KathaVarta: for Short and Moral stories

Archive for the ‘Writers’ Category

« Previous Entries

What is Ashtavakra Gita?

Posted by kathavarta on November 11, 2008

The Ashtavakra Gita or the Song of Ashtavakra, also known as Ashtavakra Samhita is an Advaita Vedanta scripture which documents a dialogue between the Perfect Master Sage Ashtavakra and Janaka, the King of Mithila(Videha).

Ashtavakra Gita was written by Sage Ashtavakra. This Gita perhaps precedes the Bhagwat Gita as the later has references of the Ashtavakra Gita’s teachings. Sage Ashtavakra, deformed from eight limbs on his body, (so the name) was a very enlightened sage, who at the young age of 12 years became the teacher of King Janak. Ashtavakra’s teachings are presented in the form of his dialogue with Janak, the King of Videha.

The story goes that Ashtavakra’s father is defeated by Vandin in an intellectual debate in King Janak’s court. Ashtavakra goes to the court to debate with Vandin to redeem his father’s reputation.

In the debate Ashtvakra completes the unfinished thirteenth shloka which implies that Self is essentially non-dual, free and unconditioned. The Self becomes subject to happiness and sorrow, and the cycle of birth and deaths through the thirteen viz. (ten organs of sense and activity, and intelligence, mind and ego-sense). Through wisdom, the Self not only should transcend happiness and sorrow as well as the twelve silas (viz., dharma, truth, self-restraint, penance, good-will, modesty, forgiveness, exemption from envy, sacrifice, charity, concentration and control over the senses) but also surmount the thirteen. This is liberation in life, and the supreme Upanisadic truth, “I am Brahman” (aham brahm-asmi) and the self is all that exists (sarvam atma).

Ashvakra defeats Vandin in the debate and King Janak becomes Ashtavakra’s disciple.

Significance:
Ashtavakra Gita presents the traditional teachings of Advaita Vedanta with a clarity and power very rarely matched. The work has been a constant inspiration in his life for many years. May it be so for many others.

Overview:
The Ashtvakra Gita starts with three questions posed by King Janak to Sage Ashtavakra as follows:

1. How is knowledge to be acquired?
2. How is liberation to be attained? and
3. How is dispassion to be reached?

Ashtvakra gave his answers in the following first three shlokas. Rest of his Gita is only the explanation of his teachings, and question answers with King Janak.

The Sage replies, that if you are seeking liberation, my son, avoid the objects of the senses like poison. Practice tolerance, sincerity, compassion, contentment and truthfulness like nectar.

You are neither earth, nor water, nor fire, nor wind nor sky. For liberation know the self as embodiment of pure consciousness, the witness of all these.

If you differentiate yourself from the body and abide in rest in pure consciousness, then even now you will become happy, serene and free from bondage.

Ashtavakra Gita states that there is no such thing as existence or non existence, right or wrong, or moral or immoral. In the eyes of the Ashtavakra, one’s true identity can be found by simply recognizing oneself as Pure Existence and that as individuals we are the Awareness of all things.

The Ashtavakra Gita teaches that one is already free once one realises one is free. It advocates non-action (similar to the Daoist concept of Wu Wei), the loss of desire and severing of worldly attachments. To free oneself from the cycle of life and death one should withdraw from all Earthly desires, worries and cares. To continue indulging in Earthly things even after one has realised their true nature is said to be foolish and time wasting. Instead it paints a picture of The Master as someone who continues to keep up their responsibilities in the world, not because they believe they have to or due to any worldy attachments, but simply that it is in their nature to do so. To avoid misinterpretation in this regard teachers traditionally recommend that Ashtavakra Gita be pursued by only those who have already advanced on the spiritual path.

John Richards has given wonderful translation of this divine scripture. According to him:

“The Ashtavakra Gita, or the Ashtavakra Samhita as it is sometimes called, is a very ancient Sanskrit text. Nothing seems to be known about the author, though tradition ascribes it to the sage Ashtavakra; hence the name.

There is little doubt though that it is very old, probably dating back to the days of the classic Vedanta period. The Sanskrit style and the doctrine expressed would seem to warrant this assessment.

The work was known, appreciated and quoted by Sri Ramakrishna and his disciple Sri Vivekananda, as well as by Sri Ramana Maharshi. Sir Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan (2nd President of India) refers to it with great respect. Apart from that the work speaks for itself.

