Different Paths, One Purpose: Intention and Humanity in This Land
1. The Flow of Subcontinental Culture:
Is religion a boundary, or is it humanity’s endless current? In
Bengal’s soil, the answer has always leaned toward the latter. Human civilization revolves around two unseen forces: God and
the Human Mind. Faith in them has shaped rituals, paths, and cultures across
the ages, ensuring their enduring flow. One of the notable traits of this land and
the subcontinent inhabitants is their ability to adapt while keeping the core
intact. Like a river, culture keeps moving; its course bends, it carries
plants, homes, villages, and debris to the sea. Islands form temporarily until washed
away again. People, religion, and lifestyle adjust to the surroundings
similarly. The culture, customs, and ethnicity of this land cannot be swiftly
imposed upon or completely demolished; it must be harmonized with the existing ones.
Hence, wedding songs, the Bengali New Year celebration, Haalkhata, and harvest
festivals have all found a place within religious rituals. Even in the Muslim
community, traditions like offering chadors at mazars, observing the urs of
saints, and celebrating Pohela Boishakh have become part of local culture. External
influences only survive here only when they adapt to local realities.
2. Transformation of Shiva-DurgÄ: A New Birth in Folk
Practices
Folk customs and traditions are the
most prominent example of this beyond language. Consider, for instance, the
chemistry of the Hindu deities Shiva and Durga. The history of Durga Puja in the Puranas is one
thing; in different countries, it’s another. The history of its prevalence also
varies slightly. But the people of Bengal have taken the freedom to pour their
own myth and sentiment into it to create something new. Durga is worshipped as
the Mahashakti (Supreme Power) residing in a woman and nature,
the collective embodiment of all gods. Symbolically, this means the victory of
the feminine or maternal power, inherent in nature and gathered collectively,
when all forces of good are rendered ineffective against an evil force (Asuric shakti). In Bengal, the worship and festival of this
meaningful Goddess gradually took on various new dimensions for the common
people. Sentimentally, it acquired the autumnal reeds and the soulful voice of Birendra
Krishna Bhadra on Mahalaya.
The Goddess became one’s own daughter, and Shiva became a
pot-bellied, cannabis-smoking hermit who roams the cremation grounds and pays
no heed to his family, whose household and children are managed single-handedly
by their daughter (Durga). The festival, on the other hand, became the story of
a daughter’s annual visit from her in-laws’ house to her father’s home and her
return. She comes to her father’s home once a year, stays for ten days, and
leaves, bringing tears to everyone’s eyes. In joyous tears, Bengali Hindus bid
her farewell, inviting her to return, saying, “Abar Esho Ma” (Come
again, Mother).
Even terms like BeshyÄ (prostitute), whose home’s soil is traditionally
considered essential for an incomplete Devi idol, have also changed in Bengali.
Although the soil from a brothel is generally not actually taken, I believe
this change in meaning has brought greater inclusivity to the
essence of the Devi idol. I see absolutely no objection to a marginalized
community gaining respect; rather, I feel a sense of relief.
The original meaning of the word BeshyÄ
was omnipotent, the one who controls the three worlds (Triloka). An initiated woman, who has achieved divinity,
was called beshyÄ in Sanskrit. And the soil of the ‘BeshyÄ Dwar’ (gate of the beshyÄ) means the soil of the
home of that woman who properly upholds her household duties and attains the
state of a Brahmavadini (speaker of the Veda/Brahman) through the
practice of Tantra sadhana and worship of the Dasha Mahavidyas. Since
such Goddess-like women are rare, many Tantra scholars use the soil from the places of spiritual attainment and pilgrimage sites.
The meaning of words changes in various ways due to interpretation and the
passage of time. For example, many take the word ‘Koti’ as the number one
crore instead of its original Bengali meaning of kind from the Sanskrit’ Koti’. Thus, the embellished story that there are 33 Koti (330 million) deities is a complete misconception.
This adaptation of folk customs is not limited to Durga Puja or deities; it is
also evident in the Vaishnavism and Sufi
traditions of Bengal. The love of Radha-Krishna, the songs
of Bauls and Fakirs, or the Tazias of Muharram- all have taken on meanings distinct
from their mainstream rituals. Shakta, Vaishnava, and Sufi streams have
intermingled, making the folk culture of Bengal even more multidimensional.
3. Through the
Universal Consciousness: The Religion of Love and Purpose
The same
applies to Sri Krishna-Radha, though this is not limited to Bengal.
Shri Krishna, the mighty, intelligent, diplomat, and ruler, became the God of Love. What was originally the love between the
devotee and the divine became a triangular human love. Judging and claiming
ownership of an avatar, a great man whose qualities are divine, with human
emotion, is celebrated rather than taken to a lower level.
Yet, there is
no clamor of blasphemy regarding these things. None of this is yet considered
an opposition to religion. Instead, the river, as it flows, has given rise to
various opinions, like its tributaries. The reason is quite meaningful and
beautiful. As stated in the Gita:
"Ye yatha mam prapadyante tams tathaiva bhajamy aham,
Mama vartmanuvartante manushyah Partha sarvashah." (4/11)
Where Sri
Krishna says, “In whatever way people surrender to Me, I reciprocate
accordingly. People follow My path in myriad
ways.”
