This blog is in response to a thinking activity given by Megha ma'am. In this Blog I am going to write about my understanding of "Transcendentalism".
New England Transcendentalism was a religious, philosophical, and literary movement that began to express itself in the 1830s and continued through the 1840s and 1850s. For several reasons, Transcendentalism is not easy to define. Transcendentalism encompasses complex ideas; its beliefs are tinged with a certain mysticism; and significant differences of interpretation existed among people who considered themselves Transcendentalists.
The movement known as transcendentalism began in the 1820s in the eastern United States as a rebellion against the common intellectual and spiritual beliefs of the time. Influenced by Eastern religions such as Hinduism, European art, and the philosophical movement known as Romanticism, transcendentalists believed that individuals were basically good but had been corrupted by society. They believed organizations like churches and political parties had poisoned people's inherent goodness and that humans must transcend this state by turning inward and focusing on individual reason and self-reliance.
The movement began with a group of writers and thinkers in Massachusetts, including Ralph Waldo Emerson, Frederic Henry Hedge, and Margaret Fuller, who published their philosophy in the journal The Dial. They attracted many followers, some of whom even attempted to set up communal living colonies based on transcendentalist principles.
Literary Legacy
Though these colonies and the transcendentalist movement itself died out by the mid-19th century, transcendentalist ideas would have a lasting influence on American thought and literature. Credit is due to the writings of Emerson and his disciple Henry David Thoreau, who would become two of the most important American literary figures of the 19th century. Transcendentalist ideas are discussed in Emerson's essays, most famously ''Self-Reliance,'' and Thoreau's beloved book Walden, an account of his time spent living alone in the woods. Transcendentalist ideas had a major influence on later movements that attempted to rebel against society and return to nature, including the counterculture and environmentalist movements of the 1960s and 1970s.
The core beliefs of Transcendentalists generally include the following: The importance of a direct relationship with God and with nature.
Belief in a kind of cosmic unity between mankind, God, and nature sometimes called the Oversoul which is a divine spirit or mind present in each and every person and in all of nature.
A sense of dignity and importance of human activity as expressions of the divine. And a belief in an individual's power to bring about personal improvement and social change in harmony with God's purposes.
The belief that truth is innate in all of creation and that knowledge of truth is intuitive.
Thoreau's life and writings are a great example of Transcendentalism. You may have studied about his decision to move away from the comforts of modern life to live alone in a small cabin in the woods of Walden Pond. He did this in order to get more in touch with nature and to test his beliefs. He believed that by being alone with nature, away from outside influences, he would better be able to understand universal truths present in nature and find wisdom for everyday life. Other people might turn to a religious leader or political figure for guidance, but Transcendentalists put the highest value in discovering truths for oneself.
Some movies based on Transcendentalism:-
1.Dead Poets Society:(1989)
As you watch Dead Poets' Society, look for characters who share some of the beliefs outlined above. How would someone who believes in a personal, intuitive path to truth approach poetry? Rather than being handed a book with step-by-step instructions for how to understand poems, a Transcendentalist wants to read and interpret the poems for himself just like Robin Williams' character when he rips the instruction section right out of the textbook. Take a closer at his character and the influence he has on his students and you'll find more examples of the Transcendentalist world view.
The movie, Dead Poet Society, was a very well made movie. The film was about teenage boys that are inspired by their teacher, Mr. Keating, who makes them think for themselves, and find their own way in society. This film has many different ideals of transcendentalism including non-conformity, excelling, and open mindedness. One of the most prominent aspects of transcendentalism in Dead Poet Society is non-conformity. In “Self-reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson, whom is a transcendentalist author, he converses about conformity. According to Emerson, conformity takes away a person's individualism. This quote from Emerson’s “Self Reliance” explains his thoughts on conformity, “Society everywhere is in conspiracy against the manhood of every one of its members…. The virtue in most request is conformity. Self-reliance is its aversion. It loves not realities and creators, but names and customs” (Emerson Self-Reliance)
Dead Poets Society Transcendentalism is about life in which nature and the soul connect. In the movie Dead Poet Society, one of the characters who shows transcendentalism in Neil Perry. In the movie the students quoted poems and had their alone time with nature. They also relied on themselves and sought the spiritual side of things. Throughout the movie, Neil went to a cave away from people. Furthermore, Neil’s friends joined him to have fun with the Dead Poets Society, a group Neil recreated after hearing that his professor, Mr. Keating, had been involved in when he was a student at Welton. Overall, Neil Perry was a great example of transcendentalism throughout the entire movie. One transcendental quality Neil possessed was his love for the beauty of words. Neil Perry was a good student; he wanted to do what was best for him and not what his mom and dad wanted.
For example, Neil loved words and acting. Neil quoted poetry and felt poetry was the highest form of creativity. At the beginning of every Dead Poets meeting, Neil would recite the following: “I went to the woods because I wanted to live deliberately. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life” (Leonard). This quote from Henry David Thoreau, the father of Transcendentalism, was a true testament to the type of person Neil was.
2.Into the Wild:(2007)
Into the Wild is author John Krakauer's 1996 nonfiction account of the life of Christopher McCandless. In 1990, after graduating from college, Chris McCandless got rid of most of his possessions, left his friends and family, and began a two-year odyssey across the United States. His journey ended with an attempt to hike the formidable Stampede Trail in Alaska and live off the land. Unable to find food, McCandless died alone in the wilderness in 1992.
