Poets as Teachers

                 Poems and Poets

               8. Poets as Teachers

Great poetry has noble intent. Apart from all the niceties of language and style, and these do matter, there is something more lasting. Language  and style are subject to fancies of fashion and fad; a moment takes them away, as another makes them. But poetry which lives over the years contains something universal, and appeals to something basic in all human breasts , and therefore evokes a response in people separated by time and space.

Often, they guide and inspire us. Great poets are also teachers. But teachers are of different kinds. We in India have our own notions.Teachings in the Veda, though couched in excellent poetry, are like commands. Upanishads form the last part of the Veda and they give us insight into truth, but through stories and dialogues which are mostly allegorical and symbolic. But they  give us teachings clothed in beautiful poetry. The Taittiriya Upanishad contains a beautiful passage where the teacher tells the student, on the eve of his departure from the hermitage after about twelve years of stay engaged in study and contemplation, of what he is expected to do.

From the Taittiriya Upanishad

1.Satyam Vada. Dharmam Chara.

Svadyayanma pramadah

Acharyaya priyam dhanam aahrtya

Prajatantum ma vyavacchetsih

Satyanna pramaditavyam

Dharmanna pramaditavyam

Kushalanna pramaditavyam

Bhutyai na pramaditavyam

Svadhyaya pravachanabhyam pramaditavyam

2.Deva pitru karyabhyam na pramaditavyam

Matru devo bhava

Pitru devo bhava

Acharya devo bhava

Atiti devo bhava

3.Yanyanavadyani karmani

Taani sevitavyani

No itarani

Yanyasmakam sucharitani

Taani tvayopaasyani

No itarani

4.Ye ke cha aasmaccheryo amso brahmanah

Tesham tvaya aasanena prasavasitavyam

Sraddhaya deyam, asraddhaya adeyam

Sriya deyam

Hriya deyam

Bhiya deyam

Samvida deyam

5.Atha yadi te karmavichikitsa va vrattavichikitsa va syat

Ye tatra brahmana sammarsinah

Yukta ayktah 

Aluksa dharmakamah syuh

Yatha te tatra varteran

Tatha tatra vartethah.....

6.Esha adeshah Esha upadeshah

Eshaa veda upanishad

Etad anusasanam

Evam upaasitavyam

Evam u cha etat upaasyam.

I will now attempt  a free translation.One should of course consult a scholarly rendering by a traditional source  as in books published by the RK Math.( Sw. Gambhirananda, Lokeswarananda, Sri 'Anna' Subrahmanyam, etc)( avoiding the fancy rendering by so called modern scholars and academics)

1. Speak the truth. Act in accordance with the instructions of the scriptures. Never give up the study of the scriptures. Give the teacher the things he likes. Raise a family to ensure that your line is not cut. Never deviate from truth. Never deviate from dharma. Don't neglect your welfare (self-defence). Don't neglect your ( worldly) interests. Don't neglect study of the scriptures and teaching them.

2.Do not neglect your duties to the (traditional) devas (gods) and the manes. ( Let us remember here that one of the charges brought against Socrates at his trial was that he was  'corrupting' the youth of Athens, teaching them to neglect  the worship of  traditional gods. In fact, this was not correct; Socrates did not neglect worship of traditional gods). Treat your mother as God. Treat your father as God.Treat your teacher as God. Treat your ( uninvited- who drops by without notice) guest as God.

3.Only those actions which are above reproach should be performed by you.Not others. Any thing good that we ( teachers) do- only that must be done by you.Not others.

4.Those brahmins who are superior to  you( in learning, conduct,etc) -you should offer them seat and give them relief.When you give someone something, give with respect; if you cannot give with respect, don't give it at all. Give with grace. Give with modesty. Give with fear ( that you may not offend them). Give with good will.

5.If you have any doubt in your mind about the propriety of your action  or its manner of performance, observe the conduct of those brahmins who voluntarily follow dharma and are righteous, and behave accordingly.

6.This is the message. This is the instruction.This is the teaching of the Veda. This is the principle. This is the ideal. This is to be practised.

Note: 

The cultural background of the times and the social organisation have to be borne in mind. Several things are noteworthy.

• The teachers did not charge a fee. The students were provided free board and lodge with the teacher. The arrangement was sustained by voluntary donations. The student could give what he could afford at the time of leaving.
• The student was expected to function as a responsible member of society , raising a family and contributing his share for the intellectual and spiritual well being  of the society.
• Every Hindu, especially of the higher castes, had  five-fold duties or obligations, born and bound up with him. They were in fact called 'debts' to be discharged during the lifetime. Their performance did not confer any religious benefit, but non-performance brought demerit. These are:

           1.Deva yajna : offering worship to the gods.

