A Ray Of Virtue And Courage

A Man’s disposition is emanated by the essence of his ancestors, his birthplace, and the ambiance in which he is fostered. Ettayapuram, in South India, a vicinity esteemed for the finest arts of poetry and music. Its fame had crawled all over the southern part of India, and Tamil Scholars and musicians lined up to seek patronage in the court of Ettayapuram.

A genius by birth contradicts the conventional wisdom of what pedagogy is, and escorts poetry to him in the caresses of the breeze. It is but reflexive that his mind was drawn away from bookish learning. He was a born-poet and bestowed with the traits of composing poems at a more embryonic age. At the age of seven, poetry sprang from his voice, he had inward eye of an enchanting nature and embarked on manuscript poems of love and romance. He startled all the more, older poets of his generation with his readiness to vivify poems and confer his opinions without flinching. He was in full bloom with the mind, conversant in the language, had the poet’s love of solitude and complexion, delight in penning a saccharine tingling of rhythm, and the love of prudence.

நிற்பதுவே நடப்பதுவே பறப்பதுவே

நீங்களெல்லாம் சொப்பனந்தானோ?

பல தோற்ற மயக்கங்களோ?

Whatever I perceive as standing (still), walking and flying around me,

Are all of these just my dreams?

Are they mere illusions that my thoughts make me believe in this world?

வானகமே இளவெயிலே மரச்செறிவே

நீங்களெல்லாம் கானலின் நீரோ?

வெறும் காட்சிப் பிழைதானோ? The sky, the first rays of sunlight, the trees along slopes,

Are all of you merely a mirage?

Are these just a result of my erroneous view? At the age of eleven, the title ‘Bharati’, the name of the ‘Goddess of Knowledge’ was conferred upon him by the court in approval of his ability to compose poems on any subject at any moment.

Most of his facets were evolved from his father, his straight-forwardness and deep-seated creed in truth. The son also inherited the father’s intelligence and innocence. He was united in wedlock at the age of fifteen to a gorgeous girl of seven.

He serenaded love songs at the nuptial ceremony enamoring his wife’s prettiness and seeking her for her love. The shy and the modest bride sensed all the more at that age, her husband was an astounding person and was indeed ultra proud of him. She was the driving force in his life and he makes melody adoring her in a multitude of poems that bespeak the heights of his advaitic experience.

சுட்டும் விழிச் சுடர் தான் கண்ணம்மா சூரிய சந்திரரோ

வட்டக் கரிய விழி கண்ணம்மா வானக்கருமை கொலோ

பட்டுக் கருநீலப் புடவை பதித்த நல்வயிரம்

நட்ட நடுநிசியில் தெரியும் நட்சத்திரங்களடீ

The blazing radiance of your eyes, Kannamma Do the Sun and the Moon derive thence?

The round black pupils of your eyes, Kannamma Do the dark skies imbibe whence?

The silken saree, hued a midnight blue, With glittering stones embedded bright

Are the twinking stars seen, In the darkest hour of the night

சோலை மலரொளியோ நினது சுந்தரப் புன்னகை தான்

நீலக் கடலலையே நினது நெஞ்சின் அலைகளடீ

கோலக் குயிலோசை உனது குரலின் இனிமையடீ

வாலைக் குமரியடீ கண்ணம்மா மருவக்காதல் கொண்டேன்

A bright floral garden reflects in your lovely smile

The blue waves of the sea resonate like your heart

The gay koel’s notes liken to the sweetness of your voice

On you, the young maiden, Kannamma envelops my encompassing love

சாத்திரம் பேசுகிறாய் கண்ணம்மா சாத்திரம் ஏதுக்கடீ

ஆத்திரம் கொண்டவர்க்கே கண்ணம்மா சாத்திரமுண்டோடீ

மூத்தவர் சம்மதியில் வதுவை முறைகள் பின்பு செய்வோம்

காத்திருப்பேனோடீ இது பார் கன்னத்து முத்தமொன்று

Ideology, that you talk, kannamma, you need it not!

For those in tearing haste, Kannamma, Credo is sought not!

With the elder’s assent, the wedding rites, we shall follow yonder

How can I wait till then? Look here! A kiss on your cheek, I wonder

Varanasi was his stamping ground, which suited his poetic charisma and he takes great delight in glancing the river Ganges. The river Ganges mesmerized his poetic dreams and he engrosses himself in the splendorous of the river. He paints a word picture of Ganges as one of the ten limbs of Bharata Devi and exclaims the holy water of the river adds sturdiness like nectar to the soil, embed life into the earth, and interweave the culture and Dharma, born out of spirituality with the soil. The Ganges has descended from heaven flourishing gold and dharma all along the path of her dive.

