Continuity and World-Influence of the Vedic Civilization

N. Kazanas, January 2013

0. Abstract. In this paper are examined the elements, ideas and principles that
constituted the Vedic Civilisation as it appeared in the ancient texts and emphasis is
placed on the inner psychological aspect. The possible influence of this civilisation is
traced in other cultures from the ancientmost historical times to our own period
through language, poetry, philosophy, religion and science. It laid the basis and gave
clear guidelines for a trouble-free life and the attainment of mans highest good i.e.
wisdom and happiness. The modern malaises of anxiety and stress, criminality,
pollution of the environment and the like, would seem to result from peoples
disregard of those principles and from unchecked selfishness and avidity.
To see the Unity one must go back to the very sources of the civilisation/culture
we are examining: this is the !gveda and the other early Vedic texts. (For much of
this material I have drawn from Kazanas & Klostermeier 2012).
1. What is civilisation or culture?
There are many definitions and descriptions in the learned publications: see S.
Bhattacharya (2007), Kramer & Maza (2002), Pearce (2002), Schafer (2001), Williams
(1985), White (1969) etc.
Here we take culture as synonymous with civilization and in some places with
tradition, although we are well aware that these terms have di!erent meanings.
Etymologically, civilization goes back to the Latin civis citizen, civilis civil and
civitas city which indicate life in organized cities which had law and order in contrast
to barbarians whose behaviour had little order and much rapacity.
Most think of civilization in terms of technology, buildings, artefacts, weapons
and the like. In India too. Thus while village life and the virtues of villagers have
been praised in India from the Bhagavata Pur"#a to Mahatma Gandhi, it was cityculture that was understood as an embodiment of 'civilization' in the more specific
(and narrower) sense. Indian kings and emperors built and dwelled in cities and
erected temples and palaces. Indra's the king of the gods' dwelling place is a
celestial city, too!
What do we mean today when we say that somebody is civilized or cultured?
We deem civilized those people that are not violent, rapacious and selfish; those
that have civility, a broader education and finer valuation of things and take into
account the fact that other people also exist and treat them with due consideration.
Cultured people are much the same, but have also wider interests in the history of
mankind, in other nations and in the arts poetry, painting, music etc. These are
internal qualities and have little to do with large buildings, artefacts and weapons of
war that help archaeologists define cultures and civilizations. Thus, from this
viewpoint culture and civilization are inner, psychological dispositions that come

C&WI of VC 2
with inborn goodness and with education and training: they are concerned with
ones own refinement and ones behaviour towards other people and towards the
environment in which we all live.
In his Republic (370c!), Plato delineates his first ideal society as a community
with simple agriculture, animal husbandry, trade and essential crafts, feeding on
barley-bread and bulbs, drinking wine in moderation and singing hymns to the
gods. There are other definitions of Civilisation. Thus Yoshinory Yasuda on the
Japanese J$mon (11th mill. BCE):
Respect for and co-existence with nature proper relationship in accord with
the features of the given region. Then Again, A.%West on Ancient Egypt : In
civilization men are concerned with inner life to master greed, ambition,
envy. (For Yasuda, see Rudgley 1998: 31-33. For West see his publication of 1993:
6-7.)
From this point of view modern nations are uncivilized since they do not seek a
workable relation with the environment but strive constantly to master, as they
think, nature and in the process they deplete the planets resources and cause deadly
pollution. In this there is no concern at all to master greed, ambition and envy. We
see rather cupidity, injustice and selfishness on the increase.
Yet this is the primary concern of the Vedic Tradition: in mastering greed and
living harmoniously with ones natural and social environment, one discovers ones
true Self which is the same as the universal Self. As Swami Vivekanand said,
Civilisation is the manifestation of divinity in man (Kanoria 2012:8).
2. The Rigvedic Culture.
The Rigvedic culture is non-material, unlike the Maltese of the 5th millennium
with its megalithic temples or the Mesopotamian of the early 3rd millennium with
its ziggurats and the parallel Egyptian with it pyramids. The Indus-Sarasvat&
Civilization (or Harappan) has buildings, statuary and many artefacts (tools and
seals), but the Vedic tradition is oral and this continues down to the Upanishads, the
s'tra texts and the epics. What is the axis of this tradition?
The main concern seems to be divinization though this appears in the guises of
desire for happiness, health, riches on earth or immortality in heaven. Underlying
such desires is the knowledge that man embodies the Supreme and that he can realize
this. This is plain in the Upanishads with the mah"v"kyas, this Self is Spirit Absolute
ayam "tm" brahma and I am the brahman aha# brahma-asmi and the vision of unity
as in yas tu sarv"$i bh%t"ny-"tmany-eva-anupa&yati / sarvabh%te'u ca-"tm"nam ((&" Up
6) Whoever perceives all beings in himself and himself in all beings.
What is not so well known is that this same knowledge is in the RV too. Yet
consider two statements:

C&WI of VC 3
RV 1.164.25:
in v!vasya bhvanasya gop!"#
s m" dh$"ra# p!"kam atr!" vive!a.

The mighty Guardian of this entire world,

He, the wise One has settled in me, the
simpleton.

