Abstract:
The figure of ascetic occupies an important place in Indian cultural
imagination. A character of sadhu or holy man bridges the gap between
mundane life and metaphysical existence and between tradition and modernity.
In Indian English literature most of the writers dealt with the figure of
holy man. These writers focused on the psychological self and spiritual
authenticity of ascetic figures. The paper presents a comparative analysis
of R. K. Narayan’s The Guide and Manoj Das’s The Escapist. In both novels
the central figures are caught in a situation when they have to bear the
role of swami. Both Protagonists becomes holy man by accident but their life
journey and quest of inner self go on in different ways. Narayan’s Raju is
the manifestation of sociological exploration of the fractured self and
Das’s Padmalochan presents a psychological examination and mystical
experience that turns him into a genuine ascetic.
Keywords:
Spirituality, mask, fractured self, ascetic, swami, psychological, devine
will.
“Theme that seems to have
fascinated many Indo-Anglian novelists is the place of faith in the
socio-cultural life of India.”
(Mukherjee,
Twice Born Fiction 29)
Some critics consider the
post-colonial Indians as a fractured self who finds entangled between the
glorious Vedantic tradition of past and scepticism of modern West. The
research starts with the question what is self and how it is fractured. In
APA dictionary of psychology the self has been defined as ‘the totality of
the individual, consisting of all characteristic attributes, conscious and
unconscious, mental and physical. Apart from its basic reference to personal
identity, being, and experience, the term’s use in psychology is
wide-ranging.’ (apa.org) Writers including William James, Carl Jung, Alfred
Adler, Karen D. Horney, Gordon W. Allport defined the ‘self’ in different
ways. Sterling Hall defined, “One’s self' is not something passively given
but is instead something that is produced. Work and labour go into creating
sustaining a self.” (Hall 117)
Heinz Kohut a psychoanalyst of America used the term ‘self’ to denote ‘the
sense of a coherent, stable (yet dynamic) experience of one’s individuality,
continuity in time and space, autonomy, efficacy, motivation, values, and
desires; he believed that this sense emerges through healthy narcissistic
development empathically supported by the significant figures in one’s early
life and that, conversely, narcissistic developmental failure leads to a
fragile or incoherent sense of self.’(apa.org) This fragile self is
fragmented, broken or inconsistent in sense of identity, it becomes
fractured self. An individual behaves differently before others and in
private. Erving Goffman in his famous work Self in Everyday Life gives the
theory of dramaturgy in which he explains that while making social
interaction people plays different roles like theatrical performances.
Individual adopts mask or persona according to different social setting and
hides their true self from others like theatrical performances on ‘front
stage’ verses on ‘back stage’. He further adds “The ‘true’ or ‘real’
attitudes, beliefs, and emotions of the individual can be ascertained only
indirectly, through his avowals or through what appears to be involuntary
expressive behaviour.”(Goffman 1-2)
The fragmented experience of
tradition and modernity of Indian writers led them to the creation of a
unique literary archetype of accidental ascetic which is peculiar to Indian
English literature. This type of character is not a holy spiritual person
but holiness is thrusted upon him by society accidently. ‘Repeated though
the marginal figure of a spiritual mentor figure- a guru or a saffron- clad
ascetic many of these novels serves the dual function of proclaiming the
wisdom and spirituality of the ancient Hindu civilization and admitting at
the same time its ineffectuality in the colonial domain of action and
power.’ (Mukherjee, Perishable Empire 18) William Walsh also mentions the
importance of holy figure in India, “the guru, the holy man, the ascetic who
has renounced the world, the keeper of the temple, all have some measure of
religious authority and work for the diffusion of Hindu values and the
ordering of behaviour. (Walsh, Indian Literature 8) He extends his view, “We
are not, I think, deceived in detecting beneath the apparently exotic and
even alien the common and extraordinary rhythm of life and the special beat
given to that rhythm by an intense, unaffected and unquestioning religious
spirit.”(Walsh, Indian Literature 9)
R. K. Narayan and Manoj Das though
belong to different generation, different regions and having different
philosophical approach, both shares a common feature of the use of this
archetype. R. K. Narayan dealing with the middle class society concentrates
on its weaknesses in ironical manner and gives importance to Karma and
realism. While Manoj Das a staunch follower of Sri Aurobindo is deeply
influenced by his philosophy and blends magic realism with spirituality in
his works. The Guide of Narayan
and The Escapist of Das appears two novels written in same vein but they are
different apart. The comparative study of R.K. Narayan’s The Guide and Manoj
Das’s The Escapist facilitates a crucial framework through which the
portrayal of spiritual authority and personal transformation in modern
Indian English literature can be understood perfectly. In both novels the
protagonist is an antihero who is accidentally compelled to bear the
responsibility of a holy man, a guide or a Swami and from that moment he
embarks on a journey of self-reckoning. “The ascetic or the sanyasi has
always been held in reverence in India, because renunciation is an ideal not
many can achieve, and this partially explains the cult of the Guru very much
prevalent all over India. But quite often pseudo-mystic Gurus arise to meet
the demands of blind faith, and this process has attracted novelists as
different from each other as G. V. Desani, Bhabani Bhattacharya and R. K.
