Hmm ... sharing some knowledge I have found here.

Sephiroth

Just brought a book last Sunday, called "Gateway to Indian Classical Literature" - published by Asiapac Books (www.asiapacbooks.com) so I decided to share some knowledge obtain in it, espcially about Indian philosophers.

Those who are interested, can buy the book themselves ... not too expensive.

Sephiroth

First thing caught my attention in this book was :

Artha shastra

It's basically a treatise on Government - describing subjects such as how a King should be brought up (raised) and trained, how to protect the king (Soldiers' duty), how to maintain Law and Order, and how to deal with Spies.

Artha Shastra means "Science of Livelihood", contains many principles about government that used even today. Basically, it is like what Confucious did in his treatise for how to govern the Nation and Oneself in China. Maybe there's a link to both. :hmm:

It's Origin

Chanakya, a.k.a Kautilya wrote the Artha Shastra about 2,300 years ago. He was also Prime Minister (like Pak Lah) to India's one of the great emperor - Chandragupta Maurya.

Chanakya was sent to the Taxila Institute for his education. He learnt the Vedas and other philosophical works. He then went to Pataliputra to continue his education to become a Scholar.

Other works Chanakya wrote includes :

- Nitishastra - (Book of Wise Conduct)
- Chanakyaniti - Book about his opinion and ideas on Politics.

Note to myself : MUST find more about this books. :hmm:

Sephiroth

Next ...

Jataka Tales

This is a famous folk stories which contains both verse and prose. Each of the 550 stories serves as a lesson on Morale behavior and imparts values such as self-sacrifice and honesty.

Many of this tales set in or near Benares, now Varanasi - city to the North on Ganges River. According to tradition, Lord (Gautama) Buddha began his teaching in Sarnath, short distance from this city.

Origins

Jataka Tales were stories told by Lord Buddha to his disciples. When Lord Gautama Buddha lived and taught in Northeast India between 563 and 483 BC, there were no written common language so the stories were memorised and handed down orally from generation to generation. Several hundred years after Lord Buddha's departure, between 300 B.C and 400 A.D, the stories were written down by some of Buddha's disciples in an ancient Language called Pali. In the late 19th Century, these stories were translated into English.

The Jataka Tales revolves around vices like greed, ambition, foolishness, etc. At the same time, they emphasize cooperation, understanding, wisdom, responsiblity, humility, education as key to a fullfilled life and importance of the individual.

Artists loves Jataka Tales so much that they had craved it in many monuments which still exist today, including Bharhut and Sanchi which dated back 2nd and 1st Century BC and cavesof Ajanta which dates back 2nd Century BC to 5th Century AD.

In Indonesia, Stories of the Buddha were so popular that first 135 sculptures of Balushade (top series) in the first gallery of Borobudor Temple in Java are based on stories of the Jataka Tales.

Sephiroth

Thirukural

This is most respected classic in Tamil, a South Indian Language. It is about book on Life and Philosophy and has a universal appeal to it.

The name Thirukural have two Tamil words comprised in it - Thiru means "Sacred" and kural means "couplet".

Thirukural consists of 133 Chapters, each containing 10 Couplets, making it total of 1330 kurals. Each contains seven words with four words on the first line and three on the second line.

Origin

Thirukural was written about 2,000 years ago, around 100 B.C (same time the New Testament said to have written). It belongs to Pre-Bhakti period of the history of Tamil Nadu.

Thiruvalluvar who wrote the Thirukural were a sage and a philosopher but very little known about his life. He is said to be born about 31 B.C to Athi and Bhagavan, his birthplace is Mylapore in Madras, Tamil Nadu and he was a weaver by profession.

The Thirukural consists of three parts :

Book on Aram (Way to Live) - describes best ways to live a truthful and moral life, irrespective of whether one is married or an ascestic.

Book of Porul (Wealth) - talks about many things like wealth, friendship, kings and government.

Book of Inbam (Joy and True Love) - talks about falling in love and married life.

Sephiroth

The Hitopadesha

Hitopadesha is collection of stories in Sanksrit, which based upon the Panchatantra but has a different style.
Hitopadesha means "Wise Counsel" or "Advise" and it is simple collection of short stories.

Origins

Narayana Pandit is credited with writing the Hitopadesha. It was believed that he was inspired by Panchatantra and it was written about 1,000 years after Panchatantra.

Hitopadesha is divided into four sections :

1. Winning of Friends.
2. Parting of Friends.
3. Separation/War
4. Union/Peace

In Ancient India, character-building was the chief aim of the Education policy. The main purpose of producing this great work was to educate the young with the help of interesting stories.

