CIVILIZATION OF INDIA

POLITICS	RELIGION	ARTS	IDEAS
2500 B.C.E.    Black civilization 2000 B.C.E. 1500 B.C.E.		Sensuous sculpture	Plumbing
Aryan invasion and 1000 B.C.E.       rebeginning 500 B.C.E.    Maurya empire    Ashoka	Rig Veda Upanishads Buddha, Mahavira	Bhasa	Sushruta
1 B.C.E.    Gupta empire    Chandragupta II	Bhagavad Gita	Valmiki Shudraka, Avvaiyar Cave paintings Kalidasa	Zero Decimal system
500 C.E.	Buddhism spreads     through Asia	Bhartrihari Harsha Bhavabhuti Chola bronzes Khajuraho	Vatsyayana Aryabhatta Shankara Ramanuja
1000 C.E.  Moslem                 invasions    Vijayanagar empire    Muslim conquest    European colonizing 1500 C.E.	Sikhism	Ankor Wat Ankor Thom	Bhaskara

Note--People who live in India are Indians.  They must not be confused with
American Indians.  Columbus gave them similar names because he was lost.  In
this book, Indians are called Indians, and American Indians are called American
Indians.
    (The easy pronunciations given in this unit are not quite correct.  If you
want to get more accurate yet, practice stressing each syllable equally.)



13. WHITE MEETS BLACK

    India's first civilized people were black.  By 2500 B.C.E., they lived in
large brick cities with broad straight streets.  They equipped their homes with
plumbing in the bathrooms upstairs and down.  Under their streets ran an
elaborate sewage system.  Historians have not yet learned how to read their
writing.  But their artwork shows a great love for animals, and an appreciation
of the human body.  Toys included little cows with moveable heads, and
monkeys that slid down a string.  These people worshiped a mother goddess.
They seem to have been gentle traders and farmers--the first to raise chickens.

    Then white barbarians rode down from the north.  Bringing their spears,
their herds, and their hymns, the invaders called themselves Aryans.  They
could not understand the civilization which they found.  They laughed at people
who would live cooped up in cities.  The Aryans could not understand
commerce at all; for to their way of thinking, a person's wealth was measured
by the number of cattle he owned.  Singing hymns to their many gods, the
Aryans viciously destroyed the black people in their cities.  This hymn to the
Aryan war god, Indra, even names some of the dead black leaders:

from THE RIG VEDA

     Glorify him whose might is all-surpassing, Indra, the much-invoked
     who fights uninjured.
     Magnify with these songs the never-vanquished, the Strong, the Bull
     of men, the Mighty Victor.

     He, Champion, Hero, Warrior, Lord of battles, impetuous,* loudly
     roaring, great destroyer,
     Who whirls the dust on high, alone, o'erthrower, hath made all races
     of mankind his subjects.

     Thou, thou alone, hast tamed the Dasyus,* singly thou hast subdued
     the people for the Arya+....
     Indra crushed Chumuri, Dhuni, Sambara, Pipru, and Sushna, that
     their castles fell in ruin....

     From heaven, from earth is bruited forth the greatness of him the
     firm, the fiery, the resplendent.
     No foe hath he, no counterpart, no refuge is there from him the
     Conqueror full of wisdom.

*rash
*black people
+white people

     Aryan warriors destroyed the cities and the knowledge which they could
not understand.  Indian history had to begin all over again.

    Many black Indians fled to southern India; those who stayed could get
only the lowliest jobs.  To keep the races separate, the Aryans created a rigid
class system.  At first the warriors dominated, but soon Indians found their
families born into one of four classes:

    1.  Priests and other educated persons
    2.  Rulers and warriors
    3.  Businessmen
    4.  Common people

Over the centuries, some families got thrown out of their classes for breaking
one rule or another; eventually they formed a fifth group called Untouchables.

    But the races did mix, and ideas mixed too.  The Aryans mellowed.  Black
gentleness and white religion melted into a religion of gentleness.

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FILMSTRIP: ART OF THE INDUS VALLEY CIVILIZATION (15 minutes)

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14-15.  THE ONENESS OF HINDUISM

    Like other groups who have united into a nation, the people of India
found themselves with many gods.  The Egyptians had solved that problem by
giving each god a special job.  But the Indians decided that all gods were really
the same; that each embodied the spirit of life running through the whole
universe.  They called that spirit of life Brahman.
    (Notice in the first scripture reading that the black mother goddess had
to teach this understanding to the powerful white gods.)

from the KENA UPANISHAD

          OM . . . .  Peace--peace--peace,
    Once the gods won a victory over the demons, and though
they had done so only through the power of Brahman, they were
exceedingly vain.*  They thought to themselves, "It was we who beat
our enemies, and the glory is ours."
    Brahman saw their vanity and appeared before them.  But
they did not recognize him.
    Then the other gods said to the god of fire: "Fire, find out for
us who this mysterious spirit is."
    "Yes," said the god of fire, and approached the spirit.  The
spirit said to him:
          "Who are you?"
    "I am the god of fire.  As a matter of fact, I am very widely
known."
          "And what power do you wield?"
          "I can burn anything on earth."
          "Burn this," said the spirit, placing a straw before him.
    The god of fire fell upon it with all his might, but could not
consume it.  So he ran back to the other gods, and said:
          "I cannot discover who this mysterious spirit is."
    Then said the other gods to the god of wind: "Wind, do you
find out for us who he is."
    "Yes," said the god of wind, and approached the spirit.  The
spirit said to him:
    "Who are you?"
    "I am the god of wind.  As a matter of fact, I am very widely
known.  I fly swiftly through the heavens."
    "And what power do you wield?"
    "I can blow away anything on earth."
    "Blow this away," said the spirit, placing a straw before him.
    The god of wind fell upon it with all his might, but was unable
to move it.  So he ran back to the other gods, and said:
    "I cannot discover who this mysterious spirit is."
    Then said the other gods to Indra, greatest of them all:  "O
respected one, find out for us, we pray you, who he is."
    "Yes," said Indra, and drew nigh to the spirit.  But the spirit
vanished, and in his place stood Uma, God the Mother, well adorned
and of exceeding beauty.  Beholding her, Indra asked:
    "Who was the spirit that appeared to us?"
    "That," answered Uma, "was Brahman.  Through him it was,
not of yourselves, that you attained your victory and your glory."
    Thus did Indra, and the god of fire, and the god of wind come
to recognize Brahman...
    This is the truth of Brahman in relation to nature: whether in
the flash of the lightning, or in the wink of the eyes, the power that is
shown is the power of Brahman.
    This is the truth of Brahman in relation to man: in the motions
of the mind, the power that is shown is the power of Brahman.  For
this reason should a man meditate upon Brahman by day and by
night.
    Brahman is the adorable being in all beings.  Meditate upon
him as such.  He who meditates upon him as such is honored by all
other beings.
                    OM . . . .  Peace--peace--peace
               
*proud

    People of India saw Brahman in every living thing.  They saw the same
spirit of life flowing through themselves.  All of life is one; all of life is holy.