Narayan. The imposture is not always pre-planned, and what really matters is
not the real or imaginary powers of the Guru, but the phenomenon of faith
and attitude of mind implied in such situations. The imposter gains some
material benefit, no doubt, but he also fulfils a social need.”
(Mukherjee, Twice Born Fiction 29-30)
Narayan as a sceptical humanist
employs irony to evaluate middle class morality. In his masterpiece The
Guide, he targets the commercialisation of faith in Indian middle class
society. Whereas Das influenced by Sri Aurobindo explores deep metaphysical
concepts through his novel The Escapist. Through his magic realism he
emphasizes the inevitability of spiritual evolution. Both novels have
different psychological approaches, narrative aesthetics, sematic and
philosophical understanding, theme of escape and redemption and role of
society in the construction of divinity. The comparison between these two
novels displays the dichotomy of post-colonial presentation of spiritual
elements in literature. Both novels focus on the special feature that is
mentioned by Minakshi Mukherjee in her The Twice Born Fiction, “the blind
faith of the people represents an essential moral weakness as well as a very
elemental strength, the people who make a business of spiritualism certainly
present an aspect of sin or evil. Sometimes the two issues impinge upon one
another and the sheer force of simple trust transforms the evil in man's
mind into a reservoir of goodness. (Mukherjee, Twice Born Fiction 30)
Narayan in his novel The Guide expresses ‘Existential Dharma’ and Das in his
The Escapist gives importance to ‘Evolutionary Providence’.The comparative
analysis of these two seminal works tries to establish robust yet
theoretically grounded structure.
In The Guide the protagonist Raju
assumes many roles similarly in The Escapist Padmalochan Pramanik performs
many roles. Both of them possess ‘fractured self’. Life journey of Raju from
railway guide to spiritual man shows that as fluid take shape according to
the container, he adjusts himself to any role that falls before him. He is a
man of commerce who guides tourists and his every action has the motive of
benefit. While in search of livelihood, Padmalochan does jobs but the role
of holy man is accidently imposed upon him. Both protagonist fulfil their
roles but their ways are different that mirrors their self.
Narayan’s Raju displays his fractured
self in his romance with Rosie. He shuns his mother, his maternal uncle, his
society and his shop for the sake of his Rosie. He adapts modern way of
living to influence her. He accepts, “this made me run to the tailor to have
him make a few dashing bush-shirts and corduroys, and invest in hair- and
face-lotions and perfumes of all kinds.”(Narayan 120) She falls for him and
leaves her husband Marco for pursuing her career of dancer. Raju helps her
in every way and launches her as Bharatanatyam dancer Nalini. Thus he
reinvents and transmigrates himself from the role of guide to impresario. He
believes himself to be the architect of Rosie’s success but in fact he is a
parasite feeding on her art. Later he accepts, “She became known because she
had the genius in her, and the public had to take notice of it. I am able to
speak soberly about it now-only now. At that time I was puffed up with the
thought of how I had made her.”(Narayan 188) His fractured self is visible
when he tries to control her in the name of love, “I knew it was only a
partial truth. If I examined my heart I knew I had pulled her out because I
did not like to see her enjoy other people's company. I liked to keep her in
a citadel.”(Narayan 199) When he is charged for forging Rosie’s signature on
the documents sent by her husband, this identity of impresario and lover
shatters completely. He who discarded his family, relatives, society and
even his profession now changes into a person who despises her to the core.
