donna wulf religion aesthetic india

American Academy of Religion

Religion in a New Mode: The Convergence of the Aesthetic and the Religious in Medieval IndiaAuthor(s): Donna M. WulffSource: Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Winter, 1986), pp. 673-688Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1463922 .Accessed: 30/08/2014 23:41

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Journal of the American Academy of Religion. LIV/4

RELIGION IN A NEW MODE: THE CONVERGENCE OF THE AESTHETIC

AND THE RELIGIOUS IN MEDIEVAL INDIA

DONNA M. WULFF

Religion, we commonly assume, is distinct from art. In Western newspapers, at least, the arts are usually grouped with entertainment and leisure; religion, if it has a place at all, is elsewhere. We may speak of certain art forms-say, those of the medieval West-as inspired by religion, but we view the relation as adventitious rather than essential. Despite the insights of such writers as Rudolf Otto, Susanne Langer, and Gerardus van der Leeuw (267-71), western students of religion continue to focus largely on the discursive symbols of theology and philosophy rather than on the presentational symbols of music, drama, and the visual arts. This characteristic emphasis reflects a Christian bias that tends to identify religion with doctrine (Smith, 1979:13-15; 1963:37-40). However, such impressive religious monuments as Gre- gorian chant and the medieval cathedral expose the severe inade- quacy of an exclusively theological preoccupation even for comprehending the Christian tradition (see Irwin).'

In India, more so than in the West, religion and the arts have long been integrally related. Their intersection is evident from the numer- ous artistic forms of obvious religious significance found throughout India,2 and from a class of influential theoretical treatises with no Western parallels. Here we shall consider two authors of such treatises who perceived and articulated the relation of the aesthetic and the religious with particular clarity and force. The first is the great Kash- mir Saiva philosopher Abhinavagupta (10th-llth c.), and the second is Donna M. Wulff is Associate Professor of Religious Studies at Brown University, Provi- dence, Rhode Island 02912. 1 The "Arts, Literature and Religion" section of the American Academy of Religion has

been in existence only since 1973. Moreover, its program at the Annual Meeting did not include a crosscultural panel until 1983. 2 On the religious significance of music in India, see Wulff, 1984a.


674 Journal of the American Academy of Religion

the Bengali Vaisnava Rfipa Gosvami, a prominent disciple of Caitanya who wrote in Brinddvan during the first half of the sixteenth century. Despite their different conceptions and expressions of aesthetic experience and religious realization, for both thinkers the term rasa, the central category of Sanskrit aesthetics, had profound religious significance. Most scholars writing on rasa, both westerners and Indians, have treated it primarily or even exclusively as an aesthetic concept. For Abhinava and even more obviously for Rfipa, however, the term is of central importance for interpreting religious experience. Examination of their use of this key term will thus prepare us to reconsider the range of facts and phenomena that constitute primary data for the study of religion.

The term rasa is a rich one with multiple levels of significance.3 Apte enumerates in his dictionary no fewer than thirty meanings, among which the fourteenth is the technical sense in which the term is used in Sanskrit poetics. Yet several of the remaining meanings, especially such basic ones as "juice," "liquid extract," "essence," "flavor," and "delight," are important constituents of its specialized poetic meaning, a relishable "sentiment" or "mood" awakened in the reader or spectator through the combination of elements in a given poem or drama.4 The standard analogy is that of a blend of a basic food, such as yoghurt, with a number of spices; the resulting substance has a unique flavor (rasa), which is not identical with any of the single elements comprising it.5 Rasa is so important to Indian literary critics that it has been termed the soul of poetry,6 and no criticism of a work of art is considered so devastating as the allegation that it is devoid of rasa.

3 See Ingalls's admirably lucid discussion of the term. He summarizes the meanings given in Bohtlingk's Petersburg Worterbuch. 4 Beginning with Abhinavagupta, writers on Sanskrit aesthetics have generally not

treated poetry differently from drama. The act of imagination involved in reading a poem is described by Abhinava and others as one of visualization. (Masson and Pat- wardhan, 1970:II, 70-72, n.390). Edwin Gerow has argued persuasively, however, that for earlier writers the term rasa served to differentiate drama from other genres (1981:228-231). 5 This sentence and the preceding one are modified from Wulff, 1984:25-26. The anal-

ogy, first found in germ in Ndtyasdstra (NS) VI.35, and elaborated by Abhinava in his commentary on NS VI.31, is used by Rfipa in his Bhaktirasdmrtasindhu (BRS) 11.5.57, where he refers to the mixture as rasdla, a drink made of yoghurt and water mixed with sugar and spices. 6 The Ndtyasdstra may contain the earliest form of this assertion in its statement that

nothing in drama has any value without rasa (NS VI.31, prose following, as translated in Masson and Patwardhan 1970:1,1; cf. 46). Viivandtha in his Sdhityadarpana (14th c.) defines poetry as speech that has rasa as its essence (vdkyam rasdtmakam kdvyam, Sdhi- tyadarpana 3).


