Ma Sharada temple Kashmir

The Sharada Devi temple close to the Line of Control in Jammu and Kashmir was inaugurated on March 22 2023, after the panchaloha (five metals) vigraha idol of Mata Sharada reached Teetwal in Kashmir .. The place is about 150 km from Srinagar.

Sharada Peeth was originally an ancient Temple of Ma Sharada Devi or Saraswati coupled as a center of learning located in the Neelum valley of Pakistan occupied Kashmir.

 It is 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) away from the border between Pakistani- and Indian-controlled areas of Kashmir. It is situated 1,981 metres (6,499 ft) above sea level, along the Neelum River.

History and etymology

Sharada Peeth translates to “the seat of Sharada”, or Mother Saraswathi Devi.

A photograph of Sharada Peeth in 1893 by the British archaeologist Sir Aurel Stein.

The beginnings of Sharada Peeth are uncertain, and the question of origins difficult, because Sharada Peeth was both a temple and an educational institution.

As a Centre of learning

Sharada Peeth is referred to by various historians, detailing its mythological status and prominence in ancient India. Its historical development is traced through references made to it by various historical sources. Although the Sharada script did not originate in Kashmir, it was used extensively in Sharada Peeth, and acquired its name from the institution.

As a temple

By the 8th century, the temple was a site of pilgrimage, attracting devotees By the 11th century, it was among the most revered places of worship in the Indian subcontinent. Significantly, it featured in list of the most famous Hindu temples in the Indian subcontinent.

Maa Sharada is the Brahma vidya Swarupini providing Jnana or knowledge to all.

Four-armed statue of the goddess Sharada from Kashmir, c. late 9th century AD

Sharada Peeth has appeared in various historical and literary texts. Its earliest mention is in the Nilamata Purana (6th – 8th century CE).

View of the Neelum Valley from Sharada Peeth.

Sarada temple is famous for the location where Adi Sankara has been bestowed with Sarvanja Peetham Award.

Here I am using inputs/ quotes from the book Athma Theertham written by Swami Remana charana theerthar Nochur Venkitaraman which details the life and teachings of Adi Sankaracharya.

Kashmir was ruled by King of Kashmir those days. Sarada Peeth had chairs for various philosophies/ religions including Budhism, Jainism, Advaitha, Ayurveda, fine arts. Sarada Peeth was upholding the culture of India.

Sarada temple was situated in the lower plains, surrounded by seven hills. Krishnaganga river flows to the west of the temple towards South. To the east side of the temple flows Madhumathi river and joins with Krishnaganga at this place. Sarada temple is situated to the north east of this point where the rivers meet. There were different departments for different subjects. Temple is in the middle of the Vidya peeth. Previously there was no specific idol but the blessing of Saraswathi was very evident. The temple had very knowledgeable priests.

King of Kashmir came and met Adi Sankaracharya at the banks of Krishnaganga (tributary of Jhelum river- Sindhu river) and invited him to the Conference at the Vidya Peeth of all specialists of different departments. The King sent emissaries to all over India and Nepal and invited Eminent philosophers before the arrival of Acharya. All specialists arrived at the various Departments for discussing with Acharya and get clarifications.

Acharya reached the South Entrance of the Temple. The inauguration of the Conference was held by igniting fire . First Acharya entered the Department of Nyaya, Vaisheshika. Acharya responded to all queries. Jnana is based on Vedic findings of Rishis who derived them through Tapas. Next was Sankhyas. Then Yoga of Patanjali. Subsequently Purva mimamsa, Saivam,Pashupatham, Vainshnavism, Pancharathram, Vaikhanasam . Acharya responded to all queries quoting Brahma Sutras and Vedic chants and provided clarity on all the subjects. Acharya insisted that Vedas is the basis of all systems and got wide acceptance from all those assembled.

Finally in the Conference of all philosophies all welcomed Acharya to the Saraswathi Kunda. Acharya entered the temple holding hands of his disciples like Padmapada and Sureshwaracharya, Thodakacharya and Acharya Hasthamalaka.

