Free Thinking - Biswanath Kar
CONTENTS:
1.Imaya K - About Oriya Prose - Ancient and Modern
2. Anandha Bairavi D - Analyzing the essay in the context of Odia literary renaissance movement
3. Gurunischitha U - Think and Act Freely- How the essay still pictures today
4. Saboor Aafrin Rizwana- Free Thinking in Scriptures
5. Aarthi T - Free Thinking as a foundation of Self Consciousness
ABOUT ORIYA PROSE- ANCIENT AND MODERN :
Imaya K
Odia or Oriya is a language of Odisha. The
language originated separately, independent of other languages around 10th and
11th century with its own script. Its
literature can be broadly divided into three periods.
ANCIENT LITERATURE
From the
inception of the language to the 15th century i.e. Mahabharata Kabya by Sarla
Das. The Imperial Ganga Kings of Orissa ruled the State from 1100 A.D. to 1435
A.D. They were lovers of Sanskrit literature and promoted the development of
Sanskrit scholarship. The love for Oriya language, literature and culture
emerged with the enthronement of Emperor Kapilendra Deva of the Gajapati Surya
Vanshi dynasty in 1435 A.D.
Rudrasudhanidhi is considered the first work of
prose in Odia literature written by Abhadutta Narayan Swami. Markanda Das
composed the first Koili (an ode to cuckoo) in Odia just before the beginning
of the age of Sarala Das. His composition Kesava Koili describes the pain of
separation of Yasoda from her son Krishna.He is also known to compose the epic
Daasagriba badha, Jnaanodaya koili. Primarily, their creations were limited to
mythologies, epics, lyrical poems etc.
Even Sarla Das's famous works, Mahabaratha and
Ramayana were inspired by their sanskrit counterparts.These works of his were
written without any prior knowledge of Sanskrit which led to him being called a
seer. His Oriya Mahabharata contained many deviations from and additions to the
Original Sanskrit Epic. He included in his works very many historical pictures
of the then social life, military strategy, etc.The Bilanka Ramayana and Chandi
Purana were also new creations of Sarala Das which did not merely follow the
outlines in the original Sanskrit texts.
MEDIAEVAL ORIYA LITERATURE
The start of this period was marked with Panchasakhas
and Bhakti(Devotional) Literature. It was between 16th century and mid 19th
century. The Panchasakhas were five saint poets who contributed greatly to
Oriya literature. The Panchasakhas were held in high esteem and formed a unique
group holding forth Bhakti as the best path to realize God. Jagannath Das was
the most famous of the five. His most famous work was oria bhagabat.
After Bhakti-Kavyas, imaginative and romantic
poetry occupied the next important place in Oriya literature. The simple Oriya
used in ‘Bhagabat’ of Jagannath Das greatly influenced these works. Other
famous works of this genre are Gopakeli and Parimalaa. During this period, a
number of poets enriched Oriya language by their remarkable literary
contributions called ‘Chautisas’(Thirty four stanzas from ‘Ka’ to ‘Kshya’ are
placed at the beginning of each composition). Chautisa covered
narratives, love stories or religious feelings. The first Chautisa of
Oriya literature is ‘Kalasa Chautisa’ of Bachya Das. This piece details marriage
ceremony of Siva and Parvati.
Then came the age of ornate poetry from mid 17th
to mid 19th century. During this period Bhakti rasa was replaced with Srinagar
rasa. Upendra Bhanja was the prince of Oriya Ornate poetic style, was a
prolific poet. In his poetic compositions Upendra Bhanja used his irony,
humour, alliteration and other literary styles. He was a supreme exponent of
mellifluous combination of words. He mastered in rhetorical usage. The ornate
Kabya tradition in Oriya literature ended with Bidagdha Chintarmani of
Abhimanyu Samantasinghar.
Towards the end of eighteenth century, the ornate
Kavyjuga gave way to the age of Oriya Lyrical poetry (Geeti Kabita). Most of
the lyrical poetry was composed in locally popular musical forms (Raga) so that
those could be sung.They mostly composed ‘Chaupadis’, which are now popularly
called ‘Odissi’.
Towards the close of the medieval period, Orissa
was occupied by Britishers. Orissa then came in contact with English educations
and civilization and with that, commenced the period of modern Oriya literature
of nineteenth century.