The world has many beliefs and paths, but the purpose and intention ‘niyat’
remain central. Love and compassion are what make humanity. Intention determines whether one truly follows the right path. Islam
acknowledges this principle: “Innamal a’malu binniyat” means “Actions
are judged by intentions”. Buddhism centers on compassion; Jainism, on
nonviolence. Bengali poet Chandidas said, “Above all is man, truth above
all,” while Lalon sang, “Above all is human, above all is religion.” As
poet Kazi Nazrul Islam remarked, “I have not heard of a temple greater than
the heart,” and Sheikh Fazlul Karim observed, “Where is heaven, where is
hell? Who decides? In humanity, they’re among humans, gods, and demons reside.”
These
lines are a realization that heaven and hell are not somewhere else, but within
us, human thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Even for
those who are not believers or followers of any religion, helping humanity be
close to God is an existence felt through knowledge, conscience, and devotion. At the core of intention lies love: before God comes universal love,
which embraces all beings without harm, from worms beneath the soil to the vast
sky above. This love is the essence of God and surpasses all divinity, power,
heaven, or religion. According to Hinduism, the five guiding teachers (parents,
siblings, initiators, and educators) are the human embodiment of divine
guidance, with the highest respect given to one’s parents, and more
specifically, the mother, the only one comparable to the motherland.
4. The Silence of Nature and
the Triumph of Maternal Power
Nowadays, the Panchika (Almanac) isn’t in every home. Everyone says the
start of the Puja, even in Bangladesh, is perhaps better understood by the news
of idol vandalism than by the Almanac. If this continues for a
few decades, possibly one day this vandalism will also become part of the
ritual! Maybe the mob breaking them will be gone, and the reason for the
breaking will no longer be relevant.
So, it doesn’t
feel too bad about these incidents anymore to me! Why should I think? I just
feel pity! The one who breaks has a broken mind. Their
mentality, education, and upbringing are broken. That breaking is their peace
of mind. Their characteristic is to destroy; by breaking others, they will
break themselves and be gradually destroyed someday. But they are also the
creation of Mother Nature. Even the mantras are also recited for their
peace during the Puja prayers.
Many wonder, “Why can’t your Mother do anything?... / The Mother can’t even
save Herself.”
I stay silent.
I contemplate!
Just as God
remains silent when people lose their homes during partition, die in riots,
shed blood to save their country, are raped, starve and die from bullets and
bombs in Gaza, flee for safety from Myanmar, women are confined indoors in
Afghanistan, public servants shoot believing themselves to be heroes, religious
people inflict pain on others, or when thousands of corrupt individuals brace
proudly; just as God does not immediately destroy the earth with a tsunami or
earthquake; so too is the Creator, who resides in all things as the Nature & Spirit (Prakriti & Purusha), silent.
These words
might seem like an initial over-exaggeration, like the Shantimantra
of the Upanishada. But finding asylum in the stillness of nature is peace. Ultimately,
everyone understands that according to Nature’s Law of Cause and Effect,
everyone must eventually perish. It is only a matter of time. Just as nature
does not pass instant judgment on the actions of any single individual but
allows everything to be dissolved by the law of ‘Time’ and ‘Action,’ this apparent violence, too, will become part of
the broader cultural flow.
The meaning of
these mythological events is hard to explain to one who does not understand
literature and history. God, intention, or purpose is always different for the
one whose addiction is aggression and violence.
Then I think,
perhaps she is silent because she is the mother! As a mother, she
kills the demonic son (Asur) yet places that same demon on the altar of worship
every time. That symbolic Asura is as much a child of nature as the Devas/Deities
are the mother’s children. Everyone originates from nature. If the continuous
flow of culture proceeds in this manner for a few decades, perhaps a day will
come when the idol-breaking will be required out of folk customs and religious
rituals during the Durga Puja! This will sound as meaningful as the
Asura’s attack and interfering in the peaceful-happy environment of
heaven/earth. It will merge into the culture, just as wearing a veil for women,
the ululation, or the nocturnal timing of Hindu marriages, which originated
from external invasions, are now established rituals on this soil.
The religions
and inhabitants of this region in ancient civilizations named this nature as
the Supreme Maternal Power. In an agricultural society,
countless folk customs have been born centered around rivers, canals, fields,
and forests. The Boat Floating Festival in the monsoon, worship on the
riverbanks, and the worship of the Forest Goddess (Bondebi)
or the Agricultural Goddess; these are all practices built around nature.
The concept of Maternal Supreme Power is not just in the form of a Goddess; the woman in real life nurtures the child and shapes the character, civilization, and future of the nation. She has creation, preservation, and destruction all at once in her hands, managing ten aspects with ten hands like Goddess Durga. In addition, the invocation of Durga means the invocation of that power who sometimes becomes Saraswati when she is the giver of knowledge, Lakshmi when she is wealth, and when she is the Goddess of time, death, and destruction, she is the mighty, furious, reckless Chinnamasta, Chamunda, and Mahakali.
Nature is a profound
mystery, conquerable only if we can perceive it. It is considered the woman or mother because she
nurtures us like a mother. Therefore, how the women of a nation raise and
educate their children is the driving force of that nation. As Michelle Obama
said, “The measure of any society is how it treats its women and girls.”
Rabindranath also said, “In the heart of a
woman, woman is in the form of the mother, woman is the Deity”. The flow,
changeability, and acceptance of the subcontinent’s culture and religion are
merely identifiers of that Maternal Supreme Power, which holds creation,
preservation, and destruction. And thus, the more a nation cares for its Woman & Nature, the more civilized it is. No matter how
diverse the paths, the purpose is one: love, human welfare, and
humanity. The adaptation of folk customs teaches us that true peace lies
in love, righteousness, and coexistence. Ultimately, religion is not a
boundary, but the infinite current of humanity.
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