It presents the traditional teachings of Advaita Vedanta with a clarity and power very rarely matched.”
Bookmark and Share

Posted in Hindu story, Katha, Moral story, Religious, Story for Adult, Writers | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Necessity of a Guru in our life

Posted by kathavarta on November 9, 2008

A Guru is absolutely necessary for every aspirant in the spiritual path. God teaches through the human enlightened body of a fully realized Guru. The Guru is the pattern into which you should mould yourself. Guru is the door to spiritual liberation, but it is the aspirant who has to enter it through Niskama karma -righteous words, thoughts and actions performed without the expectation of results. Also a total surrender, a strong faith and a firm devotion towards the Guru is needed. The Guru will then be able to absorb part of your previous bad karma -dark energies that reside within your soul, due to errors commited in the past and that hinder spiritual liberation- and purify your soul. He will remove pitfalls and obstacles, leading you along the right path towards enlightment. The disciple should not rest satisfied with the transmission of knowledge and Light from the Guru. He will have to struggle hard in sadhana -spiritual disciplines- for further perfection and attainments. He must be a person full of love, humility, compassion, patience, endurance, forbearance; he must perform service to others without the expectation of positive results or any kind of reward.

It is important to realize that the more spiritual evolution the seeker attains for himself, through positive actions, faith, surrender and devotion towards God or to a fully realized Guru, the more responsibility the seeker has in the spiritual arena and minor mistakes in life can have profound effects in spiritual evolution.

The Guru can transform the disciple by a look, a touch, a thought or a word, or mere willing. Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa touched Swami Vivekananda and by his grace Swami Vivekananda had supra conscious experience though he had struggled hard for the rest of his life in order to attain perfection. We must always keep on working -righteous thoughts, words and actions- no matter the spiritual level attained, remembering that the more we get, the more we shall be asked in exchange. Without the grace of the Guru, it is very difficult to evolve spiritually. To light a candle, you need a burning candle. An illumined soul alone can enlighten another soul.

Source: www.santhigiri.com
Visit www.eTirth.com for Gurus information.
Bookmark and Share

Posted in Hindu story, Moral story, Religious, Sikhism, Story for Adult, Writers | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Meaning of the Word Guru

Posted by kathavarta on November 9, 2008

Its Etymology And Spiritual Significance

Etymologically, the term Guru means one who gives light by eradicating the darkness of ignorance. According to the philosophical Hindu text Advayataraka Upanishad (1418), Guru means ‘dispeller (gu) of darkness (ru).’ The Guru concept is essentially an ancient Indian concept, having no parallel in the spiritual tradition of other societies. In common parlance the term ‘Guru’ means ‘teacher.’ To learn anything in life, let it be material or spiritual, one needs the help of a teacher. The Gurus vary according to the attainment of knowledge and the levels at which they impart guidance. Therefore, one should be diligent in locating and identifying a real Guru.

A Guru worth the name should be atmajnani -one who can see the intricacies of your soul and its past, present and future in order to give the correct guidance towards mukti -spiritual liberation. He can guide his followers in their material, emotional and spiritual life so as to lead them to the supreme aim of human life, which is the communion with the Supreme Light.

We are living in a materialistic age where all of us are mainly concerned about money, sex, beauty, power and a high status in society. Lust for power, material greed, sensual excitement, selfishness, envy, passion for wealth and lower appetites have drawn man from his true life in the spirit into the materialistic life, forgetting about the existence of the Almighty. Though he can regain his lost spirituality through a fully realized Guru, who can give him the cor him the correct guidance and transmute animal nature into divine nature, leading man to the pinnacle of spiritual evolution -mukti.

Guru: leads from ignorance to wisdom, from disharmony to harmony, from hatred to love, from want to fullness, from weakness to strength, from limitation to infinitude, from diversity to unity, from darkness to Light, and from imperfection to perfection. He gives hope to the sad and forlorn, strength to the weak, health to the sick and wisdom to the ignorant.