A Survey conducted by the Sankrit Pracharak Mandal, Delhi revealed that Hitopadesha was a bestseller after Bhavagad Gita and one of the Sanskrit textbooks taught in high and higher secondary schools in India.

Although the stories compiled in Hitopadesha revolved around birds and animals, they are extremely relevant to human life and behaviour. It has been translated into as many as 50 languages and continues to be read in many countries around the World.

Qoutation :

"Who is just, and strong, and wise?
Who is true to social ties?
He is formed for Empires."

- The Story of the Old Jackal and the Elephant.  


[My own opinion here :- Character Building has been purpose of Education for Ages not only in India but also in other countries like Thailand, Malaya and China.

This can be traced back by series of stories which told to young generations by elders who supposed to teach them about the Good, bad and the Ugly things in Life. In Malaya, this stories can be traced in series like Cerita Pangilipulara (mistaken in name?).

In China, according to Confucious, True Scholar is one who have knowledge not only about the subject he learns like Maths, Science, Geography etc (what he learns in School) but also he have to learn various other subjects like Cooking, Martial Arts, Warfare etc.  It's kind of sad that many of our students (the so-called younger generations) have very little knowledge other than what stated in text books thus this make them have rigid and unflexible characteristics in education and in Life. :hmm:

Asians should return back to Asian way of doing things. :hmm: ]

Sephiroth

Pre-Medieval Literature

Kali dasa

Kalidasa is known as one of the greatest poet and dramatists in India. He is believed to have lived in the 5th and 6th Century AD and celebrated writer and one of the "nine gems" in the court of the King Vikramaditya of Ujjain.

Kali dasa's best-known Work

His Epic Poems :

1. Kumara Sambhava - Birth of the War God
- Story of Birth of Murugan, General of Gods against Demons.

2. Raghu Vansa - Dynasty of Raghu
- He narrated the story of the Great Kings of Raghu Dynasty, such as Dilipa, Aja, Dasaratha, Raghu, Rama, Luv and Kush.

His Plays :

1. Malavika Agnimitra - Love Story of Malavika and Agnimitra
2. Abhijnana Shakuntala - Recognition of Shakuntala.

Kalidasa's Influence

His work exerted a substantial influence on Sanskrit literature as well as later poets and dramatists, such as Rabindranath Tagore, the only Indian to receive the Nobel Prize for literature.


Aryabhatta

Aryabhatta (AD 476 - 550) is one of the greatest astronomer and Mathematicians in the history of India. He was born in Kerala and educated in the Nalanda University.

Astronomy in India today is referred to as Khagola-shastra, after a famous observatory at the University of Nalanda, which was called Khagola.

"Just as a man in a boat sees the tree on the bank move in the opposite direction, so an observer on the Equator sees the stationery stars as moving precisely toward the West"

- The above qoutation is from his work. Significant of this is, this qoute is very much similar to what Albert Einstein had wrote in his Theory of Relativity, except in his theory, he used passangers in a train observing trees outside the train as it passed by as example. Coincidence? :hmm:

In Aryabhatta's masterpiece - the book Aryabhattiya (which was written in poetic form in Sanskrit), he has summarised Indian Mathematics up to the present, put forward his own theories and described the important fundamental principles of Mathematics in just 332 Slokas (Verse?).

Aryabhatta gave the World the digit "0" (Zero), taught the Earth was a sphere rotating on its own Axis, explained the phenemona of Eclipses scientifically, calculated the value of Pi, put forward the heliocentric theory (that planets revolved around the Sun).

Currently, Copernicus is held as founder of theory of Heliocentric and he was born around 1700s (which means that Aryabhatta exceeded him by 1,000 years at least).

Arybhatta also believed that the heavenly motions go through a cycle of 4.32 billion years. Later in life, he also wrote Aryabhatta-Siddhanta as guide to day-to-day astronomical calculations. For his contributions, Indians have honored him by naming their first satellite Aryabhatta (in 1980s if not mistaken).


Aryabhattiya

- Consists of four Chapters :

1. Astronomical constants and the Sine Table.
(Method of denoting big decimal numbers by the alphabets).

2. Mathematics required for computations.
(Such as numerical mathematics, geometrical mathematics and algebra - was BEFORE Muslims have their hands on them).

3. Division of time and rules for computing the longtitudes of Planets using Eccentrics and epicycles.
(Way before Chinese could start their own Astronomical Calculations and invention of the Time Keeping around 1400s)

4. The armillary sphere, rules relating to the problems of trigonometry and the computations of eclipses.

In the last two sections, Jyotish (Astrology) is described.

