– Prof. Vishnu Narayan Namboodiri:
Prof. Vishnu Narayan Namboodiri, former professor and head of the dept. of English, University College, Thiruvananthapuram, is admired as a poet, and a bold writer. He has made profound contributions to Kerala’s intellectual life through his writings and more so through his spotless life. He was born and brought up in Kerala in the traditional atmosphere of Vedic learning which helped him fulfil his duties later as the high priest of the Tiruvalla temple. However, tradition did not narrow his horizons nor did his modern education in Physics & English literature uproot him from his roots. This, in fact, helped him build new bridges between science & spirituality, modernity & tradition. He shared some valuable insights with us. His loving interaction with local Dalit families is an example all Hindus must emulate. For further interaction, he can be reached at vnnamboodiri@yahoo.co.in
Q: What was it that invoked the poet within you? I have heard Malayalis say that Namboodiris cannot be good poets as a rule? What made you such a pleasant exception?
A: I am surprised at the remark. Because, the history of Malayalam testifies that so many of our great poets are Namboodiris. In fact the rule reads the other way: Poetry is part of the legacy of Namboodiris. I remember how as a boy during my Brahmacharya, the poetic sensibility I imbibed with the family Vedic education had often tempted me to babble in verse.
Q: Tell us something about your early life as a student of Vedic learning. The popular image is one of rigorous study coupled with extreme austerity. Some claim that many Brahmins in Kerala rebelled against this orthodoxy and rigorous lifestyle to join the communist ranks. Is this true?
A: Yes. My grandfather, like the illustrious V. T. Bhattathiripad, was one such rebel in early life; though later he grew to a great Vedic scholar harmonising tradition with modernity. It was not merely the rigorous course that repelled young Namboodiris in those days. The system of teaching then laid more emphasis on rituals and chanting, without letting the student breath in the warmth and vigour of Vedic learning. Then there were social evils to fight against – like caste and untouchability and landlordism. But let us not forget that the Gurukula system had its own matchless merits too. For example, it aimed at developing the latent skills and potentials of the young, rather than stuffing them with packed up knowledge. It trained them in moral habits as well as in spiritual inquiry. It was integral, never compartmentalised, as is the present western education system. We learned by heart thousands of slokas and retained them in memory for ready reference – Amarakosha, the dictionary, sutras (aphorisms) of grammar, pretty long narrative poems (kavyas) etc., without ever looking into a book. We practised the kalpaganitha, an arithmetic device to fix any number as a word by converting integers and zero into letters. As it were, the student used his brains verily as a computer and a library! Even today I can compose poems as I travel by bus or train, thanks to my early training. I do not require paper or pen for that.
Q: Did your traditional upbringing create obstacles to your growth or clash with modern life?
A: Never, never! It did help my organic inner growth much as a fence protects the growth of a garden.
Q: Temples have become the subject of a heated debate in the Hindu community today. The gross misuse of temple funds under government control is being challenged by many Hindu dharmacharyas. As a former priest of the Tiruvalla temple, what insights can you share with us on the functioning of temples. What solutions would you propose in resolving this conflict?
A: There were no temples in the Vedic past or later, even in the time of Ramayana or Mahabharata. The ashrams were the centres of spiritual pursuit as well as of effective social control. It was in the wake of Buddhism that temple worship came into vogue. Later, temples became centres of economic life, regulated by the priest who in his turn was representing royal power. In my view the problem today is not who manages the funds – the Government or Swamis. The problem is, how is the fund spent away? Temple funds must be exclusively used for educational, cultural, and spiritual purposes. Strict limits have to be placed so that no single paisa is spent on commerce in the form of revenue, tourism, and official paraphernalia. Better, I would suggest that temples may dispossess themselves of their exchequers, keeping just a bare minimum for the daily pooja functions. Money, you know, is evil; and it lies at the root of most other evils.
Q: Do you really advise dispossession of temples at this time? If temples have to once again become centres of Hindu cultural and spiritual life, they will need to channel their resources properly instead of entirely giving them up. Awakened Hindus today are also looking up to temples to fill this gap. Moreover, temples, especially ancient ones, will need sufficient revenue even to maintain themselves.
A: As to dispossessing the temples, it is my dream, the dream of a humble poet, of which I am not at all ashamed – rather proud of it ! The feasibility of it is an entirely different matter. My ideal society is the Vedic society in which caste system was unknown; women were not discriminated; land was not monopolised; and aparigraha, non-possession, was the individual as well as the social discipline. I consider this the precise ideal for India to pursue. Failing which, I believe, she is bound to fall materially and spiritually… I admit that the work of approximating the national activities to that Vedic ideal is the grand task of the sociologist and the enlightened politician.