The Guru is the veritable physical manifestation of God and the seeker of Truth should have a total faith and surrender in the saving grace of the Guru. A word from him is a word from God. His very company is self-illumination. We must remember that, three things, devotion, faith and surrender are essential for any progress. I have seen in darshans -spiritual visions- that having a strong devotion, faith and surrender towards the Guru, the spiritual seeker will be able to establish a strong spiritual connection with the Guru’s Light, evolving at a tremendous speed towards spiritu spiritual liberation. This path is called Guru margam, the way of the Guru, and according to revelations received by great seers, this is the most dynamic way towards liberation. I have studied religions and several philosophical paths for more than 20 years and the benefits offered by the Guru margam, are much greater than what any other religion can offer us. I am completely sure of what I am saying, because I have confirmed it through my personal experience and internal visions received since 8 years back, realizing that the benefits acquired by the Guru margam are much greater than whatever of the existent creeds or doctrines around the World can give us. This is an experienced truth and at least 300 people around the World can testify about this reality.

Two things are necessary for a beautifully finished sculpture. One is a strong piece of marble and the second is the expert sculptor. The piece of marble should but unconditionally remain in the hands of the sculptor, in order to be carved and chiselled into the fine image. The seeker placing himself under the expert guidance of a fully realized Guru, will allow to be carved out and chiselled into the image of perfection. It is also absolutely necessary for the disciple to purify himself through positive karma -righteous words, thoughts and actions in order to attain liberation. If the disciple does not perform this kind of karma, then the benefits that he could receive from his Guru will be eclipsed.

The dictum: “Guru Sarva Dharmatma” -Guru permeates in all Dharma (Spiritual Law) brings about in short, the Guru concept in the Indian spiritual tradition.

Source: www.santhigiri.com
Visit www.eTirth.com for Gurus information.
Bookmark and Share

Posted in Hindu story, Katha, Moral story, Religious, Sikhism, Story for Adult, Writers | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Who is Michael Bond?

Posted by kathavarta on October 13, 2008

Born 1926, in Newbury, Berkshire, England; Ethnicity: “White.” Education: Attended Presentation College, 1934-40. Hobbies and other interests: “Food, wine, theatre, photography and things French.”

Agent— Stephen Durbridge, The Agency, 24-32 Pottery Lane, Holland Park, London W11 4LZ, England.

Michael Bond, OBE, (born January 13, 1926 in Newbury, Berkshire) is an English children’s author. He is the creator of Paddington Bear and has written about the adventures of a guinea pig named Olga da Polga, as well as the animated BBC TV series The Herbs. Bond also writes culinary mystery stories for adults featuring Monsieur Pamplemousse and his faithful bloodhound, Pommes Frites.

Bond was educated at Presentation College, a Catholic school in Reading. During World War II he served in both the Royal Air Force and the Middlesex Regiment of the British Army.

British Broadcasting Corp. (BBC), Reading, England, engineer’s assistant, 1941-43; BBC, Caversham, England, with monitoring service, 1947-50; BBC, London, England, television cameraman, 1950-65; full-time writer, 1965–. Military service: Royal Air Force, 1943-44, air crew; British Army, Middlesex Regiment, 1944-47.

He began writing in 1945 and sold his first short story to a magazine London Opinion. In 1958, after producing a number of plays and short stories and while working as a BBC television cameraman (where he worked filming Blue Peter for a time) his first book A Bear Called Paddington was published. By 1967 he was able to give up his BBC job to work full-time as a writer. Paddington’s adventures have been published in nearly twenty countries.

He is married with two adult children and lives in London, not far from Paddington Station. The small bear he created has inspired pop bands, race horses, plays, hot air balloons and a TV series.

In 1997 Bond was awarded the OBE for services to children’s literature.

On 6th July 2007 the University of Reading awarded him an Honorary Doctor of Letters.

Michael Bond’s most famous books by far are the Paddington series, detailing the adventures of a bear from Darkest Peru whose Aunt Lucy sends him to England, carrying a jar of marmalade. He was found at Paddington Station by the Brown family who named and adopted him.