MODERN ORIYA LITERATURE
The first printing of the Odia language was done
in 1836 by Christian missionaries, replacing palm leaf inscription and
revolutionising Odia literature. The renaissance of modern Oriya literature
commenced after 1850. The western impact was felt in every aspect of Oriya
literature. The Oriya writers took interest in new genera like poetry, fiction,
essays, drama, etc. Traditional Oriya poetry was replaced by elegy, ode, lyric,
sonnet etc. It was only in the nineteenth century that prose came to be written
in Oriya Language.Fakir Mohan Senapati is considered the Father of modern Oriya
literature, particularly in prose and also in novels and short stories. The
first full-fledged novel in Oriya was written by Fakir Mohan Senapati called
‘Chhaman Atha Gunta’ (Six Acres and Half) based on the then feudal social
systems with vivid portrayal of characters.He had a unique style of his own,
using colloquial Oriya language replete with humour and satire. The foundation
of modern Oriya short story was also laid by Fakirmohan in late nineteenth
century. His first short story was Rebati’ published in 1898. This was about
female education, a sensitive subject a century back.
As freedom movements began, a new era in literary
thought emerged influenced by Gandhi and the trend of nationalism. Gopabandhu
was a large part of this idealistic movement, founding a school in Satyabadi
and influencing many writers of the period. Their principle genres were
criticism, essays and poetry. More prose emerged during this period from
various other writers.
“Free thinking
of one age is a common sense of the next”- Matthew Arnold
Biswanath
Kar as an eminent essayist known for his persuasive and authentic voices in his
writings is a symbolic figure of the nationalistic literary movement of odia or
odisha or orissa literature. The oriya language was derived from Magadhi
Apabhramsa. Emperor Kharavela’s inscription at udayagriri hills near
Bhubaneshwar in orissa has a very close resemblance with pali. However, oriya
emerged as a separate and independent language around the 10th and
12th cent AD with a standard oriya script.
The
British occupied orissa in 1803 AD after which the state is ruled under three
different constituencies such as madras, Visakhapatnam and nation state which
invoked the nationalistic thirst to create a separate orissa province to
cultivate their culture and language. The protest is also against the
linguistic hegemony of the Bengali, the dialect infused with oriya for so long
that it blemishes the ethnic significance of it. After far long protests, in 1936, it was
announced as separate province helping them to establish their own identity.
Linguistic and cultural movement
span over from 1860s till 1936 and Biswanath kar’s immense contribution for the
movement is naturally visible. It has bifold influence, he was part of the body
of writers(the sabuja writers) which moulded the renaissance of the literature
and in return, there are reflections of the movement on the writers
individually. Fakir Mohan Senapati is cherished as the father of oriya
literature, particularly prose , and the main founder of the movement. After
the introduction of printing press in Cuttack, the first oriya weekly was
printed in 1866 called ‘Utkal Dipika’ which even carried the historical records
of Bengal famine. ‘Utkal Sahitya’ is another literary weekly started publishing
in 1897 by the group of devoted authors, and kar edited the weekly for 37 years
of his lifetime.
It is considered in the movement and
explicitly stated by the author in the essay that the English education
impacted the consciousness of educated odiyas. This wider world view mediated
by this new education effected in questioning the traditional practices and new
methods of styles were adapted in literary spheres. The new trends such as
psychoanalysis by Freud, the mysticism of Swedenborg, the modernisation of
Yeats- Eliot- Pound-Joyce generations reached the grounds through Freida
Hauswirth Das and via Bengali literature. The novel ‘Basanti’ that serialised
in the Utkal sahitya had multiple authors and was called the ‘New collective
composition method’. So now it is obvious to the readers the inspirations of
discursive writings in kar’s essays because he was adept in analysing the bare
truth and expressing his independent ideas in all his works. His other major
anthology is ‘Vivadha Prabandha’ which included Swadhina chinta, Asha,
Mahasrota, Swadinata, Rakshyasalila, Anada prema etc.
According to Kar, man’s
consciousness is what impels him to think and this thinking faculty has been
for thousands of years enabled mankind to create ‘miraculous achievements and
accomplishments’. It is the entity which distinguishes animate objects from
inanimate ones. The free thinking he says that equipped man to create ancient
Vedas, Vedantas, the Bible, the Quran, science, philosophy, poetry, drama etc,
are all its products. Without this entity, the society is pushed into the pit
of narrowmindedness and communalism on the basis of religion, community that
leads to dispute and disharmony. However when he criticises religion for
seeding narrowmindedness, he doesn’t questions the existence of God in nature
but God in religion. Kar strongly
believes every man has a faculty of free thinking and through this God reveals
the truth.
Citing the historical examples of
two groups Aryans and the later brahmins, he says the one with free thinking
established timeless classics and foundations of the civilization but the latter
concretised the religion and that way dispelled free thinking, lead to the society
disfigured through caste and creed. Proving the statement, ‘without free
thinking, deterioration of human society is inevitable’.
Though English education enabled us
to understand truth with wider clarity, the so-called educated masses of the
society persists to be inactive because of their oblivious nature. This is due
to two factors- the indifference of youth and the force of habit. The cynical
attitude of this indifference adds to the degeneration and the habit through
imposed practises leads the submissiveness of the society. The solution for
both as Kar prescribes is the faculty of free thinking.