John Krakauer is a mountain climber who spent time exploring the Alaskan wilderness alone. In Into the Wild, he retraces Chris McCandless' steps through interviews with his family and the people he met on his journey, attempting to better understand his motivations and the circumstances that led to his death. As an adventurer himself, Krakauer feels a bond with McCandless.
Both Chris McCandless and John Krakauer were heavily influenced by the philosophy of transcendentalism, a 19th-century movement believed in the goodness of the individual as compared to society and championed a return to nature and self-reliance. Many literary critics have argued that Into the Wild is a modern example of transcendentalist literature which should take its place alongside classics such as ''Self-Reliance'' by Ralph Waldo Emerson and Walden by Henry David Thoreau.
Finding oneself has always been an important discovery that everyone must experience in their lifetime. In the book, Into The Wild by Jon Krakauer, Chris McCandless abandoned all he knew and set out on a journey across the country. Along the way, Chris’ beliefs about the spirituality and sacredness of the natural world, led him to find himself. Following these ideals and morals, Chris McCandless was a transcendental idealist who was able to fulfill his dreams.
3.Wild:(2014)
Nature is an elusive entity; an aspect of life that has mystified us with its insurmountable beauty, promised us peaceful solitude and transcendental freedom for those willing to attain it, and has served up harsh realities due to its unforgiving changes that prove that underestimating its force can be a tragic downfall. It seems nature falls into two varying spectrums, the first being a romanticized acceptance of nature as an Eden that grants us salvation from our first-world industrialized lives and the second serving as a warning that nature is not only uncontrollable, it’s a struggle that takes you to the very edge of death itself. It’s a point of view that has the pioneering thoughts of Thoreau, Emerson, and Worsdworth on one side and the real life experiences of Aaron Ralston and Christopher McCandless on the other who in 127 Hours and Into the Wild respectively represent how nature can conquer the self instead of revitalizing it.
This isn’t the intention, though, behind Jean-Marc Vallée’s latest film Wild which seeks to show that although the struggle with nature is very real that in itself can serve as a transcendental rebirth of self. Based on the true memoir of Cheryl Strayed, Wild is an Augustinian confession of personal acceptance rather than moral salvation, where the sins, resentment, and mistakes of the past are cleansed through a thoroughly risky, unbearably painful, and exceptionally beautiful journey of rediscovery. Unlike Ralston and McCandless, Strayed knows the dangers that lie ahead, knows she’s completely unprepared, and is daunted by the impossible task of trekking the entire Pacific Crest Trail. And yet that’s the poetic, soulful point of this beautiful, tragic, and slightly flawed film, that life itself is a journey no one can prepare for whether it’s the sudden craters of losing a loved one, the cracks and deviations on the path of relationship foundations, or the temptations of leaving the path you’ve chosen for easy fixes on the journey.
It’s an emotively potent yet slightly aimless in messaging film that shows the maturation of Vallé even if Wild shares the same elusive flaws as his previous film Dallas Buyers Club as they both adopt a congenial and inoffensive tone to portray a pseudo-psychological fable about the fall from grace and the rise to redemption.
Cheryl Strayed’s memoir is sort of like the demented cousin of Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Eat Pray Love” in the sense that while they both share a familial root in presenting an entirely intimate feminine portrayal of what it’s like to be confined in a defined societal trap “Eat Pray Love” is entirely masturbatory and whiny in its self-congratulations while “Wild” is a tale of authentic grit and honest self-reflection. This personal redemption story of a flawed individual accepting those mistakes as markers in the path of life is a befitting topic for screenwriter Nick Hornby whose own novels ranging from “High Fidelity” to “About a Boy” are about unfocused, disillusioned, and damaged characters seeking to set their paths straight. Hornby’s adaptation is one of honest guidance where Strayed’s original novel in all of its painful occurrences, grief centered motivations, and obtained through suffering revelations are captured with a sympathetic, nonjudgmental, and naturally blemished presentation. We first meet Cheryl (Reese Witherspoon) about to embark on her 1,000 mile hike with a bag so gargantuan in hilarity that it’s clearly a symbolic metaphor towards the baggage she’s carrying from her previous life onto the trail which eventually becomes more compact as she becomes more confident, learned, and accepting of what she actually needs in her journey and symbolically her life.
It’s a story of isolated solitude and a self-induced detox from the pain, mistakes, and torments that reality brings with it as Cheryl’s random encounters with strangers along the way both pleasant and potentially dangerous and her physical environment interactions bring with them flashbacks of those worldly weights that are freed from her shoulders every time they emerge from her subconscious. Hornby balances these heavy moments of tragedy and the tarnishing of self-help clichés with some witty moments and humorous breaks, such as the impromptu interview with Cheryl from a traveling reporter of the Hobo Times that makes you laugh in all of its absurdity. All in all Hornby’s adaptation of Wild is a serviceable and agreeable interpretation of Cheryl Strayed’s words and experiences that only occasionally gets frayed from its montage heavy flashbacks, convenient voice over heavy ending, and its rather simplistic themes that could have used a tad more nuance as was exercised in Strayed’s original novel.
But Wild’s flaws aren’t entirely noticeable in its elegant and straightforward filmic style that Jean-Marc Vallée has developed over the years with similar invisibly flawed films from The Young Victoria to last year’s Dallas Buyers Club. All of these films have earnest intentions, credibly emotive deliveries, and appropriately paced running times that make their beautiful moments shine far brighter than the canned, prepackaged sentiments that reside at the core of their seemingly significant surfaces.