        2. Brahma yajna;  learning, reciting and teaching the Veda 

            which imparts us knowledge about Brahman.( the Ultimate 
             Truth)

        3. Pitru yajna: remembering the ancestors and offering them 

            libations. They preserved the line with sacrifice, and thus

            gave us human birth with which alone we can attain 

            liberation. So, they should be remembered and respected.

         4. Nara yajna:  the feeding of the hungry

         5. Bhuta yajna: the feeding of lower forms of life-animals,

             birds, watering of plants, trees, etc.

      

          These are prescribed to free us from the five-fold sin which every householder incurs, willy-nilly, by the mere act of living. See comments on verse 3.13  of the Bhagavad Gita in any traditional accout ( like the Gita Press ) for full details. Since three are mentioned here, the other two have to be inferred.

• Words like  Satya,Dharma, Karma, yajna, swadhyaya, etc have deep meaning and cannot be translated accurately in English or other non-Indian language. If we look up the glossaries in  good books, we will realise how wide the meanings differ even among scholars. Modern writers gloss over these words or give fanciful explanations.
• Reading the passages here is a poor substitute ( if at all) for the actual listening. The Veda is meant to be heard- shrutam, not read. It is worth listening to a traditional recitation with  the intended intonation from qualified pundits. Those who have had a chance to listen to the High Mass in a Catholic Church with the original Latin liturgy and full organ music, and also listen to this formal chanting will realise how grandly allied these are!
• We have to see how well personal and social, intellectual and spiritual aspects of life and society were blended.  The Veda did not teach us other-worldliness. The Rishis of the Upanishads were householders, not monks.
• The emphasis is on obligation, duty. There is no concept of right anywhere here. Our right is only to perform the duty.

We now have thousands of universities and their convocations. Do we come across  such speeches or instructions? No wonder, education today means cleverness cut -off from conscience.

These represent direct teaching. The epics embody these teachings and illustrate them through history and legend. There, the teaching is rather in friendly tones,  like the informal advice of an elder, or what we would call peer pressure. There is a third kind of teaching, like the sweet talk of the beloved. This is contained in poetry. Here, the poet paints a picture of what is desirable or pleasant, and leaves it to us to decide, hoping we would heed him. I found excellent examples  of both types in Shakespeare.

Shakespeare

Quality of Mercy

The quality of mercy is not strain'd.

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath. It is twice blest:

It blesseth him that gives, and him that takes.

"Tis mightier in the mightiest; it becomes

The throned monarch better than his crown.

His sceptre shows the force of temporal power,

The attribute to awe and majesty,

Wherein doth sit the dread and fury of kings;

But mercy is above this sceptred sway;

It is enthroned in the heart of kings;

It is an attribute to God himself;

And earthly power doth then show likest God's

Wherein mercy seasons justice.

                   

                                (Merchant of Venice)

Here, Shakespeare is painting a glorious picture of the quality of mercy, showing it to be Godlike, noble. Which man with a heart will dare to disregard it, then? Shakespeare leaves it to us, our good sense, to be noble. 

But elsewhere, he can be more direct.

From Hamlet

And these few precepts in thy memory

See thou character. Give thy thoughts no tongue,

Nor any unproportioned thought his act.

Be thou familiar, but by no means vulgar.

The friends thou hast,and their adoption tried,

Grapple them to thy soul with hoops of steel,

But do not dull thy palm with entertainment

Of each new-hatched, unfledged comrade. Beware

Of entrance to a quarrel, but being in,

Bear't that the opposed may beware of thee.

Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice.

Take each man's censure, but reserve thy judgement.

Costly thy habit as thy purse can buy,

But not expressed in fancy; rich not gaudy;

For the apparel oft proclaims the man,

And they in France of the best rank and station

Are of a most select and generous chief in that.

Neither a borrower nor a lender be,

For loan oft loses both itself and friend,

And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry.

This above all-to thine own self be true,

And it must follow, as the night the day,

Thou canst  not then be false to any man.

It is doubtful if in the whole range of English literature, we can observe 23 continuous lines of such majestic proportions  with such practical wisdom, crowned by a supreme spiritual injunction- TO THINE OWN SELF BE TRUE! To me, this piece appears to be a perfect counterfoil to the kind of instructions we had from the Upanishads, complementing it nicely. See the ten commands of wisdom  it lays down:

• Don't reveal your thoughts 
• Don't act out every rash thought
• Become familiar, but not cheap
• Keep tried and tested friends, do not consort with every new one
• Don't jump into a quarrel, but once involved, don't retreat lightly
• Listen to all, reveal your mind to few
• Take criticism, but criticise  others after due thought
• Dress well fitting your status, but don't be flashy or show off
• Nether lend, nor borrow money ( I would add, don't lend your books, either)
• Be true to yourself.

I wonder if any father could offer better earthly counsel to his son.

