did not know each other at all before, are seen singing a duet. Did
they rehearse the song beforehand?
Truly speaking, with the exception of musical plays, it is necessary to exercise restraint and good
judgement before introducing songs in other dramatic presentations. We can tolerate the
character Conscience singing a song in a musical play, for Conscience is an allegorical role.
But in the mouths of the hero and heroine any song that is incidental to the story is absolutely
unbecoming and out of place. No matter how richly imbued the song is with thought and
sentiment, it is not at all desirable to use it as an indication of the future of the dramatic plot.
People do sing and dance in the course of their daily lives; such songs and dances do depict their
joys and sorrows, hopes and despair, but they sing and dance in particular circumstances. The
plaintive song is sung long after the mournful event: with the dead body on their laps, they do not
sing sorrowful tunes over it. Upon the receipt of any happy news, people shout or jump for joy,
but they do not start dancing according to accepted rules, with proper posture, gesture and
rhythm. Song and dance may be introduced in a drama to portray peoples daily lives, but one
must be cautious lest they become unnatural to the discriminating readers and spectators.

A drama is concerned with the subtler portion of the mind, and so the songs of dramas have to be
imbued with high thought and sentiment. Just to maintain the purity of classical music, a drama
cannot give indulgence to substandard compositions. The songs in a play are composed in order
to attract the popular mind, and hence there is nothing to be said against them. But one must be
careful that the songs contain no seeds of malevolence in them.
Short Dramas and Mystery Dramas
Today people are extremely pressed for time: they do not have much leisure at their disposal for
reading or witnessing dramas. The indomitable urge to triumph over time has gradually obsessed
the human mind. Hence playwrights and directors, too, are obliged to adjust themselves to the
public demand, adopting the policy of compromise. A play does not have the scope which a
longer drama has to vividly portray life, or effectively represent the conflicts of characters. Yet
more stress is being given today to plays, since for most people the value of time has
considerably increased. It is impossible for a play to accommodate the wider range of a long
drama. That is why almost all the dramatists who are engaged in such efforts fail. In a short play
it is impossible to give expression to a whole life story, and even any fraction of a conflict cannot
be fully dealt with and given full justice. One must be satisfied with presenting only a small
portion of any situation or theory. It is only by combining several playlets together that the
dramatist can properly portray any situation, problem or ideology: several one-act plays joined
together can then mirror the multifarious life of society.
The success of a drama, particularly a mystery drama, depends largely on the creation of
suspense. If the theme is not very complicated, the readers or spectators do not feel any particular
difficulty, even if the suspense is introduced in the very beginning; in that case the process of
appreciation remains undisturbed. But if there are complications in the plot, it is desirable to let
the reader or the audience first form a rough guess about the plot and then introduce suspense,
instead of introducing it at the very beginning, for this will help them to appreciate the suspense
more. Otherwise, if the audience has not even understood the suspenseful plot, the desire for
release from the suspense cannot be intensified; rather people spend their psychic energy more
on pondering over what they do not understand in the complicate plot, instead of being curious
about what is coming next.
In my opinion this applies equally to both screen and stage plays and dramas. The difference
between the two is that the assistance that the author of a screen drama derives from the art
director or the studio-technicians, the author of a stage drama does not. The latter has to arrange
the environment through the media of the dialogues of the different characters.
Short Stories
The range and extent of short stories are exactly the same as those of plays: but here the writer
must know the technique of presenting a long story concisely. Suspense, too, is equally effective
in short stories as in plays: dramatic quality is essential for a writer of those short stories which

come in the category of sketches, for a sketch holds an intermediate position between a story and
a drama. Some critics think that sketches also come within the category of dramas, and I do not
see any reason to contradict their opinion. Actually the most significant difference between a
drama and a story is that the characters of a drama act and talk before the readers or the audience
in living form, whereas in a story or a novel it is the writer who talks either personally or
through his or her mentally created characters. The chief characteristic of a drama be it an
opera, ballet, drama, play, shadow play, etc. is that it includes the self-expression of living
characters.
Whenever literature properly utilizes the opportunities for relating any actual incident or
imaginary event cohesively and adroitly, such a creation is called a long story. In Samd skrta a long
story is called Katha, and a short story is termed Kathanika. The responsibility of the novelist,
however, is a great deal more onerous than that of a story writer, for in novels the systematic
narration of a story is not the sole or primary element: along with it, psychological analysis as
well as the conflicts of characters must also find proper expression. To compose Coastal
Literature around stories is extremely difficult, if not impossible; but in novels it is quite
possible. Novels are a form of fiction, or upanyasa. (It is difficult to find exact equivalents in
Samdskrta for these two words, novel and upanyasa. The word upanyasa, current in languages
like Bengali, Hindi, etc., means to place together, to juxtapose. There is some confusion in the
meaning of the word in Bengali and Hindi. In some Indian languages the word kadambarii is
used for upanyasa; this is probably due to its being related to the Samd skrta book entitled
Kadambarii. The novel form of literature never existed in ancient Indian literature, and thus
there is no Samdskrta term for this word.
Generally it is noticed that human thinking capacity becomes somewhat dull in the wake of a
major catastrophe. This accounts for the present psychic state of the human race, following two
major wars which took place within a short period of time, with various miseries and tribulations
as a result. Humanity is presently unable to think, read or comprehend anything serious. Even
artists and litterateurs who are capable of thinking or expressing serious matters do not feel any
urge to do so, thinking that in this way they will not get any encouragement or patronage from
the public. To say that there are no artists today is an absolute falsehood: there are still some,
though they are lacking in vitality. What is scarce is not artists but patronage and encouragement.
Even if we accept that the real artist does not create art in the hope of receiving encouragement
from anyone, I would say that when artists, propelled by their hearts emotion, or engaged in the
endeavour to lose themselves in the expression of their art, undertake to create something, even
at that time it is necessary to supply them with the necessary provision for the expression of their
vital force. The lack of such provision means that both the artists and their art meet their
premature doom. So instead of blaming the artists, condemning their worthlessness with rude
language, one has to admit this paramount truth that since we ourselves are incapable of
thinking or understanding anything serious, we are actually pushing the truly creative, quality
artists towards destruction.
Poetry

The essence of poetry or poetic literature is its penetrating appeal: here the emotion of the heart
is predominant. That which is narrated in prose, in simple, direct language is expressed in poetry
tinged with the colour of the core of the heart, and with subtle suggestions of the unknown. The
readers are required to understand the dynamic relation between the past and the future through
the feelings of their hearts. That is why poetry is comprehensible not merely by listening or
reading, but by touching the poets heart with ones own.
These days humanity has lost its aesthetic appreciation for poetry as a result of the torments from
the harsh blows of reality. Poetic literature, particular the epic, has become completely obsolete.
And yet when humanity first attempted to determine the relation between the natural and the
supernatural, when the subtle aesthetic sense was awakened in them for the first time, then the
basket of literature was filled with the cowrie-shells of poetry. But today these cowries are
obsolete: they have no value in the market; and poetic literature, too, is in the process of decay.
Few people buy poetry books to read. Yet during the spring of youth, when the ebullience of the
heart is pronounced, adolescents still read poems and try to explain them to others, or recite them
with all the sweetness of their hearts. But with advancing age, when the once sensitive mind,
smitten by the blows and counter-blows of the world, becomes hardened like as over-burnt brick,
charred in the fire of worldly ordeals, then its capacity to appreciate poetry is reduced to nothing.
People come to like only those things that have some relation with reality, and the ebullience of
the emotion of the heart no longer has any appreciable value. Of course there are exceptions, but
generally we find that the poems that elderly people recite are invariably those that they had
memorized during their early youth. The poets, in order to survive this situation, are now tending
towards composing realistic poems. This is not altogether bad, for at least in this way poetic
literature may find the path to longevity.
Lyrics
The poverty of the lyricists is not so marked at present, since the market for songs is still existing
due to cinema, radio, stage and recordings. Although what the lyricists receive as remuneration is
nothing compared to their labour, still their prospects are far better than that of the poets.
Anything serious in lyricism is heading for destruction: all that is left is the showy glitter of
language. The purity of ragas or raginiis (classical melodies) has been lost, and what remains is
merely the glamour of adulterated, non-classical tunes; from the viewpoint of lyrical value,
modern songs are gradually heading towards bankruptcy.
Essays
Similarly, there is no current demand for, or appreciation of, essays with serious themes. People
want light and attractive essays today; thus to satisfy this demand novelists and essayists have
started composing charming compositions in which seriousness has no scope. In lucid language
the essayists tell their stories with some flashes or erudition here and there, dwelling on small or
great themes, from the lowest to the highest. The writers of such narratives or descriptions have
no recognized standard before them, nor is there any constructive endeavour on their part to

create one, either. The writers seem to give more importance to linguistic jugglery, thereby
relegating their main theme to a secondary position. When the contents of a composition aroused
a sense of literary appreciation or manifest the authors sense of responsibility, only such a
composition may be called an ideal essay (rasaracana).
While the more superficial compositions lack the profundity of thought, the authors of serious
compositions must, on the other hand, acquire the flair for narration in a consummate
conversational tone. Many quality novelists lack this ability, and hence they fail as writers of
attractive compositions.
Childrens Literature
There is yet another form of literature gradually gaining importance: childrens literature (shishu
sahitya). Here the sense of responsibility and proficiency of the authors is more important than in
any other branch of literature. In every sentence of juvenile literature there should be a wonderful
attractive power a crystalline simplicity and an open-heartedness without any hesitation. The
author of juvenile literature has to explain through language and thought how life should be lived
with purity and straight forwardness.
The childs mind is filled with fanciful imagery, and so the litterateurs will also have to soar in
the sky of imagination with outstretched wings. However, they cannot afford to give indulgence
to intricacies and complexities in this visionary ascent. The thirst for the distant, and the earnest
zeal to know he unknown that abides in the childs mind must be fulfilled by drawing pictures of
magical lands and relating colourful fairy tales. Real or natural is not so important here.
What is more important is to carry the childs mind along in the current of joy, and in the process
to acquaint the child with the world in an easy and simple manner. The harshness of reality
should not be portrayed: the child will not want to read or listen to it. The prince of the mind
with his wings outspread in the azure sky soars to the kingdom of the old witch beyond the
worlds of the moon and the sun; and, tying his Pegasus to the golden branches of the pearl tree,
proceeds in quest of the sleeping princess in the soundless, serene palace. Being informed of the
whereabouts of the magic wands of life and death, and rousing the princess from her centuriesold sleep, he gathers all the information about the sleeping den of the demons, and seeks to
establish himself in the world like a hero Picture after picture, colour after colour, must
accompany the words: this the childrens minds crave.
For those who are a little older than small children, that is, boys and girls in their early teens,
farces and satires are quite successful. In these the children can find the ideals that are conducive
to the formation of their characters. But for those who are comparatively young, simplicity will
be the guiding principle in whatever is written for them. Giving undue indulgence to the play of
words, flowery language, figures of speech, or long, didactic preaching, will turn juvenile
literature into trash.
Lullabies

A much neglected part of childrens literature is the lullaby, which in most cases, falls under the
category of verse. As a form of literature it also has its own special characteristics. The lullaby
portrays the visionary environments in which all childrens literature has to dwell; but the
unfoldment of scenes in lullabies takes place much more rapidly. Seeing picture after picture in
his or her mental mirror, the child dozes off into the bosom of sleep. So the composer of lullaby
has to be an accomplished painter at heart.
Shanta haye shon re khoka
Bale geche tor dada.
Kine deba duitdi ghora
Kalo ar shada
Sakal belay shada ghoray
Berabe tumi care
Kalo ghoray carbe yakhan
Bela yabe care
[Hush, my child, listen! said your brother tonight
Hell buy you two horses, one black and one white
Youll ride the white in the morning bright
And then ride the black one in the failing light.]
The mind of the child gets lost in the horses, their colours, the time of day and the joy of riding
on horseback, and thus musing over these pictures he or she slowly and gradually falls asleep. It
is important that these lullabys should convey the inspiration for the development of heroism and
knowledge, but there should be no frightening ideas in them. Even if inadvertently any fear
complex is created in the childrens minds, these compositions cannot be regarded as lullaby.
Through these verses a child can easily become acquainted with nature in a way which makes the
world delightful and captivating for them:
Bolta ghumay, bhomra ghumay, ghumay machi
Shiuli phuler gachtdi bale ami jege achi
Khoka bale, shiuli kena jage
Jhare parbe hale bhor
Sei samaye sonar khoka ghumtdi jabe tor.
[Asleep, asleep, all asleep
The wasp, the flea, and the bumble-bee
Awake am I, awake I keep
Says the Shiulii-flower tree.

