The eyes of a visionary
The Mother has said about
Nishikanto that he had the eyes of a visionary and he has claimed that almost
all of his visions had come to him when his eyes were open. R Prabhakar tells
us: “He often went down to the ‘Old Balcony’ (Ashram) at an hour when for us
the Mother was apparently not there. Surely he did not go just to see the
Balcony. It is said that he could see the Mother there.” [41] What follows are
the descriptions of some of the visions and their interpretations:
Once in a vision Nishikanto saw a mahā śūnya, Total Void. Then he saw a
star emerge in that Void and when it vanished, its place was taken by a
beautiful green moon. Beneath it stood a magnificent verdant tree, innumerable
birds flitted around it and the tree was bathed by the effulgence of the green
moon. After some time the green moon vanished as well and a sapphire moon was
seen in a blue sky with its rays falling on all creation. Eventually the green
moon vanished too and a golden moon was seen with golden rays radiating from
it. When Nishikanto wrote to Sri Aurobindo asking him the significance of the
vision, the Guru replied that the ‘star’ which emerged in the Void was the
Creatrix—the Mother; the green moon was Rama and his light was falling on the
verdant tree symbolizing the creation; the blue moon was Krishna with his light
permeating the creation and the golden moon symbolized the Future Avatar.
Once on the occasion of his
birthday Nishikanto had gone to the Mother to offer his obeisance to her. After
blessing him the Mother concentrated on his head with one hand. Nishikanto went
into a trance and had the vision of Sri Aurobindo who vanished and in his place
he saw the Mother as the Rajarajeshwari
(the Queen of queens). After the concentration Nishikanto informed the Mother
about his vision and asked why did Sri Aurobindo vanish and why did he not see
the Mother and Sri Aurobindo together. The Mother replied: “Sri Aurobindo and I
are one. It does not matter that you saw us as two.”
On another occasion: The Mother was
mounting the staircase of the Meditation Hall; below Nishikanto stood among a
host of other people. All of a sudden he saw the Buddha standing behind the
Mother. He shut his eyes for a moment to ascertain if it was a trick of his
imagination or a hallucination, but on opening his eyes he still saw the Buddha
there. He looked around to see if others had also noticed anything, but there
was no trace of wonder on the faces of those around him. He concluded that the
Buddha was visible only to him. Then the Buddha vanished and in his place
Nishikanto beheld Adi Shankaracharya and when this vision too vanished he saw
Swami Vivekananda standing behind the Mother.
Nishikanto was greatly intrigued by
what he had seen and when he wrote to the Mother about this triple vision, she
replied that what he had seen was correct and that all three had been Vibhutis
of Shiva. [42]
Once Nishikanto saw in a vision a
violet stream and a golden cup. In a letter to Nirodbaran, Sri Aurobindo
explained the significance of the vision: “ ‘Violet’ is the colour of the
benevolence or compassion, but also more vividly of the Divine
Grace—represented in the vision as flowing from the heights of the spiritual
consciousness down on this earth. The golden cup is I suppose the
Truth-Consciousness.”
Once Nishikanto saw in a
dream-vision that he was wandering in a dense green forest where he had lost
his way; the roar of tiger, the hissing of poisonous snakes, and the cries of
the foxes could be heard. When he looked up at the sky he saw some a pale moon
and some grey clouds floating around it. When he prayed to the Divine to show
him the way, he saw that a silver-coloured moon emerged out of the pale moon
and the moonlight fell at the centre of the forest where he saw a beautiful
round-shaped mālāncha
[flower-garden]. Its flowers were bright and silvery. Among the innumerable
flowers he could recognize white rose, rajanigandhā
[tuberose] and white lotus. The birds sitting on it invited him to come to it
but he found no way to enter the mālāncha.
When he tried to enter it a deer came to him and requested him like a human
being not to go there and the tigers and the snakes tried to scare him away and
the thorns pricked his feet. But still when he tried to enter he saw a ray of
light descend from the sky. He also saw that a cloud had touched the moon and
piercing its chest the ray was descending. He saw a conch-white road that had
gone straight to the heart of the mālāncha.
He went inside it immediately. Then he heard someone playing the flute and a
white peacock appeared before him and began to show him the way. As he walked
and looked around he saw that the forest had disappeared and the sky was
transformed into a white-blue colour. Even the pale clouds had become silver.
