Poet, missionary Rev. Narayan Vaman Tilak
A chapter from a book
'Contribution of Christian Missionaries in India'
Author : Camil Parkhe
Published by Gujarat Sahitya Prakash, Anand, Gujarat
The students of Marathi medium schools get a glimpse of personality of Rev Narayan Vaman Tilak through some lessons excerpted from the well-acclaimed autobiography of his wife, Laxmibai Tilak, entitled 'Smrutichitre' (memoirs). The students also get to know his sensitive nature when they study some of his poems on flowers, nature and birds. The title 'Phula-Mulanche Kavi' (poet of flowers and children) given to him is so meaningful. Those who study Laxmibai's 'Smrutichitre' at college level, get further opportunity to understand Rev. Tilak's multifaceted personality from close quarters. There are many dimensions to Tilak's versatile personality: the truly nationalist Tilak who immensely loved his motherland and culture, the visionary missionary who after embracing Christianity, tried to live as a complete Indian Christian, a kirtankar who composed devotional songs like bhajans, abhangas, and gave discourses through Kirtan. He evolved a new spiritual-cultural movement for the newly converted Marathi-speaking Christians in Maharashtra and thus saved them from being culturally aliens in their own country. Included among the first five modern Marathi poets, the panch-kavi, Rev Tilak occupies a most venerable position in Marathi literature and especially in Marathi Christian community. The trio of Baba Padmanji, Pandita Ramabai and Rev. Tilak has been included in the Christian personalities who greatly contributed in creating the modern Maharashtra by their services in the fields like literature, social work and spirituality.
Narayan Tilak was born at his maternal grandparents' village Karanjgaon in the Konkan region on 6 December, 1861. Like Pandita Ramabai, Rev. Tilak also belonged to Chitpavan Brahmin community. He studied Sanskrit at Nashik. He married Manubai (Mankarnika) Gokhale around 1880. This Manubai was named Laxmibai after the marriage and now she is acclaimed as one of the best autobiographers in Marathi literature.
For eleven years after their marriage, Rev. Tilak did varied jobs like Kirtankar, teacher at places like Nagpur, Vani, Mumbai, and Murbad. In 1883, he used to edit a magazine 'Rishi' devoted to the religion. Once a Christian person gave him the holy Bible to read. Thereafter, he developed an interest in studying Christianity. Gradually, he started liking the religion and embraced it in 1895. He devoted rest of his life in the service of Jesus Christ.
With his own example, Rev. Tilak proved that it was possible for Marathi Christian community to be Christians without giving up their local cultural traditions. He fulfilled spiritual needs of the local Christian community by composing Jesus-centred bhajans and kirtan and epics. This has helped to a great extent to prevent adoption of western forms of worshipping in churches in Ahmednagar, Pune, Nashik, and Aurangabad districts - the areas where thousands of people embraced Christianity in the 19th and 20th centuries. Even eight decades after his death, several Marathi hymns composed by Rev. Tilak are still sung in various Catholic and Protestant churches.
Laxmibai Tilak's Smruti-Chitre explains the sensation and shock that resulted, when Sanskrit scholar Narayan Tilak embraced Christianity. Due to conversion, he was ostracised by his close relatives and society and had to stay away from his wife Laxmibai and young son Devdatta for nearly four years. In 1890, Laxmibai defied her family members and along with their son joined her husband. However she continued with her conservative rituals and customs for quite some time even after joining her now Christian husband and refused to have contact with the people belonging to the untouchable and other lower castes.
Once, there was acute shortage of water and Laxmibai was forced to drink water offered by a Muslim woman. Immediately after having a sip, she threw up. This incident marked conversion and transformation of conservative Laxmibai to a liberal and rebel personality. The revulsion caused in her after drinking water offered by a Muslim made her change her attitude towards her fellow-beings. Gradually, she started accepting food offered by people belonging to the untouchable communities. A year after joining her husband, Laxmibai also embraced Christianity. Laxmibai has penned all these events in her and husband's lives in her autobiography. Smruti-chitre serves as a mirror reflecting the lives of this great missionary couple and the social situation prevailing in Maharashtra in the early 19th century.
Rev. Bhaskar Ujagare edited a collection of 84 poems of Rev. Tilak titled Tilakanchi Kavita (part -1) in 1914. Narasinha Chintamani Kelkar, a close associate of Lokmanya Tilak, wrote a foreword to this poetry collection.
Rev. Tilak's Khristayan was an epic based on Bible. Composed entirely as per Indian tradition, it had similarity with the Tamil epic 'Tembavani' written by Joseph Beschi alias Virmamunivar, and also with the 17th century Marathi epic Kristapuran written by Fr Thomas Stephens. Both Fr Beschi and Fr Stephens were foreigners who composed epics based on Christian themes in regional languages. Rev. Tilak was the first Indian Christian missionary who composed an epic in similar style.
Rev. Tilak wanted Indian Christian forms of worships to be deeply rooted in the local culture and traditions - a principle emphasised by the Second Vatican Council five decades later. The epic Khristayan was a part of that effort. He started writing Khristayan in 1910. Many a time, he would leave his home and stay at places like Panchgani and Bhuinj to devote himself totally to his mission of writing the epic. Towards the end of his life, he had settled at Satara with his family for the same purpose. But his wish to complete the epic did not come true. He could complete only 10 full chapters and some part of the 11th chapter of this epic before he passed away. Twelve years after his death - in 1931 - Laxmibai, decided to finish her husband's incomplete work. In the next five years, she added 64 chapters to the Khristayan. After her demise, her son Devdatta penned the concluding 76th chapter. In 1938, the epic Khristayan was published. It was edited by veteran poet S K Kanetkar alias 'Girish', (father of veteran Marathi playwright Vasant Kanetkar).
