Contrapuntal Study of Human Values in U. R. Anantha Murthy’s Jnanpith Award-Winning Novel, Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man
Abstract
Literature is a criticism of life. It unpacks our mode of life through the portrayal of different aspects occurring in our daily phenomena. On one hand, it deconstructs the homological view of life and at the same time reconstructs by critiquing its logocentric ideology. Derrida says "deconstruction is justice". In literature, ‘human values’ serve the supreme essence of life which diminishes the toxic practice of castism in the periphery of orthodoxical societal structure. This paper would investigate the aporetic nature of ‘human values’ in the name of religion through the lens of a South Indian text Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man written by U. R. Anantha Murthy, translated by A. K. Ramanujan (1976). The central figures are Praneshacharya and Naranappa. These two protagonists are portrayed in binary opposition. Praneshacharya, handcuffed by the clutch of doctrinaire religion, is unable to break through the patriarchal hegemonic attitude of religion while on the other hand, Naranappa radically rejects and infringes the realm of so-called traditional a priori culture, and foregrounds a new rhizomic differance that elevates a new kind of ‘human value’ to bring all beings under the same umbrella. This paper would attempt a counter reading of Indian culture through the novel, Samskara: A Rite for a Dead Man.
Keywords: Human value, Literature, Deconstruction, Religion, Aporetic
An Understanding of Human Value
An engagement with the understanding of ‘human value’ is direly needed in this time of the pandemic. While doing so it takes us back to the basic questions like - what are the basic demands of each human being? What is the need for these things which force the human race to struggle from the very genesis of their existence? And we raise voices on the demand of those basic necessities of life – food, dress, and shelter. And the extra element which constructs the fourth pillar of ‘human identity’ is ‘Human value’. It connotes being’s emotional, mental, and spiritual states resulting in human dignity, and identity that plays an important role to generate the notion of collectivity. Clyde Kluckhohn, an American anthropologist, has rightly said that collective agreement of emotion creates a society and that is why it differs from society to society. It operates like a cord or rope through the different parts of life –beliefs, attitudes, feelings, behaviours, etc. The International Encyclopaedia of Social Sciences explains "Values, in other words, are found in the large and diverse universe of selective behaviour." So "values do not exist as objects in time and space, but are established by judgments - by judging things from a personal point of view." (Roubiczek,1969)
Contextualizing Human Values in Samskara
Literature is a stream where the human race has been fossilized anthropologically since the journey of mankind. This trail of narrative can only be captured through the speculation of the evaluation process. ‘Human values’ are precious aspects of human life. Its diversity is being talked of all over the world through various mediums. This study would enquire how ‘human values’ are practiced and channelized in the mode of literature in contemporary India. Borrowing the South Indian text Samskara, this article would try to focus on how ‘human values’ are gradually losing its supremacy in the map of humanity. It is represented as a wound that has been solidified in multiple forms of negligence in different segments of life. In this novel, the central characters are Praneshacharya and Naranappa who belong to the Brahmin caste, the topmost in the ladder of the casteist system in Hindu Religion. Praneshacharya, a learned man on Hindu scriptures, always serves his life for the sake of humanity. But his sacrifice turns out to be hypocritic as his knowledge becomes stagnant with the rigidity of orthodox Hindu scriptures. He tries to lead a life free from all earthly desires. That's why he marries a crippled woman and devotes his life to her. He confides to pursue knowledge through self-sacrifice, reading scriptures, and performing rituals without any expectation of rewards. He validates his sacredness by showing how he has overcome bodily appetites, though his narration of erotic stories from scriptures instigates the sexual appeal among others.