RV 8.6.10:
ahm d dh pits pri medh!"m
%tsya jagrbha ;
ah! s"#rya iva-ajani.

Ka!va says: Having received from

my father/teacher the essential
knowledge (medh") of the Cosmic
Order (%ta) I was (re)born like the
Sungod S#rya!

In these two statements, the seers certain knowledge that the Supreme dwells
within him and Ka#vas realization of a second birth, we see the very basis of the
later Vedanta Advaita. And it is to this aspect that most Western people turn this
and similar aspects of Buddhism. Very few people are drawn to polytheism.
This divinization "tmaj"na or brahmavidy", is achieved through ethical
behaviour (dharma righteousness, suk)t"ni good deeds, d"na generosity), yogapractice and Soma-drinking. We return to this later (4). The general picture in the
RV encompasses both polytheism and monotheism. Polytheism (Indra, Varu#a,
Agni, Sarasvat& etc) is well known. Consider also these passages:
The One tad-ekam (10.129.2). This Unity appears also in 1.164.46:
ka# sd vpr" bahudh" * vadanty agn# yam# m"tar&v"nam "hu+ It being One
the sages call it by many names Agni, Yama, M"tari(v"n etc.
In 3.54.8: jad dhruvm patyate v&vam ka# crat patat) * v'u$a# vj"tm Moving
yet not moving the One governs all, what walks and flies, this manifest multiplicity.
And in 8.48.3 : kavo'"+* srvam id# v bh"ty kam v" idm vbabh%va srvam
One indeed is U)as, the Dawn, and illumines this whole [creation]; the One truly
became all this [multiplicity].
We find also many deities, worlds, phenomena.
One and Many synchronically. In those times as also today most interest was
shown in the Many, less in the One!
But we should also note that this most ancient Rigvedic culture had, apart from
this higher spiritual concern, also interest in and knowledge of the subtle world of
mind and of the material world, each world having again three aspects. Long, long
before Socrates and the other Greek philosophers, the Vedic seers displayed a high
level of abstract thought with concepts like anumati, asuratva, d"na, pa$kti and the
like.

C&WI of VC 4
Spiritual concern:

Self-realization; Devotion to divinities.

Mental level: Abstract

anumati

ideas
like :

asuratva

d"na

pa&kti

agreement lordship; liberality; fiveness (alsorow)

vasut" wealth-iness; "dhipatya overlordship; etc.
Mathematics : algebra, geometry.
Complex grammar: dh"tus roots or seedforms and
derivative nouns and verbs with many tenses and moods.
Measure and rhythm in poetry and music.

Material
Astronomy: constellations and calendar.
world:
Geometry ($ulbas#tras) in building Harappan cities and altars.
Medicine with herbs and mineral substances.
Chanting of hymns; dancing, (U$as in RV 1.92.4 etc, Indra in
1.132.7 etc, the A!vins in 6.63.5 and the Maruts in 8.20.22 are
dancers long before "iva na%ar#ja; and generally, 10.18.3; 72.6;
94.4-5).
Metallurgy: The gods smelting (dhmanta#) like metal-ore (yas)
human generations (4.2.17);
T&ta like a smelter (dhm"%t") fans (dhmati) and sharpens
(!!&te) (5.9.5);
Brahmanaspati like a smith (karm"%ra-) smelted [the gods
generations] (10.72.2).
Pottery and other crafts (household utensils, tools, cars and weapons
like bows).
Weaving: Seven threads (tnt#n) have stretched (tatnire) the Sages
to weave (tav" u) (1.164.5); Mothers weave (vayanti)
garments (vstr") for the child... (5.47.6); I dont know the
thread (tntum) or how to weave (tum) nor what they are
weaving (vyanti)(5.47.6);
Agriculture and Animal husbandry.
Trade with ocean-going boats: n"v# samudrya#(1.25.7).

Of major importance are the *ulba-S%tras of +pastamba, +(val"yana, K"ty"yana

and Baudh"yana. These formulate principles of Mathematics.

C&WI of VC 5
Forming part of the *rauta S'tras they belong to the Kalpa S'tras which are one
of the Six Ved",gas (=limbs of Veda).
What is their date?
One modern authority, A. Seidenberg, American mathematician and historian
of science, has written:
It is very di-cult to derive the Vedic ritual application of the
theorem [of Pythagoras] from Babylonia. (The reverse process is easy.)
The application involves geometric algebra and there is no evidence
of geometric algebra from Babylonia. And the geometry of Babylonia
is already secondary whereas in India it is primary. Hence we do not
hesitate to place the Vedic altar rituals, or, more exactly, rituals exactly
like them, far back of 1700 BCE. The elements of ancient
geometry found in Egypt and Babylonia stem from a ritual system of
the kind observed in the Sulvasutras (Seidenberg 1962: 515).
Seidenberg reiterated his finds in another paper in 1978.
Note that the Mesopotamian ziggurats (=temples with steps) and the Egyptian
mastamba-tombs and the step-pyramid of Djoser, all in the 3rd millennium BCE, are
based on trapezoid figures which are found in the ,ulbas%tras and those figures are at
the basis of Vedic altar brick-constructions like the (ma(ana-cit.
Thus latest date for *ulbas'tras must be c2600 BCE. Consequently, the RV must
be much, much older since it antecedes all s'tra texts.

