pachai maamalai pol mene

Sunday, July 03, 2011

muddying the pond

यत्सारस्वतवैभवं गुरुकृपापीयूषपाकोद्भवं
तल्लभ्यं कविनैव न हठतः पाठप्रतिष्ठाजुषां।
कासारे दिवसं वसन्नपि पयः पूरं परंपङ्किलं
कुर्वाणः कमलाकरस्य लभते किं सौरभं सैरिभः॥६५॥
बल्ललदेवस्य भोजप्रबन्धात्
yatsārasvatavaibhavaṁ gurukṛpāpīyūṣapākodbhavaṁ
tallabhyaṁ kavinaiva na haṭhataḥ pāṭhapratiṣṭhājuṣāṁ|
kāsāre divasaṁ vasannapi payaḥ pūraṁ paraṁpaṅkilaṁ
kurvāṇaḥ kamalākarasya labhate kiṁ saurabhaṁ sairibhaḥ||65||
ballaladevasya bhojaprabandhāt


This is a very interesting point made in Bhojaprabhandham of Ballaladeva.. 

 A comparison is attempted  between the persons who simply sit on and on reading books and by sheer toil gain substantial knowledge on the one side 
and
 the avid students who are nourished by the gentle and affectionate teaching by a learned teacher and progress to become poets on the other side.
The idea may not be relished by all but the clear advantage of getting education at the lotus fees of the Guru cannot be denied by anyone.

The meaning of the sloka is 
" The heights of sublime poesy and verbal dexterity gained through teaching of the master,  the gift  which is filled with the ambrosia prepared in right proportiion is the privilege of the fotunate disciple who had the affection and benediction of the Guru.


  It is not meant for the persons who mug up the contents of a book with the dexterity and persistence of a bookworm.
 A buffalo spending his whole time of the day in a pond is able to run or swim about and make the whole water muddy.
 But can it ever imbibe the aroma of the lotus which stands in full bloom at the centre of the pond?
"

Here the disciples who learn under the evocative tutelage of a guru are compared to  the lotus  and those who just sweat it out reading books after books are compared to the buffalo.. Both occupy the pond that is knowledge..

The war of words between the poets 
who cater to the sentiments of the readers through appropriate use of words
 and phrases 
and
 for whom in-depth knowledge may not be much of an attraction 
and 
the dry academics and critics who are full of knowledge  but are not at all soft in their expressions,  
is a universal phenomenon. 
 Because of the melody and sweet combination of words, the poets sooth our emotions.
 But the reality of the world is brought to us in its true  form by the academics. 
Of course, the poets claim that their gift of muses arose through the benevolence of the preceptor..
However we have to understand that academical knowledge also emanate from the great teachers only.

The example of the buffalo is really amusing.
  The bookish people are accused of the tendency not only of mugging up the knowledge but also of making the entire atmosphere muddy and turbulent. 

The words are written by a poet.
 So we have to give a lot of benefit of doubt  to the academics also. 
Maybe we cannot afford to read through an encyclopaedia but without reference to that our knowledge will be very partial and incomplete.
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