Swami Gobind Kaul
What his Poems Convey
by V. N. Drabu
Swami Govind Kaul
It
is reasonable to believe that a site has some form of consciousness in the same
way as the human body has an animating consciousness. It is the outer form of
our self that comes into contact with the phenomenal world through the senses
which implant thoughts and feelings in our consciousness. The site and the self
thus interact with each other imperceptibly in a significant way. To one such
site of our blessed valley of Kashmir belonged Gobind Kaul. The place is
popularly known as Vanpoh in Anantnag, which in earlier times must have been a
beautiful meadow in the close vicinity of a forest fragrant with wild flowers
and therefore originally called Vana-Posha. The son of Swami Aftab Kaul and
Vishvamalya, born in Dattataraya Gotra, Gobind Kaul naturally followed the
tradition of his forefathers and became an ardent Shaivite. To his elder brother
Harishwara and to his Guru Bharatlal he owed his proficiency in the Sastras
andyoga. His association with other saints, particularly Swami Krishanjoo Razdan
(his maternal uncle, who was a celebrated poet of his time), and their impact on
him are evident from his 'rosary of hymns' (bhajanmala), published under the
title Gobind Amrit. Tankodi
Chandra (Sant of Varanasi), Sant Lal of Shahpur and Swami Rama (looked upon by
his devotees as the Sakshat Shiva) of Kashmir, besides other Pranyogis and
Jnanayogis of his time, showered many benedictions on him. (Poem No. 8, Shiva
Lagyo, pp.10-11).
His devotional lyrics
reveal that he was deeply influenced by the thought-current of Mansurul-Halaj as
well and he freely used the popular idiom of his own Kashmiri dialect, being a
blend of Sanskrit, Persian and Arabic. His songs are rich in imagery, and the
vocabulary he employes to convey his inner experiences suggests, unmistakably,
how he too must have followed the same spiritual path that Lalleshwari had
treaded several centuries before him.
We notice that the
devotional strain is marked in Gobind Kaul's lyrics, from which we infer that it
was as a devotee that he began his spiritual journey to the Divine and in course
of time, through sustained devotion and sadhana, attained Self-realization. He
is so much devoted to Gopala Bala Krishna that he loses the consciousness of his
limited self in his bout of 'lolamasa' (love-drink). He offers himself wholly to
his rasalila (sport of love) involving measured movements of the body. Beside
himself with joy, he would like to accompany Balakrishna in his ramblings on the
bank of the river Yamuna and give his all to kissing his feet (moni-padan). He
hears the sound of Om from his flute and wishes to play rasa in all forms with
him. All the time the sound of Om reverberates and he perspires profusely at the
sight of his lover's hair (poem No. 27 'Shyam-Sunderah..... p. 31) that Manmohan
gets complete hold of his mind, and he feels charmed ! Rukmani could not see
Cidanand (consciousness - bliss) as something different from Caitanya Krishna
and, likewise, Gobind sees the Lord's playing-sites as the very states of
wakefulness Yagrat), dreaminess (svapna), and deep sleep (Susapti). In the ocean
of divine knowledge (jnana) and bliss (ananda) that Gobind delves deep into, he
attains the summit of contemplation (samadhi) (Poem No. 25, 'Satcit-ananda atma
Krishnan', pp. 28-29) .Hereth Swami completely identifies himself with his
beloved Krishna, offering his all for love - his body, mind, intellect and what
not !
The same devotional strain
is discernible in the Swami's approach to the divine Mother. The true bhakta
finds no flowers or ablations suitable enough to propitiate the Mother, even
though he wholeheartedly selects the best ones for her. She represents the
primeval energy that pervades all objects; her immanence is felt all around.