Qoute from Aryabhattiya :

Add four to 100, multiply by eight and then add 62,000. The result is approximately the circumference of a circle of a diameter 20,000. By this rule, the relation of the circumference to diameter is given

This gives pi = 62832/20000 = 3.1416 which is surprisingly accurate value. In fact, pi = 3.14159265 correct to 8 places.

"We owe a lot to the Indians, who taught us how to count, without which no worthwhile scientific discovery could be made." - Albert Einstein.

Truth.8

one man show in this forum:bgrin::lol and one man reply and answere hehehehe

and worst i am not bothered read because so boring with lengtly copy and paste.

Sephiroth

Did I tell you that I want to make this column like a Library?

I gather information in the Net and the Real World, dump it inside and those who doesn't know about it will read from it.

Library exists not because they want to keep old books inside, it is there so people can find books. Librarians is someone who put in book, lent it, explain to others about books and so on. That's what I'm here. Capiece?

DARSITA

Seph .. who is "DARSITA" in Hindu religion?

Sephiroth

DAR ... SITA?  :stp:

Well, I know who SITA is (and it's definately ain't you) but DAR, I'm not very sure such exist in Hindusm. Maybe Sanskrit.

Only word I could think off is Japanese word for "Take Out" - Dachita means to Take Out/Taking Out.

Sephiroth

Dohakosh

There were 84 Mahasiddhas (Greatly Accomplished Ones) - 80 men and four women in India. Siddhas are considered "Holy men" and somewhat "Science men" who could bring new approach to Science and God in India. ONLY in India id Holy men play such role in Ancient times. Mahasiddhas are group of people who are more accomplished than normal Siddhas then and now.

Among these, Mahasiddha Saraha was the most famous One. He is aclaimed to be greatest of Sages of India in the late 8th Century AD and was considered to be first HINDI Poet. He wrote the Dohakosh - Treasure of Songs in 769 AD, which consists of three Chapters - for the King, for the Queen and for the People.

The term "Mahasiddha" means "Large Accomplished" and designates the Indian Sages who taught the essential elements of Mantra - "protection for the Mind".


Origin of Mahasiddha Saraha

Mahasiddha Saraha was born into a Brahmin family in India but he grew up to become a BUDDHIST Monk. Nowadays, Hindus and Buddhist live side by side with no problem, but in those days, anyone, especially one who born from a Brahmin family leaves his duty and becomes a Buddhist, he will ensure the wrath of his family and clan. Same happened to Mahasiddha Saraha.

As he was growing up, he become well-versed in Buddhist tantric teachings (still followed by Buddhist in North part of India and Himalaya - Tibet and Nepal).

When he was accused of drinking alcohol by the Brahmins, he performed feats which established himself as a great yogi.
He travelled untill he found a woman who was an arrow maker. He took her as his wife and started making arrows for a living, gaining the name "Saraha" which means "One who makes arrows for a living". It is said that his wife was a wise woman who helped him attain enlightnment.

It is said that at one time, he asked his wife to prepare a dish for him. While waiting, he entered a deep meditation and continued to meditate for 12 YEARS. When he woke up and saw his wife, first thing he asked was where was the dish he asked her to prepare.

His wife was astonished, stating that he was in meditation for 12 years and advised him. According to her, despite of being in meditation for so long, he still wakes up and asked for a dish which shows that his mind is not fully free of distractions.

Saraha decided to go to the mountains to meditate but his wife advised him again stating that going to mountain will not do any good. He should attain liberation ONLY by the inner Solitude of the Mind. Realising that she speaks the truth, he meditated (and worked) with this realisation and achieve enlightnment.


The Influence

Saraha taught the Dohas. His Dohakosh contained three songs :-

- Songs for the King - very concise.
- Songs for the Queen - slightly more detailed, and,
- Songs for the People - Most detailed, the longest of the three and starts with the line :

I pay homage to the Mind itself, which is like a Jewel that grants all one's wishes."

Saraha composed a main meditation text, which has been transmitted and studied now for many centuries. This is one of the fundamental treatises of the Mahamudra Meditation tradition, which is a method of direct introduction to the Nature of the Mind.

The Dohakosh had a great influence on Nepalese Buddhist Tradition.


Qoutation :

"The nature of the Sky is originally clear;
But by gazing and gazing the sight becomes obscured.
Then when the sky appears deformed in this way,
The fool does not know that the fault's in his own Mind."

