What the Heart Cannot Contain, the Lips Reveal! - Ashok Bagwe

To the editor's question, "Why do I write poetry...?", I could have given the simple and elegant answer, "Because I can write poetry..." Or, had I wished to be mischievous, I might have said, "I write poetry because I can do nothing else...!" But the true answer is one I heard countless times from my mother's lips, and I believe it to be the fundamental definition of true literature. Every mother often says, "What the heart cannot contain, the lips reveal!" What a genuine and simple definition of our Marathi literature! Why do we need those Anglicized words—"Spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings..." or "the best words in the best order," and so on? The truth that what the heart holds inevitably comes forth was revealed to me in an by Sant Tukobarai once I gained some literary sensibility. (What runs within / naturally flows outward / Though I try to contain it / it cannot be restrained // The sandalwood needs not / announce its fragrance / By calling out / to the forest's flora // Tuka says the cloud / makes the peacock dance / The truth, when hidden / cannot be concealed //) "The truth cannot be concealed..." This is precisely what my mother was telling me. Therefore, the true source behind my writing is my mother! Later, as I continued my education, I was blessed to find my Valmiki and Vyasa in my collegiate life: the mother of letters, Shantabai Shelke, and my revered guru, Keshav Meshram. It was then that I truly understood the devotion to poetry, for, as Tukobarai says again: (Tuka says it is / a dialogue with the mind / An argument of oneself / with oneself //) Writing poetry is not merely self-discovery; it is, I contend, self-excavation. To achieve self-purification is the ultimate principle of my poetry! (If the mind is pure / even enemies become friends / Tigers will not devour / nor will serpents harm him //) The tiger and the serpent are symbols of the (dark/destructive) qualities. We are all predominantly (passionate/active), but if we wish to become (pure/harmonious), purity of mind is paramount. It would not be wrong to say that I write for my own self-purification! I am not flaunting my erudition; I am sharing with you my poetic vow and heritage. (The jasmine has bloomed, the jasmine has bloomed / While picking its flowers, the buds blossomed even more //) This is the esoteric secret of poetry revealed by Dnyaneshwar Mauli. He has explained the very process of poetic creation to us! (From the heart's entanglement, a shawl is woven...) In these words, Mauli has casually etched the very soul of poetry into our hearts. To take the tangle of words residing in the heart at the level of sensation, to arrange and weave them into a refined tapestry—this is the authentic creation of poetry! Our Shantabai always used to tell us, "Don't get entangled in grand words like (content) and (expression). What you want to say is the content, and how you say it is the expression." I received such simple yet profound teachings from my gurus; it was my great fortune. Consequently, I never got trapped in the web of criticism, because two couplets of Samarth Ramdas are enshrined in my heart. They are: (Through practice, one should manifest / Or else, remain concealed / To manifest and then perish / is not good at all //) Disciplined devotion is what is meant by practice! One who reads books is a reader, but one who reads people is a writer! The writer's (innate duty) is to study people, including oneself, and only then manifest. (That which is pure, should be told / That which is visible, should be shown / That which is fragrant, should be revered / Like the Bakul or the Prajakta flower //) Dnyaneshwar Mauli gave the metaphor of the 'Mogra' flower, and here Ramdas Swami gives the examples of 'Bakul' and 'Prajakta'. Poetry should reveal an innocence as vibrant as a flower, and one should revere its fragrance without craving it. This essence I received from the literature of the saints; hence, I can proudly tell the world, (Fortunate are we... that we speak Marathi...). A poet, too, must become progressive and mature with each passing day. Without being ensnared in old yokes, he must become (possessed of ever-new creative genius). Dnyaneshwar Mauli called the Goddess Saraswati (the one who delights in novel expression). I took this to heart. I meditated upon Keshavsut's words, (Let the old go to its death...), and enshrined the motto (First mastery, and then fame) in my mind. (For this reason, I shall speak / In speech, I will reveal the form of the formless / The intangible, I will make it experienced / through the senses //) I have etched this primal mantra of Mauli in my mind. To seek the form of the formless and to experience the ecstasies of the intangible through the senses is the only way to purify the mind. What is governed by logic is science, what is illogical is morality, and what is beyond logic is beauty! From this trinity, the Indian philosophical principle of (Truth, Goodness, Beauty) has flourished. (That which cannot be reached by sight / Is seen without the eyes //) He who understands this becomes a truly enriched poet. My journey of writing poetry thus far has been just this. Our Shantabai used to say that fragrance is not the creation of the flower; it is the breath of the soil. The scent of the earth travels through the roots and into the flower. To give a tangible form to an intangible experience—that is poetry. Mauli says, (The tenderness of the soil / is told by the sprout's gentle quiver //). How soft the earth is, is told by the innocent, tender sprout that emerges from it. He who possesses the capacity to embrace the unknown world that lies beyond the known is a truly great poet! (From the fence of the known Gathering courage, taking flight The lightning-flash of consciousness goes Dancing and glittering there A faint form appears to her Singing mysterious songs From those songs, sounds emerge ) Through these lines, the poet Keshavsut has impressed upon the mind that you see a faint form of the content, and it expresses itself through its own path. Therefore, I believe that first comes the hobby () of poetry, then the hobby transforms into passion (), the passion into devotion (), and the ultimate devotion into an eternal vow ()—this is what constitutes the true measure of poetry! Keeping this in mind, I have cherished the chemistry of poetry, for Poetry is not Physics, it's Chemistry. Culture is the history of a specific geography. Art is the child of culture. The relationship between culture and art is like that of a mother and son. The child of art and literature clings to the hem of Mother Culture, saying, "Mother, your benevolence is great..." while Mother Culture, saying, "My child, how can I ever repay you... because of you, I became a mother...!" envelops the child of art and literature in her loving embrace. The finest expression of creation is poetry! The collective consciousness of a human society and its culture is shaped by the combination of a specific period, tradition, history, and language. This social consciousness is reflected in the best poems of that era. It is a stark truth that there is no mirror other than Marathi poetry that shows the true depth of Marathi culture. The meaningful churning and fundamental articulation of a myriad of complex experiences have been vividly realized in Marathi poetry to date. And so, as I narrate my poetic journey, a line by B. B. Borkar constantly resonates in my mind: (Softly, softly plays the veena O friend... every day, the melody is new...) Or the by Maharashtra Bhushan Mangesh Padgaonkar always calls out: (In all my songs lies my integrity He whose song is not true is a traitor! In the tree's rapturous prayer to the rain Where the mridangam plays, there lies my very soul!) The Vedanta of poetry is realized through the four Vedas of pain (), sensation (), emotion (), and imagination (). The word is a quality of space. Sometimes, that quality of space unknowingly enters your tongue; but if you do not acknowledge it, it returns to space. Therefore, to return the word of space, to space itself, is poetry!! This is my belief. I am a simple, humble poet in this wondrous world of poetry, and so I too say: The word is the breath of the sky The word is a profound devotion The word is sometimes cohabitation The word is desolation. The word is moist in the moonlight The word has become a watershed The word is a fire in the storm A cataclysmic measure. The word is form, the word is fragrance The word is a fluid firmament The word is the thirst for words The word is a budding hope. The word is my life, my soul The word is my conscious awareness The word is a wonder in letters An immortal obsession! Finally, I will share an anecdote concerning myself and then, for now, I shall rest. Once, I was being interviewed by a learned poet. He asked me, "Tell me, which is your all-time favorite poem?" He probably expected me to name two or three poems. I simply replied with humility, "I have yet to write it...!" - Prof. Ashok Bagwe (This article is the translated version of the original article आम्ही का लिहितो? पोटात राहत नाही, ते ओठात येते!  written byProf. Ashok Bagwepublished in the Sahitya Chaprak Diwali Ank 2025 )   https://youtu.be/BXkda7rzPLI