In the subsequent stages of the Vedic culture we find, moreover the foundations of
linguistic studies:
Y"skas Nigha$-u & Nirukta : first known works on etymology and semantics.
P"#inis A'-"dhy"y. : first known descriptive (and prescriptive) grammar that
succeeded in keeping Sanskrit itself unchanged for centuries and centuries.
Also Patajalis Mah"bh")ya and Bhart.haris V"kyapad.ya (see Aklujkar,
Bhattacharya 1985, Cardona, Murti, Sankaranarayanan).

C&WI of VC 6
Concepts of Vibhakti noun cases and k"raka factors in an action appear in
the West only in 19th cent i.e. surface and deep grammar and meaning.
In the RV after internecine wars some people are scattered far over the earth
(abh k'"/m 7.18.16) and some pushed to the West ( p%rva& cak"ra par"m 7.6.3).
10.65.11 : s%/rya# div rohyanta+ nava sud" "ry" vrat" vis)jnto dhi k'ami the
bounteous gods made the sun mount in heaven and diversely released (vi-s)j-) the
Aryan laws over the earth.

!gveda 6.61.9 & 12 says with clarity that Sarasvat& has spread the five
tribes (pca j"t"+) east and west, beyond (ti) the Seven Rivers.
*
Also passage 5.10.6 says and let our sages pervade all regions asm"kasa&
ca
s%ryo v&v" "&"s tar'a$i.

3. Vedic Tradition in the Near East.

a) c3000 possible inluence on Egypt : A0nities in religion : creation through Speech;
Sungods boat; Cow of plenty; Lotus-born one; Creators eye running o! and

C&WI of VC 7
being brought back; etc, etc. (Kazanas 2009, ch8.)
Also, the *ulbas'tra geometry and trapezoids for mastaba tombs and step-pyramid,
etc (Rajaram & Frawley 1997).
b) c2600 on Mesopotamia : Actual trade links. A-nities in religion: Seven .)is; flood
legend; horse sacrifice; magical rituals; etc, etc (Kazanas 2009, ch7).
Also the *ulbas'tra geometry and ziggurats (Rajaram & Frawley 1997).
c) Perhaps Judaic culture with monoheism (Kazanas 2009, ch7).
d) Kassites & Mitannis in the Near East (17th-16th centuries BCE):
Apart from Indoaryan names (gods Indara, Marutta/ or noblemen Artad"ma,
Tu/ratha etc) in the few near-eastern texts, and horse-husbandry, there was under
Agum II in early 16th cent. A surge of literacy invention, collection and
recording (Dalley S. 1991: 47, 229). Thus we have a rennaissance with perhaps
ideas of Vedic origin.
e) Unity of Being in 1st & 2nd cent CE: This is found amply
Hermeticists and Christian Gnostics 1st & 2nd cent CE (Kazanas 2003).
Neoplatonists and Neopythagoreans 3rd cent CE.
(Enneads of Plotinos; Porphyry; Iamblichos).
Influence of Vedic Tradition (?)
This doctrine of the Unity of Being, of Man and Cosmos, must have come from
the Vedic Tradition of India (Kazanas 2003). Then Plotinuss teaching reflects most
faithfully Advaita: there is only the One without a second and from his gaze or
consciousness out of love and bliss arises the creation; first comes Nous (=Higher
Mind or Reason) which as creative cause brings all else into existence with the power
from the One; then comes the level of Soul (=subtle world, s%k'ma &ar.ra) and finally
the material embodiments of worlds and creatures. Man can and should strive
through Self-knowledge to return and merge in the primal unity of the One.
f) Influence on Persians :
Perhaps there was some influence on the expanding Iranians early on and
undoubtedly after the Persian conquests (of Bactria and Gandhara) in the 6th cent
BCE.
Certainly there were translations of fable-literature 5th cent CE (and some of
these tales reached Syria in the Near East).
Also there was a translation of 50 Upanishads in 17th cent CE under Prince
Mohammed Dara Shakoh and parts of these reached Europe first in a French vesrion.
g) Influence on Europe c 1200:
In what is today Algiers, L. Fibonacci, son of a wealthy Italian from Pisa, wrote a
most important book Liber Abacus Book of Calculation. In it he adopted the arabic
numerals 0 to 9 and the decimal system. This was revolutionary for the West and

C&WI of VC 8
pave the way for Accountancy and Banking for higher Mathematics and Physics and
eventually all modern technology.
The Arabs had borrowed their system directly from India!

