THE OCEAN OF LOVE - THE ANURAG SAGAR OF KABIR
INTRODUCTION II: THEME
The poem centers around the impact of Time on Eternity, and Eternity's
response. It is Eternity which is the anurag sagar or "ocean of love,"
and it is Time's perversion of that part of Eternity which it touches
which produces the bhav sagar, "ocean of the world" - the only reality
most of us know, the mock world we are trapped in. The creator of the
bhav sagar, "the butcher Kal" (Kal means, literally, Time) is mad: one
of the sons of Eternity (Sat Purush, True or Original Person), Kal or
Time was unable to handle the separation from his Father that the
creation process demanded, and went mad. Ignoring the wishes of
Eternity, he misused the tools of creation entrusted to him and,
through his impatience and megalomania, created a sewer where a garden
was intended. Convinced that he is God, demanding to be worshiped as
God, and setting up a Law so stringent that no one can keep it, he
presides to this day over a closed-circuit universe that would be
utterly without hope if it were not for the fact that, as the poet
Blake puts it, "Eternity is ever in love with the products of Time."
Because Eternity does love those of us caught in the trap of Time, It
has set up a series of invasions in which the true Reality enters into
the mock universe and illumines it, awakening those who are ready to
grasp the truth and showing them the way out. These invasions,
initially in the person of the successive incarnations - Sat Sukrat,
Maninder, Karunamai, and Kabir - of the Son of Eternity who is both
the hero and author of the epic, and then in the person of his
successors whom he raises to the same stature as himself, are the
subject of the poem; and its core is the painstaking, infinitely
patient search for Dharam Das, the "slave of Law," the freed soul who
has blown it, the ignorant disciple who becomes the Master and who is,
in fact, all of us. It is in the search for Dharam Das that the true
nature of the ultimate universe-the Ocean of Love - is most fully
revealed, and the form of that Ocean's action - the principle of
Grace - is demonstrated most completely. No matter how obtuse Dharam
Das reveals himself to be, no matter how thoroughly he has forgotten
his true nature and how sound his sleep is, the Master never lets up:
relentlessly pursuing him through incarnation after incarnation, He
shows him-and all of us-how much He cares about him - and all of us -
just because he is. We are children of the Father by virtue of our
existence; trapped in Time we may be, but our Father loves us and He
will find us.
This is an old old story, the original story; in one form or another
it has been told many times, although seldom so explicitly or with
such authority as here. The Western world is most familiar with it
through the Gospels although the Gospels as we have them are
incomplete; scholars are daily, it seems, discovering ancient
manuscripts and fragments that shed new light on how the teachings of
Jesus were understood by his contemporaries, particularly those much
maligned early Christians called Gnostics or Knowers who understood this
story very well and who commented on it over and over again.(14)
It did not begin with the Gospels nor did it end with the suppression of
the Gnostics; like the Master Himself as He searches for us, it surfaces
again and again, confronting us when we least expect it. In the dialogues
of Plato, the poetry of Blake, the operas of Mozart, and the latest
science-fiction paperback the story is told, and in a hundred other places
besides.(15) It is truly the main stream of human culture, East or West,
although it is thoroughly repressed in most of us.
(14). Some of the more spectacular finds in recent years are discussed
in The Nag Hammadi Library, James Robinson, editor; The Secret Gospel,
Morton Smith; The Meaning of the Dead Sea Scrolls, A. Powell Davies.
(15.) Philip K. Dick, Valis; Harlan Ellison, "Deathbird"; C.S. Lewis,
That Hideous Strength, and David Lindsay, A Voyage to Arcturus, are
all variations on this theme.
TIME AND SPACE
Anurag Sagar postulates two basic premises, which form the back-ground
against which the story takes place:
1) The physical universe we know is only a tiny part of the universe
as a whole, which rises in a mighty series of levels until Eternity is
reached. The original creation of Sat Purush is sharply differentiated
from the "three worlds" created by Kal: In the regions above Kal,
creation pro-ceeds as originally planned, whereas the three worlds are
fallen. The three worlds are: the physical plane, the universe known
to us through our senses and their extensions; the astral plane,
another universe surrounding and enveloping the physical, existing on
a subtler frequency, and containing a number of heavens and hells as
well as regions in between; and the causal plane, subtler than the
other two, surrounding and enveloping them, which is the current home
of Kal or Time and the source or cause of the energy activating the
lower planes. Reincarnation takes place within the framework of Kal's
Law, the Law of Karma, in one or another of these worlds; it is also
possible to experience the two higher worlds through various
techniques of meditation or yoga. But it is impossible to leave the
three worlds and enter the real universe - i.e., attain liberation or
salvation - without the grace of someone who has come from there.
