Why India?

 

Timeless Land, Patient People 

The past is ever with us and all that we are and have comes from the past. We are its products and we live immersed in it. Not to understand it and feel it as something living within us is not to understand the present. To combine it with the present and extend it to the future, to break from it where it cannot be so united, to make of all this pulsating and vibrating material for thought and action- that is life. 
~Jawaharlal Nehru, The Discovery Of India

I have been asked many times over why I am fascinated by India. I believe part of the answer can be found with the Indian concept of time and how to use it; for two years the Covid pandemic has caused those of us who live in our monitored and regulated modern societies to sit down a bit in the comfort of our homes and think, perhaps breathe or in essence meditate, on the reality of our existence. We who live busy lives seeking something new to do, to enjoy, to experience  or to advance our personal glory and gain have been forced due to the social limitations imposed by the pandemic to contemplate the inner life, finding contentment in our own space. What can be more 'Indian' than this? Time, space and nature has forced humanity to seek possibilities of other dimensions and realms of being and imagination by looking within. The Dharmic path is ever present but we are oblivious to its existence because we choose to make and seek noise and action rather than remain silent for a moment so as to hear the constant celestial music, the hum and rhythm of the universe. We are taught not to waste time by always seeking things to do to keep busy. Yet time is not something that can be wasted. In contemplation and meditation we can adjust, not to a work schedule but rather to an understanding of existence that puts us in touch with inner ourselves. In the Indian practice of pranayama, the control and realization of the breath is considered very important. According to the ancient sages one can live without water or food for days or even weeks, but one simply cannot live without air. Thus air, one of the essential elements, is respected and revered and the practice central to understanding how to contemplate and meditate on the life of the soul. All is contained in the breath, in the inhaling and the exhaling. If we can but realize this.
 

The Interconnectedness Of Particles & Musical Notes

I must admit, my first interest in India was musical, having fallen in love with her classical Hindustani and Carnatic traditions long ago. Music is an art but also a science in India, with scales and modes known as ragas and and rhythm called tala categorically and mathematically classified and associated since ancient times with the seasons and the climate, hours of the day, planets of the universe and with the cycles of life, death and reincarnation that would startle Pythagoras. Early morning ragas, mid afternoon and late evening ragas all have their purpose and are used as natural accompaniments to breathing practices, prayer and meditation, work and the creating of art, dance as well as enhancing even such temporal though very human and natural acts such as making love. All the arts, the sciences, the disciplines both spiritual and physical are all connected in Indian life according to the principles and understanding of the dharmic path. Music is no mere pastime in traditional Indian culture, and to study music it was important for one to seek a teacher known as a guru and to become 'tied' to the pandit, or master. One of the first lessons taught to a shishya or disciple is not how to play an instrument but how to understand and respect the elements of sound, known as Nada Brahma which is in essence, divinity itself. Musical notes are considered as living beings. A story is told to the disciple, according to the late sitar master Ravi Shankar, that when one pays a raga properly, the notes are content and they joyously dance upon the heavens, but if performed carelessly they are broken, they crash into one another and fall from the sky as wounded bodies fall on a battle field. This respect for the power of music always fascinated me about Indian culture, and over the years I went on to learn more about this fascinating civilization. Ethnic and folk music was my field of knowledge and expertise, but I did learn that this respect for art, science and mathematics permeated Indian culture in every aspect of life, from yoga and physical exercise to cooking. Everything is interconnected, therefore all things are part of a whole, manifested in a trillion, billion million forms. India's arts and sciences reflect that sense of many represented as multiple and singular at the same time. The concept of zero, created by Indian mathematicians, explains this completely. From nothing many, and from many nothing. One cannot be without the other, and form is but maya, or illusion. Ayurvedic medicine treats the whole person, body and soul, not just a single ailment. The inner truth is there, in oneness with the universe, and permeates all. Thus the common Hindu greeting 'Namaste', accompanied by the clasping of two hands as in prayer, is a gesture in which one soul greets another- "the Atma in me salutes the Atma within you". Indeed, we are all part of a greater cosmos. 