This might seem like an overt and callous criticism, but in fact it’s an acknowledgment of Vallée’s talents as a Robert Zemeckis, Ron Howard, and James Cameron like filmmaker that allows the manipulation of emotion to be the core driver of his films making them resoundingly relatable and heartbreakingly resonant despite the fact that they may not ever enter the realm of timeless relevance. It’s a style of simple histrionic tricks aided mostly by pristine cinematography, effective editing, and of course a centerpiece performance that brings the film’s expressiveness to an inspiring whole. Throughout Wild Vallée utilizes the gorgeous cinematography of Yves Bélanger (Laurence Anyways, Dallas Buyers Club) that captures the wonders of nature through its digital lens just as authentically as it lingers on painful images, such as Strayed removing a damaged toenail from her bloody foot. It’s this blend of beauty and pain that makes it such an effectively manipulative experience of overwhelming determination and desperate resilience in the face of doubt showing that Vallée comes ever closer as a mature filmmaker to bring us slightly into the psyche of his subject instead of relying on our preconceived notions of sympathy towards stories of struggle.
There’s some beauty to be found in the momentarily sporadic editing from Martin Pensa and Vallée himself, but there’s also a missed opportunity to paint an entire portrait of a character where certain characters of influence get left behind and a thorough understanding of them and their impact on Cheryl would heighten the impact of why she must leave all that behind. However, flaws within a story about a flawed individual seem almost necessary to the process and though Wild doesn’t feel in the end as a completely thought out film from Vallée it certainly shows us a filmmaker maturing in his talents, especially in directing his core subjects in the realm of acting.
Certainly the pilgrimage theme of walking to find something more has been a cultural interest for centuries and Strayed’s memoir follows this idealistic insight whether she considered its hackneyed origins or not in her own travels. And yet, Strayed’s account goes slightly beyond that convention because it’s a thoroughly reflective and moralistically vague confession of self which Vallée’s film only approaches on its surface of importance instead of treading into the artistic depths of challenging thematic potential.
Wild might be in the end a feel good Hollywood production of typical three act generalities and the pop-psychology slant towards the typical fall from grace and found in redemption tale that has been done on numerous occasions before. However, Wild has an emotional grounding that is clearly sought out through the maturing direction of Vallée and the effectively condensed script of Nick Hornby making the audience sympathetic in Strayed’s resilient spirit, daunting determination, and flawed desperation.
It’s a film filled with minor flaws reflecting on the subjective experience of an equally flawed protagonist that borders on the edge of being an instruction guide while having momentary hints at a higher end of being a thought-provoking experience on what it means to really be free. Wild might not change your life, but it certainly has enough to be discovered in its typical existence to make you think there might be more out in the world to be experienced and more within yourself to be engaged and that’s an important takeaway to note.
That's it for today's blog. Thank you so much for reading this blog. I know this blog is very long but I choose to write more and more about movies which are somewhere connected with Transcendentalism. Another movie connected with transcendentalism is “Eat Pray and Love”(2010). You can watch that movie to understand transcendentalism.
This blog is in response to a thinking activity given by our professor Dilip Baradhttps://blog.dilipbarad.com/2022/02/indian-poetics.html this is the link you can go there and see more detail about this task. In this Blog I am going to write about my understanding of Indian Poetics.
Our Department of English, MKBU and our HOD Dr. Dilip Barad sir arranged an Expert Lecture. Expert was Dr. Vinod Joshi sir. We have lectures from 5-01-2023 to 13-01-2023. We Invited Students from the Department of Gujarati.
Here, I am going to write about my understanding of different schools and their Thinker and their books where they mention about this topic.
RASA
I am participating in Teacher's day and I chose the topic 'Rasa Theory'. Here is my Video based on this theory.
-The study of Aesthetics deals with the realization of beauty in art its relish or enjoyment, and the awareness of joy that accompanies an experience of beauty.
-The rasa is accomplished as a result of the conjunction of Vibhava, Anubhav and Vyabhicharibhav. Bharat Muni was the first exponent of this school. According to him rasa is the essential of poetry. He talks about what makes a good drama. When Bharata Muni was writing at that time Novels were not available, people either wrote drama or poems.
He gave rasa theory in the book "Natya Shastra". Rasa Means taste or flavor or relish but metaphorically it means the emotional experience of beauty in poetry and Drama. Rasa is Juice or essence. For example, 'Abhigna Shakuntala'. He talks about artistic Juice or artistic pleasure. We get entertainment from Drama. It evokes rasa or joy in us. Rasa is derived from the union of different Bhava(Emotion/Mood).
-There are Four(4) Bhavas which result in rasa.
1.Sthayi Bhavas(Permanent or dominant moods)
2.Vyabhichari Bhavas(Temporary Emotion)
3.Vibhava Bhavas(Situations which are responsible, to bring out Sthayi bhavas they are stimuli. They are the causes which lead to Sthai Bhava.)
4.Anubhava(Effect seen upon the Character after the emotion arises)
-According to Rigveda there are six types of rasa but, later in Natyashastra we get a description of eight types of rasa. Each rasa has its own presiding which maybe a god or goddess and a specific Colour to indicate each of the rasa.
-8 Major kinds of Sthaibhavas (Permanent or dominant moods)
1. Rati(Love)
2.Hasya(Laughter)
3.Rudra(Fury, Extreme Anger)
4.Karuna(Compassions)
5.Bibhatsa(Disgusting)
6.Bhayanak(Horror)
7.Vira(Heroic mood)
8.Adhbhuta(Wonder)
9.Shanta(Peace or Tranquillity)
-Sthai Bhavas are the basis of rasa and are supreme among all the Bhavas.