He reviles, “but actually venomous and vindictive, like the cobra lying in
wait for its victim. I can now see that it was a very wrong line of thought
to adopt.”(Narayan 226) “It was a cruel thing to say. Some devil was wagging
his tongue within my skull. I was suddenly racked with the feeling that
after all I had done for her she was not sufficiently sympathetic to my
cause.”(Narayan 227) These words show his true face that Rosie is only a
puppet in his hand. A true lover can never fall on such a low level. He is
jealous to her powerful spirit, “I was now a sort of hanger-on in the house;
ever since she had released me from police custody, the mastery had passed
to her. I fretted inwardly at the thought of it.”(Narayan 225) “Her empire
was expanding rather than shrinking. It filled me with gall that she should
go on without me.”(Narayan 236) All these incidents show his drifter
personality.
After imprisonment he emerges from
jail not as a reformed man, but as a blank slate. He decides not to go back
to the places related to his past but leaves for unknown place. He takes
refuse in an abandoned temple. A villager Velan from the nearby village
Mangala mistook him for a saint. But Raju a man of fractured-self neither
denies it nor claims to be a saint. He lacks conviction to assert his true
identity. He enjoys the obeisance and offerings of villagers until the
draught affect the area. Narayan asserts that spiritual authenticity in
India is often a construction by community rather than an individual
achievement. The garb of sainthood is given to him by the villagers he only
adapts the role. When Velan meets and puts his problem before him first
‘Raju nods his head and speaks like a wise and mystic man, "So has
everyone…If you show me a person without a problem, then I'll show you the
perfect world. Do you know what the great Buddha said?" (Narayan 15)
The climax of the novel mirrors perfectly his fractured self. In a
dramatic way by a dumb head villager spreads the news that Swami will
observe fast until the rain fall. Raju is compelled to do so. But he tries
in every way to evade even he relates true life story to Velan. But Velan
full of obeisance interprets the confession as a sign of the Swami’s
greatness. Raju feels trapped by the gaze of the other. He thinks in his
mind, "He will not leave me alone…This man will finish me before I know
where I am.”(Narayan 241)
Here Raju’s two selves are forced
together. He begins the fast out of fear of being exposed, a purely
performative act. However, as the days pass and hunger sets in, his self
takes a psychological shift. He for the first time in his life decides to do
for the sake of other’s help. “He had his back to the wall, there was no
further retreat. This realisation helped him to get through the trial with a
little more resignation on the second day of his penance.”(Narayan 244)
‘With a sort of vindictive resolution he told himself, "I'll chase away all
thought of food. For the next ten days I shall eradicate all thoughts of
tongue and stomach from my mind." (Narayan 246)
His modern self which is self-centred
gives way to the spiritual self and he achieves authenticity by committing
himself completely to the role entrusted upon him. When he gets over his
ego, his fractured self is healed. His resolution for observing fast gave
him strength. ‘For the first time in his life he was making an earnest
effort; or the first time he was learning the thrill of full application,
outside money and love; for the first time he was doing a thing in which he
was not personally interested. He felt suddenly so enthusiastic that it gave
him a new strength to go through with the ordeal.’(Narayan 246)
Das’s narrative in The Escapist is
more satirical, sharp, and deeply rooted in the absurdity of the human
condition. The protagonist Padmalochan Pramanik, is a fugitive. He is an
orphan who reaches in the city after a dramatic incident at village. The
opening line of the novel throws light on his fractured self with his
assuming a new role. He says, “The silly act of a moment caused a bout of
nervousness or mood for fun? - and the result is I step into my new avatar
undreamt of, incredible.” (Das 9) Further
he adds "Chance was the pseudonym of God which He used when He does not wish
to put down His signature." (Das 13) With this statement Das sets the stage
for Universal Will where the "fractured self" is not just a social accident
but a play of that Will.
Padmalochan arriving in the city
works for a politician Sharmaji. After the death of Sharmaji, he in search
of job reaches at the house of Jayant Thakore a despicable contractor.
Padmalochan is an ordinary man who wants to earn earnestly. Unlike Raju, who
seeks to exploit, Padmalochan seeks to hide. His transformation into Swami
Padmananda is a calculated escape from the brutality of the ordinary world.
It is not his contrivance but only the momentarily escape. He ponders, “Was
it providentially ordained that I should be clad in the robe of the holy?
