Introduction
Transformation is a beautiful spiritual poem written by poet and seer ‘Sri Aurobindo’. It was first originally published in the Calcutta Review in October 1934. Sri Aurobindo wrote the poem around 1933. Later on published in collection ‘Poems’ in 1941. Poems explains the divine experience poet had during meditation.
Central Idea
The poem is centralized on the experience of divinity to the poet. He experiences ‘influx of the unknown and the supreme’ during meditation. He claims to have left all sort of bondage and slavery now and he is ‘god’s happy tool’ now.
Themes
- Sensuousness to Spirituality – The main theme of the poem is that poet has freed itself from the slavery of senses to new divine and spiritual experience. Hence he is now transformed into an enlightened fellow and left behind materialistic world. He says that his every cell is ‘illumined’ and he is no more a ,’vassal of flesh’. His soul has become comprehensive like an unhorizoned and measureless sight, body is now a happy tool of God and spirit is like a large sun whose light will never fade.
- Power of meditation – The also has the theme of showing power of meditation. As the poet is doing rhythmic breathings that is pranayama. Implicitly he tells that earlier energy flow through breathing was happening from left and right side channels of the body but through pranayama now is central channel is opened and he is having such divine experience.
Figure of Speech
- Alliteration – In the second line of the poem ‘My members with a might divine’ has repetition of consonant sound/m/ at the starting of the words. Hence it’s a case of alliteration.
- Simile – Poet has directly compared his new spiritual experience to a ‘Giant’s wine using like. Hence it is simile. Similarly at the end of the poem poet has compared his transformed spirit to a sun whose light will never die hence that is also a simile.
- Synecdoche – Poet writes that after spiritual experience his ‘illumined cells joys flaming scheme’. Here cells are representing the whole body and the person hence it’s an instance of synecdoche.
Three energy channels
The Poem describes how significant impression has the Central channel (naadi) of energy on body which is also called as ‘Shushmna’. There are other channels also such as ‘Ida’ the left side channel and ‘Pingala’ the right side one. But Shushmna the Central one is opened by rhythmic breathing i.e. pranayama hence poet is having this transformation.
Structure and Rhyme Scheme
The poem is a sonnet and can be divided into octave and sestet. The Octave part shows the new divine experience poet is having on opening of the central channel or naadi of energy flow and sestet shows the results of such transformation. The rhyme scheme is ABBAABBACDCEFE.
For my other notes of Indian Poetry click here
For my other notes on Western Poetry click here
Copyright Our Guruji 2024. All Rights Reserved.