*What is Anubhava?
-It is the effect seen upon the character after the emotions have been developed. It makes the spectators feel or experience the effect of Abhinaya by means of words and gestures. They are the emotional experienced by the characters.
For Example: Perspiration, change of Colour etc.
*What is Vibhava?
-They are situation which is responsible to bring out Sthaibhavas. There are two aspects:
1.Alambana
2.Udipana
- In the mind of the person to which the sthayi bhava begin as Alambana Vibhava. The spring season the moon lit night the soft breezes and the fragrance of flowers are the Udipana. Vibhava are stimuli or Situations which are responsible to bring out Sthaibhavas, it means what provoked you to feel sad about something.
Vibhava are stimuli or situations which are responsible to bring out Sthaibhavas, it means what provoked you to feel sad about something.
*What is Vyabhicari Bhavas?
Transitory/ Temporary, Mental states.
- They strike the mind in a feeling in the course of experiencing a permanent mood. They are 33 in number.
For Example: Passiveness(Nirveda), Weakness(Glani), Indolence(Alas), Depression(Dainya), Anxiety(Chinta), Despair(Visada).
-They spring out of the principal emotions and ultimately merge into it.
-So Indian Aesthetics is primarily concerned with the art forms like poetry, music and architecture however sculpture and painting are also studied under aesthetic theories.
VAKROKTI
This theory was developed by Kuntaka. Text in which he developed this theory was "Vakrokti Jivika". Vakrokti means a roundabout way of expressing not straight forward or indirect way. When you say a thing in a very different Manner.
Saying a word in indirect manner. poetry is marked with a roundabout turn of expression. How you can present the same idea in a very different manner. According to S.K.De. it is a kind of Heightened expression. Kuntaka defined it as the vital essence of poetry. It is important to poetic expression.
According to him inadequate expression and expression devoid of ideal are of no use. He calls a beautiful expression without a beautiful idea is dead. Vakrokti means a certain striking or charming mode of expression. To Kuntaka Vakrokti the only embellishment possible to the word and its meaning and all poetic figures are different manifestations of Vakrokti.
Kuntaka classifies Vakrokti into six(6) Levels of expression in poetry.
1. Phonetic Figurativeness
2. Lexical Figurativeness
3. Grammatical Figurativeness
4. Sentential Figurativeness
5.Contextual/Episodic Figurativeness
6. Compositional Figurativeness
What is "Vakrokti"?
In its general sense Kuntaka calls it,
"Vakroktireva vaidgdhyam bhangi bhaniti ruchyate"
By Vaidgahyam he means a skill of poetic composition of an able poet, Bhangi he means miraculous or beautiful, Bhaniti he means descriptive style. The two words central to his definition are Vichitra means...
a)Different from general meaning as found in the Shastra.
b)Statement different from common usage of word meaning.
c)Different from usage of word in general use.
and Prisidha: that means style used in customary practice and treatise. What is imperative for this miraculous and elegance is poetic dexterity, The poetic dexterity is nourished and developed in form of inherited or inborn faculty or instinct. Vakrokti presuppose genius on part of the, which is capable of pleasing sensitive hearts. Kuntaka further says:
"Sabdartho sahitau vakrakaviyaparshalini"
It is striking mode of speech from and transcending the ordinary everyday mode of speaking about a thing; it is speech that charm by the skill of the poet. He ridicules those who regard 'Svabhavokti' as an Alamkara and says that when in a so-called 'Svabhavokti' other figurers occur; there will always be 'Sankar'. Thus by Vakrokti he means peculiarity capable of producing extraordinary charm. That is another poetician of sanskriti Rajsekhar rightly stated..
"Neither is the ideas the point, nor the mere word, but the manner of expressing that idea in word is the thing that makes for poetry"
or else where he(Rajsekhar) remarked that...
"Things describes in poetry do not delight us and that it is poetic expression only which delight or disturbs us."
Having thus started his position in general terms, Kuntak proceeds to analyze various kinds of Vkrata or Ukti-Vaichitrya which are six in numbers and may be subdivided further.
All Poetry is or less oblique, there is no direct poetry."
-E.M.W.Tillyard.
Indeed, Kuntak belongs to that group of the author who having flourished after Anandvardhana's time, do not deny the concept of Dhvani, but try to explain it in term of already recognized ideas. Like Mahimnabhatt who attempts to settle the process of suggestion by the technical logical process of inference, kuntak lived in the interval between Anandvardhana who first championed the dhvani theory and mammate whose classical text book raised the theory to almost authority. Like mahimnabhatt again, Kuntak, as a follower of Bhamaha, Uudbhata and the Alamkara school, started a vigorous but short lived reactionary movement which wanted to go back to the old position in a somewhat original way by an attempt to reconcile new ideas with the old. In this lies the historical importance of kuntak's work.
ALAMKARA
Alamkara refers to “the figures of speech”- The word Alamkara stands for a thing of beauty. The rhetoricians deal with the alamkaras in detail and the poet use them profusely in their works. Alamkara has an ancient origin. The alamkara is the earliest and most sustained school which studies literary language and assumes that the focus of literariness is in the figure of speech in the mode of expression in the grammatical accuracy and pleasantness of sound. This does not mean that meaning is ignored. In fact structural taxonomies of different figures of speech are models of how meaning is cognized and how it is to be extracted from the text.