Naranappa, on the other hand, is an erotic-Epicurean human type, belongs to the same superior caste. His knowledge of religion does not provide enough evidence of scriptures. He does not maintain his Brahminism. He disrobes his elitist cultural attire in search of what essential in life is. By eating meat and drinking liquor with his Muslim friends he strikes the nail to the core of the Hindu religion. To quench his physical need, he leaves his wife and places a low caste beautiful woman named Chandri. Time and again, he experiments with his own life flouting bogus rituals and culture. Remaining in the same territory he wants to reform what others are practicing within the same domain. Though his awareness of religion excludes the hegemonic scriptures, he grounds the nature of humanity in his daily activities. Even after that, during his lifetime, he was harshly criticized. Suddenly a severe disease called plague stopped his life and his flamboyant generous nature. Despite his generosity, he was deprived of the basic right of proper cremation. Do scriptures and spiritual books be the source of the ultimate knowledge of summum bonum (Introduced by Rome’s greatest orator Cicero)? His body questions us. When he was alive, his body questions to deconstruct and reconstruct the institution of the living being. But his dead body puts forth different issues. The village people, the non-Brahmins do not have the right to cremate his body and Brahminical society denies performing the rituals for his lascivious lifestyle. The acharya (Praneshacharya) is asked to advise how to cremate but he fails. The most striking fact is that there is no right to eat any food before cremation. The prostitute, Chandri, waits for getting justice. She offers her jewellery to give justice to the dead body. But all efforts are in vain. At last, she secretly performs the ritual with the help of Naranappa’s Muslim friend. The question arises on the secrecy. This is the turning point of the novel. On his way returning from temple Praneshacharya meets Chandri and that union articulates bodily desire. This consummation brings forward some crucial questions in the face of traditional, sanctimonious Hindu religion. It interrogates the very basic principles of Praneshacharya’s lifestyle. Both Praneshacharya and Naranappa’s principles fall under the scanner of ‘human values’. The text questions the very basic structures of society. Why do the Brahmins only burn the Brahmin’s body? If ‘human values’ talk of equality, self-dignity, self-identity, beliefs, feelings, sympathy, behaviour, etc why discrimination is still there. In India, the practice of castism defers our understanding on how ‘human values’ can be evaluated. The religion is casticized on its judgment of right and wrong. When Naranappa was alive he used to talk of reformation. After his death, all enquiries of reconstruction were ceased by imposing the barbaric aporetic condition. Anantha Murthy’s Samskara revaluates the way of living, the way of thinking, and the way of feeling. Literature provides the space in postmodern society to deconstruct the way of life. Samskara not only talks about the celebration of our ancient ractices but also critiques the past to generate an alternative way of a happy life. In this world, there are four major religions – Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, and Hinduism. These religions have formed the structure of global civil-society based on the progression of civilization where religions act as spiritual democracy. "They all have in common one democratic notion: that God created all human beings equal” (Kancha Ilaiah, xiv). In Indian society,
Hinduism was born out of a Brahminic philosophy that stated that God created human beings unequal. This thesis was propounded in the Rig Veda itself… Ideas of reparation and justice as ideals for believers to strive for generated forces to reserve social oppressions and reformulate hierarchies. If the social pendulum swung too far in one direction, another revolution would come along to correct it. (xvii)
Samskara shows us how aporetic condition of humanity has reduced the importance of ‘human value’ into nothing. The Brahmins of Durvasapura only practice what they are taught. Their imitation makes them alienated from the flow of life. The dead body of Naranappa articulates the downfall of humanity. He always stimulates them by breaking all static rules. The book, Why I Am Not a Hindu: A Sudra Critique of Hindutva Philosophy, Culture and Political Economy is considered as the Gita of lower-class people. It bears the proof of atrocities of the upper caste against the lower caste people. This book seeks to understand the concept of ‘human values’ in the lower strata of the Hindu religion. The so-called lower caste prefers to confine their lifestyle among themselves. They celebrate their happiness together. There is no bar in eating and drinking together. The upper caste has maintained numerous segregations to keep up their elitist homologous mentality. They differentiate between man and woman and consider woman as child producing machine or pain enduring creature. They cannot share their feelings or inconveniences in front of male candidates. By implementing this discriminating attitude among mankind, the so-called upper caste of Indian culture exploits and enjoys every right which should be 'of the people, by the people, for the people'. Samskara highlights a powerful caste-based narrative where a binary atmosphere is formed based on a singular practice.