Wulff: Religion in a New Mode 675

Abhinavagupta

Abhinavagupta was not the first in India to use the term rasa in a religious sense. Some fifteen centuries before him the Taittiriya Upanisad, in a frequently quoted but obscure passage, had identified sat (being), the ultimate reality in the universe, with rasa, adding further that when one attains this essence (rasa) one becomes blissful (dnandi).7 Writers on aesthetics during the century or two immediately preceding Abhinava made significant contributions to the evolv- ing discussion: Anandavardhana expresses religious concerns in his Dhvanydloka, (Masson and Patwardhan, 1969:vii, x) and Bhattanayaka, in a lost work quoted by Abhinava, draws the seminal analogy between rasdsvdda, the "tasting" that occurs in aesthetic experience, and brahmdsvdda, the "tasting" of ultimate reality (Masson and Pat- wardhan, 1969:21).8 Yet it was Abhinava whose works articulated this relation are the earliest to have survived and whose formulations have influenced the entire subsequent course of Indian literary criticism (Masson and Patwardhan, 1977:290, n.28; Pandey:270). The transcendent quality of rasa for Abhinava is evident from the enthusiasm- even reverence-with which he speaks of it. To understand the religious significance he attributes to aesthetic experience, it is necessary to consider his vision of the nature of ultimate realization.

In the Kashmir Saiva system interpreted by Abhinava in his Tan- trdloka-as in Sankara's Advaita, from which it draws much of its philosophical structure and terminology-the fundamental cause of human suffering is ajfidna, ignorance. Yet, unlike avidyd in Advaita Vedanta, ajaidna in Kashmir Saivism is not illusion or false knowledge, which a person must give up; rather, it is imperfect knowledge, a limited consciousness that does not illumine the whole of reality (Baumer:64). The transcendence of this limited view, the profound recognition (pratyabhijad) of one's fundamental identity with Siva, brings about final liberation. The ultimate realization is a blissful experience in which the devotee is utterly absorbed into the fullness (ptirnam) of the divine being, the luminous intelligence (prakddsa) of Siva himself (Biumer:65-66).9 Yet this is simultaneously the self-reve- 7 Taittirfya Upanisad 11.7. In his commentary on this passage, Sankara simply gives the

ordinary worldly sense of rasa as a flavor, such as sweet or sour, that gives satisfaction and delight. 8 Bhattaniyaka's great work, the Hrdayadarpana, has unfortunately not survived, except for passages quoted by subsequent writers. 9 The fact that the four stages on the way to liberation are designated modes of knowl-

edge, as well as ways of entering (samavesa) into Siva (Biiumer:63), is significant for understanding the potential value for Abhinava of aesthetic experience, which he likewise calls a mode of knowing (bodhartpa), for achieving the highest religious realization. See Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:I, 32.



lation of one's own true nature (svardtpa-prathanam) (Baiumer:64), for one's highest consciousness (samvid) is identical with Siva.

The soteriological problem for Kashmir Saivas, then, is how one makes the transition from ordinary mundane consciousness, with its egocentric limitations, to the universal and unmediated (anupdya) consciousness that is absolute freedom. In his Tantrdloka, Abhinava enumerates four stages on the path to liberation, each consisting of a characteristic mode of knowledge, and he specifies certain practices to be undertaken at each stage (Baumer:63). As in so many Indian sys- tems, especially tantric ones, the key to the possibility of transcendence is the ambivalent quality of the world: the second of the three principles recognized by the system,10 s akti (immanent divine energy), is understood as both the cause of bondage and the means of liberation (Biumer:63). Various practices, including tantric rituals, that use objects in the world may thus serve to weaken the narrow ego-consciousness and bring about a more universal vision. For Abhinava, aesthetic experiences have religious significance because they do precisely that. The bliss they bring is both akin to and preparatory for the ultimate salvific experience.