Bhakti for the divine Mother leads one to salvation (she is muktidayaka). Gobind
Kaul, the saint-poet, invokes the all-powerful energy (Sakti) to remove his
impediments and lead him to self-recognition. All the jivas (individual beings)
and devas (gods) turn to the divine Mother for granting them the boon of final
emancipation. She is sat-cit-ananda and dayasyand (sea of Mercy); she is both
our father and mother. Addressing her, Gobind says. "You are the atman and
the light of Intelligence, of whom the bhakta asks for calm of mind and pure
intelligence to overcome the darkness of ignorance." Where the Mother sits
in her visible and embodied forms, that place turns into siddha-pitha (seat of
success). Those who serve her feet are surely blessed and cured of all wordly
ailments and sufferings. (Poem No. 4, 'Om Jaya Bhavinai ...,'pp. 5-6) Gobind Jee
enshrines her lotus feet in his heart and taking them as Omkar-bindu, he
surrenders himself to the Mother (as Vaikhuri, the Goddess of speech). At her
feet, he listens to the sat-sabda (true word). Gobind is suffused with Lola
(love) for his Mother, with tears running down his eyes. He invokes her grace
for gaining admittance into her abode - all the hurldes from top to bottom being
removed - so that he is united with the Transcendent. She is Gayatri, Savitri,
Sarasvati, Rajna, Omkara as also Amba, Uma, Durga, Tripura, Sarika, Hari. She is
pure, without duality, and Sat-cit-Ananda (Poem No. 2, 'Saran Amate...... pp.
2-3). She is the dynamic aspect of the Absolute and the real object of worship.
Obviously, the worship of Sakti forms an essential element of the Saiva
aspirant's sadhana. That explains why Gobind meditates and contemplates upon the
Sakti (dynamic) aspect of the Absolute.
When we talk of Gobind's
devotion to the holy Mother, we, in fact, refer to the ever dynamic inunanent
aspect of the Divine. Siva is the Absolute/ Brahman Parmesvara, in His
transcendent aspect. Adorned with the crescent moon and bearing matted locks of
hair, Mrtyunjaya Gangadhara, carrying the trident and damaru in his hands,
Gobind believes that He would keep him ever awake with the sound of the damaru
and his sat will be stabilized. While chanting the monosyllable Om of love, he
will turn the water-mill to steady his japa to produce the sweet suham tune.
Gobind prays: "May the sun of Dvadasanta Mandala shine forth within and
outside myself." He praises Siva as the light of pure Consciousness whose
grace the devotee seeks, and also earnestly seeks the Yogesvara's help in having
a spiritual bath in the Mansarovara (the tranquil lake of the mind) like the
fabled swans 'that can sift milk from water': representing the highest state of
consciouness that Parmahamsas (like Sri Rama Krishna) are believed to atain as
embodied human beings. Gobind invokes the skullbearer, white Spotless Sankara to
bum his very marrow as his oven of love is fully ablaze. To Him, stationed in
the temple of his heart, he would offer the flowers of love in worship. He
naturally regards love as the very fountain-head of spirituality, the very
source and culmination of life. He pins his hopes on Sankara, imagining that in
his horoscope the planets are ideally positioned in favourable signs - Jupiter
in the ninth house, the moon in the kendra, exalted Saturn in Libra. He urges
him not to be indifferent to him considering the fact that he had shown mercy
and kindness towards Markandeya.
As the devotee's sadhana
deepens, the Sadguru draws closer to him. The more he concentrates on his lotus
feet, the more resonant does the sound of nada-bind get. He sees the sahasrar
(thousand-petalle lotus) in full bloom and the divine light all around himself.
The sound of Om reverberates as he fondles the Chhanda, the way being shown by
the Guru. With his gaze fixed on the ether (akasa), the devotee sees the Lord
and the rising sun and the moon in the midst of the shining galaxy of stars.
Gobind addresses the spiritual seeker, exhorting him not to get enmeshed in the
shackles of Maya but listen to the word of the Guru. For surely once he repeats
the five divine names and concentrates his gaze on the Ajna Chakra, the central
point between the eyebrows (called brumadya), he will reach the abode of Sadguru
(alakh, agam, anamaya). In no uncertain terms the aspirant is instructed to look
to Omkara binda. This is what Lord Siva has revealed to his consort, Gauri, in
the privacy of perfect solitude. Gobind instructs the sadhak to deepen his
attention (what he calls surat) and concentrate it on the sabad till all sounds
merge into one and thus Surat Sabda yoga is realized. (Poem No 40 'Guru-dhyana',
pp 44-45).