The Role of Religion as a Dictator
This article critiques human values from the perspective of religion that plays a pivotal role in the novel, Samskara. But what does religion signify? It prescribes holy scriptures to hold mankind so that human beings remain united. In his book Caste, Conflict and Ideology Rosalind O’Hanlon shows:
Phule depicted Brahmans as the descendants of Aryan invaders, who had conquered the indigenous people of India. The Brahmans had usurped the inhabitants’ rightful power and property and had imposed their religion as an instrument of social control designed to perpetuate their rule. (O’Hanlon 141)
Rosalind also shows Phule’s experiences and his profound understanding on the politics of the Hindu regarding the division of the Hindu religion where Phule observes:
The Aryan progenitors of the present Brahman race came originally from a region beyond the Indus, attracted by the proverbial wealth of India and the fertility of its land. They met with fierce resistance from the original inhabitants whom they subjugated, and traces of the ancient struggle were still to be seen in the terminology used to describe the lower castes in the present day. (141)
To posit themselves in the topmost rank in the social ladder the Brahmins in India played the game of division in the name of religion. Phule asserts
Brahmans had built up for themselves under British rule, the power that this gave them over the masses of lower caste Hindus, and how the British government had allowed real power to slip from its hands into those of the high caste administrative professional elite which served it. (137)
To free the lower caste people from this barbaric religion Phule and other radicals formed ‘Satyashodhak Samaj’ or ‘truth-seeking society’ in 1873. Throughout his work Slavery, Phule compared the real intentions of the Creator with the fictional Brahminic literature where religion does not only talk of equality but power. In Samskara religion acts as a demonic incarnation. Though the Brahmins are believed to be the representatives of Gods, in the case of Naranappa they are unable to provide a proper method of cremating his dead body. Their conscience does not allow them to go beyond the scriptures. If Brahmins lead their life following these age-old testaments, how they would direct the lives of the people belonging to other castes. They would apply the same monolithic upper-caste mentality to dominate the lower caste imposing their derogatory power.
Critique of Human Values
In literature, criticism is the proper way of grounding any particular issue. To critique ‘human values’, this paper would like to bring attention to the most important factors in this field - Humiliation (Gopal Guru) and Buffalo Nationalism (Kancha. Ilaiah). Humiliation is a process of violating the self in terms of making oneself devalued, demeaned, and mocked. It directly shakes the human psyche as well as its ontic. If someone is constantly humiliated, he/she fails to develop a sense of self-respect and gradually succumbs to the treatment of humiliation. Self-respect comes from the inner domain of conscience where individuality is nurtured and resulted in one’s rational and moral nature. In Samskara Naranappa and Chandri are humiliated several times. When Naranappa, a Brahmin, contextualizes the definition of life in his way of ignoring conventional religious practice, the only reward he gets from the system is humiliation. His livelihood itself is represented as a disgrace to the Hindu religion. The process of indignity started at a very particular moment when Chandri was born in a low caste family. Now the problem arises when being a low caste woman, she dares to live with Naranappa. The best example of ignominy cited in the text is when Chandri is labeled as ‘prostitute’. If human values talk about self-respect and self-dignity, then Chandri deserves to enjoy her right and respect from society. Moreover, the twisted narration of religion by the so-called upper caste society is itself an ‘abominable act’ upon religion.