Sri Aurobindo explained the
significance of this vision: “The forest is a symbol of the unregenerated rājasik vital—the malancha is the
psychic in the vital. The moon is the symbol of spiritual light, faint at
first, it being cleared and bright and illumining the obscuration of the mind
(the cloud) obliges it to allow the higher ray to pass through it. The white
peacock is the spiritual victory. The rest is a symbol of the transformation of
the vital—or changes into the psychised vital if not the spiritual influence
and then a divine call.” [43]
Six years after the publication of
Nishikanto’s Alakananda, his first
book of poems in Bengali, his first and only book of English poetry Dream Cadences saw the light of the day
in April 1946. The collection consisted of his original poems as well as
translation of his poems made by Dilip Kumar Roy. It also included the
following song of Nishikanto translated by Sri Aurobindo himself on 7 February
1941:
King and Devotee
The Kings of kings has made you a
king,
Your sceptre gave,
your throne of gold,
Man and fair maid for retinue,
Your swords of sheen,
your warriors bold,
Your crown, your flag, your
victor-pomps,
High elephants and
steeds of pride,
The wise to counsel, the strong to
serve,
And queens of beauty
at your side.
To me He gave His alms of grace,
His little wallet
full of songs,
His azure heavens for my robe,
His earth, my nest,
to me belongs.
My sleeping room is His wide world,
Planet and star for
bulb and lamp,
The King of kings who beggared me,
Walks by my side, a
comrade tramp. [44]
In his Foreword to Dream Cadences, Kishor Gandhi writes:
The bulk of Nishikanto’s poetry is
in his native tongue Bengali, in the poetical literature of which he occupies a
place of high eminence. He never made any serious attempt to write poetry in
English as his knowledge of English metre is almost negligible and his familiarity
with the English language is neither deep nor extensive… These poems have a
value to those who are interested in the process of poetic creation in as much
as whatever poetic merit they have is solely due to the poet’s innate sense of
rhythm and word-music. The description—‘a born poet’—could hardly be applied to
anyone with greater appositeness than to Nishikanto, for the poetic vein of
speech is for him more like a natural function of his psychological
constitution than a cultivated art and the sense for rhythm and subtle
sound-body of words which comprise the essence of the poetic faculty is native
to his temperament. It would seem that the poet, in his inner being, is in
direct contact with some far-away
Without the poet having an opening
to some such high world of beauty it would be difficult to account for the
immediate enchantment his verse lays upon our sensibilities. Without such an
opening it would also be impossible to explain the poet’s success in writing
English poetry with extremely meagre external technical equipment. Nishikanto’s
success in the field of English poetry would appear to suggest that it is not
impossible for an exceptionally gifted and powerful poet to surmount altogether
the need of knowing the metrical technique by sheer force of his inborn and
intimate sense of the spirit of rhythm and subtle word-music; the invisible
Spirit of Word-Beauty with which he is in direct contact would itself provide
him with its intrinsic body-forms, its shapes and structures of visible
embodiment.
But what made Nishikanto write in
English when he had not much command over the language? The story goes that
once while walking on the sea-beach, Dilip Kumar had challenged Nishikanto to
write a poem in English. [45] Nishikanto accepted the challenge and approached his guru-bhai
Ramachandra to learn English metre and rhythm. Ramachandra gave him the ‘push’
to write, but he asked Nishikanto to read poetry in English first so that he
may ‘plunge into the spirit’ before learning the rhythm. Eventually he went on
to compose twenty-one poems in English which later were included in Dream Cadences along with eighteen poems
of his translated by Dilip Kumar. ‘When he was asked…from where he had picked
up such English that he could produce good poetry, his reply always was, “Is it
I who write these poems? It is the guru who is getting them written through
me.’ [46]
Sri Aurobindo’s Comments
Nirodbaran’s correspondence with
Sri Aurobindo reflects the discussions his fellow-sadhaks had with the Guru
regarding the development of his poetic faculty in English.
Nirodbaran: Here is Nishikanto’s
poem. Just think of it—a fellow who never has written a single line in English
and doesn’t know it well, translates his own poem at a shot into a more
beautiful, richer poem! Look at his astounding mistakes in spelling but does it
matter?
Sri Aurobindo: No, so long as there
is somebody to correct it.
Nirodbaran: And on the whole the
metre also seems right.
