CHAPTER-IV COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

Transcription

1 CHAPTER-IV COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

2 there was one idea that seemed to repeat itself throughout all the books: all things are the manifestations of one thing only. - Paulo Coelho

3 303 COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE A) A Comparative Perspective of all the Selected Authors in the Context of Spiritual Quest: It seems interesting to note how all the authors, with all their broad differences, bring into focus certain common and basic issues and ideas. The selected novels have certain common characteristics - the longing for afar, reaching for the inaccessible, searching for the ideal and the desire to know the unknown. By its very nature the experience of the Transcendent defies expression and cannot be conveyed in plain language. Hence, the present authors have hinted at the experience through the language of symbols and images. The most common and dominant symbol that has been used by almost all the authors of the present study is that of journey. As already pointed out in the earlier chapter, journey has been used right from the days of Homer to symbolize man s spiritual quest. In Siddhartha, the concept of Siddhartha s spiritual journey is conveyed in terms of the ascent of the self from the lower to the higher planes of consciousness. Thus, Hesse s Siddhartha is a novel about the soul s journey to enlightenment and awakening. Siddhartha s journey in search of peace, tranquility, the divinity and the meaning of existence forms the spiritual meaning of the novel. His journey is punctuated into four stages brahmacharya, grahastha, vanprastha and sannyasa through which he first attains his identity with perfection, fit to attain salvation. He passes from his individual egoistic identity through a series of failures, loses it and

4 304 attains the ideal spiritual identity in selfless service (nishkamkarma). He wanders still he achieves complete anonymity, selects a retreat in the nature for his penance and attains identity in illumination and miraculous spiritual power. Thus, he finds finally what he has sought out since the beginning of his journey. In Forster s A Passage to India, too, the symbol of journey is of vital importance. The word passage itself indicates the sense of journey. There is of course, the physical journey of Europeans to India, the journey from the familiar into the unknown. Adela wants to see the real India and undertakes a journey to Marabar Caves that destroys illusions and crushes human aspirations (Messenger, 2001: 47). The word passage also has the metaphysical connotations of a more spiritual journey. Mrs. Moore leaves India and dies on her journey towards home. Whereas Adela s journey to India and back to homeland remains mere a physical journey, Mrs. Moore s journey becomes a spiritual journey. In this context Messenger writes, We are encouraged to consider Mrs. Moore s spiritual condition (Ibid: 31). The terrifying echo begins to undermine her hold on life (132) and regarding Christianity she feels that all its divine words from Let there be light to It is finished only amounted to bourn (133). Thus she finds equivalence in Hinduism (here: bourn is taken as Om ) and Christianity. It is her journey to India and particularly to Marabar caves that makes her to feel the equivalence of both religions. The journey provides her the spiritual experience. Thus, the symbol of journey has its significant role in the total framework of A Passage to India. Though, Madame Wu does not undertake any physical journey (as Siddhartha and Mrs. Moore do), the novel Pavilion of Women demonstrates

5 305 her spiritual journey. Madame Wu retires from wifehood to pursue her own happiness (307). Like Hesse s Siddhartha and Anita Desai s Laila and Matteo (in Journey to Ithaca), Madame Wu s pursuit for happiness and for eternal life (329), is a journey for spiritual sustenance. Madame Wu initiates into her spiritual journey by announcing her detachment to married life. In her spiritual journey she encounters Brother Andre who provides her with proper spiritual guidance and she reaches to her eternal life (329) and becomes immortal (329). In Cry, the Beloved Country also Paton has used the symbol of journey. In the novel there is the physical journey of Rev. Stephen Kumalo and Mr. James Jarvis from the village of Ndotsheni to Johannesburg and back to Ndotsheni again. The bitter experiences at Johannesburg purify their hearts and souls and they devote the remaining of their life to bring plenty and prosperity to the native village. It is the course of journey that brings spiritual transformation of these people and in this sense journey emerges as a significant symbol in Cry, the Beloved Country. Paulo Coelho s The Alchemist is a remarkable novel about the most magical of all journeys. In the novel journey appears to be a dominant symbol signifying that wisdom is found in the journey and not in destination. The hero of the novel, Santiago, travels in search of a worldly treasure from his home in Spain to the markets of Tangiers and into the Egyptian desert, where his fateful encounter with the alchemist brings him the spiritual enlightenment and self-realization. Further, Anita Desai s Journey to Ithaca is essentially a novel of journey. It is a story of multiple journeys undertaken by three characters at different planes of existence. In the novel Laila (Mother) and Matteo

