"Kamakhya Myth "

    

    As Shiva danced in grief carrying Sati’s corpse, Vishnu destroyed the body with his discus. Where the pieces supposedly fell, Shakta pithas were established, throughout the Indian subcontinent. It is interesting that the yoni or pudendum of Shakti is supposed to have fallen in the North-East, on the Nilachal Hill in Guwahati where the Kamakhya temple now stands. This temple is the most important Tantric shrine in India.

    Then there is the legend that the sage Vashistha was sent to the North-East, to obtain enlightenment by learning Tantric sadhana. The temple dedicated to him is situated beyond Beltola in Guwahati. This legend also highlights the hold that the Shakti cult has exercised in this part of India.

    In addition to these, there are archaeological finds like the erotic sculptures in the ruins at Madan Kamdev near Baihata Charali, on the outskirts of Guwahati, which bear witness to the sophisticated aesthetic and moral values of this region of the country. This mature hedonism is a distinct contribution of the Indo-Mongoloids to Indian cultue. The archaeology of North-Eastern India is still in its infancy, but we can use it along with the regional myths to analyze the cultural values of this area, since oral and similar traditions are now being recognized as an important, and in some cases primary, source for the study of cultures. I shall, therefore, use the Kamakhya legend as a starting-point to make a cultural critique of the values of modem India, by juxtaposing these against the pleasure-affirming values of the peoples of North Eastern India.

    By referring to a controversy in the Indian Parliament, in which objection was raised that Shiva had been called an “erotic ascetic”, in a catalogue issued for the Festival of India in the USA. This controversy would perhaps not have arisen if it was kept in mind that, according to the shastras, Shiva must be worshipped in the linga form; this ithyphallic representation of Shiva denotes the fact that the orgasmic moment is one of the nearest human approaches to the state of desirelessness or moksha.

    Dr Suniti Kumar Chatteijee has noted that the Indo-Mongoloids have been quite liberal, in terms of male-female interaction. This is perhaps one reason why Kamakhya is the foremost Tantric centre in India, whereas a Tantric chakra (i.e. group) in Banaras, in mainland India, was broken up by the police a few years back. To take another instance, the Khasis of Meghalaya still have a matrilineal social structure.

    Further, Audrey Cantlie has pointed out that Assamese society is more socially mobile, and has a less rigid caste structure, than other Indian societies. Bharati has commented on the other hand, that in most of India, holding hands and suchlike exhibition of tenderness between men and women are taboo. This is because of the ubiquitous pan-Indian anxiety-syndrome regarding the loss of semen, which loss is believed to cause ritual pollution, and to inhibit the attainment of religious goals. This is very salient in a country like India, which has only very recently imbibed secular, i.e. non-religious, values from her British rulers. As part of this syndrome, Indians also equate dark skin with low caste, and find it unaesthetic; at the same time, dark skin is also equated with uncontrolled eroticism. In the North-East, which is just getting Sanskritized, these ascetic values have not yet taken firm root. Gradually, however, as the middle classes grow stronger in the North-East, it is likely that these societies will also fall in line with the modern pan-Indian Victorian value systems.

    The one great contribution of India to the world has been the yoga complex. Modem Indians have, however, become alienated from their cultural roots, and so they cannot appreciate the genuine yogic traditions. They look up to Sai Baba, Mahesh Yogi and similar other bizarre popularizers and self-seekers. In this they follow the trend of the “Hindu Renaissance”, from Rammohan Roy to Vivekananda to Gandhi, which we have seen has propagated a hotchpotch brand of Hinduism quite alienated from the grass-roots.