East and west

THE EAST AND THE WEST 1

1. Characteristics of Eastern Culture It would be convenient if I begap by defining, to a certain extent, the implications of the terms, “Eastern," " Culture," and “Characteristics," so far as the present paper was concerned. It has now become almost trite to say that the categorisation of thought and culture as Eastern’ and Western’ is not at all scientific. There are, as we all know, great and fundamental differences between the various ideologies that have originated apd grown in the geographical East. The cultural matrix of China, Japan, Indonesia, India, and Asiatic Russia can by no means be regarded as a single entity which may be analysed and studied as such. Similarly the differences between the Latin and the Germanic cultures as also between the cultures of the European continent on the one hand and those of the Americas on the other cappot be certainly overlooked. Further it has been osten pointed out that there is hardly anything in the so-called Oriental thought which cannot be found in the wide range of Occidental thought, and, conversely, there is nothing in the traditional Western thought which has not found expression in the Orient. Notwithstanding all this, in view of the fact that the ways of life and thought of peoples are invariably conditioned by their anthropo-geographical situations and the course of their history, and mainly as a convenient point of departure for a comparative study of their thought and culture, it may not be ahogether unwarranted to speak in terms of the Eastern tradition and the Western tradition. It would, however, be advisable to remind ourselves, jo this connection, of what has been so very well said, namely, that we might divide in order to distinguish if we did not distinguish in order to divide.
2. This served as a working paper for a UNESCO symposium beld under the auspices of the Ninth laternational Congress for the History of Religions, at Tokyo, Japan, in August September 1958, 314 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY Even a casual student of the history of Indian culture will be struck by what TOYNBER calls the religious penchant of that culture. With a view to bringing this penchant into relief, one may as well contrast it with the mechanical and technological penchant of the modern Western civilisation or the aesthetic penchant of the Hellenic civilisation. This religious penchant or the spiritual attitude of the Indian finds a very striking expression in the motivation of Indian philosophy. Indian philosophy, as has been often rightly emphasised, springs from the unrest of the soul rather than from any metaphysical curiosity. In the West, philosophy is a kind of scholastic Occupation or academic game; it is often isolated from life and consists of purely theoretical speculations. As against this, the Indians have sought to give a practical orientation to their philosophical thought. They aim at spiritually realising what is intellectually known. After the three stages in one’s progress on the path of philosophy, namely, śrayana (knowledge derived through study), manana (cogita tion), and nididhyāsa (constant and repeated meditation), säksātkāra (direct realisation) is invariably mentioned as the final goal. Koowledge is barren unless it is transformed into vision ( darśana) or experience. This pragmatic view of philo sopby has resulted in the so-called systems of Indian philosophy subordinatiog their theoretical differences to the ultimate spiritual s goal. Philosophy is after all a means to not an end in itself. And this leads us to another significant attitude of the Indians, pamely, tolerance. Philosophy and religion not being regarded as ends in themselves, there is in India do scope for philosophical or religious dogma. There may be various roads which can take one to the ultimate goal of spiritual realisation, and any talk of exclusiveness in this regard is generally repulsive to the ladian mind In the course of her long history, India has, (Continued from the last page) while reading this paper. It may also be pointed out that the assertion of the exclusiveness of the various characteristics vis-a vis India is intended primarily for bringwg iato sbarp relicf the Indian tradition and the Western tradition, THE CAST AND THE West 315 accordingly, welcomed different races and religious cults without having ever entertained the idca of aggressively converting them to any specific way of life and thought Thus hospitality, this elementary good manners 10 matters of spirit, to use RADHA KRISHNAN’s felicitous phrase, has characterised the Indian tradi. tion through the centuries But the non individualistic attitude must perhaps be regarded as the most basic attitude of the Indian The genesis of this attitude has of course to be traced back to his cosmic Weltans. chauung The Western thought is essentially anthropo centric “Man is the measure of all things’. this dictum of Protagoras has oriented the entire outlook of the West As agajost this, in India, man is regarded as just a part of the cosmic whole in the same way as an animal or a tree Man is just one of the many forms in which the Supreme Bcing becomes manifest in this Universe An Upanısadıc seer has put this 10 a ycry telling manner He proclaims that the essential self or the vital essence in man is the same as that in ant, the same as that in gnat, the same as that in elephant, the same as that in these three worlds, indeed, the same as that in the whole universe Co ordination (or