Could it be a punishment? …Could it be a reward? If so, for what?” (Das 54)
Padmalochan’s broken self is more
intellectual than Raju. He finds himself painfully bounded to playact. “I
knew that to be ambitious - playing a clown in the crude circus of the ego
was no doubt degrading. But despite having grown up as a hapless orphan, I
was, unfortunately, ambitious in a weak way. I was yet to learn that in some
cases meaningful aspirations of the soul too, bursting out into our exterior
self-steeped in ignorance, could seem as ordinary craving for power or
popularity, albeit temporarily, soon to get sublimated into an urge for
inner growth.”(Das 23)
Das deciphers the complex layers of
his psychology that is different from Narayan’s. Thakore’s wife Ranjita Devi
takes Padmalochan as a sadhu baba. From that moment he constantly finds
himself torn between many selves. His circumstances compel him to play the
role silently yet his one-self demands to be true. This higher-self inspires
him to become a real ascetic but his lust for Sushie degrades him. He
continues his masquerade and finds that the society around him is even more
fractured than he is. The wealthy men, the politicians, and the desperate
masses are all playing games. Padmalochan’s ‘fake’ spirituality stands
contrast to the ‘fake’ reality of the modern world. It is Ranjita Devi’s
death that shatters his tranquillity of mind at first and his self feels
reprimanded, “Could it be that a certain truth of my inner self unknown to
my mind had revealed itself to her? I can never forget her last look. It
appeared to have reached and stirred a hidden realm deep within me and I was
beginning to feel a strange new faith in myself. Keeping pace with this
newfound faith in the process of formation, the guilt haunting me for long
was melting away. I had dozed off and dreamt of my own body lying dead. Much
later I was to understand that the vision symbolised the slow death of my
old little self, one characterised by superstitions and prejudices and petty
concepts of good and evil.”(Das 93)
This was the beginning of the
realisation of true-self by Padmalochan. Later Shushie broadens his
perspective on the hypocrisy of his own and of society. She dismantles his
romantic world and makes him realise his true higher self. When he proposes
her to escape Himalaya with him, she laughs and says, “But have you
reflected on the practicability of your yearning? Can anyone follow someone
else to the world beyond life? Is that a highway measured by milestones? The
fire-flies of our ego and anger, passions and attractions are likely to make
the darkness at the crossing even more opaque. How can one locate another
receding soul - and keep company in that kind of darkness?"(Das 165)
He eventually realizes that he cannot
escape himself. He achieves the realization that the role he played was his
destiny. He evolves from a trickster into a seeker, realizing that the
‘false’ start was the only way to the higher goal of spiritual authenticity.
And he can win over his stubborn, fractured self only by embracing the
spiritual path. This turning point of The Escapist is distinctively
influenced by the Philosophy of Sri Aurobindo. Manoj Das suggests that even
a fake sadhu may be the part of a Divine evolutionary process. Padmalochan,
while pretending to meditate, begins to have actual experience of
spirituality and his mask begins to suffocate his ego. Finally after beaten
to death by Thakore’s men, he is saved by a Spiritual Guru who helped him to
the realisation of spiritualty. In the concluding line he says, “The phase
of my life that began as a farce, matured into a truth at least for
myself.”(Das 182)
The comparison shows that The Guide
and The Escapist are two distinct portraits of the Indian experience. The
main difference between the narration of Narayan and Das lies in the
conclusion. Narayan, a modernist at heart leaves the question of spiritual
authenticity unfinished. He leaves to the reader to consider whether Raju
hallucinating or genuinely achieved spiritual power. Yet it shows his belief
that authenticity is performative and if one acts like a saint till death,
is a saint. In this way the fractured-self finds resolution in the
sacrificial action and the mask becomes the face. Contrary to Narayan, Manoj
Das writes with spiritual conviction. He shows that the fractured-self is a
necessary step that leads to human evolution. All Human beings are
‘escapist’ as they are trying to escape The Divine Will by veiling behind
ego. The escapist Padmalochan finally stops escaping and leaves everything
on the Devine Will. His journey that begins as a liar finally ends with
smashing ego before the Divine will. Thus he achieves a state of
consciousness when mask is not needed and he appears with his true face and
healed self.
R.K. Narayan’s protagonist is a guide
who leads others while being lost himself and he finds his way only when he
stops moving. His surrender to the faith and tradition heals his fractured
self and leads him to spiritual authenticity. While Manoj Das’s Escapist is
a man who flees from reality only to find that reality is a circle, and his
true escape is inward. Raju’s authenticity is sacrificial, Padmalochan’s
authenticity is evolutionary. Ultimately, both novels suggest that logic,
science, or modernity cannot mend the fractured self. It can only be mended
by surrendering to a script larger than oneself. The mask, if worn with
enough suffering and sincerity, eventually burns into the skin, and the
imposter becomes the icon.
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