The theory of a/ankara seems to have influenced poetic com:positions in Sanskrit. Even the earliest Mahakavyas, as those of Asvaghosa seem to have followed some of the dicta incorporated in the teachings of the a/ankara theorists.1 What ever poetic theories came to be vogue, in actual practice poets seem I~ have had the alankara theory always in mind. Though the theory of alankaras was the oldest in literary speculation, and was superceeded by theories of rasa and dhvani. Yet a/ankara was a subject dealt with even by · 3 writers of comparatively recent times. For example, Mammata and Visvanatha, though they were followers of the rasa-dhavani theory, have devoted considerable space to a/ankaras. This would convey an idea of the extent of the influence that the a/ankara school exerted on poetry as well as on the theory of poetry.
The meaning of the term 'a/ankara' underwent several changes within the course of time. At first it was a generic term for ordinary figures of speech and of sound such as Upama rupaka, Yamaka etc. i.e. what we designate by the term 'a/ankara' today. By the time of Dandin, the term had acquireq a more extensive meaning and had come to designate any factor that produces poetic beauty (Kavyasobha} under this wide concept, everything that brought about poetic appeal (Kavyagunas) could be introduced. Then in next stage, Vamanause the term synonymous with entire beauty in poetry, i.e. Sundarya.4. Th1s gave the term a still wider connotation. Alongwith thischange of meaning the theory of a/ankara also developed. But the term lost all its wider significance and came to mean a generic term for the two types of figures, viz. arthalankaras and sahrlalankaras.
DHVANI
The theory of dhvani which came into limelight in the 9th century A.D. through its great exponent Anandavardhana dominated Indian poetics from the 9th to 12th century. Aestheticians of poetry were compelled to wake up from their dogmatic slumber and revise their notions about the older concepts of alamkara, guna and riti in the light of the theory of dhvani. They were compelled to recognise the fact that there could be live factors in poetry only in so far as they shed the feature of conventionality and shared in the feature of dhvanana which is integral to poetic inagination. As Bhjattatanta pointed out it alone can catch the infinite nuances of feeling and express it in ever new forms. Though earlier aestheticians of poetry like Vamana recognised that imagination is the main spring of poetry, they thought that alamkaras were the only expressive forms of imagination. An aesthetician like Bhamaha clearly recognised that some alamkaras were vyanga and as Dr. Krishnamurthy following Jagannatha Pandit points out, though Bhamaha did not use the word dhvani, he was clearly aware of Gunibhuta Vyanga. But what Vamana and Bhamaha did not clearly see was that the oblique turns of expression which all good poetry has is not limited to the thirty six alankaras.
Every part of speech and such small factors like even case endings and particles can at the touch of imagination, became pregnant with poetic meaning. This is a great discovery of Ananda and western poetics had to wa1t to make that discovery until the present century. Aestheticians of poetry subsequent to Ananda could no longer afford to be blind to this important discovery.
The theory of Dhvani was expounded as the most significant principles in literary criticism by the new school of critics headed by Anandavardhana. The Great Acarya Abhinava Gupta wrote an elaborate and authoritative commentary on the Dhvanya/oka where in he has explained all the implications involved in the theory with the aid of copious illustrations culled out from the whole range of Sanskrit literature and criticism. The masterly treatment of the subject by Anandvardhana combined with the authoritative Interpretation of it by Abhinavagupta was able to over come all opposition of theory by rival school and to elicit universal admiration and acceptance of it by later theorists.
To sum the estimate of Anandvardhana and his work Dr.K. Krishnamoorthy says :
Unlike the ancient writers on Sanskrit rhetoric who aimed at nothing more than the provision of elaborate systems of device, with ample, divisions and subd:Jisions capable of mechanical applications. Anandavardhana enunciated the i J broad general principles of poetry based on an insight into the psychology of hur.:Jn nature. Instead of viewing literature, as mere verbal artistry, mere meretriculusous glitter or glamour of expression and imagery, Anandvardhana I strikingly demonstrated that emotive and suggestive significance lsthe very soul I:, of poetry. By thoroughly explaining the linquistic and logical implications of the I! theory of Ohvani, he tried to secure for it the high place_of_h_onour in the eyes.of appreciators and thinkers alike. By properly defining the scope of Dhvani in relation to earlier concepts he was able to settle the precise importance of each in lierature.And he brought to bear up on hiswork, all the qualifications essential for a great literary critic. No wonder that his Dhvanyaloka came to be looked upon as the final authority in all literary matters by the subsequent writers on Sanskrit poetics. A striking original work it combines the merit of fullness with that of conciseness. It sums up and explains all the previous spectulations on the subject and 1-,ecomes in its turn the startingpoint of a number of brillaint text books on poetics. It is a great land-mark in the history of Sanskrit poetics dividing the whole raw·9 of criticism into two schools- the old and the new. It marks the terminations of the old school of criticism and heralds the birth of a modern school, modern in style, in theory and in approach.
GUNA-S AND DOSA-S
Dandin is considered as the founder of Guna Theory. His Kavyadarsa is the first authentic work dealing with Gunas in connection with the Riti otherwise known as Marga. Dandin says that whatever enhances the poetic beauty is its Alankara and in this view gunas are not different from Alankarasiii . Dandin admits the ten Gunas accepted by Bharatha. According to him there are two types of poetic composition – Marga viz. Vaidharbha and Goudiya. Between the two Vaidarbhamarga is perfect with all the ten Gunas while Gaudiya is characterised by two Gunas, Ojas and Kanthi. Just after the enumeration of ten Gunas, Dandin declares the soul of Vaidarbha marga is ten Gunas. It is because of that Dandin, though a follower of Riti and Alankara School is taken as the founder of Guna School.