setting side by side ) of the various aspects of creation, 10 cluding man, and not subordination to man of other things is the guiding principle of the Indian thought No unique position is ascribed to man in the cosmic scheme of things The Indian man, therefore, acver assumes any domincering attitude in life On the contrary, he is ever eager to siok bis individuality in the ocean of cosmic totality. Humility or surrender before reality comes naturally to the Indian He realises that what is called 3 It may be contended that, from the cosmic, metaphysical point of view, co ordination may be the guiding principle but in the social organıza tion of the Indians at 13 certainly not so There is thus a kind of dichotomy betweea the spiritual ideology and the social actuality of the Indians A conuderation of this point docs not fall within the scope of thu paper, but it may be pointed out that, in the ultimate analysus, the underlyiog principle of the Indian system of social orders (vargas) also is co-ordination (10 the form of ethical interdependence ) and not subordination [For details, see the discussion of the topic in scveral contexts to DANDEKAR, Insights into Hinduism) 316 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY life is after all a state of temporary and, from the ultimate point of view, apparent disintegration or standing aparthe, therefore, seeks to achieve te integration through Yoga and mysticism It is on account of this son individualistic attitude that India has failed to produce any real work of history as we understand at today That is also why in Jodia one speaks not in terms of individual philosophers but of schools of philosophy All interest is concentrated on ideas and not on individuals on principles and not on personalities In India individuality has, indeed, been never regarded as a problem worthy of senous consideration As against this, the West has consistently opposed the rejection of individuality However, in recent times, Western individualism has been stoutly challenged by the new ideals of collectivism and socialization And therein we see one aspect of the present crisis in the West A natural consequence of the Indian non individualism is Indian non activism Individualistic West is aggressively activistic The Western man has been trying to understand nature with a view to ultimately being able to control and direct her forces And the success that he has so far achieved in this his endeavour has prompted him to further activism While detachment’ 15 the watchword of the Indian s behaviour the Westerner takes deep interest in this life and seeks to make it more and more happy and useful The Indian transcends all this worldly values, be regards them as being merely subservient to the values of another better existence He sees no salvation in the exclusively humanistic ideal of the West – in its anxiety to remould human society or to reform the state While the West believes that if anything is to be perfected it is this life and this world with all its complexities, the Indian is convinced that there is nothing per manent - either physical or psychical - In this temporal world, nothing enduring, and that, therefore, instead of striving to change this world one would do well to aspire for another better existence 4 For details, sec Man 1 H ndu thought in Ins ghis inlo Hinduism TITE FAST AND THE WEST 317 The non-activistic and essentially contemplative Indian has consequently lagged far behind the West in the matter of scientific knowledge and matcrial progress. But, thereby, India and the East may be said to have escaped, to a large cxtcnt, another aspect of thc crisis which the West is now facing. On the onc hand, the West is feeling frustrated at the thought that, with all its knowledge and equipment, it has not succeeded in bringing peace and contentment to this world, where, on the contrary, tension is growing day by day in every splicrc of lifc; and, on the other, instead of remaining the master of its activistic impulse, the West has become almost its sfasc. The means of production and the products have, for instance, tended to dominate the producer. The economics of the non-activistic India Hould preach the desir ability of reducing the needs rather than of increasing the pro duction. At this stage I may incidentally refer to an apparent locon gruity. I have spoken above of detachment and religiosity as the distinctive features of the Indian way of life and thought. Para doxical as it may sccm, the Indian tradition is by no means devoid of litcrature and art characterised by carcirce sensuous abandon and of religions glorifying orgiastic cults. Indeed, this polarity itself must be mentioned as a characteristic ladian attitude. Or course, this polar attitude is not to be vicucd, as it is sometimes donc, as being the result of the Indian ideology being primitive at the base and highly cultured in devclopment. Rather the two poles - attachment’ and ‘aloofness’, ‘abandon’ and asceti cism’-are to be understood as being indicative of the essential Dature of one single integrated wholc. In the cosmic-magic ideology, the two extremes of asceticism and sexuality, of capas and kāma, arc regarded as being by no means exclusivc; in an ideal situation, they may co-exist and thereby engender a lind of superb spiritual balance. In the Hindu mythology, Siva, who is celc brated as the most prc.cminent among the Yogins and the ascetics, is also represented as being ever united with his spouse Sakti who is the centre of rcligious orgies.

