An Idyl in South India

chapter forty one of autobiography of a yogi by paramhansa yogananda an idol in south india you are the first westerner dick ever to enter that shrine many others have tried in vain at my words mr wr. Wright looked startled, then pleased. We had just left the beautiful Chamundi temple in the hills overlooking Mysore in southern India. There we had bowed before the gold and silver altars of the goddess Chamundi, patron deity of the family of the reigning maharajah as a souvenir of the unique honor mrore.

The Maharaja H.H. Sri Krishna Raja Wadiyar IV is a model prince with intelligent devotion to his people. A pious Hindu, the Maharaja has empowered a Mohammedan, the able Mirzaza ismail as his duwan or premier popular representation is given to the seven million inhabitants of mys the Yuvaraja, Sir Sri Krishna Narasinghar Raj Wadiyar had invited my secretary and me to visit his enlightened and progressive realm. During the past fortnight, I had addressed thousands of Mysore citizens and students at the town hall, the Maharaja's college, the university medical school, and three mass meetings in Bangalore at the National High School, the Intermediate College, and the Chetty Town Hall, where over 3,000 persons had assembled.

Whether the eager listeners had been able to credit the glowing picture i drew of america i know not but the applause had always been loudest when i spoke of the mutual benefits that peace his travel diary gives the following account of his impressions of my hills hills dotting the emerald panorama like excrescences of black stone and the play of colors is enhanced at the ever-changing canvas of God, stretched across the firmament, for his touch alone is able to produce colors that vibrate with the freshness of life.

That youth of colors is lost when man tries to imitate with mere pigments for the lord resorts clouds and so on and on he plays night and morning alike ever changing ever new ever fresh no patterns no duplicates no colors just the same the beauty of the indian change in day to night is beyond compare elsewhere often the sky looks as if god had taken all the colors in his kit and given them one mighty kaleidoscopic toss into the heavens i must relate the horizon and squashing like an overripe tomato line of comforting banyan trees, in between a grove of towering coconut palms, with vegetation nearly as thick as in a jungle, and finally, approaching the crest of a hill, we came face to face with an immense artificial lake, reflecting the stars and fringe of palms and other trees, surrounded by lovely terraced gardens, and a row of electric lights on the brink of the dam, and below it our eyes met a dazzling spectacle of colored beams playing on geyser-like fountains, like so many streams of brilliant ink, pouring forth, gorgeously blue waterfalls, arresting red cataracts, green and yellow sprays, elephants spouting water, a miniature of the Chicago World's Fair, and yet modernly outstanding in this ancient land of paddy fields and simple people who have given us such a loving welcome that I fear it will take more than my strength to bring Yoganandaji back to America.

Another rare privilege, my first elephant ride. Yesterday the Yuva Raja invited us to his summer palace to enjoy a ride on one of his elephants, enormous beast i mounted a ladder provided to climb aloft to the howdah or saddle which is silk cushioned and box-like and then for a rolling tossing swaying and heaving down into a gully too much thrilled to worry or exclaim but hanging on for dear life southern india rich with historical and archaeological remains is a land of definite and yet indefinable charm to the north of mysore is the largest native state in india hyderabad a picturesque plateau cut by the mighty Godavari River.

Broad, fertile plains, the lovely Nilgiris or Blue Mountains, other regions with barren hills of limestone or granite. Hyderabad history is a long, colorful story, starting 3,000 years ago under the Andhra kings and continuing under Hindu dynasties until AD 1294 when it passed to a line of Muslim rulers who reign to this day. The most breathtaking display of architecture, sculpture, and painting in all India is found at Hyderabad in the ancient rock-sculptured caves of Ellora and Ajanta. The Kailasa at Ellora, a huge monolithic temple, possesses carved figures of gods, men, and beasts in the stupendous proportions of a Michelangelo.

Ajanta is the site of five cathedrals and 25 monasteries, all rock excavations maintained by tremendous fresco pillars on which artists and sculptors have immortalized their genius. Hyderabad city is graced by the osmania university and by the imposing mecca masjid mosque where ten thousand mohammedans may assemble for prayer mysore state too is a scenic wonderland three thousand feet above sea level abounding in dense tropical forests the home of of wild elephants, bison, bears, panthers, and tigers. Its two chief cities, Bangalore and Mysore, are clean, attractive, with many parks and public gardens.