The leitmotiv of Gobind
Kaul's bhajans is to identify oneself with Omkara. Like a true Saiva he follows
the Guru tradition and in the footsteps of the Guru finds every pore of his
being filled with the sound of Omkar and every hair vibrant with it. Gobind
encounters an extra-ordinary spiritual experience (Poems 40-44, pp. 44-49). He
sees the Light Divine, hears the drum being played upon, the ringing of the bell
and sound of the conch, enjoys the charms of the dawn, finds the Beloved seated
there, the fairies singing in chorus, the flash of lightening, etc. The eclipse
of his sun is gone with the spread of bright sunshine and the moon emerges from
behind the clouds. The path of Omkara is verily the path of union with the
Absolute. Om is the root but the path is beset with so many pitfalls which the
Guru helps the sadhaka to overcome, sifting milk from water and helping him to
see the pure luminous self. The Anahat Sabda (unstruck sound) awakens the
Jivatma and the night is turned, as it were, into mid-day. Many a secret is
revealed to Gobind through the grace of his Guru who opened his 'wooden bolts'
from within, what is described as Chakra-bedan in yogic literature. (Poem No.
84, 'sapud jivatma ...,' p. 93).
Every morning Gobind
reflects on su and su (Poem No. 72, 'Prath prabhatan,' p. 81) on Om and its
resonance, on Sat as su and su. It is ever pure, taintless and free. It is
sat-cit-ananda and self-luminous. It is All Absolute (Paripuran). Gobind
considers himself lucky to have got the human frame, a thing even the devas pine
to obtain as a boon. He has thus been enabled to practise meditation on sat as
su su ! The Vedas, Upanishads and Puranas have sought to illuminate the
distinction between the questions 'who he is' and "who I am". Gobind
says he has reflected on 'su su' in the company of truth seekers, and tasted the
divine nectar. He exhorts the sadhaka to enter through the door of the heart
(Poem No. 115, 'hradayik darvaza,' pp. 121-122) and listen to zeer (fall) and
bam (rise) of the inward music (the sound produced by the yogic practice of
pranava. He should be ever wakeful to listen to the anahat sound of Om sabda
that signals the dawn of superconsciousness; it serves as it were on the
aircraft that carries the sadhak into the higher space (gaganas). Let the sadhak
become the royal eagle to traverse the outer space, the dwelling of the famakan
(the disembodied being). That is Gobind's instruction to the sadhak.
Gobind lays utmost
emphasis on steady and constant spiritual practice that alone ensures success in
the path: the spiritual aspirant attains his goal. Every moment of consciousness
for the practising seeker ensures the blooming of his heartlotus accompanied by
illumination - rise of the spiritual sun of consciousness. (Poem No. 114. 'Alimai
Khotai', pp. 120-12 1). He has to give up his ham (ego) and caress su su, Gobind
communicates his spiritual experience to the truth-seeker, enjoining upon him to
ascend to the sky of dvadasanta, drink the divine nectar to become nishkal (desireless)
and cross the barriers courageously, and not get frightened by the deafening
noise enroute. The Guru, he assures the sadhak, will take full care of him. His
grace alone would ensure for him the enjoyment of uniterrupted flow of the sound
of om: listening to the satsabda day and night accompanied by the experience of
inward illumination. Gobind maintains that su su is the source of divine love (lola)
that chases away death. As the wise alone can understand and appreciate the art
of a florist, so can the yogi understand what su su conveys.
Gobind's state of mind is
not difficult to judge. Like other mystic poets, he sings of pain and
separation, of joy and fulfilment in the same breath. The Beloved just tempted
me, says the mystic, and then abruptly disappeared. This has made him resteless
and sick. How he longs for the Beloved to return and the bulbul (a song bird) to
see the flowers in bloom ! He does not aspire for anything other than the
Beloved and has offered to buy his wares as the sole purchaser. He has
sacrificed his body and mind to him. He considers the cycle of coming and going
(what the word sansar conveys) fierce as a blazing fire and something that
nothing can excel in cheating. He is helpless and tears roll down his eyes. He
now decides to withdraw himself to the inward melody of omkara which sounds like
a guitar.
[The author, Dr. V. N.
Drabu, is a well - known scholar in the field of history and an accomplished
writer. He lives in Jammu.]
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