6 306 undertake a journey to fulfill their spiritual quest and Sophie, Matteo s wife follows her husband s way after learning the essential significance of the journey. Thus, in the novel journey has been used to indicate clearly the spiritual quest of the respective characters. Like, Hesse s Siddhartha which is described by Zilkowasky as the landscape of the soul; (Zilkowasky, 1965: 146), Prakash Deshpande- Kejkar s Bardana is the landscape of Raosaheb s soul. Through the dreams and trances and through the symbolic passages the author has revealed at the symbolic journey of Raosaheb s soul to merge into the universal spirit. Thus, in forming their perceptions of life all the seven selected novelists have used the symbol of journey. The symbol of journey is essentially linked up with the quest motif of the characters. It is interesting to note here that both the oriental and occidental writers have the same perceptions of spiritual journey. All the seven writers seem to convey that spiritual realization cannot be achieved by wealth and possession, fake rites and rituals; it can only be gained and enjoyed by renouncing the wealth and possessions. If we are pure of heart and soul, we may unconsciously or inadvertently reach the doorsteps of the Divine. Further, it requires a great devotion to attain the supreme bliss. In Siddhartha, Siddhartha, the hero leaves his own house and parents, leaves Kamla and the material wealth and sensual pleasure with her and finally his own son. Thus, his renunciation of the material world and physical pleasure makes him qualified to undertake the spiritual journey. In A Passage to India Mrs. Moore cancels her idea of bringing about her son s (Ronny s) marriage, and gradually renounces her interest in the material world and tries to attain the spiritual level of the character of Prof.

7 307 Godbole. Thus, she qualifies herself to understand the universal soul. Godbole has already realized the futility of the mundane world, though; he performs his assigned duties in a sincere way. This is the illustration of the Karma Siddhanta of Bhagvad Gita. In Pavilion of Women, Madame Wu renounces the physical pleasure at the age of fourty. Under the spiritual influence of Brother Andre she also looses her interest in the mundane world and makes herself qualified to understand the universal spirit. In Cry, the Beloved Country Mr. James Jarvis tries to spend his wealth for the economic upliftment of the native people. Thus, in the company of Rev. Kumalo he also tries to make himself qualified to understand the universal spirit. In The Alchemist Santiago abandons his home, parents and sheep, he renounces the wealth and power already bestowed on him by the chieftains of the oasis. He also leaves Fatima and goes ahead with the alchemist. Even after finding the treasure under the sycamore tree in Spain he wishes to leave Spain for Famita. It indicates that for Santiago the wealth is not at all the ultimate goal. In fact his encounter with the wind, the sun and the hand that wrote all has already qualified him to understand the universal soul. In Journey to Ithaca Laila and Matteo (even Sophie at later stage) leave their homes, parents, motherlands, and their wealth in order to qualify them to understand the universal soul. In the same way in Bardana also Raosaheb, under the spiritual influence of Hakimsaheb, looses his interest in the mundane world and qualifies himself to understand the universal soul. Thus, all the seven novelists subscribe to the basic principle of spiritual realization, which is evident in all major faiths of the world, that in order to fulfill the spiritual quest one has to transcend the realm of the mundane and material world.

8 308 Paulo Coelho, the author of The Alchemist also holds the view that one has to open the inner door that is the door of the immortal soul to reach to the destination of spirituality. He has expressed his spiritual reflections through the title character alchemist. The alchemist asks Santiago to listen to your heart [ ] because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there (134). Moreover, Santiago gives up his luxurious life (for two times) and literaly follows his quest. Anita Desai s protagonists Laila (Mother) and Matteo are bomrebels. Both Laila and Matteo abandon the luxurious lives and follow the path of spirituality. With single minded devotion Laila reaches the zenith of spirituality and lateron becomes the Mother of all. Matteo follows the path of the Mother and achieves the miraculous spiritual power. The course of journey transforms Sophie into an eternal pilgrim - and she, too, undertakes the path of her husband - abandoning all worldly luxury. It seems that all the seven selected authors^ aim at man s inward transformation. It is the inward transformation that leads to the realization of the self. In Siddhartha, the symbolic death of Kamala s rare songbird in a small golden cage brings about the inward transformation of Siddhartha, and Siddhartha achieves his goal of becoming just as enlightened as the Buddha had been by discovering knowledge through his own personal experiences. The enlightened and transformed Siddhartha, now, neither rejects life nor the world; he rather loves both because in them he observes the immanence of God. He sees the Divine as the indwelling spirit of all creatures. While explaining the cycle of change to Govinda, he says: This is a stone, it is also animal, God and Buddha [ ] it has already long been everything and always is everything. [---- ] There are stones that feel like oil or soup, that look like leaves or sand, and each one is different and

9 309 worships Om in its own way; each one is Brahman (116). He also believes that every thing that exists is good - death as well as life, sin as well as holiness, wisdom as well as folly (115). One finds a great similarity between the perceptions of Hesse and Forster regarding good and evil. In Forster s A Passage to India, Godbole s metaphysical speculations on the matter of guilt and innocence, good and evil are important for the spiritual concerns of the novel. According to Prof. Godbole (i.e. Forster) good and evil are performed by the whole universe and not by any one individual. He says: Good and evil are different, as their names imply. But, in my own humble opinion, they are both of them aspects of my Lord. He is present in the one, absent in the other, and the difference between presence and absence is great, as great as my feeble mind can grasp. Yet absence implies presence----- (158). Further, in a trance-like state, Godbole seeks to imitate God and embrace the infinite; the memory of Mrs. Moore and the image of a wasp on a stone come unsolicited into his mind. He feels that he can love the woman and the wasp equally. Brahmin and Christian become one with the wasp in love. Thus, like Siddhartha when Godbole seeks to embrace the infinite, he experiences the essential oneness of Man, Nature and God. For Pearl S. Buck, too, God is present in every object of nature. She believes that He (God) is in the air and the water in life and death in mankind (160). Thus, like Hesse and Forster, for Pearl S. Buck, too, the Divine is the indwelling spirit of all creatures. E. M. Forster, Pearl S. Buck and Alan Paton are radical humanists. In his essay What I Believe Forster proclaims I believe in personal relationships (Krishna Murti, 1969: 59). His A Passage to India is the manifestation of this belief. For Forster, Buck and Paton spirituality is the