Sanskrit, Hinduism and Buddism in Asia

4. Sanskrit.
Buddhism spread South in the late centuries BCE. It was established fully in Shri
Lanka and later spread eastward into Indonesia, Laos and other areas of South East
Asia. Hinduism also spread later. Sanskrit accompanied both religions. So, although
other influences came later in the Common Era with Moslems and Christians and
European languages, Spanish, Portuguese, English and Dutch, nonetheless even
today many words of Sanskrit origin survive in the languages and dialects spoken in
those communities. Thus in Tagalok - balita tidings from S v)tta what has occurred,
news; bu1hi inclination from buddhi higher intellect, basa reading out from v"ca
recitation; halaga price from argha price etc. In Malay - budi character again
from buddhi and harga price from argha; also kaca glass from k"ca crystal, glass,
puasa fast from upar"sa fast; k"ya body from k"ya body etc. In other languages,
Thai, Lao, Cambodian etc survive a$gula finger, "gama religion, "yus life, gaja
elephant, ga$a group, jala water, j"la net, tar" star, d"na gift, charity, bh"'"
language, vel" limit etc (Gonda 2007; Prapandvidya 2005).
Much Sanskrit vocabulary passed into Thai also. Thus than"kh"n bank derives
from dhan"g"ra (house for money/wealth); prach"samph"n public relations from
praj"sambandha; "k"t environment, weather from "k"&a sky; pr"rthan" prayer/
request is changed in Thai in desire; the o-cial language itself ph"'" ratchak"n

C&WI of VC 9
comes from bh"s"-r"jak"ra; the morpheme k"n (from k"ra) is frequently used in
compounds just as it was in Sanskrit (Dash 2011; Prapandvidya 2005).
5. Buddhism spread northward as well into what is today Afghanistan, then
Thibet and China, and Sanskrit again accompanied the religion. It entered into
China in the reign of emperor Ming Ti (58-76 CE) with Indian monks. The
missionary activities of these buddhist monks in South-western China drew the
attention of aristocrats and intellectuals by the end of the 1st cent CE. A poem by
Chang Heng survives from this period (75-100 CE) mentioning virtuous shramanas,
i.e. buddhist monks. But the linguistic impact of Sanskrit was as important as the
theology of Buddhism. In the late 3rd cent an Indian monk, Mok)ala, introduced
into Chinese writing 42 siddham letters, i.e. modified brahm& characters that would
help change the Chinese ideogrammatic script and later pass into Japan as well.
Thus, eventually, Sanskrit helped reform the Chinese writing system and its
phonetics. In the 4th cent Sanskrit became much better known (both its writing and
phonology); but its highly inflectional grammar remained prohibitive for the
Chinese who were thoroughly habituated to their own isolating language wherein
every individual morpheme or sound was a meaningful word; so Sanskrit never
gained a foothold in China. But translations of texts began to appear in the 5t cent:
Dharmak)ema, another Indian shramana, first translated into Chinese the
Mah"parinirv"$a S%tra; such translations multiplied in the ensuing centuries. From
the 8th cent in China survives in a fragment the oldest extant printed mantras for
goddess Pratisar", while from the 9th cent survives the oldest extant printed book
which is the Vajracchedik" S%tra. Thus paper-prints in Sanskrit are far older in China
than in India! In 526 Bodhidharma, the Patriarch of Indian Buddhism (28th successor
to Buddha) had migrated to China (Chaudhuri 2007; Klostermaier 2002; Yasuda
1991; Chen 1973; Soothill 1929).
In the 4th cent Buddhism reached Korea, again through zealous missionary
activity (Klostermaier 2002).
In the middle of the 6th cent Buddhism and Sanskrit entered into Japan. The
powerful Prince Shotoko Taishi recognized that some of the doctrines of the new
religion had transcendental values and provided a basis for unity and integrity,
particularly with the popular ideas bahujana-hit"ya for the good of many and
bahujana-sukh"ya for the happiness of many; so he drew up the first Constitution in
Japan with 17 articles having as a fundamental factor the buddhist tri-ratna three
jewels Buddha, dharma and sa2ga. He also wrote commentaries on several S'tras
like Sad-dharma-pundar.ke etc. 300 years later, c850, King Shomu dispatched Sanskrit
buddhist S'tras to the provinces and ordered that they be recited on fixed days and
times thereby creating strong unity in the whole country. A little later, under
empress Shotoku, several texts were printed and thereafter many more. In the early
9th cent the system of education opened out to more classes of people while the
monk-scholar Kobo Daishi, under the guidance of the Kashmiri scholar Praja,

C&WI of VC 10
created new alphabet(s) based on the N"gar& script and called Shittan (a corruption of
siddham). Here also, we see not only religious but also a political and a linguistic
impact which, of course, continued in Japan in subsequent centuries (Shashibala
2007; Conze 1993).
In the 7th cent Buddhism became the creed of Tibet under the influence of its
ruler Srong Tsan Gambo. He himself was influenced by his two wives: one was a
princess of the Chinese royal house and the other Nepalese. This king also united the
country under his sway. Later many monasteries were established and to these found
refuge thousands of monks when the Muslims invaded India and destroyed the
northern cities Nalanda and Taxila.
6. Hindu influence in Asia.
The R"m"ya$a is a unique example of an ancient epic that has been kept alive in
popular culture: during Dasserah many Ramlilas are performed (especially in
Northern India) with huge participation. Di(pa)vali has become the most popular
feast in India, in many ways a parallel to European Christmas. The TV version of the
R"m"ya$a in the 1990s became an India wide hit! (For Hinduism generally, see
Klostermeier 2000.)
The Sanskrit Valmiki R"m"ya$a is paralleled by many versions in other Indian
languages:
Prakrit (Jaina) Paumacariam; - Hindi Ramacaritamanasa by Tulasidasa; - Tamil
Kamba Ramayanam; - Nepali Adarsha Raghava; Assamese Katha Ramayana; and
many others.
The main attraction of the epic lies in its characters: Rama, the ideal son, king
and husband, Sita the ideal wife and companion, Bharata and Lakshmana the ideal
brothers, Ravana the embodiment of evil that receives its due. Good is overcoming
evil: ie. a happy end to a long and awsome story.
There are numerous re-writings of the R"m"ya$a in South-East Asian languages
and R"m"ya$a performances still take place all over this area.
Indonesia:
Kakawin-Ramayana in Old Javanese. We find present-day leather-puppet show
of R"m"ya$a scenes and dance-dramas. Also Muslim performers: "Islam is our
religion, R"m"ya#a is our culture."
Laos:
Palak Palang in Lao. Dance-dramas. R"m"ya$a sculptures on old temples
(including Buddhist ones)
Thailand:

