Prerona                             Bangla    

Sharbani Banerji

In Bangla, inspiration is expressed by the noun prerona. Now, just because the language is different, does it mean that a Bengali would be inspired in a different way than an American, a  British, or a French, say? Assuming that ‘prerona’ in Bangla has all those connotations that the English word  inspiration has, which actually it has, though, may not be always expressed by the word  prerona  itself, we can further extend the domain and ask, is a child inspired the same way a youth is, or an adult is? How does a person in his or her twilight years continue to feel as inspired, and maintain the same zest for life that Noam Chomsky does, or the Sitar maestro Pdt. Ravi Shankar does or the singers Asha Bhonsle and Lata Mangeshkar do? I wonder. Is inspiration the same as thing as genius?

I spent my entire childhood and the major part of my adulthood listening to my father’s music. A Hindustani classical musician, he sang day and night. And I used to be transported to an ethereal world, living in a world of music, and dreaming to become a musician myself. I had all the ‘prerona’for music, and desperately tried to be a musician myself, but never ended up being one. He was a doctor too. But not for a day did I feel like becoming a doctor myself. Instead, I hated that science. So, ‘prerona’ is something internal. If the vibrations outside match the wavelengths inside, we feel ‘inspired’. But, to be successful? It is a different story altogether.

If there is any one expression that typically characterizes a Bengali, it is ‘Durga Puja’, the festival of Goddess Durga which is celebrated in Autumn every year with great enthusiasm especially in Bengal and in other parts of India too. Today, it is more of a social and an artistic affair than, a religious affair. It is believed that during those five days, Goddess Durga comes to visit the earth from the heavens in the Himalayas. Every year, the artists  give shape to their prerona, the ‘image of Goddess Durga’ as they see in their mind’s eye. With such meticulous care and artistry, beautiful idols are made only to last those five days of Durga Puja. On the last day these idols are all immersed in a river, leaving no trace anymore, neither of the idol nor of the name of the artist.

These great artists of Bengal lead a nameless existence. Neither their creation nor their names remain. They continue to recreate them so long as their ‘prerona’ lasts.

Interview Questions

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Edwin:  First, How would you define prerona?

Sharbani:  In Bangla, 'inspiration' can be expressed in many ways, and not just with one word, which may be the standard equivalent of the English word 'inspiration', and that is 'prerona'.

Looking deeply at the English word 'inpiration', one would find that it has Many Shades of Meaning, and not just one. The different shades of meaning are therefore expressed by different words, or verbs or sentences in Bangla.

1) The following words, which are alike, would be used mainly when a 'person', or may be a 'person's works' inpsire.

'prerona'(noun)
'prerona-deWa'=inspiration-give=to inspire
onupranito kOra=to inspire

2) But when I would like to say that 'Music inspires me', these words CANNOT be used. Similarly for various other shades of meaning.  One standard word/verb would not help. Hence there may be an elaborate clause.   To sum up, 'to be inpired' can mean----

• 'to be encouraged

• to get happiness

•  to feel charged

• to get strength

• to feel motivated

• to feel a something SPONTANEOUSLY' and many more--with similar shades of meaning.

Do you know anything about the source of word prerona? For example inspiration, comes from the Latin word meaning to breath in.

  Like most words in Bangla (also other Indo Aryan languages), the word 'prerona' is derived from the SANSKRIT word 'prerona' (originally 'preronam', which changed to 'prerona' over a period of time. The Noun 'prerona', meaning 'inspiration' is derived from the ROOT 'preron' (Sanskrit 'preri'), which means 'TO SEND' or 'TO APPLY'. It is as if it is the DIVINE INFLUENCE which SENDS/APPLIES the FORCE by which a person gets 'prerona', the stimulation or the prompting, by which he or she acts in a particular way. 

 In Greek mythology it was the divine muses that sent inspiration and in the Christian tradition divine inspiration comes from God. What divine force sends preri?

Though the modern day word 'prerona' has come from the word 'preri' of Sanskrit, in the earliest stages of Sanskrit, 'preri' primarily meant 'sent'. To express 'inspiration', one used the word/root 'prapti' 'to receive' , mainly, in the sense that if one is in communion with the Supreme Truth, ' the Brahman' one 'receives' the strength, or the 'order' to act in a certain way.