See Insights into Hinduism, 309-10. 318 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY Turning now to the way of approach to the problems of life and reality, it may, at the very outset, be broadly pointed out that the Western approach is intellectualistic, analytic, and regulative, while the Indian approach is intuitive, synoptic, and conformistic. The Western man believes that there can be no knowledge which cannot be expressed by means of verbal and logical symbols. Knowledge, according to him, is a body of strict concepts, and the categories of reason necessarily coincide with those of reality. He revels in setting forth all knowledge in a systematic frame work. To him reason is the only test of reality; formal logic is his very god. On the other hand, in conformity with his general attitude, the Indian regards nyāja (logic) as subservient to reli gion. The aim of logic is not so much epistemological as religious. The Indian has also fully realised the limitations of logic. He, no doubt, accepts the validity of reason, but he positively believes that the ultimate reality is beyond the reach of discursive and demonstrative logic. He is naturally unwilling to accept the absoluteness of any system of thought; for, according to him, truth manifests itself in many ways, and dogma is but the re flection of intellectual vanity. Further, the Indian believes that, in the ultimate analysis, all logical systems are based on the relativity’ and uncertainty of human experience. Like the individualism and the activism of the West, its uncompromising intellectualism also has caused a major crisis in Western life. Logical positivism has collapsed before relativity, and the undeniable evidence of the irrational, produced by modern psychology, has brought about the fall of reason from its high pedestal, India has sought to overcome this inevitable intellectual indeterminateness by postulating sabda (scriptural authority) as a valid source of loowledge. The Indian has deep faith in the scriptures, which, according to him, embody the results of the supra-rational perception and intuitive ex perience of the ancient sages. Sensual perception (pratyahṣa) and logical inference (anumāna ) are necessarily limited in scope. for, the capacity of the human senses and of the human intellect is obviously limited. But, at this stage, the Indian exhibits a THE EAST AND THE WEST 319 remarkable epistemological optimism. He firmly believes that where pure intellectualism fails, faith often functions effectively.” In this connection, it may also be pointed out that, for his progress on the path to the direct realisation of reality, the Indian takes the aid of such non-intellectualistic disciplines as Yoga. As against this, the Westerner is critical of everytbing; he hesitates to put faith in anything; for him gothing is sacred by virtue of itself. Therefore, he suffers from a terrible intellectual frustration, The attitudes of the Indian and his way of approach to the problems of life and reality have inevitably influenced his thought and practices. Indian cosmology, for instance, accepts the essential oneness of all aspects of being. There is no qualitative difference between one entity and another. According to one phase of the early Vedic thought, the same magical potence, asu, permeates through everyone and everything - god, man, animal,, trees, etc. – and the apparent manifoldness of form and type is due to quantitative differences. The later doctrine of advaita is but a metaphysical expression of this original cosmic-magic view. It is further believed that the universe, vast and complex as it is, is by no means chaotic; it is governed and regulated by an all pervasive universal law, Rra. Nothing is higher than this cosmic law. Even gods are subservient to it and capaot outgrow it. Indian metaphysics cannot be defined in the usual terms of idealism, materialism, realism, etc. The manifold phenomenal manifestations are apparent, transitory, and contingent; they are T ! 6. Jacidentally, attention may be drawn in this context to a peculiar feature of India’s religio-philosophical ideology. Though the Indian has accepted fabda or scripture as the ultimately valid source of knowledge, the religious thought and practice in lodia have by no mocans ternained static on that account, through the various periods of her long history. Unlike many other religions, Hinduism was never bound down by the “ Loub ’ and the “Prophct.” It would seem that fabda-frutanga had but louted application - it was accepted only as an epistemological device - and that frequcat changes were wrought to religious concepts and precepts so as to make them conform to the changing times. See fo 3a on pp. 72–73 of this Volume. 7. Scc DAXDEKAR, Vedic Alythological Tracts, 53-56 8 For R’s, see the relevant portions in the book mentioned in the preceding fn. 322 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY deeper fundamental plane it has proved to be remarkably dynamic. As for the second vicw, it is necessarily partial and tendentious. Many European historians, and others who had come under their influence, believed that Europe was the scene of the origin and growth of real culture and could, therefore, alone be a proper subject of history They, therefore, deliberately refused to study the history of the Eastern civilisations. The erstwhile popular assumption of the Hellenistic origin of Indian drama, art, medi cine, etc, for instance, was but an ego-centric illusion of the Western mind The correct view would be that, in the course of history, the Indian culture and the Western culture had influenced each other in several ways, How can the fact and the nature and extent of the influence of one culture upon another be determined ? Direct, specific, and unequivocal evidence in this regard is obviously not always possible. We have often to depend on the evidence which is circumstantial and inferential. It is also not possible to state in very precise terms the various aspects of such infuence, One point needs to be specially emphasised in this connection. Similarities or resemblances between two cultures, however