Rev. Tilak was of the view that Indian forms of worshipping like singing bhajans and conducting kirtans should also be included in Indian churches. He succeeded in introducing this tradition in churches. He wrote in his preface to his book on compilation of Abhangas - "Singing bhajans and narrating stories from mythology are the traditional ways of propagating religion which are acclaimed and upheld by the masses."
The efforts of Tilak to introduce indigenous style of worshipping in Indian churches have yielded rich dividends in Maharashtra. The faithful in Catholic and Protestant churches sing Marathi hymns to the accompaniment of harmonium, tabla and cymbals.
Tilak maintained that conversion to Christianity does not mean emigration to another country and therefore, even after conversion, people should retain their distinct cultural identity. He was truly a nationalist missionary who took pride in Indian culture. Towards the later years of his life, Rev Tilak had started using saffron clothes, which symbolised renunciation.
Prior to his conversion, once a friend asked Tilak," Will your intense patriotism remain the same once you become a Christian?" In reply to this question, Tilak composed a poem. It throws light on Tilak's patriotism. Tilak had written at the end of the poem which when broadly translated from Marathi would be as follows:- ' Oh dear friend! I might cry, might languish, work hard while living on the earth, but would die for my own country even if I become a Christian. By doing this, I would enhance the grace of Christ. Otherwise, I would be a Christian only for the namesake."
Tilak has said, ' A Christian must be like Christ. And an Indian Christian must be like an oriental Christ.'
Towards the end of the 19th century and in 20th century, hundreds of families from western Maharashtra, Marathwada and Northern Maharashtra embraced Christianity. These families did not belong to the high caste like Rev. Tilak, Fr. Nilkanthashastri (Nehemya) Gore or Pandita Ramabai. These people had belonged to different low untouchable castes and tribes. As untouchables and primitive tribes persons, they were not allowed to enter any Hindu temple those days. Denied education for centuries, they had no access to any religious books. Even after their conversion to Christianity, the high caste people continued to treat them as untouchables. The abhangas or the Marathi hymns composed by Tilak fulfilled the spiritual need of the neo-Christians who were trying to understand their new religion. The spiritual composition by a Sanskrit scholar like Rev. Tilak was also of a great literary value. Although Rev. Tilak was a Protestant, his hymns have been sung for the past several decades in Catholic churches as well.
Tilak served as an editor of a Marathi periodical 'Dnyanodaya' from 1912 till his death in 1919. The periodical, established by the American Marathi Mission in 1842, is being published to this date.
Tilak was once invited by Pandita Ramabai to stay at her village Kedgaon near Pune and help her in her ongoing work of translation of Bible into Marathi. Around 1905, Tilak along with Laxmibai and son Devdatta stayed in Kedgaon for nearly six months for this purpose. While Tilak was in Kedgaon, Ramabai published a collection of his 108 bhajans with the title of 'Bhajan Sangraha' at her printing press. She also printed its second edition later.
Tilak insisted that the girl inmates from Ramabai's 'Mukti Sadan' should be taught Christian hymns sung in Indian classical music style. He had produced the collection of hymns 'Bhajan Sangraha' for the same purpose. Before Tilak's visit to Kedgaon, Ramabai used to teach the girls to sing hymns with western music style.
Pandita Ramabai had thorough knowledge of Sanskrit. Tilak had learnt Sanskrit but he was influenced more by the literature of Marathi sants (saints) belonging to the bhakti cult. That is why he used to say that, he had reached at the Christ' feet by walking on the bridge built by Sant Tukaram. It was difficult for Tilak and Pandita Ramabai with different inclinations and bent of minds to agree upon translations of Bible. Therefore within six months, Rev. Tilak along with his family left Kedgaon.
Although Tilak left Kedgaon, his friendship with Ramabai continued. During his last days when Tilak was critically ill, Ramabai had sent Rs 100 to him through her daughter, Manorama.
Rev. Tilak's will is a testimony of his immense patriotism and his love for Indian culture. In his will, he had stated that, that his mortal remains should not be buried as per western tradition but be consigned to flames according to the Indian tradition. He also said that black colour should be banned during his funeral procession. He said that, "If my near and dear ones wanted to raise a memorial or a tomb at a place where my ashes would be kept, the following lines should be inscribed on it: - 'Pushkal ajuni una, Prabhu Mi Pushkal ajuni una re!' (Oh God! I am still incomplete. God! I am still incomplete!) There should be no prefix like 'Reverend' or 'Mr.' to my name. The name should not be written as N. V. Tilak in English but as Narayan Vaman Tilak. I have not loved my parents, wife, children, friends or even myself as much I loved my country."
Rev. Tilak passed away in J. J. Hospital in Mumbai on 9 May 1919. His last rites were performed at Worli cremation and his ashes were buried in a tomb in Ahmednagar.. Rev. Tilak's favourite Marathi poem ' Pushkal Ajuni Una' and a poetic tribute by poet Madhav Julian have been inscribed on a marble plaque at his memorial.
References:-
1.'Smrutichitre' (Marathi) by Laxmibai Tilak, Devdatta Tilak, Editor- Ashok Devdatta Tilak, Abhinav edition, 1973, Publisher- Ashok Devdatta Tilak, Nagrik Press, Ramkrishna Paramhans Path, Nashik, Maharashtra, 422 002.
2.'Dnyanodayachya Panatun Maharashtrachya Prabodhanacha Magova' (Marathi) (A review of the awakening in Maharashtra through the pages of Dnyadodaya) (1842-1992) Edited by - Prof. Sudhir Sharma and Vijaya Punekar. Publishers- Dnyanodaya Trust, Joohi, Pathardi Road, Bhingar, Ahmednagar, Maharashtra, 414 002, (1997)
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