2) The three worlds are at their highest and optimum state at the
moment of creation; their whole subsequent history is one of
progressive degeneration, "winding down," or entropy. This takes place
over millions of years, which are divided into four divisions or ages
(yugas) according to the changing conditions of life. One of the ways
in which the theme of Anurag Sagar works out is in the story of the
incarnations of the author-hero in each yuga. At the end of the cycle
of four yugas, the lower universe dissolves (pralaya) and is withdrawn
into the higher; all souls stuck in the three worlds experience a
comatose state for as long as the three worlds remain latent-a period
exactly equivalent to the period of manifestation, four yugas. At the
end of that period Kal creates the lower universe again (or it
recreates itself according to the pattern he originally laid down) and
the cycle starts again, to be continued until all souls - i.e., all
life or jivas - are liberated from the lower worlds and are once again
in Eternity or Sat Lok.
This scheme of the cosmos, both temporal and spatial, is accepted by
the Masters and in fact ultimately derives from them; nevertheless a
word of caution is in order. In the notes to this poem, the yugas are
described in terms of orthodox Hindu theology, for informational pur-
poses and to show the relative conditions of each yuga; but the
Masters do not necessarily endorse the specifics-the number of years,
life-spans, etc. - as given by the Hindu priests. It is in precisely
this context that Sant Kirpal Singh, in his commentary on Guru Nanak's
Jap Ji, wrote:
Nanak here is referring to the ancient Indian doctrine of the four
Yugas or cycles of time, which somewhat parallels the Western
belief in the Golden Age, the Silver Age, the Bronze Age and the
Iron Age. Nanak makes frequent use of such concepts and doctrines
from ancient Hindu lore; but He refers to them not in a spirit
of scientific truth, but often as a Divine poet, who employs allusion
and mythology to drive home His point.(16)
Therefore while accepting the basic idea of the universe running down
(involution rather than evolution)-an idea not at all philosophically
incompatible with the current "Big Bang" theory of cosmic origins - a
much longer human history than current thought allows, and its
division into four ages, we need not worry about the particulars of
those ages and how they fit in with modern scientific theories of
human evolution. Truth is truth, and when - if ever - the scientific
discoveries are complete, they will demonstrate the truth behind the
yuga mythos. As it is, new discoveries are constantly changing our
understanding both of the date of human origin and also the nature of
our prehistoric past. It appears now, for example, that Neanderthal
man was a member of the human species after all, and very likely a
gentle vegetarian in some respects more advanced than we are.(17) And
evidence is mounting that our pre-historic ancestors were in
possession of a highly technological culture which ultimately destroyed
them and caused humanity to start from scratch at the beginning of the
Kali Yuga (about 3000 B.C.).(18)
Sant Kirpal Singh was very specific about that part of the Yuga
theory, and affirmed many times that the Mahabharata War, the
traditional end of the Third Age, was not the simple struggle depicted
in the epic of that name, but a nuclear war involving the whole world,
with devastating consequences. The fact that it is not traditionally
represented that way (although there are references to airplanes,
television, etc., half-understood by the author and presented as
magic) simply reflects the condition of the time in which the
Mahabharata was written - after the holocaust. The author explained the
story that had come down to him as best he could in the light of what
he himself knew.
(16). Kirpal Singh, The Jap Ji: The Message of Guru Nanak, p. 94.
(17). See Boyce Rensberger, "Facing the Past," Science 81, Vol. 2, No. 8.
(18). See Ivan T. Sanderson, Investigating the Unexplained, pp. 129-
210. The late Dr. Sanderson was one of the world's leading zoologists,
and his research into this subject was lifelong and fruitful. Also of
interest is Louis Pauwels and Jacques Bergier, The Morning of the
Magicians.
ANURAG SAGAR AND SANT MAT
Anurag Sagar occupies a very unusual place in the literature of the
Masters; it is at once one of the most venerated and least known of
all esoteric books. It is the Masters themselves who venerate it, and
they have often made use of it in one way or another; they themselves
are able to read it, but most of their disciples know it only by
hearsay, mostly because it is written in the pre-Hindi dialect called
Braj which, according to the leading modern scholar on Kabir, had
"already by Kabir's time... become the lyrical language par
excellence"(19) but which is extremely difficult for modern Indians to
read; it relates to Hindi as spoken today somewhat as Chaucerian or
Middle English relates to our language. There are also problems of
interpretation: as with other mythopoeic treatments of these themes
(particularly those of Blake, who of all Western writers is closest to
Kabir both in spirit and in poetic genius (20) the poem is dense, at
times enigmatic, and always demanding; so that to understand it fully
without an authoritative commentary is not easy. Thanks to the grace
of the living Son of Eternity, Sant Ajaib Singh Ji, eighteenth in the
line of direct spiritual descent from Kabir, such a commentary has
been provided.
(19). Charlotte Vaudeville, Kabir (Vol. I), p. 65.
(20). See "William Blake and Sant Mat" by the present writer, Sant Bani,
Vol. 4, No. 7 (January 1980) p. 12.