striking, are not always a sure criterion of the influence of one culture upon the other. Similarities may be accidental. Side shoots sprouting out from two different stems are, pot unoften, seen to approximate one another as a matter of course. Similar ideologies and practices may also evolve independently in two different areas. Similar problems faced by the human intellect on similar backgrounds may be tackled independentlly but in similar ways Such similar-looking cultural growths are really parallel,’ It is further not unlikely that the influence of a common third source, and not mutual contact, is the cause of some resemblances. Some resemblances may, again, be only apparent and superficial. The apparently similar concepts may have actually originated from entirely different contexts and on entirely different planes The cosmic non-individualism of India, for instance, cannot by any means be regarded as being similar to the collectivistic or socialistic non-individualism of the modern THE ‘EAST AND THE WEST 323 West. Similarly, the claim that the sages of ancient India had anticipated in their speculations some of the results of modern science (e. g. coormous number of years from the beginning of creation to the present yuga; infinite number of worlds existing outside our own; presence of worlds even in the space of an aton; etc.) must be regarded as untenable. Lastly, it must be pointed out that partial resemblances are always deceptive. We may, however, set forth some workable criteria for our present purpose. The Indian way of life and thought is essentially traditional in character. It is seen that even original thinkers have been chary of afirming the originality of their contributions; they have always tried to fit in their contributions into the traditional pattern. Whatever, therefore, seems not to belong to the traditional pattern may be regarded as the result of foreign jofluence. So too, whatever is peculiar to a particular author or school - that is to say, whatever was generally not knows or accepted before that author or school and is generally not known or accepted after that author or school - may be the result of foreign influence. It might be further assumed that borrowing would normally occur in those spheres of life and thought in which India had not made sufficient advance. Generally speak ing, no foreign borrowing or influence might be expected in the fields of philosophy, religion, literature, etc. It has also to be remembered that the influence of one culture upon another may either be general and of a more or less permanent character, or it may be limited to a particular sphere of life and to a particular historical period. In many cases, Western ideas and ideals, being exotic, have failed to strike root in traditional India. What is, however, perhaps most important in this context is that it should be possible to account for the phenomenon of influence Tationally and in conformity with the history and cultural develop ment of Iodia. The first principal landmark in the history of the intercourse between lodia and the West must be said to be represented by the obvious relationship between the Indus valley civilisation and the contemporary civilisations of Western Asia. A more or less324 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY uniform culture-complex may be presumed to have extended from the Mediterranean to the Indus in the fourth and the third millennia B.C. A little later the Indo-European-speaking tribes from the West and the North migrated into the North-Western region of India. These people, popularly known as the Vedic Aryans, brought with them their own language, religion, and culture, which, in course of time, proved to be some of the most fundamental factors in the evolution of the Tadian culture. Words of Babylo nian and Chaldean origin occurring in the Veda, rare as they are have also to be understood as implying some contact between India on the one hand and Babylon and Chaldea on the other. Similarly, the early Dravidian language and culture show unmistakable affinities with the prehistoric cultures of Anatolia, Armenia, and Iran The Lycians of Asia Minor, in their inscriptions, called themselves Trimmlai, which word is presumably related to dramila or Tamil A large number of ancient place-names in that region are shown to conform to Dravidian forms. The Hurrian and the Kassite languages also show great alioity with the Dravidian. These linguistic affinities between Western Asia and South India are clearly confirmed by cultural affinities.12 A more direct evidence is available of vigorous trade gojog on between the Phoenicians of the Levant and the merchants of Southern and Western India found about 975 B, C. More siguifcapt, however, from our present point of view is the period of the contacts between India and Greece. It must be pointed out that, in this context, Greece has to be understood in a wider sense as comprising Greece and Greek colonies in Asia Minor, Egypt, Italy, and Sicily, while India has to be understood io a far too restricted seose as being coextensive only with the region of the lodus. The connecting link between India apd Greece in this carly period was the Persian empire. It is histori cally attested that the Persian emperor Darius sent a Greek mercenary, called Scylax, to sail down the river Indus to its mouth, in about 510 B. C. It is not unlikely that Herodotus 12. See : K. A. NILAKANTA SAJTRI, A Ilustory of South India, 57-58. THE EAST AND THE WEST 325 (born 484 B. C.), who gives several significant details about India, has utilized the accounts of Scylax’s adventures. Ctesias (401 B, C.), another Greek who had travelled in India, wrote quite a lot about this country, but his descriptions are rather fanciful. But, even before the times of Darius, India seems to have heard and known of the Greeks, la this connection, it is significant that the great grammarian of Sanskrit, Pānioi, refers to the script of the Yavanas (lonians) in a familiar way. A mention may also be made here of the interesting tradition, which Eusebius attributes to Aristoxenus (330 B. C.), namely, that an Indian Pandit