“PADDINGTON” SERIES
~ A Bear Called Paddington (also see below), illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1958, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1960, revised edition, Houghton Mifflin, 1998.
More about Paddington (also see below), illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1959, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1962, revised edition, Houghton Mifflin, 1997.
Paddington Helps Out (also see below), illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1960, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1961.
~ Paddington Abroad, illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1961, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1972.
~ Paddington at Large (also see below), illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1962, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1963.
~ Paddington Marches On, illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1964, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1965, reprinted, Fontana (Huntington, NY), 1986.
~ Adventures of Paddington (also see below), Collins (London, England), 1965.
~ Paddington at Work (also see below), illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1966, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1967, revised edition, Houghton Mifflin, 2001.
~ Paddington Goes to Town, illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1968, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1969, revised edition, Houghton Mifflin, 2001.
~ Paddington Takes the Air, illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1970, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1971.
~ Paddington Bear, illustrations by Fred Banbery, Collins (London, England), 1972, Random House (New York, NY), 1973, revised with new illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.
~ Paddington’s Garden, illustrations by Fred Banbery, Collins (London, England), 1972, Random House (New York, NY), 1973, reprinted, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1993.
~ Paddington at the Circus, illustrations by Fred Banbery, Collins (London, England), 1973, Random House (New York, NY), 1974, revised with new illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.
~ Paddington Goes Shopping, illustrations by Fred Banbery, Collins (London, England), 1973, published as Paddington’s Lucky Day, Random House (New York, NY), 1974.
~ Paddington’s “Blue Peter” Story Book, illustrations by Ivor Wood, Collins (London, England), 1973, published as Paddington Takes to T.V., Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1974, reprinted, Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
~ Paddington Goes to School, Caedmon (New York, NY), 1974.
~ Paddington on Top, illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1974, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1975, revised edition, Houghton Mifflin, 2000.
~ (With Albert Bradley) Paddington on Stage (play; adapted from Bond’s Adventures of Paddington), illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1974, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1977, acting edition, Samuel French (New York, NY), 1976.
~ Paddington at the Tower, illustrations by Fred Banbery, Collins (London, England), 1975, Random House (New York, NY), 1978.
~ Paddington at the Seaside, illustrations by Fred Banbery, Collins (London, England), 1975, Random House (New York, NY), 1976, published as Paddington at the Seashore, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1992.
~ Paddington Takes a Bath, Collins (London, England), 1976.
~ Paddington Goes to the Sales, Collins (London, England), 1976.
~ Paddington’s New Room, Collins (London, England), 1976.
~ Paddington at the Station, Collins (London, England), 1976.
~ The Great Big Paddington Book, illustrations by Fred Banbery, Collins & World (London, England), 1976.
~ Paddington’s Loose-End Book: An ABC of Things to Do, illustrations by Ivor Wood, Collins (London, England), 1976.
~ Paddington’s Party Book, illustrations by Ivor Wood, Collins (London, England), 1976.
~ Paddington’s Pop-up Book, Collins (London, England), 1977.
~ Fun and Games with Paddington, Collins & World (London, England), 1977.
~ Paddington’s Birthday Party, Collins (London, England), 1977.
~ Paddington Carpenter, Collins (London, England), 1977.
~ Paddington Conjurer, Collins (London, England), 1977.
~ Paddington Cook, Collins (London, England), 1977.
~ Paddington Golfer, Collins (London, England), 1977.
~ Paddington Hits Out, Collins (London, England), 1977.
~ Paddington Does It Himself, Collins (London, England), 1977.
~ Paddington in the Kitchen, Collins (London, England), 1977.
~ Paddington’s First Book, Collins (London, England), 1978.
~ Paddington’s Picture Book, Collins (London, England), 1978.
~ Paddington’s Play Book, Collins (London, England), 1978.
~ Paddington’s Counting Book, Collins (London, England), 1978.
~ Paddington’s Cartoon Book, illustrations by Ivor Wood, Collins (London, England), 1979.
~ Paddington Takes the Test, illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1979, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1980, revised edition, Houghton Mifflin, 2002.
~ Paddington: A Disappearing Trick and Other Stories (anthology; also see below), Collins (London, England), 1979.
~ Paddington for Christmas (also see below), Collins (London, England), 1979.
~ Paddington Goes Out, Collins (London, England), 1980.
~ Paddington at Home, Collins (London, England), 1980.
~ Paddington and Aunt Lucy, illustrations by Barry Wilkinson, Collins (London, England), 1980.
~ Paddington in Touch, illustrations by Barry Wilkinson, Collins (London, England), 1980.
~ Paddington and the Snowbear, Collins (London, England), 1981.
~ Paddington at the Launderette, Collins (London, England), 1981.
~ Paddington’s Shopping Adventure, Collins (London, England), 1981.
~ Paddington’s Birthday Treat, Collins (London, England), 1981.
