TODAY MARKS THE 138th birthday of the contemporary Rishi, D.V. Gundappa or DVG as he is fondly known in Karnataka and among the Kannada-speaking diaspora spread across the globe.
DVG occupies the exalted peak as a torch-bearing philosopher, statesman, journalist, editor, poet, visionary, nationalist, freedom fighter, and above all, as the cultural chronicler of the century of Bharatavarsha’s modern Renaissance.
But over the last five decades, DVG's name has become almost unknown outside Karnataka. Even in Karnataka, he is famous only for his magnum opus, Mankutimmana Kagga (Foggy Fool’s Farrago, with no apologies to Shashi Tharoor) a collection of philosophical verses, regarded as the Bhagavad Gita in Kannada.
During his lifetime (1887-1975), DVG untiringly worked in various realms of our national life. He was primarily a journalist, which in his words, was an accident planned by destiny. It was a profession that he transformed into a sacred calling.
But in today's context where journalism has been irremediably perverted, one is scared to slot DVG as a journalist. This "journalist" wrote about journalism, politics, policy, statesmanship, Dharma, Vedanta, Bhagavad Gita, literature, education, economics, and law.
The corpus of his English writing exceeds 15000 pages and is a valuable primary source for understanding the numerous impulses, ideas, movements, debates, philosophical currents, cultural and social transformation… in fact, it is the eyewitness history of India itself as it unfolded during that period.
A sharper critic, a clearer intellect, a finer mind, a more compassionate social worker, an expansive visionary and a profounder Karma Yogi is hard to find when we survey the history of that century.
DVG was the epitome of values rooted in the highest traditions of Sanatana Dharma, which he expounded upon with a simplicity, clarity and ease that is truly breathtaking.
More importantly, he applied these traditions in practice in all his endeavours. This philosophy-backed action was -- among others -- informed by Sri Vidyaranya’s famed verse, “Jnanina caritum shakyam samyak raajyaadi laukikam.”
DVG primarily identified himself as a journalist and as a student of literature with abiding faith in Vedanta from which he drew inspiration throughout his life. His highly active and productive years in public life were set in the pre-Independence era, which was characterised by rapid and sweeping changes and challenges in our socio-political and religious life. His responses to these changes, which manifested themselves in writing, speeches, institutional and grassroots work, were firmly moored in Vedantic philosophy, which sought to synthesize diversity.
If one ventures to capture DVG’s entire legacy in less than a sentence, it is this: he was a Philosopher-Nationalist-Statesman of the Modern Indian Renaissance.
In his own words, DVG defined the word Tattva (loosely translated as "principle," “philosophy” or “tenet”) as “That which is itself.”
The revelation of this Tattva on the plane of experience maybe called the Brahmanubhava or “all-encompassing universal spiritual experience.”
From this definition, it follows that there is no facet of life that is not under the purview of this universal experience. This is not merely a conception or "view." It is realisation, which is wholly contrary to the stifling, postmodern "view" that the word “experience” simply means one’s individual, subjective experience.
In fact, more than eight decades ago, DVG had himself anticipated, rebutted and warned against such narrow views by showing the exact place of subjective worldly experiences and analyses flowing therefrom.
His view admits subjectivity, diversity and separateness but only at the level of the transactional world because these are inevitable in human interactions. At the same time, he shows their limitations and in true Vedantic tradition, suggests that transcending limitations is the means to overcome them. Transcendence builds the inner strength to contain transactional disappointments. The essence of this approach is rather elementary: the time you spend on brooding over your dismay is better utilised by expanding your Atman.
Another profound counsel that he advocates is the performance of Lokasangraha (or doing good in the larger interest without expectation of reward) and adopting a Yogic conduct in one’s life.
The following verse from his classic Mankutimmana Kagga encapsulates the essence and spirit of Lokasangraha.
ಇರುವ ಕೆಲಸವ ಮಾಡು ಕಿರಿದೆನದೆ ಮನವಿಟ್ಟು ।
ದೊರೆತುದ ಪ್ರಸಾದವೆಂದುಣ್ಣು ಗೊಣಗಿಡದೆ ।।
ಧರಿಸು ಲೋಕದ ಭರವ ಪರಮಾರ್ಥವನು ಬಿಡದೆ ।
ಹೊರಡು ಕರೆ ಬರಲಳದೆ ಮಂಕುತಿಮ್ಮ ।।
Work with all your mind without deeming the work insignificant
Eat whatever you get as God's bounty, without complaint
Wear the garb of a mortal, abandoning not the spiritual
When the Final Call sounds, depart without tears – Mankuthimma
DVG HAD GRASPED the eternal reality that worldly differences of superiority and inferiority need not and cannot be completely destroyed.