actually visited Athens and conversed with Socrates. The Indian Pandit, it is said, asked Socrates what he was occupied with. On being told by Socrates that his work consisted in inquiriog into the life of man, the Indian Pandit smilingly retorted that none could hope to understand things human who had not understood things divide. It is generally believed that Alexander’s raid on the Indus region (4th cent. B. C.) facilitated deeper and more extensive contacts between India and the West. But the raid itself did not make any discernible impact on the history of Indian culture. The Hellenistic intrusion into India must be said to have really begon with Demetrius, the Greek king of Bactria, who crossed the Hindu Kush in 190 B.C. And, even after the Greek principalities in that region had come to an end, the Hellenistic influence on India continued through the “Philhellenic” sakas, Parthians, and Kuṣānas (2nd cent. B. C. to 1st cent. A. C.). During the first centuries A. C., Alexandria had developed into a great cosmopolitan cultural centre. According to a tradition, the Alexandrians honoured a Buddhist monk from Bhțgukaccha and listened to him with as much attention as to Saint Paul. There is also evidence of brisk trade and other contacts between South India and the Roman Empire.194 Similarly some Indian rulers are known to have appointed 12a. One may recall in this connection the arcbacological excavations carried out in recent years at Arikmedu and other places in South India. 326 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY ambassadors at the Roman Court, and Roman colonies are said to have been established at Cannanore, Madura, etc Christianity also made its way into India duriog this period, though it does not seem to have the influenced the Indian way of life and thought in any significant way Marco Polo’s accounts of his Indian travels12b are historically important, but, on the whole, there was, in the medieval period, a compara tive lull in the cultural intercourse between India and the West 13 On May 20 1498, the Portuguese adventurer, Vasco de Gama, sailed into Calicut, and thus began what may be called the modern period in the history of the intercourse between Igdia and the West Of course, in this period we are more particularly concerned with the Indo British contacts Out of the above mentioned four periods in the history of the intercourse between India and the West, for the purpose of this paper, I have taken into account only the last three So far as the Hellenistic contacts with India are concerned, broadly speaking, before Alexander’s campaign, thought seems to have travelled - mainly, and quite understandably - from the East towards the West Though positive evidence in this connection is mostly lacking there is a strong probability of the Indian thought having rafluenced the Greek philosophers Chronology and historically demonstrable contacts would seem to support the assumption of such influence Thales, the father of Greek philosophy postulated water as the basic element It is not unlikely that in this postulation he was influenced by the Vedic concept of primeval waters Similarly the Upanisadıc theory of one single Reality underlyiog the phenomenal manifoldness may be presumed to have been the source of the speculations of the Eleatic school The entire body of the religio philosophical and mathematical teaching of Pythagoras had been known in India 126 Round about 1275 A C 13 Tor furt) er details regardiog ti cse three periods in the history of the intercourse between India and ibc Hest see Indo-Afcditerranean contacts Published elsewhere in this Volume THB EAST AND THE WEST 327 already in the 6th century B. C., and the biographer of Pythagoras tells us that the latter bad travelled exteosively and had thereby become familiar with the thought of the Brāhmaṇas among others. The afinities between the Orphic school and India’s transcendental philosophy are self-evident, and, if any influence is to be presumed, India must be regarded as the source of that influence. The same thing may be said in connection with Neoplatonism on the one hand and Vedānta, Yoga, and Buddhism on the other. In this context, one may usefully refer to the verdict of Clement of Alexandria who proclaimed that the Greeks bad stolen their philosophy from the barbarians. According to Lucianus (2nd cent, A. C.) also, philosophy had beea first cultivated in India before it came to Greece. Further, it is well known that gnosticism is often characterised as “Orientalism in Hellenic Mask.” As suggested above, the flow of culture definitely changed its course from the time of Alexander onwards. It was the Western thought and culture which now began to influence the East. Some aspects of this jofluence, so far as it operated on lodia’s cultural development, may be noted here. The polity of the Mauryan age (4th century B. C.), as reflected in the Arthasāstra of Kautilya, exhibits certain features which are alien to the traditional political thought of Jodia. 180 According to the traditional view, the highest sanction in social and political matters vested in Dharma. In the Indian theory of government, both Brahman, the spiritual authority (normally symbolised by the Brāhmana Purohita ), and Kṣatra, the temporal power ( normally symbolised by the Ksatriya ruler), were, in the ultimate analysis, always subordioated to Dharma. Indeed, sacerdotium and regnum were both regarded as but instruments of Dharma. As against this, according to the Arthaśāstra of Kautilya, from among the four sources of authority, namely, Dharma, civil and criminal law, custom, and royal edict, each 13a. K. A. NILAKANTA SASTRI, “The place of the Arthalastra in the Iterature of Indian polity,” ABORI 28, 84–95. 