RITI
Acharya Vamana who lived during the latter half of the 8th century A. D., was one of the most brilliant thinkers whose contribution to Indian literary criticism was unique and of lasting value. His philosophy-oriented investigation into the constitution and nature of a Kavya revealed certain strikingly new facts and factors. His analysis of a Kavya and treatment of its elements were highly imaginative and refreshingly original. Vamana’s Kavyalankara Sutra rises much above the routine treatises on the science of poetics, and justly claims to be regarded as the first attempt at evolving a philosophy of literary aesthetics. His contemplative mind regarded the Kavya as living human being, a charming young lady, and penetrated deeper and deeper into it until it could catch a glimpse of its Soul. Unlike his predecessors and most of his successors he presented his findings in the form of Sutras following the tradition of the Darsanas which sought to discover the Soul of things–the ultimate principle of the Universe.
He opened his treatise with the famous dictum: Kaavyam graahya malankaaraat; Soundarya malankaarah A Kavya becomes agreeable on account of Alankara and Alankara means Beauty. At the very outset Vamana struck a brilliantly original note by drawing a sharp distinction between Alankara as Beauty and Alankara as a figure of speech. Regarding the relation between Beauty and figures of speech, his views were at variance with those of his predecessors.
The factors that produced the Beauty of a Kavya were Alankaras. Vamana disagreed with Dandin and explained that Gunas produced the beauty of Kavya and that the Alankaras only brightened it.
It is here that Vamana introduced the idea of two kinds of beauty–the natural beauty which proceeded from the Gunas and the artificial beauty caused by the Alankaras. Vamana denoted natural beauty as Sobha and its heightened form as Soundarya.
he Riti school of Vamana appears to have enjoyed un-rivalled popularity for over a century. It is remarkable that it should have continued to enjoy almost the same amount of favour with the poets and lovers of poetry even after the rise of a formidable rival like the Dhwani school. The great Anandavardhana himself was compelled to pay a tribute to the concept of Riti and through it to its father, Vamana.
If, as Anandavardhana said, Vamana failed to grasp Dhwani clearly, Anandavardhana may be said to have failed to appreciate the significance of Riti fully. While Dhwani is the essense of the meaning of a Kavya, Riti is the essence of its very being. A Kavya cannot exist without Riti, while it can without Dhwani. Thus one can argue that Riti has greater claims over Dhwani to be the soul of the Kavya.
AUCHITYA
The principal of aucitya (appropriateness) had been indirectly reckoned with from the time of the earliest writers on the theory of poetry in Sanskrit. Bharata, the earliest known critic has been dealt at length on appropriateness in the way of speaking, modulation of voice, musical tunes, dress and make up all suiting to the Rasa and Bhava. Thus propriety or appropriatneness has been recognised as the secret of success of a dramatic performance or a poetic creation.
In the hands of Bhamaha, Dandin and Rudrata, the theory of aucitya flourished. In the treatment of alamkaras the term was used several time by Rudrata. Anandvardhana gave very high place to Aucitya: Kuntaka too gave important place to it ultimately, it was Ksemendra who lightend this concept to its extreme. He considered aucitya to be the jivita (life) of poetry. In his valuable treatise Aucityavicaracars: Ksemendra elaborated the view expressed in Dhavanyaloka. Ksemendra explains the terms Aucitya in the following way: that which is suited to a certain thing is called proper, ucita, the abstract notition of which is 'Aucitya', propriety, Between angin and anga, propriety is perfect harmony. This is the reason why Ksemendra considered it is the secret of poetic appeal. He says: ucitam prahuracaryah sadrsam kilayasya yat ucitasya ca yo bhavastadaucityam pracaksyato. "Aucitya is the condition of being proper when one thing befit another, or when things suit each other well and match perfectly, they may be said to be proper or appropriate. Such matching or fitting quality is aucitya. 1 Aucitya is harmony and in one aspect it is proportion between the whole and the parts, between the chief and the subsidiary. This perfection is all the morals and beauty in art. At the final stage of its formulation as a theory explaining the srcret of poetic appeal, Aucitya is stated to be the jivita, life-breath, bf poetry.
This Aucitya proportion and harmony on one side and appropriateness and adaption on the other, cannot be understood by itself but pre-supposes that to which all other things are harmonious and appropriate, viz. Rasa, the 'soul' of poetry.2 The principal of propriety is a vast and is appliable to various parts of Kavyangas (parts of poetry). They area: (word) Pada, Vakya (sentence) Prabhandhartha (meaning of composition) guna (excellences) alamkarana (figure of speech), rasa (rasa), Kriya (verb) Karaka (syntax) Linga (gender) vacana (number) visesaha (adjective) upasarga (prefix) Nipata (indiclinable), Kala (tense). desa (locality) Kula (family), vrtta (choice), tattva (truth) sattva (force), abhipraya(purpose), svabhava (reality), Sarasangra!Ja (winding up of sense). pratJblla (creative genius). avastha (stage), vicara (thought) nama (nomenclature). and as is benediction).