C&WI of VC 11
Ramakian in Thai. Many sculptures and paintings of R"maya#a motifs. Capital
of Siam was Ayuthya (Ayodhya). Many kings adopted the title Rama.
Cambodia:
Many depictions of scenes from R"maya#a are found on old remples
The R"maya#a is not only part of the civilization of this area but also a
continuing source for civilizing people. It encourages faithfulness, honesty, cooperation etc.
Related to this is the adoption of Indian artha-&"stra (meaning roughly state
policy) by indigenous rulers, who often also adopted titles associated with Hindu
deities (especially *iva!).
Another feature of Indian civilization that spread throughout South-East Asia is
temple-architecture (and its underlying cosmology): a remarkable mixture of Hindu
and Buddhist elements. The Buddhist Borobudur has extensive relieves with
Mah"bh"rata and R"m"ya$a scenes. The Buddhist Angkor Wat and Angkor Tom are
based on Hindu cosmology (Murphey 2009 and Majumdar 1963).
Indonesia: 5th century Hindu kingdom. Prambanan (Hindu temple): 9th
century Java; Borobudur (Buddhist) "Majapahit Kingdom (1293-1528) marked the
culmination in the development of the Hindu-Buddhist states of island Southeast
Asia" (R. Murphey p.130).
Cambodia: Angkor-Wat: Began by Khmer King Yasovarman I (889-900)
completed by Suryavarman II (1113-1150) and Angkor Thom by Jayavarman VII
(1181-12118) (Murphey 2009 and Majumdar 1963).
Even today in vast areas of South-East Asia the remnants of vast Indian-style
temples such as Borobudur in Indonesia and Angkor Vat in Kampuchea and
monuments testify to the Indian past of these countries. It is a vast area and a long
history.
By the beginning of the Common Era Indian civilization had not only reached a
high level of maturity in all fields but it was ready to expand into new territories
outside the Indian subcontinent. Not only did the followers of the Buddha heed his
command to spread his message far and wide, adventurous tradesmen and
enterprising princes also crossed the seas and settled in far-flung countries.
There is evidence of Indian cultural presence in Java around 56 CE and on the
Malay Peninsula around 100 CE. Sumatra and Borneo were the home of Indian
kingdoms by the 4th century CE. And Bali, still a Hindu oasis today, traces its
association with India back to the 6th century (at the latest). Both Hindu and
Buddhist religious and cultural influences can be noticed throughout the entire area.
The longest lasting and largest Indian colony was Champa, roughly identical
with todays Vietnam. It flourished from the 2nd to the 15th century CE.

C&WI of VC 12
While the earlier Hindu colonies in South-East Asia seem to have been founded
by individual adventurers there were several later imperialistic attempts made by the
Sailendras (from the 8th century CE onwards) and the Cholas (from the 11th century
on). Connected with these were large-scale military operations and the appointment
of scions from these royal houses.
Apart from the execution of major building projects in Indian styles, the rulers
of these countries adopted names related to Indian deities and followed the advice of
Indian artha&"stra. The languages of all these countries betray a strong influence
from Indian languages and numerous inscriptions prove that classical Sanskrit was
known by the cultural elite.
All in all it appears that the Hindu-Buddhist-Indian influence had was a truly
civilisational impact that was exerted by the Indian colonists.
In Japan, apart from Buddhism and Sanskrit (5, end, above) there were also
certain Hindu religious elements. Thus in 722 in the T$daiji monastery was
celebrated the worship of Shr& (=Lak)m&) and Sarasvat&, the two great Hindu
goddesses. From the 12th cent comes a mantra to Sarasvat& : namo sarasvatyai
mah"devyai sv"h" reverence to the great goddess Sarasvat&, glory! and from the 13th
cent is preserved a painting of her with eight arms while as late as the 1930s was
founded a Sarasvat& sect called Benten-sh%. An edict of the 9th cent ordains that
Indra and Brahm" should be worshipped at the Enryakuji monastery. Agni and
Yama, Garuda and Ga#apati were also worshipped in various places and as late as
1836 a shrine was dedicated to Varu#a in the Meguro ward of Tokyo. Many people
continue to pray to all these deities even today. (See especially Chandra 2011.)
7. Vedic influences in the West
I have left out the influences of this culture in the Middle Ages after the Moghul
conquest, because simply I am almost wholly unfamiliar with this period. I hope I
am forgiven.
More recently, after the British discovered the Sanskrit literature, literary and
philosophical ideas came to Europe and America in the late 18th cent and early 19th
(e.g. Emerson in the US, Schopenhauer in Germany and Eliot in Britain). With
Sanskrit, linguistic studies took on new form, intensity and direction. But new
stronger influences began to spread in the late 19th cent when various sages travelled
to Europe and the USA bringing the teaching of Ved"nta. Many more came to the
West in the 20th cent. I shall confine myself only to the mention of the poet T.S.
Eliot who quoted in his Wasteland, end, the B)had"ranyaka Up (5.2.1 !) d"myata
restrain yourselves, gods; datta be generous, men; dayadhvam be compassionate,
demons. Eliot also cited the Bh"gavad G.t" in his Four Quartets, even though he was a
Christian with leanings towards Catholicism.