328 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY succeeding one was superior in validity to each preceding one.14 This kind of absolute exaltation of the king’s authority was unknown to ancient Indian tradition. Nor can it be said to have been generally accepted in the post-Mauryan periods. It clearly marks a deviation from the cosmic non-individualistic ideology of India. It may, therefore, be presumed that Kautilya derived this concept of monarchic absolutism from the political ideas and ideals of the Persians and the Greeks. The intercourse between India and the West had become closer and the interchange of ideas more active and vigorous in the period immediately following Alexander’s Indian campaign. And it is, indeed, not unlikely that, when Kautilya says that he has formulated his political theories on the basis of traditional sciences (sästra) and actual practices (prayoga),15 the practices intended by him are the political practices obtaining in the Persian and the Greek empires. Incidentally, a reference may be made in this connec tion to the view of STEIN that the chapter in Kautilya’s Artha śāstra, which deals with the Sāsanādlukāra (II. 10), bears á composite appearance and shows signs of having been remodelled in the light of Roman Imperial letters of a later time, 15a Another teaching of Kautilya, which does not seem to fit in well into the pattern of India’s traditional polity, relates to the vast bureaucratic governmental machinery with centralised control.16 The Maurya rulers are known to have actually tried to translate this teaching into practice. The Mauryan state, which sought to plan, control, and direct the entire social and economic life of the nation, departed fundamentally from the traditional practice of not interfering actively in the daily avoca. tions of the people. In this matter, Kautilya must have obviously received inspiration from the Hellenistic concept of the State. As ROSTOVZEFF says, through such radical centralisation of government, Candragupta and Kautilya did more to “hellenise” India than Demetrius and Menander.17 +54 11. 10. 14, KA III.1. 15. KA II, 10. 15a, 211 6, 45-71. 16. See particularly KA II: Adhyaksapracıira. 17. Social and Economic History of the Hellenistic World. THB EAST AND THE WEST 329. Another field in which the Hellenistic influence becomes perfectly evident is art. In the Gāndhāra art, which is also significantly called Graeco-Buddhist art, the subject is Buddhistic while the style of execution is undeniably Hellenistic. This art was actually sponsored only after the direct Greek domination in the North-Western region had ended, and was patronised mainly by the Sakas and the Kuṣānas who continued the tradition of their Hellenistic predecessors. The traditional cosmic non individualistic outlook of the Indians did not encourage the sculptures of individual isolated figures. It must have been the contact with the anthropocentric West which had inspired the sculpture of the figures of the Buddha. Indeed, the religious penchant of the Indian culture united with the aesthetic penchant of the Hellenistic culture produced this one of the most sublime and creative schools of art. It must, however, be pointed out that the later specimens of the Gāndhāra art were characterised by a lack of sympathy, sincerity, and spontaneity. The artists tended to indulge in a kind of mechanical mass-production of sculptural figures. Such mechanical approach and attitude were unknown in India, and their origin also has to be traced to the Western influence. The Western influence on the ancient Indian coinage is equally conspicuous. A type of coins previously unknown to India came to be introduced by the Bactrian Greeks. These coins had the names and portraits of the rulers inscribed upon them. This may be presumed to have been the result of the influence of the anthropocentric West. The earlier Indian coins had been mostly punch-marked. The Hellenistic character of this gew coinage becomes evident from two facts: first, instead of the figures of the rulers, these coios sometimes show the figures of the divinities belonging to the Greek pantheon; and second, the pames Dinara and Dramma, given to some of these coins, are obviously Indian forms of Greek Dinarius and Drachma. The standardisation of the new coinage in respect of form, character, and weight was also something which had been unknown in India in the earlier periods, and must, therefore, be presumed to have been due to foreiga influence. 830 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY Astronomy may be mentioned as still another sphere in which the lodian thought was influenced by the Greek and the Roman theories In this connection, the view expressed by Varaha mıhıra is highly significant This distinguished Indian writer on astronomy of the 6th century A C says “The science of astronomy is well established among the Yavanas Therefore, though they are barbarians, they must be respected like our own ancient sages 18 Alberuni refers to another writer, earlier than Varahamihira who records high praise of Greek scholars As a matter of fact after the 3rd century A C, the influence of Greek and Roman knowledge in various sciences began to be effectively felt among the learned circles in India It is, therefore, not surprising that two of the five principal schools of astronomy came to be named Romaka (after Rome) and Paulisa ( after Paul of Alexandria, 378 A C) The contacts between India and the West, which, in the earlier periods of history, had been more or less occasional and brief, have tended to become steady and permanent in recent years Consequently, the influence of the West on the Indian way of life and thought in modern times, has proved to be compa ratively deeper and more extensive It is but natural that, in this context, one has to think primarily of the lado British intercourse during the last two hundred years or so A few characteristics of this Indo British impact may be stated here To begin with, it would be seen that the British influence began to operate 10 India from above downwards The large masses of the Indians semained almost unaffected by that influence, at least in the initial stages of the intercourse between the British and the Indians Whatever influence there had been was, accordingly, only superficial Attention may also be drawn to the attitude of the Early Europeans who came to India They were all inspired by a purely mercenary and adventurist spirit They looked upon India as colonie d exploration and not as colonie de