The Sankardeva ideology in recent social life : An introspection
Debojit Bharali
Mahapurusha Srimanta Sankardeva, the name
that fills Assamese minds and souls with reverence and devotion. Guru
Sankardeva is the greatest symbol of national identity and the source of
national inspiration. He built a larger Assamese society for Assamese national
life. Indefinite contribution has been made, it cannot be overstated. What do
we call him? a preacher, a socio-religious reformer, saint, scholar ..? There
is no doubt, above all logic this polymath is the greatest Assamese of all time.
But nowadays, that what can be felt, the
level of reflection of Guru's ideology in the life of our native ( Assamese)
society or the effect of that ideology is really limited to today's
Namghar-Satra only. It is important to consider whether Sankardeva's ideals are
reflected in the practice of excluding oneself from a society that seeks to
become self-reliant through animal husbandry such as pigs. It is important to
note that whether Sankardeva's greatness is felt in the bones the bridge of
social cohesion introduced by him or to note that whether contemporary society
has been able to keep itself tightly bound or not.
It is not possible to cover all the
topics in this short article. Rather then, it is being tried to roughly highlight
some related key areas.
At present, human values have declined
in the society. The signs of moral decay in the political, economic, social,
cultural and other spheres are becoming more and more evident day by day. There
is a deviation from humanitarian thinking and for such reason, a society based
on morality, justice, well-being and cleanliness is facing a crisis of
existence. Gradually, the character of social life has also paved the way for
the loss of its identity. Differences in social thought, differences in
ideology have taken a toll on national life. More we move towards the pinnacle
of civilization, our evolving thinking is distorted. If we are in the process
of finding a way to solve a problem, then we often give priority to our petty
interests, looking for a safe haven. If we have ever taken any step in the
larger interest of the society, then we are continuing our selfish endeavours
in one way or another. In general, there is no end of problem. Over the years,
human civilization has flourished on the basis of human thought, hard work,
research and aristocratic experience. Through this, people-oriented,
creative-oriented, benevolent values have been established. Civilizations now
seems have become paralyzed due to lack of value, misapplication of ideas and
lack of social incentives for the development of new values in a timely manner. In the light of these circumstances,
the social space of the Guru's ideology has become unstable. Most of the time,
except for a handful of conscious, devout people, it seems that his ideals
could not be drawn.
However, Sankardeva is bound to unite
every element so that the national life of the society can be celebrated with
dignity. The greatest Assamese of all time is truly a part of the benevolent
God. According to the prominent Assamese writer, novelist Abdul Malik Sahab, “we
are the people of Assam, the people of the land of Sankardeva. Therefore,
we, the citizens of Assam, carry this identity and should carry it.
Sankardeva's teachings on religion,
simple ideals, have taught us to respect life. He showed the way to do good
deeds to make life pure and unadulterated and unquestionably it's a great way
to get acquainted with people you know and love. In our society, these best
thinkers should be given due respect. But on the contrary, the image of our
society has become very gray and it is such unfortunate for us. Today's society
that Sankardeva dreamt has been almost torn apart by caste, class hatred,
communal divisions, political conflicts and other undue factors. Hence, in very
recent times it is our utmost duty to strive to build a new humanitarian
society with our all virtues and wisdom. Where the ideals of the Sankardeva are
sure to return dignity. And this call should be respected by all the people of Assam.
What’s not Sankardeva given to us ? By wandering of the world, he brought the
golden wisdom of “Vaishnavism” with immense effort and built the monument of the
social wisdom. By spreading the “Naam Dharma” in a simplified way
saint Sankardeva educate many and enlightened their minds which helped overcame
of superstition. As a result, he still resides in the secluded corner of the
heart of every people of his land.
However, in the course of time, the place
of Sankardeva's ideology has been degraded from the society. In villages,
different games are being played, separate Namghars are being set up, and the
new generation is keeping their learning without knowing this master. How can
it be convincing as a good sign for the native society !! If we think deeply,
we will not be able to find any reason to go ahead without knowing, ignoring
the guru Sankardeva. In doing so, we will be ungrateful to him as well as to
his contributions. It is the duty of every people to understand that it is the
responsibility of people here to enrich the life of the society with the ideals
of Sankardeva and the place of that ideal is in the every sphere of life.
Moreover, "unity among diversity" is
a feature of our nation and it is impactful to our social life. Change is
inevitable but in the midst of change, the promise of human progress and
upliftment is desirable. There is no reason to reject every notion of human welfare;
rather there is need of the collective thoughts for the purpose of establishing
the life-giving interest of life. However, in the fast-paced journey of progressive
thought, there is no meaning to give up one's national thought. The collective
value of humanity, cosmopolitanism, self-sacrifice, honesty, etc., is the basis
of human civilization, and there is no reason to push the national existence to
the brink of a critical crisis. Although we are temporarily lost in the
fast-paced society, the collective effort to re-move towards greater national
self-interest with the wisdom of conscience and self-realization must be taken
into account. Only such consistent efforts would be the exact tribute to the
ideology that guru Sankardeva showed our society.
Phone: 9854539061
E-mail:
dbharali83@gmail.com
(Tour consultant by profession,
Freelance writer on tourism, IT, various social aspects. Add:- Kahilipara, Guwahati)
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