Sant Ji's interest in, appreciation of, and respect forAnurag Sagar
has been shared by all of the Masters in the line, who have drawn upon
it fully in their own books, discourses and songs. The alert reader of
Swami Ji's Sar Bachan or the books of Sant Kirpal Singh will notice
many points of contact. Tulsi Sahib devoted a major portion of one of
his principal books to a detailed commentary on certain aspects of the
poem.(21) Baba Jaimal Singh considered it to be the most authoritative
book on the teachings of the Masters as the following account by his
disciple and successor Sawan Singh shows:
On the fourth day I went to attend Satsang. Baba Ji [Baba Jaimal
Singh] was at that time explaining the meaning of Jap Ji Sahib.
Well, I started my volley of questions-so much so that the
audience got tired and began to feel restless at the large number
of questions I had put ... Now he wanted to point out the way, but
I had read Vedanta. When I read Gurbani, my opinion was different;
when I read Gita my opinion was again different, and I was unable
to come to a decision. At last I applied for eight days leave to
enable me to study the teachings of Baba Ji. He advised me to read
Kabir Sahib's Anurag Sagar. I immediately ordered eight copies of
this book from Bombay so that I could also give some to my friends...
After several conferences with Baba Ji, I was thoroughly convinced
and received initiation from him on the 15th day of October in
1894.(22)
That Baba Sawan Singh continued to hold Anurag Sagar in high regard
after he became Master is shown by the following account, written by
one of his secretaries:
Hazur [Baba Sawan Singh] one day told Seth Vasdev, whose car is
always at Hazur's disposal, that he should read Kabir Sahib's
Anurag Sagar (The Ocean of Intense Love). Hazur said that
without studying it, one cannot fully understand the difference
between Kal (the negative power) and Dayal Mat (the Path of the
true and Merciful God), nor can one fully grasp the teachings of
Sant Mat.(23)
Among the members of the Kabir-panth, the religion basing itself on
Kabir's teachings, the book has spawned a mass of imitations, many of
them written much later and emphasizing characteristic Kabir-panth
concerns (such as the hereditary Guruship) which Anurag Sagar is at
pains to condemn. It is a pity that modern scholars, who have
otherwise done excellent work in regard to Kabir, do not recognize the
difference between the original and its imitators both on linguistic
and doctrinal grounds.(24)
The poem is written in the Braj dialect, as we have seen; one leading
Indian scholar, according to Vaudeville, "draws the conclusion
that the basic language of Kabir's verses is Braj."(25) Since the
derivative Kabir-panth literature is all in relatively modern Hindi,
and since those who are in a position to judge the doctrinal content
best-Kabir's competent spiritual descendants - are in unanimous
agreement that the book is genuine, it seems that modern scholarship
should seriously consider its claims to authenticity.
(21). Translated into English by S.D. Maheshwari as Param Sant Tulsi Saheb.
(22). Quoted by Kirpal Singh, Baba Jaimal Singh, p. 76.
(23). Rai Sahib Munshi Ram, With the Three Masters, Vol. II, p. 187.
(24). F.E. Keay, Kabir and His Followers (1931) does not mention Anurag
Sagar at all, either in his list of Kabir's genuine works or in the
Kabir-panth writings. Vaudeville, op. cit., (1974) lists it in passing
(with its title misspelled) among the Kabir-panth imitations.
(25). Ibid., p. 68.
THE TEXT
Kabir, as we have seen, was almost certainly illiterate; there is no
question of his having "written" anything in the modern sense. Yet as
a poet he is widely considered the father of Hindi poetry. His
composition was entirely oral, and his songs and longer works were
either written down at the time by a disciple who had some education
(such as Dharam Das) or committed to memory by his followers and
written down later. It is impossible to say with certainty exactly how
A nurag Sagar was written, but there is an excellent chance that it
was dictated to Dharam Das.
Our text is from the edition published in Bombay in 1914 by Swami
Yugalananda, who says in his Hindi preface that he used forty-six
different versions of Anurag Sagar, thirteen of them hand-written, in
preparing his edition, and that he carefully and painstakingly
collated all the versions and compared all variant readings in order
to arrive at the present book. This edition was specially recommended
by Sant Ajaib Singh as the basis for the English translation, as it is
the only text available based on this kind of careful scholarship.
It has been three years since work on this project began, and all of
us who were privileged to have been associated with this blessed work
are extremely grateful to the living Master, Sant Ajaib Singh Ji
Maharaj of Rajasthan, for his determination to make this edition
happen, his inspiration and encouragement extended to us all along the
way, his never -failing patience in answering question after question
about the work (even as Kabir answered Dharam Das), and the constantly
extended grace which made it possible for us all to work way beyond
our own limited capacity. Truly it is his book in every particular.
RUSSELL PERKINS
February 6, 1982
===========================================================================
NEXT SECTION
BACK TO CONTENTS
HOME