கங்கை நதி புறத்து கோதுமை பண்டம் காவிரி வெற்றிலைக்கு மாறு கொள்வோம் Let us exchange the products of wheat from the area around Ganges river,

With the beetle leaves from the area around Cauvery He headed to Varanasi to the Congress meeting in 1905. In his way back to Madras, he passed through Calcutta, where he bumped into Sister Nivedita, the disciple of Vivekananda, in Dum Dum. He colossally arose to her rare vigor, the force of love and strength of wisdom. Her very appearance exemplified her inner light. His forum with sister Nivedita pulled strings to fight down the line for the freedom and equality of women in our country.

Freedom for women is elicited from a personification of the self. Men and women are on a par and presuming they do not torment each other, they have the liberty to act according to their will and pleasure.

He puts forth that man’s obligation in commonality is to safeguard the woman and to act as a hedge around her. His nine commandments about the freedom of women are as follows:

1. Girls should not be wed before attaining the age of puberty.

2. They should not be influenced to wed a man whom they don’t fancy.

3. Post marriage, she should have the freedom to live apart from her husband; she shall not be put to shame on this score.

4. Girls should be presented with an equitable share in ancestral property

5. In the aftermath of the husband’s demise, women should be permitted to rewed.

6. Women, who are inclined towards being a spinster, should be free to do so, if they are competent to eke out a living by the business of handicraft, independently.

7. The condition laid on women, in an attempt to verbalize or associate with men, exempting their husband should be wiped out, as this is born out of fear and jealousy.

8. Women in reciprocal to men should be at liberty to take possession of higher education in all the branches of knowledge.

9. If a woman is proficient to exercise herself in any government jobs, she should not be prevented by law.

நிமிர்ந்த நன்னடை நேர்கொண்ட பார்வையும்

நிலத்தில் யார்க்கும் அஞ்சாத நெறிகளும்,

திமிர்ந்த ஞானச் செருக்கும் இருப்பதால்

செம்மை மாதர் திறம்புவ தில்லையாம்;

அமிழ்ந்து பேரிரு ளாமறி யாமையில்

அவல மெய்திக் கலையின் றி வாழ்வதை

உமிழ்ந்து தள்ளுதல் பெண்ணற மாகுமாம்

உதய கன்ன உரைப்பது கேட்டிரோ!

Her head held high she walks while looking everyone in the eye

She is a fearless possessor of integrity,

She is a proud possessor of wisdom born out of conviction

The resolute woman does not falter or feel inferior;

Despite facing sorrow and criticism

She is capable of deriving pleasure from her life

Throwing off vanity, she emits the beauty of a woman

She rises, making her voice heard!

At the age of 27, he was an amiable, enthusiastic, blossoming, majestic youth. His eyes were red-lined as good as the lotus flower and the eyeballs at the center gleamed like a ball of fire, not just for people who had espied him while he was in the land of the living but besides those who perceive him in portraits and photographs are touched upon by the daringness and sublimity epitomized in his eyes. It never satiated one to look at them. His courageous face sparkle like a tower and to signify one to be fearless and without shame. His eyes recited the purity and bounty of his heart.

As rightly once said by Thiruvalluvar, the face is the index of the mind, “When falsehood and fear ceases, it is viable and plausible to look straight ahead.

He purged the idea of lower caste and reinforced the concept of equilibrium. He, beyond a shadow of a doubt, pertain to the class of prodigious and phenomenal humankind. He envisaged a joyous world devoid of wretchedness, a world of enlightenment unmarred by ignorance, a world which forsake superstitions, a world of progress that had nullified corruption. Justice and Wisdom orchestrate in the paradise of his conception, here unity and goodwill prevailed among every individual. Yet his attempts were interpreted as insanity by the society around him, his personality was competent enough to endure such criticism and persist to be firm in establishing his ideals in the outer world. He boldly faced all the misery of poverty and dwelt in peace barely when he was penniless. It was his love for humanity that outraged him, he could not bear the sight of an insincere action or a false superstition.

அச்சம் இல்லை அச்சம் இல்லை அச்சம் என்பதில்லையே இச்சகத்தில் உள்ளோரெலாம் எதிர்த்து நின்ற போதினும் அச்சம் இல்லை அச்சம் இல்லை அச்சம் என்பதில்லையே

துச்சமாக எண்ணி நம்மை தூறு செய்த போதினும் அச்சம் இல்லை அச்சம் இல்லை அச்சம் என்பதில்லையே

பிச்சை வாங்கி உண்ணும் வாழ்கை பெற்றுவிட்ட போதினும் அச்சம் இல்லை அச்சம் இல்லை அச்சம் என்பதில்லையே

இச்சை கொண்ட பொருளெல்லாம் இழந்து விட்ட போதினும் அச்சம் இல்லை அச்சம் இல்லை அச்சம் என்பதில்லையே

The fear I have not, fear I have not,

Even if all the world opposes me,

The fear I have not, fear I have not,

Even if they judge me as the worst,

And tell things bad about me,

The fear I have not, Fear I have not,

Even if I am fated to live by begging,

The fear I have not, Fear I have not,

Even if I lose all my wealth due to desires,

The fear I have not, fear I have not.