                               Master Alaudin Khan with his son sarodist Ali Akbar and sitarist Ravi Shankar on left

The history of India is very old, her civilization goes back some 5,000 years. The ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjo Daro traded with the cities of the Middle East, exporting their Lapis Lazuli stone to decorate the jewelry and dress of Sumerian and Egyptian nobility. These very ancient cities are still a mystery to us, as we don't know the language they spoke or what gods they believed in, but we do know their cities were orderly and neat, with excellent plumbing and sanitation. When the Aryans migrated into India, they intermarried with the natives and brought about what we know of as Vedic India, which set the basis for what would be Indian civilization, much as the Dorian Greeks would migrate or conquer the Minoans, mix with them and create ancient Hellas. The stories of the Bronze Age were told and retold by the Greeks, such as the epic of the Trojan War. The same would be for India- the ancient tales and stories were handed down, sometimes altered or changed to fit the new narrative but the tales are there, to be written in the many books that would be created by this fascinating civilization, such as the religious texts known as the Vedas, or the epics that are popular even today, the Mahabharata, Ramayana and the Upanishads. In all of these texts are to be found references that belie the stereotypes of India and her recorded history. The religious texts and their commentaries were compiled, so many that all of the texts meant for the purpose of understanding the three Abrahamic religions combined- the Torah and the Talmud, Quran and Hadith, the Christian Bible with it's New Testament and Gospels and all the pertinent commentary...are all dwarfed by India's contributions to religious literature. Just as there have been notable minds and authors of the monotheistic religious traditions, India too has had its sages over the centuries too numerous to list. The sub continent can boast as many or more saints, ascetics and holy men and women as well, and maintains a continuing tradition of renown and obscure religious figures who can be found teaching sitting crossed legged under a tree next to modern schools and universities, many with thousands of devotees squatting reverently at their feet. 

The fact that so many of the world's popular folk tales had their origin in India reveals an ancient form of teaching through the medium of oral storytelling. "Don't be greedy" teaches one tale, "let go of a little if you wish to gain much". Some of us can remember when we were young attending grade school and we read or heard the delightful tale of the monkey who reached into a jar for some nuts. His hand became stuck as it was full and could not be removed from the jar. The greedy animal clutched the handful of nuts and refused to let go and as a consequence the thief was caught. There is a Bengali  saying "if you start with too much, you end up with nothing", which reflects the wisdom of the ancient sages. The famous tale of the four blind men and the elephant, each touching the great beast but describing it as something different from one another- its ears great leaves on a tree, its legs columns on a temple, the trunk a hose, the tail a snake-is another world tale that had its origins in the sub continent. The sources of so many tales which had their origins in the Indian subcontinent are endless. In the 19th century the English-Indian author Rudyard Kipling would include many such folk tales in his works, which popularized Indian folklore around the world. 

The Empire Of The Spirit: Rishis, Gurus & Sages

Historian Michael Wood called India the empire of the spirit. "So many nations and empires rose from the sword" he wrote, "but India alone created an empire of the spirit". All through her long history, the pursuit of the spiritual was the pattern of Indian kingdoms and civilizations. They had their brutal wars and conquests, no question, but Indians never set out to conquer other lands, with the exception perhaps of the Tamil Cholas in the south of India who built a maritime empire that controlled the spice trade between China, Indonesia and the Middle East. Instead, outside forces and peoples invaded India over the course of the millennia and plundered her, raped her for raw materials and resources, enslaved the inhabitants and imposed their rule and their  gods on the people, the followers of history's oldest religion which we outsiders call Hinduism, which they know as the path of dharma. It was here that successive waves of invaders going back to the early Aryans were civilized by the natives, where the warlike king Ashoka became a follower of Buddhism and banned capital punishment and decreed rights for every living thing in his empire including animals, birds and fish as well as tending to the care of trees, rivers and streams. This is where the Moghul emperor Akbar, a son of foreign Turkic conquerors imitated Ashoka centuries later, reversing and converting the negative orthodox Muslim ruling view that saw Hindus as polytheistic blasphemers into a realm of remarkable coexistence and symbiosis influencing  the likes of Queen Elizabeth I, herself attempting to heal the rift between warring Christian factions in Britain. In the 20th century Mahatma Gandhi taught the then ruling British that a man in a loin cloth could be as erudite as any well dressed English gentleman, and could understand how to implement compassion and respect besides. Mark Twain said that in matters of the spirit the inhabitants of India are rich and we westerners, the paupers. Historian Will Durant wrote that while the East will seek technology and enterprise, it is to its benefit that the West will continue to learn patience, wisdom and compassion from the East. The internet has brought Indian music, dance, spirituality, yoga and meditation to the world and these disciplines have become as commonplace as the telephone. The rishi of the forest has conquered the city dweller of Paris, London and New York and changed their outlook drastically without ever lifting as much as a finger. 