In an alarming note he concludes
that our country will continue to be in darkness until we as citizens think and
act freely. Thus, alluding the backdrop of the essay, that of which with the
oriya literary nationalistic movement, he asks us to interrupt every signs of
the society thoroughly to better understand and establish the truth because as
Arnold said, ‘today’s free thinking is tomorrow common sense’.
Gurunischitha U
Louis Althusser, a Structural Marxist, proposed the concept of Ideological State Apparatuses which without force Interpellates us as 'subjects'. This can be through our education, political stand, religion, media etc. With the mirage of making us feel as we are choosing and taking action, these aspects let us act as a puppet for them.
Even before our birth we are 'bred' to think and act according to some specific ideas. We never thought about why we believe in a particular religion or not, why we are following certain principles, values, or something as right/wrong or true/false. We believe it as that is what we are 'used' to, which becomes 'normal' or quotidian. With those prejudices and prejudgements we frame our opinions.
We, as humans, like Biswananth Kar stated, forgot about the strength in us to enter the vast world of ideas and to create the innumerable pearls to light up the world. We forgot to question 'why is it so?'. We took into account the gleaming social media life as the real one, the western world as the ideal, what our near ones adopted as the true path, and struggled to live up to their expectations, thus, losing the pearl residing in the shell, the 'I'. Harboured the 'other', and eventually ended up being slave of it. The media including its advertisements, their political motives, etc got hailed as our own views. In the name of fate or some superstitious beliefs, religion assured the hierarchy; masking the reality with decorative words political parties made their blind followers; letting them feel numb and unable, patriarchy took the throne in every sphere of life; hampering the flow to those who deserve it, rich accumulated the wealth and the list goes on. It should be acknowledged that the more advanced the man is, the realization and even pondering over own thoughts increased. Some who became conscious of this unconscious subjectivity, rebelled even when aware of the failures. They thought out of the normal, and created a 'new'. There arose social reformers, and even the individuals who embraced the concept of change rather than endurance.
Even then, myriad other forms of our critical enslavement got introduced silently. Recently, a case was filed against a political party for using a child to call their rallying cries. The children of today are the dolls of their parents, society, educational institutions which unemployed their thinking potential. Indifference towards artists or anything other than the 'logical' followers, so long exist in this society. Kar concluded the essay, " The future of this country is dark and without hope as long as the educated people do not forsake their indifference, do not break all the chains of temptations and do not learn to think and act freely."
"Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
………….
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts."
On Children by Khalil Gibran
The parents, teachers and even more the society are meant to 'suggest', not to infiltrate their thoughts and beliefs to the future generations. The reason behind the 'generation clash', which is a common issue in families today, is that there is no 'space' to think and act freely, which negates the slightest possibility of change as in the end, one with the 'power' wins. If Newton pained and left it like that when the apple fell on his head like others, the wonder of 'gravitational force' will forever be pending to unearth. Unlike the animals, humans have the treasure of thinking capacity which helps even to think about thinking. And without it, the world will be the same.
FREE THINKING IN SCRIPTURES:
Saboor Aafrin Rizwana
The Bible often talks about the power of the mind and the thoughts that come from it. Moses, Paul and Samuel talk about the powerfulness of the mind; Solomon, Matthew and Moses talk about how it can be deceived really easily; and David, Luke and Paul talk about God's blessings that come withopening your minds to Christ. Minds and thoughts are powerful and worthy of protection; one'sthoughts are able to change their reality and the circumstances they live in are actually a result ofour thoughts. Referring to a new covenant given by God, Moses says: "Fix these words of mine inyour hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads"(Deuteronomy 11:18 NIV). In this verse, God is telling everyone to put His words into their minds.Because God's Word is so important, minds become important as well. Everyone's minds'importance is also shown in Philippians 4:6, which says "And the peace of God, which transcends allunderstanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:7 NIV). God iswilling to do anything to protect our Spirit if we recognize Christ as our Savior. God will especiallyprotect Christians' minds from evil influences because of how important their minds are. Minds arealso important because they are a mean that God uses to talk to Christians. In 2 Samuel, Samueltalks about how God spoke to King David through Nathan, a prophet. 2 Samuel 7:3 says "Nathanreplied to the king 'Whatever you have in mind, go ahead and do it, for the Lord is with you'" (2Samuel 7:3 NIV). God can use minds to speak to and guide someone by giving them thoughts thathelp them overcome whatever obstacle they are facing. God can still speak to people through theirminds on a daily basis and this is why minds are powerful and important. It is still an individual'schoice to follow those thoughts an if one is an unbeliever, it might be hard for that unbeliever totrust those thoughts.