Q: Is it true that that there were no temples in Vedic times or during the Ramayana and the Mahabharata? Archaeological evidence coming to light seems to be pointing to the contrary…? For instance, some scholars argue that the so-called “great bath” of Mohenjodaro was probably used for religious purposes – ritual bathing & purification etc. Also, Balarama’s pilgrimage described in the Mahabharata does mention visits to pilgrimage centres known today…
A: The only form of worship known to the Vedic people was offering into the fire; and the essence of it was tapas, spiritual exploration through meditation. The tank found in the Harappan site might very well be a tank for holy ablutions, mantra snaana, an essential part of the yaagas (vedic sacrificial rituals).
True, there are references to centres of pilgrimage in the Itihasas (epics). They are found even in later works like the poems of Kalidasa. But those teertha sthaanas (holy places) are not just the temples that we see in those sites today. They were places of tapas (austerity) under Rishis; or confluences of sacred rivers like Ganga and Yamuna; or sacred mounts like Kailasa.
Q: As a Vedic scholar and practitioner, can you throw any new light on the Aryan Invasion debate? Have you come across any verses in the Vedas which refer to a non-Indian homeland or retain memories of any foreign lands?
A: The Aryan invasion is an exploded myth. The content of it is even less than nonsense. The Vedas in “a thousand blended notes” sing in praise of the holy land between the Himalayan ranges (Parvataa Himavantah) and the friendly ocean (Samudro Bandhuh), where the seven sacred rivers (Sapta Sindhuh) flow. If anybody can show me a single passage otherwise, I will kiss his feet in humility.
Q: Hinduism is in urgent need today of a consolidated social upliftment programme to care for the weaker sections of the Hindu community. What insights did you gain through your interaction with them?
A: Open up the sanctum of every Hindu temple for the spiritually aspirant Dalit priest of pure spirit and clean habits. After all, brahminhood is based on quality, not on birth. The day this is achieved, caste barriers will crumple down; and India will have her glorious rebirth.
Q: Regarding the idea of Brahminhood as a quality, can you provide a specific quote from the Veda / Mahabharata which sanctions this approach? Detractors argue that some teachers like Shankaracharya argued in favour of brahminhood by birth and hence Hinduism is bound to be caste-ridden…
A: The following Rigvedic passage tells that a person is born just a human being; and that he has to attain Brahminhood by spiritual competence. Manur Bhava Janayaa Daivyam Janam.
Sankara says in plain language that the training for Brahminhood is Apeta Brahmakshatraadi Bhedam i.e., to be imparted without discrimination like Brahmana, Kshatriya etc. (Introduction to Brahmasutra Bhashyam).
Q: Some Dalits complain that Hindus today have begun to express concern for the weaker sections only out of fear and anger against poaching by Christian missionaries? Is Hinduism then lacking in a genuine tradition of caring? Why did it take us so long a time to wake up and help each other?
A: Let us not waste time and vitality digging up dead roots. Better late than never. And it is never too late to begin something so good. Remember, the basic tenet of Hinduism is : See that nobody is in sorrow ! ( Maa Kaschid Duhkhabhaag Bhaved ).
Q: The mainstream media often uses the expression “silent majority” to differentiate the ordinary Hindu from the “Sangh Parivar.” Do you think such a silent majority exists? Aren’t a majority of Hindus today becoming conscious of their political and social rights? Is this a sign of radicalisation of the Hindu community as some fear?
A: The temper of the Hindu mind is such that fascism can never step into it. Therefore, if the majority of Hindus are charged with supreme national spirit, it is a welcome sign. In my view, what promotes this is not aggressiveness, but cool and determined activity. Hinduism succeeds and survives by the power of wisdom and the bravery of the soul.
My only moment of disagreement with the Sangh Parivar comes when they justify violence as the last recourse.
Q: What direction do you think Hindu revival should take?
A: Evolution of a common civil code for India; abolition of all kinds of special privileges; introduction of Sanskrit at the fundamental level of education; ban on liquor, proselytisation, and the tourism craze. In development, a shift of paradigm from the consumerist Western to the eco-spiritual Eastern (from parigraha to aparigraha); and, of course, prayer / meditation and pilgrimage instead of the present orgy of festivals… so runs my dream.
