Essential Works of Hinduism - II

Essential Works of Hinduism –II

We have just touched the Srimad-Bhagavatam earlier. Here, we mostly refer to Sri Potana’s Telugu translation. Bammera Potana is considered as a “natural Pandita” – as a natural well-versed poet scholar. The edition we’ve in our puja room contains some sections from the original Sanskrit text also; in the extended preface the editor gives a comparative analysis of the Telugu translation with the original Sanskrit slokas. 

In these brief articles I want the reader to get acquainted with a variety of texts. Some books will be a little hard to comprehend (and fully absorb the subtleties) but some others are easy to understand at a first attempt, at least superficially. Most if not all will produce a salutary effect when they are read with diligence and full attentive mind. I leave the question of “doubt” (or healthy skepticism) in these discussions. The reader can refer to the Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna for some guidance in this regard. 

Hindu faith involves not just book reading – it also demands the individual to practice certain aspects like singing, chanting, and silently contemplating on the stories and the countless (thousand) names of Hari. As a beginner one can start with following truth (with appropriate caveats for exception). A great guru of Varanasi has a generous simple suggestion: “We need not read all the books to progress in our faith. Just three or four books are enough. We only have a finite time at our disposal.”

Our Telugu Srimad-Bhagavatam book has many chapters. Depending on our mood (or current predicament) we may pick the chapter on Gajendra, Rukmini, Kuchela, Dhruva, Krishna, Bhishma, or Uddhava. Of course, there are many more valuable sections. The reader need not take my word but many Telugu families have benefited by reading Potana; and they still do. Certainly the flowing poems have become popular with the Telugu community and many can spontaneously rattle off famous lines from Gajendra or Prahlada. I’m sure many young girls got married happily and numerous indigent families got timely help through browsing the pages of Ambarisha or Kuchela. 

Now, if I may, I want to address the issue of English translations (of Hindu Sanskrit texts) and why and when such attempts fail. We’ll also look into the factor of “emotional state” while reading Sanskrit Stotras, Puranas, and the three canonical works (i.e., Ramayana, Mahabharata, and Srimad-Bhagavatam). Hopefully with proper enquiry and reflection the reader can appreciate the necessity of learning Indian languages (vernacular) and Sanskrit. To fully appreciate bhakti feeling, we have to learn a bit of poetry, lyrics, and singing. In English we have excellent examples of moving poetry by Wordsworth, Keats, Dylan Thomas, and many others. When we read sections of ‘Daffodils’,  ‘Lucy Gray’ or ‘Lines Composed a Few Miles Above Tintern Abbey’ we are intensely moved. Some sensitive readers even develop teary eyes effortlessly. Similarly we may get emotionally alert (awakened) when we read the English translation of Kalidasa (by Ryder). Still, if I have to measure carefully and proclaim – I would say the Kalidasa English translation does not come close to the heights of Telugu translations. Why? You may ask. That is the trouble with translations. Only authors, poets, and linguists know the pains of translation. Every author from Rabindranath Tagore, Nabokov, to A K Ramanujan struggled with translations. Even when I do perfectly faithful translations of Annamayya or Tyagaraja I feel utterly dissatisfied. Because the precious music and vibrating sound is lost. The English poetic translations may or may not move the reader’s heart. There is no guarantee of the emotional effects like catharsis or joy. This is the supreme reason why I try to shun all English translations of Upanishads, Puranas, and Bhagavad-Gita. Added to the loss of musicality and lyricism, English translations also suffer from distortions, lack of fidelity, and many times they miss entirely the target. As Sri Shanmukha Sarma eloquently explains, the Hindu Puranic stories encapsulate two or three levels: a) They try to teach us the essence of Parameswara in words. This itself is an impossible task – to try to convey indescribable thing in words. b) They contain hidden mantras. c) Listening and meditating on the stories itself bestows unique benefits on the sincere devotee. In English translations these matters are either totally lost or they cannot be transmitted through the foreign (non-Hindu) culture laden vocabulary poor English. There are no English equivalent words for the Sanskrit phrases: satya, dharma, sanyas, or moksha. Desperately we use and cling to approximate words like truth, righteousness, renunciation, and salvation. So, that is my brief against English translations.

Lastly we come to the most important concept, ‘ecstasy’ in our faith. This is well explained by Sri Ramakrishna and another great Swami of Varanasi. We recite Stotras (ex: Dakshinamurti) and sing bhajans (devotional songs) with the sole aim of focusing the mind on an embodiment (murti) of the ‘unknowable’. We cannot know these matters without the aid of Guru; but we must continue with the effort till ‘such grace’ dawns on us. In singing we can effortlessly reach the ecstatic state, perhaps for a millisecond. Our songs in Hindi, Telugu, Sanskrit, or other vernaculars help us reach that pure emotional state quickly – because they’re composed by great saints like Tulasi Das or Gopanna. Their signature, imprint, and benediction pervades through all such works. There is more to say here. Extraordinary scholars like Sri Madhusudana Saraswati probed into the connection between emotional state (sringara, karuna) and bhakti. Of course, Sri Jayadeva also wandered through the gardens of sringara extensively. When one listens to a large variety of world music across all languages, only then one can say definitely how deficient is English for expressing music. Here, I take the word of Dr. Balamuralikrishna: “In no foreign (non-Indian) language can you find the rich tapestry of tunes and melodies. With 72 mela-kirta ragas and half a dozen talas, you can generate so much variety. No country can beat that.” (To be Contd.) Copyright 2021 by the author 

P.S. A rare person with extraordinary language skills (ex: Sister Nivedita or Swami Vivekananda) can bring sense and fidelity to English translations. But it is a rare act.