C&WI of VC 13
Exports to the West from 19th cent onward :
Literature and Linguistic ideas (e.g. Emerson in the USA, Schopenhauer in
Germany, Eliot in Britain);
Ved"nta and Buddhism; +yurveda, Meditation and Yoga.
The Ramakrishna Mission.
Shri Vivekanandas visit to the USA & UK;Sept 1893 Sisters and brothers of
America speech in Parliament of Religions in Chicago. 1899-1902 2nd tour in the
West.Many others subsequently Tagore et al.
Beyond these, India has exported to the West and the whole world three great
items: "yurveda, various forms of meditation and, of course, yoga, which is probably
the best known one. But this is the grossest form of yoga, Ha-ha-yoga, with its taxing
"sanas. The basic, the real yoga of Patajali, has eight limbs or stages.

ast!&ga-yoga of Patajali (2.29).

EIGHT STAGES (LIMBS) OF YOGA
8) sam"dhi
absorption
7) dhy"na

meditation

6) dh"ra!"

concentration of the mind

5) praty"h"ra

withdrawal of the senses

4) pr"!"y"ma

breath regulation

3) "sana

body position

2) niyama
1) yama

internal rules
external rules (code of conduct)

Patajalis yoga is designed to reduce and stop the movements in the mind:

yoga! citta-v%tti-nirodha (1.2)

Yoga e!ects the cessation of mind-movements.
All such movements of thinking and feeling are caused, says Patajali, by 5
kle(as.

5 kle!as afflictions (2.3)

avidy"
ignorance

asmit"
egoism
(separate ego)

r"ga
attachment,
passion

dve'a
abhorence

abhinive!a
attachment to
the world

C&WI of VC 14

To harness and dissolve these malignant tendencies, Patajali prescribed several

disciplines. In regard to "sanas positions he says only that the asana should be sthira
sukha steady and easy! That is all nothing more. Obviously this has little to do
with complicated and di-cult positions like standing on the head or on one leg, or
have legs entwined around the nape of the neck and so on: such "sanas are neither
steady nor easy! All these are later developments in the commentaries. But
Patajali says a lot on other practices like dh"ra$" concentration, dhy"na meditation
etc.
One starts with yama, stage 1. There are 5 yama, i.e. 5 regulations for external
behaviour:
5 regulations (yama) (2.30)

ahi(s"

satya

asteya

brahmacarya

aparigraha

non-injury

truth

non-stealing

life of purity

non-grabbing,
non-amassing

The last one is the key. It implies control of desire. When one does not desire more
than one needs, then there wont be stealing, lying and injuring others and life will
be simple and pure. If parigraha desire and grabbing and amassing all around
motivates us, then egoism asmit" and the other kle(as with ambition, envy and greed
will grow and produce all the evils of our society.
8. Giving: the virtue of this Age.
The positive virtue to the aparigraha is d"na generosity. Platos and Justinians
definition of justice is giving to everyone what is due. From the RV the ancient
seers praised generosity or liberality (RV ).
Giving or liberality :

)gveda 10.117

Hymn to Generosity

B%had"ra*yaka Up

datta [humans], give!

Manusm%ti 1.86

d"nam eka( kalau yuge

giving alone in the kali yuga

Bhagavad Git"

8.28; 16.1; etc.

We live in the Kali Yuga which is the worst epoch and in which dharma is
reduced at its lowest. We saw in the last century genocides, tortures and killings on a
massive scale perpetrated by totalitarian regimes like these of Stalin and Hitler, while
terrorism continues on all continents of the planet. Events such as these have never
happened before in recorded human history.

C&WI of VC 15
9) Descent into Degradation: in each yuga dharma is reduced but each yuga has
its own virtue. One large cycle consists of four yugas (=epochs) each with a specific
virtue to be practised:

Sat- or K!ta

tapas

asceticism, austerity;

Tret#
Dv#para
Kali

j"na
yaja
d"na

knowledge, wisdom;
sacrifice, sanctification;
generosity, liberality.

