Q 1. What makes the concept of ‘rasa’ critical to understanding Sanskrit drama? Compare and contrast this notion of stimulation of select emotional states by performance to the Western notion of catharsis.
Rasa could be said to be a two-fold experience felt by the creator and his
expression through his art and the experience of the reader (Sahrdayas) who receive
the art. The creator undergoes an emotion and is so overwhelmed by it that he seeks
a medium for the expression of his feelings (Sunil, 2005, p. 1). The permanent mood in a piece of literatrue is the basis of Rasa. The permanent mood or the Sthayibhava is a major emotion which is
developed by a number of minor feelings called Vyabhicaribhavas or Sancaribhavas.
There are thirty three such minor feelings recorded by Bharata. The minor emotions take place in the major emotions.
The concept of Rasa is that the Spectator's egoistic self gets submerged and his emotions become universalized.
This universalization explains the paradox of participation and detachment. Though
the spectators take part in the pains or pleasures of the hero, they do not undergo
the emotions to the extent that they would have done in real life (Sunil, 2005, p. 7). Sanskirt Drama "Rasa" is emotionally rooted in the audience because the performer inspired the emotional state. The purpose of the drama is to evoke certian permanent emotions in the audience members. Thus, a connection to the audience is the primary mechanism of the "Rasa." Without the audience, the "Rasa" would conceptually fail. It is similar to Western catharsis conceptually, as an emotional drama. Catharsis is the purification of or purgation of one's emotions through art. In contrast, the Western theatre does not succintly break down the types of emotions and style like the
"Rasa."For example, the thirty three minor feelings and permanent mood are not practiced with the same style. Moreover,
The essence of Rasa is a pleasure which has no relationship with any particular ego.
The aesthetic state of consciousness, whether its material is anger, pain, love and so
on does not insert itself into the texture of everyday life, but is seen and lived in
complete independence of any individual interest. Western theatre plays on the emotion of the audience's ego. The individual ego is manipulated due to the Western culture's individualistic autonomy.
Ralph Waldo Emerson summed it up well when he said, "The religion of one age is the literary entertainment of the next." The concept of rasa is tightly interwoven with relgious beliefs and it is interesting to see how the concept has been tied into performance art and literature. The colors, the emotions, the way that different emotions and colors are attributed to different dieties- all that has been tranported into performance to create this concept of rasa.
ReplyDeleteSeveral people have tackled this question. In my responses, I've been talking about the contrast between the Indian and Greek valuation of emotion. However, as your essay points out, there's also a contrast between Eastern and Western concepts of self at work here, aren't there? How important is the viewer's unique, idiosyncratic experience of emotion? Does drama need to be concerned with the unrepeatable experience of one viewer or look towards the desired response of a community or a culture over time?
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