Surdas
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Surdas was a Hindu poet, sant and musician of India. He is said to have been blind from birth. He is traditionally believed to have lived from 1483 to 1573, and to have lived in Brindaban, near Mathura. While his poetry is loved by all who know it, there are at least two very different explanations of its origins. To some, the poet is believed to have been a disciple of the philosopher Vallabhacharya, and is believed to have composed one hundred thousand verses; the Lord Krishna is said to have completed the composition of another twenty-five thousand in his name. In this version of his life and works, it is believed that his collected poems, known as the "Sursagar" or "Ocean of Sur", were largely lost, leaving some 5000 surviving poems in current editions.
A different view of Sur's career appears in some recent scholarly publications. In this interpretation, the "ocean" of poetry attributed to the name "Surdas" continued to grow after the poet's death, with contributions honoring his name made by many anonymous poets of later centuries. All of these poems appear in countless different variations in manuscripts from different regions and different eras, with the differences resulting from the embellishments and elaborations made by many different singer-poets. Manuscripts are seen in this view as representing singers' repertoires, collected haphazardly by many devotees in different times and places. Some 1500 poems bearing his name appear in manuscripts dating within a century of the poet's death. Scholars find a core of some 400 poems appearing so widely distributed through this corpus that they may convincingly be said to have dated from his lifetime. In this scholarly perspective, the facts of his life, or of the "original" composition of any given verse, are simply unknowable. All we have for certain is a "Sur tradition", reflecting a vibrant and dynamic effort by many oral poets over a period of centuries.
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[edit] Prolific composition through Inner Vision
Surdas was a very prolific composer. He is known for his "Sur Sagar" (Ocean of Melody). This magnum opus is said to originally contain 100,000 poems or songs; however, today only 8,000 have survived. These songs on the life and adventures of Krishna were dictated by him to an assistant, who had to write faster than the poet could dictate! Endowed with an inner vision, the poet dictates as if he is seeing the exploits of Krishna directly.
[edit] Status of Brij Bhasha raised
Surdas' poetry was in the proto-Hindi language of Brij Bhasha. This dialect was considered to be a very plebeian language. This was especially pronounced as the literary language of Hinduism was Sanskrit. Surdas' work is one of a number that are credited with raising Brij Bhasha from the status of a vulgate into that of a literary language.Lord Krishna offered sight but was declined by surdas.
[edit] Impact on Bhakti movement
The philosophy of Surdas' work is a reflection of the times. He was very much immersed in the Bhakti movement that was sweeping North India. This movement represented a grass roots spiritual empowerment of the masses. For the corresponding spiritual movement of the masses that happened in South India in the first millennium A.D. see South India's 75 Apostles of Bhakti.
[edit] Foremost of the Ashta-chaap
Eight Disciples of the Master-Teacher Vallabhacharya are called the Ashta-chaap, meaning, eight reprints (of the Master). Surdas is considered to be the foremost among them.
[edit] Shuddhadvaita
Due to the training he received from his spiritual guru, Surdas was a proponent of the Shuddhadvaita school of Vaishnavism (also known as Pushti Marg). This philosophy is based upon the spiritual metaphor of the Radha-Krishna Lila (The celestial dance between Radha and Lord Krishna). It propagates the path of Grace of God rather than merging in Him. This is derived from earlier saints such as the great Kabir Das.
[edit] Some Compositions
प्रभू मोरे अवगुण चित न धरो ।
समदरसी है नाम तिहारो चाहे तो पार करो ॥
एक लोहा पूजा में राखत एक घर बधिक परो ।
पारस गुण अवगुण नहिं चितवत कंचन करत खरो ॥
एक नदिया एक नाल कहावत मैलो ही नीर भरो ।
जब दौ मिलकर एक बरन भई सुरसरी नाम परो ॥
एक जीव एक ब्रह्म कहावे सूर श्याम झगरो ।
अब की बेर मोंहे पार उतारो नहिं पन जात टरो ॥
prabhU more avaguN chit n dharo |
samadarasI hai naam tihaaro chaahe to paara karo ||
ek lohaa pUjaa meM raakhat ek ghar badhik paro |
paaras guN avaguN nahiM chitavata kaMcan karat kharo ||
ek nadiyaa ek naal kahaavat mailo hI neer bharo |
jab dou milakar ek baran bhaI surasarI naam paro ||
ek jIv ek brahma kahaave sUr shyaam jhagaro |
ab kI ber moMhe paar utaaro nahiM pan jaat Taro ||
Lord, heed not my faults!
You are known as he who sees as all equal,
at will you can take me across the ocean of existence.
One iron is used in worship, another in butcher's steel;
The philosopher's stone counts not merit or fault
but turns both to purest gold.
One is called "river", another a "rivulet" filled with murky water;
when they merge they become of one colour and are known
as "Sursari"(Ganges), river of gods.
The soul and the Supreme are given different names,
but all is one in Sur's Shyam.
This time, take me across, or give up your vow to be saviour!
अखियाँ हरि दर्शन की प्यासी ।
देखो चाहत कमल नयन को, निस दिन रहत उदासी ॥
केसर तिलक मोतिन की माला, वृंदावन के वासी ।
नेहा लगाए त्यागी गये तृण सम, डारि गये गल फाँसी ॥
काहु के मन की कोऊ का जाने, लोगन के मन हाँसी ।
सूरदास प्रभु तुम्हरे दरस बिन लेहों करवत कासी ॥
akhiyaa~M hari darshan kI pyaasI |
dekho chaahat kamala nayan ko, nis din rahat udaasI ||
kesar tilak motin kI maalaa, vRuMdaavan ke vaasI |
nehaa lagaae tyaagI gaye tRuN sam, Daari gaye gal phaa~MsI ||
kaahu ke man kI koU kaa jaane, logan ke man haa~MsI |
sUradaas prabhu tumhare daras bin lehoM karavat kaashI ||
Our eyes thirst for a vision of Hari;
They long to see the lotus-eyed one,
grieving for him day and night.
Wearing a saffron tilak and pearl garland
and dwelling in Vrindavan,
he gave us his love, then cast us aside like a blade of grass,
throwing a noose around our necks.
No one knows what is in another's mind,
there is laughter in people's hearts;
But Lord of Surdas, without a vision of you
we would give up our very lives.