Child: Why does the Shiulii keep awake?

Mother: For the blossoms will fall at daybreak.
And at that time, my darling, you will awake.]
Indispensable domestic duties may also be taught through the medium of delight, as in such
verses:
Chi chi chi chi ranii randhte shekheni
Shuktonite jhal diyeche ambalete ghi
Jyatdhaimake bale jhole masla doba ki
(Ar) Parmanna rendhebale phan phelba ki
(Edike) Bhojbarite khonj pareche ekhan upay kii.
[Alas, alas, hasnt Rani learned the cooking art
She puts chillis in shukto,(3) ghee in ambal-tart?(4)
Asking Auntie, Shall I put spices in broth?
From the sweet rice porridge, shall I drain off the froth?
While the guests wait for dinner, hungry every one
Now whats to be done, oh whats to be done?]
Often through these rhymes even the weary, long-suffering images of oppressed people may be
vividly expressed, and contrasted with the pomp and glamour of prosperous society. But then
this, too, should be expressed in a light-hearted fashion:
Khukur doba biye ami hatdtdamalar deshe
Tara gai balade case
Hiirey dant ghase.
Ruimach-patdol tader bharebhare ase
(Kintu) Khukuke ante gele
Khukur shvashurii
Pichan phire base.
[Khukhu will be wed in the wondrous land of Hattamala
Where they till their fields with oxen and bulls
And brush their teeth with diamond-powder
Where theres fish and green gourd by the basketful
But going there to fetch Khukhu,
Her mother-in-law scorns her by turning her back.]
Thus these neglected folk-lyrics and lullabies have enormous value in the formation of childrens
character. Enlightened litterateurs should pay attention to this aspect of literature also.
Towards the Transcendental Entity

As the sense of subtle aesthetics was developed in human beings in the course of evolution, a
desire for the creation of art was also awakened in them. The ideal of the artist is be to
established in transcendentality beyond the bounds of the sensory world. So the artists, or more
precisely, the worshippers of fine art, have to be spiritual aspirants if they want to move on the
right path. The cultivation of fine arts is but a mockery on the path of those who have not
developed spiritual sentiment or accepted the spiritual ideal as the goal of life. Only those who
look upon everything of the world in a spiritual spirit can realize in everything the blissful,
transcendental Entity. The greater the realization of this transcendental Entity, the greater the
understanding of ones oneness with Him, and thus the greater the success in the creation of art.
The successful creation of art is absolutely impossible by those who, in spite of their possessing
some creative faculty, do not seek that subtle Entity. Such peoples thought processes go adrift,
like a sailboat with a torn sail. Their mental aberration is reflected through all of their writings,
which ultimately become strange and grotesque.
Besides this, in the individual lives of such artists, there occurs a serious catastrophe. In the battle
between their transitory sense of aesthetics and their lust for material happiness, their strength of
character is torn in this tension between the subtle and the crude. That is why we find that in the
history of the world those who lacked purity or spiritual ideals and spiritual austerity no matter
how great their genius as poets, litterateurs and artists, no matter what reputation they had earned
in their respective fields of art could not command respect and prestige as human beings in
society due to their loose characters. It is due to this lack of firmness of character that the talents
of many good singers, actors, and other kinds of artists have prematurely withered away, before
attaining full development.
As mentioned above, the greater the touch with transcendentality, the greater the success of the
artist, for knowingly or unknowingly the human mind is seeking transcendentality. People yearn
for the unknown: they cannot remain content with the known; thus where there is an endeavour
to create art merely out of the events of daily life, it does not appeal to the intuitional faculty of
the human mind.
Can there be an artist without genius? Is art the result only of sincere endeavour, of hard labour?
Quite a knotty question! I think the answer lies in the inherent spiritual thirst of human beings. In
other words, a genius is born into this world with a powerful innate spiritual hunger, whether he
or she realizes it or not. For those who do not have this spiritual hunger, the effort to become
artists by toilsome labour alone is absolutely useless. But then, if a person who has no creative
genius succeeds in kindling his or her spiritual urge and desire for the infinite, then it will not be
impossible for him or her to develop genius.
Naturalness and Unnaturalness in Art
Another consideration which is often discussed in the question of naturalness in art. According to
many, art should faithfully express itself in the same natural way that, for example, people
normally eat, sleep and talk: otherwise, it is said, that art will be defective. In the field of

dramatic art, greater emphasis is given to this idea of naturalness these days. This has also
affected recitation and other artistic modes, but I cannot fully agree with this idea. Depending
upon the theme and nature of the topic, the introduction of diversity in theatrical expression is
quite natural. To express crude ideas one must resort to crude language, crude gestures, and crude
ways of expression in daily life. These, however, cannot be employed to give expression to
subtle feelings. For this a particular language, a particular diction and a particular gesture will be
necessary, and in such cases it will be easy to appreciate the beauty of dramatic performance as
such that is, on its face value, instead of looking at it as an expression of naturalness.
Actually, the vivid presentation of the artists ideas is of primary importance, and to achieve this
any means necessary should be adopted. We should not be over concerned with the naturalness
or unnaturalness: none of the illustrious actors of the world ever worried over this point, nor do
they do so even today. This dogmatic declaration about the importance of naturalness in art has
not issued from the important personages of the theatrical world, but from petty people with
superficial knowledge. The combination of language and gesture (mudra) that makes dramatic
acting successful must be fully utilized by the actors. To maintain naturalness one must not
render the language confused or incoherent, or the characters gestureless and awkward. In
individual life, in our so-called natural state we seek to express our inner ideas, and often the
communication of these ideas to others is secondary. In dramatic performance, however, this
communication is of primary importance.
Music
The same holds true for music. The totality of song, instrumental play and dance (giita-vadyanrtya) is called samdgiita or music. When a song is composed only to express the laughter and
tears of ordinary life, there is hardly any difficulty in conveying this to the ears and hearts of the
people: the song discharges its responsibility well enough through the medium of ordinary
language and melody. But where the feelings and sensibilities are deep and subtle where one
has to create vibrations in the molecules and atoms of the body, in the chords of the heart there
the music has to follow an extraordinary path: Hence to those who are incapable of ingesting the
subtle feelings of the Science of Music, the alapa or introductory portion of a classical piece, will
be nothing but pralapa or delirious raving.
If music must descend to the ordinary level of life to conform to the slogan of naturalness, then
preeminence will be given to doggerels, as the sweetness and charm of real music becomes
extinct. Indeed, the music that is in vogue in the world today in the name of popular music is
nothing but doggerels of this type, though expressed in a better language. Language, rhythm and
melody are the indispensable parts of a song: one cannot exclude any one of them. (The
difference between song and instrumental music is that songs comprise rhythm, melody and
language, but in instrumental music, rhythm is predominant, melody is subordinate, and
language is absolutely nil.)
Dance and Recitation

Dance is customarily divided into two categories: gestural and rhythmic. Many people are loathe
to accept that gestureless rhythmic dance can be considered dance at all. Judging the
characteristics of dance, it must be admitted that both gestures and rhythm are important
components in dance: the gestures give expression to inner sentiment, and the rhythm gives it
dynamism. If dance is only gestural and devoid of rhythm, it is called pantomime, not dance.
And dance, devoid of gestures is nothing but another form of physical exercise it is not art.
The greatest difference between recitation and acting is that in acting there is both language and
gesture; while recitation (avrtti) consists of only language. Thus in acting there is greater scope
for the expression of refined aesthetic taste than in recitation.
Architecture and Painting
As for architecture, a perfect mastery of the science of engineering along with the knowledge of
art is necessary, and thus there is a wonderful blending of the crude and subtle arts in
architecture. No matter how great is the suggestion of subtle aesthetic sense in architecture, it
never has scope for being unnatural. Yet it is in painting and sculpture, which are considered the
subtlest of all arts, that we find the true expression of the wonderful aesthetic sense of the human
mind. In the calm stillness of a painting or a sculpture, all has to be vividly expressed laughter
and tears, hopes and fears, gestures and language. Indeed, it is the arts of painting and sculpture
that beautifully bridge the gap between the mundane and the supramundane.
As in dramatic acting, so in painting and sculpture the question of naturalness or unnaturalness
arises, and here too the same answer holds true: the mode of expression must be chosen to suit
the sentiment being expressed. In fact to raise the question of naturalness or unnaturalness in
painting is absolutely unfitting. The artist at the time of giving physical expression to his or her
mental image is not bound to reproduce a particular part of the body according to physiological
science. Giving form to thought or idea is what is important: the artist is not a teacher of
physiology. Bringing thought or idea into the world of form is his or her artistic sadhana.
Societys Responsibility towards the Artists
The artists and the litterateurs are the guides of the society, and to keep a watchful eye on their
ease and comfort, to help them preserve their existence, is the sacred duty of the society. And this
sense of duty is all the more necessary where art and literature is practiced as an indispensable
part of social service, not as a profession. People can on no account evade their responsibilities
toward the artist, since art and literature are dedicated solely to service of the people. Where the
state belongs to the people or is run according to their will that is to say, in a democratic state
the government as the representative of the people, should take over this sacred responsibility.
When the government has to face various difficulties due to financial stringency or where the
state due to some particular policy or any other cause is reluctant to give any encouragement to
art, then the people outside the government in the private sector will have to shoulder this
responsibility directly. Taking into consideration the financial conditions of those who are

cultivating the different fields of art today, we find that those who are practicing music are the
most solvent. With cinema, radio and recording, musicians on the whole have ample opportunity
to earn money by displaying their skill in social gatherings and variety entertainments.
Except for a few prominent individuals the condition of the majority of dancers and
instrumentalists is not at all good; it is even worse than that of the singers. Nevertheless dance
and instrumental music are far subtler than the art of vocal music.
Reciters, too, have almost no scope to earn money. So many talented reciters usually stop their
artistic endeavour due to the lack of sufficient encouragement by society.
Many people may perhaps think that these days actors and actresses are riding the crest of
popularity. This may be true of a handful of people, but not of the collectivity. Only those who
have earned their reputation in the cinema or on the professional stage have a good income, and
indeed they do very well; but for those actors of mediocre talent, the scope of earning money is
quite limited. No one is willing to give new actors and actresses a chance. Even if they are given
the opportunity to perform, the amount of wages offered them is not even adequate for their
subsistence. Most directors do not want to take risks with new and young actors and actresses.
Art producers and distributors find it more convenient to increase the sales of their films with old
and seasoned stars. Most of the producers that have experience in the film business are not
knowledgeable about the technique and standard of the art of the film, and so they too do not
come forward to help the new artists. Therefore, on the whole, in all countries of the world the
only hope of new-comers with histrionic talents is the professional stage. Non-professional
theatres in the countries where they do not receive appreciable state aid, are in a decrepit
condition due to their failure to compete with the cinemas. So it has not been possible for them to
accommodate the new artists.
If dramatic art is to develop properly indeed, if it is to be kept alive at all then every country
must adopt a strong policy. The first step of this policy must be to build up fully or partially
government aided theatres in every major village and city, which must be exempt form
amusement taxes. Of course the people should expect that the government will adopt a liberal
policy and award full freedom to the non-official connoisseurs of art in the selection of the
subject matter of the dramas. If the condition is imposed that none of he political groups be
allowed to use dramas as the media of their party propaganda, this will be a welcome measure.
When the number of theatres are increased and dramatic performances are popularized, there will
be a greater demand for dramas. This will certainly encourage the talented authors to write
dramas. It is because dramas do not sell well that powerful authors do not want to write dramas.
If dramas receive proper remuneration, then there will certainly be a change in the authors
outlook. Furthermore, if the number of theatres is increased, the playwrights will no longer have
to depend upon the generosity of a few big theatre magnates; for if the dramas prove their worth
in the theatres, the playwrights will not have to worry about how to sell their dramas.