    They believed that life is eternal; that when life goes out of one body, it
will reappear in another.  In such reincarnation, a good person may return in a
higher form--say a ruler or a priest.  A person who has not been good may
return in the lower form of an Untouchable or even an animal.  For this reason,
Indians have always shown great respect for animals--especially the cow; and
most people lived as vegetarians.  Life is one and eternal.

from the CHANDOGYA UPANISHAD

    OM . . .  Peace--peace--peace.
    When Svetaketu* was twelve years old, his father Uddalaka+
said to him, "Svetaketu, you must now go to school and study.  None
of our family, my child, is ignorant of Brahman."
    So Svetaketu went to a teacher and studied for twelve years.
After committing to memory all the Vedas, he returned home full of
pride in his learning.
    His father, noticing the young man's conceit, said to him:
"Svetaketu, have you asked for that knowledge by which we hear the
unhearable, by which we perceive the unperceivable, by which we
know the unknowable?"
    "What is that knowledge, sir?" asked Svetaketu.
    "My child, just as by knowing one lump of clay, all things made
of clay are known...as by knowing a nugget of gold, all things made
of gold are known...exactly so is that knowledge, knowing which we
know all."
    "But surely those venerable* teachers of mine are ignorant of
this knowledge; for if they had possessed it, they would have taught
it to me.  Do you therefore, sir, give me that knowledge."
    "Be it so," said Uddalaka, and continued thus:
    "In the beginning, there was Existence, One only, without a
second.  Some say that in the beginning there was non-existence
only, and that out of that the universe was born.  But how could such
a thing be?  How could existence be born of non-existence?  No, my
son, in the beginning there was Existence alone--One only, without a
second.  He, the One, thought to himself: Let me be many, let me
grow forth.  Thus out of himself he projected the universe; and
having projected out of himself the universe, he entered into every
being.  All that is has its self in him alone.  Of all things he is the
subtle essence.*  He is the truth.  He is the Self.  And that,
Svetaketu, THAT ART THOU."
    "Please, sir, tell me more about this Self."
    "Be it so, my child:
    "As the bees make honey by gathering juices from many
flowering plants and trees, and as these juices reduced to one honey
do not know from what flowers they severally* come, similarly, my
son, all creatures, when they are merged in that one
Existence, whether in dreamless sleep or in death, know nothing of
their past or present state, because of the ignorance enveloping
them--know not that they are merged in him and that from him they
came.
    "Whatever these creatures are, whether a lion, or a tiger, or a
boar, or a worm, or a gnat, or a mosquito, that they remain after they
come back from dreamless sleep.
    "All these have their self in him alone.  He is the truth.  He is
the subtle essence of all.  He is the Self.  And that, Svetaketu, THAT
ART THOU."

    "Please, sir, tell me more about this Self."
    "Be it so, my son:
    "The rivers in the east flow eastward, the rivers in the west
flow westward, and all enter into the sea.  From sea to sea they
pass, the clouds lifting them to the sky as vapor and sending them
down as rain.  And as these rivers, when they are united with the
sea, do not know whether they are of this or that river, likewise all
those creatures that I have named, when they have come back from
Brahman, know not whence* they came.
    "All those beings have their self in him alone.  He is the truth.
He is the subtle essence of all.  He is the Self.  And that, Svetaketu,
THAT ART THOU."

    "Please, sir, tell me more about this Self."
    "Be it so, my child:
    "If someone were to strike once at the root of this large tree, it
would bleed, but live.  If he were to strike at its stem, it would bleed,
but live.  If he were to strike at the top, it would bleed, but live.
Pervaded by the living Self, this tree stands firm, and takes its food;
but if the Self were to depart from one of its branches, that branch
would wither; if it were to depart from a second, that would wither; if it
were to depart from a third, that would wither.  If it were to depart
from the whole tree, the whole tree would wither.
    "Likewise, my son, know this: The body dies when the Self
leaves it--but the Self dies not.
    "All that is has its self in him alone.  He is the truth.  He is the
subtle essence of all.  He is the Self.  And that, Svetaketu, THAT
ART THOU."

    "Please, sir, tell me more about this Self."
    "Be it so.  Bring a fruit of that Nyagrodha tree."
    "Here it is, sir."
    "Break it."
    "It is broken, sir."
    "What do you see?"
    "Some seeds, extremely small, sir."
    "Break one of them."
    "It is broken, sir."
    "What do you see?"
    "Nothing, sir."
    "The subtle essence you do not see, and in that is the whole
of the Nyagrodha tree.  Believe, my son, that that which is the subtle
essence--in that have all things their existence.  That is the truth.
That is the Self.  And that, Svetaketu, THAT ART THOU."

    "Please, sir, tell me more about this Self."
    "Be it so.  Put this salt in water, and come to me tomorrow
morning."
    Svetaketu did as he was asked.  The next morning his father
asked him to bring the salt which he had put in the water.  But he
could not, for it had dissolved.  Then said Uddalaka:
    "Sip the water, and tell me how it tastes."
    "It is salty, sir."
    "In the same way," continued Uddalaka, "though you do not
see Brahman in this body, he is indeed here.  That which is the
subtle essence--in that have all things their existence.  That is the
truth.  That is the Self.  And that, Svetaketu, THAT ART THOU."
                    OM . . .  Peace--peace--peace

*shveh-tah-KEH-too
+oo-DAH-lah-kah
*respected
*what they are made of
*individually
*from where

     By the time a person has worked his way through many lives up to the
priesthood, he is ready to understand the mystery of oneness: that he was the
same person at all levels, and that all levels of life are a part of him.  Once he
understands this, he need not continue through the troubles of more lives.  His
soul melts into the soul of the universe.  He is everywhere and nowhere.  This
state of eternal oneness is often called Nirvana.

    In Indian religion, there is one center of goodness.  There is no opposite
center of evil.  Religious teachers have often talked about the wheel of life--
where some individuals have found rest at the center of goodness, while others
still race around the edge at a greater distance from that center.

    The highest state, then, is spiritual oneness.  But some people just are
not able to understand that.  For them, the next-best condition is physical
oneness--in other words, sexual union.  Love in India is pure and holy--not at
all like many Western attitudes.  All of life is one; all of life is holy.

Teaching of Yajnavalkya*
from the BRIHADARANYAKA UPANISHAD

    OM . . .  Peace--peace--peace.
    The Self, having in wakefulness enjoyed the pleasures of
sense, gone hither and thither, experienced good and evil, hastens
back again to his dreams.
    As a large fish moves from one bank of a river to the other, so
does the Self move between dreaming and waking.
    As a hawk or a falcon flying in the sky becomes tired, and
stretching its wings comes back to its nest, so does the Self hasten
to that state where, deep in sleep, he desires no more desires, and
dreams no more dreams.
    Indeed, the Self, in his true nature, is free from craving, free
from evil, free from fear.  As a man in the embrace of his loving wife
knows nothing that is without, nothing that is within, so man in union
with the Self knows nothing that is without, nothing that is within, for
in that state all desires are satisfied.  The Self is his only desire; he is
free from craving, he goes beyond sorrow.
    Then father is no father, mother is no mother; the thief is no
more, the murderer is no more, castes are no more; no more is there
monk or hermit.  The Self is then untouched either by good or by evil,
and the sorrows of the heart are turned into joy.
    He does not see, nor smell, nor taste, nor speak, nor hear, nor
think, nor touch, nor know; for there is nothing separate from him,
there is no second.  Yet he can see, for sight and he are one; yet he
can smell, for smelling and he are one; yet he can taste, for taste
and he are one; yet he can speak, for speech and he are one; yet he
can hear, for hearing and he are one; yet he can think, for thinking
and he are one; yet he can touch, for touching and he are one; yet
he can know, for knowing and he are one.  Eternal is the light of
consciousness; immortal is the Self.
                    OM . . .  Peace--peace--peace.    

*yahzh-na-VALL-kya

-----------------------------------------------------------

16.  PEACE AND UNDERSTANDING OF THE JAINS

    About 500 B.C.E., several reformers started new religions in India.  None
of them accepted the Hindu class system.  None of them taught about gods,
but how a person should live his life.

    Mahavira (ma-ha-VEE-ra) organized the Jain (JANE) religion around
ancient teachings of total non-violence.  He denounced the old warrior hymns
of the Rig Veda.  He urged Jains to refuse to fight in anybody's war.  Respect for
life extended even to ants and mosquitoes.  Some Jains even strained their
drinking water to rescue the microscopic life which they knew it contained.
Though he was a vegetarian, Mahavira realized he still had not solved the
problem, for plants are living creatures too.  To ease his conscience, he
eventually gave up even plant foods, and deliberately starved himself to death.