The soteriological value of aesthetic experience implicit in Abhinava's work is evident from several terms that he uses to characterize it and designate the steps that lead up to it. Such expressions and descriptions are scattered throughout his two chief works on aesthetics, both of them commentaries on earlier texts: the Locana on the Dhvanydloka of Anandavardhana and the Abhinavabharati on the Ndtyasddstra attributed to Bharata. We shall consider his views of the prerequisites for aesthetic experience, the stages in its realization, and the most important terms that he uses to refer to it. We shall then be in a position to relate it to his conception of moksa, final release.

According to Abhinava, the basis for aesthetic experience is found in the structure of human consciousness itself, in the subsconscious res- idues or latent impressions of past experience, termed vdsands or sam- skdras. These include all possible emotions, for each person has had an infinite series of lives in the beginningless round of samsdra. Through the characters, gestures, and other elements found in a drama or described in a poem, one of these vdsands, termed a sthdyibhdva, a basic, underlying emotion, is aroused and enhanced. The sensitive spectator (sahrdaya) then responds sympathetically

(hrdayasam.vdda) 10These three are anu (the soul), sakti (divine power), and Siva (the Lord). Corre-

sponding to these are the first three of the four stages of realization (updyas) on the path to release: dnava (individual knowledge or perception), idkta (divine power), and idmbhava (a derivative from Sambhu [Siva] that signifies divine knowledge or perception). The fourth and final state is designated anupdya, "unmediated" (Bdiumer:63).



and ultimately loses his ego-consciousness in an identification (tanmayfbhavana) with the mental states being represented (taccit- tavrtti).11 Sensitivity and the capacity to identify with what is presented are thus further prerequisites; Abhinava says that "the mir- ror of the hearts (of sahrdayas, "appreciators") has been polished through constant recitation and study of poetry."'12 Yet even the hearts of those whose emotions are uncontrolled can be softened by the music and dance that are an integral part of drama.'3

An important quality of literature termed sadhdranfkarana, "universalization,"''14 is indispensable for the spectator's or hearer's sympathetic response and subsequent indentification. Situations por- trayed in drama or poetry are shorn of their particularity; as has often been observed, the characters of Indian literary works normally repre- sent types rather than concrete individuals. Abhinava speaks of rasa as transcending the time and space of both the original character and the actor.15 The aesthetic experience indeed frees the sahrdaya alto- gether from the confines of time and space as well as from all mundane preoccupations (Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:II, 19, n.130). The sim- ilarities with the universal consciousness attained in yoga and realized fully in moksa are obvious: in aesthetic experience, as in yogic trance and in final release, subject and object disappear, and one transcends all desires and limited, ego-bound perceptions. Abhinava terms the highest state of aesthetic joy vigalitavedydntara, "one in which the object of knowledge has dissolved."'16

Two further characteristics of rasa bear importantly on its relation to the ultimate salvific experience. Abhinava repeatedly describes rasa as alaukika or lokottara (supramundane or transcendent) and often equates it with dnanda (bliss). Although he refers to the "tasting of rasa" as a particular mode of perception (pratftir vilistad) (DhAL, p. 187, as quoted in Gnoli:58, n.1) or knowledge (bodhartipaiva) (ABh I, p. 285, as quoted in Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:I, 32), he is careful 11 Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:II, 37-38, n.234, translated in 1:27-29; cf. 1969:48-49.

It is significant that Abhinava uses precisely the same word in the Tantrdloka in speak- ing of the highest realization: "Identification (tanmayibhavana) [with Siva] is the attainment of one's highest self." (Tantrdloka IV.209, as quoted in Masson and Patwardhan, 1969:49, n.4). 12 DhAL, p. 38, as translated in Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:1, 6, and quoted in II, 10,

n.65. Full versions of the abbreviated Sanskrit titles are given in the list of works cited. 13 ABh, p. 290, as quoted and translated in Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:II, 70-72,

n.390. 14 This concept was taken by Abhinava from Bhattandyaka (Gnoli:xxi). 15ata eva ubhaya-desa-kdla-tydgah (DhAL, p. 205, as quoted in Masson and Pat-

wardhan, 1970:I, 32). Cf. the passage from the beginning of the Abhinavabhdratf quoted by Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:I1, 46, and translated in I, 33. 16 Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:II, 70, n.388. Cf. Gnoli: xxi-xxii.



to distinguish it from all ordinary forms of cognition.17 Its transcendent quality is due in large measure to the freedom from worldly desires and preoccupations

(sdm.sdrikabhdva) (DhAL, p. 432, as quoted

in Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:11, 18) that characterizes the experience of being absorbed in a play or poem. Although the vdsands, the latent impressions produced by earthly experiences, are activated by the dramatic production, the result is not an ordinary emotion (bhdva), for the aesthetic medium transforms the basic emotion expressed by the characters in such a way that the spectator experiences it as a transcendent condition (alaukikdvasthd) (Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:1, 23). Abhinava identifies this state with rasa. The greater universality of the vision attained in the aesthetic experience prefigures the com- plete and permanent transcendence of particularity in the ultimate recognition that one is Siva. Although he does not say so explicitly, Abhinava seems to imply that such experiences, like the tantric medi- tative practices that they closely resemble, are effective means of attaining this ultimate realization.

