L’Inde classique
by Michel Angot
English summary: Indian civilization flourished for some eighteen centuries between Buddha’s nirvana and the Muslim invasions. Yet, no institution has managed to organize India, and no lasting government has been associated with its incredible growth, which nonetheless does not preclude some intense debate on the very concept of government. Strangely enough, beyond India’s mere existence as a country, there really is an Indian civilization – possibly the only great civilization to be federated not by a government, but by a language: Sanskrit – the Brahmans’ sacred language, which is also a cultural language. Similarly, no Church has attempted to institutionalize India’s religions nor the formidable speculative enthusiasm of such truth seekers as the Buddha, the Jina, Patanjali, Samkara and many others who have turned to (or away from) the sacred Veda scriptures. They therefore began to reflect upon the vast concepts underlying spiritual life : of what value is the human action that we call karma ? How can we escape the cycle of death and rebirth -samsara ? Can we live by the principle of non-violence ? How can we justify the existence of evil ? What should we think of a social organization like the caste system, that is the essence of Hinduism ?Spiritual reflection was thus left to a minority of ascetics, the yogi, and the philosophers who wished to escape this world. But there were also those who wished to remain very much involved in the world and to be intensely alive. A golden age of Bharatanatya dances, raga music, sculpture and architecture and India’s first miniatures had begun. This was also a time when, in the field of mathematics, India discovered the number zero, positional numeration, and how to precisely calculate the circumference of the earth.These glimpses of India will reveal to the reader a fertile, exuberant, and multifaceted civilization very different from the poverty-conscious and superstitious cliches that are the remnants of India’s recent colonial past.Michel Angot, an expert in Sanskrit grammar, teaches at INALCO. French description: Entre le nirvana du Buddha et les invasions musulmanes, environ dix-huit siecles ou brille la civilisation indienne. Pourtant, aucune institution ne vient l’organiser, aucun etat durable n’encadre son essor ce qui n’empeche pas une intense reflexion sur la notion meme d’etat. Curieusement, alors que l’Inde est une simple expression geographique, il existe une civilisation indienne, sans doute la seule grande civilisation qui soit federee non par un etat mais par une langue, le sanskrit, langue sacree des brahmanes mais aussi langue de culture. De meme, aucune Eglise ne vient institutionnaliser les religions ni le formidable elan speculatif des chercheurs de verite : le Buddha, le Jina, Patanjali, Samkara et bien d’autres se tournent ou se detournent des textes sacres, le Veda. Ils vont des lors reflechir sur les grandes notions qui structurent la vie spirituelle : Que vaut l’action humaine qu’on nomme karman ? Comment echapper au monde du devenir, le samsara ? Peut-on vivre dans la non-violence ? Comment expliquer le mal? Comment penser une organisation sociale, le systeme des castes, qui est au coeur de l’Hindouisme ?La reflexion concerne une minorite d’ascetes, de , de penseurs professionnels qui veulent sortir du monde. Mais il y a aussi ceux qui souhaitent y demeurer et vivent intensement. La danse du Bharatanatya, la musique des raga, la sculpture et l’architecture, les premieres miniatures fleurissent. C’est aussi l’epoque ou, en mathematique, l’Inde decouvre le zero, la numeration par position et calcule avec precision la circonference terrestre.Voila qui permet de decouvrir une civilisation riche, exuberante, multiple, bien loin des cliches miserabilistes et superstitieux qui sont un heritage de son proche passe colonial.
- By (author) Michel Angot
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