All recited ” Success to Acharya Sankara Bhagavadpada”. Disciple Chilsukan washed feets of Acharya. The King offered prayers at the feet of the Acharya and conducted Puja. Then Acharya saw Saraswathi theertham. The Holy person at the Saraswathi Kundam offered the Title ” Sarvajna” on Acharya Sankara Bhagavadpada.

Sarvanja Peetha as seen now.

At Kashmir, Acharya created the offering on Sarada or Saraswathi or Mahamaya known as ” Saundarya Lahari,” which is a superb text on Tantra , Maya and Sakthi worship.

Saundarya Lahari details the relationship between Sakthi and Siva. Just one verse is narrated below.

Sivakare manche paramasiva paryanka nilayam

Bhajanthi thwam dhanya kathichana chidananda lahareem. (verse 8)

Sarada or Sakthi is the force which runs the world as Maya on the static state of Siva . Mind is the same as Sakthi.

Visit and Stay at Sharada Peeth premises is detailed in the book Himagiri Viharam or Wanderings in the Himalayas by Swamy Tapovanam (1889- 1957). Swamy Tapovanam was Guru of Swamy Chinmayandaji who established Chinmaya Mission . One of the disciples of Swami Chinmayanandaji -Swami Thejomayananda- wrote some verses in praise of Swami Tapovanam.

I will quote the first verse of Tapovana Sthuthi written by Swami Tejomayananda of Chinmaya Mission as below:

Tapovananjali

Sanyasa dharmena parena yuktho virochamano purusho gatho hi

Himalayam sarva nagadhirajam dhathum yashasvasya nivasanena

Kashyutharancha kruthadhivaso Ganga thate yo yathi raja varya

Sa vai gurorno gururaja pujya Namna prasidhamcha Thapovanam Vai.

Endowed with supreme renunciation, the brilliant person went to the Himalayas- the King of Mountains- to bestow glory on it by dwelling there. The best of sanyasis who made Uttarakashi on the banks of the Ganga as his abode indeed the revered Guru of our Guru and is well known by the name “THAPOVANAM”

Some details from “Wanderings in the Himalayas”. I am reading the book in Malayalam now, so English version not available with me now. So the translation I have done for the time being. I will update the post from quotes from English version when I get the book.

Swami Thapovanam visited Kashmir in May 1927. Swamy details about the Sankara mountains at 6000 ft above sea level near Shrinaagar where Sage Adi Sankara has installed idol of Lord Siva. It is called Sankaracharya Temple. Temple location provides a broad view of the Srinagar and Kashmir valley.

Swami Tapovanam mentions Brahmins and Muslims as the inhabitants of Kashmir. All the servants of Brahmins were Muslims as there were no other castes in the valley in those days. Muslim ladies also dressed like Brahmin ladies as per Swami.

Eating flesh of goats was common in Kashmir even for Kashmiri Brahmins.

Swami Thapovanam states about the beauty and intelligence of Kashmiri Brahmins. Kashmiri Muslims are mostly converted Brahmins and they are also equally beautiful. Thapovanam recalls some of the famous philosophers from Kashmir such as Mandanamishran, Mammadabhattan, and Abhinavaguptan.

The temple is at the western end of Himalayas at 11000 feet height above sea level. (Overall, Kashmir valley is at 5300 feet height above sea level) Temple is surrounded by snow mountains, hilly forests.

There was only a house for the priest and huts of Muslims at a distance. There were not many visitors to the temple. Swamy felt it was a holy temple. Swamy stayed at the Chuttambalam or area within the outer walls of the temple used by the priests and related folks normally for preparatory works within the temple.

It was very cold but timber was available in plenty for fire and warming.

Swamiji starts with detailing the beauty of Kashmir Valley. Srinagar is in the middle of Kashmir Valley and on the banks of Jhelum River. Kashmir was the holy location of Ashrama of Kashyapa Maharishi. River Jhelum flows through the middle of Kashmir valley. Srinagar is on the banks of River Jhelum.

Swamiji details the current conditions of the temple. It was then, vacant land with frequent incursions by wild animals. It was occupied by mostly uneducated Muslims in the area.

