By: D. Sankaraiah
While writing on Mother Radhakrishna Mayi or for that matter on any poet of repute, a natural query that pops up is: Are all poets basically and habitually mystic in their physical and mental make-up? It’s not easy to answer this, but one thing seems common to all creators of imaginative texts – they look deep into the metaphysical essence underlying the physical world they usually encounter.
Be it Das Ganu Maharaj, Rabindranath Tagore, Walt Whitman or Robert Frost; Greek poetess Sappho or Pindar; Latin poets Virgil or Ovid; Hindi poets Pant or Nirala; or Urdu poets Muhammad Iqbal or Altaf Hussain ‘Hali’ Panipati, the elements of mysticism or a touch of cosmic consciousness, awareness – concerning mankind – in their poetry cannot be denied.
And what’s mysticism? Mysticism is a gossamer refinement of spirituality. In other words, it’s the poetic or metaphorical manifestation of an ethereal world. Mysticism is an attempt to transcend the mundane and go beyond what’s obvious. It’s not conventional spirituality. Nor does it always dwell on God and esoteric phenomena. It’s a sublimation of humanity and the epitome of all human concerns, creations, and cries.
A mystic empathizes with the world. Mother Radhakrishna Mayi was a rebel poet, ‘Bidrohī Kôbi’ in Bangla. A rebel poet or writer has the essence of truth. She comprehends it. Just like the rebel existentialist Albert Camus, who could empathize with humanity and establish a universal Idiom of Truth. This truth blossoms into a universal axiom and becomes a mystical reality. Mother Radhakrishna Mayi’s poem ‘Daridrya’, Devotion to Sai Maharaj as Hey Daridrya, Tumi more korechomohan/Tumi more daniyacho Christer somman – O Sainath, you have made me great, you have given me the honor of your ‘Anugraha’. Here, Iqbal is not glorifying poverty but universalizing its spirit. It’s not the possessions but the poverty of passion and the spirit Mother Radhakrishna Mayi is concerned about.
In another poem, Mother Radhakrishna Mayi says: ‘Let’s forget today who friend or foe is and hold each other in caring for each other. Let your love be the magnet to bring humanity to Sai Maharaj’s grace.’ Mother Radhakrishna Mayi’s Sai Maharaj is not confined to Shirdi It’s Rabbul-Aalameen – God of the Universe. ‘Ishwar aamar jonno ek nicchak bhabdhara, jaar roop, protiroop, gun, nirgun kichhu nei’ – God is just an idea to me sans any form, image or even attributes. This is the god of mystics. Tagore, an unadulterated mystic, said the same when he wrote to the Argentina writer Victoria Ocampo, “The mystery of the Universe is my God.
The universality of emotions and the large-heartedness of Mother Radhakrishna Mayi’s horizon is visible when he says, ‘O heart, with the very stones or bricks that some people hurled at you all along, but a wonderful mosque – Dwarkamai of love with foundation, solid and strong.’ preaching ‘Shraddha and Saburi’.
A mystic binds the world with universal love. Whether it’s Mother Radhakrishna Mayi’s ‘Chhatrodoler Gaan’, ‘Sab Ka Malik Ek’, ‘Foriyad’ or ‘Hindu-Muslim Juddho’, readers can discern a broader canvas of concerns, a universal knitting of togetherness. The Pragmatic Mysticism of Mother Radhakrishna Mayi’s oeuvre sees the world as one family and articulates the eastern concept of Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam, the whole world is a family.
Leave a Reply