Sri Aurobindo: What metre? Is it
the one I indicated?
Nirodbaran: Amal [47] has corrected
the whole thing, he says some of the lines are striking. What would you say and
will you kindly retouch, if necessary?
Sri Aurobindo: It is very
beautiful. Amal has worked much upon it, so it is so surprisingly perfect. The
original form is very poetic, but it is only the first two lines of it and the
first two also of the second stanza that are quite successful. All the same it
is a remarkable endeavour.
Nirodbaran: Nishikanto says that
before writing or painting he bows down once before the Mother and you. If that
is the magic, why, I will bow a thousand times, Sir!
Sri Aurobindo: It depends on how
you bow. [48]
[8 December 1935]
Nirodbaran: If Nishikanto can learn
English metre, he will produce some splendid poems.
Sri Aurobindo: Possibly and
probably—only he must learn also what is and is not possible in English poetic
style.
Nirodbaran: I hope you didn’t fail
to notice in Nishikanto’s poem—“With profuse success, each pot of my every dot
fulfils,” word for word a translation by him of his Bengali line—proti bindur
proti adhar. Amal and I had a hearty laugh!
Sri Aurobindo: Yes, it was a stroke
of genius.
Nirodbaran: But don’t you agree
that it is a very striking piece with much original imagery?
Sri Aurobindo: It is indeed a
remarkable effort, full of beauty and power. You will see that by some changes
(for the sake of metre and correct language and style) it becomes a poem of
great original beauty…
Nirodbaran: I believe than
Nishikanto will profit immensely if he tries to learn metre.
Sri Aurobindo: Yes, this one I have
turned into a flexible amalgram of iambs, troches and anapaests. It gives to my
eye a very attractive and original effect…
Nirodbaran: How do you explain
Nishikanto’s miraculous feat? He can’t speak at all correctly in English, whereas
he writes wonderful poetry!
Sri Aurobindo: That has nothing to
do with it. Speech and Poetry come from two quite different sources. Remember
Goldsmith who wrote like an angel and talked like a parrot.’ [49]
[10 December 1935]
Nirodbaran: Here is a lyrical dish
prepared by Nishikanto all on a sudden after reading a book on metre. How do
you find it?
Sri Aurobindo: For a first attempt
remarkable—but he has not yet the necessary niceties of phrase and rhythm. The
first three lines of the second stanza are very powerful, as good a thing as
any English poet could have written. With some doctoring it makes a powerful
lyric.
Nirodbaran: Nishikanto has got the
metre all right this time.
Sri Aurobindo: Almost—he has the
gift. But there are defects e.g. he sometimes gave 3 ft for 2 ft lines and vice
versa. Having made a scheme he should keep to it…’ [50]
[11 December 1935]
Nirodbaran: Sending you one more
poem by Nishikanto. Seems a very interesting piece. If it could have been done
well, it would have been very attractive and original.
Sri Aurobindo: It is indeed a
matter of which a fine poem can be made. Nishikanto has imagination and the
ideas carry beauty in them, the language also, but he has not yet the knowledge
of the turns of the English tongue which make the beauty effective, I have
tried to make it as perfect as an hour’s work can do—but that is not enough,
and it might be better.’ [51]
[16 December 1935]
Nirodbaran: Nishikanto has written:
“I am tuned in thy tremolo of dreamland, heaven and earth.” Is the word tremolo
all right?
Sri Aurobindo: It is rather strange
but perhaps it will do.
Nirodbaran: The credit of this poem
goes entirely to him. You’ll be glad to see that your effort at metrical
lessons has proved fruitful.
Sri Aurobindo: Evidently with a
little care and practice Nishikanto ought soon to be able to handle English
metre. He has the gift. [52]
[20 December 1935]
Paintings
It would be wrong to assume that
Nishikanto had stopped painting after becoming an inmate of the Ashram. He did
make a number of paintings some of which are still preserved in the Ashram. Two
of his greatest paintings Chandravali
(based on the vision of the Mother he had had before joining the Ashram) and Bird of Fire (based on Sri Aurobindo’s
poem of the same name) adorned the walls of his room. Jayantilal Parekh
recalls: “Nishikanto’s style also changed when he began doing things here [in
The spiritual manifestation has
always resulted in the creation and development of art and artistic objects.