Swamiji has conducted walks and exploration in the premises and found ancient bricks below the surface soil. Swamiji says the change from forest to villages and vice versa was common in mountains as well as valleys in those days.

Swamiji quotes from ” “Sankara Digvijayam”

“Samshravayannadhwani Deshikendra:

Shri Dakshina Dwarabhuvam Prapede

Kavadam udghatya niveshtu kamam

Sasambhramam Vadi ganonyar outseeth”

Here comes Guru Sankara as King Lion overcoming the challenges from elephants. Acharya Sankara reached the Southern gate of the temple, opened the gate and tried to enthrone in the Sarvajna Peetha or seat of the person who knows all beyond which there is nothing to know.

In the 14th century text Madhaviya Shankara Vijayam, there is a test, unique to Sharada Peeth, known as the Sarvajna Peetham, or Throne of Omniscience. These were four thrones, each representing an entrance of the temple corresponding to one of the points of the compass, which only a learned man from that direction could symbolically open.

Adi Shankara opened Sharada Peeth’s south door

 Adi Shankara, being from South India, took it upon himself to pass this challenge, because although the other doors had been opened, no one from the south of Kashmir had yet been successful. He was welcomed by the common people, but challenged by the scholars of the region. As he approached the southern door, he was stopped by various learned men from the Nyaya or reasoning school of philosophy, Budhists, Jains, and others. Engaging with them, he managed to persuade all of them of his proficiency in philosophy and true vedic knowledge, and they stood aside to let him open the entrance.

Finally, as he was about to ascend the throne, he heard the voice of the goddess Sharada challenging him. The voice said that omniscience was not enough if one was impure, and that Shankara, who lived in the palace of King Amaruka, could not be pure. Shankara replied that his body had never committed a sin, and the sins committed by another could not blemish him. The goddess Sharada accepted his explanation and permitted him to ascend.

Tapovanam Swamiji did not see any gate on the Southern side. Only one entrance on the western side. So we have to guess that changes have happened to the temple over the years from Acharya Sankara visit to Swami Tapovanam visit (between 8th century and 20th century) by which time the region have suffered many attacks from the West. In the Temple Swamiji saw Shree Chakra and different idols within the shape of a Chakra or circle. There was a central Peetam or central island stand which has turned red due to application of sindhoora (Vermillion – reddish orange powder which consists of cinnabar or powdered red lead) as offering to goddess Saraswathi.

In the Karnatic song Kalavathi kamalasana yuvathi, the 19th-century composer Muthuswami Deekshithar refers to Sharada Peeth as  abode of Matha Saraswati. Kāśmīra vihāra, vara śāradā. (The one who resides in Kashmir, Sharada.)

Sharada Stotram

Prayer composed by Adi Sankaracharya:

Namaste Sarada Devi Kashmira mandala vasini.

Tvam aham prarthaye nityam vidyadanam cha dehi meim…..1

I bow to the Goddess Sharada, who lives in Kashmir. I pray to bestow on me self wisdom.

Namaste-Salutations; sharada devi-Godess of wisdom; Kashmirapuravasini-one who abides in Kashmira; twamaham prarthate nityam-always I pray you; vidya danancha dehime-bestow the self wisdom

Ya shradha dharana medha vagdevi vidhi vallabha

Bhaktha jihvagra sadana samadi guna dayini……2

You are faith, memory, intelligence, the divinity of speech, the Spouse of Creator, Brahma. You
grace the devotees speech, You are the bestower of inner peace, and all other excellences.

Namami yaminim natha lekhalankrta kuntalam

Bhavanim bhava santapa nirvapana sudanadim….3
I bow down to Bhavani who is decorated with ear ornament studded with the flash of lightning,
who is a river of nectar that cures the torments of worldly life.

Bhadrakalyai namo nithyam saraswathyai namo nama

Veda vedanga vedanta vidya sthanebhya eva cha….4

Constant Salutations to Thee, O Mother Beneficent! You are the stay of Veda and the auxillary
branches of the Veda, of the Vedanta and all other forms of learning. Salutations to You, O
Goddess of Learning.

