COMMUNITY


Indian influence still strong in SE Asian countries: Ravi Kumar

Ravi Kumar said that adaptaion of the Indian culture in these South East Asian countries had been voluntary and there had been no sign of any force being exerted by any Indian spiritual or religious leaders on the people. As far as Indian cultural and spiritual practices were concerned, the people living in these countries accepted them on their own. There was complete harmony and peace in accepting the Hindu and Buddhist practices in these countries. The very name of Singapore was a composition of two Sanskrit words — Singa or Simha and Pore or Pura. Simha, he said, meant lion and Pura meant city. The name of the Indonesian capital Jakarta was derived from Sanskrit words — Jaya and Karta — which indicated harbinger or creator of victory. And the official language of Indonesia was known as Bhasa, a Sanskrit term for Lingua Franca.

By J.V. Lakshmana Rao

Chicago: India is an ancient country. It has a long history. Its spirituality, civilization, culture, and art go back to thousands of years.
India’s influence of spirituality, culture, civilization and art can be seen in all the South East Asian countries, including its immediate neighboring country China, and other faraway countries like Japan and Australia. Though there is no history to indicate that India had ever colonized any country, its warriors had established their rules in certain neighboring pockets. Spiritual leaders and monks of ancient India had traveled far and wide, and their Hindu and Buddhist religious and spiritual practices had deeply influenced the people living in South East Asian countries. The influence of Sanskrit is seen in almost all these countries. Though some of these countries had taken to Christianity and Islam, the people still practice Hindu religious, spiritual and cultural practices. Names of people very much reflect Indianness and the influence of Sanskrit is seen most of these countries.
These facts with examples were revealed here recently by Ravi Kumar, international joint coordinator of Vishwa Adhyayan Kendra and Sewa International. He currently lives in Hong Kong.
Addressing Indian ethnic media representatives, Ravi Kumar said that the adaptation of Indian culture in these South East Asian countries had been voluntary and there had been no sign of any force being exerted by any Indian spiritual or religious leaders on the people. As far as Indian cultural and spiritual practices were concerned, the people living in these countries accepted them on their own. There was complete harmony and peace in accepting the Hindu and Buddhist practices in these countries. However, because of invasions, these countries might have adopted either Christianity or Islam, but in their daily lives they still followed Hindu and Buddhist practices. Giving an example, he said that the influence of India could be very much evident in Singapore. The very name of Singapore was a composition of two Sanskrit words - Singa or Simha and Pore or Pura. Simha, he said, meant lion and Pura meant city. Therefore Singapore meant a city of lions.
Similarly, he said, the capital of Brunei, located north of Indonesia, was called Bandar Shri Bhagwan. “Bandar means seaport and Shri Bhagwan is another name of Lord Sri Rama. The Ramayan epic is popular in Indonesia, Thailand and Brunei,” he added.
Stating that many people in Indonesia carried Indian Sanskrit names, Ravi Kumar said that the daughter of Indonesia’s first President Sukarno was called Sukarnoputri Meghavati, and her brother was Kartikeya Mohammad. This was an example that Indonesia, even after taking to Islam, had retained its Indian culture.
Ravi Kumar also mentioned about how Indonesia strongly believed in Hindu mythology. When the value of currencies of most of South East Asian were dipping very low, General Suharto, who was the President, and his Finance Minister, recalled all the rupia 20,000 currency notes which lost 90 percent of their value, and reprinted new currency notes bearing the picture of Lord Ganesha. The currency then miraculously regained its original value, thus averted the monetary crisis in the country. Garuda, the bird vehicle of Hindu God, Vishnu, is the symbol of Indonesian national airlines.
Similarly, the name of the Indonesian capital Jakarta was derived from Sanskrit words — Jaya and Karta - which indicated harbinger or creator of victory. And the official language of Indonesia was known as Bhasa, a Sanskrit term for Lingua Franca.
Quoting a number of other examples about adaptation of Indian words in South Asian countries, Ravi Kumar said Laos or Lavadwipa was named after King Lava, one of the twin sons of Lord Rama. Thailand was originally known as Champa or Siam or Shyama Desa. Shyama indicated the dark blue skin color of Lord Krishna, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu. Interestingly, the king of Thailand still was known as Rama, whose dynasty was still believed to be conti-nuing. “The present king of Thailand, Bhumibol Adulyadej is the longest living king with a rule of 60 years. He is also known as Rama IX of Thailand. Bhumibol is Thai version of Sanskrit word Bhumipal and Adulyadej is composite version of Sanskrit words Atulya and Teja,” Ravi Kumar explained.
He paid compliments to people of South East Asian countries for keeping the Hindu and Buddhist tradition alive in their parts of the world. He particularly thanked the people of Cambodia, whose name was derived from Indian legendary king Kamboja. The largest Hindu temple complex in the world dedicated to Lord Shiva is located in the Cambodian city of Angkor Vat. Similarly the largest stupa complex dedicated to Lord Buddha is in Borobudur in Java. Bali, named after a Ramayana character, Vali, is still populated by people following the Brahmanical Hindu tradition. “The island has renowned temples and its people follow Hindu religious rituals, dances and festivals,” he added.
Ravi Kumar said that India had an immense influence on countries like Mongolia, Tibet and China. Because of frequent visits by Buddhist monks to these countries and exchange of scholars between these countries and India, India’s influence spread greatly there. Mongols built large empires stretching from Siberia to Europe and destroyed ancient cultures. They were also known for engineering and bringing down the Roman Empire. The treacherous tribe, Berbers, who gained the dubious distinction of being barbarians, became humble as they reached and lived in India by accepting the Hindu and Buddhist lifestyles. China was believed to have built the famous Great Wall of China only to ward off the destructive Berber tribe.
Ravi Kumar said that Buddhist monks traveled to China, and influenced by these monks, Chinese scholars came to India, thus exchanging knowledge. Chinese visiting scholars wrote extensively about India and its Hindu and Buddhist fund of knowledge. Buddhism spread extensively in China in the sixth century A.D. A south Indian Buddhist monk known as Bodhidharman took an arduous journey by foot through the Himalayan mountain passes and reached China. Bodhidharman devised and practiced martial arts which later were used for self-defense. Later Bodhidharman, who became a teacher to Chinese Emperor Wu, lived in China and spread Buddhism. Bodhidharman’s name became synonymous with Buddhism and martial arts, particularly karate. Almost every village and town in China had a temple dedicated to Bodhidharman. Buddhism also spread from China to Korea and Japan.
Ravi Kumar said that the influence of the Hindu and Buddhist cultures, philosophy and literature became deeper in Tibet because of its proximity to India. Tibet also offered a safe haven to Indian monks and scholars to escape the onslaught of Islam, which destroyed the Buddhist universities and libraries. It was Tibet which saved most of precious Buddhist literature and Buddhist Tantras.
Despite the spread of Islamic and British influence in these South East Asian countries, the affinity and love for the Indian culture, civilization, spirituality and art were still deep and strong there, and the people kept the practices amazingly alive, Ravi Kumar concluded.