Krishna
Joo Razdan's "Maharaja Mahadevun
Che Chhui Saal" is a superb Puranic picture
gallery. In this devotional lyric cosmos is the
studio-cum-exhibition hall, Lord Vishnu is the
model and Krishna Joo Razdan, incognite as Narada,
is the inspired literary painter. The bard's
devout imagination, telescoping Lord Vishnu's
variegated associated exploits, objectified them
on literary canvas. Like impressionistic painters,
Krishna Joo paints diverse fleeting associations
conjured up by his unique model. Each quatrain in
the lyric is a picture-frame exhibiting two or
more pictures. Here the model remains unaltered
but there are constant changes in the perspective.
Narada,
journeying through the vast cosmic expanses,
informs Lord Vishnu about developments in the
celestial regions. He invites Lord Vishnu to Lord
Mahadeva's marriage. Krishna Joo Razdan, incognite
as Narada, paints ingratiating memories associted
with his unique model. In the incarnation as Lord
Rama, Lord Vishnu showers bounteous love upon
Mother Sita. By quickening up the associated
memories of the readers, Krishna Joo conjures up
the picture of Lord Rama and Mother Sita enjoying
perfect conjugal bliss.
Radha-Krishna
Deep Love
He
juxtaposes with it a picture depicting deep love
between Lord Krishna and Mother Radha. In the same
frame he fits in the portrait of Lord Krishna
lifting the Goverdhan mountain to protect the
cows, cowherds and calves against the torrential
rain sent by jealous Lord Indira to lash the Gokul
landscape. Next Krishna Joo paints Lord Krishna
enjoying butter offered with love by Ma Jessuda.
He conjures up infant Krishna with
butter-besmeared mouth and face playing pranks
about Jessuda. Alongside with this picture is
placed the picture of Kubza whose hunch is set
right as she unhestitatingly applies sandal paste
to Lord Krishna's forehead meant especially for
Kans, the king of Mathura. This is followed by a
suggestive painting of Sudama offering Lord
Krishna rice chaff to eat.
Shrimad
Bhagwatam mentions that Sudama was one of the
dearest boyhood friends of Lord Krishna. One cold
rainy evening he was munching some grains. On
enquiry he attributed chattering of his teeth to
intense cold. This false statement subjected him
to perpetual penury in his later life. Once he is
directed by his wife, Sushila, to seek help of his
boyhood friend who is now the king of Dwarika. In
the royal place, Sudama is received very warmly.
Lord Krishna himself washes clean his tired feet.
Sudama has brought for Lord Krishna some chaffy
rice. The Lord enjoys a handful of the offering of
love. He is prevented from enjoying more by
Rukmini. She fears that the kind Lord will bestow
everything upon Sudama rendering his own person
and family impecunious. This incident too is the
content of a picture in Razdan Sahib's picture
gallery.
Bhagwatam
& Ramayana Juxtaposed
Sugreve, the
king of Kishkindha, is driven out of his capital
city by his unrighteous brother Bali. Along with
his faithful lieutenants, he retires to a hilly
eminence where Bali is destined to die under a
curse pronounced by a sage. Lord Rughvir befriends
Sugreve and, after killing lascivious Bali, he
places upon his head the crown of Kishkindha.
Vibhishana, deserting the camp of his demoniacal
brother Ravana, joins Lord Rughvir in Kishkindha.
He is enthroned in exile as the king of Lanka.
Bali Dhaanav, the demon king, is bestowed the
underworld for his generosity. These three Puranic
episodes are held by a single picture-frame
forming the fourth quatrain of the poem. Feeling
envious of the tremendous popularity of Lord
Krishna, Lord Brahma, the god with three heads,
hides away all his calves and cowherd companiuns
in a cave. Lord Krishna creates all the stolen
creatures himself. This abashes Brahma. Lord
Krishna forgives Brahma's insolence. Krishna Joo
paints this episode without going too deep into
its ontological implications. He feels ecstatic
while painting Lord Krishna dancing with the gopis.
Devki, the dear sister of Kansa, is married to the
Yadhava prince Vaasudev. When the newly wedded
couple are driven towards Vasudev's country, the
elements predict Kansa's death at the hands of
Devki's offspring. Thereupon, Kansa imprisons
Devki and her husband. He assassinates Devki's six
babies in succession and Lord Krishna, the
seventh, is spared by divine intercession. As Lord
Krishna grows up, he kills Kansa for the
restoration of moral order. Leaving his foster
mother, Yashodha, in Gokul, he comes to Mathura.
At the request of Devki, he brings to life the six
children which she has lost. These children later
become Gandharvas. This Puranic episode forms the
sixth picture-frame in Razdan Sahib's picture
gallery.
