Sankaradeva's contribution to Vaishnavite Renaissance Sankaradeva, after his return from pilgrimage, waged a relentless crusade against Sakta worship and Tantrik practices. His stature grew to its full height against the spiritual barrenness of Saktaism. With utter contempt for cant and supreme faith in the spirit, he vigorously launched the Vaisnavite Renaissance. Sankaradeva dispensed with the Vedic rituals and worship of diverse gods and goddesses. He enjoined adoration of one God and named his new faith Ekasarananama-dharma, the religion of supreme surrender to the One, and triat One is Visnu who in the form of Narayana manifests himself in various incarnations from age to age. The most beloved incarnation of Visnu is Krsna. Sankaradeva says: "There is one God and one form of devotion, and there is none else." The surrender to the One is very rigorously enjoined in his religion. For an Ekasaraniya, the worship of other gods and goddesses is strictly prohibited. It has been said by the saint himself that a "Vaisnava should not worship any other god's temple, nor should he partake of offerings made to any other god. Bhakti (devotion) would be vitiated by such fickleness. Sankaradeva, it should be noted, advocated neither a religion of extreme asceticism nor complete renunciation of family life. He upheld the golden mean between the two. He believed that renunciation should be internal, not external. He realised that men and women have to live in the world and to pursue their professions. The saint himself led a full family life and took a second wife after the death of the first Sankaradeva's Contribution towards Religion His religion upheld the ideal of a chaste and devoted domestic life and offered a simple way to salvation based on ethical-devotional codes; accordingly, like the gospel of the Buddha, it won over the entire population of the country in no time. The main argument stressed by Sankaradeva for grhastha- stage (house-hold) of life was that the man in this stage of life could do many welfare works of the society by supporting one's own family and relatives, giving gifts to the needy and the 'poor, and performing religious duty. In upholding this view, Sankaradeva was more influenced by the Mahabharata and the pravrtti marga or Karma-yoga (path of action) of the Gita. He occasionally referred to the utterances of the Sage Syumarasmi in the Mahabharatawhere the sage favouring the house-hold life says: "To achieve a proper equilibrium of mind in misery as well as happiness is a necessary step towards achieving salvation, it should also be noted that without taking resort to the house-hold life, one does not achieve this state of mind. Just as all the creatures are dependent on their mother for their life, so all the other as Ramas (stages of life) are dependent upon the house-hold stage of life." Sankaradeva's religion, further, brought a new meaning and depth to social and cultural life. For the first time in Assam's history, he asserted the dignity of man in society independent of the accidents of birth and social rank, and established the spiritual equality of all men. In his fraternity, Brahmanas, Sudras and men of lower birth enjoyed equal liberty of worship, devotion and prayer. Sankaradeva admitted into his fold people from all social orders, and among his chief disciples there were Brahmanas, tribals, and even Muhammedans. The Sankarite movement produced far-reaching religious and social effects. It gave a great impetus to the advancement of learning and literature in Assam. Sankaradeva, though a distinguished Sanskrit scholar, wrote mainly in Assamese, with the aim of bringing Sanskrit lore within the reach of the uneducated masses. He wrote and did a number of textual commentaries and translations to expound his creed, and he transformed whatever he touched into gold. These writings had also a practical utility; they were constantly required for guidance in the performance of one's duties. A versatile genius, he also wrote poetry, songs and plays which gave a new impulse to Assamese literature. The translation of the entire text was not a light job for one man; so Sankaradeva allotted different sections for translation to his disciples. He himself undertook the rendering of the major portion, namely Books I, II, III, VII, VIII, IX, X and XII. Besides Sankaradeva, other writers who undertook the translation of different sections were Ananta Kandali (Books IV, VI and a section of Book X), Kesavacarana (Books VII and IX), Gopalacarana Dvija (Book III), KaviKalapcandra (sections of Book IV), Sri Visnu Bharati (sections of Book IV), Ratnakara Misra (sections of Book V), Sri Candradeva (sections of Book IV), Aniruddha Kayastha. The next outstanding literary production of Sankaradeva is the Kirtana-ghosh (the lyric in praise of God's Glory). Sankaradeva's contribution in Assamese literature not only pinpoints towards his literary and human genius but even the rich body of Assamese literature as a whole. |
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