There is no particular God associated with 'prerona' in Hindu Mythology. The Goddess 'Saraswati' is the Goddess of learning, of 'Vidya', of 'knowledge'. So, for a musician, a painter, a poet, a scientist, etc., 'Saraswati' will be the Goddess of inspiration, but for a man or woman of 'action', it would perhaps be the Goddess 'Durga' or 'Kali' or the God 'Kartik' for a warrior. So, depending on the nature of 'inspiration', one would worship the particular God, for strength.

In 'Upanishads' however, which is one of the earliest texts in Sanskrit, there is only one Truth, the highest truth, and that is ' Brahman', which is also called 'Prana'; this is the only Diety. All the Gods are but manifestations of this Prana.

The central theme of Upanishads is realization of Self or Brahman, or Prana. The concept of 'prerona', in the sense we understand it today, being linked to a different plane, will be associated with 'Karma' perhaps.

How would you say the meaning of prerona is the same or different from the English meaning of Inspiration?

The meaning of 'prerona' is more or less the same as the English meaning of 'inspiration', except that, depending on the 'object of inspiration', Bangla would express the concept in a different way. For example, in Bangla, it is common to talk in terms of 'prerona deWa' ' inspiration to-give' ie., 'to give inspiration', or 'prerona paWa' 'inspiration to receive' 'to receive inspiration', 'prerona neWa' 'insipiration to take' 'to take inspiration' etc.

In English it is common to say ' He or my Guru is my inspiration', but in Bangla, it would be proper to say 'He/my Guru gives me inspiration/prerona'.

In Bangla, it would be very odd to say 'Music inspires me'. It would be more appropriate to make an elaborate construction to explain what happens to you, ie., how you feel when you listen to music, and then conclude that 'music is my prerona/inspiration'. In short, the constructions are more elaborate, which emphasize the feeling, the emotions that one feels when one is inspired, or the mental process that one goes through, when one is 'inspired' 'onuprenito'.
 

Are you aware of any paintings/art or poems that depict any of the god(s) giving someone inspiration?

In the Indian tradition, the most famous case of a God giving inspiration to someone is the case of 'Krishna' giving 'inspiration to 'Arjun' in the battle of 'Kurukshetra', in the great epic 'Mahabharata'. When 'Arjun' finds himself facing his own kith and kin in the battle ground, he loses all the will to fight, so overcome he is by remorse. It is then that 'Krishna', his charioteer, teaches him to look beyond the immediate, through his lectures on the approach to life and work, and which have come to be known as 'Gita', a book which can be termed as the GOSPEL for the Hindus.

Do you have any personal stories about what inspires you? Or gives you prerona?

Personally, I feel, I need to be inspired all the time, in some way or the other.
That is the essence of my happiness. In a smaller scale, it amounts to saying that I need a motivation for doing whatever I do, and that explains why I get bored very easily. Yet, prerona is not so easily available all the time. If it was, maybe we would have all been GREAT, which we are not.

When life is drab and a routine, great music lifts up my spirits immediately --- music which has depth, tunes which are perfect, a rhythm which is intricate, in short, a music which shows that there is a lot of Sadhana , that is, effort and practice behind it, and hence touches the soul.

I worked in a Bank for many years, a work which I hated from the bottom of my heart, because of it's monotony and mechanical character. I was caught in a net, from where there was no escape. It was then, that I started learning French, followed by Italian. And, THAT, was a great inspiration in those days. It came as a breath of fresh air. I was transported to the world of art and culture, and slowly I stopped hating the bank work as much as I did before.

Thus, in a way, prerona is like 'pran', the elixir of life, which may come in any form, at any time.

I've been asking contributors if they have any questions about inspiration? Do you have any?

