Download Soteriological Appeal in Salabega`s Songs

June - 2014
Odisha Review
Soteriological Appeal
in Salabega’s Songs
Dr. Bibhudutt Das
I
n some of the songs of Salabega, we see an
earnest soteriological appeal, that is, the poet’s
impassioned plea to man to prioritize the salvation
of the soul. In philosophy, the doctrine of salvation
is called soteriology. Salvation is necessary
because it would free us from the cycle of birth
and rebirth, the endless cycle from which there is
hardly an escape. However, to attain salvation is
difficult. What it exacts, among other things, is to
renounce worldly pleasures and to direct one’s
attention to the divine. According to Buddhist
philosophy, the attainment of Nirvana is contingent
on this renunciation, and in Bhagavad Gita, Sri
Krishna underscores such renunciation. Quest for
salvation being an important aspect of Salabega’s
songs, we find Salabega as a supplicant praying
to God to redeem him, but at the same time he
struggles to train his mind to wean itself from
mundane desires that could frustrate his Godrealization. Though it seems that the poet
addresses himself in his songs, indeed, he
addresses all of us to surrender to God for the
liberation of the soul. This essay discusses, in
particular, two songs of Salabega, “Kahinki
asichhu mana,” and “Sumanare, nischaya e jeeva
jiba” where the poet draws our attention to the
transitory nature of human life and urges us to
know the real meaning of our existence. The songs
are intended to effect in us a spiritual change.
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In Salabega’s songs, we do not find any
pictures of doubt, resentment or blasphemy which
the poet entertains toward God, but in many of
his songs, the poet desperately reiterates that
whereas his beloved Lord has redeemed
Draupadi, mruguni (doe), gaja (elephant),
Bibhisana, Prahallad, and others, He does not
listen to his prayers. Considering the fact that those
who were redeemed by God moved Him by the
intensity of their love and devotion, the poet
doubts if he has that degree of love and devotion
which could qualify him to get His grace. Thus,
his own prospects of salvation seem to be fraught
with uncertainties. However, the poet’s overriding
concerns lie in telling us the futility of worldly
aspirations. As Niranjan Mohanty writes,
Salabega conceived of the visible world as the
world of illusion, for here nothing stays, nothing
endures, nothing is permanent. The relationships,
human or otherwise, are chances of equations.
Everything flows out like time in the course of
time. The fleeting nature of time, the impermanence
of the body and of the physical world, the
vulnerability of bondages made Salabega realize
the significance of the other—the spiritual world,
the ultimate Reality. He, therefore, insisted on
man’s devotion and dedication to the identity of
the divine Reality (71-72).
June - 2014
In the poem “Kahinki asichhu mana,” the poet’s
quest for salvation starts with a self-examination
where his own conscience stands defenseless:
Kahinki asichhu mana kisa neba painre
Asichhu langala tu jibu sunya hoire.
Ghai jaka mukula tu bandha kete bandhure
Ape male juga jae paralagi kandure.
Here the poet’s conscience is
apostrophized. The conscience that is addressed
is not something that exists outside of the poet,
but resides very much within him and influences
his actions. But the poet makes tacit references
not to the conscience but to our subservience to
desire. It is conscience obfuscated by desire. It
seems as if we are born only to pander to
materialistic gratification and to amass, acquire
or hoard as many things as possible, in the hope
that these would give us happiness. In our pursuit
of worldly enjoyments, we waste many hours of
our lives, but when we realize, it is too late. This
is the despair of the poet. Therefore he asks it
pointblank: “Kahinki asichhu mana kisa neba
painre.” And the answer is “Nothing”.
Salabega’s ontological musings seem to
border on melancholy, but we are made to realize
the truth that we all have come and we all have to
go, empty-handed. Though the poet makes us
face a hard truth, he is not pessimistic. In the
second line of the song, Salabega uses the words
“langala” (naked) and “sunya” (empty-handed)
which connote an essential nothingness that
pervades our existence. Since human life moves
between two “nothings,” what happens inbetween might as well be nearer to nothing. Such
a vision of life is likely to make us depressed. But
hard truths not only depress us, they also
enlighten. As we see, Salabega does not want to
make us world-weary, but urges us for a spiritual
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longing in preference to abandoning ourselves to
ephemeral things of life. In order to highlight our
pathetic condition, the poet further says that
despite man’s endeavour to set things right, to
solve the riddles of life, to avoid vicissitudes, to
make things run according to his desire, he will
fail because he is limited. The poet tells us our
limitations, and his exhortations take us nearer to
the path of salvation. But his arguments may be
taken amiss if their import is missed. For example,
when he says, “Ape male juga jae para lagi
kandure,” he does not mean that we should hate
the world, or we should be indifferent to people,
or we should be engrossed in our own personal
matters, but what he emphasizes is we know the
potential disillusionment embedded in all our
worldly attachments. What he seems to be saying
is - live in the world, but love only the Lord.
