Pratham

Pratham is the first post on this blog. For the information of any reader besides myself,if and when i decide to tell someone about it, this blog will contain my thoughts and reaction to poetry and lyrics. Though i have just started to think seriously about it, I find myself drawn toward poetry to the point of addiction. I am hoping writing about it and making a hash of my favourite poems will somehow help me get over this new found obsession.
I have to decided to mark the beginning of this blog by writing about Bharatiyar's Iraiva.
A song that celebrates God's creation. A song that appreciates all that is beautiful in the world. The simple expression and awe conveyed by the poem are very appealing.It touches the more serious aspects of our being when it talks of Bhakti and Mukti. This,in my opinion, is significant because it outlines Bharatiyar's stand. Born a brahmin, he shunned the rituals of brahmin society maintaining that he is as close,if not more, to God by treating his fellow beings as equals. Bharatiyar songs strongly reflect the ideas put forth in the Bhakthi movement of the medieval ages.

Ettanai kodi inbam vaithaai,engal iraiva!

Chittinai Achittudan inaithaai,
Angu serum aimbhoothatthin viyan ulagam amaithaai,
Attanai ulagamum varna kalanjiyamaaga,
pala pala nal azhaigugal samaithaai.

Mukti endru oru nilai samaithaai
Angu muzhuthinaiyyum unarum unarvu amaithaai,
Bhakthi endru oru nilai vaguthaai
engal parama!

I am attempting a crude translation without which the point i am trying to make may not come through.
He starts off by saying " You have created innumerable sweet things o lord!"
Its a wonderful piece of poetry because it puts across so many tenets of philosophy in such simple words without failing to make the necessary impact.
The first paragraph talks of consciousness and unconsciousness. He says its a wonder that two such states exist in harmony with one another because the world lies in the interface of these two.
I find this idea most intriguing. He combines the Hindu philosophy that states that all matter is made of the five elements-Air,Water,Fire,Earth and Ether- beautifully with the suggestion that the world around us is in fact not fully percieved by the conscious mind. The unconscious mind percieves and registers what the eye does not see and the ear does not hear and the interplay of all this is what we believe is "our" world.

The next paragraph goes into the next plane of being-the plane of salvation or mukti. He describes Mukti as a state where one can feel everything. This is a thought which seems radically opposite to the popular belief that Salvation frees one of all feeling. However, a deeper look makes me rethink the line and I wonder is "everything" in this context is in referance to the Brahman. In fact, he uses the word "muzhuthinayum" meaning all of it or whole. This may in fact be a reference to the sloka :
"Om purnamadah purnamidam purnaat purnamudachyate purnasya purnamaadaaya purnamevaaavashishyate"
This is the speech of the brahman wherein He says " I am Whole and every part of me is also Whole"
The next line reiterates the ideology of the bhakti movement. He uses bhakti as an adverb rather than a verb. Here he calls bhakti also a state suggesting the link between the two.
The poem makes one want to look at nature and the world around.it makes one want to be thankful for all that is and it confers on the reader a peace that comes from the security that He is there to love and protect.
Its poems like these that leave agnostics like me in confusion!