So you ask, why India? Because she is the only ancient civilization that has maintained its past fully intact, despite the conquests and invasions, and she continues as she has always been. Her religion, the oldest on Earth, is ongoing and growing. Her customs and traditions reach back into distant antiquity, and are still the norm. Indi's manner of viewing the world, understanding the universe has remain unchanged. Critics of India can cite injustice and oppression, such as the economic division of class and the institution of Caste, probably brought about ages ago when the Aryans wished to separate themselves from the darker Dravidians, the Vedas even mentioning that the Untouchables or Shudra as being 'the feet of God'. Millions have been subject to centuries of social inequality which has been supported by religious texts and a higher caste sometimes exploitive Brahmin priesthood. Women have been relegated to a certain obscurity along with servant status whereby the wife and daughters of a family are considered near property of the father and husband, no different than as in ancient Greece or Rome or Islamic civilization, or China. The patriarchy rules in India and has ruled for thousands of years, as it has and still does in many other societies. There are problems and inequalities in Indian society to be sure that would cause one to raise an eye at my personal high regard for the culture of the subcontinent. It seems that only modern democracy and secularism has been able to minimize and defeat the role of caste in India, combined with teachings of compassion and caring by modern politician interpreters of Indian culture such as Mahatma Gandhi. Yet under the brilliant leadership of this man, millions of Indians came together as one and taught the British empire, who held onto the belief that it was their destiny to civilize the world, what it is to be civilized, what compassion and caring truly is all about, what being a human being in the world and a citizen of the universe really means. India has been to Asia what Italy was to Europe, a source of inspiration that provided the basics of science, culture, art and religion for an entire continent. Buddhism waned in India but spread to Central and Southeast Asia and China, then on to Korea and Japan and with it were exported various disciplines in science, mathematics, painting and sculpture as well as the marital arts for which East Asia is known today, having had their beginnings in the Indian tradition of Kalaripayattu.

Where did this inspiration to seek alternative views come from? Probably from the fact that there were literally tens of thousands of gurus and rishis with varied interpretations who compiled the ancient texts. In these many scriptures one can read competing views and opinions that vie with one another, as many if not more than the many views we read among the Greek philosophers, the Jewish rabbis or the brilliant authors, artists and inventors of the Italian Renaissance. The tradition of debate, analysis and thought was at one time alive and well in India, and this hasn't changed as it is still alive today. Just as there is a variety of religious expression among Hindus in India, let alone among the followers of the many minority religions, so are there variants that debate, contest and correct the inadequacies of ancient tradition and custom. This is what makes India so profound and her actions pertinent to our world today, considering she is the world's second most populace nation on Earth. India is connected to the rest of the world in a way her ancient past was not, yet she looks into her own created texts which are replete with the thousands of passages written by sages both known and anonymous thousands of years ago and their thought is applied to rectify situations. The Nasadiya Sutka or 'Creation Hymn' of the Rig Veda states something very clear and simple about the foundations of religion. It explains how the universe, the world and creation miraculously came into being as does any other religious text. Then it reminds the reader that all that has just been explained may be truth or it may be conjecture, that the gods may exist or they may not. The final analysis is left to the individual. This is unique among world religious scriptures, leaving it to the human mind to decipher as the individual sees fit:

Who really knows? Who will proclaim it?
Whence was it produced, whence its creation?
The gods came afterwards, with the creation of this universe
Who really knows whence it has arisen?