peuplement In this respect, they differed fundamentally from the ancient 18 Brholsam hita 2 14 THE EAST AND THE west 331 Indians who had colonised in the different regions of South-East Asia. By way of contrast, two features of this ancient Indian colonisation may be particularly emphasised. Firstly, these colonies had little or no political connection with the metropolitan India; and secondly, these colonies never entertained the idea of economically exploiting those various regions for the sake of the mother-country. On the other hand, those regions themselves became independent Indias in miniature. The dealings with the Indians of the early British officers were actuated by a sense of racial superiority and scorn for everything Indian. Their ignorance of the heritage of India and of the East was colossal. MACAULAY was perhaps the most shining example of this kind of racial and cultural arrogance. When such an attitude is in evidence, the process of cultural give-and take is necessarily retarded. A tribute must, however, be paid, at this stage, to the great service rendered by the European Orienta lists in India and in the West to the cause of the wider and fuller appreciation of India’s art, philosophy, and literature. But, in actual practice, the influence of the Orientalists was quite limited in extent. On the whole, therefore, the early intercourse between the English and the Indians may be said to have proved sterile. As a matter of fact, neither then por later did the English make any attempt - though they were in a position to do so - to develop a new form of civilisation, a sort of Indo-British civilisa tion, in India. Whatever influence India has received from the West, during this period, is mostly due to the initiative of the Indians themselves. While considering the impact of the English on India, one must also not forget that the Indian civilisation and the Western civilisation are essentially different in ethos. As indicated else where, the attitude of the Indians and their approach to the various problems of life were quite distinct from those of the West. Many features of the Western civilisation failed to be appreciated by the Indian mind; they were exotic and did not strike root in the Indian soil. 332 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY The reaction of the Indians to the impact of the Western culture in modern times may be said to have been fourfold. There were some Indians who had been completely swayed by the Western way of life and thought. Their entire outlook was Westernised-so much so that they were dominated by a sense of revolt against the Indian tradition. Indeed, as converts to the new ideology they exhibited greater fanaticism than the Westergers themselves. The other extreme was represented by the people who wanted to repudiate everything that was foreign These people believed that there could be nothing richer and nobler than the traditional Indian culture and that those who were even slightly inclined towards the Western way of life and thought were paving the way to perdition for India Their reaction to the impact of the West often bordered on obscurantism. Even at the remotest hint of anything foreign they withdrew themselves into the closed shell of ancient traditions. The third kind of reaction was resignation to the new situation There was a class of people - and the majority of people belonged to this class – who passively accepted the things as they came. They did not bother themselves about either the mending or the ending of the new dispensation. The thought-leaders from among the newly educated middle class, however, saw the possibility of a fruitful blending of the Eastern and the Western cultures. They might have differed from one another in respect of the emphasis in the new synthesis on one culture or the other. But they generally aimed at evolving a new culture which would be essentially Indian in spirt though Western in form and expression. They also hoped that, as the result of this dynamic synthesis, they would be able to fight away their Western rulers by means of the very weapons which the latter had made available to them, Some of the actual results of the influence of the British on Indian life may now be briefly stated here. With the foundation in 1857. under the auspices of the British government, of the three Universities - at Calcutta, Bombay, and Madras - the doors of knowledge may be said to have been, for the first time, opened to all lodiaps irrespective of sex, class, or creed. For instance, the THB EAST AND THE WEST 333 study of the real language of the Indian culture, namely, Sanskrit, which had till then been restricted to a specific class, could now be pursued by anybody in the Universities and the secondary schools. This was, indeed, a tremendous experiment to universalise education - at least in theory. The content and the methodology of the new education were also mostly derived from the English pattera. Education, it was realised, must inculcate among the students an attitude of inquiry as against the traditional attitude of acceptance. Mere line-by-lipe study of ancient texts, intensive as it had been, was found to be static and non-productive. An attempt was, therefore, made under Western inspiration, to make the study of any subject dynamic and broad-based by adopting critical, comparative, and historical methods. As a result, the new scientific literature was not restricted to being merely interpretative; it also tended to become creative. The aim of education, it came to be reiterated, was not, as formerly under stood, only the conservation of ancient knowledge; it was also the acquisition - and more particularly the creation - of new kaowledge. The scope of study in schools and Universities was, accordingly, considerably enlarged by the addition of new subjects. In the field of public administration, several centuries after the Mauryas, the British again sponsored a vast bureaucracy with centralised control. However, their two most remarkable contributions in this sphere must be said to be the setting up of all-India services and the insistence on the absolute authority