Sharada Nayak

To Make the Distant Near

Thou hast made known to me friends I knew not,
Thou hast given me seats in homes not my own,
Thou hast brought the distant near
and made a brother of a stranger.

I am uneasy at heart
when I leave my accustomed shelter;
I forget that there abidest Thou
The old in the new.

When one knows thee then alien there is none,
Then no door is shut.
Grant me my prayer, that I may never lose the bliss of the touch
of the One in the play of the many.

- Rabindranath Tagore

It is almost fifty years since I graduated, on a day like this, excited and happy to have completed a stage in my education in the United States. I came a nervous freshman, never having traveled alone out of my county before. It was different and not very comfortable to adjust to American campus life. It was at this time that I read again the poem by Rabindranath Tagore, a poet from Bengal who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.

The discomfort and the blurred vision was, I found, essential to the learning process. I recall then the second verse of Tagore’s poem:
“ I am uneasy at heart when I leave my accustomed shelter – I forget that you are there the Old in the New, then alien there is none – no door is shut.”

This poem says with its beauty and wisdom, has been a favorite of mine and I have repeated it several times on past occasions through my career in international education.
Through my work in education and my travels to this country I have gained immeasurably in friendships and in hospitality, I have found seats in homes not my own. Much of what I have learned, and continue to learn, is beyond academics; it is about the universality of human values. Seeing yourself in the mirror of another’s experience not only makes a brother of a stranger, it is recognition of one's Self – an exciting discovery. I count myself extremely fortunate to have had these opportunities in life. This award is therefore not only gratifying it reinforces my commitment to Intercultural education.

In India we often refer to the Navarasas – which are loosely translated to mean the nine emotions. However, I like to interpret Rasa to mean the essence of human experience. The Navarasas find a place in our arts, literature, music and dance. They are enumerated often in different serial order, but there appears to be a common factor, the first is always Love, and the last is Peace.
I will try and interpret the Navarasas in my own way to convey my blueprint for my understanding of the oneness of humanity.

LOVE is the beginning of Life; it encompasses every relationship and fulfils one’s basic need. In a broader sense it is essential to understanding another people, to find out not only what motivates their art, music, religion and philosophy, but also their strife, discontent, the turbulence in their lifestream. (It is because it influences all our actions, the Hindu philosopher preaches detachment, in order to free the mind).

The second is VEERA – Heroism or Valor. It is the quality personified by the knight who sets out to 'beat the unbeatable foe, to fight the unrightable wrong.’ A hero does not need shining armor and weapons. We know there are acts of heroism everyday from ordinary people who have the courage to take a stand.

This brings me to the Rasa that is close by – ANGER – to be angry out of concern for another, to be angry at injustice, to know why someone is aroused to anger, and to also understand that at the hands of unscrupulous people anger can be aroused to incite mob fury and destruction.

Nudging close by is the fourth Rasa or FEAR – for often anger is a reaction born of fear. The fear felt by a small disadvantaged minority afraid of losing ground turns into fanaticism. When a people are afraid of another’s power their patriotism turns into militancy. Fear feeds prejudice, insecurity breeds discrimination and exclusion.

The next Rasa is DISGUST. How often do we shrink in revulsion when we see pictures of the horrible aftermath of war and violence? Why? One asks, as one is overcome with the spectacle of man’s brutality and greed.

However, this horror turns to compassion for the wounded and the suffering, the impoverished and the destitute. This is the sixth essence – COMPASSION. (Karuna). Caring for someone less fortunate and weak is not only to understand the ills of another society but also to look into the mirror of one’s own imperfections. How can we change the condition of the unfortunate in our own city and neighborhood?

To bring smiles and laughter to other’s lives is the next Rasa - LAUGHTER or Humor. This is a rare gift, unique to human beings that separates us from other animals. To share laughter is to strike an immediate bond, to understand another’s sense of humor opens a window of understanding. And to be able to laugh at oneself is the best laughter of all.

The next essence is the feeling of WONDER. It transports us beyond all boundaries to open the mind with awe at the beauty of nature’s creation, to know the exhilaration of great music.

So we reach beyond all these Rasas, emotions, to PEACE – a state when there is harmony, fulfillment, tranquility and the mind is rested. In this state the heart reaches out and returns to the first emotion, which is LOVE.

I have tried to interpret the Navarasas to underscore two beliefs – One is the universality of these values. They are not only Indian, although I have taken them out of my culture and ethos. They are there in your cultures too, in the childhood stories, the myths and folklore, the prayers, the poetry and music. The wonderful thing is that when you see these expressions in another culture you discover with delight an identity that is human and not foreign.

Secondly, they are not negative or positive, nor can they be taken singly or in any progressive order. They are interwoven into the fabric of any culture though the way that fabric is draped or tailored may be different. Unless we look into ourselves, into our own culture, and recognize the universality we fail to appreciate the richness of the many colors of the globe from which we all draw our experiences. To my mind that is what education is all a bout.

To those of you who are graduating today, I leave with you the last verse of the poet’s song: I pray that you may never lose the bliss of the touch of the One in the play of the many