One more step, in my opinion, that may be taken in order to encourage the dramatists, is to give
them financial help in the form of a daily honorarium for the number of days their dramas run on
the stage, regardless of whether they are professional or non-professional. This will give the
dramatists the opportunity to earn some money whenever their dramas are staged and thereby
keep them free from the cares of subsistence. Then they will be able to apply their minds to
writing more and more new dramas for human society.
Gone are the days of poems and poetry as a commercial proposition. Books of poetry sell even
less than dramas, and it is hard to say how far the slogan Read more poetry will help. But I
think we should expect good results if the custom of presenting books of poems at various social
ceremonies and festivals is introduced. The poets may even get sufficient encouragement if
different books of poetry are selected as textbooks for higher classes, that is, each book by a
single poet. If the compositions of the different poets are compiled in one single book, none of
the poets will reap any financial benefit.
Encouraging Painting and Sculpture
Painting and sculpture, the two subtlest of the arts, are the most deprived of popular
encouragement and sympathy. It may be argued that the sculptors of those countries where
idolatry is prevalent have been able to preserve their art due to popular support, and the problem
of their subsistence is thus beings solved without any government aid. Is this not, some say, the
most significant sign of popular support? I cannot persuade myself, however, that the people of
idolatrous countries are connoisseurs and patrons of sculptural art. There is no doubt that the
people of these idolatrous countries buy images from the image-makers, but they do this under
the inspiration of their religion and not our of love for art. If love of art were their motivation,
then they would certainly not throw those symbols of art into the water after worship. The
situation is different where people buy images of metal, wood or stone to permanently establish a
deity in their homes: but there, too, the buyers intention is not to encourage art. Although they
pay some attention to the beauty and sweetness of the image, they do not give a free hand to the
sculptor in its creation, for the artists always have to work confined within the boundaries of the
religious eulogies to particular gods: they seldom have any opportunity to display their own
conceptual originality. Hence the observation that the people of idolatrous countries patronise art
by buying images is not correct: they only help to preserve a particular class of artists.
In order to encourage the art of image-making, the artists should be given full freedom, or else
their creations will be mere made-to-order, commonplace things. The artists should freely mould
images of human beings, animals, natural objects, and all natural and unnatural events.
Producing newer and newer thoughts and ideas daily, they will go on moulding newer and newer
gods, and the hymns of the gods will evolve centring around the images of their art. Then alone
will art find its justification. The creations of the artist will not remain confined within the four
walls of the temples, but will rather be in close touch with the common people in all spheres of
social life. Statues, deities and other creations will attain a place in every field of social life in

homes, drawing rooms, clubs, schools, parks, and indeed, everywhere. Sculptural art must be
made popular by occasionally holding exhibitions as well.
Regardless of whether the image-makers receive patronage or not for their idols, there is still a
class of people who are getting the opportunity of practising the art of painting. At one time a
number of small groups of painters emerged in different countries. In Bengal for instance, there
was a class of people who took to painting as their community trade: they were known as patuas,
or painters. Of course, while painting gods and goddesses, they had to work according to the
specifications embodied in the sacred hymns, and thus they had very little scope for original
expression. Nevertheless, apart from these divine images, they used to paint many other things as
well, taking full advantage of their freedom and opportunities. The people of the society used to
patronise these patuas in the same way as they did other artisans and professionals. Together with
their purchases from the market, they would also buy one or two pictures painted by these village
artists. But those days are gone now. Today the paintings of these artists have lost their prestige
due to various psychological and economic causes. With the development of the sophisticated
techniques of printing it has become far too easy for people to collect different types of cheap
and showy pictures. This has afforded opportunities to a few reputed artists to earn money and
they, in turn, have no doubt provided opportunities to some other traders to earn money as well;
but in the process they have uprooted the patua community from society.
The lack of proper appreciation is one of the causes of the destruction of this art, if not the chief
cause. The people of India have not at all appreciated the pictures painted by the village artists,
considering them to be most ordinary or even unnatural; instead they buy, at higher prices,
pictures of the same kind or of inferior quality, which are painted by reputed artists of distant
lands. Previously people looked down on the paintings of Jamini Roy as the pictures of Kalighat,
but when a famous gentleman from a faroff country showered unstinted praise upon these very
Kalighat-brand pictures, then the local people deigned to take a little interest in him. Long ago,
Jamini Roy should have received the recognition which he has today. Truly speaking, most
people have constantly ignored the merits and demerits, the speciality and charm of the art of
painting, and that is why it is incumbent on the state or the cultural institutions to keep alive this
art and its artists. Furthermore, they must awaken in the people an artistic outlook; that is, it is
the duty of these very institutions to make people appreciative of art. As artists the names of
Nandalal Bose and Aban Thakur are well established today: yet I think the people would have
taken a much longer period to recognize them, had the recognition of Rabindranath not preceded
them. To buy the original paintings of the artists is often beyond the means of the people and so,
in spite of their love of art, they are generally satisfied with inferior substitutes: in other words,
they decorate their homes with copies. The artists do not usually benefit financially from this,
and indeed very often they suffer losses and not only financially. To remedy this, art galleries
should be maintained in the major clubs and libraries; the original paintings can be lent to the
members in exactly the same way as books are loaned form the libraries. In this way the artists,
especially the new ones, will get great encouragement. The clubs and libraries may even print the
pictures that become particularly popular.

Authors Publishing Cooperatives

When we consider those litterateurs who are the most numerous and the most vocal among the
artists today, we find that their literary practice has generally not been able to solve the problem
of their subsistence. In most cases the sugar of their profit is being gobbled up by the ants of
publishers. We hear everywhere that there is a slump in the book market, and the royalty rates for
new writers is not even discussed in society. If those who are the pioneers of society, who portray
the past in the present and the present for future posterity, who offer suggestions of the picture of
the future to the people of the present if they are forced to starve or half-starve, this will
certainly not be to the credit of human society. It is unthinkable that these creative geniuses
should curse their own fate. In my opinion the litterateurs themselves will have to find the
solution to this problem. They should take up the publication of their books themselves, on a
cooperative bases. It is not possible for the insolvent litterateurs to operate this business
individually, nor is it desirable; for then they might become dominated by a capitalistic,
materialistic mentality. Nor is it desirable to constantly blame the governments without reason;
indeed, if the book publishing business falls in the hands of the government, litterateurs may
suffer more harm than good. The publishing business must be kept completely in the hands of
private organizations, or else literature will cease to be literature and will be transformed into the
bulletins of various parties, as has been, and is, the case in many countries of the world.
The Critics and Patrons
All have the right to criticize artists or their art: the artists who do not like criticism have no
future. But it is also appropriate to say a word or two about the critics. First, their criticisms
should help the artists, not discourage them or belittle them. Secondly, those who criticize others
should also be thoroughly well-versed in art and literature. To pass opinion without having
studied or written anything oneself, after merely going through a few books of criticism, is
nothing but officious meddling and interference. Such critics who lack adequate knowledge
indulge in literary gasconades based on their superficial views, and think that they can get away
with it. Yet such a sham and hollow intellect is to no avail, for it will ultimately be exposed.
Those sincere and discriminating artists who are truly willing to reform themselves, if they are
deluded by such critics, will only become disturbed.
In this connection there is one more important factor: those who could not succeed as authors
themselves even after writing dozens of books, are the very people who are extremely vocal in
criticizing others. In other words, they betray their own long-standing failures through their
criticism. It is futile to expect any help or constructive guidance from this class of so-called
critics. In all spheres of life it must be remembered that if one seeks to display ones authority,
one also has to shoulder the responsibility. We have the right to walk on the streets, and so we
also bear the responsibility of keeping them in good order by forming a municipality. Those who
love art and artists, should criticize them with a sympathetic mind. In such a criticism there may
even be caustic censures of serious and sizeable flaws, yet behind these the sympathetic touch of

the critics heart should be able to be easily understood by any litterateur or artist; then the artist
may easily accept the critic as his or her own. Indeed, today we need this type of critic.
These days the Goddess of Learning (Sahitwa Sarasvatii) is mortgaged to the Goddess of Wealth
(Laksmii), for the value of the Goddess of Learning now depends upon the favour of the Goddess
of Wealth. Whatever the quality of writing, if the publisher is well-established, the book will sell
well in the market due to effective advertisement techniques. Thus the indigent litterateur
undergoes humiliation by cringing at the doors of the reputed publishers; and the publishers are
quick to exploit this situation in their favour. Due to publicity stunts and propaganda, it has
become impossible for the common people to know which book is good and which is not. There
is a flagrant dearth of developed critical literature or critical magazines in every country of the
world. Books sell in the market on the strength of publicity alone, or due to their ability to excite
the lower human propensities, or due to their gross catering to the crude entertainment of the
common mass. That is why we find that the books published by the authors themselves,
regardless of how good they are, do not sell well in the market. On the other hand, books which
excite peoples sexuality, whatever might be their content or language, sell extremely well. Every
reader knows that books like Sasadhar Dutts Mohan Series or Dinen Roys Rahasya Laharii
sold much better than any of the quality books of Bengali literature. Thus sales are no criterion to
judge the superiority of any book. It is therefore a great problem for the readers, the purchasers,
and the library directors, to select books, and there is no solution to this problem as long as
critical literature and critical reviews of high quality are not available.
Caught in the eddies of commercial and party cliques, litterateurs have to face yet another
disadvantage. Literary criticism, whether right or wrong, (though in my opinion every criticism
(samalocana) should be healthy criticism (samalocana)) must always be constructive, and also
acquaint the readers with the writer. But where literature is not given proper recognition for any
particular reason, where the writer is kept remote from the readers without any introductory
review, the situation is very difficult for the writer. It is to avoid this situation that todays writers
have started knocking at the doors of the reputed publishers. This is certainly not a healthy sign
for the world of literature.
Taking advantages of their indigence, powerful persons have exploited the litterateurs in various
ways and this has taken place from very ancient times. In those days even the kings and
emperors nurtured court poets, giving them gifts of tax free properties, and in exchange they
bought their souls. The talented litterateurs or artists frequently had to do uncongenial jobs under
circumstantial pressure for the amusement of their patrons. To satisfy the whims of their
licentious patrons they had to compose obscene poems and model obscene statues and images.
To make their patrons enemies look contemptible, they had to besmirch their names with
scandals and calumnies. To extol the dress, colour, family, caste, class, and ancestry of their
patrons they had to resort to lies and fraud, and cite the relevations of the gods in support. The
same condition has continued even today. With a very few exceptions, most of the litterateurs
belong to the lower stratum of society. In spite of their desire to work independently, most of
them have pawned themselves, from the grey matters of their brains to the very tips of their

fingers to particular people and organizations. Even those who appear from their writings to be
bold and spirited, have under circumstantial pressure become the play-things of the political
parties.
In contrast with the olden days, the different states of the world have allotted quite a lot of
awards for the litterateurs these days. But that is where the danger lies. Any government
whether monarchical, republican or autocratic is run according to a particular ideology, and so
there is little chance for the government to suddenly become impartial while bestowing awards
on the litterateurs. Naturally it will judge the merits and demerits of the litterateurs through the
bias of its own party, and consequently the litterateurs will be compelled to sacrifice their ideals
to serve their bellies. These observations are largely applicable to different types of governments,
but especially to democratic states, for in democratic states ideological clashes are more in
evidence, and hence the necessity of the propagation of ideologies is also more acute. That is
why the democratic states want to use the litterateurs as their tools of propaganda. Needless to
say, such made-to-order writings cannot be called literature at all: political writings can never be
called literature.
If a government sincerely wishes to give encouragement to good and honest litterateurs, then it
should form a board of non-political educators to give awards. This task could also be performed
by the universities for, on the whole, universities still maintain their non-political nature.
Nevertheless, the appointment of a non-political board is preferable, for these days there is an
increasing tendency among the universities to flatter the political leaders in the hope of getting an
increased government subsidy or grant. By liberally awarding Doctorate degrees to ministers and
their deputies, regardless of whether they are deserving or not, the impartiality of the universities
is being gradually eroded.
There are some critics who become extremely upset when litterateurs attach themselves to a
particular literary group: they say that since literature is for all, why should a litterateur be
attached to any particular group? I, however, hold a different view. The ideal of literature is to
promote the welfare of all but the process of this endeavour for collective welfare cannot
necessarily be the same for all. What is there to grumble about if those litterateurs whose mode
of service is similar, chose to move together in a unified group? Those who object to the
formation of literary groups and societies under the name of Anti-so-and-so lack tolerance as
well as civic sense. Litterateurs may also form Pro-so-and-so groups, and no one should object
to it.
Acquiring Proper Knowledge
The greatest obstacle in the collective progress of the human race is the ignorance of the
individual mind. Knowledge is for all it should be open and free like the light and air of the
sky. It is undeniable that the most powerful medium for the dissemination of knowledge is a
good book. That the value of an object is assessed in the field of application is undoubtedly true.
And so the greatest means of assessing the value of knowledge is its successful application in the

