GUWAHATI, Feb 9 - Sankaradeva�s naam-dharma remained a fountainhead of humanity, and liberal ideas and values more attuned to modern democratic ways of thought. Not for nothing, Sankaradeva had been a source of inspiration for leaders of the modern Assamese renaissance down the ages, from Anandaram Dhekial Phukan, Lakshminath Bezbaroa to Jyotiprasad Agarwala and Bishnu Prasad Rabha.
This was the observation made by noted scholar Dr Hiren Gohain while delivering the keynote address at the two-day national seminar on Srimanta Sankaradeva and his times at the Visva Bharati University, Santiniketan today.
All other aspects of the knowledge of this world and reality dispensed by the Bhagavata Purana were adopted by Sankaradeva. Predictably, he regarded the entire created world as maya (illusion), which at the same time manifested God�s demiurgic energy and obscured his real self. It was Hari naam that through blissful adoration and passionate adoration awoke in the devotees� mind a sense of identity with the supreme being, who was manifest through him, and saved him from the recurring cycles of rebirth in life of toil, pain and despair.
Through numerous racy and idiomatic translations and adaptations of the Bhagavata Purana, through original plays in which prose dialogue is mixed with songs, dance and narration, and songs set to classical ragas blended with strains of folk music, Sankaradeva made bhakti into a complete and all absorbing experience. Sankaradeva described Bhagavata Purana as �the essence of the Vedas,� said Dr Gohain.
While Sankaradeva had no intention of challenging Brahminical Hinduism head-on, and accorded due regard for Brahmins, the inherent radical impulse of his new creed provoked panic among the priesthood and suspicion among feudal monarchs, both of which forces were weighing the common man down under a tremendous burden.
The main bone of contention was the fact that Sankaradeva by proclaiming the devotion to Hari/Krishna as the supreme religion of Kali Yuga, and making it accessible to all regardless of caste or class, was endangering the livelihood of the priests and pundits, and their position at the apex of society.
Kings on the other hand much preferred the caste system and other forms of subordination that sought to accustom the common man to unquestioning servitude. Fortunately, the second part of his long life was spent under protection of Naranarayan, the Koch king of the 16th century, whose attitude to him changed from murderous fury at the instigation of Brahmin pundits to genuine appreciation of his learning and intelligence.
When the king showed an interest in his creed they both helped its propagation to every nook and corner of Assam and, in alliance with traditional Brahminical orthodoxy, sought by force to control or extirpate the radical impulse.
The later centuries did not see this form of bhakti overcome the caste system; rather, it became reconciled to it, a phenomenon common to the development of bhakti schools and sects all over India. The guru towered over the bhakats, in a way that Sankaradeva had not anticipated, said Dr Gohain.
The seminar was organised by the Assamese Language Unit of Bhasha-Bhavana, Visva-Bharati University. The inaugural speech was delivered by Visva-Bharati vice chancellor Prof Sabujkoli Sen. Eminent Indologist Prof Suniti Pathak was the chief guest at the inaugural function and it was presided over by Principal of the Visva-Bharati Bhasa-Bhavana Prof Abhijit Sen. Dr Sangita Saikia of the Assamese Language Unit of the Visva-Bharati University�s Bhasha-Bhavana welcomed the guests and participants.
Scholars from various parts of the country have been participating in the seminar, organised by the Assamese Language Unit of the Visva-Bharati with financial assistance from the Assam government.