By Sukalpa Bhattacharjee
Myths generally symbolize a set of stories that give meaning to people’s lives-of their origin, their pride, their predicament, their beliefs and their histories. In all societies, of course with variations myths and mythologies have affected religious practices and world views. Myths have formed the basis of political ideologies and aspirations in India and elsewhere and have also guided, informed, shaped, and/ or challenged views of ethnicities and identities. One of such myths is the coming of Mother Durga (as devotees call her) every year as a reiteration of the supremacy of female energy. According to the myth, Goddess Durga is a collective creative effort and a culmination of several energies of various male gods who have gifted her with several weapons to kill the invincible demon called Mahishasur (one who comes out of the buffalo whom the goddess kills). So in the long narrative of the battle between the demon and the goddesss, she deploys several weapons through her ten hands -the spear, the disc, conch and noose, thunderbolt, sword and shield, etc.- all meant for defeating the demon who symbolizes evil power. What is to be noted is that this demon through penance had received a special boon from Lord Brahma., that no male in the universe would be able to kill him and hence the need for the creation of an unmatched female energy through Goddess Durga. This establishes the unique myth of goddess Durga – the goddess of power and strength, a multi-dimensional goddess, with many names, many personas, and many facets.
Myths are supposed to have a bearing on the social order and in the minds of the believers who revisit and recreate it at a certain time of the year. But what is ironic is the terrible disconnect between the myth of supreme female energy and our social and cultural belief system. The myth of goddess Durga is not only ‘sacred’ for believers but true and universal. But what is more true in our social belief structure is the myth of patriarchy- of the ‘lack’ of many virtues and skills that a woman is condemned to be born with against the indomitable power of the phallus.(Aristotle had described women as a deformed man). Patriarchy can be generally defined as a system of society or government in which men hold the power and women are largely excluded from it. The question is, how does it become (im)possible to accommodate two parallel and contradictory myths in the society? On the one hand the myth of universal patriarchy undermines, marginalizes and subverts women’s aspirations and capacities through the logic of a biological ‘lack’ that a woman is born with. On the other hand the religious core of the same patriarchal society is largely based on the myth of goddess Durga who comes to her believers every year to cleanse the world of the evil and protect her believers. The symbol of this goddess creates awe and aura because she has performed the almost impossible task of conquering the invincible evil energy, all alone. Dressed in imperial red saree and adorned with gold ornaments at the alter during the pujas , the ‘mother’ looks stunningly beautiful. Surely this is not ‘any woman’ with whom we live or see next door, because every other mortal appears so tiny in form and capacity in comparison to her. All heads bow down before her splendour. The myth of her victory made possible through the meticulous execution of the effects of the weapons she used with her ten hands has resulted in the coinage of the term “dashabhuja’ meaning a woman with ten hands. In popular proverb a woman who does multi-tasking is called “dashabhuja’ .Therefore the Mother comes every autumn, instilling hope of redemption in her devotees. One knows that the essence of Durga Puja is much beyond the spiritual core of this myth, which manifests itself in economic and cultural extravaganza, particularly in metropolitan centres. New companies, showrooms, brands are launched and music albums are released. Like all other festivals Durga Puja also resonates with light, joy, warmth and life. What emerges as a disturbing thought amidst a plethora of celebrations in this season of festivities is the denial of the actual significance of this occasion.
The disconnect between myth and reality is not something unique only in this case but in several other sacred practices of various communities. In fact there has always been such a disconnect between the representation of women in myths, mythologies , literatures and folklore and the women who exist in society. Critiquing such a hypocritical disconnect critics and thinkers have inferred that women have always existed as fiction and fantasy in their idealized form in male imagination- far removed from the woman on the ground. Otherwise why in a subcontinent , that has the highest number of female goddesses with supreme powers in the mythological canvas, average women (which obviously excludes the small percentage of economically and politically privileged women) lead a life of deprivation of her basic rights as a human being, suffers exclusion or non-acceptance in various spheres of public life(in political and religious bodies) and suffers from induced and imposed guilt (for not bearing or bearing only female child). Of course everyone is not and cannot be like the mythical mother goddess but there is a bit of goddess Durga in every ordinary woman, in her tremendous capacity to confront evil patriarchal gaze, in her daily struggle at home and on the streets to live a life of dignity and bodily integrity in a predatory world. Believers should remember that every woman inherits a bit from the mythical mother in her capacity to bear, nurture and love her progeny despite the crisis in her own life. Like Durga the average woman mostly lives for others, even at the cost of her own destruction .Only if believers are able to acknowledge and appreciate the mini durgas around them-at home, in the streets and elsewhere fighting her lonely battle against an evil and cruel world and trying to perform and to do justice to both voluntary and imposed roles on her, both ‘at home’ and ‘in the world’- it would be worth celebrating Durga puja in the real sense.
Joseph Campbell’s book The Power of Myth, which was published in 1988 states that we now exist in a Post-Narrative Society, where ” the society/ civilization loses its ability to construct a meaningful narrative about itself”. At the individual level there is a personal disconnection from the stories and myths which have been the basis of our civilization since its beginning. Campbell thinks that a global mythology inspired by the flow of a culture of information has disrupted and distorted the inherent spiritual lessons and meaning in our myths. Perhaps this is why, despite our claim to uniqueness of culture and values manifested through our mythical past, we are no longer able to practice the mythical values in our lives. Therefore the mother comes every year, only to be more pained of ” What man has made of man?” in the emerging global mythology that celebrates violence and atrocities on the weak other-women, children and subalterns.
The author teaches English at NEHU Shillong and can be contacted at [email protected]