‘Seeking the Infinite’: Devotion and longing in Madhu Raghavendra’s poems seeking the divine

The cover of Madhu Raghavendra’s Seeking the Infinite reflects the author’s symbolic devotion to Shiva. Offering the blue-toned water-colored cover, perhaps a co-relative of the Neelkanth flower, the poet (read: artist) seeks the blessing of the Infinite for a meditative phase of purity, devotion and to let go of materialistic desire. Since the book is dedicated to “bhakti” and “art”, the reader immediately begins to wonder how the “daily course of our lives” can offer “atma-nivedana”, “reminding the permanence of infinity and the transitoriness of our bodily self” and establish “sakhyatva” or “friendship with the divine”.

The poet asks the readers: what can an artist offer other than his art? But when deep in devotion, the artist feels insignificant in front of the infinite and asks if he can greet this entity even on days when he has “nothing to offer”.

Search for the Infinite

Wondering if at all he can offer jackfruit from trees, it dawns on him that the fruit is yet to ripen and “still holds on to the trunk”, separating him from the infinite, leaving him yet lonely again. Moving on in search, he compares his feeling to “painted frescoes”, the elephant who “waits patiently collecting bananas from a passerby”, bird that chews “the wire cage”, the futile task of collecting “mushrooms after the thunderstorm”; only to realise that as long as he attaches himself to the illusions of the surrounding, he will be burdened with the “weight of the dancing beads”.

The poet realises that the devotee is always waiting. Just as the leaf holds to its branch till the end, he too holds onto the divine like a performer awaiting an audience. Alas, both the devotee and artist have to bind themselves with the thread of hope that behaves like a “creeper that feels like hugging” only to realise they “don’t have to answer every question”.

Raghavendra continues his search for the infinite by deriving inspiration from artists who surrender themselves to be driven by the “skin of time”. Resonating the strength of the elemental forces, the artist continues to await the Infinite, believing that “what is due will come to you”.

Amidst the paradoxical existence, every day everything seems “little uncooked”, “getting cold waiting”, but the pulley of hope allows the rope to slip off “the bucket down the well”, only to reaffirm the belief that the Infinite will appear someday because for the devotee, “seeking is about giving”. The poet compares his compassion to Yudhistir’s dog. The analogy depicts the thirst of the devotee who wonders if he can ever get a glance of the Infinite.

He reinforces the value of meditation and how one must engage in yogic practices to unite with the universe. The poet draws attention to understanding the passion of artists who use their instruments as a medium of prayer. He feels the presence and initiates conversations that are “pointless, structureless, reasonless, calenderless” till he feels at home – the space where he is truly himself.

Becoming one

This feeling empowers him to comprehend the cosmic energy of the Divine. The poet tries to negotiate the strength of the snake that coils around Shiva’s neck. It is symbolic of time, space, protection, destruction and creation. Yet, the poet feels a nearness to this being. To attain this, he realises that he needs to lose his fear “of action”, “of withering”, “of death”. The poet urges readers to “discover and submit” themselves to leave behind the world of illusion and to perceive the ultimate truth.

The poet also touches upon the teachings of Buddhism. He reminds the readers that submission is the ultimate “moksha”. He eulogises upon a “hungry beggar” awaiting the lotus of knowledge to bloom. The seeker also tries to unmask the “ageless aches of love”. Travelling through the ancient past, he reflects on the “misery of our cosmetic self” in contemporary times.

Using allusion, intertextual references, metaphors, similes, and symbolism woven through acts of devotion, this collection of poems is an expression of the poet’s “dhyana” as he tries to yearn for the ultimate truth and reality. To him, the Divine is an omnipresence that provides the artist with his life force. Raghavendra undertakes a journey that tests the patience of the seeker before he can feel one with the Divine creator.

Gitanjali Roy is an Assistant Professor in the Department of English, Faculty of Liberal Arts, ICFAI University, Tripura. She has co-edited Orality, Folk and History in the 21st Century with Sayantan Thakur.

Seeking the Infinite, Madhu Raghavendra, Red River Press.