    The other main point of Jainism was tolerance.  Mahavira taught that what
the truth looks like depends on where you are standing.  For instance, whether
a room is hot or cold depends on how you are dressed, whether you just ran to
get there, the climate you are used to, and many other things.  Here is a
popular Indian story to illustrate that point:

THE BLIND MEN AND THE ELEPHANT

It was six men of Indostan,
          To learning much inclined,
Who went to see the elephant,
          (Though all of them were blind,)
That each by observation
          Might satisfy his mind,

The first approached the elephant,
    And, happening to fall
Against his broad and sturdy side,
    At once began to bawl:
"God bless me! but the elephant
    Is very like a wall!"

The second, feeling of the tusk,
    Cried: "Ho! what have we here,
So very round, and smooth, and sharp?
    To me 'tis very clear,
This wonder of an elephant
    is very like a spear!"

The third approached the animal,
          And, happening to take
The squirming trunk within his hands,
          Thus boldly up he spake:
"I see," quoth he, "the elephant
          Is very like a snake!"

The fourth reached out his eager hand,
          And fell about the knee:
"What most this wondrous beast is like,
    Is very plain," quoth he;
"'Tis clear enough the elephant
    Is very like a tree!"

The fifth, who chanced to touch the ear,
    Said:    "E'en the blindest man
Can tell what this resembles most:
    Deny the fact who can,
This marvel of an elephant
    Is very like a fan!"

The sixth no sooner had begun
    About the beast to grope,
Than, seizing on the swinging tail
    That fell within his scope,
"I see,' quoth he, "the elephant
    Is very like a rope!"

And so these men of Indostan
    Disputed loud and long,
Each in his own opinion
    Exceeding stiff and strong,
Though each was partly in the right,
          And all were In the wrong!

                                (set to verse by John G, Saxe)

     At the same time, another teacher named Sañjaya (sahng-JĪ-a) taught a
similar message of tolerance.  He argued that every question has at least four
possible answers: yes, no, both, or neither.  Furthermore, he insisted that none
of these answers was correct unless it took into consideration the other
possibilities.  Jains eventually adopted this idea, too.  Sañjaya was one of the
most powerful and original thinkers India ever produced.  He influenced each of
India's major religions--as well as the Greek Sceptic philosophers. (See chapter
46.)

    Like many other religious leaders of his time.  Mahavira taught people to
free themselves from their possessions--including clothes.  Jains eventually
split over this question.  In the north, the "white clad"  Shvetambara (shvet-
AHM-bar-a) monks went back to wearing clothes.  The "sky-clad" naked
Digambara (di-GAHM-bar-a) monks continue to wander and teach through
south India.  A couple of other groups later splintered off of the Shvetambara,
but there are signs in recent years of all Jain groups coming back together.

    Jainism recognizes no gods--only human potential.  After 1500 years,
the famous Hindu teacher, Ramanuja, persuaded some Jains to begin
worshiping Hindu gods.  (See Chapter 24.)  Jain leaders conceded that if people
were silly enough to think they needed gods, they right as well have the useless
things.  But they must remember that gods are lower than humans (sort of like
leprechauns).  For only the human is capable of growing in understanding.  If
the gods want to ir experience that, they will simply have to be reborn as
humans.

    Other leaders said it a different way: that there is something sacred in
every person waiting to be developed--that anyone is capable of becoming God
if he will only put the effort into it.

    Jains regard any profession immoral that harms other living creatures--
whether purposely or accidentally.  For that reason, many have chosen to
become scholars or honest businessmen.  Always small in numbers, the Jains
have deeply influenced Indian history.  Jainism today still sticks closer to the
teachings of its founder than does almost any other religion.

    Mahavira's friend Gosala (go-SAH-la) founded yet another religion--the
Ajivikas (a-JEE-vih-ka).  Gosala insisted on absolute religious nudity.  He taught
extreme pessimism: that gods are not in control, people are not in control,
everything happens by chance.  The Ajivikas were a large religion for about a
thousand years, though they no longer exist today.

    Shortly before any of this, a famous judge named Brihaspati (bree-HAH-
spah-tee) had started the Carvaka (CHAR-va-ka) tradition.  Carvakas have
logically argued that everything can be explained by natural causes,
reincarnation is just wishful thinking, and all priests are frauds.  This tiny group
of thinkers has stood in opposition to all of India's religions for about 2,600
years.  Religious writers called these thinkers demons.

----------------------------------------------------------------

17.  THE BUDDHA: THE ATHEIST WHO BECAME A GOD

    Around 500 B.C.E., when Mahavira, Sañjaya, and Gosala were starting new
religions, the Buddha founded a much larger group.  He had been born a prince
named Siddhartha Gautama.  But he was not happy.  He gave up his kingdom,
his wealth, his wife and family--and went to live as a hermit.  He grew
hungrier, but not happier.  Finally he began to understand.  He taught that
through the power of one's own mind, a person can understand the working of
the universe--can reach Nirvana.  It was not necessary for a person to be born
again and again; he could reach the understanding of Nirvana from wherever he
was if he really set his mind to it.  That meant giving up all other earthly
distractions.  For those less determined, the Buddha taught that their present
lives would at least be happier if they gave up some of their worldly problems:

SERMONS BY THE BUDDHA

The Four Noble Truths

    He who recognizes the existence of suffering, its cause, its
remedy, and its cessation* has fathomed+ the four noble truths.  He
will walk in the right path.
    Right views will be the torch to light his way.  Right
aspirations# will be his guide.  Right speech will be his dwelling-place
on the road.  His gait@ will be straight, for it is right behavior.  His
refreshments will be the right way of earning his livelihood.  Right
efforts will be his steps; right thoughts his breath; and right
contemplation will give him the peace that follows in his footprints.

    Now, this, O bhikkhus [disciples], is the noble truth concerning
suffering:
    Birth is attended with pain, decay is painful, disease is painful,
death is painful.  Union with the unpleasant is painful, painful is
separation from the pleasant; and any craving* that is unsatisfied,
that too is painful.  In brief, bodily conditions which spring from
attachment are painful.
    This, then, O bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning suffering.

    Now this, O bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the origin
of suffering:
    Verily, it is that craving which causes the renewal of existence
[reincarnation], accompanied by sensual delight, seeking satisfaction
now here, now there, the craving for the gratification of the passions,
the craving for a future life, and the craving for happiness in this life.
    This, then, O bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the origin
of suffering.

    Now this, O bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the
destruction of suffering:
    Verily, it is the destruction, in which no passion remains of this
very thirst; it is the laying aside of, the being free from, the dwelling
no longer upon this thirst.
    This, then, O bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the
destruction of suffering.

    Now this, O bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the way
which leads to the destruction of sorrow.  Verily! it is this noble
eightfold path; that is to say:
    Right views, right aspirations; right speech; right behavior;
right livelihood; right effort; right thoughts; and right contemplation.
    This, then, O bhikkhus, is the noble truth concerning the
destruction of sorrow.

    By the practice of loving kindness I have attained liberation of
heart, and thus am assured that I shall never return in renewed
births.  I have even now attained Nirvana.