However, it is interesting to see that, as the poet
says, God wants to be loved which is why He
uses the “athakathi” to catch His devotees.
Salabega writes, “Matighata panjurire palu suna
sua re / Athakathi lagaichhi bhaba binodiare.”
“Panjuri,” “sua,” and “athakathi” respectively
mean cage, parrot, and a glued stick to catch
parrots. “Matighata panjurire” refers to the
destructible human body or in a sense this transient
world we inhabit. Referring to the Lord as “bhaba
binodia,” or the One who loves nothing but love,
Salabega intends to make us feel the affection,
which God has for us. As Salabega says, God
loves us for that is what He can do. In his song
“Eka to bhakata jeevana,” Salabega writes about
this great bond between God and the devotees:
“Eka to bhakata jeevana, bhakata nimante tora
sankhachakra chinha. / Bhakata to pita mata
bhakata to bandhu, bhakata hitare tora nama
Krupasindhu. / Dhenu pachhe pachhe batsa game
kheera lobhe, bhakata pachhare tuhi jau sehi
bhabe.” In highlighting this relationship, Salabega
suggests that salvation is within our reach. What
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is needed on our part is our singular love to the
Almighty: “Srirangacharan binu anya gati nahinre.”
In “Kahinki asichhu mana,” Salabega emphasizes
this focused attention on God, which the hallmark
of one’s true devotion to Him. As the poet
Jagannath Das writes, “Sati yuvantinkara mane,
nijara swami thanti jenhe / Sehi prakare mora
mana, to pade rahu Bhagaban” (As chaste wives
think about none other than their husbands,
O Lord, may my heart be always with You
alone) (8).
Similar is this soteriological concern in
another song of Salabega, “Sumanare, nischaya
e jeeva jiba.” The poet tells that we are mortal,
but what would outlast this mortality is our
understanding of it. Neither does he tell that we
should always brood over the fact of death nor
be oblivious of this inevitable thing of life, but he
means that we remember God. Further, as he
says, we should love to associate with the wise;
we should be generous; we should go along the
path of Dharma and do good deeds because these
things are immortal: “Sadhu sange preeti dana
dharma keerti ehi matra rahi thiba.” In order to
show how fragile the world is, the poet compares
it with a makeshift house or a doll’s house a child
plays with, which is broken by him soon he
finishes his play. It is revealing to see that the child
finds that quite uninteresting which interested him
so much. Similarly, nothing in this world can
interest us for long. The poet, thus, impels us to
go for something which can give us permanent,
transcendental happiness. Not one’s wealth, not
beauty, not the ones whom one holds so dear to
him can give this happiness since they are not the
source of it. While the poet tells us to rethink our
attachment to the material world, he gives us the
clue to divine bliss:
Mohara mohara boluachhu tuhi
moha maya samsarare
Male tu au ki leuti dekhibu
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peerati bandhu jananku.
Bhaja Rama Krishna Govind
Gopal chinta kara mane niti
Kahe Salabega jatire yavana
manare nakara bheeti.
At the core of the poet’s expressions, we
find his appeal to humanity to think of the
deliverance from the worldly miseries that afflict
us. However, Salabega’s thoughts on salvation
are not founded on his hatred of the world. Since
hating the world would amount to hating the
creation of God, Salabega does not hate the
world. Nor does he think that to be born is a
curse. What he means to say is that our desire for
salvation has to be established on our love of life.
What he emphasizes is our understanding of the
purpose of our existence, which surely does not
mean wasting ourselves in distractions, but in
commending our souls to God. Gita reminds us
of God’s assurance:
Sarvadharmanparityajya mamekam saranam braja
Aham twam sarvapapevyo mokshayisyami ma sucha
(Resigning all your duties to Me, the all-powerful
and all supporting Lord, take refuge in Me alone. I
shall absolve you of all sins, worry not) (Chapter
18. 66).
Works Cited :
Das, Jagannath. “Namaste Prabhu Jagannath.” Sri
Jagannath Bhajan, Janana O Chautisa , Cuttack: OGP,
2010.
Mohanty, Niranjan. Makers of Indian Literature:
Salabega. New Delhi: Sahitya Akademi, 1996.
Salabega Bhajan O Jagannath Janana. Cuttack:
Dharmagranth Store.
The Bhagavad Gita or The Song Divine. Gorakhpur:
Gita Press, 2000.
Bibhudutt Das, Plot No.307, Haladipadia, Laxmisagar,
Bhubaneswar-751006, Email: bibhudutt_dash
@rediffmail.com