A related characteristic of the aesthetic experience that links it intimately with moksa is its utterly blissful nature. Significantly, Abhinava prefers the word dnanda, "bliss," with its strong religious connotations,'8i to the more common terms priti, "pleasure," and vinoda, "enjoyment," as the appropriate designation for the chief goal of poetry (Masson and Patwardhan, 1969:xvii). Even a drama that por- trays sorrow does not cause pain in the spectator, for what one experiences, as we have already seen, is not the raw emotion of the character being represented but an aesthetic transmutation of that emotion through one's own consciousness. Because one's true consciousness is wholly blissful, the repose (visrdnti) of aesthetic absorption is comparable to the bliss of supreme realization (DhAL, p. 432, as quoted in Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:11, 18) and is itself termed dtmdnanda (Masson and Patwardhan, 1969:xiv.).'9 A related term used frequently by Abhinava is camatkdra, the sense of wonder that is evoked by a poem or play.20 This term also has transcendent over-

17 kintu bodhdntarebhyo laukikebhyo vilaksanaiva (ABh I, p. 285, as quoted in Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:I1, 32). 18 The chief predicates of brahman found in Indian philosophical-religious texts from

the Upanisads onward are sat (being), cit (consciousness), and dnanda (bliss). 19 Masson and Patwardhan point out that another word used frequently by Abhinava,

carvand, lit., "chewing, savoring," similarly communicates the sense of a slow, medita- tive process (1970:I1, 21). 20 A line found in both the Abhinavabhdrats and the Dhvanydlokalocana defines the

experience of rasa as transcendent wonder (alaukika-camatkdrdtma rasdsvddah, quoted in Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:II, 37-38, nn.233-234).



tones, and it is closely associated with dnanda in the later tradition (Masson and Patwardhan, 1970:I, 18).

Although Abhinava notes that ultimate realization (brahmdsvddd) shares neither the temporary nature of aesthetic experience (rasdvdda) nor the beauty that arises from the aesthetic absorption in objects, he otherwise repeatedly emphasizes their close kinship. At various points in his writings he appears to suggest the value of the aesthetic experience for the attainment of moksa, and in quoting and commenting on a charming verse of Bhattandyaka he even seems to value rasa over the highest trance of yoga:

The cow of speech (vdc) gives a special drink (rasa) out of affection for her young;

That (rasa) laboriously milked by yogfs cannot be compared to it.21

Abhinava's comment emphasizes the contrast between the effortless attainment of rasa by sahrdayas and the strenuous exertions of yogis (DhAL, p. 91, as quoted in Masson and Patwardhan, 1969:23, n.5); his sympathy, at least as expressed in this passage,22 clearly lies with the former.

Abhinava was obviously intrigued by the parallels between rasdvdda and brahmdsvdda. Although he is careful to distinguish them in certain crucial respects,23 his astute perception of their kinship should stimulate critical reflection on the adequacy of our own interpretive categories. I am arguing in particular that we reexamine the often unreflective compartmentalization of experience into the largely separate domains of the religious and the aesthetic.

Three examples of distinctions that have been drawn too sharply 21 vagdhenur dugdha etam hi rasam yad bdlatrsnayd tena na asya samah sa sydd

duhyate yogibhir he yah (DhAL, p. 91, as quoted in Masson and Patwardhan, 1969:23, n.4). A similar verse in Ruipa's Vidagdhamddhava (11.17) contrasts Radha's involuntary obsession with Krishna, whom she is vainly trying to forget, with the arduous efforts of munis and yogis. For a translation, see Wulff, 1984a:29. 22 In criticizing Masson and Patwardhan, Gerow and Aklujkar astutely point out "the

henotheistic tendency (extolling as supreme the purpose of present concern) of Sanskrit authors" as well as "the ease with which Sanskrit authors move, by pertinent qualification, from one level of discourse to another." Thus it is meaningless to attempt to estab- lish the absolute superiority of either rasdsvdda or brahmdsvdda in Abhinava's view (1972:85). However, Abhinava's quoting of Bhattandyaka's verse may also be part of an overall polemic against rigorous, ascetic yogic practice, in line with Buddhist, tantric, and devotional critiques of the extreme self-mortification involved in certain forms of yoga. 23 See Gerow and Aklujkar, and Larson, who qualify and criticize certain of Masson and