(Manusm!ti 1.86)
In our own Age, the Kaliyuga, the ancient teachings have been pushed aside or
have been wholly forgotten. We see around ever mounting greed for increasing
profits and easy pleasures all quick and with as little responsibility as possible. The
feverish acquisition of material wealth is to secure power and the indulgence of
selfish desires. This has two powerful global e!ects. One is the degradation and
weakening of mans natural abilities. The other is the plundering and denudation of
the planets natural resources resulting in the deadly environment pollution.
Starting with the second, the degradation of the natural environment, we all
know of the hot-house e!ects as pollution increases globally not only in India
from industrial sewage, fumes out of factories and vehicles, chemical fertilizers,
insecticides, sprays of every kind and the like.
One glaring example in India is the depletion and pollution of Ganges, felt most
acutely at Kanpur and Allahabad. By the time the river reaches Varanasi other
tributaries do provide fresh amounts of cleaner water. Even so, in the region of
Varanasi, although some decades ago the Ganges had an average depth of 60 metres,
now it has only 10 and in some spots it almost disappears especially just before the
river meets the Yamuna before Allahabad. (So an article by Jyoti Thottam in the
Time magazine, 19th July 2010.) First, the glaciers up in the Himalayas diminish as
part of the general course whereby the perennial ices in the Arctic and Antarctic
gradually melt. Second, the Tehri Dam above Rishikesh diverts waters from key
tributaries of the Ganges. Third, the explosive uncontrolled growth of cities (like
Delhi and Kanpur) and of agriculture draw increased amounts of water while citysewers and industries (like the Kanpur tanneries) return only wastewater and toxins.
Other problems are the caste system which condemns millions into poverty and
other unfavourable conditions, the cruel treatment of young girls and millions of illstarred widows and, generally, the increase in the gap between rich and poor or
privileged and under-privileged. This is the modern face of India which has many
deepening wrinkles from the past and the heavy make-up of the present as it assumes
the looks of the West. But now let us look at the attrition of mans innate powers.
Let us have now some statistics from the year 2002. In Germany, childdevelopment studies (in Tbingen University) revealed that while before 1970

C&WI of VC 16
young people could distinguish about 300 000 sounds, now many cant go beyond
100 000 and the average is 180 000; while they could detect 350 di!erent shades of
one colour, today the number is 130 (Pearce 2002: 111).
Other studies in the USA and France showed that children in underdeveloped
countries or primitive rural settings averaged an awareness of their surroundings
25-30% higher than children of technologically developed countries (Pearce
2000:112). Then, American high school students of 1950 had a working vocabulary
of some 25 000 words; today they have only 10 000. Moreover, there was an increase
of over one million of daily doses of di!erent drugs that alter childrens behavior
(ibid: 113) These few selected facts confirm that Kali yuga cascades downward at
great speed.
10. Hope?
From most ancient times we hear that greed in the frame of ignorance is the
root of all evils. So the sages, prophets and saints in all cultures stressed the need to
restrain it. In the RV there is a whole hymn on liberality dak'i$" (RV10 117). The
B)had"ra$yaka Up. says datta give! (5.2.2.). The Taittir&ya Up. commands that a
householder should always prepare food and never drive anyone away. And the
Manusm.ti declares explicitly that the virtue in the Kali yuga is d"na giving (d"nam
eka# kalau yuge). Greeks and Romans said that justice is giving to all their due.
Christ too exhorts his followers Give and it shall be given to you (Luke 6.38).
Giving, giving, giving. And of course the fifth regulation in A)0",ga Yoga is
aparigraha not coveting, not grabbing from all around!
Despite the obvious spiralling down of Kali yuga, a renaissance is possible just as
it was realized several times in the past both in the East and the West. But first, the
times must be right and ripe: there must be some measure of peace and prosperity in
society. Then a decisive group of dedicated people must work in a disciplined way
for this. A third factor is the influx of new knowledge that brings about a radical
change of mind and heart in people so that they meet the practical problems of the
daily routine in a new way. I have found these three factors operating in every
flowering of renaissance.
When all the talking, all discussion and argumentation subsides, we all have to
face the causes of the turbulence and distress. There are many descriptions but
Patajalis 5 kle&as are as good as any: avidy" ignorance, asm.t" selfishness, raga
attachment, passion, dve'a abhorence and abhinive&a attachment to the world.
These can be restrained if the desire is there.
The Vedic Tradition could perform its miracle again. It was based on oral
tradition not the visual kaleidoscopic impressions of our modern culture; not so
much the eye but the ear led to understanding. We must learn to listen again. The
study of Advaita, the practice of Meditation and the application of the 5 yamas in
daily life for the sake of all people could produce good results.

C&WI of VC 17
ahi(s"

satya

asteya

brahmacarya

aparigraha

non-injury

truth

non-stealing

life of purity

non-grabbing,
non-amassing

Let us also recall Swami Vivekananda: Civilisation is the manifestation of

divinity in man. Also
Yoshinory Yasuda on the Japanese J$mon (11th millennium BCE):
Respect for and co-existence with nature proper relationship in accord
with the features of the given region.
A. West on Ancient Egypt : In civilization men are concerned with
inner life to master greed, ambition, envy.
(For Yasuda, Rudgley 1998: 31-33. A. West see his publication of 1993: 6-7.)

C&WI of VC 18

Bibliography
Aklujkar A.