Hindu architecture and sculpture achieved their highest perfection in Mysore under the patronage of Hindu kings from the 11th to the 15th centuries. The temple at Bihur, an 11th-century masterpiece completed during the reign of King Vishnuvardhana, is unsurpassed in the world for its delicacy of detail and exuberant imagery. The rock pillars found in northern Mysore date from the 3rd century BC, illuminating the memory of King Osaka. He succeeded to the throne of the Mayura dynasty, then prevailing. His empire included nearly all of modern India, Afghanistan, and Balochistan.

This illustrious emperor, considered even by Western historians to have been an incomparable ruler, has left the following wisdom on a rock memorial. This religious inscription has been engraved in order that our sons and grandsons may not think a new conquest is necessary, that they may not think conquest by the sword deserves the name of conquest, that they may see in it nothing but destruction and violence, that they may consider nothing as true conquest save the conquest of religion such conquests have value in this world and in the next Greeks as Sandro Cautas, who in his youth had met Alexander the Great.

Later, Chandragupta destroyed the Macedonian garrisons left in India, defeated the invading Greek army of Seleucus in the Punjab, and then received at his Patna court the Hellenic ambassador Megasthenes. Intensely interesting stories have been minutely recorded by Greek historians and others who accompanied or followed after Alexander in his expedition to India. The narratives of Arian, Diodorus, Plutarch, and Strabo, the the geographer have been translated by dr j w imkretel to throw a shaft of light on ancient india the most admirable feature of alexander's unsuccessful invasion was the deep interest he displayed in hindu philosophy and in the yogis and holy men whom he encountered from time to time and whose society he eagerly sought shortly after the greek warrior had arrived in taxila in northern india he sent a messenger Hellenic school of Diogenes to fetch an Indian teacher, Dendemus, a great Sanyasi of Taxila.

Hail to thee, O teacher of Brahmins, Onus Acritos said after seeking out Dendemus in his forest retreat. The son of the mighty god Zeus, being Alexander who is the sovereign lord of all men, asks you to go to him, and if you comply he will reward you with great gifts, but if you refuse he will cut off your head. The yogi received this fairly compulsive invitation calmly, and did not so much as lift up his head from his couch of leaves i also am a son of zeus if alexander be such he commented i want nothing that is alexander's for i am content with what i have while i see that he wanders with his men over sea and land for no advantage and is never coming to an end of his wanderings.

Go and tell Alexander that God the Supreme King is never the author of insolent wrong, but is the creator of light, of peace, of life, of water, of the body of man, and of souls. He receives all men when death sets them free being in no way subject to evil disease he alone be the world's master when he has not yet seated himself on a throne of inner universal dominion neither as yet has he entered living into hades nor does he know the course of the sun through the central regions of the earth, while the nations on its boundaries have not so much as heard his name.

After this chastisement, surely the most caustic ever sent to assault the ears of the lord of the world, the sage added ironically, if Alexander's present dominions be not capacious enough for his desires let him cross the ganges river there he will find a region able to sustain all his men if the country on this side be too narrow to hold him what Alexander offers and the gifts he promises are things to me utterly useless. The things I prize and find of real use and worth are these leaves which are my house, these blooming plants which supply me with daily food, and the water which is my drink, while all other possessions which are amassed with anxious care are wont to prove ruinous to those who gather them and cause only sorrow and vexation with which each poor mortal is fully fraught as for me i lie upon the forest leaves and having nothing which requires guarding close my eyes in tranquil slumber, whereas had I anything to guard that would banish sleep.

The earth supplies me with everything, even as a mother her child with milk. I go wherever I please, and there are no carers with which I am forced to cumber myself should alexander cut off my head he cannot also destroy my soul my head alone then silent will remain leaving the body like a torn garment upon the earth whence also it was taken spirit shall ascend to my god who enclosed us all in flesh and left us upon earth to prove whether when hereify with these threats those who wish for wealth and who dread death for against us these weapons are both alike powerless the brahmans neither love gold nor fear death go then and tell alexander this dandamas has no need of aught that is yours and stronger desire than ever to see dandumus who though old and naked was the only antagonist in whom he the conqueror of many nations had met more than his match alexander invited to taxila a number of brahman ascetics noted for their skill in answering philosophical questions with pithy wisdom an account of the verbal skirmish is given by plutarch Which be the more numerous, the living or the dead?