Whether the gods will created it, or whether He was mute
Perhaps it formed itself, or perhaps it did not
Only He who is the overseer in the highest heaven knows
Only He knows...or perhaps, He doesn't know

And, begging forgiveness for my audacity and with respect to the ancient sages, I might add here what has already been written in one of the thousands of commentary about this verse;

Perhaps He who knows is but man, who admits he does not know
For he may be the only overseer of his own deeds

Indian religion is replete with ritual and symbolism, tradition and complex practice held in place by strict rules of behavior and personal hygiene maintained and followed by every level of society, from the Brahmin priest to the lower caste Untouchable. Yet, it can never be said in the Hindu world that there is one religious authority that decides what is faith and religion, or how the universe came into being, which allowed for such diversity of thought and interpretation in classical India. The Rig Veda, in which the American author Ralph Waldo Emerson found "unfathomable power and unbroken peace" is a religious text like no other. Rather than lay down a series of events and and dogmatic beliefs that lead to the creation of the universe and the world that must be acknowledged as true lest one be considered for heresy, it puts forth varied views and leaves it to the reader and religious practitioner to decide for him or her self the nature and essence of the heavenly realms, or question whether such realms exist at all. Followers of India's native religions, which should be more properly termed Sanatan Dharma rather than our western, generalized  handle of Hinduism, have never felt the need to go out of their native land to conquer in the name of any of the hundreds of thousands of deities or incarnations which are beseeched by hundreds of millions of devotees. Indians throughout their history have not engaged in holy wars or in the proselytizing of the faith, for it can be said there are as many faiths in India as there are Indians. Islam entered India in the north in the Middle Ages and brought an end to the classical age in a series of at first destructive raids and then conquests, considered to be the bloodiest in history. Universities were destroyed and scriptures burned as temples were leveled, their stones and bricks used to construct mosques to honor Allah, the god of Abraham. The British, though secular, conveniently preached the word of Christ to the 'heathens of the east', excusing their bold conquest and occupation according to their own understanding of manifest destiny. Gandhi and the entire Indian nation following his direction taught them the error of their ways and displayed the virtue and compassion of the living Jesus in the form of marches and peaceful demonstrations by millions of Indians of all faiths, united in a revolution of peaceful resistance for the independence of their country. Again, here we can see the dichotomy of India- while peacefully resisting the British to gain independence in the spirit of ahimsa- non violence and respect for all creatures...some 2 1/2 million Indians volunteered for service in the British military during WWII. Attempts by Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan to secure Indian support by offering arms and ammunition to revolt against the British Empire failed. Indians instead chose to defend democracy against what they saw as evil and darkness. They served in the Pacific, in North Africa and Europe, receiving praise for their bravery and fighting abilities, most notably from British general Montgomery, American commanders George Patton and Eisenhower, even German high command commandant Erwin Rommel. This choice of Indians to support Britain and democracy rather than fascism certainly forced the Crown after the war to reconsider its hold on India and rescind its claim. Had Britain lost India she might have lost the war. 

The Soul At Peace, The Body In War

The empire of the spirit was an empire however made up of human beings, as anywhere else. While India advanced the life of the spirit and encouraged the enhancement of the soul, human beings will seek wealth, power and glory and will fight with their neighbors to achieve these ends. Kingdoms rose and fell in Indian history, and the wars have been as cruel, bloody and destructive as anywhere. The ancient texts tell us of terrible wars between kingdoms and these great epics came  about to explain these struggles and the reactions of the heroes and champions who participated in them. Like all mythological literature, the Indian epics are a study in human personality and how humans react to various issues and situations. Indian epics of love and war are marked by their connection with the life of the spirit, a portrayal of how we humans react to such experiences. The ancient authors of these books did not try to cleanse or purify the stories, but rather preserved for future generations the acts and deeds of human beings according to the mentality and the ways of the time. All is fair in love and war the saying goes, and the ancient composers of these texts made this point very clear. Everyone in India listens to the storytellers recite their lines which explain in detail the glorious courts of old, the intimate love between two characters, or the terrible experience of warfare that could vie with the Iliad or the Germanic sagas with their visceral detail. What is fascinating about these tales such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana is that they are as popular today as they were in the most ancient times, and have been read or heard in a non stop continuous cycle since the most distant days. The empire of the spirit acknowledged that human beings are naturally prone to stray from the path of the soul, and it is only by returning to the dharmic path can one attain contentment, even amid a life of chaos and upheaval. Like the followers of other religions, the adherents of Sanatan Dharma acknowledge that evil and greed exists, and the scriptures explain how one should proceed to bring about harmony in the world through struggle and endeavor. Perhaps this is why India, the empire of the spirit, has always produced such daring warriors. A culture of peaceful meditating gurus produced a nation of fierce warriors thanks to the many epics and tales recounted, studied and expressed in art, music and dance. The Indian balances these realities and explains that these realities are part of this cycle of existence. In the stories the gods and deities battle one another, make allies and conspire or vie with one another, and they do so for a variety of reasons. They are deities for sure, but they are human in personality so that human beings can imitate them and understand the teachings of the texts. The gods are beyond human reach but not beyond human comprehension, feeling or emotion, acknowledging the Rig Veda's claim that perhaps the gods came first, or perhaps they are but a figment of human imagination. The era of ancient Greece and the European Enlightenment both saw philosophers questioning whether other-worldly powers and deities actually exist, and the discussion goes on even today between believers, atheists and agnostics. This has always been the norm for India, and continues unto our own time as well, though this is nothing novel for the followers of Sanatan Dharma. Most won't even give the discussion a second thought. For them, it's not important, but the reality of human greed and evil must be countered, regardless of one's personal belief. 