On Returning Good for Evil

    A foolish man learning that the Buddha observed the principle
of great love which commends the return of good for evil, came and
abused him.  The Buddha was silent, pitying his folly.*
    When the man had finished his abuse, the Buddha asked him,
saying: "Son, if a man declined+ to accept a present made to him, to
whom would it belong?"  And he answered: "In that case it would
belong to the man who offered it."
    "My son," said the Buddha, "thou hast railed# at me, but I
decline to accept thy abuse, and request thee to keep it thyself.  Will
it not be a source of misery to thee?  As the echo belongs to the
sound, and the shadow to the substance, so misery will overtake the
evil-doer without fail."
    The abuser made no reply, and the Buddha continued:
    "A wicked man who accuses a virtuous@ one is like one who
looks up and spits at heaven; the spittle does not soil the heaven, but
comes back and defiles his own person.
    The slanderer is like one who flings dust at another when the
wind is contrary; the dust does but return on him who threw it.  The
virtuous man cannot be hurt and the misery that the other would
inflict comes back on himself.


On Teaching

    The teacher must also look upon his disciples with respect in
five ways.  First, properly arrange things according to reason and
logic.  Second, teach what they have not heard  before.  Third, give
answers pertinent to what is asked of you and make sure your
meaning is understood.  Fourth, indicate with whom they should
study further.  Fifth, teach your students everything you know,
sparing nothing.


The Final Sermon

    If anyone thinks "It is I who will lead the Order [of monks], or
"The Order depends on me," he is the one who should lay down
instructions concerning the Order.  But the Tathagata [Buddha,
himself] has no such thought, so why should he leave instructions?
...
    So, Ananda,* you must be your own lamps, be your own
refuges.+  Take refuge in nothing outside yourselves.  Hold firm to
the truth as a lamp and a refuge, and do not look for refuge to
anything besides yourselves.  A monk becomes his own lamp and
refuge by continually looking on his body, feelings, perceptions,#
moods, and ideas in such a manner that he conquers the cravings@
and depressions* of ordinary men and is always strenuous, self-
possessed, and collected in mind.  Whoever among my monks does
this, either now or when I am dead, if he is anxious to learn, will
reach the summit.

*end
+understood
#goals
@walk
*want
*foolishness
+refused
#scolded
@good
*a disciple
+comfort
#things noticed
@wants
*discouragements

    Through most of its history, India has been a loose conglomeration of
kingdoms.  Chandragupta Maurya (chun-dra-GOOP-ta MOR-ya) met Alexander
the Great and decided to weld India into an empire for himself.  His grandson,
the Emperor Ashoka (a-SHO-ka), became a Buddhist.  Ashoka gave up his wars
of conquest, and tried to be such a righteous ruler that other states wanted to
become part of his empire.  He set up pillars all over India, declaring that
Buddhism was to be the official religion--though all religions were to be
tolerated and encouraged.

    Almost as soon as the Buddha died, his followers had begun calling him a
god.  Buddhism split into two groups.  The smaller Theravada (tair-a-VAH-da)
group tried to stick close to the Buddha's teachings.  The larger Mahayana (MA-
ha-yon-a) group wanted modernizations and improvements.  They carved
statues of the Buddha for their temples.  They taught that it was selfish to reach
Nirvana while the rest of the world continued to suffer; they said it was far
better to become a Bodhisattva (bode-ee-SOT-va), a sort of angel who helps
others until everyone is ready for Nirvana.

    Buddhism dominated India during the most glorious part of its history.
But eventually the Buddha became just one more god to be absorbed into
Hinduism.  To the north, this merger formed a third type of Buddhism--
Tantric--with many Hindu mysteries, some of them sexual.  All three branches
of Buddhism can be found outside India today: Theravada in the islands of
southeast Asia, Mahayana through China and Japan, and Tantric in the
Himalayan Mountains.

-------------------------------------------------------

18. MUSIC OF INDIA

    Of all the great civilizations, only two have developed a complex music--
India and our own.  Like ours, the Indian scale contains eight major notes (the
white notes on the piano).  Indian musicians say that the distances between the
first note and any of the others are the natural distances heard in nature:

          Second:  the moo of the cow
          Third:  the bleat of the goat or sheep
          Fourth:  the cry of the heron or crane
          Fifth:  the call of the cuckoo
          Sixth:  the noise of the frog or horse
          Seventh:  the trumpeting of the elephant
          Octave:  the screech of the peacock

Between these major eight, our scale contains five additional notes (the black
notes on the piano).  But the Indian scale sandwiches at least fourteen smaller
notes between the main eight.  To further complicate the sound, the best
musicians try to slide delicately from one note into the next.

    Because Indian music was so complex, no one discovered a simple way to
write it down.  So each performer had to learn the ancient songs from a guru,
or teacher.  He was also expected to improvise his own variations on the
ancient songs.  Like jazz, no two performances are ever alike.

    For these reasons, Indian orchestras are small.  The earliest music of the
Rig Veda was vocal.  Even today, musical instruments are played to imitate the
human voice.  The star of any performance is the soloist--a singer or a player
of the sitar, flute, or other instrument.  Sometimes a singer will accompany
himself on an instrument.  Second is the drummer--usually on the double
drum called tabla.  Third is the drone--someone playing the same note
constantly, so the soloist can hear how far up or down the scale he has moved.
Other performers are usually students learning to play along with the master.

    The purpose of all Indian music is to create a mood.  Traditionally, each
piece was to be performed only at a certain time of year and a certain time of
day.  Meditation forms a large part of the musician's preparation.  Though he
and the drummer are both improvising, he must create a oneness among the
musicians, and a oneness with the audience and musicians.  Religion is never
very far away.

          Most songs have three sections:
     ALAP (AH-lahp): The soloist plays the melody and as many variations as he can.
     There is no rhythm.  In vocal music there are no words.
     JOR (called NUMTUM in vocal music): The soloist begins to establish a rhythm.
     In vocal music the singer introduces the words.
GAT (gaht): The drummer joins in a lively exchange of melody and rhythm.

          Of the many styles of Indian music, the four most popular include:
     DHRUPAD (DROO-pahd): The ancient religious music.  It is slow and powerful,
     with a long Alap.
KHYAL (kyahl): The music of the great poets and court musicians.
     THUMRI (TOOM-ree): Light classic love songs which may mix snatches of
     several songs together.  The Alap is very short.
DHUN (doon): Similar to Thumri, but include medleys of folk tunes.

    Dance in India involves many hand and head movements.  There are three
main styles;
1.  The ancient religious dancing of south India.  For female dancers only.
2.  Ancient dance-dramas of extreme south India.  For male dancers only.
3.  The more modern and livelier court dance of north India.  For both sexes.

--------------------------------------------------------

TAPE:  INDIAN MUSIC

--------------------------------------------------------

19.  IS IT WRONG TO BE A SOLDIER?

    The literature of India contains two great epic poems.  With over ninety
thousand verses, The Mahabharata (ma-HA BA-ra-ta) is the world's longest
poem.  It tells of the wars between the early Aryan kingdoms.  As India entered
its artistic age, someone added a beautifully-written new section known as the
"Bhagavad Gita" (BOG-a-vod GEE-ta).

    This section means different things to different people--the importance
of duty, or the importance of an active life, or a way to get around the religious
teaching that war is wrong.

    In the "Bhagavad Gita", conscience bothered the army leader until the god
Krishna spoke to him:

from THE BHAGAVAD GITA

Seer and leader,
Provider and server:*
Each has the duty
Ordained by his nature...

The seer's duty,
Ordained by his nature,
Is to be tranquil
In mind and in spirit,,
Self-controlled,
Austere and stainless,
Upright, forbearing;
To follow wisdom,
To know the Atman,*
Firm of faith
In the truth that is Brahman.

The leader's duty,
Ordained by his nature,
Is to be bold,
Unflinching and fearless,
Subtle of skill
And open-handed,
Great-hearted in battle,
A resolute ruler.

Others are born
To the tasks of providing:
These are the traders,
The cultivators,
The breeders of cattle.