practical field. We cannot accept sterile knowledge as true knowledge either it is self-delirium
or luxury. Even recognized knowledge loses its value, if after being acquired it is stowed away
like packed sacks in the corner of the mind. Of course, if anyone lacks the language to express
their feelings or the knowledge that they have acquired through study, then I have no complaint
against them. Yet I would say that an artist should try to convey whatever they know to the hearts
of the people in an easily understandable manner. Anyone who does not do this is, in my opinion,
not properly conscious of his or her social responsibility. Of course, it is quite a different matter
if a person suffers some sort of inconvenience or disadvantage in this regard. Those who prove
their sense of social duty by placing their feelings properly before people are indeed artists, are
truly distinguished litterateurs.
The sole cause of the internal weakness of human society is its ignorance. The superlative
intuition (Sambodhi) that removes this ignorance is nothing but the thought of the Cosmic Mind
(Bhumamanasa). Art or literature is one of those sources from which common people get the
opportunity to become established in the Cosmic Mind. If the mind of one fails to know the
minds of others, if the minds of many are not comprehended by the mind of one, then how is the
establishment of unity possible? The endeavour (sadhana) of the artist or the litterateur has been
continuing through the ages, and its aim is to see One among many, and to lead the many to the
path of One. In this effort there is no imposition, no injunction of the Law, nor the imperious
pressure of any administration, only a sweet and cooperative relation. Though separated by many
countries, many states, many religions, many communities and many languages, the human race
is an indivisible entity. Every human mind is but the diversified individual manifestation of that
same indivisible Cosmic Mind. Today we look forward to the advent of that artist, that litterateur
who will convey this truth to the hearts of humanity in a still sweeter language, still more
strongly and deeply.
The human race is moving at an irresistible speed. Today, humanity wants to forget those who
have written their works centring around various kinds of fissiparous discriminations. Human
beings want to channelize their whole range of vision towards the bright future a future which
will transcend all individual or group interests, all territorial limits of countries and states, and
transform the fates of many people into one destiny. Human beings no longer want to rely on socalled providential favour.
Individual heroism is about to lose its vibrant spirit. Nowadays people have learned that if the
thrill of victory is due to anyone, it certainly belongs to humanity. About seven hundred years
ago the Asian poet Candd iidasa, from an obscure corner of Bengal, sang about the same great
possibility:
Shuna he manus bhai
Sabar upare manus satya
Tahar upare nai.

[Oh human beings, my brothers and sisters,

Humanity is the highest truth,
There is nothing beyond it.]
Today not even the Pacific Ocean between Asia and America is difficult to cross. The people of
Asia and America are touching each others minds and have learned to accept each other
sympathetically as their own. Europe, Africa, Australia, Mercury, Jupiter, the stars, the comets,
the constellations none of them is alien to the other, none is distant from another. Gradually
everyone has begun to realize the vibration of the One Integral Mind. It is my firm conviction
that the future of humanity is not dark. Every human beings will attain that inextinguishable
flame that is forever alight beyond the veil of the darkness of the present and attain it they
must. Those who will carry the message of that effulgent light will be forever revered by all
humanity. I see the potentiality of those memorable and venerable people in the litterateurs and
artists, and that is why I hold them in great regard. The American poet, Carl Sandburg, has said,
There is only one man in the world
and his name is All Men.
There is only one woman in the world
and her name is All Women.
There is only one child in the world
and the childs name is All Children.(5)
In exactly the same strain, perhaps with a sweeter language, the same idea has been expressed by
the Asian poet Satyendranath:
Jagat juriya ek jati ache
Se jatir nam manusjati
Eki prthiviir stanye palita
Eki ravi-shashii moder sathii.
Shiitatapa ksudha-trsnar jvala
Sabai amra saman bujhi
Kachi-kancha guli dd ato kare tuli
Banchibar tare saman yujhi.
Dosar khunji o basar bandhi go
Jale dd ubi, banci paile dd auna.
Kalo ar dhalo bahire keval
Bhitare sabai saman rauna
Bahirer chop ancare se lop
Bhitarer raun palake photde.

Bamum-shudra brhat ksudra

Krtrim bhed dhulay lote
Rage anurage nidrita jage
Asal mdanus prakatd hay
Varne varne nahika vishes
Nikhil bhuvan branamaya.
[There is only one race in the world,
And that is the human race,
Nourished with the milk of the same Mother Earth,
Dwelling within the same compass of the sun and the moon
The same heat and cold, the hunger and thirst,
We all equally feel,
Together we raise the tender green plants and make them strong
We all struggle to preserve our lives,
We seek friends and comrades, and build happy homes,
We all drown in water, we all thrive on land.
Black and white are merely external hues
Internally the blood of all is red
By penetrating below the surface,
The true inner nature is instantly revealed.
The Brahmin and the outcaste, the great and the small,
Are all artificial distinctions that ultimately crumble to dust.
When love awakens in sleeping souls,
Then true human beings will emerge.
There is no difference between one colour, one race and another For the entire universe is pervaded by One Infinite
Consciousness.]
Human beings of today, in chorus with Candd idasa, Sandburg, and Satyendranath, will move
together shoulder to shoulder towards an exalted humanity, towards the highest fulfillment of
their individual lives.
Nivir aekye jay mishe jay
Sakal bhagya sav hrday
Manuse manuse Naiko prabhed
Nikhil manav brahmamay.
[In inseparable unity all faiths and hearts will merge,
For there is no distinction among human beings the whole humanity is an expression of the
Supreme One.]
1966

Footnotes
(1) A collection of poems in praise of deities. Trans.
(2) The poet who composed the ancient epic Ramayana. Trans.
(3) A vegetable dish, not meant to be very hot or spicy. Trans.
(4) A sour sauce-like dish which never contains ghee or clarified butter. Trans.
(5) Timesweep, in Honey and Salt, 1963. Trans.
Published in:
A Few Problems Solved Part 1
Discourses on Neohumanist Education [a compilation]
Prout in a Nutshell Part 10 [a compilation]
The Great Universe: Discourses on Society [a compilation]
Universal Humanism [a compilation]
Chapter 2

A Few Problems Solved Part 1

Tantra and Indo-Aryan Civilization

Published in:
A Few Problems Solved Part 1
Discourses on Tantra Volume One [a compilation]
Notes:
Prior to the publication of A Few Problems Solved Part 1 in 1987, there was an English book
entitled Abhimata [Opinion] which comprised of the two articles in what is now A Few Problems
Solved Part 1, plus Synthesis and Analysis and Dialectical Materialism and Democracy the
first two articles in what is now A Few Problems Solved Part 2.
Words in double square brackets [[ ]] are corrections which did not appear in the printed version.

Tantra and Indo-Aryan Civilization

The Aryans were not the original inhabitants of the present India. When the Aryans entered India
through the Northwest Frontier Province, they contemptuously called the indigenous population
whom they defeated in battle, Anaryas [Non-Aryans]. The appellation Anaryas did not
apply to any group in particular, but rather to all the then inhabitants of India in general: the
Mongolians, the Austrics and the Dravidians (a mixture of Austric and Negro). My discourse
today will give a brief overview of the transformation that occurred in the civilizations of these
peoples after the arrival of the Aryans, and of the effect that the Aryan migration had on the

Aryans themselves. I will try to concentrate particularly upon the influence of Tantra on the
Aryans.
The original home of the Aryans was in the northern part of Central Asia. By descent they were a
fair, tall and healthy race. They were people of nomadic nature whose main means of subsistence
was hunting. When, however, it became impossible for them to procure enough food by hunting,
they started rearing cattle. But the merciless nature of Central Asia made their lives unbearable:
snowstorms diminished the numbers both of their people and of their animals, and there was a
chronic shortage of animal fodder. Just to survive, they had to spend almost all their time
collecting food. Not only did this acute food shortage force them to make unending efforts as a
group to collect food and rear cattle, it also led to perpetual inter-group skirmishes and even
slaughter.
The constant fighting during this period, this ksatriya-dominated era, led to the eventual
emergence of a class of intellectuals who greatly assisted the ksatriya-dominated society. They
provided the ksatriya leaders with new inventions and discoveries, and satisfied their mental
hunger by sharing their knowledge and wisdom. In the language of the day, these intellectuals
were called rsis. The group leaders bowed their heads in reverence before these mighty
intellectuals and followed the precepts framed by them. The society used to call their ideology
Arsa Dharma [Religion of the Sages].
There can be no doubt that these rsis were wiser and more intelligent than the people of the time.
But as script had not yet been invented, there was no means to keep a record of the wise
discourses given by the rsis. The rsis disciples had no choice but to learn the rsis discourses by
heart as they were being spoken. Since the discourses were memorized upon being heard, they
were called shruti [literally, ear].
The level of intelligence of the Aryan mass at that time was so low that it hardly merits any
mention. Actually, they were unable to understand these profound discourses, and as a
consequence called them veda, meaning knowledge. They believed that the innovative rsis and
intellectual munis were not men of ordinary stuff, but superior beings who heard the words of
wisdom directly from the mouths of the gods. They also called them drastda [seers], as they saw
with their own eyes the supernatural phenomena that they talked about, and uttered with their
own mouths the benign incantations and mantras which produced those phenomena. Thus, every
composer of the Vedic mantras was called a seer, and not a writer or composer. Generally, people
believed that the composers of the Vedas were not men but veritable gods.
Even though the Vedas were considered as the creations of God and as such infallible, theism or
spirituality was not fully awakened among the Aryans of that time. They only sang hymns and
eulogies to appease the different natural forces.
In that age of undeveloped science they thought that smoke and the clouds in the sky were the
same thing. That was why they burned ghee in sacrificial fires: they wanted to make smoke out

of it to propitiate the different gods. They believed that the smoke would soar into the sky and
turn into clouds; that rain would pour down from the clouds and nourish the earth causing an
abundance of trees, plants and grass to sprout forth; and that their domestic animals, strengthened
by the fresh grass, would multiply. That was why yaji nas [sacrifices] were very common among
the different groups and tribes. Those simple people believed that some gods would be
propitiated by ghee, some by wine, and some by animal blood.
Human nature is such that one thinks that what is dear to oneself must be dear to everybody. So
the ghee-, meat- and wine-loving Aryans thought that such food items would be liked by the gods
also. Thus, after each inter-clan war, the chief of the conquering clan would offer that clans
favourite food to the gods, either in Ashvamedha Yajina [Horse Sacrifice] or in Gomedha Yaji na
[Cow Sacrifice] or in Rajasuya Yajina [sacrifice performed by a sovereign ruler], etc.
Each of the gods and goddesses of the polytheistic Aryans had his or her individual nature,
characteristics and vahana [mount]. Although they were polytheists and nature-worshippers, they
did not worship idols, not because they understood the philosophical defects of idol-worship, but
because they lacked the refined artistic sense necessary to make the idols.
All their gods and goddesses were laokik figures [creations of the people]. They arose out of the
peoples worldly needs. Hence the storm, the thunder, the lightning, the rain, the sun, and the
moon were all their gods. In that era of undeveloped science what they feared most was the
darkness of night, so they not only regarded the night and the evening as their gods, they actually
revered them as well. In their fear, they would try to escape from the darkness by making fire
with flint. They would never dare to displease the night and the evening, so whenever they made
a fire they would first make obeisance to the evening with the fire before doing anything else. At
nights end, when the eastern horizon glowed red, the Aryans would sing the song of the dawn in
unison. Aruna, the mythological charioteer of the suns seven-horsed chariot (the seven horses
corresponding to the seven distinct colours of the suns rays), was also their god, as, indeed, was
the sun itself.
Some of the rsis understood, however, in a vague way if not in a clear way, the truth that there
was a Supreme Entity above these gods, a Supreme Controller the fundamental power of all
their powers. This God of gods was the rsis Brahma. The common people were not familiar with
the word Brahma.
The kings or chieftains staged sacrifices with great pomp and ostentation to appease the gods.
The common people used these occasions for boisterous revelry. Since they lived in cold
countries, of course, wine and meat were not particularly harmful to them. They would often
entertain their guests with meat-cakes and wine. The children were given honey instead of wine.
In the Aryan language of that time, wine was often called honey.
The oldest portion of the Vedas, that is, the Rgveda, was composed outside India. The remaining
portions, that is, the Yajurveda and Atharvaveda, were partly Indian and partly non-Indian.