The Power Of Shakti

Regarding India, we are forced to ask an ongoing question pertaining to the position of women, for which we can be readily and justifiably critical. We need to remember that when Vedic society was coming together and the texts were being written down as guides and codes for society, the stories and tales from the older civilizations that grew up along the Indus and other areas in India were already old and many of these tales made their way into the new Aryan dominated culture, just as the stories of the Etruscans, the Volsci and the Samnites were handed down to the Romans. The new conquerors created their civilization based on what was there before and as everywhere, that which was seen as compatible with their narrative remained and other elements were ignored. But nothing can ever be completely forgotten. Just as the patriarchal Greeks continued to tell stories of the fierce warrior women known as the Amazons or the Romans recounted tales of the brave Camilla who fought the allies of Aeneas the Trojan, so the epics of strong women remained in the folk memory and the literature of India. The story of Chitrangada in the epic the Mahabharata, she who defeated Arjuna, beloved of Krishna in combat and then marries the hero only to be abandoned by him, is a particularly interesting character. She has a son with Arjuna whom she names Babhruvahana who grows up without his father who left to seek his own destiny, traveling and learning with Krishna. In a battle the son accidentally shoots his father who he does not know with an arrow. Wounded by the shot, Arjuna asks the skillful archer where he learned to shoot the bow like he did, and the son informs Arjuna that he learned from his mother the great warrior princess Chitrangada, with Arjun realizing now this was his own son whom he abandoned years ago. Chitrangada is a great warrior who is famous for her military prowess on the battlefield and she passed on her martial skills to Babhruvahana. The story of Arjuna is one that may be interpreted as a warning for those who seek spiritual enlightenment so as to not become so involved in the attaining of it that one selfishly forgets others in the process, as Arjuna eventually forgot about Chitrangada and their son. She was one of his teachers, his guru as it were, who forced him to stop and think, to contemplate. He nonetheless leaves her and Babhruvahana and goes on his way until the fateful meeting once again with his offspring. Chitrangada mysteriously disappears from the epic after this incident. Another strong female character in the Mahabharata is Draupadi, who also was adept in the martial arts. She is however forced to marry Arjuna and his four other Pandeva brothers. She is strong willed and known for being rebellious and outspoken; so much so that when the text was being compiled some gurus actually demanded that her person be omitted from the text. With this factual knowledge about the history and methods of compiling the story for inclusion in a great epic, we can see how she and other strong female figures from the past diminished in daily importance in India as elsewhere. In an age when only scholars and the nobility could read or write, that which went into a book was meant to be set as dogma and that which was omitted was, according to the male dominant mindset, done so for good reason. While the common folk told and retold the stories of such powerful women and wondered at the stories recited about the warrior goddesses, Apsaras and Dakinis of the scriptures, it was the patriarchy informed by Brahmin priests and Kshatriya warriors who had the last say in defining the role of women in society. There are many other stories in the Mahabharata, Ramayana and other Indian epics that tell of great women warriors of the past, such as the stories of Ulupi and Shikandini, as well as the many folk tales of heroines that have been passed down through the millennia down to our own time.