In his text Aucityavicaracharacha he has given detailed explanation of all these aspects of aucitya. The appropriateness and inappropriatness of each of the above mentioned aspect are explained. In his analysis he not only criticises the eminent writers but also bring inlight in own faults, which shows his sense of aesthetic judgement.
"The aim of poetry (or of any art for that matter) is communication - communication of feelings and experience. On the terminology of sanskrit literary criticism, this is rasa nispatti- evocation of rasa the process whereby the sahradhya blissfully lives though the sentiments and moods of the poet's Ji experience, presented through his creative abiity. Rasa is conveyed through the medium of suggestion (dhvani) and that alone; a task at which a grosser medium I like verbal expression invariable fails. Figures of speech, dictions, turns of expression, sound patterns, imagery are but accossories, whose employment with due concession to appropriateness (aucitya) would serve as conveyors of dhvani. More over, the rasa manifesting elements (vibhavas,etc.) discharge their:functions only when appropriately employed. Thus, within the bounds of rasa, dhvani and aucitya, the entire theory of aesthetics in sanskrit is comprehend"d.
Now the question arises weather aucitya should be considered as a separate school. As it has already been mentioned Ksemendra considered aucitya to be the jivita of poetry. With the same basis he says that all the components (a/ankara, raga, riti, dhvani and vakrokti) should be used appropriately then only the real essence of poetry is been brought.
This task is based on Flipped Learning based on "Existentialism".
First thing we need to understand what is flipped learning?
-While often defined simplistically as “school work at home and home work at school,” Flipped Learning is an approach that allows teachers to implement a methodology, or various methodologies, in their classrooms. To counter some of the misconceptions about this term, the governing board and key leaders of the Flipped Learning Network (FLN), all experienced Flipped Educators, have composed a formal definition of “Flipped Learning.” Explicitly defining the term may dispel some of the myths repeatedly promulgated by teachers, the media, and researchers. These Flipped Learning leaders also distinguish between a Flipped Classroom and Flipped Learning. These terms are not interchangeable. Flipping a class can, but does not necessarily, lead to Flipped Learning.
*Definition of Flipped Learning:
-Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter.
The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P:
1. Flexible Environment
2. Learning Culture
3.Intentional content
4.Proffesional Educator
Let's talk about Existentialism:
Introduction:
Existentialism can be thought of as the twentieth-century analogue of nineteenth-century romanticism. The two movements have in common the demand that the whole fabric of life be recognized and taken into account in our thinking and acting. As such they express a form of resistance to reductionist analyses of life and its meaning for human beings. But there are also significant differences. Existentialism is typically focused on individual human lives and the poignant inevitability of suffering and choice for each individual whereas romanticism tended to be more oriented to the whole of nature and saw human beings as a part of that wider picture. Furthermore, romanticism flourished before the wars and genocides of the twentieth century whereas existentialism is born amid those horrors.
From one point of view, the existentialists divide roughly between writers (most famously, perhaps, Albert Camus) and philosophers. The philosophical existentialists divide roughly between the atheistic and the religious. Soren Kierkegaard (1813-1855) ["the ultimate anti-Christianity Christian"] is often considered to be the father of them all, but Friedrich Nietzsche ["the ultimate anti-Christ philosopher"] is a crucial figure at the origins of the developing line of atheistic existentialism. Religious existentialists included both Jews such as Martin Buber (1878-1965) ["the Protestant Jew"] and Christians such as Paul Tillich (1886-1965) ["the Christian crypto-atheist infatuated with Being and God"]. Other religious existentialists include Karl Jaspers, Gabriel Marcel, and Karl Rahner. The atheistic existentialists include Martin Heidegger (1889-1976) ["the non-Christian atheist infatuated with Being and time"], though he denied that he was an existentialist, and Jean-Paul Sartre (1905-1980) [the ultimate atheist infatuated with Being and nothingness].
It is quite a cast of characters. And the classifications make less sense the better you know them, not least because it is hard to disentangle theism and atheism in the context of existential reflection on human life. The plan here is to examine a few themes commonly treated by existentialists and then to examine the thought of Kierkegaard more closely.
Themes in Existentialism:
1. Importance of the individual
2. Importance of choice
3. Anxiety regarding life, death, contingencies, and extreme situations
4. Meaning and absurdity
5. Authenticity
6. Social criticism
7. Importance of personal relations
8. Atheism and Religion
9. Religion
In this Video I can see that this philosophical term came after world war second and in that way that writer who believe in existentialism they see all disaster of world war's and because of this they started believe or they have some "Existential Crisis".
Basically in this blog I am going to write based on Teacher's bloghttps://blog.dilipbarad.com/2016/09/existentialism-video-resources.html In this blog you find some videos and sir gave us a Flipped learning based on this videos we need to write what is in this videos and what we understand from that particular video.
1.What is Existentialism?
In this video speaker trying to gave some introduction about existentialism and who coined that term, also he gave some famous name of Literary writers Like, Jean-Paul Sartre, Albert Camus, Martin Heidegger, Simone de Beauvoir, Karl Jaspers, Gabriel Marcel, and Paul Tillich, Nietzsche, Dostoyevsky. The speaker also gave three word 'Freedom, Individuality, Passions' this are three sides of existentialism. He also mentioned about thinking differently as if you are an individual. This video is also giving certain ideas about Existentialism and who is famous writer who write about this movement.