2009 Veda Revelation According to Bhartrhari in Chaturvedi

Mithilesh (ed) Bhart)hari : Language, Thought and Reality, N. Delhi,
M. Banarsidass.
2001 The Word is the World... Philosophy East & West vol 51
(No 4) 452-73, Univ. of Hawai Press.

Bhart.hari

1992 V"kyapad.ya: Brahmak"$1a transl by K. Subrahman&yam,

Delhi, Indian Books.
1975 V"kyapad.ya; k"#1as 1,2, transl by K.R. Pillai, Delhi, M.
Banarsidass.

Bhattacharya B.

1985
Bhart)haris V"kyapad.ya & Linguistic Monism Poona,
Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute.

Bhattacharya S. 2007 Theories of the nature of civilization in Pande G. C. ed, below

(111-131).
Cardona G.

1997 P"$ini : A Survey of Research N. Delhi, M. Banarsidass.

Chandra Lokesh 2011 Hindu gods and goddesses rooted in Japan in Vacaspativaibhavam (pp 1022-1035).
Chen K.

1973 Buddhism in China Princeton, Princeton University Press.

Chaudhuri

2007 Sanskrit in China in Sh. Kumar (ed) 2007 (7-36).

Conze E.

1993 A Short History of Buddhism Oxford, Oneworld Publications.

Coward H.G. & Raja K.K. 1990/2001 The Philosophy of the Grammarians N. Delhi,
M. Banarsidass.
Dalley S

1991 Myths from Mesopotamia Oxford, OUP.

Eliot T.S.

1975 Collected Poems London, Faber & Faber.

Gonda J.

2007 Sanskrit in Indonesia in Sh. Kumar (ed) 2007 (139-170).

Kanoria H. 2012 Enlightment through Humanity and Spirituality Kolkata, Srei

Foundation.
Kazanas N.

2009 IndoAryan Origins and Other Vedic Issues, Delhi, Aditya

Prakashan.
2006a Di!usion of Indoeuropean Theonyms in The Quarterly
Journal of the Mythic Society (Bangalor, India), vol 96-(2) pp1-29.
2006b
Vedic & Mesopotamian Interactions in Brahmavidya:
Adyar Library Bulletin vol 68 (1-88).
2003 Advaita & Gnosticism in VVRI Research Bulletin vol 2.

C&WI of VC 19

Kazanas N. and Klostermaier K. 2012 Vedic Civilization and its Spread in Vedic
Venues, vol 1 (1-27).
Klostermaier K. 2002 (1999) Buddhism Oxford, Oneworld Publications.
2000 Hinduism Oxford, Oneworld.
Kramer L. & Maza S. 2002 A Companion to Western Historical Thought Oxford,
Blackwell.
Kroeber A. & Kluckhohn C.
HUP.
Kumar Sh.

1952

Culture: A critical Review Cambrigde (MA),

(ed) 2007 Sanskrit Across Cultures Special Centre for Sanskrit

Studies, J.N. University, N. Delhi, Printworld Ltd.

Majumdar R.C. 1963

Hindu Colonies in the Far East (2nd ed) Calcutta,
Mukhopadhayay.
Murphey R.

2009 A History of Asia (6th ed) Pearson-Longman.

Murti T.

1974 Some comments on the Philosophy of Language in Journal

of Indian Philosophy vol 2 (321-331)

Pande G.C.

2007 ed Golden Chain of Civilizations PHISPC, N. Delhi and

Simla, Centre for Studies in Civilizations.

Pearce J.S.

2002 The Biology of Transcedence

Street Press.

Rochester (Vermont), Park

Rajaram N. & Frawley D. 1997 Vedic Aryans & Origins of Civilisation Delhi, Voice
of India.
Rudgley R.

1998 Lost Civilizations of the Stone Age London, Century.

Sankaranarayanan S. 2006 Bhast.hari, Sr& *a,kara and Bha(ya... in Adyar Library

Bulletin vol 68 - 70 (299-332).
Schafer W.

2001 Global Civilization in International Sociology, vol 16(3)

pp 304-311.

Seidenberg A.

1962 The ritual origin of Geometry in Archive for History of

Exact Sciences vol1 (488-527).
1978 The origin of Mathematics in Archive for History of Exact
Science vol18 (303-41).

Shashibala

2007 Sanskrit in Japan in Sh. Kumar (ed) 2007 (37-62).

Soothill W.

1973 (1929) The Three Religions of China London, Curzon.

Vacaspativaibhavam 2011 by a board of editors: a Felicitation volume for Vacaspati

Upadhyaya, New Delhi, D. K. Printworld.
West A.

1993 (rev ed) Serpent in the Sky (1979) Wheaton (Ill), Quest Books.

C&WI of VC 20
White L.

1969 A Science of Culture: A Study of Man Civilization N.Y.,

Noonday Press.

Williams R.

1991 Keywords: A Vocabulary of Culture N.Y., Oxford, OUP.

Winternitz M.

1923 Geschichte Der Indischen Literatur (1981-5) transl by V.S.

Sharma 2 vols; 3rd vol by S. Jha, Delhi, M. Banarsidass.

Yasuda J.

1991 The changing aristocratic society Acta Asiatica vol 60

(Tokyo).