10 310 promotion of human values and welfare of mankind in general. For Buck as well as for Paton divine humanity consists in their unbounded love for all and their concern for those in distress. Both Buck and Paton instruct us that we need to utilize our energies towards the world around us, just like that of Brother Andre and Madame Wu in PaviUion of Women, or like that of Rev. Stephen Kumalo and Jarvis in Cry, the Beloved Country, not with a view to controlling or manipulating them but with a view to spiritualizing society and establishing brotherhood. They make us believe that humanism is the only moral alternative to the evils and odds of the modem civilization. Following the teachings of Brother Andre, Madame Wu undertakes the selfless service of mankind and becomes happy. In the same way James Jarvis and Rev. Kumalo also undertake the selfless service of mankind in Cry, the Beloved Country. While it is Brother Andre that helps Madame Wu to enter into the eternal joy of spirituality; in Paton s novel the unfortunate death of Arthur Jarvis and his nine year old unnamed child help Rev. Kumalo and James Jarvis to take initiative in the realm of spiritual happiness. In a nutshell we can conclude that the perceptions of Buck and Paton in terms of spirituality are one and the same. Both the writers lay stress on inward transformation that leads the respective characters to the realization of the self. The Brazilian author Paulo Coelho, too, lays stress on inward transformation that leads to the realization of the self. In his The Alchemist, the protagonist Santiago feels, I have inside me the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars, and everything created in the universe. [---- ] he saw that that Soul of the God was his own soul (160). This realization comes to Santiago and he sees the Divine in every object of the nature. He searches for the Divine sincerely within his own body, instead of seeking

11 311 him outside himself; he realizes the Self soon and then views the body as the temple of God. Through such experience, he attains deification. The perceptions of the two Indian writers studied in the present thesis are also identical with the perceptions of Hesse and Paulo Coelho. They also lay stress on man s inward transformation that leads to the realization of the self. In Journey to Ithaca the transformed Laila smiles at the mangy dogs that foraged in the dust, even the crows that morning seemed to sing, not scream (300). In Bardana, too, the protagonist Raosaheb embarks on his great spiritual journey only when he is transformed inwardly. Thus all the seven authors discussed in the present study lay stress on inward transformation as the means to the realization of eternal spirit. About the theme of spiritual quest A.K. Bachchan opines, Freedom from institutionalism [-----] is the essential precondition for a searcher of truth and enlightenment (Bachchan, : 167). In this context the English theologian W.R. Inge, also says, Institutionalism and mysticism have been uneasy bed-fellows. All the writers under the present study hold this view. Here institutionalism means an organized orthodox body of rituals under the philosophy of certain faith. For Siddhartha the vendantic verbosity would not lead one to salvation. He even renounces the rituals of Buddhism, thus he transcends the institutional framework of Hinduism and Buddhism. In A Passage to India the orthodox views of dogmas and rituals of Islam, Christianity and Hinduism (the three major faiths of the world) have been crossed in order to realize the pure world of spirituality, hence, the spiritual communion among Godbole, Mrs. Moore and the wasp. In Pavilion of Women the Christian faith and the Confusian beliefs merge together by crossing the limits of the rituals of the respective institutions. In

12 312 Cry, the Beloved Country we do not find any kind of religious encounter. The only religion that prevails throughout the novel is Christianity. But even here Alan Paton has not given the emphasis on the institutional rituals. He has uplifted the true gospel of Christianity which is shared by the major faiths in the world. In The Alchemist the Christianity and Islam are brought together and it is significant to note that we do not find any institutional ritualistic encounter in the novel. Here again both the religious faiths are brought on the spiritual level and hence the essence of the novel lies in the language of the universe, (the language of the desert, of the birds, of the wind, of the sun and ultimately the language of the hand that wrote all). In Journey to Ithaca Anita Desai brings Christianity, Hinduism and Islam together (in the form of Matteo, Prem-Krishna and Laila i.e. the Mother). Here also orthodox rituals of these faiths have not given any voice. On the contrary the emphasis is on the spiritual realm. In Bardana Hindu, Muslim and Sufi faiths are brought together in the form of Raosaheb and Hakimsaheb. The images in the novel represent the major faiths in the world. The reference to sheep and shepherd has clear biblical overtones and Hakimsaheb s prayer to Allah in the mosque represents Islam. Here all the faiths seem to subordinate their institutional dogmas in order to express their essence which is the spiritual experience. Most of the authors of the present study have symbolically represented their views of the oriental philosophy. Hesse s Siddhartha is described as poetic expression to Indian Philosophy. Hesse himself has sub-titled the novel as An Indie Poem. As mentioned earlier, Siddhartha passes from four Ashrams\ learns the cycle of nature, he also learns about the nature of birth and death, sees the immanence of God in every aspect of nature and becomes enlightened. Hesse s preoccupation with the spiritual side of India, his concerns with Indie and Chinese studies, and his