To work for all men,
Such is the duty
Ordained for the servers:
This is their nature.
All mankind
Is born for perfection
And each shall attain it
Will he but follow
His nature's duty.

    Now you shall hear how a man may become perfect, if he
devotes himself to the work which is natural to him.  A man will reach
perfection if he does his duty as an act of worship to the Lord, who is
the source of the universe, prompting all action, everywhere present.

    A man's own natural duty, even if it seems imperfectly done, is
better than work not naturally his own even if this is well performed.
When a man acts according to the law of his nature, he cannot be
sinning.  Therefore, no one should give up his natural work, even
though he does It imperfectly....

    Mentally resign all your action to me.  Regard me as your
dearest loved one.  Know me to be your only refuge.   Be united
always in heart and consciousness with me.

    United with me, you shall overcome all difficulties by my
grace.  But If your heart is full of conceit, and you do not heed me,
you are lost. If, in your vanity, you say: 'I will not fight,' your resolve is
vain.* Your own nature will drive you to the act....  You are helpless in
its power.  And you will do that very thing which your ignorance
seeks to avoid.

    The Lord lives in the heart or every creature.  He turns them
round and round upon the wheel...  Take refuge utterly in him.  By
his grace you will find supreme peace, and the state which is beyond
all change.

    Now I have taught you that wisdom which is the secret of
secrets.  Ponder it carefully.  Then act as you think best.

*the four classes: priests, soldiers, businessmen, and commoners
*self
*determination is useless

    Yoga, a philosophy of mind-controlling-body, also developed at about this
time.

---------------------------------------------------------------

20.  THE IDEAL WIFE

    The history of India contains practically no famous women.  Yet women
enjoyed as much authority and respect as their husbands.  Husband and wife
were considered as one.  By custom, the husband managed all public matters,
and the wife managed all private matters.  She was the silent but equal partner.

    Sometimes a king would accept an additional wife to seal a political
alliance with a neighboring kingdom, but one wife was the normal rule.

    The poet Valmiki wrote The Ramayana (ra-MA-ya-na), India's second
great epic poem.  Sita (SEE-ta), the hero's wife, has long been held up as the
ideal of Indian womanhood.

    Background for this selection: Old King Dasa-ratha (DAH-sa RAH-ta) has
decided to turn the kingdom of Kosala (ko-SAH-la) over to his son, Rama (RAH-
ma).  But years before, he had promised one of his wives, Kaikeyi (kī-KAY-ee)
any wish she would make.  She now asks that her son, Bharat (BAH-raht), be
made king, and that Rama be sent to live in the forest for fourteen years.
Reluctantly, the old king agrees.  Prince Rama tries to say good-bye to his wife
Sita:

from THE RAMAYANA by Valmiki

"Dearly loved, devoted Sita! daughter of a royal line,
Part we now, for years of wandering in the pathless woods is mine,

For my father, promise-fettered, to Kaikeyi yields the sway,
And she wills her son anointed,--fourteen years doth Rama stray,

But before I leave thee, Sita, in the wilderness to rove,
Yield me one more tender token of thy true and trustful love!

Serve my crowned brother,* Sita, as a faithful duteous dame,
Tell him not of Rama's virtues,+ tell him not of Rama's claim,

Since my royal father willeth,--Bharat shall be regent-heir,
Serve him with a loyal duty, serve him with obeisance* fair,

Since my royal father willeth,--years of banishment be mine,
Brave in sorrow and in suffering woman's brightest fame be thine!

Keep thy fasts and vigils, Sita, while thy Rama is away,
Faith in Gods and faith in virtue on thy bosom hold their sway,

In the early watch of morning to the Gods for blessings pray,
To my father Dasa-ratha honor and obeisance pay,

To my mother, Queen Kausalya, is thy dearest tendance* due,    
Offer her thy consolation, be a daughter fond and true!

Queen Kaikeyi and Sumitra equal love and honor Claim,
With a soothing soft endearment sweetly serve each royal dame,

Cherish Bharat and Satrughna with a sister's watchful love,
And a mother's true affection and a mother's kindness prove!

Listen, Sita, unto Bharat speak no heedless angry word,
He is monarch of Kosala and of Raghu's* race is lord,

Crowned kings our willing service and our faithful duty own,+
Dearest sons they disinherit, cherish strangers near the throne!

Bharat's will with deep devotion and with faultless faith obey,
Truth and virtue on thy bosom ever hold their gentle sway,

And to please each dear relation, gentile Sita, be it thine,
Part we love! for years of wand'ring in the pathless woods is mine!


Rama spake, and soft-eyed Sita, ever sweet in speech and word,
Stirred by loving woman's passion boldly answered thus her lord:

"Do I hear my husband rightly! are these words my Rama spake,
And her banished lord and husband will the wedded wife forsake?

Lightly I dismiss the counsel which my lord hath lightly said,
For it ill beseems* a warrior and my husband's princely grade!
          
     FOR THE FAITHFUL WOMAN FOLLOWS WHERE HER WEDDED
     LORD MAY LEAD,
IN THE BANISHMENT OF RAMA, SITA'S EXILE IS DECREED,

     SIRE* NOR SON NOR LOVING BROTHER RULES THE WEDDED
     WOMAN'S STATE,
     WITH HER LORD SHE FALLS OR RISES, WITH HER CONSORT#
     COURTS HER FATE,

     IF THE RIGHTEOUS SON OF RAGHU WENDS TO FORESTS
     DARK AND DREAR,
     SITA STEPS BEFORE HER HUSBAND WILD AND THORNY
     PATHS TO CLEAR!

Like the tasted refuse water cast thy timid thoughts aside,
Take me to the pathless jungle, bid me by my lord abide,

Car and steed* and gilded+ palace, vain# are those to woman's life,
Dearer is her husband's shadow to the loved and loving wife!

For my mother often taught me and my father often spake,
That her home the wedded woman doth beside her husband make,

As the shadow to the substance, to her lord is faithful wife,
And she parts not from her consort till she parts with fleeting life!

Therefore bid me seek the jungle and in pathless forests roam,
Where the wild deer freely ranges and the tiger makes his home,

Happier than in father's mansion, in the woods will Sita rove,
     Waste no thought on home or kindred,* nestling in her husband's
     love!

World-renowned is Rama's valor,* fearless by her Rama's side,
Sita will still live and wander with a faithful woman's pride,


And the wild fruit she will gather from the fresh and fragrant wood,
And the food by Rama tasted shall be Sita's cherished food!

Bid me seek the sylvan greenwoods, wooded hills and plateaus high,
Limpid rills* and crystal mullas+ as they softly ripple by,

And where in the lake of lotus tuneful ducks their plumage lave,#
Let me with my loving Rama skim the cool translucent@ wave!

Years will pass in happy union,--happiest lot to woman given,--
Sita seeks not throne or empire, nor the brighter joys of heaven,

Heaven conceals not brighter mansions in its sunny fields of pride
Where without her lord and husband faithful Sita would reside!

Therefore let me seek the jungle where the jungle-rangers rove,
Dearer than the royal palace, where I share my husband's love,

And my heart in sweet communion shall my Rama's wishes share,
And my wifely toil shall lighten Rama's load of woe and care!"

Vainly* gentle Rama pleaded dangers of the jungle life,
Vainly spake of toil and trial to a true and tender wife!

*Bharat
+goodness
*respect
*tending
*an ancestor
+deserve
*it is beneath
*father
*mate
*horse
+gold
#unneeded
*relatives
*bravery
*clear brooks
+rivers
#wash their feathers
@clear
*in vain

    Most of the great literature came from the northern half of India.  Several
centuries later, the south also produced some fine writing.  One of the most-
quoted southern poets was the woman, Avvaiyar (AH-vī-yar).