The style of Nishikanto’s painting had evolved with his consciousness. He
painted whenever he received the inspiration for doing so. If Sri Aurobindo
guided him in his poetic creations, so did the Mother with his paintings and
she also had arranged for the exhibition of his paintings (along with Sanjiban,
Anilkumar and Jayantilal Parekh) in the Town Hall of Pondicherry in the 1935.
The aim was not the mere encouragement of creative activities; on the contrary,
it was to develop their inner beings and transform them into the ideal mediums
of Art-Consciousness and also the establishment of such consciousness in them.
Nishikanto painted mostly of
nature. He used to walk to the
Nishikanto’s paintings had the
traits of the mystic elements which grew along with the development of his
spiritual consciousness. On the first of every month, Nishikanto used to offer
a painting to the Mother. His paintings took a month for completion and even he
did not know how the paintings would take shape at the end of the month for he
made them solely based on the inspiration he received.
Nishikanto had a unique style of
creating his paintings. His creations may resemble modern art and yet they are
characterized with the presence of surrealism and metaphysical elements. This
was because he drew inspiration from the poetry of Sri Aurobindo and as a
result his art took a turn towards symbolism. He also included the experiences
of his visions in his paintings. Dhiraj Banerjee writes about his paintings:
[55]
Although his colours give an
impression of being most probably of modern surrealist type, he was
well-trained in the Indian tradition. The lines in his pictures are bold and
prominent. The painted parts and or forms are quite clear and distinct; in
places they resemble collage a little, and don’t always seem to fuse so much
one with another as we often see in wash-pictures in general. But neither are
they pastiche for that matter. He also did some genre paintings of ordinary
scenes, including landscapes in the traditional style…Just like the clean and
clear resonance of his poetic rhythm, the play of colours and the mode of
expression in his art is pleasant and eye-catching. He was quite a master of
the subject he handled and aware of the technique of composition…
Regarding the progress of
Nishikanto the painter, Sri Aurobindo has remarked: “There is progress. It is a
very good painting especially from the decoration point of view—a little
lacking in charm, but full of strength. He has evidently a great talent.” And
again: “Nishikanta has already his own developed technique and a certain
originality of vision—two things which must be there before a man can take risk
as a painter.”
Since All Life is Yoga, Sri
Aurobindo has reminded: “Any activity can be taken as part of the sadhana if it
is offered to the Divine or done with the consciousness or faith that it is
done by the Divine Power.” [56]
Nishikanto, apart from composing
verses, did no work of the Ashram in the early years. Though he wrote from a
vital inspiration a time came when the cascade of inspiration was reduced to a
thin stream. According to Nirodbaran: “He was now tormented with a spiritual
conscience: ‘Poetry, painting I have had enough! Where is God? Have I burnt all
my works to be caught again in Art’s devilish snare?’ This was the burden of
his pathetic song.” [57]
And he adds: “The duel went on and
all kinds of inner conflict scoured his outer consciousness. I believe that the
Yogic Force after the first years of creative ananda had touched the
subconscious, hence the reaction.” [58]
During that time the Mother fell
ill and Sri Aurobindo discontinued seeing the poems of his disciples. As a
result Nishikanto too stopped writing and he argued that if Sri Aurobindo
didn’t see his poems then what was the use of writing? Sri Aurobindo conveyed
to him that the poet “writes out of his own inspiration” and tried to dissuade
him but in vain. Nishikanto complained that since the pressure was getting too
much it was essential for him to seek relief elsewhere by going out for a while.
Sri Aurobindo persuaded him not to do so and advised him to conquer his “vital
restlessness” by staying in the Ashram under the aegis of the Gurus. Nirodbaran
writes: “…the relief was not found; there was neither peace nor less war.