Patwardhan's interpretations. They argue that Masson and Patwardhan are insuffi- ciently precise in spelling out the senses in which Abhinava sees these two as comparable. The statement that "he combines philosophy and poetics" (1969:1) indeed stands in need of qualification, as Gerow and Aklujkar point out (1972:83, n.10).



may help to make the point clear. First, rendering rasdvdda as "the aesthetic" and brahmdsvdda as "the religious" (Larson:371), although not inaccurate, is somewhat misleading, given that an aesthetic term (dsvdda, "tasting") is used for both. The term is clearly to some degree metaphorical in both instances, yet its very use, together with that of such terms as dnanda, "bliss," to denote spiritual experience, suggests that this experience has aesthetic qualities. Similarly, as I have shown, rasa as characterized by Abhinava has transcendent qualities.

Second, it is true that rasdsvdda for Abhinava is always savikalpa, dependent on a vikalpa-medium, such as the group of words comprising a poem, or a dramatic representation, whereas the ultimate experience of the yogi according to Abhinava and to classical Hindu and Buddhist traditions of yoga is nirvikalpa, devoid of such a medium (Larson:378). However, this distinction does not serve to differentiate religious experience as a whole from aesthetic experience, but rather to distinguish the highest form of yogic experience not only from aesthetic experience but also from all other forms of religious experience. Brahmdsvdda thus denotes, not religious experience as a whole, but rather its acme, and at least in this respect aesthetic experiences stand on the same footing as most religious experiences in being potentially preparatory for the ultimate realization.

Finally, the contrast that some scholars see between "the 'real' world of philosophical, spiritual experience" and "the 'transient' one of art" (Gerow and Aklujkar:82), although based on Abhinava's statement that rasdsvdda, unlike brahmdsvdda, is transient, is similarly too sharp. Yogic experience and tantric mediation-short of moksa, final liberation-are likewise acknowledged by Abhinava and others to be transient states; it is not the experiences, however profound, that are real, but brahman or paramadiva, their ultimate ground.

For Abhinava, the aesthetic experience prefigures and presuma- bly prepares one for ultimate realization primarily through its transcendence of the limited vision and hindering preoccupations of the individual ego, in a state that is characterized by repose (vi'rdnti) and bliss (dnanda). Thus, for him the two goals of poetry identified in earlier texts, vyutpatti, "moral instruction," and prfti, "pleasure," are not strictly separable. Abhinava asserts that prfti or engrossment (vaivas'ya) in the imaginative experience is itself the cause of vyutpatti, which he understands to mean instruction in the means of attaining all four ends of life (purusdrthas) (Masson and Patwardhan, 1969:54-55). In relation to the highest of these (moksa), as we have seen, "instruction" need not be didactic; rather, it may consist in the bliss of an experience that is in many respects identical with that of final beatitude. The process would seem to be one of loosening the ego's hold on one's



consciousness through the gaining of ever wider vision and more embracing sympathy.

In addition to its apparent role in the economy of salvation, aesthetic experience is of intrinsic value for Abhinava. From the terms he uses to characterize it, especially alaukika, dnanda, and camatkdra, and from the images he uses to express it, one sees clearly that rasa touches his entire being and causes him to respond with delight and awe. As a designation for a transcendent and wondrous condition val- ued for its own sake, as well as for what it may reveal about the nature of reality, rasa for Abhinava is thus itself a religious category. But this is a far cry from the deification of art. Abhinava's views are based on a subtle and penetrating analysis of levels of consciousness and on a uni- fied metaphysics that regards drama, like the universe itself, as a dis- play of fleeting, unreal forms that ,may paradoxically allow one to partake of the consciousness that is Siva, the only true reality, and so attain to final liberation.

Rtipa Gosvdmf Like Abhinavagupta, Rfipa used the term rasa in a religious sense,

and although he did not quote Abhinava directly, the broad affinity between their views has led some scholars to suggest at least indirect influence (Masson and Patwardhan, 1969:xv). It is true that in develop- ing his theory of bhaktirasa Ripa appropriated the entire structure and terminology of the classical rasa theory. Yet, there are major differences between his views and those of Abhinava. These reflect both the different religious sensibilities of the two writers and the divergent philosophical and devotional orientations of their traditions. Bhakti (loving devotion), rather than jiddna (metaphysical knowledge), is the ultimate religious goal of the Bengali Vaiisnava, and this strong devotional emphasis is reflected in the transformations made by Rfupa in the classical aesthetic theory.