13 313 impressive range of reading in oriental literatures and philosophy has made the novel a poetic expression to Indian philosophy. The dynamic and inspiring teachings of Upanishadic Vedanta, Bhagwat Gita and Buddhism are of the view that faith in or surrender to an incarnation or a prophet will bring about one s redemption. Hesse has employed this Eastern concept in his novel Siddhartha. Leaving behind the sinful city of Sansara, Siddhartha comes to a river and decides to stay near the river with Vasudeva as his assistant. He appreciates Vasudeva s listening skill and says: I will also learn from you in this respect (86). It is in this sense Vasudeva becomes his teacher. He believes in Vasudeva s views about the river: The river knows everything; one can learn everything from it (86), and decides to learn from the river. The river teaches him of how everything moves in a cycle, and he learns that the present only exists. Thus, the river becomes his teacher, his guru. He learns that the river is like he himself, like the life of any person. It is unchanging and yet it is always changing within. The river teaches him that life is a recurring cycle of birth and death and he achieves enlightenment or Moksha. One finds the representation of the teacher-student philosophy in Pearl S. Buck s Pavilion of Women. This novel, too, is full of oriental philosophy. Madame Wu retires from wifehood and enters into Vanprastha Ashram. According to the oriental philosophy, the passion or demands of the flesh i.e. the physical side of man-woman relationship is the principle obstacle in the way of spiritual pursuit. Madame Wu crosses the ocean of Sansara and initiates into spiritual life. She surrenders to the teachings of Brother Andre. Further, there is the representation of the teacher-student philosophy in Anita Desai s Journey to Ithaca and Deshpande s Bardana.

14 314 In both the novels there is full expression to Indian philosophy of spirituality. In Journey to Ithaca the Mother emerges as a Guru to Matteo as his deeply disturbed soul finally finds solace in the Mother. Her speech transports him to a unique experience, an experience of unity, the unity of the spiritual with the physical, the dark with the light, the human with the natural (99). The Mother expresses the basic Hindu philosophy as she says: the Divine Force is not in some idol, not in the Cross, not even in the book. We know the Divine Force is everywhere (99). Further, the Mother teaches her disciples the principle of niskamkarma. Like Matteo, Laila (Mother), too, finds solace to her disturbed soul in Master Prem- Krishnaji. Matteo s faith in the Mother and his surrendering to her finally brings about his redemption. The whole image of Krishna dominates the spiritual realm of the novel and the Indian philosophy of nadbrahma is also clearly visible in the novel. Further, in Bardana, the relationship between Raosaheb and Hakimsaheb is that of a spiritual disciple and a spiritual guide. Hakimsaheb leads Raosaheb on the path of spirituality through his spiritual teachings. He helps Raosaheb to get free from the mundane, materialistic world. Here, the divine sound Alkha Niranjan prevails throughout the novel. In fact, the novel begins with it and ends with it. The sound Alakha Niranjan represents the Hindu philosophy of life. Thus, Hesse, Pearl Buck, Anita Desai and Prakash Deshpande seem to suggest that the acceptance of higher values, like love, charity, compassion, selfless service, and the concurrent negation or rejection of vices like hatred, anger, selfishness, envy, revenge naturally pave the way for the attainment of the highest joy or bliss. These writers - Hermann

15 315 Hesse, Pearl Buck, Anita Desai and Prakash Deshpande - encapsulate the wisdom of Oriental Philosophy in their respective novels. It is interesting to note here that a close parallel exists between Siddhartha and Journey to Ithaca. These two novels have similar pattern of stories, and deal primarily with the theme of spiritual quest. Hesse s book - Journey to the East and Siddhartha - kindle in Desai s protagonist, Matteo, a curiosity towards Eastern philosophy and he leaves home to search for spiritual enlightenment and the ultimate Truth in the ashrams of India. Thus, it is crystal clear that the source of Desai s inspiration is Hesse s books those have served her as model. In this context Desai says: I have also drawn upon the following for information and instruction: Siddhartha and The Journey to the East (Desai, 1995: VII-VIII). It is in this context Desai s Journey to Ithaca assumes significance and invites comparison with Hesse s Siddhartha since both the novels dramatize the timeless theme of spiritual quest. What keeps Hesse and Desai preoccupied here is the idea of a continuing journey, something like that of a well-known Upanishadic term Charaybeti (go ahead; don t stop). Interestingly enough, both the novels are stories of multiple journeys undertaken by three different characters in each novel at different planes of existence and each of these journey ip interlinked to the other. The only difference in this regard is that Hesse, a German poet and novelist, has selected his characters from India - Siddhartha, Govinda and Kamala; and Anita Desai, an Indian novelist, has selected her characters from Europe - Matteo and Sophie from Italy and the Mother (Laila), a Muslim, from Egypt. However, these major characters, in both the novels, undertake the journey with an intention in search of the root of spirituality. The setting of both the novels is India. Hesse and Desai have artistically expressed their individual perceptions of the spirituality in the respective novels.