Samaveda is not a separate Veda by itself but is the compilation of the lyrical and musical
portions of the different Vedas. So only the Rgveda can be regarded as an ancient relic of the
non-Indian Aryan civilization. The Yajurveda was composed in Iran, Afghanistan, northwest
India and certain parts of what is modern Russia, so it cannot be called entirely non-Indian,
particularly since the then Afghanistan (Gandhar) and certain parts of Russia were regarded as
part of India at that time.
The original Rgvedic civilization belonged, in spirit and language, to the non-Indian Aryans. But
the Yajurveda was composed by a particular branch of the Vedic Aryans who, when the Aryans
later began to spread out in search of food (especially wheat), migrated to India via Iran
(Aryanya Vraja) and Afghanistan. When we say Indo-Aryan civilization, we basically mean
the civilization of these people.
These nomadic Aryans, on coming in contact with the different groups of people of Iran,
Afghanistan and northwest India, took up farming and developed the techniques of strategic
warfare. The impact of this new thought bred in them, to some extent, a refined intelligence.
In the beginning, during the Rgvedic era, the cattle-rearing Aryans were only acquainted with
barley and a few other crops. After they came to the present Iran they learned to cultivate wheat
and, to some extent, rice. The more they progressed on their march, the more they came to
realize the importance of growing different crops. Still, their staple was generally barley.
They learned wheat cultivation from the Asuras, the primitive natives of Iran. Though they
became acquainted with paddy, or briihi (briihi riihi rihi risi rice, as in modern
English), they did not cultivate it extensively. They learned the use of boiled rice in India.
The Yajurvedic era saw the all-round development of these people, and the resultant development
of the Brahmavada of the Yajurveda the doctrine of monotheism. During this era not only was
there a noticeable intellectual development among the general mass of the Aryans; among the
munis [intellectuals or seers] and the rsis, philosophy and spirituality also attained a brilliant
height of expression. The Brahmavada of the Yajurveda was a lot deeper and clearer than that of
the Rgveda.
The Atharvaveda was initially composed in India. During the composition of this Veda the
Aryans came in close contact with the non-Aryans, resulting in an exchange of thought between
the two. The Tantra of the non-Aryans had a marked influence on the Atharvaveda.
Being non-Aryan, the Atharvaveda cannot be regarded as a representation of Aryan civilization.
In the subtle philosophy of the Atharvaveda, particularly of the Nrsimd ha Tapaniiya Shruti, there
is a far greater influence of the non-Aryan Tantra than of the Aryan Veda.
The migrating Aryans first settled in the hilly valleys of northern India. Although there was not
much intermixture of blood between the Aryans and the inhabitants of this area, the Aryans were

greatly influenced by non-Aryan culture. The Aryans settled down in this area, which was known
as Kash (or Khash) after defeating its ancient non-Aryan inhabitants. Using the original name,
Kash, they renamed the area Kashmeru or Kashmiira [Kashmir]. Although the Aryans of
Kashmiira did not give up their Vedic study, in the spiritual field they did cultivate the
indigenous Indian Tantra.
As the southern part of Kashmiira was littered with pebbles resembling the jambu fruit [Eugenia
jambolana Lam], the Aryans named it Jambu Dviipa (modern Jammu). Subsequently, Jambu
Dviipa came to mean the whole of India. Possibly in the sandy beds of the many rivers that
transect Jambu Dviipa they discovered gold for the first time, and so gold came to be known as
jambunada. When still later they settled throughout the entire land of India, they realized that it
was ideal not only for habitation, but also for self-development. Thus they named it
Bharatavarsa. Bhara means that which feeds; ta means that which gives, or that which
helps in the process of expansion; and varsa means a vast stretch of land. Thus, bharatavarsa
means a vast expanse of land which helps in the all-round development of its inhabitants.
The Aryans did not have their own script and thus were first introduced to the [written] alphabet
after coming in contact with the Dravidians. The Dravidians of the Harappa and Mahenjodaro
civilizations of India were already using a script, the Saendhavii script; after the Aryan migration
into India, that script became transformed into the Brahmii and Kharostdhi scripts.
The inconvenience that the non-Indian Aryans had faced for want of script no doubt disappeared
after the Indianized Aryans learned it, but owing to their old superstitions, most of the Aryans
were reluctant to put the Vedas in black and white. They refused to believe that the reason that
the Vedas were not written at the time of their composition was simply the lack of script. They
adhered to their illogical reasoning even after the scripts came into being: they thought that the
rsis had not written out the Vedas, one, because it was improper, and two, because the Vedas
were named shruti. However, much later, in Kashmiira, (1) the Vedas were written down in the
Sarada script in use there at the time. There was really no alternative to writing them down,
because there was almost nobody left who knew all the Vedas by heart, and the number of people
who knew even parts of them was very small. When the Kashmiira scholars finally did write
down the Vedas, it was discovered that many parts of them were missing for good.
It was not difficult for the healthy, martial, almost invincible Aryans to conquer northern India.
The victorious Aryans treated the vanquished non-Aryans as slaves, trampling them underfoot to
the bottom of their trivarna [three-caste] society their society of Brahmanas, Ksatriyas and
Vaeshyas. There the non-Aryans became the fourth class, or Shudra Varna, while society became
a caturvarna [four-caste] society. In the beginning the Aryans tried their utmost to avoid blood
relationships with the Shudras overwhelming proof of this is found in the Vedas and later books
but eventually it became impossible for them to avoid intermixture.
Although in northern India the Aryans enjoyed predominance in the political sphere, the nonAryans influence in the social sphere gradually increased, and persists even today. It was not

possible for the Aryans to extend their political power into southern India. There they did exert
some social influence, but even less than in the north.
The courage, strength and physical beauty of the Aryans was conspicuous in the north, south and
east of India, so in these areas, the non-Aryans were very eager to establish social relations with
the Aryans, and often proudly called themselves Arya-Vipras [Vipra = Brahmana, or Brahman],
Arya-Ksatriyas or Arya-Vaeshyas. Although the Aryans predominance was mainly political, and
the non-Aryans maintained social and cultural predominance, the Aryan influence over the
language spread everywhere. Moreover, the influential leaders of society everywhere began to
introduce themselves as Aryans. The anti-Aryan sentiment gradually weakened, causing a
widespread inferiority complex to take root among the non-Aryan population. This inferiority
complex proved extremely detrimental to the interests of the non-Aryans.
The Aryan leader Agastya was the first to go to southern India to popularize the ideas and ideals
of the Aryans. He explained the greatness of the Aryans to the people there allegorically.
According to this mythological tale, Vindhya Hill on the northern frontier of the Deccan bent its
head out of reverence for Agastya, enabling him to cross into southern India, and has kept its
head bent in reverence ever since. The great epic Ramayana depicts the Aryan invasion of
southern India. Needless to say, the monkeys of Kiskindhya and the raksasas [demons] of Lanka,
as described in the Ramayana, were in fact neither monkeys nor demons, but the people of
different sub-castes of the Dravidian society itself. The proof that the non-Aryans, particularly
the Dravidians, were a highly developed community in regard to knowledge, learning, intellect,
city and town building, cultivation of science, and social order and discipline, is traceable in
every line of the Ramayana. It was extremely difficult for the Aryans to hold their own in an
intellectual duel with the Dravidians. At every step they found themselves outwitted, and said,
Queer are the ways of demons.
As a result of co-existing with the non-Aryans for a long time, the Aryans learned many things
from them. In fact there is hardly anything of Aryanism left in them today. Of course, the nonAryans also took on certain Aryan traits, among them their fair complexion, their proficiency in
various activities, and their ostentatious lifestyle. From the non-Aryans the Aryans acquired a
well-knit social system, a subtle insight, spiritual philosophy and Tantra sadhana. In the
beginning the Aryans tried hard to preserve the purity of their blood Shudras used to be kept
scrupulously at arms length but such endeavours and precautions eventually proved a failure.
More or less everywhere in India there was intermixing between the Aryans and the non-Aryans
the Dravidians, the Austrics, and the Mongolians - which resulted in a new mixed race. This is
why dark Vipras and fair Shudras are not at all rare in India today. Their very colours pay
testimony to the intermixture of Aryan and non-Aryan blood running in their veins.
The victorious Aryans, coming from cold countries, were a skilled and competent race. Their
competence, their sense of superiority over the non-Aryans, and their unity born out of hatred for
the non-Aryans, helped them in their victory over India. Though the non-Aryans were defeated
by the Aryans in northern India, though the non-Aryans of southern and eastern India were under

the spell of an inferiority complex, none of them surrendered to the Aryans without a fight. As
they were constantly engaged in warfare with the Aryans, they became much more proficient in
battle. Thus Aryan victory in southern and eastern India eventually became impossible. In the
accounts of major battles fought between the Aryans and the non-Aryans, as depicted in the
Sanskrit books written in the subsequent period, (2) the non-Aryans display no less competence
than the Aryans.
Aryan life was full of noisy revelry and pomp, whereas the non-Aryan life was simple and
unostentatious, although it was the non-Aryans who had access to more materials of enjoyment.
But when the non-Aryans came in contact with the Aryans, they became tempted to enjoy pomp
and splendour. Such a lifestyle proved more harmful to the comparatively inactive non-Aryans,
inhabitants of a tropical country, than to the active and hardy Aryans.
The Aryans outside India had no well-structured social system nor any clearly-defined marital
discipline. Might is right was the order of society. Nevertheless there was a predisposition in
them to mould a society. The non-Aryans had happy families. They were characterized by a wellknit social structure and strong conjugal relationships. Even those nature-worshipping ethnic
groups forming part of the Austric population of non-Aryan society, though comparatively
backward, had very strong family relationships. So when the Aryans came in contact with these
non-Aryans, they found new light for the formation of a society.
With the exception of a few munis and rsis, the militant (ksatriya-predominant) Aryans used to
view the world with an extoversial outlook. After major battles they would kill the men of the
conquered community, employ their children as servants, and either marry the women or employ
them as maid-servants. For that reason there was a large number of male and female slaves in
their society.
War-loving races are generally careful to honour the rules and laws of war, and frame new laws
to suit the convenience of warring armies. Thus, the Aryans displayed a commendable sense of
discipline during war. Being a war-loving race, it was but natural for them to do so. The nonAryans, however, were backward in this regard. During their battles with the Aryans they did not
respect the rules and laws of war (such as not to strike at the defenceless, not to employ more
than one fighter against another, not to kill a retreating or surrendering soldier or a soldier
begging for mercy). Not only was this highly irritating to the Aryans; the lack of a disciplined
military mentality was actually one of the main reasons for the non-Aryans defeat.
Usually the non-Aryans were content with little. What was developed in them was their
introspective nature, which not only made them devotees of God, but infused in them a surging
love for spiritual philosophy. The religious practices of the Aryans, however, entailed performing
certain sacrifices in order to attain certain materialistic gains. That is, their religious observances
were mainly ritualistic. On the whole, the non-Aryans were followers of Tantra, or subjective
sadhana. Of course the non-Aryans, depending on their different degrees of intellectual
development, ranged all the way from animists to Brahma sadhakas [intuitional practitioners

whose goal is the Absolute]; but in general, individual sadhana ranked very high. The religion of
the Vedic Aryans was, as a rule, one of prayer. It did not include even the subtlest hint of any
intuitional meditation. And here lies the difference between the Brahmavada of the Vedas and the
Upanishads on the one hand, and that of Tantra on the other.
As previously mentioned, by non-Aryans no particular ethnic group was meant. When the
Aryans first migrated to India, the non-Aryans were, on the whole, divided into three
populations. Of these, the Negro-Austric Dravidians were the most developed intellectually and
spiritually. Their Tantra sadhana bore a predominance of ji nana and bhakti. The next groups
deserving mention are those of the Mongolian population. In their Tantra sadhana, karma and
bhakti were predominant. The groups which constituted the Austric population were almost equal
to the Aryans intellectually, but in the practical and spiritual spheres they gradually lagged
behind due to the comparative lack of dynamism of their society. This Austric society was
content to practise the extroversial aspects of Tantra (witchcraft, invultuation, magic, magical
incantation for evil purposes, hypnotism, etc.)
Tantra flourished in Bengal due to the pervasive intermixture of Dravidian and Mongolian blood.
Vaunge prakashita vidya Maethilye prabaliikrta
Kvacit kvacit Maharastdre Gurjjare pralayamdgata.
[Tantra was practised in Bengal, but was more widely practised in Mithila. It was not very
popular in Maharashtra, and was totally non-existent in Gujarat.]
Bengal was the home of both the Mongolian and the Dravidian populations, the Dravidians being
more widespread in the southwestern areas and the Mongolians in the northeastern areas. Some
groups of Austrics lived in the western parts. In the southeastern parts of Bengal, the Mongolians
held an overwhelming majority over the Dravidians. The Chakmas, Tripuris, Bodos, Kochas,
Kiratas, and Chuaras of the Mongolian population; the Kaevarttas, Bagdis, Dules, Shavaras,
Kurmis, Mahatas, and Kherias of the Dravidian population; and the Santhaliis, Baoriis, Mala
Pahariis [[(Mala or Malo)]], etc., of the predominantly Austric population, were the original
Bengalees.
The present Bengali society and civilization are the outcome of the mutual exchange of thought
among these peoples. The greatest contribution of this civilization has been the well-structured
and well-disciplined Tantra sadhana. Tantra wields the greatest influence over the customs and
usages of modern Bengal and eastern India. As a matter of fact, Tantra has had a more pervasive
influence throughout all of India than have the Vedas, yet nowhere has this Tantric or non-Aryan
influence been greater than in the eastern part of India. The iron bangles of the women, the
vermilion mark in the parting of their hair, the various marriage customs and rites, etc., are all
different social practices borrowed from the non-Aryans. The custom of addressing all women as
mother (masiima, pisiima, kakiima [aunts], didima [grandmother], etc.) bears the mark of
Tantric influence, because in Tantra the social dominance of women was widely accepted. Even

