Part 68 (1/2)
”A reat power, he still does not make himself feared”
”Howthat which it is ier, life or death?”
”Life, because it bears soout of India, as his teacher, a true yogi This man ami Sphines, called ”Kalanos” by the Greeks because the saint, a devotee of God in the for Her auspicious name
Kalanos accompanied Alexander to Persia On a stated day, at Susa in Persia, Kalanos gave up his aged body by entering a funeral pyre in view of the whole Macedonian army The historians record the astonishi had no fear of pain or death, and who never once moved from his position as he was consu for his cremation, Kalanos had e farewell to Alexander, to whoe had merely remarked:
”I shall see you shortly in Babylon”
Alexander left Persia, and died a year later in Babylon His Indian guru's words had been his way of saying he would be present with Alexander in life and death
The Greek historians have left uspictures of Indian society Hindu law, Arrian tells us, protects the people and ”ordains that no one a them shall, under any circu freedoht to it which all possess For those, they thought, who have learned neither to doe to others will attain the life best adapted for all vicissitudes of lot” {FN41-6}
”The Indians,” runs another text, ”neither put out money at usury, nor kno to borrow It is contrary to established usage for an Indian either to do or suffer a wrong, and therefore they neither , we are told, was by siulating diet than by the use of medicines The remedies most esteemed are ointreat ement in as restricted to the KSHATRIYAS or warrior caste ”Nor would an ene upon a husbandman at his work on his land, do hiarded as public benefactors, are protected fro heavy crops, supplies the inhabitants with the requisites to upta who in 305 BC had defeated Alexander's general, Seleucus, decided seven years later to hand over the reins of India's governupta spent the last twelve years of his life as a penniless ascetic, seeking self-realization in a rocky cave at Sravanabelagola, now honored as a Mysore shrine Near-by stands the world's largest statue, carved out of an immense boulder by the Jains in AD 983 to honor the saint Coious shrines of Mysore are a constant rereat saints of South India One of thesepoem:
You can control a er; You can ride a lion; You can play with the cobra; By alcheh the universe incognito; You can make vassals of the Gods; You can be ever youthful; You can walk on water and live in fire; But control of the mind is better and more difficult
In the beautiful and fertile State of Travancore in the extreme south of India, where traffic is conveyed over rivers and canals, the Maharaja assuation to expiate the sin incurred by wars and the annexation in the distant past of several petty states to Travancore For fifty-six days annually the Maharaja visits the temple thrice daily to hear Vedic hymns and recitations; the expiation ceremony ends with the LAKSHADIPAM or illuhts
The great Hindu lawgiver Manu {FN41-8} has outlined the duties of a king ”He should shower aently and imperceptibly as the sun obtains vapor frooes everywhere; mete out even justice to all like Yaressors in a noose like Varuna (Vedic deity of sky and wind); please all like the moon, burn up vicious enemies like the God of fire; and support all like the earth Goddess
”In war a king should not fight with poisonous or fiery weapons nor kill weak or unready or weaponless foes or men who are in fear or who pray for protection or who run away War should be resorted to only as a last resort Results are always doubtful in war”
Madras Presidency on the southeast coast of India contains the flat, spacious, sea-girt city of Madras, and Conjeeveram, the Golden City, capital site of the Pallava dynasty whose kings ruled during the early centuries of the Christian era In modern Madras Presidency the nonviolent ideals of Mahatuishi+ng ”Gandhi caps” are seen everywhere In the south generally the Mahatma has effected many important temple reforms for ”untouchables” as well as caste-systein of the caste systeislator Manu, was aduished by natural evolution into four great classes: those capable of offering service to society through their bodily labor (SUDRAS); those who serve through riculture, trade, coeneral (VAISYAS); those whose talents are administrative, executive, and protective-rulers and warriors (KSHATRIYAS); those of conte (BRAHMINS) ”Neither birth nor sacraments nor study nor ancestry can decide whether a person is twice-born (ie, a BRAHMIN);” the MAHABHARATA declares, ”character and conduct only can decide”
{FN41-9} Manu instructed society to show respect to its e, kinshi+p or, lastly, wealth Riches in Vedic India were always despised if they were hoarded or unavailable for charitable purposes Ungenerous ned a low rank in society
Serious evils arose when the caste systeh the centuries into a hereditary halter Social reformers like Gandhi and theslow but sure progress in restoring the ancient values of caste, based solely on natural qualification and not on birth
Every nation on earth has its own distinctivekarma to deal with and remove; India, too, with her versatile and invulnerable spirit, shall prove herself equal to the task of caste-reforht and I yearned to prolong our idyl But time, in its immemorial rudeness, dealt us no courteous extensions I was scheduled soon to address the concluding session of the Indian Philosophical Congress at Calcutta University
At the end of the visit to Mysore, I enjoyed a talk with Sir C V
Raman, president of the Indian Academy of Sciences This brilliant Hindu physicist arded the nobel Prize in 1930 for his iht-the ”Ra a reluctant farewell to a crowd of Madras students and friends, Mr Wright and I set out for the north On the e stopped before a little shrine sacred to the hteenth-century life story er Sadasiva shrine at Nerur, erected by the Raja of Pudukkottai, is a pilgris
Many quaint stories of Sadasiva, a lovable and fully-illuers Immersed one day in SAMADHI on the bank of the Kaveri River, Sadasiva was seen to be carried away by a sudden flood Weeks later he was found buried deep beneath a ers' shovels struck his body, the saint rose and walked briskly away
Sadasiva never spoke a word or wore a cloth One i unceremoniously entered the tent of a Mohammedan chieftain His ladies screae sword thrust at Sadasiva, whose arm was severed The master departed unconcernedly
Overcome by remorse, the Mohammedan picked up the ari quietly inserted his ar stump When the warrior humbly asked for soer on the sands: