Devkotas Religious Ontology- Robustly a Theist: A Critical Studies in Selected Poems

Atindra Dahal
Despite ineffable contributions in literary store and wide range of plaudits from readers, Laxmi
Prasad Devkota, the great poet and towering figure of literature in Nepal, is not completely
exempt of interpretations and observations, which are full of cross contradictions into one
another. round for such exploration is possible because of his prolific writings on various issues
and as they are in huge numbers with incorporation of wider and broader social set!up. As per
interest of readers, he is perceived in one particular category where as that is completely reversed
by some other groups of readers.
"he endeavours in acknowledging political, cultural, #udicial, theological, economical and other
philosophies of Devkota have fre$uently incurred such confusions and invited opposite remarks
amongst the readers. Amid of such issues, %how he is in term of religious understanding% is an
unendingly debatable issue, which undoubtedly has caught the attention of a great pool of
readers and viewers till the day. "hough Devkota might seem and sound as an atheist to some
people, the minute and meticulous observation over different literary pieces, &texts from Bapu
and other sonnets as well as some other chosen pieces for the purpose of this studies' pro#ects
him as a robustly religious minded person. (e is strongly governed with religious mindset) and
he has expressed such religious nature very explicitly in the pieces of his literary works. "hus, he
is an active theist, in fact.
Devkota, in the sonnet *+ohinoor of ,ur -ndian .rown/ &from Bapu and Other Sonnets) uses
different religious symbols and concepts that prove him to have possessed deep and
unchallengeable fidelity in religion. A great deal of reference to religious faith and belief
decipher his active and total inclination towards religion. "he long eulogy to 0ahatma handhi
with use of richly loaded dictions from theological doctrine supports to ad#udicate that he has
had a profound honour on religion and over religious discourses. Discussing the theistic nature
of people, 1mart writes,
2theism is normally taken to be the view that there is one and only one od who is
eternal, is creator of the universe, is omnipotent, omniscient, benevolent and loving, and
who is personal and interacts with the universe, as in the religious experience and
prayerful activities of humans3 &45' .
1mart/s idea can be synopsi6ed as that theist people regard od as loving, virtuous and powerful
character and then pro#ect them with similar attributes. "heist people deem od as extensively
*pure and powerful/ being. oing almost similar with the remarks made by 1mart, in course of
making praise to handhi, even Devkota calls him *Pure gum/ &+ahinoor78 i.9'. 1uch an
analogical perception on :apu suffices Devkota to express faith on religion since concept of
purity is totally a religious notion. Devkota sketches :apu as pure and important, loving and
valuable as well) and such pro#ection happens to take place since Devkota has theological
influence and belief on it.
0aking reference on his writing8 2"hou highest heaven now above us flown3 &i8 ;', it is
#ustifiable to argue that he has used the word heaven because he is religious minded person. ,nly
people with belief on religion cede with the ideas of heaven, which is strongly denigrated in
modern science. :ut Devkota/s stressing on the word heaven and attempt to compare :apu with
such religiously precious and point!worthy concept is an indication of his reverence to andhi as
well as endorsement of his religious ontology as a theist.
"o #udge Devkota as an active theist and robustly religious person, <oshi has $uoted a line =>ven
in his essay five essential elements in life, Devkota has clearly said those five things are! od,
soul, heaven, hell and religion=&$uoted in <oshi8 ??9'. "his statement further strengthens readers/
understanding on Devkota as a religious figure. "alking about theistic psychology of people,
(aldane writes 21uppose we agree that whatever the other purported divine attributes, the
theistic idea of od is of a being that wills only the good, is almighty and is all knowing.3 &?@5'.
"he author attempts to claim that theist people consider od as all knowing, and venerate od as
always full with goodwill and as positively protagonist. andhi is the leader of war of
-ndependence in -ndia and founding figure for wave of functional and factual freedom. "he
aftermath of andhi!led revolution in -ndia caused to have tremendous amount of changes in
their lives. -ndia started to march towards path of #oy, prosperity, civili6ation and progress.