Ripa's general analysis of bhaktirasa follows the classical model quite closely. The basic, underlying emotion sthdyibhdva), which in Ripa's theory is love (rati) for Krishna24 in one of its forms, is gradually transformed into a rasa, a refined "sentiment" or attitude that can, like Krishna himself, be perpetually relished. Involved in this process of transformation are the remaining "ingredients" of rasa in the classical theory: the vibhdvas, which awaken the emotion (here primarily Krishna and his close associates, and secondarily such stimulants [uddtzpanas] as Krishna's flute and the beauty of Vrndvana, which 24 srfkkrsnavisayd ratih, "love that has Krishna as its object," BRS 11.5.2. Yet elsewhere

Rfipa makes it clear that love for Radha and the other associates of Krishna is also an important part of bhakti.



serve to heighten the emotion); the anubhdvas and sdttvika bhdvas, words, gestures, and involuntary physical reactions through which the emotion is expressed; and finally the vyabhicdribhdvas, transient feel- ings that may temporarily accompany and to a certain extent color the permanent emotion.

Despite such strong continuities, however, there are several important ways in which Rfipa's analysis differs formally and substan- tively from those of Abhinava and other classical writers on aesthetics. First, the process he outlines is not limited to a single dramatic performance lasting only a few hours, but is conceived as extending through a devotee's entire lifetime. Related to this first difference is a second, that of the rasas enumerated and emphasized in each theory. Among the five bhaktirasas that Rfipa designates as primary (mukhya), he includes only one of the original eight given by Bharata, the rasa of erotic love (sdrngdra, here called madhura), together with a ninth, sdnta, the "peaceful" rasa, which was later added to the eight and ele- vated by Abhinava to a position of supremacy.25 Underlying these two differences is a more fundamental one: Rfipa's theory refers not simply to earthly dramas, but to a cosmic play, the eternal lild of Krishna with Radha and the other inhabitants of Vrndavana. The entire Vraja lild is understood to be occurring continually in an unmanifest (aprakata) form in the "heavenly" Vrnddvana (De:238, 248-249, 343- 348). The devotee is to live each day in a state of constant absorption in this eternal drama, which is ultimate reality for the Bengali Vais- nava. The subject of Rfipa's work is thus not primarily aesthetic experience-even in the sense in which that experience is understood by Abhinava and others as prefiguring by analogy the ultimate experience of liberation (moksa)26-but rather religious experience, bhakti toward the Lord conceived largely through the categories of dramatic analysis.

Because Rfipa is interested in the development of enduring relations of love between devotees and the Lord, he subordinates seven of the eight rasas of the classical theory to five rasas that designate such ideal relations. These he further differentiates from the seven-which he declares to be ephemeral (sdmayika, BRS 11.5.33), thus effectively demoting them to the position of transient emotions-by asserting that they are in reality a single rasa because of the unity of rati, the love that inheres in all of them as their sthdyibhdva.27 He then presents

25 The eight rasas are listed in NS VI.15 and in De, History of Sanskrit Poetics 11,23. For the ninth, see Masson and Patwardhan, 1969. 26 See Masson and Patwardhan, 1969, esp. 153-164. 27 BRS 11.5.87. Here and elsewhere we see the primary importance of love in Ripa's

theory. Cf. BRS 11.5.35.



the five in a graded series (BRS 11.5.26, 88) and illustrates them with examples drawn primarily from the Bhdgavata Purdna.

Rfipa lists the five chief bhdvas, relational modes that may be experienced as rasas by the sensitive devotee,28 in the order of increasing intimacy. Least intimate is that of sdnta, the "peaceful" mode in which one contemplates the Lord in his exalted nature (ifasvarfipa, elsewhere referred to as aisvarya, lordly majesty) (BRS 111.1.6-7). The somewhat closer relation of ddsya, that of a servant to a master, is expressed through attitudes of humility and obedience (BRS 111.2.13). The third relation, however, sakhya, "friendship," is characterized by mutuality and thus by the absence of the respect so prominent in the first two. In the fourth bhdva, vdtsalya, "parental affection," the ine- quality is reversed, and the devotee experiences Krishna as an adora- ble child. Finally, the highest relation, culminating in madhura bhaktirasa, is a transfiguration of srngdra rasa, the "sentiment" or "mood" of erotic love, which is the most important rasa of classical Sanskrit poetry and drama. The gopis of Vraja are the exemplars of this rasa, and of these Rfipa explicitly designates Radha as supreme (BRS 111.5.3, 5, 9). Although Rfipa clearly values each of the five bhaktirasas, he gives by far the most attention to the highest and most intimate of the five, madhura, dedicating an entire treatise, the Ujivalanflamani, to its detailed exposition, and centering each of his three dramas upon this devotional mode.29