On the
completion of his education at Sandipini's
hermitage, the guru asks his illustrious disciple
to bring to life his son drowned in a naval
tragedy. Lord Krishna jumps into the sea and
retrieves alive the son of his guru. Krishna Joo
paints this episode in the seventh and the eight
quatrains which run into each other In shrimad
Bhagvatam there is mention of Shankhasur. This
demon unleashes terror and unrighteousness all
around. When pursued by superior righteous
strength, he hides himself in the vast conch shell
which forms his abode. Lord Krishna jumps into the
sea and challenges to a battle the demon who has
been perpetrating horrible atrocities upon the
devout. Shankhasur is killed and his conch shell,
called Panch Janya, becomes a coveted possession
of the yaadavas. This episode too is the content
of one of the pictures lightly sketched by Krishna
Joo.
Spirituality
in Devotion
As the
Pandavas are befriended by Lord Krishna during
their exile, they recognize the essential divinity
of their kinsman. They start supplicating before
him in deep devotion. This is resented by a
contemporary prince, Shishupal, who regards
Krishna nothing better than a common cowherd.
Shishupal nourishes grudge against Krishna also
for eloping away with his sister Rukmini, Lord
Krishna, the merciful, forgives Shishupal's
impertinence a number of times. He cuts off
Shishupal's head with his rotating disc (Sudharshan
Chakra) as the latter persists in pouring forth
abusive language. This cpisode too forms one of
the painted canvases in Krishna Joo's vast picture
gallery.
With his
carnal passions perfectly under control, Lord
Krishna dallies with 16108 ladies and maidens.
Razdan Sahib paints this fact with light verbal
strokes. Lord Krishna's separate dalliance with
each gopi is an objectification of the essential
oneness of God. Lord Krishna sows rubies from a
string which, first changing the sapling, develop
into sizeable trees bearing rubies on boughs and
branches. Collecting these rubis the messenger
from Radhika grows quite rich. In this
picture-frame, Razdan Sahib also includes the
spectacle of a pearly shower sent by Lord Shiva to
lash the Kashmir landscape. At the end of the
frieze, Razdan Sahib juxtaposes the portraits of
Lord Vishnu and Lord Mahesh with their divine
consorts Laxmi and Gauri.
Razdan's
Perpetual Struggle
Spiritual
progress enjoins an arduous effort. Spiritual
bliss and enlightenment are realizable only
through constant meditation and assiduous
observance of high psycho-physical discipline.
This is manifest from Krishna Joo Razdan's all
devotional lyrics. We observe him as a seeker
constantly seeking to realize Brahman. Sometimes,
he is a dualist with an impersonal concept of God.
Soon he becomes a dualist with a personal concept
of God. Again he feels that Advaita Vedantic
monism is the highest truth. The bard's
imagination, surcharged with devotional ecstasy,
keeps shifting constantly from one point of view
to the other. He is obviously living the
experiences which he is communicating through his
devotional lyrics. Being a true devotee of God, he
feels divine contemplation an existential
indispensability. He is painfully conscious about
the dwindling numbers of Kashmiri Pandit
community. He fears its complete extirpation due
to the prevalence of numerous social evils.
Razdan Sahib
is proud of Kashmiri language which is the
principal medium of his poetic expression. He
regards it dearest to the Mother Goddess. He is
convinced that salvation for Kashmiris is
attainable only by singing praises of the Mother
Goddess in Kashmiri language. Razdan Sahib's
poetry objectifies his perpetual struggle for
comprehending the mysterium tremendum enveloping
man all around.
Subjective
Idealism
Idealism is
the school of philosophy which regards God or
Brahman as the ultimate reality. This Philosophy
is the bed-rock of all religions of the world.
Some philosophers believe that man and God are
essentially one. God is attainable by directing
sense perceptions inwards towards the self. This
is the cardinal viewpoint of subjective idealists.
Essential Brahminism too is subjective idealism.
There are other idealists who, recognizing the
existence of God, consider Him an entity separate
from man. For them, God directs the course of
nature. He is an entity outside man. Man is
answerable for his actions to God on the day of
resurrection. This type of idealism is called
objective idealism. It is the main philosophic
content of the religions like Islam and
Christianity.
In some of
his lyries, we observe Razdan Sahib marshalling
the basic postulates of objective idealism. There
are others in which subjective idealism is the
poet's predominant philosophical preoccupation. He
discerns greater rectitude in the subjective
philosophical postulates. In one of his poems, he
advocates observance of Islamic practices for the
enjoyment of spiritual bliss. Razdan Sahib's
lyrics objectify the great bard's patient
perpetual struggle for comprehending the mystery
of existence. He perpetually investigates the
validity of polytheistic and monistic religious
concepts. He is sometimes a polytheist
objectifying his devotion separately for Brahma,
Vishnu and Mahesh. In such moods, Rama and Krishna
are two different incarnations. But at the same
time, he regards all the principal gods of Hindu
pantheon a single entity. God appears to him
permeating every cosmic object around. In the
concluding couplets of Maharaja Mahadevun Che
Chuui Saal, he reveals his belief in the essential
monistic nature of God. He longs for the
realisation of the eternal truth of advaita
vedantic monism and desires to realise his
essential oneness with God.
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