[Advaita-l] Advaita-l Digest, Vol 61, Issue 2

[Michael Shepherd]

May I just 'get off my chest' a few words on   the contribution of Max Muller ?

Few men if any in recorded history -- saints, philosophers, politicians, warriors, -- have been able, thanks to the times they lived in, to unite East and West in the world of the mind, than Max Muller -- a man who claimed nothing more than to have investigated the 'science of language'..

That he was advised to come to Britain because the Bodleian Library in Oxford was the richest source of Indian manuscripts, does not make him a Briton or an imperialist..

And the idea that he was in league with the Christian Church is preposterous -- it was the Christian priest-graduates of Oxford who denied him his rightful place as Professor of Sanskrit, awarding the post to Monier Williams of the famous Dictionary which was simply a slimline version of the seven volumes in German..

Granted, Muller found difficulty  in understanding the Vedic hymns when he began on the RgVeda, because they seemed to him to be full of requests to the gods... but he praised heartfully the great hymns which he understood.

Granted, he had a very detached view of Adi Shankara as commentator on the Upanishads, as simply a fellow scholar.. but he might be excused that, as a professional tool of discourse..

His 'What India has to teach us' lectures indicate his true feelings. Granted, he sought to serve his adopted country by this.

But even such websites as this, open in all the  misunderstandings and inadequacies of the English language, and much else today, owe much to the German linguist who told the world that Sanskrita holds the key to more profound understanding of human and godly concerns than the WSest had hitherto had access to..

Time to stop treating poor Max as a whipping-boy for imperialism, the 'Aryan Christ' which is Professor Jung's fantasy, and  anything else.. Max Muller is one of the unacknowledged saints of Advaita, and a flawed hero of Vedanta..

So welcome, BKji -- yes, ideally this website should only be conducted in Sanskrita and Vedic understanding.. but that would be to the regret of those of us who struggle with these matters with our 250-word vocabulary of Sanskrita, in the spirit of Sanatana Dharma..

I guess that's about enough to launch at the splendid membership of this website today..

Michael



 

-----Original Message-----
From: advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
[mailto:advaita-l-bounces at lists.advaita-vedanta.org]On Behalf Of BK
mahapatro
Sent: 05 August 2009 10:51
To: advaita-l at lists.advaita-vedanta.org
Subject: Re: [Advaita-l] Advaita-l Digest, Vol 61, Issue 2


Thanks for this good discussion. I feel its time we revive some of the most
wonderful aspects of our tradition.

On deeper inquiry it is not appropriate to compare Maxmuller with kuru
warriors. Bhishma at one time honesly suggested to Dhrtarashtra that
Duryodhana be executed for the conspiracy to kill pandavas. Maxmuller may
not have taught clergy, but he knew his research could be used for other
purposes, and somebody else did followed up based on his research.
Secularism - separation of faith and administration - is only on paper to
make sure same person is not publicly involved in conflicing activities. As
in the case of Shrouta, in cases like this you have to weave through the
infrastructure to realize the truth.



Regards

Bhadraiah

Dear all. HARI-OUM. (हरी ओम)
Excellent education for a new learner like me.

Just a few thoughts:
One thing at a time (sorry, I am new) ignore it if it is irrelevent.:

First the Pedagogy:
 The "stories" or the "lessons" purported to be taught though  scriptures
like Veadas and Maha Bharata are probably to be read with the "SUMKHMA
DRUSTI" ( the format of Astik(!) probably ) in order to reap the full
benefit and avoid wrong reading.
Most  (including me) often read them with the "SHTULA DRUSTI" with the
mental format of present-day geo-politial / techno-economical / neo--social
environment, thereby missing to disvcover the verity and veracity of the
Knowledge and Wisdom that it has in store for it. hence first of comparative
reflection of vedic chararcters are to be shunned (like Kurus and MaxmullerS
and /or the like.

Second the Technology:
The capabilities, Technological or otherwise, commonly known to us today are
abysmally little to what probably had been mastered (probably not documented
in language as known to us today) by the then Gurus, Rishis, Acharyas,
Tapawsees; whether in terms of Transports(Ratha) or Aviation(viman) or Space
Technology(interplanetary movements< or Mettalurgy < or weaponery , Storage
and Retrievals Tunir, vigible Ashras, Invisible Astras, loading of soft-ware
to the before launch, conditional operating mechanism, weapons capable of
decision making enrout, changing direction, capability to withdrawal after
firing, tracing the invisible objectives (infra red/ thermal wave detection,
night vision etc. etc) and many more. Only a part of these capabilities are
now vigible to a few nations / individuals even today with the advent of
nuclear &missile technology.lots and lots of research is required in this
direction to unveil the secrets of yore Yugas.

Third, the Timescale and interpretation by Western/ European Scholars:

While Western/ European science is far ahead of indian facilities today and
the Scholar  are illustrious and unparellal, there may be a limitation to
their understanding of Indian "Sanskuti" of  "Yugas"(युग.)(thousands of
years each) and the their  tansition in sequence;and the "Pralay" (प्रलय)(
the cause and effect of which, for most is merely imaginery to a common
man); the "kala" ;   and the Yugapurusha(s)( युगापुरुशस), the Parshuram(s),
the Hanuman(s),  the Avataras and relevence of their existence in
development & transition (evolution !) who might have carried the parts
of development and /or civilisation during the change over/ transition, are
well beyond full understanding of all of us, let alon foreigners.Unless
these aspects are well assimilated, there can be conflict in sequencing
and understanding vedic  wisdom and their interpretation at different times,
as also the rituals  are documented in certain social context. Hence
their(foreigner's) views and expressions, are to be understood with due
respect to their frames  They, afterall, have seen or documented,
civilasation of a few thousand years,  at the best, as of now.

Hence, this forum   can be a great source of knowledge for all. Deep
regards to contributers who  are imparting valuable knowledge by quoting the
relevent references of the Vedic Scripts.
HARI-OUM.(हरी ओम)
-- 
BKM.
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