---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Sanjay
This is my own and that a stranger -- that is the calculation of the narrow minded; for the magnanimous hearts however, the entire earth is but a family. -- ancient Sanskrit shloka.
This shloka with the words "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" ("entire word is one family") has become very popular in recent decades. India's leaders quote it in ther speeches. India's foriegn policy is claimed to be based on it. It has actually been inscribed in stone at India's parliament house! It has been greatfully internalised by Indian liberals ('internationalists') as well as Hindutva-types both as a way to give legitimacy to their respective world views.
However, one intrepid researcher Sarvesh K. Tiwari has discovered that "its usage in public discourse springs from a superficial or even a perverted understanding." He adds:
This Sanskrit verse is found neither in Rig Veda or Mahabharata, nor in Puranas or Manusmriti. So where was it lifted from? It actually occures mainly in Hitopdesha and Panchatantra (both a collection of fables imparting wisdom to children). But here is the bombshell: In all the two, people who prescribe this verse or believe in it have been declared either as fools or as scam artists out to cheat others and take over their property!
In Hitopdesha, "the verse is spoken by a shrewd subversionist. The lesson being that one has to exercise discretion from unwittingly trusting such brotherhood-preachers, and that the price for befriending and sheltering the wrong kind under the influence of such unconditional brotherhood, is nothing less than self-destruction." In Panchatantra, the shloka is recited by a "moorkha" (an idiot) who dies at the hands of a fool he had invited to his company citing this shloka.
The message these books impart is very clear: Do not cite this philosophy of "word as one family" and welcome all sorts of people into your house (or country), otherwise you will lose your life and property. You will be destroyed if you are not discreet in the company you keep. In the fables, everybody who quoted this shloka died at the hands of crooks and fools.
This is really fascinating. I would recommend you read the article in original. Quoting this verse by modern Indians is nothing but self-deception. Here goes:
The Hoax Called Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – 1 : Hitopadesha
The Hoax Called Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - 2: Panchatantra and Kautilya
The Hoax Called Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - 3: Vikrama, Poetics and Upanishada
Cheers!!
Sanjay
Original blog post at:
http://indianrealist.wordpress.com
From: Sanjay
This is my own and that a stranger -- that is the calculation of the narrow minded; for the magnanimous hearts however, the entire earth is but a family. -- ancient Sanskrit shloka.
This shloka with the words "Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam" ("entire word is one family") has become very popular in recent decades. India's leaders quote it in ther speeches. India's foriegn policy is claimed to be based on it. It has actually been inscribed in stone at India's parliament house! It has been greatfully internalised by Indian liberals ('internationalists') as well as Hindutva-types both as a way to give legitimacy to their respective world views.
However, one intrepid researcher Sarvesh K. Tiwari has discovered that "its usage in public discourse springs from a superficial or even a perverted understanding." He adds:
If we study the original sources which recited it in the first place, it becomes amazingly apparent that its popular understanding is simply blundered, and its application in the matters of policy is a height of ignorance and squarely flawed.
This Sanskrit verse is found neither in Rig Veda or Mahabharata, nor in Puranas or Manusmriti. So where was it lifted from? It actually occures mainly in Hitopdesha and Panchatantra (both a collection of fables imparting wisdom to children). But here is the bombshell: In all the two, people who prescribe this verse or believe in it have been declared either as fools or as scam artists out to cheat others and take over their property!
In Hitopdesha, "the verse is spoken by a shrewd subversionist. The lesson being that one has to exercise discretion from unwittingly trusting such brotherhood-preachers, and that the price for befriending and sheltering the wrong kind under the influence of such unconditional brotherhood, is nothing less than self-destruction." In Panchatantra, the shloka is recited by a "moorkha" (an idiot) who dies at the hands of a fool he had invited to his company citing this shloka.
The message these books impart is very clear: Do not cite this philosophy of "word as one family" and welcome all sorts of people into your house (or country), otherwise you will lose your life and property. You will be destroyed if you are not discreet in the company you keep. In the fables, everybody who quoted this shloka died at the hands of crooks and fools.
This is really fascinating. I would recommend you read the article in original. Quoting this verse by modern Indians is nothing but self-deception. Here goes:
The Hoax Called Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam – 1 : Hitopadesha
The Hoax Called Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - 2: Panchatantra and Kautilya
The Hoax Called Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam - 3: Vikrama, Poetics and Upanishada
Cheers!!
Sanjay
Original blog post at:
http://indianrealist.wordpress.com
2 comments:
Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam is mentioned in Maha Upanishad, which is part of Vedanta.
It describes the world view of a realised person.
Of course it is meaningless if applied to a non-realised person
2) 'Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam' in Upanishad:
Maha Upanishad Chapter 6, Verse 72:
" अयं बन्धुरयं नेति गणना लघुचेतसां
उदारचरितानां तु वसुधैव कुटुम्बकं "
'ayam bandhurayam neti ganana laghuchetasam
udaracharitanam tu vasudhaiva kutumbakam'
'Only small men discriminate saying: One is a relative; the other is a stranger.
For those who live magnanimously the entire world constitutes but a family.'
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