"A Prophet" by A.S. Pushkin

Prompted by a recent bout of reflection and contemplation, I revisited a wonderful poem that was required reading in middle school in Russia. This poem is called ‘A Prophet’. It was written in 1826 or about that time by Alexander S. Pushkin, a classic author of Russian literature.

It still beats me how this poem could possibly have made it into the school program of an atheistic society. It is loosely based on Isaiah 6, and relies greatly on christian symbolism and religious language.

Another thing that evades me is how one could possibly have expected a 5-6 grader to understand the poem's meaning. Not surprisingly, a traditional interpretation was spelled out and firmly implanted by teachers. According to it, 'A Prophet' reflects A.S.Pushkin's understanding of the mission of poet in the society.

This makes some sense, since Russian literature has always been concerned with social wellfare. A 19-th century literary critic V. Belinski identified the two questions of Russian literature as 'Whose Fault Is It?' and 'What Is To Be Done?' Here, he plays on the titles of the two popular novels of the time, perhaps not the strongest in terms of style and substance, but preoccupied with the ideas of revolutionary changes in society.

Combined with that overarching understanding and a few more of Pushkin's poems dealing specifically with the fate of a poet, "A Prophet" does appear to tell a cohesive tale.

Yet, now, with some more life's lessons under my belt, I understand that there is more to the story. I am amazed at and infinitely grateful to the genius of A.S. Pushkin, who created it is the most perfect description of spiritual awakening and initiation in world literature.

Read the poem below and see for yourself. I tried to translate accurately to transmit meaning exactly. In original, it is rhymed and infinitely more beautiful.

A Prophet

by Alexander S. Pushkin

Suffering from spiritual thirst,
I struggled, walking in a desert.
And then a six-winged Seraphim
Revealed himself to me at a crossroad.

With its fingers light and nimble as a dream
He touched my eyes.
My eyes have opened, all-seeing,
Like the bright eyes of a frightened eagle.

He touched my ears,
And they were filled with noise and bells ringing,
And I heard and perceived the shudder of thunder in the sky,
And the high flight of angels,
And the sea monsters moving under water
And the sad existence of a vine, vegetating in the valley.

Then, he went for my mouth
And tore out my sinful tongue, my babbling and lying tongue,
And with his bloody hand
Put the tongue of a wise serpent
In my frozen mouth.

Then he cut through my breast with a sword,
Took out my beating heart,
And thrust a coal, burning with fire,
Into my open chest.

… I was lying in a desert like dead
When the voice of God called to me:
“Get up, o Prophet, see, and hear,
Be filled with my will,
Go across the seas and the lands
And burn people’s hearts with a word.”

*****

just a little footnote:

Interestingly, the word Seraphim comes from the Hebrew verb ‘saraph’ (to burn), or the noun ’saraph’ (a fiery, flying serpent). From a few Bible references associating them with snakes in the wilderness, it has been concluded that the Seraphim were serpentine in form and associated with fire. But in Isaiah, they are angelic beings surrounding God’s throne.

Laura Knight-Jadzcyk in her book The High Strangeness of Dimensions, Densities and the Process of Alien Abduction quotes and develops an idea that Serpent was linked with creation and revered in cultures where Nature was worshipped, but in monotheistic religions its image was corrupted to represent evil. And in the Bible, we see conflicting descriptions of Seraphims as a ‘good’ serpent or an angel, quite unlike the other serpents, specifically, the evil Serpent from the Garden of Eden.

It sure looks like some kind of a glitch, an older information not properly sanitized.

Yet, a poet saw right through it, and made Seraphim the force that awakens and initiated with fire, so that the Prophet could See, Hear, Speak, and Understand emotionally, forever being compelled to DO by his burning heart.

Prophet
Seraphim
Pushkin
Initiation