It is essential to learn Islam from its sources, the greatest of which, and the foundation thereof, are the Qur’an and Sunnah.Islam has emphasized the importance of reason and thinking, which is reflected in many verses. There are phrases that are repeated dozens of times in the Qur’an, such as “Thus does Allah make clear to you His verses that you might use reason” [al-Baqarah 2:242], “for a people who give thought” [Yoonus 10:24] and “for a people who understand” [al-An‘aam 6:98].
Allah calls upon us to think in the Qur’an, as He, may He be glorified, says (interpretation of the meaning):
“[This is] a blessed Book which We have revealed to you, [O Muhammad], that they might reflect upon its verses and that those of understanding would be reminded”
[Saad 38:29].
Allah, may He be glorified, says, calling us to reflect upon His creation (interpretation of the meaning):
“Do they not contemplate within themselves? Allah has not created the heavens and the earth and what is between them except in truth and for a specified term. And indeed, many of the people, in [the matter of] the meeting with their Lord, are disbelievers”
[ar-Room 30:8].
Indeed, Allah, may He be exalted, has criticized the people of Hell by stating that they did not benefit from their reason, and He tells us (interpretation of the meaning):
“And they will say, ‘If only we had been listening or reasoning, we would not be among the companions of the Blaze’”
[al-Mulk 67:10]
“So have they not traveled through the earth and have hearts by which to reason and ears by which to hear? For indeed, it is not eyes that are blinded, but blinded are the hearts which are within the breasts”
[al-Hajj 22:46].
Thinking is an act of worship, which Allah points out in the verses (interpretation of the meaning):
“Indeed, in the creation of the heavens and the earth and the alternation of the night and the day are signs for those of understanding.
The Bhagavad Gita describes the tendency of the mind as follows: "For him who has conquered the mind, the mind is the best of friends; but for one who has failed to do so, his mind will remain the greatest enemy."
Lord Krishna, in the Bhagavad Gita, endorses the free will of the eternal living entities. The Supreme Lord never interferes with everyone’s free will and independence.Arjuna, acting upon his free will, refused to fight the impending war even though it was inevitable and just.Lord Krishna, being surprised, asks Arjuna:
The Supreme Lord said: My dear Arjuna, how have these
impurities come upon you? They are not at all befitting a man who knows the
value of life. They lead not to higher planets but to infamy. (BG 2.2)
Later, Lord Krishna very importantly clarifies that everyone is responsible for their actions and subsequent reactions for which the Supreme Lord can not be held responsible.
Nor does the Supreme Lord assume anyone's sinful or pious activities. Embodied beings, however, are bewildered because of the ignorance which covers their real knowledge. (BG 5.15)
Finally, after speaking His divine instructions Lord Krishna tells Arjuna to do he likes i.e. Arjuna was free to choose whether to act or not act according to what he has just heard.
Thus I have explained to you knowledge still more
confidential. Deliberate on this fully, and then do what you wish to do. (BG
18.63)
T. Aarthi
Biswanath Kar is
an Indian politician, essayist, editor and writer. He is credited with the foundation of
literary journal Utkal Sahithya and served as its editor for 38 years. Kar is
also deemed as one of the founders of Brahmo Samaj in Cuttack. Brahmo Samaj is
an intellectual reform movement in India which served to cleanse Hinduism. Kar
rejected the idea that any text could have ultimate power over human reason and
consciousness. As a social reformer, he rejected caste system and other
societal ills. In his thought provoking essay, “Free Thinking”, he elucidates
the importance of free thinking in exploring truth. Free thinking as a term originated
in the 17th century. It refers to thinking freely or independently
without blindly following any dogma.
Kar begins the essay by asserting that only through free thinking capability; man is able to assert his dominance over other creatures in the world. Human beings are blessed with a special entity called soul which makes them superior to other living organisms. Through the appropriate use of determination, wisdom and consciousness human beings are able to progress day by day. The usage of these elements directly depends on man`s thinking faculty. The numerous Vedas, scriptures, commerce and other doctrines of philosophy are the product of man`s free thinking. Kar emphasizes the fact that without the presence of free thinking, one can never attain manhood.
If a man blindly follows any particular religious doctrine without
questioning them, it will lead to bigotry and hatred. All human beings are
blessed with the capacity of free thinking which lead them to the path of
absolute truth. Kar offers an instance of decay in Indian society due to the
absence of free thinking. Aryans in order to establish their supremacy
delegated the lower caste members to the position of slaves. The slaves who are
devoid of free thinking do not question the authoritative regime. Only through
free thinking, one can save themselves from the reins of dictatorship. Kar
argues that one should not fall prey to the absurdities of society. Accepting
any dogma without questioning is dangerous and harmful.
Various materials and web sources were referred to produce this article.
.jpeg)
Comments
Post a Comment