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What is madness?

 


So I was recently reading “pagal” by Laxmi Prasad Devkota and couldn’t help but write this.  The lunatic as this poem is popularly called in English; a lunatic i.e someone who has descended into madness. What is madness? It is something abnormal, something irrational, something illogical. If something is abnormal, it is mad and something normal is sane. This has been the traditional binary or division. If a person is different from what society considers to be regular, you call them mad. The indifference of others is rarely accepted. If you have a different way to view thins, you are captioned mad. Such an irony, isn’t it?

But once can never innovate if he /she is asked the replicated the society. He/she will be just another individual in the society. One much think out of the box. Isn’t it?

Give it a read if you haven’t already.

लक्ष्मी प्रसाद देवकोटा – पागल

जरुर साथी म पागल !

यस्तै छ मेरो हाल ।

म शब्दलाई देख्दछु !

दृश्यलाई सुन्दछु !

बासनालाई संबाद लिन्छु ।

आकाशभन्दा पातालका कुरालाई छुन्छु ।

ती कुरा,

जसको अस्तित्व लोक मान्दैंन

जसको आकार संसार जान्दैन !

म देख्दछु, ढुङ्गालाई फूल !

जब, जलकिनारका जल चिप्ला ती,

कोमलाकार, पाषाण,

चाँदनीमा,

स्वर्गकी जादूगर्नी मतिर हाँस्दा,

पत्रिएर, नर्मिएर, झल्किएर,

बल्किएर, उठ्दछन् मूक पागलझैँ,

फूलझैँ- एक किसिमका चकोर फूल !

म बोल्दछु तिनसँग, जस्तो बोल्दछन् ती मसँग

एक भाषा, साथी !

जो लेखिन्न, छापिन्न, बोलिन्न, बुझाइन्न, सुनाइन्न ।

जुनेली गङ्गा-किनार छाल आउँछ तिनको भाषा

साथी ! छाल छाल !

जरुर साथी म पागल !

यस्तै छ मेरो हाल !

तिमी चतुर छौ, वाचाल !

तिम्रो शुद्ध गणित सूत्र हरहमेशा चलिरहेको छ

मेरो गणितमा एकबाट एक झिके

एकै बाँकी रहन्छ !

तिमी पाँच इन्द्रियले काम गर्छौ,

म छैटौँले !

तिम्रो गिदी छ साथी !

मेरो मुटु ।

तिमी गुलाफलाई गुलाफ सिवाय देख्न सक्तैनौ,

म उसमा हेलेन र पद्मिनी पाउँछु,

तिमी बलिया गद्य छौ !

म तरल पद्य छु !

तिमी जम्दछौ जब म पग्लन्छु,

तिमी सँग्लन्छौ जब म धमिलो बन्छु,

र ठीक त्यसैका उल्टो !

तिम्रो संसार ठोस छ ।

मेरो बाफ !

तिम्रो बाक्लो, मेरो पातलो !

तिमी ढुङ्गालाई वस्तु ठान्दछौ,

ठोस कठोरता तिम्रो यथार्थ छ ।

म सपनालाई समात्न खोज्दछु,

जस्तो तिमी, त्यो चिसो, मीठो अक्षर काटेको

पान्ढीकीको बाटुलो सत्यलाई !

मेरो छ वेग काँडाको साथी !

तिम्रो सुनको र हीराको !

तिमी पहाडलाई लाटा भन्दछौ,

म भन्छु वाचाल ।

जरुर साथी ।

मेरो एक नशा ढिलो छ ।

यस्तै छ मेरो हाल !

1-1=1 in Devkota’s mathematics. Is there even an example of when 1-1=1? In simple mathematical calculations, this is incorrect. But philosophically, this is correct. If something good is taken or received from someone good, the persona is still good. It was once said that, “ if we take the absolute from the absolute, what remains is absolute.’ Truth is always relative, not absolute. The society that always values you reasons and not your feelings is a mechanically working society. You actually realize something when it is felt by the heart, not only seen or heard.

So, would you like to be a wise lunatic like Devkota or are you content with the way things are?

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