the little non-Tantric or patrilineal influence that exists in the upper castes of Bengali society is
not borrowed from the Aryans of northern India, but is a result of the close and intimate transoceanic relations that Bengal had in those days with regions outside India.
In the life of Bengal, Tantra has surrendered to Veda only with respect to language. In fact there
was no alternative but to acknowledge this defeat: The Bengalees of those days were followers of
Tantra who spoke many different languages. When they decided to formulate a new language of
their own, they were bound to accept the language of the foreign Aryans due to its highly
expressive power. The Dravidian and Mongolian languages [although also a form of Sanskrit]
were not so expressive as the Sanskrit language of the Vedas.
Although the Aryan conquerors were unable to influence the social life of Bengal to any
appreciable degree, due to their influence the Tantric matrilineal social system of Bengal (the
Tantric matrilineal order prevails even today in the Dravid-Keralite and Mongolo-Khashian
societies) partially accepted the patrilineal order as well. As a result Bengal, though not governed
by the Mitaksara, or patrilineal, system of northern India, built up a new social order according
due respect to both father and mother. Subsequently, in recognition of this new social system,
Bengal officially rescinded the Mitaksara system [insofar as it officially existed], and in its place
established the Dayabhaga(3) system.
The second result of the Aryan influence was the Bengali language. The language that the
Bengalees of the Vedic era used to speak had no connection with the Vedic language. Neither
could the Vedic Aryans understand it. The Aryans used to say, That is a country of birds. We
dont understand what those birds chirp and twitter. Be that as it may, due the Vedic influence,
particularly due to the influence of the eastern Vedic dialect, Magadhii Prakrta, there emerged a
Sanskrit-based Aryan language in Bengal. Later on the Tantrics of this area composed Tantric
literature using Sanskrit(4) and the new Sanskrit-based Bengali.
In spite of their accepting the Aryan language, the Tantrics never gave up their own style of
pronunciation. Even today the Magadhii group of languages, particularly the Eastern DemiMagadhii group (Bengali, Oriya, Assamese and Maethilii), has a style of pronunciation that is
completely its own. In spite of later distortions in the mode of pronunciation in northern India,
due to the non-cultivation of the Sanskrit language and the heavy use of Arabic- and Persianinfluenced Urdu, eastern and southern India did not give up their ancient modes of
pronunciation. In ancient times the people speaking Shaorasenii and Malavii dialects used to
make fun of the people speaking the Magadhii dialect, which was heavily influenced by Tantra.
Thus the people of the western part of the Magadhii-speaking area, that is, the Magahii- and
Bhojpuri-speaking people, tried to pronounce in the Shaorasenii style. Though there is, as a
result, some influence of Shaorasenii and Hindi on the pronunciation of the Magahii and
Bhojpuri dialects, the intonation of the samdvrta(5) a has remained unchanged. The Tantric
pronunciations of jina, na, sa, hya, and ksa are also still prevalent in eastern India today.

The Aryans had a developed language but no script. It was indeed the Tantrics, and not the
Vedics, who invented script and acoustic science. So far as correctness of pronunciation is
concerned, the Tantric mode is to be accepted, not the Vedic. Remember that each of the fifty
letters of the Sanskrit aksaramala [alphabet] constitutes one acoustic root of Tantra. It was for the
purpose of spiritual practice that the Tantrics had discovered these roots. Here the Aryans deserve
no credit at all.
The Tantric influence exists in all the Indian languages; (6) it is also prominent in observances and
ceremonies. The non-Aryan and Tantric influence is prominent not only in social functions, but
in religious ceremonies as well, due to the influence of the Tantric gods and goddesses. In eastern
India, particularly in Bengal, popular gods and goddesses such as Shiitala (the goddess of
smallpox), Manasa (the goddess of snakes), Niila Td hakura and Batduka Bhaerava [a Buddhist
Tantric deity] are all Tantric gods and goddesses but are nevertheless worshipped in Hindu
temples as Hindu gods and goddesses. (Batduka Barua Baruya Baro in the rural areas
of Bengal, Boro Shiva or Buro Shiva.(7) )
Even the Satyanarayana of eastern India is a non-Aryan deity. Of course in this worship we also
find some influence by the Muslims who came from the Arab world. Betels, plantains, areca nuts
and coconuts [as used to worship Satyanarayana] are the main paraphernalia of non-Aryan
worship, because they are Dravidian in origin. Perhaps the Vedic Aryans had never heard of these
things, and perhaps there were no words for them in the Vedic language or in old Sanskrit. Words
like nagavallarii [a kind of creeping plant], kadalii [plaintain] and narikela [coconut] are modern
Sanskrit, but these things are widely used in the worship of Satyanarayana and in other popular
worship. Only the shirnii [food offered to a god] of the Muslims in the worship of Satyanarayana
is imported.
Sugar cane, coconut, limes, grapefruit, powdered rice, etc., used in the Chatd Puja [Sun Worship]
are important food items in Dravidian festivities. Another noteworthy fact is that in the Chatd and
a number of other popular pujas, the Vedics or Brahmans have no place at all, or if they do
participate, have a secondary role. The women play a most significant role in these pujas. The
speciality of non-Aryan ceremonies is that the womens role is predominant. Yet another
remarkable factor is that although the Vedic sun-god is a male god, the non-Aryan sun-god is
female, a goddess. Thus in eastern India worshippers address the sun-god as Chatd Mayii
instead of Chatd Pita. The non-Aryan worship of Dalapati or Ganapati (group leader or peoples
leader) prevalent in the non-Aryan Austric society, is also prevalent in the Aryan society in the
name of Ganapati Puja or Ganesha Puja [actually this worship meant the worship of the group or
society of the Austric people]. The head of an elephant, a big and mighty animal, placed on the
shoulders of the deitys body, was only symbolic of the superiority of the group leader of the
society concerned. It is noteworthy that such worship was also prevalent in the non-Aryan
Mayan civilization of America.
As said before, the Aryans became acquainted with paddy at a much later period. Previously they
had had no idea how to get rice out of paddy, and only learned when they came in contact with

the non-Aryans. It was the non-Aryans who taught them to eat boiled rice. It is noteworthy that
powdered rice or its paste was widely used in the popular worship of the gods and goddesses of
south and east India. It would appear that rice seemed to be rather a queer thing to the Aryans,
because in the Vedas it is called tandd ula. Evidently the Aryans saw grains of rice jumping from
the mortar while the paddy was being threshed and husked in the traditional hand-driven or footdriven husking devices, and thus named it tandd ula. Tandd ula means one whose characteristic is to
jump. The word cal or caul [husked but uncooked rice] is derived from the Bengali root cala
which means sifting in order to separate the rice from the chaff.
Spiritual practice was common in the Tantric society. There is no spiritual vigour whatsoever in
the lives of those who support pompous, so-called religious, ceremonies, as there is in the lives
of introspective spiritual practitioners. After the Aryans came into India, two types of practice
used to take place side by side: on the one side the sacrificial fires of the rsis, characterized by
the smell of burning ghee and the sonorous refrains of those paying homage to the manes while
offering oblations into the fire; and on the other side, the non-Aryans Tantra sadhana, the
practice of self-control and attainment of divine power. Spiritual depth and power of sadhana
brought fearlessness into the spiritual lives of the non-Aryans, as befitting staunch Tantrics.
The non-Aryans regarded the Aryans sacrificial ceremonies as a time-killing childish pastime
and would sabotage them whenever convenient. The Aryan munis and rsis asked the Aryan kings
for protection against these saboteurs or, in the language of the Aryans, these raksasas, pashus
and pishacas. Innumerable stories to this effect can be found in different Sanskrit books, even
today. Although the words raksasa [demon], pashu [beast] and pishaca [ghoul] were used in a
general way to describe the non-Aryans, actually the Dravidians were normally called raksasas
(the short-statured among them monkeys), the Mongolians, asuras [monsters], and those
Tantrics who did shava sadhana [sadhana upon dead bodies] in cemeteries and cremation
grounds, pishacas. The Aryans also declared that these gangs of raksasas and pishacas were
cannibals. They drew horrible sketches of the dark-complexioned Dravidians and highcheekboned and flat-nosed Mongolians, with grotesque forms and features, to prove them
contemptible and vile. Actually they were a lot more civilized and educated than the Aryans.
Apart from this there were many Aryans who married the daughters of these raksasas and asuras,
entranced by their beauty and qualities (those who had a mixture of Mongolian and Dravidian
blood had particularly beautiful features). Bhiima married Hidd imba, a non-Aryan girl; Arjuna
married Citraungada, also a non-Aryan girl. Ravana, the leader of the raksasas, had a father from
an Aryan Brahman family Maharsi Vishvashrava, the descendent of Pulasta Rsi and a nonAryan mother Nikasa, or Kaekasii. In other words, though the Aryans had been proud of their
colour and features, that pride faded away within a short time. At that time and also later, even
though a few Aryan-proud individuals attempted to defame these raksasas and asuras, the general
mass did not pay much attention to them.
On the one hand the Aryan-proud pandits of Bengal engaged in scurrilous and abusive attacks on
the Mongolians and the original Bengalees

Sarve mamdsaratah murhah

Mlecchah gobrahma ghatakah,
Kuvacakah pare murha ete kutdayonayoh,
Tesamd paeshacikii bhasa lokacaro na vidyate.
Padma Purana
[They are all excessive meat eaters. They are fools. Killers of cows and Brahmans, they speak
foul and meaningless words. These are foolish people born out of bad women. Their language is
gibberish. They dont follow decent customs.]
but on the other hand we observe the emergence of a new civilization in Bengal, out of the
Austrico-Mongolo-Dravidian combination, at about 1000 BC.
This civilization, though similar to other civilizations in India, had its own customs and rites,
language and mode of pronunciation, manners and behaviour, religious and social systems, rights
of inheritance and disinheritance under the Dayabhaga code of law, and dress and food habits.
Proud of its own speciality and uniqueness, it never agreed to be a part of the Aryavartta
[northern India dominated by the Aryan culture]. In order to keep itself free from Aryan
subjugation, Bengal rebelled again and again. The northern Indian orthodox Aryans, full of
Aryan chauvinism (actually they too were Tantrics, but outwardly displayed an enamel coating of
Aryanism), were reluctant to accept the highly Tantric areas such as Au nga [Monghyr and its
adjacent areas], Vaunga [Bengal]),(8) Kaliunga [Orissa], Mithila and Magadha [Bihar] as parts of
their Aryavartta. For them Kashii [Benares] served as the eastern border of the Aryavartta.
These orthodox, but internally Tantric, people could not avoid being influenced by the Tantric
civilization of eastern India even in their external life. The predominance of the Bengali script of
east India (Shrii Harsa Lipi) extended up to Prayaga in the far west. Most Sanskrit books on
Hindu and Buddhist Tantra were written in this Bengali script. After the Muslim invasion, the
influence of east India upon north India began to wane gradually. At about that time some Nagar
Brahmans from Vedic Gujarat went to northern India to propagate the Vedas and the Sanskrit
language. They used Nagrii script for writing Sanskrit, and under the Brahmans influence the
Nagrii script too gradually became popular in northern India. The use of Bengali script became
confined to eastern India only. It is worth noting that many of the Nagar Brahmans of Gujarat
were followers of Tantra, particularly Vaesnava Tantra.
The greatest difference between the Aryans and the non-Aryans was in their outlook. The Aryans
wanted to establish their dominance on the basis of their racial superiority, whereas the nonAryans, following the precepts of Tantra, did not recognize any distinction among people. The
identity of everyone was the same: all belonged to the same family, the family of Shiva. In the
first stage of sadhana, everyone is an animal. To merge in Brahmatva [Cosmic Consciousness],
after first elevating themselves to devatva [god-hood], was their sadhana. But in the first stage,

