Introduction:
Sarojini Naidu occupies a distinguished place in Indian English literature as one of the finest lyric poets of the early twentieth century. Popularly known as the “Nightingale of India,” she is celebrated for the melodious quality of her poetry, vivid imagery, emotional intensity, and deep spiritual insight. Although her poems are widely admired for their celebration of Indian nature, culture, love, patriotism, and human emotions, an equally significant aspect of her poetic genius is her profound element of mysticism. Mysticism in Sarojini Naidu’s poetry reflects her spiritual vision, her yearning for union with the Divine, and her belief in the eternal relationship between the human soul and the Supreme Reality. Influenced by the rich traditions of Indian philosophy, the Upanishads, Bhakti spirituality, Sufism, and Vedantic thought, she presents life as a sacred journey in which worldly experiences ultimately lead the soul toward spiritual enlightenment.
The mystical strain in her poetry is not based on abstract philosophical arguments but is expressed through simple, musical, and symbolic lyrics. Her poems frequently portray nature as a manifestation of the Divine, where flowers, birds, rivers, stars, dawn, twilight, and the changing seasons become symbols of God’s presence and the eternal beauty of creation. She believes that the visible world is only a reflection of a higher spiritual reality, and therefore every object in nature possesses a sacred significance. Through this symbolic treatment of nature, she invites readers to look beyond external appearances and discover the hidden spiritual truths underlying the universe.
A remarkable feature of Sarojini Naidu’s mysticism is her emphasis on divine love and the soul’s longing for eternal union with God. Similar to the medieval Bhakti saints and Sufi mystics, she presents the soul as a devoted lover seeking reunion with the Divine Beloved. Her mystical poems express feelings of devotion, surrender, faith, hope, and spiritual aspiration. Instead of rejecting worldly life, she transforms ordinary human experiences into spiritual experiences, revealing that love, beauty, sacrifice, and service are all pathways to attaining the Divine. This harmonious blending of earthly and heavenly love gives her poetry a unique emotional and spiritual depth.
Another important characteristic of her mystical vision is her optimistic faith in the immortality of the soul and the unity of all existence. She regards life and death as complementary stages in the eternal cycle of existence rather than opposing realities. For her, death is not an end but a transition from the temporal world to the everlasting realm of the Spirit. This philosophical outlook fills her poetry with serenity, hope, and confidence in the eternal presence of God. Her mystical vision thus transcends religious boundaries and conveys a universal message of spiritual harmony, peace, and brotherhood.
Several of her poems, such as The Soul’s Prayer, The Temple, The Bird of Time, and The Broken Wing, beautifully illustrate her mystical philosophy. These poems reveal her deep contemplation of life’s mysteries, the search for divine truth, and the aspiration to transcend the limitations of the material world. Through rich symbolism, musical language, and profound spiritual insight, she transforms personal emotions into universal experiences that appeal to readers across cultures and generations.
In conclusion, mysticism forms one of the most profound and enduring dimensions of Sarojini Naidu’s poetry. Her mystical imagination combines Indian spiritual traditions with lyrical beauty to explore the eternal relationship between humanity, nature, and the Divine. Her poetry inspires readers to seek inner peace, spiritual awakening, and universal love while appreciating the divine presence in every aspect of life. Thus, the element of mysticism not only enriches the artistic excellence of Sarojini Naidu’s poetry but also establishes her as a poet of spiritual wisdom, whose lyrical voice continues to illuminate the timeless quest for truth, beauty, and eternal bliss.
Mysticism:
The word “Mysticism” is a derived from “Mystes” which means a person initiated into the “mysteries”. “Mystes” in its turn is derived from the Greek word “muein” which means “to keep silence”. Thus, Mysticism is the belief that knowledge of God and of Real Truth is independent of the mind and the senses. Being independent of understanding and senses, this knowledge can be obtained through contemplation or spiritual insight. The term Mysticism is employed to cover:
1.The first-hand experience of direct communion with God or Ultimate Reality; and
2.The theologies-metaphysical doctrine of the soul’s possible union with the Ultimate Absolute Reality or God.
Mysticism and Religion:
One thing should be clearly understood that prayer, worship and religion may form a part of mysticism but they are usually viewed as means and not essence because they are continuations of sensory experiences where as “mysticism” is unadulterated unity consciousness or a union with God. “Mysticism” like poetry and depends more on contradictions and unusual use of language. Philosophies may lead to or follow from mysticism but are not mysticism themselves. “Mysticism” conforms the claims of religion and is viewed as providing a foretaste of life after death.