and universality of law. These two went a long way in integra ting India iolo a politically homogeneous unit. India has had and still continues to have mostly an agrarian economy. But the industrial revolution, which the country has witoessed during recent years, is, without doubt, wholly due to the impact of the West. The impact of the West and the general world-situation have rudely shocked India out of her traditional non-activism. The Indians have now realised that they will not survive the new global struggle for existence unless they industria lise their country, and that they cannot industrialise their country334 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY unless they learn the sciences and technology of the West. Contrary to her traditional spirit, India is now aiming at raising the material standard of living of her people. As for the influence of the West in the sphere of religion, I do not want to refer, in this paper, to the proselytizing activities of the Christian missionaries in India. Nor do I want to say anything about the ineffective attempts of the Portuguese to evolve a sort of an Indian-Christian civilisation, I want to mention quite another kind of influence. Though the traditional religious life of India seems to have been generally unaffected by the impact of the West, the Western thought has influenced the religious ideology of modern India - at least at certain levels - in various subtle ways. This influence has worked in four main directions, namely, rationalisation, liberalisation, universalisation, and activisation, Modern Indian thinkers have sought to reinterpret India’s religio-philosophical ideas and ideals in terms of modern knowledge and aspirations, and thereby to render them appealing to the rationalistic disposition of the Western and the Western-educated Indian intellectuals. They have tried to dispel the general misunderstanding that Indian religions are crude conglomerations of superstitious beliefs and primitive practices. Tadia’s religio-philosophical ideology, they assert, would effectively meet the claims of the metaphysical curiosity as well as of the spiritual quest of even the modern world. This was, indeed, what Swami VIVEKANANDA did - obviously under the Western influence; and this is what RADHAKRISHNAN is doing now. Attempts were also made, again under the influence of the Western thought, through movements like the Brahmo Samaj, to rid the Hindu religion of its exclusive character. Caste distinc tions and worship of specific gods, which had been the hall-marks of this exclusiveness, were discarded, and all persons, irrespective of sex, caste, and creed, were brought together within the larger brotherhood of bhakti for a universal godhead. In some cases, the Indian theology was sought to be actually brought close to the Western theology. The Indians have been traditionally THE EAST AND THE WEST 335 actuated by a spirit of tolerance in the field of both thought and practice. They were gencrally always willing to sacrifice the petty superficial differences in creed and cult at the altar of the ultimate spiritual goal. It was, therefore, by no means difficult to emphasise the liberal outlook and the universal aspect of Hinduism so as to make it conform to the new situation. But perhaps the most significant change which the Western impact brought about in the religious sphere was the social value with which religion came to be so emphatically reinvested. Religion, it was asserted, must not aim merely at individual salvation. Service to society was as much a religious duty as service to god. Religion and social reforms must not be regarded as antithetical. Indeed, the humanistic aspect of religion must be allowed to dominate over its denominational aspect. Such views definitely re-activised and re-vitalised lodian religion, and a new missionary zeal became evident in the sphere of religion, as exemplified by the Ramakrishna Mission and the Arya-Samaj. It would not be an exaggeration to say that, even in their recent struggle for dependence, the Indians received their main inspiration from the West. For one thing, the contact with the West helped India to regaip her lost individuality. A new sense of nationalism and social solidarity was engendered among the Indians and spurred them on in their freedom struggle. Whether that struggle took the form of constitutional agitation or of secret revolutionary insurrection or of moral non-violent resistance, the leaders of the struggle invariably derived the impetus from the writings and doings of Westerners like ROUSSEAU, MILL, MAZZINI, TOLSTOY, THOREAU, and RUSKIN. Of course, in order to be able effectively to appeal to the patriotic instinct of their followers the lodian leaders had to fall back, from time to time, on the teachings of the Bhagavadgitā and the Buddha and on the heroic examples from the Epics and the historical annals of India. What is the prospect of the influence of the West which has been operating in India in recent years? As indicated above, a new form of social compromise seems to be evolviog out of this Western impact. The Indians are avidly experimenting with the 336 EXERCISES IN INDOLOGY various economic, political, and social systems and thought patterns of the West, but they are also becoming keenly aware of the serious crises which the individualistic, intellectualistic, and activistic West is facing today. They realise that, if they do not become divorced from the essential spirit of what may be called Indianism, they will still be able to avoid those crises. A new society with Western equipment seems inevitable, but in order that this new society should be enabled to survive the crises of the modern age it must have an Indian soul GANDHIJI, indeed, sounded a timely note of warning to his compatriots when he told them that they might allow winds from many quarters to blow over them but that they must not allow themselves to be swept off their feet by those winds [ First published JUPHS, No 17, 1963, 67–83 Also published Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress for the History of Religions, Tokyo, 1960, 667– 674, 693-704 ]