while still rising above crude animality, their adorable Shiva was known as Pashupati, Lord of
Animality.
Here it is necessary to remember that Tantra is not a religion, but a way of life, a system of
sadhana. The fundamental goal of this sadhana is to awaken the dormant jiivashakti [unit force],
known as kulakundd alinii, and, after elevating it stage by stage, to merge it in Brahmabhava
[Cosmic Consciousness]. Tantra is a science of spiritual meditation or sadhana which is equally
applicable to anyone no matter what their religious affiliation might be. Tantra is certainly older
than the Vedas. Just as the shlokas or mantras of the Vedas were handed down from guru to
disciple in a genealogical tradition, the Tantra sadhana of the Mongolo-Dravidian society was
handed down from guru to disciple hereditarily. The Vedas are theoretical full of ritualistic
ceremonies and formalisms. It would be incorrect to regard Tantra as a more recent version of
those Vedic rituals: Tantras esoteric practices had long been known in the society of sadhakas.
Its theoretical portion was not as elaborate as that of the Vedas, which took years and years to
memorize.
When the Aryans came to India, roughly during the period of the Atharvaveda, they learned
Tantra sadhana to some extent after coming in contact with the Indian Tantrics. This resulted in
the Atharvaveda being pervasively influenced by Tantra. Even if the orthodox Vedics try to reject
the many Tantra-influenced portions of the Vedas as later interpolations, they will not be too
convincing, for Tantra has now infiltrated into the marrow of the so-called Aryans. Although
during the post-Vedic Buddhist era as well as the post-Buddhist Brahmanical era changes in the
religious outlook of the people were apparent, the process of sadhana remained Tantric as it does
even today, for without Tantra spiritual sadhana is impossible. Yoga, which is the paramount
factor in spiritual practices, is itself based on Tantra. The great Tantric Vashistdha, when he
returned from China after learning the Chinese techniques of sadhana, brought about a great
improvement in Tantra sadhana. He was widely acclaimed as a great yogi. His book
Yogavashistdha is a philosophical exposition of the subtle spirituality of Tantra sadhana.
There are many who try to make a distinction between Hindu Tantra and Buddhist Tantra. This is
absolutely wrong, for as I have said earlier, Tantra is one and only one. It is based on one
sentiment, on one idea. The Buddhist and Hindu Tantras express the same thing in different
words. For example, Hindu Tantras use the word kulakundd alinii for the dormant unit force and
idd a, piungala and susumna for the three psycho-spiritual channels. They state that the
kulakundd alinii pierces through the six cakras (1) muladhara [situated above the perineum], (2)
svadhistdhana [in the region of the genital organ], (3) manipura [in the region of the navel], (4)
anahata [in the region of the heart], (5) vishuddha [in the region of the vocal cord] and (6) aji na
[between the eyebrows], and finally unites with Paramashiva at the seventh cakra, the sahasrara
cakra [at the crown of the head], giving the sadhakas, or intuitional practitioners, the bliss of
Cosmic Consciousness. The Buddhist Tantras say the same thing in different words. They have
named the manipura cakra, nirmana cakra, the anahata, dharma cakra, the vishuddha, sambhoga
cakra, and the sahasrara, usniisa kamala or mahasukha cakra.

Some have named the muladhara, manipadma. In both the Buddhist and Hindu Tantras, hummm
is the acoustic root of the unit force, the kulakundd alinii, lying dormant in manipadma. The socalled Buddhist Tantrics also say, Onmd manipadme hummm. To them idd a, piungala and susumna
are lalana, rasana and avadhutikarespectively. So where, in reality, is the ideological difference
between the Hindu Tantras such as Mahanirvana Tantra, Kularnava Tantra, Aji nana-bodhinii
Tantra, Jinana-samdkalinii Tantra, Rudrayamala Tantra, Bhaerava-yamala Tantra, Niila Tantra,
etc., and the Buddhist Tantras such as Hevajra Tantra, Vajra-varahii Kalpamaha Tantra,
Ekallaviira Candd arosana Tantra, Ddakarnava Tantra, Advaya Siddhi Tantra, etc.? Kau nkalamalinii
Tantra cannot be called either a Hindu Tantra or a Buddhist Tantra with any clear certainty.
Even the popular assumption that the Hindus borrowed idolatry from the Buddhists is totally
wrong. Although there was a conception of gods and goddesses among the Aryan Vedics, there
was no custom of modelling images for worship. But in the lowest stratum of Tantra sadhana
(that is, the lowest of the low grade) idolatry was prescribed:
Uttamo Brahmasadbhavo
Madhyama dhyana dharana;
Japastuti syadhadhama
Murtipuja dhamadhama.
Kularnava Tantra
[Ideation on Brahma is the best, dhyana and dharana are second best, repetitious incantation and
eulogistic prayer are the worst, and idol worship is the worst of the worst.]
The word uttama in the first line of the shloka is interchangeable with sahajavastha.
Sahajaavastha, the tranquil state of the Buddhists, is no different from the ideation on Brahma
of the Hindus.
According to their respective intellectual strata, the primitive non-Aryan Tantrics utilized all the
practices, from the lowest-of-the-low image worship to the highest-of-the-high Brahma sadhana.
Thus idolatry is as much a part of Hindu Tantra as it is of Buddhist Tantra. Neither has borrowed
it from the other.
I have just referred to the ideological unity of the Hindu and the Buddhist Tantras. So far as the
goal is concerned, the ultimate object of both is to merge the unit force in the introversial force
and the introversial force in Parama Purusa. In various places in the Hindu Tantras, Parama
Purusa has been called Paramashiva, Purusottama and Krsna, and Parama Prakrti has been called
Kalii, Radha, etc. In the Buddhist Tantras Parama Purusa or Bhagavan Sarveshvara has been
called Shriiman Mahasukha, Vajrasatva, Vajradhara, Vajreshvara, Heruka or Hevajra or in
places Candd arosana and the Mahashakti of Mahakaola has sometimes been called Bhagavatii
Sarveshvarii, sometimes Vajravarahii, sometimes Vajradhatviishvarii, sometimes Praji na
Paramita, and sometimes, in sandhya bhasa, (9) Ddombii, Candd alii, etc.

In both the Hindu and Buddhist Tantras, men and women are permitted to do sadhana together. In
the Hindu Tantras, males are advised to ideate that they are Bhaerava, and sadhikas [female
spiritual aspirants] to ideate that they are Bhaeravii. Buddhist Tantras prescribe the same thing.
There the sadhaka is Vajradhara and the sadhika is Vajrayosita.
Narah Vajradharakarah sositah Vajrayositah.
Ekallaviira Canddarosana Tantra
[The male aspirants are called Vajradhara, and the female aspirants Vajrayosita.]
Actually Tantra is one. Therefore it is as much a mistake to distinguish between the Hindu and
the Buddhist Tantras as it is to grope in vain for any differences in the inner import or final goals
of the Hindu Tantras such as Shaeva Tantra, Shakta Tantra, Saora Tantra, Ganapatya Tantra,
Vaesnaviiya Tantra (Radha Tantra), etc.
The similarity between the gods and goddesses of the Hindu Tantras and those of the Buddhist
Tantras is also particularly noteworthy. Each Tantra has either absorbed or discarded the others
gods and goddesses according to its own convenience. Tara is one of the famous deities of the
Buddhist Tantras. The worships of Bhramarii Tara in China, Ugratara or Vajratara in Mongolia,
and Niila Sarasvatii Tara or Ekajata Devii in Tibet, date from very ancient times. Tibets Niila
Sarasvatii Tara has been absorbed in Hindu Tantra as the second Mahavidya of the Ten
Mahavidyas, and today those Hindus who worship idols do not regard Tara as a non-Hindu deity.
Kalika Devii, the first Mahavidya of the so-called Hindu Tantras, has been accepted by Buddhist
Tantra. Clad in betel leaves (parna means betel leaves or turmeric leaves), Parna Shavarii
Devii of the Buddhist Tantra is one of the names of the goddess Durga of Hindu Tantra. Praji na
Paramita, the Buddhist deity, continues to be worshipped in post-Buddhist India as Sarasvatii.
The bull-mounted Sarasvatii of the Vedas has not even a hint of similarity with the swanmounted Sarasvatii, either in appearance or in nature. (10)
There are some goddesses whose sources Buddhist or Hindu are impossible to determine.
That is to say, they are deities common to both schools of Tantra, such as Varahii, Kaoverii,
Bhiima, Kapalinii, Chinnamasta, etc. Goddesses of the Hindu Tantras such as Ddakinii, Rakinii,
Lakinii, Kakinii, Shakinii, Hakinii, etc., have been accepted by the Buddhist Tantras.
The savikalpa samadhi [trance of determinate absorption or vacuity] of the Hindu Tantras is the
prabhasvara shunyata [luminous vacuity] of the Buddhists. The Hindus nirvikalpa [trance of
objectless or indeterminate absorption or vacuity] is the Buddhists vajra shunyata [complete
vacuity]. And the goddess of vajra shunyata, of the unmanifest Prakrti, is Vajravarahii, Ddombii,
Naeratma Devii or Naeramani in the language of the Buddhists. The different stages of savikalpa
samadhi related to the upward movement of the kulakundd alinii are called salokya [within the
same loka], samiipya [closest proximity], sarupya [identity], sarstdhi [the stage between savikalpa

and nirvikalpa], etc., in the Hindu Tantras; and in the Buddhist Tantras, visayananda [objective
bliss] in the nirmana cakra, paramananda [supreme bliss] in the dharma cakra, viramananda
[intermittent bliss] in the sambhoga cakra and sahajananda [absolute bliss] in the mahasukha
cakra. In this mahasukha cakra, Naeratma Devii is Bhagavatii Praji na Sarveshvarii, an
embodiment of sahajananda [bliss]. This sahajananda is the Brahmananda [absolute bliss] of the
Hindu Tantras.
After the Aryan settlement in India a great man was born into the non-Aryan society. Born into a
Mongolo-Aryan family, this great man had a high nose and fair complexion. He was a great
Tantric - a great yogi. The name of this Mahapurusa of the non-Aryan society was Shiva. For one
man to have so many qualities and endowments at the same time was beyond the comprehension
of the people, so He was called Gunatiita or Nirguna [Transcendental or Non-Attributional]
Purusa. As the result of His Tantra sadhana He attained extraordinary powers, which He
employed for the good of humanity. It was He who systematized the science of Tantra and thus
He was the guru or the father of Tantrics and yogis. To this Self-realized Mahapurusa there was
no distinction of high and low. People of all classes, from the highest to the lowest, were dear to
Him. Irrespective of class - Aryan, non-Aryan, Dravidian, Austric or Mongolian all flocked to
Him. He showered His grace on them all equally. As the battles raged between the gods on the
one hand and the demons and monsters on the other (needless to say, gods meant the
handsome Aryan leaders, and demons meant the non-Aryans in general), the non-Aryan
demons and monsters became more and more powerful through the blessings of this Shiva.
All the raksasas and asuras were Shivas obedient devotees and followers. With the help and
blessings of Shiva they destroyed the might and power of the gods. According to Sanskrit
stories, when the gods would seek the help of Brahma and Visnu, even those two would not dare
to oppose Shiva; rather they would save the gods through a compromise with Him.
Shiva had such a forgiving nature, born out of His spirit of benevolence, that even the most
wicked could easily draw on His kindness. That is why to everybody He became Ashutosa
(Easy to Please). Due to Shivas pervasive influence over their society, the non-Aryans, that is,
the Tantrics, used to worship Him as God, and according to their respective intellectual strata
they regarded and accepted Him in His different bearings. Just as the Aryans began to identify
Shiva with their own gods and goddesses, the kaola mahatantrikas [great Tantrics in the tradition
of kulakundd alinii yoga] began to regard their Shiva as identical with Nirguna Brahma. The
foremost cause behind this conception of theirs was the absolute detachment and self-forgetful
bearing of Shiva, the lord of supernatural and miraculous power. Shivas self-sacrificing nature
earned Him the name Bholanatha [one absolutely indifferent to his own status] among the
non-Aryans. All were attracted to Shivas supernatural power, His imposing personality, His
limitless qualities and the calm, tranquil radiance of His features.
Enthralled by the physical grace and the virtues of Shiva, Princess Gaorii, the daughter of the
Aryan king Daksa, was attracted towards Him. King Daksa was not at all in favour of his
daughter marrying a non-Aryan, but eventually he gave way before her adamant attitude. And so
Shiva and Princess Gaorii were married. But envy born out of his knowledge of Shivas