Besides, whenever he tried to meditate on Shiva, Kali or
Sri Aurobindo too wrote to him
reminding him that poetry was not a substitute for sadhana and it can be “an
accompaniment only”. How? Sri Aurobindo explains to Nishikanto:
If there is a feeling (of devotion,
surrender etc.), it can express and confirm it; if there is an experience, it
can express or strengthen the force of the experience. As reading of books like
the Upanishads or Gita or singing of devotional songs can help, especially at
one stage or another, so this can help also. Also it opens a passage between
the exterior consciousness and the inner mind or vital. But if one stops at
that, then nothing much is gained. Sadhana must be the main thing and sadhana
means purification of the nature, the consecration of the being, the opening of
the psychic and the inner mind and vital, the contact and presence of the
Divine, the realization of the Divine in all things, surrender, devotion, the
widening of the consciousness into the cosmic Consciousness, the Self one in
all, the psychic and the spiritual transformation of the nature. If these
things are neglected and only poetry and mental development and social contacts
occupy all the time, then that is not sadhana. Also the poetry must be written
in the same spirit, not for fame or self-satisfaction, but as a means of
contact with the Divine through aspiration or of the expression of one’s own
inner being, as it was written formerly by those who left behind them so much
devotional and spiritual poetry in India; it does not help if it is written
only in the spirit of the Western artist or littérateur. Even the works or
meditation cannot succeed unless they are done in the right spirit of
consecration and spiritual aspiration gathering up the whole being and
dominating all else. It is the lack of this gathering up of the whole life and
nature and turning it towards the one aim, which is the defect in so many here,
that lowers the atmosphere and stands in the way of what is being done by myself
and the Mother. (19 May 1938) [60]
It was after receiving this
explanation from Sri Aurobindo did Nishikanto decide to take up some work in
the Ashram so he joined the Dining Room as a chef. He realized that since the
job of a chef would be strenuous it would calm down the restlessness of his
vital being. He repeated his success as a chef and received Sri Aurobindo’s
praise: “His cooking is excellent.” (Years later when Sri Aurobindo had stopped
eating sweets, Nirodbaran had taken to him two plateful of rasogollas [the
famous sweetmeat of
Nishikanto’s cooking earned the
praise of all the inmates which in turn increased their appetite. He divided
his time among his cooking and creative pursuits. In the morning he devoted him
time to the Dining Room; in the afternoon he prepared cheese, cakes, biscuits,
rasogollas and other sweets; the evening and night were devoted to painting and
verse-composition respectively. As a chef, he was assisted by many sadhikas of
the Ashram; sharing his gourmet with others, he called himself (after the then
Viceroy): “Lord Kitchener, with many Lady Kitcheners.” Since his house was just
across the street from the Dining Room, whenever anyone asked him where he
resided, he would reply: “
But Nishikanto’s culinary skills
brought him the physical suffering he was destined to suffer from. One day he thought
of preparing some vinegar. He collected a lot of raw mangoes and prepared
vinegar; he wanted to test its concentration, therefore, he drank two cups of
the sharp liquid. As a result he developed ulcers in his stomach. Diabetes
followed the ulcers due to his habit of overeating and then came high blood
pressure followed by tuberculosis. Thus started the Asuric invasion in his body
in the form of illnesses which was to grow in due course of time. Long ago Nirodbaran had warned him that the
excessive strain he undertook for his artistic activities and irregularities in
having his meals might lead him to diabetes but the poet didn’t listen to the
doctor. As a result of his illness, Nishikanto had to leave his job at the
Dining Room. He realized how true Sri Aurobindo’s prophecy was regarding the
physical suffering his body would be subjected to.
[41] R. Prabhakar, Among the Not
So Great, p. 27
[42] Shyam Kumari, Vignettes of
Sri Aurobindo and the Mother, pp. 20-21
[43] Srinvantu, Golden
Jubilee Collection (Bengali), pp. 257-259
[44] Dream Cadences, p. 1
[45] Recounted to the author by Nirmal
Singh Nahar.
[46] Nishikanto:
The Mystic Poet and Artist, Mother India, February 1994, p. 127
[47] Amal Kiran, the name given by
Sri Aurobindo to KD Sethna
[48] Mother India, February
1982, pp. 91-92
[49] Ibid., pp. 92-94
[50] Ibid., p. 95-96
[51] Mother India, March
1982, p. 162
[52] Ibid., p. 164
[53] Two Interviews with
Jayantilal Parekh, Mother India, February
2005, pp. 192-193
[54] Selected Essays and Talks
of Nirodbaran, p. 174
[55] Nishikanto: The Mystic Poet
and Artist, Mother India, May 1994, pp. 355-356
[56] Sri Aurobindo, Letters on
Poetry and Art, p. 711
[57]Selected Essays and Talks of
Nirodbaran, p. 175
[58] Ibid., pp. 175-176
[59] id., p. 176
[60] Sri Aurobindo, Letters on
Poetry and Art, pp. 711-712
[61] Kobi Nishikanto, p. 118
A Painting by Nishikanto