"herefore, Devkota might have pro#ected andhi as source of positive energy, goodwill and
virtues for people of -ndia. "o do so is a sincere duty of all humans as well. :ut, Devkota, in
spite of the fact that he had high chances and options to use other words to honour andhi,
deliberately opts to title :apu *the 1avior/. And the concept of 1avior is totally a religious
impression. Devkota/s attempt to call andhi with same title, besides deep piety to andhi, is
one of the keys to disclose his deep religious alliance. .hoosing a word form theological lexicon
in order to comprehend and commend the role of :apu offers ground to his readers to reach a
conclusion that Devkota is religious person.
(is choice of calling :apu *+ing/ time and again, throughout the sonnets, is to exposit his belief
in incarnation systems as described in various theological discourses of the world. (e could have
called him president or by other words provided his interest was only to assimilate andhi/s
stance as politically pivotal and prime. 0aking an accolade with politically colored morpheme
could be much proximal value since :apu had a lofty and unparallel contribution, basically in
politics of the -ndia. :ut Poet/s consistent and unfettered love with the word +ing, to call a
person of country which never had monarchy, secretly leaks out his religious mentality.
"heology elucidates king as incarnation of Lord :ishnu. Devkota, by calling him king might
have been seeking $ualities of :ishnu through incarnation, in disguise of andhi. "o make his
religious concept and line more apparent, he compares :apu with different archetypal ods
which (indu mythology well describes. Devkota writes8 2(e is Lord :uddha3 &viii8 4' 2An
ideal +rishna, Aama3 &ix8 ?') and such placing takes :apu in position of these almighty and
miraculous ods. (e has made an attempt of placing :apu in position of these ods because of
his religious faith or belief in odhood. :esides from the interpretation of the sonnets, the
religious stance of Devkota comes to be more clearly as theist at the point when <oshi says8
=Laxmi Prasad Devkot is a theist and religious person having great trust on classical Aryan
culture= &??9'.
Devkota has tried to elaborate andhi/s all hallmarks and properties by comparing those with
religious concepts or ob#ects having religious connotations. 1uch a try is an outcome of poet/s
state of being influenced with religious philosophy. "heologically, Apollo is od of knowledge)
and is one of popular members in pantheism. Devkota/s saying to :apu, 2 ,ur youth
Apollo3&xi8 B' makes clear that he believes in religion so he compares :apu with Apollo in order
to prove :apu as od, which is purely a signal of his inclination on favour of religion. oing
further, the poet writes 2A living religion on earthly throne3 &xii8 C' in veneration of :apu) and it
vindicates him to be densly religious because he compares handhi not only with some
components of religion but also as the unified whole of religion. 1uch confirmation on behalf of
poet accurately and incontrovertibly evinces him of having strongly a theist mentality.
>laborating about state of theism, :owne writes7
2"he theistic idea might be found to be absurd D7E or it might appear as a demand of our
entire nature, intellectual, moral, aesthetic, and religious) so that the true and the beautiful
and the good alike would find in it their root and spring3 &?9'.
"he author regards that theist people love to advocate for all religions. Aather than being
antagonistic of others and supportive of one, as the fundamentalists do, true theist people e$ually
believe in all religions. Fnlike being fragmented in cults and sects then perverting the evils with
percolation of contentious arguments, the true theism is based on commandment of entre and
total religions as a whole. And Devokta calling :apu, *a living religion/ regards him of being an
individual of entire intellect, total morality and complete aesthetics. As theists people regard
od e$uipped with full of all the virtues, so does the poet to :apu.
Devkota is capaciously grateful to :apu and heavily influenced with him. (is consecration and
contribution to liberate -ndia from merciless or sordid grip of :ritish people have not only been
acknowledged but also well articulated and deeply honoured throughout the series of sonnets.
Devkota also pays awe and reverence to :apu for his great deed. "he great poet!by making
analogy of handhian contribution with grandeur deeds of ods, supernatural works of deities or
crowning such words to address him!ventures to show himself having ade$uately deep faith on
religion. As Dawes has said 2"here is some complex fact about the world that can be explained
only by positing od/s existence3&B' Devkota proves himself as theist since he loves to posit
:apu/s complex and uncommon facts then compares it with od/s mysterious deeds. "he
statement of author urges that each mystery on and by the od can/t be well answered or
articulated. 1imilarly Devkota has talked about such mysterious and charismatic triats of :apu
those can/t be well enumerated everywhere. :ut the poet seems to assimilate and internali6e it.
(is saying8 =voicing :hagwan= &xiii8 ??', and 2crumpet of our od3 &xii8 ?G' not only compares
:apu with od but also accepts that andhi possessed $ualities of odhood. -t delineates that
Devkota has well assimilated religious faith. (is psyche is brim of religion. (is statement8
2"here is one od, it was :apu/s reat >motion3 &xiv8 ?G' clearly aligns him in the line to
ascertain that he believes in ods/ existence. "o discuss about theistic inclination of people,
taking about +ant/s observation, 0ackie writes7
2in the .riti$ue of Practical Aeason he suggests that moral reasoning can achieve what
speculative reasoning cannot, and that the existence of a god, and also affirmative
solutions to the other great metaphysical $uestions of the immortality of the soul and the
freedom of the will, can be defended as being necessarily presupposed in moral
consciousness3 &?5C'.
"he author regards that morality and freedom of the will can be best practiced and oriented by
ods) and the promoter of similar practice would of course ennoble :apu/s position as of od,
which Devkota has fre$uently denoted. "he poet time and again talks about an impeccable
morality and supreme freedom practiced and initiated by :apu. "he Nature of divinity in andhi
is indicated at in poet/s sonnets.
:esides +ohinoor of ,ur -ndian .rown, his inclination towards religion can be clearly traced in
poem *Life is the richest feast/ as well. 2od is only consolation3 &Life..8 44' makes his readers
know that he is not only having trust for religion and od but also is strongly taking od as
savior for any difficulties. (e seems to be convinced that the od is only final solace or solution
for any of the things. Fltimate evacuation for any of problem depends over od/s mercy, the
poet postulates. rowing so is grooming self as theist. "o #ustify the similar nature of theist
mindset and possibility of divine exploration in normal humans, .lark opines7
2-f theism is false, of course, then claims that the (oly 1pirit speaks are implausible,
abnormal, and inconsistent indeed. :ut if the .hristian faith is true, then it is very likely
that od would communicate with believers. od created the belief!forming processes
like human eyesight as <ews and .hristians believe3 &GH'.
"he statement suffices to compare and contrast or interwove between od and human through
their activities. -n the same line in Poem, Devkota internali6es the od/s remarkable role from
birth to death in course of human lives and accepts od as ultimate faculty of human life. "he
creation of human being also is as merriment and desire of almighty where the same is accepted
to be the last consolation, as viewed by Devkota. -t supports to know that he has accepted the
religious faith as necessary and valuable aspect for human lives.
(is stance as theist can be even coped a lot because of family background and existing culture of
the then period, he lived. 0aking a succinct hint at theistic ontology of Devkota , Awasthi
writes8 =Devkota was heavily influenced by ancient, (indu Aryan culture and religion over his
life and literary production since his father was promoter for that and he was grown up under
guidance of his father=&4@'. "his statement of Awasthi also cements the answer, undoubtedly, as
theist over an interrogation about Devkota/s religious position.
>ven, in the poem *Promethean Pain/ his religious assimilation can be well traced. "here,
Devkota has acknowledged od and concept of odhood deeply. 2od, my suffering still fulfill
thy will3 &promethean78 H' makes readers understand him as religious minded person. "here, he
feels as that total #oys and suffering in human beings% lives are as per the will of od. 1o he not
only accepts od/s role in life but also convicts that human lives are strictly on decree of od.
>ven in much widely acclaimed piece of him, Lunatic, Devkota infallibly depicts his deep
regards to the religious belief with lines 2into the seventh heaven, your highly learned people are
my big fools, your heaven is my hell3 &99@'. Despite interchanging the position and reversing the
values, the poet still believes in heaven and hell, which are totally religious concepts. (ad he not
been theist, probably, he would not have exclaimed so and confirmed faith on (ell and (eaven.
Conclusion:
:eing deeply impressed by and influenced with concept of odhood and offering due acceptance
to od are indications of religious mindset. 1ince Devkota advocates about od, takes od as
final consolation, compares famous people with od, and defines human activities with religious
perspectives then offers multiple proofs to assess himself as religious minded individual, it is
logical to claim that Devkota/s religious ontology is an active and robustly a theist one.

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