Brahma swaroopa parama jyothi rupa sanatani

Sarva vidyadhi devi ya tasyai vanyai namo nama ….5
O Mother, You are the personification of Brahman. You are the Supreme Spirit, the light Divine,
the Eternal Being. You are the Presiding Deity in all branches of learning. Salutations to You, O
Goddess of Learning.

Ya ya vina jagat sarvam sasvat jivamritam bhavet

Jnanadhi devi ya tasyai sarasvatyai namo nama…6

But for You the whole world would appear lifeless. You are the Presiding Deity of Knowledge.
Salutations to You, O Goddess of Learning.

Yaya vina jagat sarvam mukam unmatha vatsada

Ya devi vagadhishtatri tasyai vanyai namo nama….7
But for You the whole world would appear dump and demented. You are the Presiding Deity of
Speech. Salutations to You, O Goddess of Speech.

…
Sringeri Sharada Peetham

It is believed that Goddess Sharadambika is the incarnation of Goddess Saraswati, who came to Earth as Ubhaya Bharathi. It is a common faith that by worshiping her, one can receive blessings of Brahma, Shiva, and Vishnu along with Parvati, Lakshmi, and Saraswati.

Sharda is the goddess of the temple town of Sringeri in Karnataka, South India and is an incarnation of Goddess Saraswati. In Hinduism Saraswati is the goddess of knowledge, music and the arts. She is the consort of Brahma. Saraswati is considered to be the “mother of the Vedas”

Jagadguru Sri Adi Shankara Bhagavatpada established the first of the four Amnaya Peethams at Sringeri more than twelve centuries ago to foster the sacred tradition of Sanatana Dharma.

When the Acharya came to Sringeri, he saw an unusual sight on the banks of the Tunga. A cobra was seen spreading out its hood over a frog in labour pains, to give it shadow from the scorching mid-day sun. Struck with the sanctity of the place, which could infuse love between natural adversaries, the Acharya chose this very location to establish His first Math.

A Shrine on the banks of the Holy Tunga river in memory to the glorious sight witnessed by Sri Adi Shankaracharya; A serpent giving shade from the scorching sun to a pregnant frog in labour pains

The Acharya appointed his prime disciple, Sri Sureshwaracharya as the first Acharya of the Peetham. Since then, the Peetham has been blessed with an unbroken Guru Parampara, a garland of spiritual masters and Jivanmuktas representing Sri Adi Shankaracharya. The succeeding Acharyas have led a life of such austere penance that it has led disciples to adore in them the radiance of Sri Adi Shankara Himself.

Besides being a centre of spiritual power, Sringeri also came to be known as a great place of traditional learning owing to the presence of Goddess Sharada and the erudition of the Acharyas of the Peetham. The Acharyas were instrumental in bringing forth commentaries on the Vedas and in further expounding the Bhashyas of Sri Adi Shankaracharya. The Acharyas also wrote a number of independent works related to Advaita besides producing a number of hymns underlining their ardent devotion to the non-dual Supreme worshipped in multifarious forms. The Peetham thus came to be regarded as the Vyakhyana Simhasana, The Throne of Transcendental Wisdom.

OM SATH THATH

Nehruji on Ramakrishna Paramahamsa Swami Vivekanand, Tagore

The following are exerpts from Discovery of India by Jawaharlal Nehru, first Prime Minister of India. I thought this is relevant to today as people have not much ideas on Nehru’s ideology and the conditions of twentieth century AD. The text is made short to improve easier and faster reading.

The book was published in 1945 when he was in prison. I have earlier published a note on Nehruji’s vision of Pardah. This section covers broader subject of his vision of Hinduism and Religious leaders in the first half of 20th century .

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Section: Reforms and other Movements among Hindus and Muslims. ( I am covering only Hindus here. I will cover his vision on Muslims in a later posting. to make it short)

Raja Ram Mohan Roy started Brahma Samaj to counter the Christian conversions in Bengal. To adapt Hinduism to the new environment and eradicate some of the social customs and practices of that era.

His successor Keshab Chandra Sen gave it a more Christian outlook. In time they went back to the old Indian ideals of Vedanta.