Definitions:
Here are some of the many definitions of “Mysticism”:
1. ‘MYSTICISM’ is the immediate experience of oneness with the Ultimate Reality. When we call mysticism an experience of oneness, we mean that the relationship into which the mystic is inducted transcends the ordinary distinctions between the subject and the object of between I and thou. And the term ‘Ultimate Reality’ in the definition seeks to make clear that the mystic knows himself to be involved with no more idea or thing but with that beyond which nothing can be known or imagined.” – ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA VOL. XV., P. 1129.
2.“… religion in its most concentrated and exclusive form”, as “that if the mind in which all other relations are swallowed up in the relation of the soul to God.” —ENCYCLOPAEDIA BRITANNICA
3.“The essence of Mysticism is the assertion of an intuition which transcends the temporal categories of the understanding. … Rationalism cannot conduct us to the essence of things; we, therefore, need intellectual vision.” – ADOLE LASSON.
4.The mediaeval theistic view of Mysticism:
“… a stretching out of the soul into God though the urge of love, an experimental knowledge of God through unifying love.”
5.“… … the immediate feeling of unity of self with God; it is nothing, therefore, but the fundamental feeling of religion, the religious life at its very heart and centre.” —OTTO PELEIDERER.
6.“Mysticism is the consciousness that everything that we experience is an element, and only an element, i.e., that in being what it is, it is symbolic of something else.” – RICHARD NETTLESHIP
7.“Mysticsm” in religion is an immediate knowledge of spiritual presence and a sense of direct contract with it. In religions with a belief in personal God, Mysticism may involve a direct communion with the Supreme Being. A mystical experience may come through visions or ecstogies, or through meditation (the burning of mind on itself and into the realm of the spirit). Mysticism in philosophy is the experience of personal union with the Ultimate Reality, and is the belief that the chief end of man is to seek such a union, Philosophical mysticism often becomes a pantheism that sees God in all things.” – NEW STANDARD ENCYCLOPAEDIA, VOL. VIII.
Mysticism in Sarojini Naidu’s Poetry:
Sarojini Naidu is the supreme poet of love. She is an Indian version of Elizabeth Barrett Browning or John Keats. She deals with all the aspects and hues of Love-union, separation, moods of hope, despair, challenge, frustration, sorrow, expectancy, ecstasy etc. jealousy, suspicion, anger, revenge are also there. Love in both violent and delicate aspects is depicted in her poetry. Occasionally we discern an unmistakable strain of mysticism in her poetry, especially in The Temple—sequence of poems, “Song of Radha, the Milk-Maid”, “The Flute Player of Brindaban”, etc. It is for this reason that Sarojini is often called the English Meera Bai. Engrossed in the love of Krishna, she is unmindful of her immediate surroundings and abruptly cries out “Govinda! Govinda!”
“But my heart was so full of your music/beauty, Beloved,
They mocked/laughed when/as I cried without knowing:
‘Govinda’! ‘Govinda’!
‘Govinda’! Govinda’!
How gaily softly the river was flowing!”
—From Stanza II and I, “Song of Radha, The Milkmaid”
There is dearth of poems depicting her intense Love for God, desiring union with the Supreme Soul:
“So shall my yearning love at last
Grow sanctified,
Thro’ sorrow find deliverance
From mortal pride,
So shall my soul, redeemed, re-born,
Attain thy side.” —Stanza IV, “Invocation” from “The Sanctuary of The Temple.
Similarly, she expresses the intense desire for union and is prepared to go to any length and pay any price to fulfil her wish:
“Strangle my soul and fling it into the fire!
Why should my true love fatter or fear or rebel?
Love, I am yours to lie in your breast like a flower,
Or bum like a weed for your sake in the flame of hell.”
—Stanza II, “Devotion” from The Sanctuary of The Temple
Truly, many of “mortal moments are a session of the Infinite”, as may be clear and amply illustrated by the above excerpts.
Sarojini’s mysticism enchants, exalts and sanctifies her poetry and qualify her to take her place among the great poets of all times.
Conclusion:
Besides such poems as “Song of Radha, the Milkmaid”, “The Flute-Player of Brindaban”, and many other poems, she has The Temple—sequence of poems divided into three parts, each consisting of eight poems of spiritual love, “The Gate of Delight”, “The Path of Tears” and “The Sanctuary” corresponding to the temple architecture. Mysticism is the leading strain in these poems. In her love-poetry with an undercurrent of mysticism and spirituality the poet is very severe on herself often castigating flagellating herself for her lover. Throughout there is an exaggerated self-abasement and excess of emotion. But the path to the sanctum sanatorium (The Sanctuary) is through the annitutation of the self and the ago-the essential ingredients for merging with the Supreme Soul.