16 316 Hesse and Desai are of the view that the blissful spiritual experience is to be acquired by the individual concern with special efforts and for that the individual has to qualify himself or herself for that spiritual fulfillment. As already pointed out in the previous chapters, Siddhartha and Vasudeva in Siddhartha; and the characters of Matteo and the Mother in Journey to Ithaca demonstrate the spiritual significance of the novels. It is interesting to note that the character of Kamala in Siddhartha and the character of Sophie in Journey to Ithaca can be compared. Both the women like other human beings, experience the pleasures of sensual and material life. After some time both realize the futility of the pleasures of the sensuous material life. After such a kind of realization significantly enough, they embark on a spiritual journey and to achieve the spiritual salvation. Kamala learns about the Buddha from Siddhartha and she late^on follows the spiritual path. It is her long stay with Siddhartha that makes her like a spiritual Samana. Like Kamala, Sophie, too, follows the spiritual path. Sophie s long journey through Mediterranean, Alexandria, Cairo, Paris, Venice and New York to India becomes ultimately a journey within and she reaches her enlightenment and she decides to follow her husband on his chosen path. Kamala receives her enlightenment. Here Hesse writes: Have you attained it? She (Kamala) asked. Have you found peace? He smiled and placed his hand on hers. Yes, she said, I see it. I also will find peace. You have found it, whispered Siddhartha (93). The only difference between these two women characters is that while Kamala finds the ultimate peace; Sophie becomes the eternal pilgrim in

17 317 search of peace. But, the basic perceptions of Hesse and Desai in depicting the transformation of these two women are identical. Further, the parts played by Vasudeva in Hesse s Siddhartha and that of the Mother in Desai s Journey to Ithaca are identical. Both have the knowledge of the mundane world and the blissful experience of the spiritual fulfillment. Both have surrendered their egos and have undertaken the selfless service of the mankind. As Vasudeva makes Siddhartha to have the spiritual experience of the river, the Mother also indicates, through her spiritual gospel of love (irrespective of any religion, caste or creed) the spiritual experience to which Matteo is subjected. Thus, the relationship between Siddhartha and Vasudeva and that between Matteo and the Mother have the same equal spiritual level. It is interesting to note that Hesse has selected all his characters in Siddhartha from Indian background like Siddhartha, Govinda, Gautama, the Buddha, Kamala and Vasudeva. Hesse s expression to Oriental philosophy and the Indian view of spiritual fulfillment provides the novel the thematic and spiritual richness. On the contrary, Anita Desai selects her major characters in Journey to Ithaca from the West: Matteo and Sophie from Italy, and the Mother, from Egypt. Matteo and Sophie are Christians and the Mother is a Muslim. However, in the novel, Journey to Ithaca all religions of the world are treated as equal, the religion of humanity is symbolized in the character of the Mother and the theme of spiritual quest is highlighted above all. But even here the basic spiritual perception of Anita Desai is the process of loosing the self or ego in order to qualify oneself and then experience the spiritual bliss by merging the ego with the spirit of nature. Hesse has also indicated the same as Siddhartha attains salvation only when his self had merged into unity (110).

18 318 Thus, Hesse s Siddhartha, with its philosophical grandeur is a spiritual tonic ; Anita Desai s Journey to Ithaca, with its entertaining and spiritually purifying element is also a spiritual gospel. Both the novels exhibit that unless you have faith and belief in yourself you will not attain peace of mind and the enlightenment. It is the following affirmative spiritual gospel of Gita - w, ct?qt : : I JtnftTRfa Vrnraft II (Quoted in Akolkar, 1970 : 375) (Meaning: He who has faith, who is absorbed in it (i.e. wisdom) and who has subdued his senses gains wisdom and having gained wisdom attains to the supreme peace without any loss of time) - that constitutes the basic visions of Hesse and Anita Desai. Hermann Hesse, Anita Desai, Paulo Coelho and Prakash Deshapnde seem to convey that spiritual realization can be achieved by those who discard the physical attainments of the world and enter into the world of nature. Further the basic perceptions of all these authors reveal you cannot teach or learn wisdom. You must earn it on your own, by way of your own path. It is essential to experience everything oneself. That s why Hesse says, Knowledge can be communicated, but not wisdom. One must be his own teacher based upon one s own experience. Hesse is of the view that, anyone may potentially become as enlightened as the Buddha, as the potential Buddha exists in everybody. Desai s philosophy is not different from that of Hesse. Laila earns the wisdom after overcoming many obstacles and temptations. After the death of the Mother, Matteo sets out to the mountain, where the Mother had received her enlightenment. After the Mother s death he becomes his own teacher. In The Alchemist