A SOLIDER'S WEDDING by AVVAIYAR

He had a beautiful war bracelet
and his white spear
had a red tongue
for a blade,
and she had many bangles on her hand.

Her love has come true
like the infallible* word
of the Kocars+ from the four villages
gathered under the ancient banyan;#

as the wedding drums thunder,
and the conch-shell trumpets blare,

her love is made good and true.

*never failing
+
#giant tree

----------------------------------------------------------

21.  THE ANIMALS SPEAK

    One of India's gifts to the world is the animal story.  Many collections of
these fables exist; best known is The Panchatantra (pon-cha-TAHN-tra).  It tells
how a wise priest educates the king's stupid sons by telling a story to illustrate
each point.

from THE PANCHATANTRA

    There was once a region where people, houses, and temples
had fallen into decay.  So the mice, who were old settlers there,
occupied the chinks in the floors of stately dwellings with sons,
grandsons (both in the male and female line), and further
descendants as they were born, until their holes formed a dense
tangle.  They found uncommon happiness in a variety of festivals,
dramatic performances (with plots of their own invention), wedding -
feasts, eating-parties, drinking-bouts, and similar diversions.  And so
the time passed.

    But into this scene burst an elephant-king, whose retinue*
numbered thousands.  He, with his herd, had started for the lake
upon information that there was water there.  As he marched through
the mouse city, he crushed faces, eyes, heads, and necks of such
mice as he encountered.

    Then the survivors held a convention.  "We are being killed,"
they said, "by these lumbering elephants--curse them!  If they come
this way again, there will not be mice enough for seed.  Besides:

    An elephant will kill you, if
    He touch; a serpent if he sniff;
    King's laughter has a deadly sting;
    A rascal kills by honoring.

Therefore let us devise a remedy effective in this crisis."

          When they had done so, a certain number went to the lake,
 bowed before the elephant-king, and said respectfully:  "O King, not
far from here is our community, inherited from a long line of
ancestors.  There we have prospered through a long succession of
sons and grandsons.  Now you gentlemen, while coming here to
water, have destroyed us by the thousand.  Furthermore, if you travel
that way again, there will not be enough of us for seed.  If then you
feel compassion toward us, pray travel another path.  Consider the
fact that even creatures of our size will some day prove of some
service."  And the elephant-king turned over in his mind what he had
heard, decided that the statement of the mice was entirely logical,
and granted their request.

    Now in the course of time a certain king commanded his
elephant-trappers to trap elephants.  And they constructed a so-
called water-trap, caught the king with his herd, three days later
dragged him out with a great tackle made of ropes and things, and
tied him to stout trees in that very bit of forest.

    When the trappers had gone, the elephant-king reflected thus:
"In what manner, or through whose assistance, shall I be delivered?"
Then it occurred to him: "We have no means of deliverance except
those mice."

    So the king sent the mice an exact description of his
disastrous position in the trap through one of his personal retinue, an
elephant-cow who had not ventured into the trap, and who had
previous information of the Mouse community.

          When the mice learned the matter, they gathered by the
thousand, eager to return the favor shown them, and visited  the
elephant herd.  And seeing king and herd fettered, they gnawed the
guy-ropes where they stood, then swarmed up the branches, and by
cutting the ropes aloft, set their friends free.

          "And that is why I say:

    Make friends, make friends, however strong
              Or weak they be:
    Recall the captive elephants
              That mice set free."

*followers

--------------------------------------------------------------

FILMSTRIP:  THE GOLDEN AGE OF INDIAN  ART (½ hour)

--------------------------------------------------------------

22.  KALIDASA: THE SHAKESPEARE OF THE EAST

    The empire of the Maurya family dissolved within a century after the
death of Ashoka.  Later, during the height of the artistic age, the Gupta family
united northern India into a second empire.  The emperor Samudragupta (sa-
M00-dra-GOOP-ta) is known as India's greatest warrior, as well as an
accomplished musician and poet.  His son, Chandragupta II (chun-dra-GOOP-
ta), gathered the greatest poets and artists to his court.  His reign is known as
the golden age of Indian arts,

    Drama has a long history in India.  At about the beginning of the artistic
age, Bhasa (BAH-sa) wrote plain but powerful dramas.  The last half of one of
his plays became lost, and a later author named Shudraka (shoo-DRAH-ka)
polished it up and added a new second half.  The result was called The Little
Toy Cart, and remains one of the world's most delightful plays.  The greatest of
Indian poets and playwrights was Kalidasa (kah-li-DAH-sa) who lived at the
court of Chandragupta II.  His plays always showed love in its most delicate and
spiritual form.

    After the Gupta empire dissolved, King Harsha tried to unite India a third
time.  He conquered many areas, but they separated again when he died.
Harsha also wrote plays.  But by then India had entered an age of ideas; Harsha
used his plays as propaganda for his ideas.

    The purpose of Indian drama, as with music, was to create a mood.  Later
authors let their plays get soggy with tears.  The master of drawing the emotion
from an audience was the late playwright, Bhavabhuti (BAH-vahb-HOO-tee).

    Background for this selection from Shakuntala (sha-KOON-ta-la) by
Kalidasa:  Shakuntala, a country girl, has met the young king while he was out
hunting.  Each fell instantly in love, but kept quiet.  A few minutes later, she
discovers that she has lost her bracelet of flowers, and goes back to where the
king has already found it.

from SHAKUNTALA by KALIDASA

     SHAKUNTALA (standing before the king):  When I was going away
     sir, I remembered that this lotus-bracelet had fallen from my
     arm, and I have come back for it.  My heart seemed to tell me
     that you had taken it.  Please give it back, or you will betray
     me, and your self too, to the hermits.*

KING:  I will restore it on one condition.

SHAKUNTALA:  What condition?

KING:  That I may myself place it where it belongs.

SHAKUNTALA (to herself):  What can I do? (She approaches.)

     KING:  Let us sit on this stone bench.  (They walk to the bench and
     sit down.)...

SHAKUNTALA (feeling his touch):  Hasten, my dear, hasten.

     KING (Joyfully to himself):  Now I am content.  She speaks as a wife
     to her husband.  (Aloud:) Beautiful Shakuntala, the clasp of
     the bracelet is not very firm.  May I fasten it in another way?

SHAKUNTALA (smiling):  If you like,

KING (artfully delaying before he fastens it): See, my beautiful
          girl!

    The lotus-chain is dazzling white
    As is the slender moon at night.
    Perhaps it was the moon on high
    That joined her horns and left the sky,
    Believing that your lovely arm
    Would, more than heaven, enhance her charm.

     SHAKUNTALA:  I cannot see it.  The pollen from the lotus over my
     ear has blown into my eye.

KING (smiling):  Will you permit me to blow it away?

     SHAKUNTALA:  I should not like to be an object of pity.  But why
     should I not trust you?

     KING:  Do not have such thoughts, A new servant does not
     transgress* orders.

SHAKUNTALA:  It is this exaggerated courtesy that frightens me

     KING (to himself):  I shall not break the bonds of this sweet
     servitude.  (He starts to raise her face to his.  Shakuntala
     resists a little, then is passive.)  Oh, my bewitching girl, have
     no fear of me.  (Shakuntala darts a glance at him, then looks
     down.  The king raises her face.  Aside:)

    Her sweetly trembling lip
         With virgin invitation
    Provokes my soul to sip
        Delighted fascination.

SHAKUNTALA:  You seem slow, dear in fulfilling your promise.

     KING:  The lotus over your ear is so near your eye, and so like it, that
     I was confused.  (He gently blows her eye.)

     SHAKUNTALA:  Thank you.  I can see quite well now.  But I am
    ashamed not to make any return for your kindness.

KING:  What more could I ask?