Buffalo Nationalism also ventures the brutality of Brahminism. In Buffalo Nationalism: A Critique of Spiritual Fascism Kancha IIaiah unearths the politics behind Hindu Brahminical society. Nationalism is an ideology that generates the notion of egalitarianism. But the Hindu religion produces a sense of inequality to control over marginal people. In the Hindu religion, buffalo is presented as a milk-producing animal but of inferior quality, whereas the cow is highlighted as producing superior quality on the merit of their colour. In India, Hindu Religion has constructed many symbols in the name of God which are both inanimate and animate. Inanimate symbols like Swastika, Trisul differentiate the Hindu community from other religions. The animate symbols like a cow, a horse is used as representatives of God. Since the Vedic era cow is projected as a ‘divine entity’ because of its whiteness. Even the milk of a cow is accepted as ‘sacred’. On the other hand, buffalo is treated as inferior because of its blackness which is believed to be inherited from being the domestic animal of Dravidian who is also black. The politics of the Brahminical caste is very simple and clear. Buffalo despite producing seventy percent milk of the dairy industry gets rejected by the Brahmins based on its colour. But on a deeper level, it can be interpreted that the symbolic representation of 'buffalo' as a flag-bearer of an egalitarian productive nationalism, a pillar of dignity and equality of colour creates chaos in the power politics of the upper caste strata. By analyzing the position of buffalo, a new exclusive nationalism can be expected and that is Buffalo Nationalism where buffalo is considered as a national animal instead of the cow. These concepts are injected into this article to criticize the notion of ‘human values’. And the very root of this idea is implanted within the theory of deconstruction propounded by Jacques Derrida, the French philosopher in his 1967 work Of Grammatology. The concept of deconstruction was borrowed from Martin Heidegger’s idea of destruction. This concept ‘deconstruction’ seeks to investigate the ultimate reality within things through unveiling its internal development. Derrida projects a sceptical attitude towards religion and philosophy. His approach contributes to the method of re-evaluation of all western values.
This Eurocentric concept questions and resolves everything in its unique way. It strikes on the traditional aporetic values that are engulfed by the barbaric custom, it needs to deconstruct and reconstruct to evaluate the existence of life in reality. Derrida says- Deconstruction is justice. If we never deconstruct anything then nothing gets its proper shape.
Conclusion
The title of Samskara, has a symbolic representation that needs to be deconstructed in terms of getting justice. Deconstructing the aporetic structure of rituals helps to reconstruct the ecology of humanity among mankind. Humanity, dignity, self-identity, disciplines, behaviour depend on the activities in the form of cultures embedded in different religions of different communities. In the Hindu religion, casteist problems have been exaggerated by various communities and that has been grounded in the name of practice. The lower rank holders are accustomed to the atrocities executed by the upper caste. In the pyramid of the power structure, Brahmins are considered as superior beings, the dominating one. In Samskara the same image of the social ladder has been disseminated since the beginning of the story. When Naranappa disobeyed the rules, he was tagged as the inferior one. He never allowed himself to be part of the Brahmin community. That is why his dead body was neglected by society without proper cremation. But surprisingly Chandri, the low caste prostitute, comes forward to support him for his so-called radical life. Naranappa could think out of rigidity and wanted to deconstruct the system. Anantha Murthy emphasizes time and again the banality of life that needs to be deconstructed and that process might reconstruct a new world in which humanity, self-respect, feelings, attitude, behaviour, and trust will rule over human beings, and spread the sweetest essence of ‘human value’. Deconstruction offers that liberty to sustain the process of evaluation of mankind in the name of ‘human value’. Samskara not only extracts the deception of life but also confers what the élan vital (Henri Bergson) of life is. It infringes the idea of logocentrism and also foregrounds the concept of summun bonum.
Works Cited
Arindam Saha, M.Phil Scholar, Department of English, Kazi Nazrul University, Asansol - 713340, Paschim Bardhaman, West Bengal, India.
Email: sarindam599@gmail.com
Priyanka Mallick, Assistant Professor, Syamsundar College, Suamsundar - 713424, Purba Bardhaman, West Bengal, India. Email: priyanka.burd@gmail.com