~ Paddington on Screen: The Second “Blue Peter” Story Book, illustrations by Barry Macey, Collins (London, England), 1981, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1982.
~ Paddington Has Fun, Collins (London, England), 1982.
~ Paddington Works Hard, Collins (London, England), 1982.
~ Paddington’s Storybook, illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, Collins (London, England), 1983, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1984.
~ Paddington on the River, illustrations by Barry Wilkinson, Collins (London, England), 1983.
~ Paddington Weighs In, illustrations by Barry Wilkinson, Collins (London, England), 1983.
~ Paddington’s Suitcase (includes Paddington’s Notebook and Paddington’s Birthday Book, Collins (London, England), 1983.
~ Great Big Paddington Bear Picture Book, Pan (London, England), 1984.
~ Paddington at the Zoo, illustrations by David McKee, Collins (London, England), 1984, Putnam (New York, NY), 1985, revised edition with new illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.
~ Paddington and the Knickerbocker Rainbow, illustrations by David McKee, Collins (London, England), 1984, Putnam (New York, NY), 1985.
~ Paddington’s Art Exhibition, illustrations by David McKee, Collins (London, England), 1985, published as Paddington’s Painting Exhibition, Putnam (New York, NY), 1986.
~ Paddington at the Fair, illustrations by David McKee, Collins (London, England), 1985, Putnam (New York, NY), 1986, revised with new illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.
~ Paddington at the Palace, illustrations by David McKee, Putnam (New York, NY), 1986, revised with new illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1999.
~ Paddington Minds the House, illustrations by David McKee, Collins (London, England), 1986, revised with new illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1999.
~ Paddington Spring Cleans, Collins (London, England), 1986, published as Paddington Cleans Up, Putnam (New York, NY), 1986.
~ The Hilarious Adventures of Paddington (boxed set; contains A Bear Called Paddington, More about Paddington, Paddington at Large, Paddington at Work, and Paddington Helps Out), Dell (New York, NY), 1986.
~ (With daughter, Karen Bond) Paddington at the Airport, illustrations by Toni Goffe, Hutchinson (London, England), 1986.
~ (With Karen Bond) Paddington Mails a Letter, illustrations by Toni Goffe, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1986, published as Paddington Bear Posts a Letter, Hutchinson (London, England), 1986.
~ (With Karen Bond) Paddington’s Clock Book, Hutchinson (London, England), 1986.
~ (With Karen Bond) Paddington’s London, Hutchinson (London, England), 1986.
~ (With Karen Bond) Paddington’s First Puzzle Book, Crocodile (New York, NY), 1987.
~ (With Karen Bond) Paddington’s Second Puzzle Book, Crocodile (New York, NY), 1987.
~ Paddington’s Busy Day, illustrations by David McKee, Collins (London, England), 1987, revised with new illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1999.
~ Paddington and the Marmalade Maze, illustrations by David McKee, Collins (London, England), 1987, revised with new illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1999.
~ Paddington’s ABC, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1990.
~ Paddington’s 123, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1990.
~ Paddington’s Colors, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1990.
~ Paddington’s Opposites, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1990.
~ Paddington’s Jar of Jokes, Carnival (London, England), 1992.
~ Paddington Breaks the Peace, Young Lions (London, England), 1992.
~ Paddington Does the Decorating, Young Lions (London, England), 1993.
~ Paddington’s Disappearing Trick, Young Lions (London, England), 1993.
~ Paddington’s Picnic, illustrations by Nick Ward, Young Lions (London, England), 1993.
~ Paddington Meets the Queen, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.
~ Paddington Rides On!, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.
~ Paddington’s Magical Christmas, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.
~ Paddington Book and Bear Box (includes plush toy), Viking (New York, NY), 1993.
~ Paddington’s First Word Book, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1993.
~ Paddington’s Things I Do, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994.
~ Paddington’s Things I Feel, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1994.
~ Paddington’s Christmas Treat, illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.
~ Paddington Bear and the Christmas Surprise, illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1997.
~ Paddington “A Classic Collection” (collection), illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, HarperCollins UK, 1998.
~ Paddington and the Tutti Frutti Rainbow, illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.
~ Paddington Bear All Day, illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperFestival (New York, NY), 1998.
~ Paddington Bear and the Busy Bee Carnival, illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1998.
~ Paddington My Scrapbook, illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1999.
~ Paddington Treasury (collection), illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, colored by Caroline Nuttall-Smith, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1999.
~ Paddington up and About, illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1999.
~ Paddington’s Party Tricks, illustrations by R. W. Alley, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2000.
(With Karen Jankel) Paddington Goes to Hospital, illustrations by R. W. Alley, Collins (London, England), 2001, published as Paddington Bear Goes to the Hospital, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2001.
~ Paddington Bear in the Garden, illustrations by R. W. Alley, Collins (London, England), 2001, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 2002.
~ Paddington’s Grand Tour, illustrations by R. W. Alley, Collins (London, England), 2003.