The living, for the dead are not. Which breeds the larger animals, the sea or the land? The land, for the sea is only a part of land. Which is the cleverest of beasts? That one with which man is not yet acquainted man fears the unknown which existed first the day or the night the day was first by one day this reply caused alexander to betray surprise the brahman added impossible questions require impossible answers how best may a man make himself beloved? A man will be beloved if, possessed with great power, he still does not make himself feared.

How may a man become a god? By doing that which it is impossible for a man to do. Which is stronger, life or death? Life, because it bears so many evils. Alexander succeeded in taking out of India as his teacher a true yogi. This man was Swami Sphinx, called Kalinos by the Greeks because the the saint a devotee of god in the form of kali greeted every one by pronouncing her auspicious name kalanos accompanied alexander to persia on a stated day at susa in persia kalanos gave up his aged body by entering a funeral pyre in view of the whole Macedonian army.

The historians record the astonishment of the soldiers who observed that the yogi had no fear of pain or death and who never once moved from his position as he was consumed in the flames. before leaving for his cremation kalanos had embraced all his close companions but refrained from bidding farewell to alexander to whom the hindoo sage had merely remarked i shall see you shortly in babylon Alexander left Persia and died a year later in Babylon. His Indian guru's words had been his way of saying he would be present with Alexander in life and death.

The Greek historians have left us many vivid and inspiring pictures of Indian society. hindu law aryan tells us protects the people and ordains that no one among them shall under any circumstances be a slave but that enjoying freedom themselves they shall respect the equal right to it which all possess for those they thought who have learned neither to domineer over nor cringe to others will attain the life best adapted for all vicissitudes of lot. The Indians, runs another text, neither put out money at usury, nor know how to borrow.

It is contrary to established usage for an Indian either to do or suffer a wrong and therefore they neither make contracts nor require securities healing we are told was by simple and natural means c others are considered to be in great measure pernicious engagement in war was restricted to the chatrins or warrior caste on his land do him any harm for men of this class being regarded as public benefactors are protected from all injury the land thus remaining unravaged and producing heavy crops supplies the inhabitants with the requisites to make life enjoyable the emperor chandragupta who in three o five b c had defeated alexander's general seleucus decided seven years later to hand over the reins of india's government to his son his life as a penniless ascetic, seeking self-realization in a rocky cave at Shrava Nabilagola, now honored as a Mysore shrine.

Nearby stands the world's largest statue, carved out of an immense boulder by the Jains in A.D. 983 to honor the saint Komateswara. The ubiquitous religious shrines of Mysore are a constant reminder of the great many saints of South India. One of these masters, Tayumanavar, has left us the following challenging poem. You can control a mad elephant. You can shut the mouth of the bear and the tiger. You can ride a lion. You can play with the cobra. By alchemy, you can eke out your livelihood. You can wander through the universe incognito.

You can make vassals of the gods. You can be ever youthful. You can walk on water and live in fire. But control of the mind is better and more difficult. In the beautiful and fertile state of Travancore, in the extreme south of India, where traffic is conveyed over rivers and canals. The Maharaja assumes every year a hereditary obligation to expiate the sin incurred by wars and the annexation in the distant past of several petty states to Travancore. For 56 days annually, the Maharaja visits the temple thrice daily to hear Vedic hymns and recitations.

The expiation ceremony ends with the Lakshadipam or illumination of the temple by a thousand lights. The great Hindu lawgiver Manu has outlined the duties of a king. He should shower amenities like Indra, Lord of the Gods, collect taxes gently and imperceptibly as the sun obtains vapor from water, enter into the life of his subjects as the wind goes everywhere, mete out even justice to all like Yama, god of death. Bind transgressors in a noose like Varuna, Vedic deity of sky and wind. Please all like the moon, burn up vicious enemies like the god of fire, and support all like the earth goddess.