Durga and her forces defeat the evil buffalo god Mahishasura, Temple of Mahalbalipurnam

Yet, as much as these tales of women warriors were controlled and eventually nullified by the male patriarchs as they were in Greece, Rome and elsewhere in India there has always been an ongoing tradition of women rising up to challenge tyrants and invaders. Though their daily lives and roles have been ordained and controlled by a male patriarchal mentality, these women seek their inspiration from another, even higher source. The goddess Durga is a warrior goddess who defeats evil gods and tyrants, leading celestial and human forces to victory. Also the terrible goddess Kali is the avenger and destroyer of the evil ones. Both goddesses are depicted in literature and art, portrayed in music and dance leading armies of dedicated and brave beings such as Apsaras (divine beings, like the Greek Muses) into battle. The virtues of dedication and bravery are stressed in these stories. It may be the reason why India has produced so many powerful women over the centuries who have risen up to lead armies against invaders. While the Greek and Roman stories were meant for entertainment as neither society approved of women joining the ranks of the military, India has an ongoing tradition of such women who have proven themselves in the most dangerous and trying circumstances. There have been women warriors among many Indian kingdoms such as the Mahrattas and the Rajputs who fought against other kingdoms, the invading Moghuls or against the British as the Rani of Jhansi did. Onake Obava slew invading Moghul soldiers as they attempted to sneak through an opening into her besieged fortress, using a heavy kitchen implement as a weapon. Into our own era we might make mention of Phoolan Devi the Bandit Queen who was married off as a child to a much older man, terrorized by the local male Thakurs of her village for her disrespect and outward displays of defiance, then returned to seek vengeance on those and in turn brutally tormented her former tormentors. The list is too long to enumerate here but all of these women sought inspiration from the personalities in the religious and mythological texts that are part of the Indian literary and folk tradition despite the reality and clear imposition of the powerful patriarchy that defines our stereotyped vision of India. In ancient Greece and Rome many vase paintings and sarchophagai depict champions such as Hercules and Theseus battling armed Amazons. These were stories meant to entertain, but no Greek or Roman husband would ever consider a female member of his family taking up arms.  On the contrary, the stories of such armed women in India as well as the numerous sculptures and depictions one can view in their thousands in temple art however are an ongoing tradition that inspires free thinking women to this very day. 

                                      

On every temple we can see the armed celestial female guardians and the Apsaras who stand with a bow at the ready, guarding the sanctity of the temple and all who enter there. Despite the dominance of the male in this patriarchal society, girls and women of all ages as well as boys and men are constantly reminded of the power of the feminine, which stems from the concept of Shakti. The men who maintain their dominance on the society see it as something that needs to be controlled but for a thinking Indian woman, Shakti is liberation and power. And the male oligarchs know this, too well. 

In the ancient Indian texts it is written that Shakti, the feminie essence, is the source of all creation, the word meaning energy, ability, strength, power, effort, capability. It is a creative and sustaining force as well as destructive. Mahadevi, or as she is sometimes known Ada Parashakti, is the primordial goddess which is Shakti manifested. The earliest example of the reverence towards 'Shakti' is a triangular shaped artifact known as the Baghor Stone found near the Son river in Madhya Pradesh, dated to about 9,000 BC. South India also worshipped the female essence, which was called Amma. The Deva Sukta hymn number 125 in the Rig Veda makes clear the very essence of Shakti in detail:

I am the queen, the gatherer of treasures, most thoughtful the very first of those who merit worship. Thus the gods have established me in many places. In many homes do I enter and abide, through me alone all are nourished with abundant food and solace. Each man sees, breathes and hears the word outspoken. They know it not, yet indeed I reside within as the ver essence of the universe.

Hear one and all the truth as I declare it! I verily myself announce and utter the word that gods and men alike welcome with joy. I cause the man or woman I love exceedingly to become mighty, brave and formidable, nourishing that being as a sage, a knower of Brahman. I bend the bow for Shiva that his arrow may strike, so as to slay the hater of devotion, light and goodness. I rouse and order battle for the righteous, it is I who did create the Earth and Heaven, I who reside as their inner controller. Upon the world's summit I bring forth sky, the Father. My home is deep in the waters, in the ocean as Mother. Then I pervade and permeate all existing things as their inner, supreme self made manifest with my body and form which is formless. I created all worlds at my will, sans any higher being. The eternal and the infinite consciousness, my greatness dwelling in everything, in all. Yay, 'tis I and none other, I am she. 