19 319 the spiritual guide, the alchemist leaves the company of Santiago after providing him the essential wisdom and spiritual experience. But the final wisdom of life is gained by Santiago in the absence of the alchemist. In Bardana, too, after Hakimsaheb s death Raosaheb attains his goal of spirituality. Even in A Passage to India, Mrs. Moore undertakes the process of understanding the supreme soul which is a form of earning the wisdom. Madame Wu continues to earn the spiritual wisdom even after the death of Brother Andre. It is interesting to note here that Siddhartha (Siddhartha), Matteo (Journey to Ithaca), Raosaheb (Bardana) attain the miraculous spiritual power after the deaths of their respective gurus. Vasudeva, The Mother and Hakimsaheb are but the spiritual mentors who guide their disciples towards truth and God. Once they have put their disciples on the proper path, their work is over. According to Hinduism the Guru is the one, who shows the path of liberation (Moksha) to the disciple but the Moksha is to be achieved by oneself by trial and tribulation. It is because wisdom is not communicable. After the deaths of their respective gurus it is the nature that provides them the spiritual enlightenment and they attain the peace. While Siddhartha achieves the highest bliss at the river; Matteo attains his absolute peace at the mountain peak, and Raosaheb seeks his union with the almighty in the temple on the mountain top. In The Alchemist Paulo says: When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it (23). Most of the selected novels are the illustrations of this dictum. Paulo s protagonist Santiago, too, attains his miraculous spiritual power on the cliff. Like Siddhartha, Matteo or Raosaheb, Santiago, too, attains the wisdom of life in the absence of his spiritual guide - the

20 320 alchemist. Thus, one finds a great resemblance in the perceptions of Hesse, Desai, Deshpande and Paulo in terms of the spiritual quest. They are of the view that the spiritual realization is to be earned by an individual himself. Further, the concept of love is described by each of these writers in his/her own way. All these writers seem to convey that the meaning of God and the purpose of life rest ultimately in the mission of universal love. In Siddhartha, the hero lifts a stone and tells Govinda, his friend, that he loves the stone as it is a part of Om. Within the cycle of change the stone can become man and spirit, a plant or an animal. He realizes that each stone is Brahman (116). Siddhartha explains that he loves the stone because love is the most important thing to have in the world, to love a person, a place and the world. Thus, Siddhartha learns that the meaning of God and the purpose of life rest ultimately in the mission of universal love. In A Passage to India Forster says, God is love (42). Further, Godbole s love for Mrs. Moore and for the wasp is nothing but spiritual love. Moreover, Forster implies that the basic problem of friendship can be solved if the English and Indians improve themselves by loving each-other. In Pavilion of Women, Madame Wu attains her salvation by loving the orphans collected by Brother Andre under his roof. It is her love for dead Brother Andre that leads her in Gods way of love and makes her immortal to live forever in happiness and joy. In this sense we can say that salvation is a matter of what you become - not where you shall go. Madame Wu s love for Andre brings her transformation and she undertakes the selfless service of mankind. Thus, her spiritual love for dead Andre awakens her sleeping soul and makes her deathless, immortal. Andre changes the whole personality of Madame Wu who, all her life [---- ] has struggled against her dislike of human beings, and with his spiritual love

21 321 he fills her heart full of love for every earthly creature. The novel ends with this same triumph of love. Buck s comments about the spiritual power of love are really noteworthy: Gods she did not worship, and faith she had none, but love she had and forever. Love alone had awakened her sleeping soul and had made it deathless. She knew she was immortal (329). Madame Wu s love for every earthly creature essentially reveals her state of enlightenment. Like Siddhartha, she too, learns that the meaning of God and the purpose of life rest ultimately in the mission of universal love. In Cry, the Beloved Country Paton holds the philosophy that salvation can only come when man overcomes his fear by love. Throughout the novel Paton seems to convey that the troubles of South Africa, like the troubles of mankind, arise out of man s fear, and that this fear can only be overcomed by the spiritual love. In The Alchemist Paulo opines that Love is the force that transforms and improves the soul (158). Further he says: When we love, we always strive to become better than we are (159). His love for Fatima, which is essentially spiritual, leads him to complete his project and achieve its objective. Further, it is through love he becomes able to communicate with the wind, the sand, the desert, and the sun. It is his love with the elements that transforms him and he realizes the ultimate truth. Thus, through the concept of love he achieves the alchemical transformation and sees inside himself the winds, the deserts, the oceans, the stars and everything created

22 322 in the universe (154), and sees that the Soul of God was his own Soul (160). Thus, in The Alchemist Paulo has described the spiritual strength of love. In Journey to Ithaca, Matteo s spiritual mentor, the Mother follows no religion in particular but only preaches love. According to the Mother we can experience the bliss when, we feel ourselves loved [-----] we are filled with bliss (97). She further asks her disciples to open their hearts to love and light and experience the joy of loving. Moreover, according to her love makes everything easy as its pow-err, its forr-ce (120). This view of Anita Desai regarding the power of love is identical with that of Paulo Coelho s in The Alchemist, where Paulo says: That his love for her would enable him to discover every treasure in the world. The perceptions of both Anita Desai and Paulo Coelho reveal that love is power, it is also a force - and it makes everything easy. Thus, both Desai and Paulo convey us the spiritual power of love. Lastly, Prakash Deshpande s protagonist is full of love for his farm and his pet animals. His love for the elements of nature is essentially his spiritual love. In the last phase of his Journey he feels love for the wind, the trees, all the cows in the flock, the sheep and lastly he sees the immanence of God in every stone that he encounters on his way towards the ultimate union with the universal spirit. Lastly, all the seven authors have used Nature-imagery to convey their perceptions of spirituality. In Hesse s Siddhartha we have two images of nature - a songbird in a golden cage and a river. Kamala s dead songbird makes him believe that it is his self that has been killed due to his own ignorance and pride. It makes him to feel a sense of loss within himself and he leaves the town of Sansara. Secondly, the river