formidable influence over both the Aryan and the non-Aryan societies had already made King
Daksa mad. Thus one day he publicly insulted Shiva at a large sacrifice specially planned for the
purpose. Shivas devotees, unable to bear the insult, made a pandemonium of Daksas ceremonial
sacrifice. It is written in the books of the Aryans that Shivas two servant-spirits, Nandii and
Bhrngii, destroyed Daksas yajina. Actually, Nandii and Bhrngii, the alleged spirits, were none
other than two ardent non-Aryan Tantric devotees of Shiva.
Many Aryans supported the marriage of Gaorii and Shiva, because, on account of Shivas
extraordinary influence, they felt it would be more in their interest to establish kinship with Him
than to remain hostile to Him. Whatever the reason, after Daksas yaji na, in Shivas presence, all
the Aryan and non-Aryan clashes and disputes came to a permanent end. In other words, the
Aryans accepted the predominance of Shiva.
The non-Aryans were very happy to have Gaorii in their midst. Just as they revered Shiva as
their god, they regarded Gaorii as their goddess. The non-Aryans were yellow-, black- or browncomplexioned, but Gaorii, being of purely Aryan origin, was white-complexioned. It was for this
reason that she was named Gaorii [which means white-complexioned]. After the marriage,
Gaorii lived in the Himalaya Mountains, and was thus often called Parvata Kanya [Daughter
of the Mountains], or Parvatii in common language. I told you a little while ago that the nonAryans used to do Tantra sadhana according to their respective intellectual development. They
worshipped a pair of gods Purusa and Prakrti. Whatever their intellectual and spiritual
standards, all of them regarded their primary god as Shiva, or, in subsequent periods, some
avatara [incarnation] of Shiva; and their primary goddess as Gaorii, or, later, some partial
manifestation of Gaorii.
Among the backward non-Aryan society, phallus worship was prevalent. Although originally
there was some social history behind this phallus worship (due to the perpetual warfare between
the various clans and tribes, each group felt a constant necessity to increase its numerical
strength, and thus they began to worship both the genital organs), in later periods, under the
influence of Tantra, it took on a more subtle spiritual form. When, due to the influence of Shiva,
everyone began to accept Shiva as their chief god, this liu nga puja [worship of genitals] became
[the worship of] Shiva-liunga and Gaorii-piitdha, or Gaorii-patdtda. Subsequently the Aryans also
accepted phallus worship and gave it a philosophical interpretation: Liu ngate gamyate yasmad
talliungam [The entity from which all things originate [[and towards which all things are
moving]] is called liunga].
After Daksas yajina Shivas influence over the Aryans increased more and more. The Aryans
began to feel that, being so indebted to Shiva, they could no longer afford to disregard Him. It
was Shiva who had taught them spiritual sadhana, asanas and pranayama; the secret of good
health; the science of medicine; and the developed art of dance and music. For His excellence in
dancing, both the Aryans and non-Aryans used to call Him Natdaraja, and for His proficiency in
vocal music, Nadatanu. No one has counted the number of medicines He invented for every
kind of disease. He was the first preceptor of the ayurvedacaryas [teachers of ayurveda, the

science of medicine to increase longevity]. The asuras were cured of many serious diseases due
to His grace. Both the Aryans and the non-Aryans thought that since Shiva knew so many
remedies, He was perhaps immortal, and so they named Him Mrtyui njaya [Conqueror of
Death]. When, even today, people come across some incurable disease, they say, Even Shiva
has no cure for this disease. Like the non-Aryans, the Aryans eventually accepted Shiva as their
god and Gaorii as their goddess.
The tiger is one of the oldest animals of India. In the distant past these tigers came into India
from the non-Aryan countries of China, Tibet, etc. Lions came much later from the Aryan
countries bordering on the northwest corner of India. It is noteworthy that in the dhyana mantra
of Shiva, he has been described as wearing a tiger skin, that is, the skin of an animal of the nonAryan countries (vyaghra-krttimd vasanamd); and the daughter of the Aryans, Gaorii, has been
depicted as simdha-vahinii [riding on a lion].
In all the Aryan books of knowledge the word Shiva was invariably used to describe Parama
Purusa. The racially chauvinistic Aryans could not remain at peace after their acceptance of
Shiva as God. Thinking that the non-Aryans would make capital of this and boast about their
triumph over the Aryans, they threw themselves into the task of proving that Shiva was an Aryan.
The non-Aryan Shiva used to live in cemeteries, cremation grounds, lonesome plains and on the
different peaks of the Himalayas. (That is why even today the non-Aryans, pointing to the
Himalayan peaks such as Kailash, Gaurishankar, Everest, etc., say, There live our HaraGaorii.) But the Aryans turned Him into a full-fledged divinity of the scriptures. To prove that
he was Aryan they hung a sacred thread on his left shoulder. (Needless to say, the non-Aryan
Shiva had no such sacred thread; he wore a snake around his neck.) Strangely enough, the image
of the Aryan god Brahma shows no sign of any such sacred thread. No one doubted that Brahma
was an Aryan by race, but in the case of Shiva, the only way to prove that he was an Aryan was
to hang a sacred thread on his shoulder.
We can still observe today that Shiva is the god of all, regardless of caste or colour, high or low,
learned or ignorant, Brahman or pariah. No other deity in India enjoys such tremendous universal
popularity. Even if one does not know a mantra, one can worship Shiva. Young maidens model
earth into images of Shiva and worship Him; the philosophical sadhakas of old used to attain
samadhi in Shivatva [Cosmic Consciousness]; and the so-called low castes such as Domd a and
Candd ala become sannyasiis of Shiva. No other divinity would even touch the shadows of these
so-called pariahs.
The present social system of India (which is fundamentally Tantric) was developed by Shiva.
After accepting Shiva as God without any reservation, the Aryans appropriated everything good
of the Dravidians and the other non-Aryans. Of course this did not diminish the Aryans prestige
rather it enhanced it. After this appropriation there was a propaganda attempt to prove that
Tantra was originally propounded by the Aryans themselves. The Aryans used to say:

Agatamdshivavaktrebhyoh gatainca Girijashrutao;

Matainca Vasudevasya tasmadagama ucyate.
That is to say, This Tantra, or Agama Shastra, was actually composed by Vasudeva [Krsna, who
was considered Aryan], and Shiva only revealed it to Parvatii. Are Baba! (11) if Vasudeva had at
all been the propounder of this doctrine, why on earth would He have put it into the mouth of the
non-Aryan Shiva instead of saying it Himself? In the beginning the Aryans used to recognize the
superiority of Tantra sadhana but practise it in secret; but after acknowledging Shiva, they openly
declared themselves to be Tantrics.
Not only in India, but in quite a large part of the world, in every sphere of life, the laws and
injunctions of Shiva alone prevailed for a long time. Even today the civilization of modern India
is intrinsically Tantric. On the outside only is there a Vedic stamp. Or if we take the Indian
civilization as an enamelled ornament, then its gold is Tantric, and the enamel Vedic. For both the
wandering sannyasiis of the cemeteries and cremation grounds, and the householders, this Shiva
alone is the ideal man, and Gaorii the ideal woman. Shiva is the universal father and Gaorii the
universal mother. Shivas household is the three worlds.
Hararme pita Gaorii mata svadesho bhuvanatrayam.
[Hara is my father, Gaorii is my mother, and the three worlds of earth, heaven and hell are my
native land.]
When the Indians were about to forget the teachings of Shiva due to their fascination with the
mundane objectivities of the world, there came another sublime entity like Shiva, who reminded
them of those teachings. That great personality was Shrii Krsna. The question as to which of the
two was greater, Krsna or Shiva, does not arise, because all knowers of Brahma are one: all are
Brahma. Shrii Krsna was the supreme teacher and ideal politician of the world, what to speak of
India alone. Shiva was the guru, the father, of the human society of the world a completely
different kind of role. Shiva is the universal father. Just as Canda Mama [The Uncle in the Moon]
is the uncle of all, Shiva is the father of all.
All three worlds are Shivas family. His reputation is not confined to any particular country. Yet
if anyone is to be singled out as the father of Indian civilization, or of Indian society, or of the socalled Indian nation then I can say emphatically that Shiva alone is eligible to be the father, not
only of the Indian nation, but of the universal human nation. Ancient Shiva alone, and no one
else, can qualify to be the father of this more-than-five-thousand-year-old so-called Indian race.
May 1959, RU, Muzaffarpur
Footnotes

(1) Authors note: It is wrong to write Kashmiira, for the word kashmiira means pertaining to
Kashmiira, or saffron. The Aryans saw saffron for the first time in Kashmiira.
(2) Authors note: In these books the non-Aryans were sometimes called raksasas [demons],
sometimes pishacas [ghouls], and sometimes asuras [monsters].
(3) Editors note: Mitaksara entails the heirs equal rights of inheritance, not subject to the
fathers discretion. Dayabhaga entails the heirs right of inheritance subject to the fathers
discretion (the father enjoys the right to disinherit any of the heirs).
(4) Editors note: A mixture of the Vedic Sanskrit and the Bengalis original laokik, or dialectal,
Sanskrit (the bird language).
(5) Editors note: One of three styles of pronunciation of Sanskrit samd vrta, vivrtta and tiryak.
(6) Authors note: The people of eastern India make common use of the Tantric mystic syllable
phatd. For example, Se phatd kare bale phelle He said all of a sudden; or Loktdar bara
phatdphatdani, That person is very verbose.
(7) Editors note: Old Shiva.
(8) Editors note: The va sound was later changed to ba under the influence of Muslim
pronunciation, so the letter was changed as well. In modern Bengali there is no difference in
pronunciation between ba and va, but the difference in spelling persists.
(9) Editors note: A twilight language of dual meanings.
(10) Editors note: There was a Vedic Sarasvatii in existence before the Buddhist Praji na
Paramita, but the swan-mounted Sarasvatii modelled after Praji na Paramita is not the same
goddess.
(11) Editors note: An exclamation, like Good Lord!
Published in:
A Few Problems Solved Part 1
Discourses on Tantra Volume One [a compilation]
Copyright 2001, 2006 Ananda Marga Pracaraka Samdgha (Central) All Rights Reserved
Prout Leadership Training
Monday, 15 June Sunday, 13 September
Overview

This training aims at personal transformation and empowerment for happiness, competence and fulfilment as
spiritual revolutionaries at a pivotal juncture of social evolution. Participants will engage in:

the self-awareness training that counsellors in training do

a process to integrate 16 points into their lives and experience a more effective energetic
configuration
classes, discussions, study, research, writing and presentation to familiarize themselves with Prout
philosophy and strategy
practical Prout work to exercise their theoretical knowledge and begin Prout movement
building the framework of Proutist Universal
leadership building exercises
skill and personal enhancement in the areas of: communication, drawing, time management, speed
reading, diary keeping, presentation

The schedule, still subject to adjustment, is as follows:

Week 1
Self awareness
Participants will demonstrate self-awareness in relation to their personality traits with reference to their
personal experiences and cultural influences
Drawing, creative expression and diary keeping (continuous throughout the 6 weeks)
16 points and all conduct rules relevant to LFT trainees
Communication reflective listening
Weeks 2 and 3
The Origins of Prout Theory
Baba
Idea & Ideology
Neo-Humanism
Time management, speed reading
Weeks 4 and 5
Prout Theory
Human Society
Proutist Economics
Prout in a Nutshell
Presentation skills

Weeks 6 and 7
Proutist Analysis of the World Today
Regional breakdown, problems, solutions
Media
Capitalism

Conventional economics
Progressive Trends and Challenges
Weeks 8 and 9
Prout Strategy
Global
Samaj
Local Australia
Local area Granite Belt
Samaj issues will be identified and a public program planned
Week 10
Prout Organisation, Projects and Programmes
The practical implementation of Prout
The scope here is to initiate Prout movement in a step by step, planned and organised way in Aotearoa. The
form of movement will arise from the work of the previous week. The week will include, however,
exercising the role of shadow opposition in respect to various ministerial areas such as education, health,
finance and a daily neo-humanist commentary on the news.
Samaj issues will be taken up and a public programme held. As the time frame is short, (less than 2 weeks),
prior announcement or participation in an existing event may be best.
Growing the movement, keeping inspired, self-care, leadership skills
The organisation of Proutist Universal, enabling its inherent synergy and dynamism