In his memorable words: “we do not want the destruction of differences but the wisdom on how to manage and minimise them.” This wisdom awakens within us a consciousness of values and the gradation of values as Sadhana (Instrumental values) and Atyantika (Absolute values), and helps us develop compassion for the value systems of others.
This is fully consonant with the timeless Sanatana conception of Dharma of which DVG was one of the foremost advocates. His original coinage of terms like Jeevanadharma and Adhidharma as symbolizing a global ethic of synthesis and cosmic compromise informed and underscored his work in public life. This outlook also enabled him to harmonise the seemingly opposite elements of:
(1) Matter and Spirit
(2) Bharata and the West
(3) English and Sanskrit
(4) Politics and Technology
(5) Language and Culture
This outlook of DVG was formed, shaped, and sculpted early in his life by the traditional training he received under eminent scholars and teachers of the time. His native Mulabagilu (near Kolar) was an abundant repository of such scholars. It was imbued with an atmosphere that encouraged the pursuit of lifelong learning and was rooted in traditional Sanatana culture.
Likewise, during his formative years in Bangalore, one such traditional Pandit who left a lasting impact on him was Mahamahopadhyaya Hanagal Virupaksha Sastri under whose tutelage he learnt Vedanta. In a highly evocative account, DVG has expressed his reverence towards this Guru in a dedicated profile in the Jnapaka Chitrashaale (Art Gallery of Memories) volumes.
DVG’s literary legacy encompasses the vicissitudes of the world and the vagaries human life and experience. One of his favourite words was Jivana (life), and his writings show how making our life elegant inside out is the only gratitude that we can offer to Ishwara.
Instead of blindly rejecting the notion of God, DVG recognized this notion as an essential value necessary to maintain harmony and a sense of ethics in the larger society. Thus, in most of his writings, he approached this subject in the form of both Sandeha Sukta (Agnosticism or Skepticism) and Shraddhaa Sukta (Faith or Devotion).
These writings also resonate with a silent undertone of inner inquiry, and effectively use routine examples, easy but vivid metaphors, and symbols drawn from everyday life. One can glean copious examples of the inner spirit that animates these works -- examples of which include his epic classic Mankutimmana Kagga, its companion of sorts, Marulamuniyana Kagga, Jeevana Dharma Yoga, Baligondu Nambike and several volumes of his Jnapakachitra Shaale. DVG himself says that many of his poems are contemplative works.
THIS SPIRIT OF philosophical contemplation and inner inquiry finds expression in the tone of humility whose imprint his entire literary corpus bears. In a 1923 letter to his close friend Sri Narasimhamurthy, he writes in a tenor that is simultaneously blunt and modest:
The same attitude is expressed by the last line of a verse in his Mankutimmana Kagga, which exhorts us to “stitch our lips together” and work for the good of the world without being proud or arrogant or showing off our work.
He is also not blind to the other side of this coin. We see him repeatedly cautioning against the easy and destructive propensity of imposing our own problems upon the world -- this is the bedrock of Woke insanity.
indeed, his long and grand life by itself is an illustrious precept of this. He never lost enthusiasm for life, never wavered in his unstinted optimism amidst his countless financial, health and other hardships. It evokes within us Emerson’s famous quote that an easy life teaches us nothing.
When translated into the literary realm, this enthusiasm reflected itself in the form of “a certain grace and serenity,” to quote from DVG’s letter to Acharya J.B. Kriplani on the “highest use of literature.”
To DVG, the Arts were not a luxury but an essential component of a robust, refined and vibrant society. In all these spheres of activity, DVG did not go where the trodden path led. Instead, he paved new roads where none existed and left an immortal trail. His conquest of these uncharted territories was a realization of the high ideals he had set before himself.
DVG’s RANGE OF literary output is remarkable by any standard -- quality, scope, genre and volume. Barring the novel and short story, there was almost no form he left untouched: biography, poetry, drama, translations, and journalism. His literary corpus is a rare blend of philosophy, intellect, and emotion and provides fodder for both inner and higher education.
For instance, his evocative poem honouring India’s foremost scientist, J.C. Bose was composed in an era when his contemporary writers mostly wrote on patriotic, religious, and nature-based themes. His Padams, Geyaas and original expositions on literary criticism are eminent subjects for study by serious students of literature and philosophy.