His love for the universe articulated itself in curious ways. Feeding the crows and sparrows is an expression of his love for creation. In the former times, when caste system and untouchability prevailed in the country, he not just invited untouchables to his house but bestowed an everlasting place in his heart.

He travels on foot, with his wife holding her hands in the Ettayapuram streets along the Raja gardens. In the times of yore, it was inferred a very unusual behavior indeed. He not in the slightest, lose his temper with the traitor but bury the hatchet following a principle to any degree, that the enemy should be loved as a mark of God’s presence in all beings.

His adeptness on the occurrences, all over the map was inch-perfect and all-embracing. As a journalist in “Swadesamitran”, who had to get to grips with international matters, flipped through all the English newspapers, particularly those published from England. He believed that India could lead the world in many respects, for it had the spiritual strength substantive for leadership and possessed impeccable qualities as a nation. He introspected the highest civilization for a nation, or an individual was to forsake a life of restrictions. His political and patriotic activity sustained in visits to nearby villages to kadayam, and conversing with small audiences. He had tremendous respect for Mother India and penned national poems illustrating her vivacity.

அறிவு நீ தருமம் நீ

உள்ளம் நீ அதனிடை மருமம் நீ ,

உடற்கண் வாழ்ந்திடும் உயிர் நீ தோளிடை வன்பு நீ,

நெஞ்சகத்தன்பு நீ

ஆலயம்தோறும் அணி பெற விளங்கும் தெய்வ சிலைஎல்லாம் தேவி இங்குனதே [வந்தே மாதரம் ஜெய வந்தே மாதரம் ]

You are wisdom, you are the eternal law You are our heart, you are our soul and breath You are divine love, you are the awe in our hearts that conquer death You are the strength that moves our arm You are the beauty, yours is the charm that turns every image divine In our temples, you are the deity serene [I venerably bow before you]

His eternal rest befell unusually. During his diurnal visit to the Parthasarathy Swamy temple, he tended to feed fruit to the temple elephant. On a fateful day, the elephant stamped him to the ground. He was weakened by the shock of the tragic incident and was afflicted with the stomach ailment soon after. He ceased living on the night of September 11, 1921, and during the final rituals, he was dressed in his clothes, with the black coat and the turban.

Citizen of the world

He gets the knack of mastering multifarious languages and relishes the literary works in their authentic languages. He had a scholarly knowledge of languages like Tamil, Hindi, Sanskrit, Telugu, Kannada, Malayalam, French, English, Greek, Latin, Arabic, Urdu, and several others. He translated several pieces of world literature into Tamil. He was exceptionally inspired by the poems of Shelley.

A person of versatile talents

He was a multi-faceted personality. He had mastered several arts including martial arts, sword fight, cartoon, physical exercises, Kasrat, folk arts, Carnatic music, and Bharatanatyam. He honors the songs of beggars, traversing in trains, and composes instantaneous songs in their tune to amuse them.

The epitome of generosity

All through his life, he never held in reserve for himself or his family. Therefore, he perpetually felt the pangs of poverty and hunger. While he was returning home in a rickshaw, moved by the poor condition of the rickshaw puller, he donated all the money he had and returned home empty-handed only to be chided by his wife. Yet another time, he has acknowledged a money order for his poetry works but scattered the rupee notes on the streets for the down and outs to be benefitted.

The champion of equality

Born and bred in an orthodox Brahmin residence, he brushed aside the distinctions of caste and creed and allied with the people of low caste. He vocalizes and hit the dance floor with them, bestowed them with charity and pass eons of time with them.

He had been honored by the Government of India with a memorial postage stamp. Numerous cultural associations and clubs are named after him in predominant parts of the world. He has been the subject of scholarly research for the M.Litt and Ph.D. degree in universities.

In the ever-changing, fast-paced history of India, his name is imprinted as a national poet and a devoted son of Mother India. A Poet’s inspiration spring up from reams of mystic sources. Like the little drops of water make the mighty ocean, little thoughts of a human mind make the mighty poem.

He is called by the name of Mahakavi Subramanya Bharathi !!!