In the second half of nineteenth century, Swamy Dayananda Saraswathi started Arya Samaj with Back to the Vedas as its slogan. It was a reaction to the influence of Islam. It was a crusading and reforming movement from within, as well as, a defensive organization for protection against external attacks. It spread in Punjab and United Provinces. It has done very good work in the spread of education , in improving conditions of women, and raising the living standards and status of depressed classes.

Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, again in the second half of nineteenth century, was a simple man, no scholar, but man of faith and not interested in social reforms as such. He was in line with Chaitanya and other Indian saints. Essentially religious and yet broad minded , in his search for self realization he had even met Muslim and Christian mystics some of whom lived with him for some time. He settled down at Dakshineswar near Calcutta. And his extraordinary personality and character attracted attention. People who went to visit him, and some who were even inclined to scoff at this simple man of faith were powerfully influenced and many who had been completely westernized felt that here was something they had missed. Stressing the essentials of religious faith, he linked up the various aspects of the Hindu religion and philosophy and seemed to represent all of them in his own person. Indeed he brought within his fold other religions also. Opposed to all sectarianism, he emphasized that all roads lead to truth. He was like some of the saints we read about in the past records of Asia and Europe, difficult to understand in the context of modern life, and yet fitting into India’s many colored pattern and accepted and revered by many of her people as a man with the divine fire about him. And many who never seen him have been influenced by the story of his life. Among these latter is Roman Rolland who has written a story of his life and that of his chief disciple, Swami Vivekananda.

Vivekananda together with his brother disciples founded the non sectarian Ramakrishna Mission of service. Rooted in the past and full of pride in India’s heritage, Vivekananda was yet modern in his approach to life’s problems and was a kind of bridge between the past of India and her present. He was a powerful orator in Bengali and English and a graceful writer of Bengali prose and poetry. He was a fine figure of a man , imposing, full of poise and dignity, sure of himself and his mission. And at the same time full of dynamic and fiery energy and a passion to push India forward. He came as a tonic of the oppressed and demoralized Hindu mind and gave a self reliance and some roots in the past. He attended the Parliament of religions in Chicago in 1893. He spent over a year in the USA, travelled across Europe, going as far as Athens, Constantinople and visited Egypt, China and Japan. Wherever he went he created a minor sensation not only by his presence but what he said and how he did it. Having seen the Hindu Sanyasin once it was difficult to forget him or his message. In America he was called the cyclonic Hindu.

He was himself influenced by his travels in Western countries. He admired British perseverance and the vitality and spirit of equality of the American people. America is the best field in the world to carry on any idea , he wrote to a friend in India . But he was not impressed by the manifestation of religion in the west and his faith in the Indian philosophical and spiritual background became firmer. India in spite of her degradation still represented to him the Light.

He preached the monoism of the Advaitha philosophy of the vedanta and was convinced that this could be the future religion of the thinking humanity. For the Vedanta was not only spiritual but rational and in harmony with the scientific investigations of external nature. This universe has not been created by any extra cosmic God, nor is it the work of any outside genius. It is self creating, self dissolving, self manifesting. One Infinite existence, the Brahma. The Vedanta ideal was of the solidarity of man and his inborn divine nature, to see God in man is the real God vision, man is the greatest of all beings. But the abstract Vedanta must become living- poetic- in everyday life. Out of hopelessly intricate mythology must come concrete moral forms, and out of bewildering Yogi-ism must come the most scientific and practical psychology. India had fallen because she had narrowed herself, gone into her shell and lost much with other nations. And thus sunk into a state of mummified and crystallized civilization. Caste which was necessary and desirable in its early forms, and meant to develop individuality and freedom had become a monstrous degradation, the opposite of what it was meant to be, and had crushed the masses. Caste was a form of social organization which was and should be kept separate from religion. Social organizations should change with the changing times. Passionately Vivekananda condemned the meaningless meta physical discussions and arguments about ceremonials and especially the touch me not-ism of the upper caste. Our religion is in the kitchen. Our god is the cooking pot and our religion is ” don’t touch me, I am holy”.