"Clouds draw water from the Ocean to fall as rain on the Earth
And there is neither increase or decrease;
Just so, reality remains unaltered like the pure Sky."

"The whole World is tormented by Words
And there is no one who can do without Words.
But only in so far as One is free of Words
Does One really understand Words."


:hmm: I think the last verses fits conditions of the Politic World very nicely. :hmm:

Sephiroth

Pritviraj Raso

In the 12th Century, India was ruled by the powerful Chauhan Kings. Among them, Pritviraj Chauhan (1168 - 1192) was known for his bravery and kindness. Pritviraj Raso is the story of his life, written by 1200 by his friend, the poet Chand Bardai.

Pritviraj Chauchan succeeded to the throne of Ajmer in 1179, at age of 11. He controlled much of Rajasthan and Haryana and unified the Rajputs against Muslim invasions. The story of his elopement with the daughter of Jai Chandra, the Gahadvala king of Kannauj, is a popular romantic tale.

He fought and defeated the Afghan ruler, Muhammad Ghori at the First Battle f Tarain in 1191, but later defeated at the Second Battle of Tarain in 1192. Taken as prisoner to Muhammad's capital of Ghazni in Afghanistan, he was blinded and tortured, but saved his honor by commiting ritual suicide with the aid of his childhood friend, Chand Bardai.


About the Author

Chand Bardai was well-versed in literature, grammar and astronomy. He was the court poet of King Prithviraj and also accompanied the King in wartime. His account of the brave king's life contains over 100,000 verses and was written in Braj language.

Qoutation

"Muhammad Ghori was brought in chains to Pithoragarh, Prithviraj's capital and he begged his victor for mercy and release. Prithviraj's ministers advised against pardoning the aggresor. But the chivalrous and valiant Prithviraj thought otherwise and respectfully released the vanquished Ghori."

"Ghori ordered him to lower his eyes, whereupon a defiant Prithviraj scornfully told him how he treated Ghori as a prisoner and said that the eyelids of a Rajput's eyes are lowered only in death."
- Prithviraj Raso


Amir Khusro

Amir Khusro (1253 - 1325) was a great classical poet who wrote hundreds of songs, poems and riddles. He was born at Patiyali, in the present-day Madhya Pradesh. His father, Saifuddin Shamsi Laachin, was of Turkish origin. He lost his father at age of eight and went to maternal grandfather's place at Delhi.

Khurso graced the courts of many rulers of Delhi in his lifetime. He started writing poetry at an early age. Khurso was a disciple of the Sufi saint, Nizamuddin Auliya.

Influence

Amir Khurso is credited with the creation of the Khayal form of North Indian classical music by adding a Persian melody and beat to the Dhrupad, an old form of Indian music. Khurso is also said to be founder of Hindustani classical music as well as Qawwali (devotional music of the Sufis). He created the Qawwalis along the line of Bhajans. His poetry is still sung at Sufi Shrines throughtout Pakistan and India.


Kabir

A great poet and social reformer, Kabir was born in 1398 and is believed to have lived for more than a hundred years. This period is also said to be the beginning of Bhakti Movement in India. He was born a Hindu but adopted by a Muslim weaver couple. He was almost illiterate as he had never received a formal education. A legend says that the only word he ever learnt to write was "Rama". Later, he become a disciple of the great Swami Ramananda.

Kabir's Work

Kabir was a prolific poet and a songwriter. The holy book of the Sikhs, the Guru Granth Sahib contains over 500 verse by Kabir. His greatest work is the Bijak (meaning "Seedling"), a three-part collection of dohe (couplet) which reflects Kabir's Spirituality.

Kabir was frank and open in his speech. He criticised both Hindu and Muslim customs such as idol worship, practise of Caste and Untouchability and taught that God could be found within Oneself and true happiness could not be found in material things. [This guy seems to reminds me of myself :hmm:]

Kabir's Dohe :

"Tomorrow's work do today, today's work now; if the moment is lost, the work be done how?"

"Slowly slowly O Mind, everything in own pace happens.
The Gardener may water a hundred buckets; fruits arrives only in its seasons."

"In anguish everyone prays to Him, in joy does none.
To one who prays in happiness, how can sorrow come?"

Kabir's Influence

Kabir gave a new direction to the Indian philosophy. He had a straightforward approach, which made him a universal guru. He influenced people to live simply and in harmony, without barriers of Caste and religion.