It is hardly necessary to argue that rasa in Rfipa's writings is a religious term, for he uses it in compound with bhakti, and he considers the experience of bhaktirasa to be the highest ideal of the religious life.30 The extent to which Rfipa's theory is simultaneously a valuation of aesthetics is perhaps less obvious. Witnessing the performance of a classical Sanskrit drama such as Kalidasa's Sakuntald would not be a religious experience for Rfipa, or even an experience preparatory to final realization, as it might well be for Abhinava. Yet Rfipa did not appropriate the rasa theory simply in order to have a framework for talking about bhakti. On the contrary, his conception of devotion is a fundamentally aesthetic one, in which the development of bhakti toward the Lord involves a gradual refining and intensifying of emotion through repeated encounters with the eternal drama of Krishna and his close associates in Vraja. Rfipa repeatedly describes this lild and all its components as beautiful, and the highest form of bhakti in

28 Most of these relations have come to be known by the names of their bhdvas rather than by those of their corresponding rasas. 29 This paragraph and the preceding three are based on Wulff, 1984:26-28. 30 Rfipa distinguishes rdgdnugd bhakti, devotion that has as its inspiration the sponta-

neous love for Krishna of his closest associates in Vraja, from vaidhi bhakti, that which follows the injunctions set forth in authoritative texts (BRS 1.2.4-5; 69-71).



his view involves developed aesthetic sensibility as well as depth of religious emotion.

The convergence of aesthetics and devotion that found formal expression in Rfipa's treatises culminates a process long underway in India. At least as early as the Harivamns'a and the Alvars' hymns, Krishna and his deeds were seen as charming, and various art forms, especially drama, dance, poetry, and song, were employed to make this beauty manifest. Beginning in the twelfth century with Jayadeva's "dramatic lyrical poem" (Miller:9, cf.15-16), the Gftagovinda, we find an increasing number of Sanskrit works, alongside a rich profusion of vernacular forms, that expressed and nourished Krishna devotion. Riipa thus gave systematic formulation to an aesthetic mode of piety that had ancient roots and that has continued to flourish, shaped in part by his theoretical works as well as by his own dramas.31

Conclusion The preceding analysis of rasa in the works of Abhinava and Rfipa

shows how integrally related they saw the aesthetic and the religious to be. To illustrate this relation further, let us consider the way in which some Indians respond to the writings of the great fifth-century poet and dramatist Kalidisa. Although he has commonly been regarded by scholars as a secular author, Kalidasa took the love of Siva and Parvati as the theme of one of his major works, the Kumdrasamhava, and his poetry and dramas are filled with sophisticated allusions to passages from earlier religious texts. Moreover, when Indians steeped in the classical Sanskrit literary tradition quote verses from Kalidasa's writings, they often do so with a reverence- indeed rapture-that suggests a profound spiritual involvement with these works. Possessing the power to mediate the transcendent, to transport its hearers temporarily beyond the cares and distractions of the workaday world, to communicate a sustained and inspiring vision that organizes and transforms mundane experience, such writing must surely be deemed religious. I would in fact argue that the recollection and savoring of Kalidasa's verses is no less a religious act for certain Hindus than the recitation of a mantra or the adorning of an image is for others.32 It is therefore significant that nowhere in our current 31 For a detailed study of one of Rfipa's dramas and its relation to earlier texts of

Krishna devotion, see Wulff, 1984a. 32Three such rasikas ("connoisseurs") come immediately to mind: Professor J.L.

Mehta, formerly of the Department of Philosophy of Banaras Hindu University and Harvard Divinity School, Pandit Ambika Datta Upadhyaya of Banaras, and Dr. Prem Lata Sharma, Head of the Department of Musicology, Banaras Hindu University. Nor is such an aesthetic mode limited to Sanskrit poetry; many Bengalis, for example, respond in much the same way to the poetry of Rabindranath Tagore.



introductions to the Hindu tradition is such literature mentioned. It would indeed seem that in a sophisticated Hindu's contemplation of Kalidasa's verses, the aesthetic and the religious converge in the direc- tion of that ultimate unity toward which the writings of Abhinavagupta point.

In addition to showing that rasa is a religious category as well as an aesthetic term for both Abhinava and Ripa, the foregoing has aimed to demonstrate the value of studying two types of material often ignored by historians of religion. First, we need to devote systematic inquiry to works on aesthetic theory, in India and elsewhere, as a source of insight into a realm of existence that has for many persons held religious importance. In the case of Abhinava, the relation between the religious views and ritual practices surveyed in his Tan- trdloka and his writings on aesthetics merits full exploration. Equally, we must give more attention to aesthetic forms, especially to those acknowledged as avenues of religious insight or devotion. But a work of music, poetry, drama, or visual representation that has formerly been regarded as purely secular may also reveal something of its author's religious vision and serve as a source of inspiration for its audi- ence or viewers.

Our study of Abhinava and Rfipa has revealed the distortions and severe limitations that result from an uncritical assumption that the religion/art dichotomy is valid for the study of the Hindu tradition. We must therefore abandon this dichotomy if we wish to discern and portray the richness of the religious life of India as well as of other cultures, past and present.33

REFERENCES ABh Abhinavabhdrati. In Masson and Patwardhan (1970) I; II:

passim.

33 This article was written for a conference honoring Wilfred Cantwell Smith that was held at Harvard University's Center for the Study of World Religions in June of 1979. It reflects his teaching and example both in its detailed treatment of a single religiously significant term and in its advocacy of sensitivity to the religious significance of art. I dedicate it to him with gratitude for his continuing inspiration.

I would also like to thank Daniel H.H. Ingalls, whose helpful comments on an earlier draft resulted in some significant refinements in my treatment of Abhinavagupta, and Gary Tubb, who helped me clarify certain key issues in Abhinava's thought on aesthetics. I am also grateful to Wendell Dietrich and Jack Hawley, who read an early draft and encouraged me to publish it.



Biumer, Bettina 1978 "Die Unvermitteltheit der hochsten Erfahrung bei

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Wulff, Donna M. 1984 Drama as a Mode of Religious Realization: The

Vidagdhamddhava of Rdpa Gosvdmi Chico, CA.: Schol- ars Press.

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Article Contentsp. [673]p. 674p. 675p. 676p. 677p. 678p. 679p. 680p. 681p. 682p. 683p. 684p. 685p. 686p. 687p. 688

Issue Table of ContentsJournal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol. 54, No. 4 (Winter, 1986), pp. 643-834Volume Information [pp. 825-834]Front Matter [pp. 643-810]Rationality and Religion: Problems in the Comparison of Modes of Thought [pp. 645-671]Religion in a New Mode: The Convergence of the Aesthetic and the Religious in Medieval India [pp. 673-688]Simone Weil and Feminist Spirituality [pp. 691-704]Negative Hermeneutics, Insubstantial Texts: Stanley Fish and the Biblical Interpreter [pp. 707-719]I. A. Dorner: The Ethical Immutability of God [pp. 721-738]The Use of Blake and the Recovery of Fideism [pp. 741-757]Book ReviewsReview: untitled [pp. 761-762]Review: untitled [pp. 762-764]Review: untitled [pp. 764-765]Review: untitled [pp. 765-766]Review: untitled [pp. 766-767]Review: untitled [pp. 767-769]Review: untitled [pp. 769-771]Review: untitled [pp. 771-772]Review: untitled [pp. 773-775]Review: untitled [pp. 775-776]Review: untitled [pp. 776-777]Review: untitled [pp. 777-778]Review: untitled [pp. 778-781]Review: untitled [pp. 781-782]Review: untitled [p. 783]Review: untitled [pp. 783-785]Review: untitled [pp. 785-786]Review: untitled [pp. 787-788]Review: untitled [pp. 789-790]Review: untitled [pp. 790-791]Review: untitled [pp. 791-792]Review: untitled [pp. 792-794]Review: untitled [p. 794]Review: untitled [pp. 794-795]Review: untitled [pp. 795-796]Review: untitled [pp. 796-798]Review: untitled [pp. 798-799]Review: untitled [pp. 799-800]Review: untitled [pp. 800-801]Review: untitled [pp. 801-802]Review: untitled [pp. 802-804]Review: untitled [pp. 804-805]Review: untitled [pp. 805-807]

Books Received [pp. 811-822]Back Matter [pp. 823-824]

donna wulf religion aesthetic india

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