The Lord, a Devotee, and a Wall

The Master asked the students, ‘Who among us will go to Heaven?’

Most of the students named the Master, the village headman, the King, the Math head, and other such dignitaries.

The Master looked at young Kanaka, and smiled. Kanaka rose, and bowing, spoke. ‘When I go, I will go to Heaven.’

All present were shocked at the audacity of the youth. All save the Master, who understood. He blessed Kanaka. He understood that a saint had taken birth and was beginning to speak.

The life of Kanakadasa is a saga of a humble man rising to sainthood, and overcoming the irrational prejudices of a caste-enslaved society

O Mind, cease your endless worrying.
The Lord takes care of all.

On top of yonder hill there is a tree.
Who really watered it?

He gave us life, He will protect us.

Every bird and animal in the forest,
Who feeds them every single day?

Just as a mother guards her child, He guards all life.

Which Artist painted the peacock in beautiful colors
And made the ruby glow in a lovely shade of red?

Leave your worries to Him instead.

Kanakadasa started life as a soldier at Bankapura Fort, in present day Karnataka. He was severely wounded in one battle, and was on his death bed. However, when the Lord of Death arrived to collect his soul, He realized that the soul was a bud about to blossom into a saint who would change society. The Lord of Death withdrew. Kanaka’s wounds miraculously healed.

To the villagers, it was a miracle that Kanaka survived! Kanaka realized that it was Divine grace, and that the world needed to hear the songs that were arising within him.

Kanakadasa threw down his sword of iron that destroyed lives, and took up the sword of Bhakti that transformed lives. His songs raised the consciousness of people, and exposed the injustices prevailing in society. His was the voice of the common people. His poems were based on the simple, everyday circumstances of life. His poems and kirtis echoed in the people’s hearts the great message that all humans are equal in the eyes of God.

Kanakadasa asked the upper castes to end the discrimination against the lower castes. He asked the lower castes to cease their age-old social practices and adapt to the changing world. His message was delivered in the language of Bhakti (Devotion). Kanakadasa knew that true and lasting change happens in the heart, not in the mind.

Kanakadasa’s poem ‘Ramadhanyacharitre’ is an argument between two foods — rice and ragi — an allegory for the upper and lower castes. Rice and Ragi come to Lord Rama to plead their superiority. Lord Rama sends both to prison for six months. When the six months passed, Rice had rotted, and the hardy Ragi had survived.

‘Kula Kula Kulavendu Hodedhadadiri’ has a powerful message for society. All human beings are born in the same manner, all drink water which is the same whether drunk in the palace or in a hut, all are equally blessed by sunlight and moonlight. Kanakadasa asks people to drop the artificial divisions between castes and classes. No one is superior or inferior to another.

Are you in the body,
Or is the body in you?

Is the seen in Space,
Or Space is in the seen?
Or are both in the eye of the seer?

Is sight in the mind,
Or the mind in sight?
O! Hari! Do both exist in Thee?

Is the sweetness in sugar,
Or sugar in sweetness?
Or are they one in the tongue?
Is the tongue in the Mind,
Or the Mind in the tongue?
O Hari! Do both exist in Thee?

Is the flower in fragrance,
Or the fragrance in the flower?
Or are they both in the nose?
O Lord, these are beyond my grasp!
Isn’t all in Thee?

Once Kanakadasa visited the Krishna Temple at Udipi. The priests refused him entry as he belonged to a lower caste. They threw him out. These men believed that God was for only a privileged elite, an elite by birth and not by merit.

Kanakadasa refused to return without darshan of the Lord. He pined for the Lord. He knew the Lord was everywhere. Yet, the beautiful idol was a center of focus. Our minds are too small to understand infinity-eternity, we need an idol to focus our devotion.

He was not angry or dejected. He went outside to the back of the temple. He began singing. He poured his heart out. He had not gold or ornaments to offer the idol. He had only his little soul to offer. And he offered his soul in poetry and song. He sang for days and days.

The temple priests mocked him. A crowd of onlookers gathered, making fun of this outcast who sat behind the temple and sang songs.

And after a few days, the rear wall broke, Lord Krishna entered the idol, turned to face Kanakadsa, and bowed. And doing so, the Lord gave a message to the centuries that have followed - that all are equal before His eyes. That when a song arises from the heart, when the soul is free from ego, no wall can come between the devotee and the Lord.

Has life any meaning, with no prayers to the Lord?
Of what use is a king who protects not his followers?
Of what use is wealth that one cannot share or consume?
Of what value is life when you live without dignity?
Why live among those who only count your negatives?
Why make a fortune when you can’t share with your fraternity?

You have brought nothing with you, then why do you expect returns?
With Lord Keshava of Kaginele on our side, why do we seek any others?

Copyright Bhavesh Parekh