He kept away from politics and disapproved of the politicians of the day. But again and again he laid stress on the necessity of liberty and equality and the raising of the masses. ” Liberty of thought and action is the only condition in life, of growth and well being. Where it does not exist, the man, the race, the nation must go. The only hope of India is from the masses. The upper classes are physically and morally dead. ” He wanted to combine western progress with India’s spiritual background. ” Make a European society with India’s religion”. Become an occidental of occidentals in your spirit of equality, freedom, work and energy and at the same time a Hindu to the very backbone in religious culture and instincts.” Progressively Vivekananda grew more international in outlook.

Even in politics and sociology, problems that were only national twenty years ago can no longer be solved on national grounds only. They are assuming huge proportions, gigantic shapes. They can only be solved when looked at the broader light of international grounds. International organizations, International combinations, international laws are the cry of the day. That shows solidarity. In science, every day, they are coming to a similar broad view of matter.

And again, There cannot be any progress without the whole world following in the wake, and it is becoming every day clearer that the solution of any problem can never be attained on racial, or national , or narrow grounds. Every idea has to become broad till it covers the whole of this world, every aspiration must go on increasing till it has engulfed the whole of humanity, nay the whole of life, within its scope.

All this fitted in with Vivekanand’s view of Vedanta philosophy and he preached this from end to end of India. I am thoroughly convinced that no individual or nation can live by holding itself apart from the continuity of others and wherever such an attempt has been made under false ideas of greatness, policy or holiness- the results has always been disastrous to the secluding one. ” The fact of our isolation from all the other nations of the world is the cause of our degeneration and its only remedy is getting back into the current of the rest of the world. Motion is the sign of life.”

He once wrote” I am a socialist not because I think it is a perfect system, but half a loaf is better than no bread. The other systems have been tried and found wanting. Let this one be tried- if for nothing else, for the novelty of the thing.”

Vivekananda spoke of many things but the one constant refrain of his speech and writing was abhay- be fearless, be strong. For him man was no miserable sinner but a part of divinity; why should he be afraid of anything. If there is a sin in the world it is weakness; avoid all weakness; weakness is sin, weakness is death. That had been the great lesson of the Upanishads. Fear breeds evil and weeping and wailing. There had been enough of that, enough of softness

What our country now wants are muscles of iron and nerves of steel, gigantic wills which nothing can resist, which can penetrate into the mysteries and the secrets of the universe and will accomplish their purpose in any fashion, even if it meant going down to the bottom of the ocean and meeting death face to face.

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Most of these extracts have been taken from Lectures from Colombo to Almora by Swami Vivekananda 1933, and Lectures of Swami Vivekananda 1942, both published by the Advaita Ashrama Mayavati, Almora, Himalayas. In the letters p 390, there is a remarkable letter written by Vivekananda to a Muslim friend. In the course of this , he writes , ” Whether we call it Vedantism or any ism the truth is that Advaitism is the last word of religion and thought and the only position from which one can look upon all religions and sects with love. We believe it is the religion of the future enlightened humanity. The Hindus may get the credit of arriving at it earlier than other races, they being an older race than either the Hebrew or the Arabs, yet practical Advaitism, which looks upon and behaves to all mankind as one’s own soul, is yet to be developed among the Hindus universally.

On the other hand, our experience is that if ever the followers of any religion approach to this equality in an appreciable degree in the plane of practical work a day life it may be quite unconscious generally of the deeper meaning and the underlying principle of such conduct, which the Hindus as a rule, clearly perceive – it is those of Islam and Islam alone.

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Vivekananda condemned occultism and mysticism… these creepy things; there may be great truth in them, but they have nearly destroyed us. And there is the test of truth- any thing that makes you weak physically, intellectually, and spiritually, reject as poison, there is no life in it. it cannot be true. Truth is strengthening. Truth is purity, truth is all knowledge. These mysticisms in spite of some grains o truth in them are generally weakening.