His translations and adaptations of great works of world literature — for example, Shakespeare, Tennyson, Omar Khayyam — showed his commitment to bring to the Indian people the best of world literature. Also, when some of his contemporaries translated British literature into Kannada and other Indian languages, DVG disrupted this trend by translating English works written in the former colonies of England — for example, selected poems of Walt Whitman and writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson.
DVG REGARDED JOURNALISM not merely as a public good or as the fourth estate of democracy but as a higher province. His views about and his conception of journalism are compacted in a largely forgotten work titled Vrittapatrike (Newspaper).
He looked up to certain pioneers and outstanding journalists of the West foremost of whom was W.T. Stead. However, his own journalistic legacy shows that he overshadows them by miles.
His conception of journalism is rather original and worthy of emulation. He elevated journalism to the standard of an integral philosophy of life, and did not blindly imitate Western views and thought-categories. It is not an exaggeration to claim that DVG’s journalism was uniquely Indian in form, content, analysis and substance. His editorials, columns, book reviews, essays, anecdotes, short histories, profiles, long forms, and critiques in the Karnataka and The Indian Review of Reviews are a collector’s delight. If this blighted country has any self-respect, the curricula taught in journalism schools would've included his repertoire long ago.
I highly recommend the interested reader to buy the compilations of his journalistic essays in the recently published Selected Writings of D.V. Gundappa in eleven volumes available at the Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs, Bangalore. We owe a debt of gratitude to the compilers, the venerable Dr. S.R. Ramaswamy and the young scholar, B.N. Shashikiran.
D.V. GUNDAPPA WAS A FREEDOM FIGHTER of a different sort. He became the conscience of India's political and public life in the true sense by emphasising more on our spiritual, literary, artistic and cultural heritage. This he did by personally immersing himself in these domains.
More importantly, DVG’s freedom struggle was not armchair theorising or rabble-rousing or street violence. He fought for India's freedom by becoming one with all the sections of our society. His range of interactions, friendships and relationships included tonga drivers, masons, doctors, lawyers, bureaucrats, musicians, dancers, devadasis, engineers, swamis, wandering sadhus, social reformers, pamphleteers, educationists, institution builders, scholars, litterateurs, students, journalists, freedom fighters, elected representatives, and Diwans. Every facet of society, profession and endeavour had value for him.
Small wonder then, that DVG stood on the streets in the icy nights of Bangalore to distribute blankets and other relief items to victims of epidemics like the plague. Or the fact that he became the Purohit who officiated widow remarriages in an era that prohibited it.
This same lofty impulse led him to contribute to various institutions of lasting value like the Kannada Sahitya Parishad (now, a den of politics and corruption). It also led him to establish the iconic Gokhale Institute of Public Affairs (GIPA), Bangalore which is a continuing testimony to his life’s ideals and work.
DVG’s practice of public life was guided by the philosophy of Vedanta, Bhagavad Gita, and by Vidyaranya Swami, the spiritual inspiration behind the Vijayanagara Empire. He was also deeply influenced by the political philosophers of ancient Greece such as Socrates and Plato. He embraced to his heart Gopala Krishna Gokhale’s dictum that “public life must be spiritualized.” A beautiful verse that he penned summarises his view of politics and public life:
ರಾಮಣೀಯಕವೆಂದು ಬಿಸುಸುಯ್ಯಲದು ಕವಿತೆ
ಭೂಮಿಗದನೆಟುಕಿಸುವೆನೆಂಬೆಸಕ ರಾಷ್ಟ್ರಕತೆ ||
Who sighs at the sight of beauty is a poet;
Who strives for it is a statesman
Another distinctive marker in this regard is the manner in which DVG’s writings reveal a wise amalgam of theory and practice; or more accurately, a beautiful and harmonious marriage between the two. To illustrate this with a contrarian example, we can consider the preface to the second edition (1973) of his landmark work, Rajya Shastra (Political Philosophy), where writes how
When one surveys DVG’s writings on politics, it evokes within us a picture of the Maharanya, the Great spiritual forest, in Vedic parlance. it guided his tireless endeavours in the area.
His other classic, Rajyanga Tattvagalu (Principles of Statecraft) begins with the invocation from the Taittirya Brahmana of the Yajur Veda, which he fittingly titles as the “National Anthem of the Rishis.”
This Vedic conception regards a Rashtra (loosely translated as “nation” or “country”) as something that by itself is an ongoing Ashwamedha. The original conception is truly profound and evokes a textured tapestry of dynamism, energy, activity, and a sense of transcendental purpose. This spirit is captured in its concluding verse:
In this manner, there is an indivisible relationship between a Rashtra and the Ashwamedha.