In war, a king should not fight with poisonous or fiery weapons nor kill weak or unready or weaponless foes or men who are in fear or who pray for protection or who run away. War should be resorted to only as a last resort. Results are always doubtful in war. Madras presidency on the southeast coast of India contains the flat, spacious, seagirt city of Madras and Kanjivaram, the golden city, capital site of the Pallava dynasty, whose kings ruled during the early centuries of the Christian era. In modern Madras presidency, the non-violent ideals of Mahatma Gandhi have made great headway.

The white distinguishing Gandhi caps are seen everywhere. In the south, generally, the Mahatma has effected many important temple reforms for untouchables as well as caste system reforms. The origin of the caste system formulated by the great legislator Manu was admirable. He saw clearly that men are distinguished by natural evolution into four great classes those capable of offering service to society through their bodily labor sudras those who serve through mentality skill agriculture trade commerce business life in general talents are administrative, executive and protective rulers and warriors, kshatriyas, those of contemplative nature, spiritually inspired and inspiring, Brahmins.

Neither birth nor sacraments nor study nor ancestry can decide whether a person is twice born, i.e. a Brahmin. The Mahabharata declares character and conduct only can decide. Manu instructed society to show respect to its members insofar as they possessed wisdom, virtue, age, kinship, or, lastly, wealth. Riches in Ved india were always despised if they were hoarded or unavailable for charitable purposes ungenerous men of great wealth were assigned a low rank in society when the caste system became hardened through the centuries into a hereditary halter. Social reformers like Gandhi and the members of very numerous societies in India today are making slow but sure progress in restoring the ancient values of caste, based solely on natural qualification and not on birth.

Every nation on earth has its own distinctive misery producing karma to deal with and remove. India too, with her versatile and invulnerable spirit, shall prove herself equal to the task of caste reformation. So entrancing is southern India that mr. Wright and I yearned to prolong our idol but time in its immemorial rudeness dealt us no courteous extensions I was scheduled soon to address the concluding session of the Indian philosophical Congress at Calcutta University. At the end of the visit to Mysore, I enjoyed a talk with Sir C.

V. Raman, President of the Indian Academy of Sciences. This brilliant Hindu physicist was awarded the Nobel Prize in 1930 for his important discovery in the diffusion of light, the raman effect now known to every schoolboy waving a reluctant farewell to a crowd of Sadavishiva Brahman, in whose 18th century life story miracles cluster thickly. A larger Sadavishiva shrine at Niroor, erected by the Raja of Pudukottai, is a pilgrimage spot which has witnessed numerous divine healings. Many quaint stories of Sadashiva, a lovable and fully illumined master, are still current among the South Indian villagers.

Immersed one day in Samadhi on the bank of the Kaveri River, Sadashiva was seen to be carried away by a sudden flood. Weeks later he was found buried deep beneath a mound of earth. As the villagers' shovels struck his body, the saint rose and walked briskly away. Sarasiva never spoke a word or wore a cloth. One morning the nude yogi unceremoniously entered the tent of a Mohammedan chieftain. His ladies screamed in alarm. The warrior dealt a savage sword thrust at Sadashiva, whose arm was severed. The master departed unconcernedly.

Overcome by remorse, the Mohammedan picked up the arm from the floor and followed Sadashiva. The yogi quietly inserted his arm into the bleeding stump. When the warrior humbly asked for some spiritual instruction, Sadashiva wrote with his finger on the sands, Do not do what you want, and then you may do what you like the mohammedan was uplifted to an exalted state of mind and understood the saint's paradoxical advice to be a guide to soul freedom through mastery of the ego in Sadashiva's presence to see the Madhura religious festival 150 miles away.

The yogi indicated to the little ones that they should touch his body. Lo, instantly the whole group was transported to Madhura. The children wandered happily among the thousands of pilgrims. In a few hours, the yogi brought his small charges home by his simple mode of transportation the astonished parents heard the vivid tales of the sadasiva master he said scornfully why don't you take me was the saint when the youth wanted to leave the weary boy reached his home by the ancient and prosaic method of foot locomotion chapter forty one