Go back to your Upanishads, the shining, the strengthening, the bright philosophy, and part from all these mysterious things, all these weakening things. Take up this philosophy, the greatest truths are the simplest things in the world, simple as your own existence. And beware of superstition, I would rather see everyone of you rank atheists than superstitious fools, for the atheist is alive, and you can make something of him. But if superstition enters, the brain is gone, the brain is softening, degradation has seized upon the life…. Mystery mongering and superstitions are always signs of weakness.

So Vivekananda thundered from Cape Comorin on the southern tip of India to the Himalayas and he wore himself out in the process, dying in 1902 when he has 39 years of age.

A contemporary of Vivekananda and yet belonging to a much more later generation, was Rabindranath Tagore. The Tagore family had played a leading part in various reform movements in Bengal during the Nineteenth century. There were men of spiritual stature in it and fine writers and artists, But Rabindranath towered above them all. And indeed all over India his position gradually became one of unchallenged supremacy. His long life of creative activity covered two entire generations and he seems almost of our present day. He was no politician but he was too sensitive and devoted to the freedom of the Indian people to remain in his ivory tower of poetry and song. Again and again he stepped out of it, when he could tolerate some development no longer. In a prophetic language he warned the British Government or his own people. He played a prominent part in the Swadeshi movement that swept through Bengal in the first decade of the twentieth century. And again when he gave up his knight hood at the time of the Amritsar massacre. His constructive work in the field of education, quietly begun, has already made Shanti Niketan one of the focal points of Indian culture. His influence over the mind of India and especially of successive rising generations has been tremendous. Not Bengali only, the language in which he himself wrote , but all modern languages of India have been molded partly by his writings. More than any other Indian, he has helped to bring into harmony the ideals of the East and the West, and broadened the bases of Indian nationalism . He has been India’s internationalist par excellence, believing and working for international cooperation, taking India’s message to other countries and bringing their message to his own people. And yet with all his Internationalism, his feet have always been planted firmly on India’s soil. And his mind was saturated with the wisdom of the Upanishads. Contrary to the usual course of development, as he grew older he became more radical in his outlook and views.

Strong individualist as Tagore was, he was an admirer of the great achievements of the Russian Revolution, especially in the spread of education, culture, health and the spirit of equality. Nationalism is a narrowing creed. Nationalism in conflict with a dominating imperialism produces all manner of frustrations and complexes. It was Tagore’s immense service to India, as it has been Gandhi’s in a different plane, that he forced the people in some measure out of their narrow grooves of thoughts and made them think of broader issues affecting humanity. Tagore was the great humanist of India.

Tagore and Gandhi have undoubtedly been the two outstanding and dominating figures of India in the first half of the twentieth century. It is instructive to compare and contrast them. No two persons could be so different from one another in their make up or temperaments. Tagore, the aristocratic artist, turned democrat with proletarian sympathies, represented essentially the cultural traditions of India, the tradition of accepting life in the fullness thereof and going through it with song and dance.

Gandhi more a man of the people, almost the embodiment of the Indian peasant, represented the other anient tradition of India, that of renunciation and asceticism. And yet Tagore was primarily the man of thought, Gandhi of concentrated and ceaseless activity. Both, in their different ways , had a world outlook, and both were at the same time wholly Indian. They seemed to present different but harmonious aspects of India and to complement one another.

Tagore and Gandhi bring us to our present age. But we were considering an earlier period and the effect produced on the people and especially the Hindus by the stress laid by Vivekananda and others on the past greatness of India and their pride in it. Vivekananda himself was careful to warn his people not to dwell too much on the past, but to look to the future. “When, O’ Lord, “he wrote, “shall our land be from this eternal dwelling upon the past”. But he himself and others had evoked that past, and there was a glamour in it and no getting away from it.

This looking back to the past and finding comfort and sustenance there was helped by a renewed study of ancient literature and history, and later of the Indian colonies in the eastern seas, as this unfolded itself. Mrs Annie Besant was a powerful influence in adding to the confidence of the Hindu middle classes in their spiritual and national heritage. There was a spiritual and religious element about all this, and yet there was a political background to it. The rising middle class were politically inclined and were not so much in search of a religion, but they wanted some cultural roots to cling on to, something that gave them assurance of their own worth, something that would reduce the frustration that foreign conquest and rule had produced.