This timeless Vedic ideal is what enabled DVG to elevate contemporary democratic political philosophy, statecraft and public life to the standard of a Darshana (loosely translated as philosophy).
Clearly, Gokhale’s dictum of “public life must be spiritualised” found its fruition and practical application in the life and work of DVG.
DVG did not favour emotional exhortations, loud proclamations, overnight change and violent appeals to revolution. His views on any issue impacting national life were characterised by a rare depth and sweep of contemplation after taking into account all facets of the issue at hand, and was informed by a high degree of refinement.
IN HIS OWN TIME, DVG’s illustrious stature was recognised by eminent people from all walks of life.
At least three Diwans of the Mysore Princely State actively sought his advice on important matters.
It was DVG who arranged Gandhi's maiden visit to Bangalore in 1915.
“Right Honourable” V.S. Srinivasa Sastri regularly consulted DVG on various issues related to politics, policy and administration. He took DVG's inputs for the first and second Round Table Conferences held in London.
B.R. Ambedkar too, sought DVG's counsel on caste and social reform.
The entire galaxy of his contemporary Kannada literary stalwarts like A.R. Krishna Sastri, T.S. Venkannayya, Panje Mangeshwara Rao, Devudu Narasimha Sastri, Masti Venkatesha Iyengar, K.V. Puttappa, B.M. Srikantaiah and others held him in high esteem.
ANOTHER PIONEERING CONTRIBUTION OF DVG is his extensive and in-depth study of the problem of integrating the Princely States into the Indian Union.
When his first study was published, it was widely discussed at the highest echelons of India's political leadership. It is perhaps the most original and comprehensive exposition of this critical problem -- the work of a single individual working alone. It is also a befitting treatise that merits a scholarly thesis.
DVG wrote it at a time when the rulers of India's five-hundred-plus states were hardly bothered about the bleak future that would dawn upon them the moment the British left.
He was impelled to delve into the subject because these states were the surviving remnants of the original culture and society of Bharatavarsha. If they were destroyed, there would be nothing better to replace them in an untested democracy that would arrive in 1947.
Our experiment with democracy over the last 75 years has shown how lethally his prophecy has materialised.
WE LIVE IN AN ERA that celebrates the cult of the self as an end in itself. The proliferation of social media has made even narcissism cheap and coarse. Narcissus at least had the looks to gloat about.
Thus, in such an era, it sounds unbelievable to learn that DVG's highest ambition was to be a Vanasuma -- a forest-flower. His short poem bearing that title was once sung by schoolchildren during their morning prayers. Today, it has all but been forgotten by Kannadigas themselves.
An old proverb says that the best way to marginalise a courageous person is to anoint him as a saint and put him on a pedestal. This vile device is made viler by its simplicity. Sainthood excludes the whole body of his work from deeper study; it prevents people from examining why the person became a saint in the first place.
Thus, the illusory halo of Bhakti, no matter how genuine, blinds even the genuine seeker to the true resplendence concealed in the dark zone behind the halo.
This has also been the case with DVG. In the memorable words of his direct disciple, Dr. S.R. Ramaswamy, "since the last three or four decades, Mankutimmana Kagga has become a cottage industry” by itself. Majority of its purveyors churn out eminent nonsense under the garb of "interpreting" the Kagga.
Given this, It is both essential and mandatory to read DVG in entirety; if not for any other reason than this: he wrote the eyewitness history of a crucial century of Bharatavarsha's civilisational continuum.
The ongoing efforts at some kind of an undefined Hindu revival will continue to grope in the dark if it excludes near-contemporary savants like DVG.
This apart, a study of DVG’s life and legacy will provide inspiration for younger generations to understand and pursue the spirit and ideals that bind this ancient, spiritual land.
For serious scholars, DVG’s literary corpus will open up new vistas for research. It is also the readymade treasure-trove of primary source material to explore the various dimensions of the modern Indian Renaissance.
To my mind, there is no better way to celebrate DVG’s birthday than by embarking anew upon or resuming the rewarding journey of studying him.
And the fortunate few who discover DVG will instantly find an ample supply of materials to sculpt an enriching life.
धर्मस्य तत्वं निहितं गुहायां
महाजनो येन गतः स पन्थाः ||
The essence of Dharma, truly, is a very subtle secret
The only recourse is to walk in the footsteps of wise men ||
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