• When we are inspired, we are motivated. Is every kind of 'motivation' an inspiration?
  Why don't we say 'I was inspired to earn pots of money', though we can say ' I was inspired to build a beautiful house for my wife', just as 'Shahjahan was inspired to build Tajmahal in the memory of his wife Mamtaz Mahal'?
•  We can say ' The patriot was inspired to kill the enemy and then lay down his life in the defense of his country', but we say 'The terrorists are guided by only one motivation--to destroy'. How do we explain this?
• I think my second question was rather controversial. Here is another one.    In olden days, art was basically 'sponsored' by Kings and Queens. They built palaces, temples, mosques, mausoleums etc., for prestige and for glory mainly. Yes, many of the kings were great connoisseurs of art themselves, but not all of them. In INDIA, the work of art carried the name of the King, or the God/Goddesses if it was a temple, and not those of the artistes who made them. Should we call these a work of 'inspiration'? And if so, whose inspiration, the King's or of the nameless artist's?

I don't think the question was controversial.  I have been asking others about this aspect of inspiration as well.  Hitler, Stalin, etc,  who did a great deal of harm, inspired people. Perhaps they had their own inspirations for what they did as well? You see in the documentaries how when Hitler talked,  the crowds went wild, people we're moved to tears.

Also, you mentioned "Is every kind of 'motivation' an inspiration? " Here is a quote about inspiration and motivation.

"Motivation is an external, temporary high that PUSHES you forward. Inspiration is a sustainable internal glow which PULLS you forward."   Giuseppe Mazzini
 

Are you aware of any paintings/art or poems that depict any of the god(s) giving someone inspiration?

Here are two poems of Sri Aurobindo, the great poet, philosopher and the Spiritual leader of India, the founder of 'Pondicherry Ashram' in Pondicherry, India. Incidently, he was initially a leading freedom fighter from Bengal (against the British Raj ofcourse), who followed the non-Gandhian, violent path. He gave up violence, to become what these poems give a glimpse of.

The poems are COSMIC CONSCIOUSNESS and THE HIDDEN PLAN.

Could you tell me how you see each of the poems in relation to prerona?

To explain how the poems are related to 'prerona', I think I need to dwell more deeply into the writer Sri Aurobindo's life. A change that came over his 'Consciousness' in a certain period of his life, changed for ever, his entire view of life, and consequently his field of activity. It was a 'Call' from above. In his later works, both prose and poetry, he has constantly talked about 'Evolution of the Consciousness', which in a nutshell means:

'The present man representing the mental consciousness is not its final achievement. The next step in the ladder will be higher and higher stages of Gnostic consciousness'.

It is this 'Call', which connects a person to a higher Truth, which can be artistic as well as Spiritual, and hence is 'prerona', the 'inspiration'.

Born on 15th August 1872, Aurobindo Ghosh, as he was originally called, spent fourteen years of childhood and youth in England, and was educated in Manchester, London and Cambridge. He returned to India in 1893, at the age of twenty one, and 1898 onwards, was deeply involved in the Nationalist Movement. On May2, 1908, he was arrested by the British Police, and sent to Alipore Jail in Calcutta. He was later acquitted.

It was in this Alipore Jail that Sri Aurobindo had profound Spiritual Experience, a very high level of 'prerona', which completely changed his view of life. A few years earlier, he had started Yoga, but that was mainly to get Spiritual Strength for his revolutionary work.

But now onwards, his work was to be concerned with the future of humanity as a whole. And that is what is reflected in the two poems cited.

In two years time, he completely dissociated himself from Politics, and plunged entirely into solitary meditation. On April 4, 1910, he reached Pondicherry, via Chanderagore, both French territories then. The seeds of Pondicherry Ashram were sown. How 'The Mother' comes from France to join him and finally on 24th November 1926, the Ashram is born, with following general aim to be attained, "The advent of a progressing universal harmony" is another story.

These two poems reflect the profound change that came over Sri Aurobindo's Consciousness, after receiving 'prerona'.

The first poem 'Cosmic Consciousness', beautifully expresses the idea of the ancient sages of India, that there is Divinity within us and in all the things, and that all beings are united in that One Self and Spirit.

The second poem 'The Hidden Plan' mirrors his new vision, the divinization of life, the transformation of the material into a divine world, ---the Spiritual Evolution, in essence.