Arup Saikia
(arupsaikia07@gmail.com)
The aim of Sankardeva is to move religion and philosophy on an inclusive journey to advance human civilisation in the world with love, brotherhood, culture and morality-orientated thinking. The present Assamese community is based on the ideals of the great sage who awakened the thoughts and consciousness.
RELIGION AND REFORMATION
Serving the people with the thought of God in an environment surrounded by millions of devotees was created by Sankardeva only. So, Sankardeva became an institution run by consciousness. It inspires every generation with the ideals of St Sankardeva.
The slightest human limitation of Sankardeva can’t be a barrier to the achievement of mountainous success. Some of his rumoured supernatural deeds overcome his limitations among the common masses. Sankardeva spent his entire life struggling against immorality and inequality and introduced the religion of heaven. The Vaishnavite priests are carrying it forward. The goal and objectives of Sankardeva are world civilisation and human welfare. But the rustic situation of Assam won’t create a congenial environment to demonstrate anything sans religion. This is because the religion or superstition has existed since birth. So, Sankardeva or Madhavdeva painted all theories with divine colour. They have accepted all incarnations of Lord Krishna. The direct worshipping of Krishna is the path of this religion. They openheartedly recognised the significance of Hindu religious books like the Mahabharata, Ramayana, Bhagawat, Veda, etc. They are bound to follow the customs, food habits and ceremonies of Hinduism. Sankardeva hasn’t the slightest negligence or ill-will towards these. The characteristics of Mahatma Gandhi are like that in some circumstances. During the Indian independence movement, Gandhiji embraced everyone but always kept the Bhagawat Geeta inone hand. The nature and demeanour of Mahatma Gandhi is of a Hindu revivalist. Likewise, Sankardeva is also a refined Hindu revivalist.
Sankardeva would not have succeeded in any revolutionary reformation in the Assamese milieu without religion. The casteless society is a product of an open competitive market. The people of Assam haven’t heard about open economy. Even feudalism did not grow properly. As regards the commercial restrictions or development, the below one example is sufficient to elaborate. The salt was the most precious, essential commodity produced in Assam. It was mainly available in Chemkhar near Maibong. The area was totally disconnected from outside. It’s described as,
“After the fall of Maibong to Ahomi in the first decade of the eighteenth century, the place didn’t remain a safe haven for Kacharis, and they moved to present-day Silchar of the Barak Valley in 1750. Eventually Chemcha of Chemkhar remained as a disconnected island and formed a separate community, even cutting ties with their main tribe, Dimasa. They have to fight many fierce battles with Angami Nagas with a multi-layered barrier, which made them a secluded ethnic group. Interestingly there was a strict law of the tribe—nobody can intermarry or leave the village. So outsiders became very curious of this village and began to call it the village of mystery.
Later, many foreign merchants in the eighteenth century joined in the salt trade. Prominent amongst them are Jean Baptist Chevalier from France and Danielle Rous from Germany. Meanwhile some elite Assamese brokers are born for collection and logistics support of salt trading.”
Quotes from “Bhaona And Assamese Society” by Arup Saikia. (P–107, old edition.)
The coming of aliens like Chevalier or Danielle in the eighteenth century is far away from the times of Sankardeva. Most of the Assamese tribes are animist. The formless devotion is beyond their comprehension. So some awe-inspiring monuments or images are required to influence them. So various incarnated images or narratives are displayed in the name of religion.
The Vaishnavite religious scriptures are not the fundamental creation of Sankardeva. He translated the tenth chapter of the Bhagawat. The Hindu religious books unduly praise the Brahmins. The agony of the common masses is for Brahminical blind belief. But Sankardeva hasn’t started an open revolt against Brahmanism. He just applied the trusteeship policy of Mahatma Gandhi. It happened during the struggle for equality under the Gandhian freedom struggle. Mahatma Gandhi was against the Marxist theory of snatching the property of the rich. Gandhiji rather advocated the theory of amiability and mutual trust. The property holder as trustee should administer property for the welfare of the people. The thinking of Sankardeva is also likely to be the same. Through all his means he called upon the Brahmins to be lenient and liberal. Assam is originally a non-Hindu and non-Aryan state. The place is more likely to be penetrated by the culture of Southeast and East Asian countries. Naturally they are susceptible to Confucianism, Taoism or other folk religions.
