Were the ancient sages humbler than the modern acharyas as only the latter mention their names in their compositions?

Anwser Podcast

Transcript

This is an AI-generated transcript and may contain some errors.
Great question.
Were the sages of the past more humble than the recent Acharyas? Because the past sages never mentioned their names while writing the hymns and the verses, but the modern saints, they usually at the end of their songs mention their names. Answer, it’s not a question of humility, it’s more a question of context. Context means that if we look at the Murugavar past sages, we are talking primarily about two situations when the sages are involved.
One is that there are revelations streaming through them. That means the Vedas are called as Shruti and they are considered eternal. So, the sages let sound manifest in their heart and they speak it.
So, they are simply channels at that time. And then there are the sages who may themselves give some teachings. So, both are similar but sometimes the emphasis is slightly different.
Now, on the other hand, if we consider the modern context, modern times mostly we are talking about Bhakti saints and Bhakti is more a matter of reciprocation. There are two people involved and among those two people there is a loving relationship, an intense relationship in fact. And that intense relationship is expressed through the affection, through the expression of the poetry or the verse or the song or whatever it is.
And because there is a reciprocation, when the saints compose these songs, it is simply they themselves expressing their heart to the Lord. So, later on those things may be publicized, they may be recorded and they may be sung collectively. But primarily when it comes out from their heart, it is primarily what? Simply an expression of their devotion.
So, in that context, it’s easy to understand that actually they are focusing on simply expressing their heart. And because it’s a person-to-person relationship, so the name coming is appropriate. It is just like when we write a letter, at the end of a letter we sign the letter.
Now, we could say that, okay, the person to whom the letter is going, that person can maybe look at my language, look at the address and they can come to know whom the letter is from. So, for example, when we send an email, now our email ID is already there, still at the end of it we sign. Because that is a normal etiquette.
That is the way we, okay, I have written a letter, I am ending it and so and so. But in the case of the saints when they are teaching, so Bhagavata is spoken. Now, after that, Krishna is not going to say Sri Bhagavan, that is Vyasadeva has added it over there.
That is a very different thing over there. When the sages are speaking, they are actually either revealing something or they are teaching something. Whereas when the saints are composing songs, at that time primarily it is the expression of their devotion, which is meant for the Lord.
And thus they have the name at the end. And we are not impersonalists that the name itself should not be given. See, again, if we see the mood in which the name is given, that also is, that also is, let us see, Krishnas Koiraj Goswami may say that, you know, in this way, Krishna Koiraj sings the glories of Chaitanya Nityananda.
But then in that same composition elsewhere, we see his mood. So he says that I am more fallen than Jagai and Madai, I am lower than a worm in the stool. So we can see the heartbreaking, heartrending humility that is also there in that.
So we can’t see things as only one statement or they are just mentioning their name. So the name, especially when it’s a devotional expression of one’s heart, then the name actually in that context is the way of tangibly expressing one’s emotions in a relationship. Relationship is always between two people.
So humility essentially means that the focus is not on me. Humility means the focus is on Krishna. Humility doesn’t mean that I have to be a nameless, faceless entity.
So humility means that, OK, I have a name and I have face, but I don’t make that the center. I use that to bring Krishna in the center. So it is not that the Acharyas are talking simply about themselves.
The Acharyas, even if they are using their name at the end, they are actually talking about the devotion and that they are glorifying the Lord. Or, see, humility should not mean that we have to depersonalize ourselves. Humility simply means that we have to shift the center of our consciousness from ourselves to Krishna.
And that is done by the Acharyas definitely in their works. Their consciousness is Krishna and they are expressing Krishna’s glory. They are longing for connecting with Krishna.
And at the end of it, they are also saying that we should connect lovingly. Lord, have mercy on me. Please bless me that it is I who am expressing my devotion to you.
So that way we can understand that in different contexts, depending on the way the emotion is being expressed, differently things may be done.