Versatile Genius

Sri Kapali Sastriar: His Thought

(By M. P. Pandit)

Sri Kapali Sastriar was a polymath. He excelled himself in whatever field he touched, be it languages, literature, philosophy, yoga, astrology, astronomy, Ayurveda, Rasa Sastra. Though be was a man of warm emotions and tender feelings, he is more known for his brilliant intellect which is patent in his various writings in Sanskrit, English, Tamil and Telugu. It was, however, an intellect with a difference. For Sastriar the mind was more a reflector of higher knowledge than a constructor of systems.

His most outstanding service to world-thought is undoubtedly his synthesising grasp of the different traditions of the past and the facility with which he has built a bridge between the ancient heritage and the modern time-spirit. In his approach contradictions are resolved and new light is thrown on many unlit corners of the religious, spiritual and occult traditions that have come down for centuries. His magnum opus, Siddhanjana, commentary on the First Ashtaka of the Rig Veda, explores the hitherto neglected psychological and spiritual sides of the ancient hymnal. Sastriar's interest in the Veda dated from his childhood. It had always intrigued him how the Veda which has been all along considered to be the fountain-head of Indian culture could be treated as a mere ritualistic or naturalistic text. His association withVasishtha Ganapati Muni and later with Sri Aurobindo helped him to go deeper into the hymns and discover a priceless treasure of a spiritual, occult and yogic character behind a seemingly ritualistic exterior.

After a life-long study, verification in personal inner life and confirmations in other branches of Indian Wisdom, he began writing his commentary on the Rig Veda in his sixtieth year. In his Bhumika, Introduction, he presents his approach, deriving from ancient Rishis like Yaska, medieval Teachers like Ananda Tirtha and the perceptions of modern seers like Sri Aurobindo. He works out this psychological interpretation guided by the principles of the mystic symbolism of the Vedic Rishis in his verse-by-verse explanation. He follows the method of the Sastraic commentator of the classic age and brings to life Deities like Agni, Indra, Varuna, Mitra, Aditi and so on. He underlines their relevance to the seekers and humanists of the present day. For instance, speaking of the identity and role of the Ribhus about whom there has been considerable controversy, he establishes their apotheosisation and continuing collaboration with the Gods as artisans of Immortality. Their work of synthesis and harmonisation of the different aspects of the human personality is shown to have a bearing on the shaping of the human society in the emerging future. He draws attention to the fine distinctions the Seers made between Satya and Rita, Truth static and Truth dynamic and also howRitam of the Veda became the Dharma of the Epics later on.

In his studies in the Upanishads, he traces the continuity of the Vedic spirit and resolves certain conundrums with the insight of the older texts. In a thorough analysis of the thought of the Katha Upanishad, he examines to what extent it is a delineation of the passage from the earth-world to the world of Truth and how the inner knots of the heart have to be loosened and untied before a conscious transition becomes possible.

Sastriar used to say he was a tantric through and through. He had been initiated into Sri Vidya, the purest form of Divine Mother worship, by his father at the age of five and he had delved deep into the lore of the Tantra. He finds astonishing echoes of the Veda in the Tantra, in thought and in practice. He proves how the devi dvārāh, divine Doors of the Veda correspond to the Chakras of the Tantra. He holds that the Tantra is as old as the Veda and both have a common origin. He lays bare the secrets of some of the legends in the Puranas on the basis of the experience recorded in the hymns of the Veda.

In a word, Sri Kapali Sastriar, spans the entire expanse of the ancient heritage and relates it to the present stage of human evolution in a convincing manner.

(Courtesy: A.I.R.)