2.The Myth of Sisyphus: The Absurd Reasoning (Feeling of the Absurd)
Some days ago we have one workshop on this Albert Camus(1913-1960) this workshop is hosted by Gujarati department. In this workshop or we can say expert lecture by Dipak Solia sir and he gave lecture on Camus and his works and philosophical suicide. In this video this speaker is talking about Camus and his famous work "The Myth of Sisyphus". What I understand from this video is: Thinking about life and all other absurd thing it drive us to suicidal thoughts.
(This is comical way of showing Albert Camus's "The Myth of Sisyphus")
3.The Myth of Sisyphus: the notion of philosophical suicide:
In this video he tells that If we follow Camus in thinking that there is “one truly serious philosophical problem and that is suicide”, then we are committed to the notion that to decide whether life is worth living or not is the fundamental question of philosophy. The absurd is a discomforting situation. It consists of a fundamental disconnect between the desire of the human being for ultimate meaning — the ultimate meaning premise — and a universe that constantly frustrates this desire with its unintelligibility, its indifference, and its impersonal nature — the impossibility premise. “there can be no absurd outside the human mind.” We can also look at it from the following manner. If we lose one entity in a relation that is composed of two entities, the relation necessarily ceases to exist, since a relation requires at least one other entity for the first one to relate to. Therefore, we see that “the absurd ends with death.”
4.Dadaism, Nihilism and Existentialism:
In this video he said that existentialism is emerged after world war-2 and, Dadaism is emerged after ww-1. Some believe that dadaism is not connected with nihilism or anything else. Existentialism forces you to became who you are and not to accept what other impose on you. Dadaism is questioning on values what other created.
5.Existentialism - a gloomy philosophy:
so, this video said about Existentialism: a gloomy philosophies. It says that some negative words like Anxiety, Absurdity this all life's part. It says Anxiety + Life=? It also says that if some one is believing in god, some are not. Existentialism is not narcissist philosophy. And we know that this movement coined after world war-2 and because of this war's disaster it came into use of Existentialism. It is result of emptiness.
6.Existentialism and Nihilism: Is it one and the same?
This video said that nihilism and existentialism is not same thing. it also says that A nihilist believes that life is meaningless and the only known truth is the existence of the self. An existentialist believes that life is meaningless too, but that meaning can be created by the individual. They actually compliment each other. With nihilism, there is no objective value. With existentialism, giving how the universe doesn't care about you, you are responsible for making the most of your existence.
7.Detail on Existentialism:
This video is easy and better understanding on Existentialism. It has simple language. It says existentialism is not a psychological system or set of rules, it is a movement. Two philosophies that stand out amongst the others are Existentialism and Nihilism. From afar they might appear similar, but you’ll soon realize how different they really are.
“If we believe in nothing, if nothing has any meaning, and if we can affirm no values whatsoever, then everything is possible and nothing has any importance.”
-Albert Camus
8.Explain like I'm Five: Existentialism and Nietzsche:
In this video you can enjoy the process. This video is like Learn with Fun.
9.Let us sum up: From Essentialism to Existentialism
In this video it says all about existentialism and how it's work. it is also says that we are living in meaningless word and we do not have meaning of our own life That's why it is called Absurdity. In this it is mentioned that Jean Paul Sartre said that "We condemn to live."
I watched one cartoon movie which is available on Disney+Hotstar, Name of this movie is "SOUL".
Released : 2020.
Directors: Pete Doctor, Kemp Powers(co-director)
-What is the message of Soul movie?
Doctor says the film's message is that life has meaning that goes beyond personal ambition. "The movie's aim is really to say that we're already enough," he says. "We all can walk out of the door and enjoy life without needing to accomplish or prove anything. And that's really freeing."
Soul is a beautiful movie about a man named Joe who wants nothing more in life than to be a professional Jazz musician. After getting the opportunity of a lifetime, he does not feel the same way about it and questions his own existence. Joe then, unexpectedly, has an out-of-body experience that allows him to explore answers to many of life's questions about our body, soul, and if we have a purpose in life. Along with his new pal 22, they must try to get back to earth but not without first finding their purpose.
Joe is a charismatic man who is such a relatable character; you connect with him right away. His new friend, 22, is a funny free-spirited character, and the two make for a great duo with contrasting ideologies about how to live life.
Joe and 22 have an interesting journey in the film as Joe gets to see someone else live his life, and through this experience, Joe realizes that there is no exact formula to living life, and it's about the adventure, not the final result.
Peter Doctor returns to the director's chair to make you cry for the millionth time. Peter and Pixar seem to understand their audiences are not children anymore as the stories evolve with each film release. This understanding has allowed them to tackle very heavy questions about life, death, and our existence; more so than any other film I have ever watched.
The script is beautifully written and is full of so many new unique inspirational quotes that just make you question life and your own decisions you have made. Atticus Ross, Jon Batiste, and Trent Reznor put together a gorgeous soundtrack that takes you on an emotional rollercoaster that compliments every aspect of the film.
Soul is one of the best movies to come out of 2020 by far. It delivers such a powerful perspective on life and how we live it.
Anyone who is a practicing artist, or has dedicated much of their life to a goal, should relate to these feelings of self-doubt that Joe goes through in the film.
Sometimes you just have to live your life, have fun, and enjoy the ride. We all know life gets crazy and hectic, and are all guilty of letting it take control. We are so blessed to be living right now, and we often forget what it is like to look up at the stars, or to take in the wonderful scent of a flower, or getting lost in a beautiful song. Life is made up of small moments and as Joe says " I'm going to live every minute of it".
This blog is based on my understanding. Thank you so much for visiting.