    It ought to be enough for me
              To hover round your fragrant face;
          Is not the lotus-haunting bee
              Content with perfume and with grace?

SHAKUNTALA:  But what does he do if he is not content?

KING:  This!  This!  (He draws her face to his.)

*her guardian
*go beyond

------------------------------------------------------

23.  ARYABHATTA: MATHEMATICIAN FOR THE WORLD

    As the artistic age faded, people of India devoted more and more time to
thinking clearly about the world around them.  It was the beginning of an Age
of Ideas.  The poet Bhartrihari (BAR-trih-HAR-ee) expressed the mood of this
more scientific time:

THREE POEMS BY BHARTRIHARI

Her face is not the moon, nor are her eyes
Twin lotuses, nor are her arms pure gold:
She's flesh and bone.  What lies the poets told!
Ah, but we love her, we believe the lies.

        ----------

You may boldly take a gem from the jaws of a crocodile,
          you may swim the ocean with its tossing wreath of waves,
You may wear an angry serpent like a flower in your hair,
          but you'll never satisfy a fool who's set in his opinions!

        ----------

Angling* in life's river,
    Cupid+ drops his line.
On the hook he fastens
    Some fair maiden fine.

Men--those silly fishes--
    Quick dart up above;
Out he pulls and fries them
    In the fire of love.

*fishing
+originally Kama, the Indian god of love

Words might lie and mislead, but numbers remained true.

    Indian mathematicians had already made several discoveries which would
influence the thinking of the whole world.  First was the zero.  That sounds
common enough, but no other number system had it.  Even our own calendar,
based on the Roman number system, has no year 0; it went directly from 1
B.C.E. to 1 C.E.  Babylonians and American Indians also developed a zero to
mark off empty columns, but they did not figure out how to use it as a number
in mathematical calculations such as multiplication.  Only the people of India
(who believed in Nirvana) thought of nothingness as a something.

    The zero became even more important when Indian mathematicians
made a second discovery: the decimal system of writing numbers.  The value of
a number depended on its position--the column it occupied.  (In the class
system, a person's worth also depended on his position in this particular life.)
Other civilizations had written the number three as 111; Indian mathematicians
found it necessary to develop a series of ten numbers which would each fit in a
single column.  The system spread west to Arabia and Spain, then north into
Europe.  Without it, modern science could not have happened. (Try multiplying
49 by 18 in Roman numerals: XLIX by XVIII.)

    Using these tools, Aryabhatta (ar-yab-HAH-ta) became one of the world's
most extraordinary mathematicians.  He calculated very accurate values for the
square roots and cube roots of common numbers.  He calculated π at 3.1416,
expressed in the fraction 62832/20000.  This was far more accurate than the
figure used by the Greeks and other civilizations; yet later Indian
mathematicians further refined the figure out to nine decimal places.
Aryabhatta is given credit for discovering that the world is round, that it rotates
on its axis, and that it orbits around the sun.  He figured out that the planets
orbit in ellipses.  He computed the diameter of the earth, the circumference of
the earth, and the distance from the earth to the moon.  He also discovered
negative numbers.

    Solving mathematical problems became a favorite form of entertainment.
Here is one:

     Out of a swarm of bees one-fifth part settled on a Kadamba blossom, one-third
on a Silindhra flower; three times the difference of those numbers flew to the bloom of a
Kuraja.  One bee, which remained, hovered about in the air.  Tell me, charming woman,
the number of bees.

(Notice that women were expected to be as clever in mathematics as the men.)

    Bhaskara (BAH-ska-ra), a later mathematician, proved what the religious
teachers had said all along: that infinity, no matter how many times it is
divided, is still infinity:
                                 

    Medicine had developed very early in India.  One reason may be that
executions were rare.  The worst punishment a criminal usually had to worry
about was having his ear or nose cut off.  Doctors soon learned to repair this
damage with plastic surgery.  As early as 500 B.C.E. a doctor named Sushruta
(soo-SHROO-ta) wrote a medical textbook with directions for performing skin
grafts, plastic surgery, vaccinations, and using anesthetics to relieve the pain.

    By that same early date, Indian scientists taught that all matter consists of
invisible atoms, which combine in various ways to form molecules of the
different elements.

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24. THE PHILOSOPHY OF LOVE

    Four noteworthy philosophers lived during India's age of ideas.  Most
outstanding was Shankara (SHUNG-ka-ra).  Buddhism lay dying in its native
land; life had grown very complicated.  Shankara demonstrated that all of life
was still one, and led people back to the original oneness of The Upanishads.
Verse by verse, he showed how the new discoveries in mathematics and science
and literature fit into the great wisdom of the ages.  He taught that life and love
and beauty and knowledge and god are all one; and that oneness lives in each
person.  If a person concentrates to understand the universe within himself,
then he will begin to recognize that same universe outside himself.  India's
greatest thinker died at the early age of thirty-two.

    Ramanuja (ra-MA-noo-ja) was not so confident.  He thought there was a
little bit of god inside each person; and therefore most of god remains outside
any particular individual.  He taught that the small knowledge inside ourselves
should respect and worship the greater knowledge outside ourselves.  These
thoughts of Shankara and Ramanuja brought the Hindu religion back to new
life.  Many remaining Buddhist teachings also became part of the new
Hinduism.  But Ramanuja's followers fell to splitting hairs over the exact nature
of god.  They finally agreed that god can be found in three forms: Brahma the
creator, Vishnu the preservers and Shiva the destroyer.

     King Bhoja (BO-ja) developed a theory of aesthetics to explain why people
are moved by beautiful things.  He warned that until a person develops beauty
within himself, he will never be able to recognize it anywhere else.  Just like the
early religious teachers, Bhoja taught that self-respect is the starting-point for
understanding, Each person must find what is fine inside himself, and then
grow outward.  Soon he will begin to see that same beauty in other people and
other things.  For the thrill of beauty is a joyful recognition in some unexpected
place of that same beauty we have come to cherish in our own lives.

    A philosopher is one who explains how the known facts fit together.  In
India, this often took on the religious tone of spiritual love.  But not always.
Vatsyayana (vahts-ya-YA-na) compiled everything known about physical love.
Yet in India all kinds of love are closely related.  His title, Kama Sutra, means
scripture of Kama (the love god).