He was praised by Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs alike. His Bijak influenced th Turks as well. The truth of Kabir's teachings endeared him to people. When he died, Hindus and Muslims fought over his body, each wanting to pay respect in their own ways. According to legend, when they lifted the cloth covering his body, they found flowers.

[ Last edited by  Sephiroth at 23-5-2006 10:31 AM ]

Truth.8

Originally posted by DARSITA at 20-5-2006 03:41 AM
Seph .. who is "DARSITA" in Hindu religion?

Sita know as Sita dewi. Her husband Raman.

While raman  away, he told sita not to cross  the  line raman draw .If she cross the line,  disaster come upon her.

[ Last edited by  Truth.8 at 25-5-2006 02:39 AM ]

fleurzsa

Originally posted by Truth.8 at 19-5-2006 03:35 PM
one man show in this forum:bgrin::lol and one man reply and answere hehehehe

and worst i am not bothered read because so boring with lengtly copy and paste.

Person who depend to others is surely weak.  

U better learn to do something without begging for attention.  Then u become a real man.

Sephiroth

Padavali

The Padavali is a book of love-lyrics, written by Vidyapathi (1374 - 1460). Pada is a term used for small, spiritual songs. A collection of padas was known as Padavali. Padavali composed this set of verses in a Maithili, his native language.

Vidyapati was born in Bisapi, a village in Madhubani district, Bihar in 1360. He was a master in Sanskrit and Maithili, and court poet of King Shivasimha, the then-King of Bihar. Vidyapati was an ardent worshipper of Lord Shiva. Legend has it that to see his devotion an love, Lord Shiva once came to live with him as a servant named Ugana.

Vidyapati's Writings

Some of the famous works are Kirti-pataka, a historical romance, Gorakshavijaya, a drama in Mithili and Purusha Pariksa, a collection of stories. He also wrote devotional songs. His most famous work is Padavali, describing the passionate love between Lord Krishna and Radha. Besides writing songs, Vidyapati also wrote books on ethics, history, geography and law.

Among his book are Puruspariksa (moral teaching), Likhanabali (on writing), Kirttilata (history), Bhu-Parikrama (geography), Danbakyabali (on charity) and Gangabakyabali (on holy sites). Durgabhaktitarangini and Bibhagsar are autobiographical in nature.

Influence

In 16th Century, Vidyapati's poems were adopted and constantly sung by Caitanya. Ever since, they had been adapted and handed down in many language, especially Bengali and Assamese. Kirtan and Padasangit (form of devotional songs) were main pillars of Vaisnavism.

Vidyapati's style started a new literary tradition. Later poets wrote verses in imitation of Vidyapati. To this day, he is a household name in Mithila. His songs are sung on various festivals and special occasions.


Raidas

Raidas was born in 1377 in Varanasi. Since the day was Sunday, he was named Ravidas (Ravi is another name for the Sun in Hindusm), which later become Raidas. He was a great poet and saint. He was also a humble, peaceful man and follower of Saint Ramananda.

Born into one of the lower Castes, Raidas earned his living as a cobbler. Because his people were in contact with dead animals and their skins, they were considered untouchables and banned from temples and many other places. The high-caste Brahmins looked down upon them.

Raidas' Work

Raidas did not write any treatises, he composed only devotional songs which were highly literary. Later, his disciples compiled this songs and included in the Guru Granth Sahib, holy book of the Sikhs.

Raidas was a strict monotheist. He preached that God was accessible to ALL and that He alone could grant redemption from human sins and passions.

Both Sikhs and Hindus revere Saint Raidas and he become an important figure for oppressed Castes in India today. His followers calls themselves Ravidasis.

barney50

1. responded by Truth.8:Sita know as Sita dewi. Her husband Raman.
   
2. 
   
3. While raman  away, he told sita not to cross  the  line raman draw .If she cross the line,  disaster come upon her.

Copy the Code

Truth.8, if you do not know about the Ramayana please do not dwell on it. Rama did not draw the line but his brother Letchumana. He was asked by his sister-in-law [Sita] to go and look for her husband [Rama] as she heard  a distress call from Rama [ in actual fact the assura sage was making such a call to fool Lecthumana in order to make him leave Sita alone by herself] and being an obedient brother-in-law he has to go and look for his brother Rama but at the same time protect his sister-in-law Sita. So, that is where he drew a mystical line as a warning to his sister-in-law not to cross beyond the line. Next time please study the subject before you dwell on it.

Sephiroth

AHEM! What does Ramayana have to do with this Thread, may I ask? O_o

Don't bring your arguments all over the place, thank you. :no: