Popular Culture Review
98
Purandaradasa:
Will the dirt of Karma go, if you wash the
skin?
Why do you not understand the true
meaning of things?
No dirt can be washed off till the mind gets
washed.
Of what use is the dipping of one’s body in
the waters;
when devotion is not firm in the mind?
Dasa asks who among the three wishes well
of you;
woman, land, or plentitude of wealth?
Kanakadasa:
They talk of kula [caste], times without
number.
Pray, tell me, what is the kula of men, who
have felt real bliss.
When a lotus is bom in mire, do they not
bring it,
and offer it to the Almighty!
Do not the gods of the ear&, drink milk,
which comes from the flesh of the cow?
Do they not besmear, their bodies with deer
musk?
What is the caste of God Narayana? and
Shiva?
What is the caste of Atman? and of Jiva?
Why talk of kula, when God has blessed
you.
These are only a few examples of the writings of the saint-philosophers
from the north and the south parts of India. Through their poetry and songs, they
tried to impart all kinds of social, moral, and spiritual lessons to the masses.
Change Factors and Modern Trends
Along with devotional tendencies, some atheistic, materialistic, and
naturalistic tendencies have also been a part of Indian popular culture since very
early times. When Aryan rituals became predominant (2500-800 B.C.), popular
Indian culture also became heavily ritualistic, and Brahmins dominated most
aspects of societal living and functioning. During the Upnashadic period (800600 B.C.), the whole Indian tradition became knowledge-based, and popular
Indian tradition also followed suit. Attainment of gyana (knowledge of self and
God) became the preoccupation of ordinary people and the main target of their