23 323 communicates the intimations of immortality to Siddhartha. Thus, nature plays a vital role in the process of Siddhartha s enlightenment. In A Passage to India there is the dominance of water imagery (Rain). According to Nigel Messenger, The dominance of water imagery here, as in this section throughout, suggests liberation, spiritual healing and reconciliation (Messenger, 2001: 43). Aziz, Fieldnig, Ralph and Stella, all come together in a wet confusion. The water washes away the negative thoughts from Aziz s minds and now he is reconciled to Adela. Thus, the image of water is used as a means of purification as well as a means of spiritual healing by Forster. Fielding and Aziz recover their former ease - and it is their spiritual healing or reconciliation. This reconciliation comes after the events in the tank while they were boating. Thus, water imagery conveys the spiritual perception of Forster. Like Forster; Alan Paton, Anita Desai and Prakash Deshpande lay stress on cleansing the spirit or heart as a means to inward transformation. For them water is a means of purification. In Paton s Cry, the Beloved Country the rain water washes away the past from the minds of James Jarvis and Rev. Stephen Kumalo. It purifies their minds and enables them to join their hands for the service of mankind. In Anita Desai s Journey to Ithaca, the symbol of water is a too clear means of purification. Laila takes bathe before her ultimate union with the Divine. The water cleans her heart of negative thoughts and she is left purified. She feels: I [-----] bathe today in the waters of divine love! The river flows and carries my past away and leaves me pure and joyous as the newborn, fit to meet with the divine (300). In Bardana, Raosaheb also takes the bathe in the water of a stream and thus he purifies himself for the meeting with the Divine.

24 324 Thus, the East as well as the West considers the water as a means of purification. The Mountain is a common symbol that has been employed by most of the authors of the present study to convey their perceptions of spirituality. The mountains symbolize spiritual height. Out of seven authors of the present study five authors have employed the symbol of mountain to convey their spiritual perception. Like the symbol of water, the symbol of mountain has same implications in the East and in the West. In Alan Paton s Cry, the Beloved Country Kumalo prays to God on the mountains. Johannesburg is the corrupt city in the plain where he is tested and made strong. Kumalo s prayer on the mountain suggests that now he fully understands love and suffering and is united with God. In Pearl S. Buck s Pavilion of Women the most significant symbol is the artist s picture. In the picture there is a human figure shown to be climbing a mountain. It reflects Madame Wu s yearning for higher values of life. Buck has used the mountain as a symbol of the zenith of spiritual height. In Paulo s The Alchemist, the hero, Santiago realizes the oneness of Man, Nature and God on the top of a cliff. In Anita Desai s Journey to Ithaca the Mother attains her highest enlightenment on the mountain peak, and Matteo travels to the mountains where the Mother received enlightenment (304). Thus, in the novel mountain symbolizes spiritual height. Raosaheb, in Bardana, too, receives his enlightenment in a temple on the mountain top. In all these five novels the symbol of mountain is used as a zenith of spirituality. This symbol helps the writers to convey their perception of spirituality.

25 325 Another common symbol used by Paulo Coelho and Prakash Deshpande is that of a fire. The fire signifies the pain and penance the mortal must undergo to achieve deification. The symbolic value of the fire is hinted at through the symbolic language of alchemy by Paulo. He writes: The alchemist spent years in their laboratories, observing the fire that purified the metals. They spent too much time close to the fire that gradually they gave up the verities of the world. They discovered that the purification of the metals had led to a purification of themselves (85). Further, in Bardana, Deshpande, too, has used the symbol of fire as a means of purification. The fire purifies Raosaheb and leaves him pure and joyous as the new-born, fit to meet with the Divine. We find one more common factor in A Passage to India and Bardana. It is a sound of echo in the cave. The echo of the Marabar caves, according to Messenger, exposes the pretensions of her (Mrs. Moore s) poor little talkative Christianity. For her the challenge is a spiritual one and the echo undermines her hold on life (Messenger, 2001: 63). In Bardana, too, the echo in the caves of Buttenath has spiritual implications. Both the echoes disintegrate the respective characters from the bonds of mundane life. In the pursuit of spiritual quest some characters hold the communication with the elements of nature. In The Alchemist, Santiago speaks with the sand, the wind, the sun and the sky. In Siddhartha, Siddhartha learns the language of the river. In Journey to Ithaca the Mother feels they (stars) call to me. They seem to say, Higher, climb Higher. In Prakash Deshpande s Bardana, the hero of the novel holds communication with the wind, the water, the trees, the animals, and lastly with the sky. What these authors try to convey by this is that at the time of