The letters of Lord Chesterfield to his son are well known, but they do not teach real virtues but only social graces. They were not intended for humanity in general, but only to make one person smarter than the rest, to get on in that closed circle. Dr. Johnson said that the letters teach the " morals of a whore and manners of a dancing master". They do not make a man. In fact they did not, even in the case of that son, who went on to get two illegitimate children out of wedlock, the matter coming to light after his death when his widow approached Chesterfield for financial support.

Somewhat better is this poem by Rudyard Kipling.

If- Rudyard Kipling

If you can keep your head when all about you

Are losing theirs and blaming it on you,

If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,

But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,

  Or being lied about do not deal in lies;

Or being hated, do not give way to hating,

  And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise:

If you can dream, and not make dreams your master;

  If you can think and not make thoughts your aim;

If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster

  And treat those two impostors just the same;

If you can bear to hear the truth you have spoken

  Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,

Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,

And stoop and build them up with worn-out tools:

If you can make one heap of all your winnings

  And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,

And lose,and start again at your beginnings

  And never breathe a word about your loss

If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew

  To serve your turn long after they are gone,

And so hold on when there is nothing in you

  Except the will which says " Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,

  Or walk with kings- nor lose the common touch,

If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,

  If all men count with you but none too much;

If you can fill the unforgiving minute

  With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,

Yours is the Earth and everything that is in it,

  And - which is more- you will be a Man, my son!


We see here the instructions are not about social graces, but about strengthening the moral fibre. Recipient of the Nobel Prize for literature, Kipling has some controversy surrounding him. We in India have no special reason to like him as he was considered an imperialist. I would not hold it against him, though. He was born in Bombay and spent the first six years here, of which he had happy memories, calling it paradise.  His father was an artist and architect, who taught at the JJ School of Art in Bombay. He aimed  to preserve the native Indian style of painting, which was then being over run by European styles and ideas.

Our old epics are essentially didactic. They do tell a story- at times stories within stories- but their purpose is to teach; the characters and incidents being merely vehicles or occasion for the morals they intend to convey. Mere entertainment was not their aim.
This is seen not only in the big national epics of India, but also the regional ones. An outstanding example is the Tamil epic Silappadikaram, c.3rd century AD. It concludes with the following advice of the poet.

Silappadikaram
Advice to the world.

People of the world!
Avoid activities which cause suffering to others
Be certain God is, and conduct yourself accordingly
Those who have realised God and teach his certainty - foster them!
Fear to speak untruth
Do not bad mouth others, or carry tales
Avoid meat, and refrain from killing other forms of life
Undertake charity, and austere conduct
Do not be ungrateful of the help received from others
Do not keep bad company
Do not bear false witness
Do not swerve from speaking truth
Keep company of the righteous even with effort
Get away from the unrighteous- instantly
Do not covet other women
Protect lives which face trouble, and pain
Walk  the path of righteousness, avoid evil ways
Drinks, theft, lust, untruth, idle talk,cunning and deceit-avoid these.
Remember: the body, youth, and wealth-these do not last for ever, or long.
One does not know what is the length of one's life time
It is not possible to avoid the troubles the body is heir to.
It is therefore prudent to arm oneself for the onward journey ( by righteous conduct) while still living.
So may you live and prosper on this bounteous earth!

This is all usual advice- so what is new?
This epic is written by the brother of a Tamil Hindu king who became a Jain monk! It tells the story of a pious Hindu housewife, whose husband was executed unjustly by a king. The lady proved the injustice, and the king gave up his life, saying the king who failed to do justice was but a thief!  The pious lady was raised to the status of a Goddess, worshipped by all. The morals sought to be established by this epic are:

• Dharma becomes death for a king who fails to render justice.
• A pious housewife devoted to her husband is worshipped by the learned
• Fate or destiny pursues one relentlessly,and exacts its price.

'Fate is the Hunter' is a fine novel by Ernest K Gann!

These are antiquated ideas by modern norms. But here, this proves a remarkable fact. Western scholars  say that Buddhism and Jainism were a reaction to Brahminism and they denied Hindu ideas and practices. But here is a Jain monk extolling Hindu virtues!. All religions born on this land follow Dharma., which has a common core.

Modernism has gone too far in denying old notions of virtue, that the very idea of virtue or ethics in public life has become hazy to the modern mind. Prof.Michael Sandel of Harvard is reminding us these days of where we might have lost our way.

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Great teachers are like healers. It comes naturally, like people with green finger. Technique or training alone cannot make teachers. We see this in the professions like lawyers, medicine  also. Some are born with that special talent and some develop intuition. ( I do not mean any psychic ability, but the 'extra sense' which comes with age, experience, commitment and dedication.) All doctors are qualified and licenced, but not all are healers. Great poets are like natural healers and teachers. You take their poems in hand, it comforts you- even if it is not 'religious'. How do you explain that? You will know when you experience.