Two selections from THE KAMA SUTRA by VATSYAYANA


The Sixty-Four Arts Which a Woman Should Learn

1.  Singing
2.  A musical instrument
3.  Dancing
     4.  The association of dance, song and music
5.  Calligraphy* and drawing
6.  Tattooing
7.  The correct decoration of an idol with rice and flowers
8.  The arrangement of flowers
     9.  The science of dyeing and coloring cloth and parts of the body,
     such as the hair, the nails and the lips
10.  Glass-mosaics
     11.  The art of bed-making and arranging carpets and cushions in
     the most comfortable way
12.  How to play musical water bowls
     13.  The drainage and storage of water in aqueducts, cisterns and
     reservoirs
14.  Painting, decoration and arrangement
15.  How to make prayer beads, necklaces, garlands and coronets
     16.  The art of making turbans and belts from flowers and aigrettes*
17.  Theatrical arts and the production of dramatic representations
18.  The art of designing earrings
19.  The mixing and preparation of perfumes
     20.  The art of dressing and the tasteful arrangement of jewels and
     ornaments
21.  Magic or sorcery
22.  Sleight of hand and illusionism
23.  The art of cooking
     24.  The preparation of sherbets, fruit juices and alcoholic drinks with
     the appropriate essences and coloring
25.  The art of cutting and sewing
     26.  The confection of parrots, flowers, bouquets, balls, etc. out of
     wool and silk
     27.  The solution of riddles, puzzles, conundrums and enigmatic
     questions
     28.  A game which consists in reciting verses:  when one person has
     finished reciting a verse, the next player must immediately
     begin another verse in which the first word must begin with the
     last letter of the previous verse....
29.  The art of mimicry and imitation
30.  Reading aloud and traditional chants and intonations.
     31.  The study of phrases difficult to pronounce.  This is a game
     much loved by women and children...
     32.  Knowledge of fencing, staff and quarter staff and of the bow and
     arrow
33.  The art of logical reasoning
34.  Carpentry
35.  Architecture
     36.  The ability to judge pieces of gold, silver, precious stones and
     jewels
37.  Chemistry and mineralogy
38.  The coloring of stones, jewels and pearls
39.  The knowledge of mines and collieries*
     40.  Gardening; the art of curing illness with herbs and plants, and a
     detailed knowledge of how to grow and tend these herbs
41.  The rules of cock fighting and ram combats
42.  The art of teaching parrots to talk
     43.  The art of applying perfumes to the body and of impregnating
     the hair with pomades and scents
     44.   A profound knowledge of letters and characters and the
          ability to write words in different forms
45.  The art of speaking and changing the form of words....
46.  A knowledge of languages and provincial dialects
     47.  The art of decorating a chariot with flowers for religious and
     festive ceremonies
     48.  The art of drawing mystic diagrams, preparing charms,
     incantations and of  weaving protective bracelets
     49.  Intellectual exercises, such as completing the verses of a poem,
     or making a poem out of various verses chosen at random, or
     improving a poem in which the meter is not quite correct...
50.  The writing of poetry
51.  The knowledge of dictionaries and vocabularies
52.  The art of disguising or changing the appearance of people
     53.  The art of tasteful illusion, such as disguising cotton as silk and
     making crude and cheap objects appear delicate and beautiful
54.  Different kinds of games
55.  Self-purification through prayers and mystic incantations
56.  The ability to partake in juvenile sports
     57.  The knowledge of social usage, how to pay a compliment and
     the correct forms of address
58.  The science of war, arms and armies
59.  Gymnastics
60.  The ability to judge the character of a man by studying his face
61.  The art of scanning* verses
62.  Mathematical recreations
63.  The art of making artificial flowers
64.  The molding of figures and images in potter's clay

    [The woman who learns these arts] is entitled to a chair of
honor in masculine society.  She is universally respected and her
favors are sought by all.  The king seeks her out and the sages sing
her praise....  Add to these advantages the case of the woman who
divorces her husband, for if she is well versed in the above arts, she
can always earn her own living even in a foreign land.

*fancy handwriting
*plume for a turban
*coal mines
*finding the beat

Note--If the next selection seems offensive or out-of-place, you have missed
the important point that in Indian thought all forms of love are holy.  Skip the
rest of this chapter, and go back to read The Upanishads (Chapters 14-15).

    This second selection is one of the least painful introductions to what
philosophers do.  Many philosophers like to organize even the most common
knowledge into categories.  That is especially true among Indian thinkers.

The Kiss

    The kiss should be imprinted on the following parts of the body: the forehead, the
eyes, the cheeks, the throat, the chest, the breast, the lips and the interior of the
mouth....

    If the woman in question is a young virgin engaged in her first battle with
passion, the lover should employ the following three kisses:
          The Nominal;--The Palpitating;--The Touch.
    1.  When a young girl merely brushes her lover's mouth with her own, it is called
a Nominal Kiss.
    2.  When a young maiden, overcoming her shyness, touches her lover's mouth
with her own and moves only her lower lip, it is the Palpitating Kiss.
    3.  When the young girl brushes her lover's lips with her tongue, closes her eyes
and places her hands in his, it is known as the Touch Kiss.

    However, other writers on the subject describe four other kinds of kisses:
    The Direct Kiss;--The Inclined Kiss;--The Turning Kiss;-The Pressed Kiss.
    1.  When the lips of two lovers come directly into contact, it is called a Direct
Kiss.
    2.  When the heads of the lovers are turned, one up, one down, towards the
others this kiss on the mouth is the Inclined Kiss.
    3.  When the lover takes his mistress' chin in his hand and turns her face
towards him and then kisses her on the mouth, moving her head slightly from side to
side, this is the Turning Kiss
    4.  When the lower lip is pressed with great force, it is called the Pressed Kiss.

    There is also a fifth kind of kiss that is known as the "Kiss of Great Pressure."
This is practiced in the following way: the lover clasps the lower lip in his fingers and
brushes it with his tongue, then he seizes it with his lips and presses it with great
force....

    When one of the two partners seizes the lips of the other between his own this is
known as the Close Kiss.  But this kiss can only be practiced by a man without
moustaches.  And if, during this kiss, one of the lovers touches the teeth, tongue or
palate of the other with his tongue, it is known as the Combat of Tongues.  In the same
way, one can also practice this kiss by pressing the teeth against the teeth of the loved
one.

    Kisses can generally be divided into four categories: Moderated, Contracted,
Pressed and Gentle, according to the part of the body on which they are imprinted,
because different kinds of kisses are appropriate to different parts of the body.


MAP OF INDIAN DOMINANCE OF SOUTHEAST ASIA

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25. WHEN INDIA DOMINATED SOUTHEAST ASIA WITHOUT TRYING TO

    By the year 1000, India dominated one of the most unusual empires the
world has ever known.  It stretched eastward through most of southern Asia
and its islands almost to Australia.  Yet it was an empire without an emperor,
without an army, without even a central government.  Their religion had taught
them that political empires come and go, but that ideas endure much longer.
Theirs was a cultural empire--held together by the same religions, the same
literatures, the same architectures, the same knowledge and philosophies.
These ideas had spread through peaceful trading and settlement, Each new idea
in India spread like ripples across southern Asia.

    Buddhism had also spread northward into central Asia, and then across to
China and Japan.  These areas already had strong cultures of their own, yet
changes of fashion in Indian art showed up in the Buddhist statues of China
and Japan.

    But in another way, the Indian empire was like all other empires; for
people slipped into doing the same old things bigger and bigger.  This bigness
can still be seen in the architecture.  Temples grew--with housing for priests,
store rooms, temples for lesser gods--until each temple became a whole city of
buildings.  These stone temple-cities rose, not just in India, but also as far
away as Java and Cambodia.

    King Suryavarman II (SOOR-ya-VAR-man) of Cambodia conquered most
of his neighbors.  He declared that he was a reincarnation of the god Vishnu,
and had the magnificent temple-city of Angkor Wat built in his own memory.
Next to it, his nephew, Jayavarman VII (JAH-ya-VAR-man), built the capital and
temple-city of Angkor Thom.  Jayavarman also had inns built every seven to
nine miles along main roads-over 100 in all.  He also built well over 100
hospitals throughout his country.  But by this time, the architecture was
beginning to look cluttered rather than beautiful.

    Like other empires, the Indian empire decayed at the core.  In India itself,
Buddhism died out.  Hinduism split into worshipers of Vishnu or Shiva.  Drama
sank into melodrama.  Philosophers fell to splitting hairs about mysteries.  A
new religious group--the Sikhs (sihhs)--turned their backs on much of Indian
tradition.  They insisted on one god only.  They refused to recognize the class
system.  And they formed armies of ferocious soldiers.

    Into this decaying civilization came Muslims from the west.  They played
off the feuding little Indian kingdoms against each other.  By about 1500,
Muslims ruled all of northern India.  They brought with them their own culture
and their own god.  They destroyed many Indian temples and cities.  At the
same time, Europeans approached by sea and began carving out colonies from
southern India.  Some parts of Indian culture--such as the music--have
survived and grown to the present.  But the centuries that followed are a part of
Middle Eastern history.

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FILMSTRIP:  GREAT TEMPLE COMPLEXES (15 minutes)


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