26 326 highest enlightenment the man becomes one with the elements of Nature. He sees no difference between his soul and the elements. In everything of the nature he senses the presence of the almighty spirit. Thus, the comprehensive study of all the seven novels reveal that the basic spiritual perceptions of all these authors is the process of loosing the self or the ego in order to qualify oneself and then experience the spiritual bliss by merging the ego with the spirit of nature. Spiritual quest necessarily requires the basic quality of personal goodness. It is this quality of personal goodness that has been explored and reasserted in all the selected novels under discussion. In Siddhartha the personal goodness is represented by the characters like Siddhartha and Vasudeva, in A Passage to India by Godbole and Mrs. Moore, in Pavilion of Women by Brother Andre and afterwards by Madame Wu, in Cry, the Beloved Country by James Jarvis, Rev. Stephen Kumalo and by the grandson of Mr. Jarvis, in Journey to Ithaca by the Mother and Matteo, in The Alchemist by king of Salem, the Crystal merchant, the alchemist and lastly by Santiago; and lastly in Bardana by the characters of Hakimsaheb and Raosaheb. The relationship of personal goodness of the characters of seven selected novels with the spiritual quest depicted in these novels is highly significant. As already demonstrated these characters qualify themselves (unlike the other characters in the selected novels) to undertake the spiritual search. Therefore, the personal goodness becomes the first and essential criterion for the spiritual enlightenment. It is on this point, the seven selected novelists, in spite of some overt differences, hailing from different

27 327 spatio-cultural backgrounds, meet with and hold up parallels to each other. Their perceptions reveal that, although Heaven and Nirvana are slightly different notions, the notion of reaching perfection through suffering and the shedding off of all earthly impediments such as desire, ambition and the demands of the senses is common to Christian, Islam and Hindu thought. The dictum that all great minds think alike holds true especially in the case of the writers discussed in the present study. It may look really strange that the authors studied had never met each other, yet they arrive at a common vision of life in their artistic and philosophical achievements. All the seven novels represent a height of artistic vision independently achieved by the seven writers belonging to seven different cultures: some of them are Occidental and some Oriental. The similarities in the theme and technique of these novels, obviously, show the universality of vision and unity of human experience in spite of the cultural, racial, national and temperamental differences among the seven writers.

28 328 B) Some Essential Principles of a Comparative Study of Literature: The present study is essentially comparative and interdisciplinary in its nature. There are various theories of comparison and even the term comparative literature has been debated by the scholars and critics alike. However, in the present context, a very brief review of the basic principles of comparative literature relevant to the present study is necessary. In the context following theoretical considerations have been kept in mind throughout the study: Margaret Chatterjee very significantly remarks, Comparative studies take their stand on the appreciation of otherness and the delightful discovery of what is akin (Dev, 1988: vii). A review of chapter number two and three will reveal that all the five novels other than Journey to Ithaca and Bardana have been analyzed and interpreted in order to appreciate their spiritual significance. The symbols and imagery used in these novels have been analyzed and interpreted according to the operative category of literature namely, symbols and images. This is what Margaret Chatterjee calls the appreciation of otherness. The review will also reveal that the appreciation of the remaining two novels namely Journey to Ithaca and Bardana have also been appreciated in the same way. This is what Chatteijee calls the delightful discovery of what is akin. Thus, one of the very significant principles of comparative study of literature given by Chatterjee has been the guiding force of the present study.

29 329 Another principle of the comparative study is mentioned by Sisir Kumar Das. He says: Literature being an expression of the creative spirit can hardly be subservient to a fixed law, and has always expressed man s intense desire to know, to explore and to question. If literature has a place in education, it is primarily because we still think of a liberal education whose object is to liberate men from ignorance and prejudice and to help them retain their freedom through realization of their capacities as human beings. Literature can do many things, it can instill patriotism and inspire man to heroic deeds, it can be used as an instrument of social change and of social integration; but the most important thing that it does is the liberalization of the mind (Ibid: pp ). One of the objectives of any comparative literary study is to liberate men from ignorance and prejudice, hence the comparison. The canvas of the present study includes the writers that represent the East and the West, and the novels selected are their masterpieces. Therefore, the novels provide a larger and representative canvas for comparison of the selected authors perspectives in terms of spiritual quest. Nirmala Jain has given another significant principle of comparative study of literature. Here, she mentions the two challenges before a comparatist. She says: For comparative literature in Indian universities the challenge is twofold - to study the elements of the native literary tradition with reference to foreign influence, and to study the various national literatures in the context of reciprocal influences. It is needless to add that the

30 330 reciprocal relationship can only be appreciated on the basis of a perfect understanding of the common historical bond that plays the key role in the multilingual situation (Ibid :83). The discussion in chapter number two and three reveal the elements of native literary traditions in the context of the spiritual quest (Gita, the bhakti, the nadbrahma, the karma siddhanth, the renunciation of the material world and the like). This native literary tradition has also brought into contact by the discussion of the other five novels namely, Siddhartha, A Passage to India, Pavilion of Women, Cry, the Beloved Country and The Alchemist This has ensured the reciprocal relationship. The discussion in chapter number two and three reveals the influence of one work on the other, for example, Siddhartha and Journey to Ithaca; The Alchemist and Bardana. The study reveals that the perception of the spiritual quest has been shared, to a remarkable extent, by the seven selected authors. In this context Hans Robert Jauss mentions three paradigms. He says: 1. The classical humanist paradigm i.e. the procedure whereby works were compared with the approved models of the ancients. It was practiced in the pre-scientific era. By eighteenth and nineteenth centuries it broke down under the emergence of science dominating every field of enquiry. 2. The paradigm of Historicism where the activity centered on source studies. 3. The aesthetic formalist paradigm in the mid - twentieth century as a creation against growing scientism (Jauss, 1984: 50). Obviously, in the context of the present study first two paradigms are out of considerations; but the third one is very significant. The spiritual