RELIGION, CASTEISM & RACE
The strict casteist division is comparatively relaxed or broken in North India for other reasons besides merchandise. After the onset of Buddhism, many downtrodden Hindus converted to Buddhism. To hold their conversion, many priestly or privileged Hindus started to treat them leniently. But Buddhism also couldn’t fly its flag for a long time. As the empire of Aurangzeb collapsed for its vastness, the same phenomenon may be the cause of its extinction in Indian soil. But the conversion of people to Hinduism poses problems for the priests. Hinduism and casteism are correlated. Where to induct the new converts? What will be their caste? If a large group is converted, then the matter is different. They remain as a separate clan or sub-caste within Hinduism. But the caste is not conferred; it’s born. The caste is directly related to position. So it became difficult to offer proper caste to an individual. Buddhism was rising at that time. They are welcoming the new Indian migrants, like the Kushanas and Shakas, to their stream with warm arms. This has rung the alarm bell among the conservative Hindu preachers.
Noted historian Romila Thapar writes it as— “Brahman orthodoxy also had to come to terms with people of non-Indo-Aryan origin, such as the Greeks and the Shakas, who had political power and could not therefore be treated as outcastes. The “fallen kshatriya” status conferred on them was a shrewd manoeuvre. The presence in India of foreigners who achieved positions of political and economic importance created considerable social problems and must have further challenged the theoretical structure of caste.”
“A History Of India” by Romila Thapar. P–121, Vol–1, Old edition.
As in modern times, power has a lot of influence on caste. Powerful people, by marital assimilation or by other means, can upgrade anyone’s caste socially. No race in the world is pure or born out of non-assimilation. The Brahmin, Kshatriya, and Shudra were born from the same parents in ancient India. The caste is actually an expression of quality. With growing numbers of the people of the respective castes, this practice or system was diminished. Some members of the inferior class also availed themselves of the opportunity to mingle with new immigrants or foreigners. This way they hid their original identity and changed caste. Romila Thapar again writes in “A History Of India”, “Expansion in trade and commerce also meant an increase in guilds and the employment of many more artisans. The latter were largely drawn from the “Shudra” caste, some of whom, in changing their occupation and location, probably improved their caste status.” (Chapter – The Rise of the Mercantile Community, p. 121)
These huge chunks of newly converted people form a different Aryan community. They are socially very active and a pillar force of Hinduism, which is growing rapidly at the cost of Buddhism. The Buddhist monasteries were built luxuriously and received huge endowments. The monks had started to live in a secluded location in serenity. That seclusion separated them from general public touch. Moreover, the schism occurred within Buddhism, and it split into two sects, namely Mahayana and Hinayana.
The flow of newcomers to Hinduism made it a cosmopolitan religion. This we can say is the hidden volcano of the Bhakti movement or equality. The receivers of Vaishnavism and the Bhakti movement aren’t the same. Many discerning elites also practise Vaishnavism. The Bhakti movement is like the next promotional step of Vaishnavism: genuine worship in any way. For example, Assam has first seen royal Shiva worship. The Varman dynasty is the first historically traceable dynasty (350 AD–650 AD) of Kamarupa, Assam. The Varman monarchs were devotees of Lord Shiva. They are tolerant, and the first golden period of Assam begins with their reign. The prominent monarchs of Assam are Aryanised, not born Aryan. It’s not that Sankardeva only worked hard to manoeuvre people for the change of faith.
The Chutiya kingdom that existed from around 1188 AD to 1524 AD had a division of religion between the kings and the subjects.
The Chutiya kings were personally Vishnu worshippers.
They are proud to be Vaishnava.”Given that the Dhenukhana copperplate of Satanarayana initially refers to the deity Vasudeva and the Prince village copperplate of Dhirnarayana refers to himself as Vishnu. The Ghilamara copperplate of Laxminarayan, the Shadia-Chepakhawa copperplate and the Konwar Gaon copperplate of Dhirnarayan depict Ganesha, but it is a tradition for people of any sect of Hinduism to worship Ganesha at the beginning of good deeds. The Chutiya kings were Vaishnavas, while the common Chutiya subjects were worshippers of the tribal goddess Kechaikhati. This religious division of kings and subjects confirms our conclusion about the different religious and cultural backgrounds of the Chutiya kings and subjects. This Kechaikhati goddess was later Hinduised and projected throughout Assam as Tamreshwari, the goddess of power. The traditional priests of Goddess Kechaikhati were the Chutiya. They are called Deuris.”
Excerpted from Dr Swarnalata Baruah, Chutiya Jatir Buranji, Edited, pp. 579/583/585/590.
The Vaishnavism was so intense among some monarchs like Chutiya that they have not abnegated their faith notwithstanding living among the Shaktas. But to survive in power, the kings had acknowledged the traditional deity of the Chutiya community.
(Author Arup Saikia is a noted cultural enthusiast, writer, Bhaona artiste and alumnus of the University of Delhi.)