Modern painting depicting Chitrangada and Arjuna

Every Indian woman is raised and instructed thus to endeavor to be at heart a compassionate, nurturing and caring being who is constantly inspired and stimulated by the deeds of Saraswati, Lakshmi and Parvati as well as Durga, Kali and the many manifestations of the Deva and the religious figures enumerated in the spiritual and mythical texts as well as by the real life heroines of the past. A mother loves and cares for her children and her family and is giving and generous to her community, but will never hesitate to come to the aid of or protect that family or community if endangered. She is the bringer and nurturer of life and is also the defender of the life which she has brought forth, and it is the woman who transfers the traditions and knowledge of the distant past to her children. The Deva Sukta hymn defines the feminine essence perfectly. As a mythologist and one who studies ancient literature and epics, I find there are few places on Earth that take their ancient texts as seriously as Indians do, and this is due to the fact that these texts are alive and as pertinent to Indians today as they were thousands of years ago, with or without the presence of a dominant male patriarchy. It is obvious that in the distant Indian past, women were respected as the bringers of life therefore thought of as close to the gods in their being. While we are quick today to criticize India for its patriarchal rule and the subsequent mistreatment of the female, we should also acknowledge that even the gurus and sages, kings and princes who sought to limit the power of women in the Vedic age when religion was being codified had to acknowledge the powerful presence of the female archetype in ancient India's culture and belief systems. Just as the likes of such reformers as Gandhi were able to begin the process by which the injustices of foreign rule and the caste system could be reversed, Indian women today are realizing that their ancient past, which for them is still part of the present, guarantees their not only equal but important position in society. It will be interesting to see how they will proceed and progress to attain their rightful place in society based on the acknowledgement and implementation of this most ancient knowledge found in the very foundations of culture.
                                             

                                      Hoysaleswara Temple Relief, Karnataka   Photo Courtesy Shieri Yamafuji

The Lesson Of India

India today is essentially the same India that it was thousands of years ago, the unique ancient civilization that continues to think, react and deal with life as it did ages ago, responding to questions and issues utilizing ancient wisdom and views. Imagine what we can learn from such a great civilization through our link with the living mentality of our human past. There are literally tens of thousands of literary, oral and historical sources from which we can find inspiration to learn about the past and subsequently move forward into the future. I am interested in the literature that draws from tales and legends that Indians themselves listen to most intently and continue to portray in art and sculpture as well as the historical record which demonstrates how the people of the subcontinent were able to withstand countless invasions yet maintain their culture, religion, traditions, languages and identity, their sciences and complex mathematics, the arts and the spiritual practices meant to improve the quality of our duration in this dimension, all of this which will better the life of the world. These gifts from Mother India, that all embracing empire of the spirit, continues and remains unchanged from the earliest age when humanity was near to the very dawn of civilization. She remains and advances though the continuous cycles of time, seemingly reincarnating over and over again, and we can only wonder what is yet to be reborn in the future. This living and breathing civilization fascinates me, and her epics, religious texts and folk stories inform me of who India is and what her people are all about, and for that matter what humanity is all about. India will absorb and patiently bear the brunt of time and the burdens of mankind, then give to the world that which she has learned and experienced, for the better of all. She is like the all loving and compassionate mother, the holy Ma who gives ceaselessly of her love though she be abused and tormented, sometimes forgotten. We are all like the hero Arjuna, setting out to seek enlightenment and like him we will ultimately hurt someone along the way, as he hurt Chitrangada and their son Babhruvahana, all in the name of seeking higher callings and enlightenment. We are human and we will make mistakes, and perhaps karma will cause us to realize the good or evil we performed in our past, as we read and learn about human nature in such stories.  It is clear that this is their purpose. India is the Chitrangada of the world, confident and forever patient, caring and compassionate, for her wisdom is not limited by the restraints of servitude to the material things of this life. This has been India's pattern throughout history, the recurring cycles of her experiences, her ability to forgive those who inflicted pain and torture upon her, the willingness to bear the burdens of humanity's dark side yet teach in a way that brings illumination to those same beings dwelling in that same darkness, she is a testament to the patience of the great culture of this great civilization. India is surely the empire of the spirit. 

                        Copyright Ismail Butera, 2022