Also author of fifty-six episodes of animated “Paddington” films and three half-hour “Paddington” television specials for Home Box Office.

“THURSDAY” SERIES
~ Here Comes Thursday!, illustrations by Daphne Rowles, Harrap (London, England), 1966, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1967.
~ Thursday Rides Again, illustrations by Beryl Sanders, Harrap (London, England), 1968, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1969.
~ Thursday Ahoy!, illustrations by Leslie Wood, Harrap (London, England), 1969, Lothrop (New York, NY), 1970.
~ Thursday in Paris, illustrations by Ivor Wood, Harrap (London, England), 1971.

“OLGA DA POLGA” SERIES
~ Tales of Olga da Polga (omnibus volume), illustrated by Hans Helweg, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1971, Macmillan (New York, NY), 1973.
~ Olga Meets Her Match, illustrated by Hans Helweg, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1973, Hastings House (New York, NY), 1975.
~ Olga Counts Her Blessings, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1975.
~ Olga Makes a Friend, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1975.
~ Olga Makes a Wish, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1975.
~ Olga Makes Her Mark, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1975.
~ Olga Takes a Bite, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1975.
~ Olga’s New Home, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1975.
~ Olga’s Second House, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1975.
~ Olga’s Special Day, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1975.
~ Olga Carries On, illustrated by Hans Helweg, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1976, Hastings House (New York, NY), 1977.
~ Olga Takes Charge, illustrated by Hans Helweg, Penguin (Harmondsworth, England), 1982, Dell (New York, NY), 1983.
~ The Complete Adventures of Olga da Polga (omnibus volume), illustrated by Hans Helweg, Delacorte (New York, NY), 1982.
~ First Big Olga da Polga Book, illustrated by Hans Helweg, Longman (Harlow, England), 1983.
~ Second Big Olga da Polga Book, illustrated by Hans Helweg, Longman (Harlow, England), 1983. ~ Olga Moves House, illustrated by Hans Helweg, Oxford University Press (Oxford, England), 2001.

“PARSLEY” SERIES
~ Parsley’s Tail, illustrations by Esor, BBC Publications (London, England), 1969.
~ Parsley’s Good Deed, illustrations by Esor, BBC Publications (London, England), 1969.
~ Parsley’s Last Stand, BBC Publications (London, England), 1970.
~ Parsley’s Problem Present, BBC Publications (London, England), 1970.
~ Parsley’s Parade [and] Parsley the Lion, Collins (London, England), 1972.
~ Parsley and the Herbs, edited by Sheila M. Lane and Marion Kemp, Ward, Lock (London, England), 1976.

Also author of The Herbs (thirteen-episode puppet series) and The Adventures of Parsley (thirty-two-episode puppet series).

MYSTERIES; FOR ADULTS
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse, Hodder (London, England), 1983, Beaufort (New York, NY), 1985.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse and the Secret Mission, Hodder (London, England), 1984, Beaufort (New York, NY), 1986.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse on the Spot, Hodder (London, England), 1986, Beaufort (New York, NY), 1987.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse Takes the Cure, Hodder (London, England), 1987.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse Aloft, Hodder (London, England), 1989.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse Investigates, Hodder (London, England), 1990.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse Rests His Case, Hodder Headline (London, England), 1991.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse Stands Firm, Hodder Headline (London, England), 1992.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse on Location, Hodder Headline (London, England), 1992.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse Takes the Train, Hodder Headline (London, England), 1993.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse Afloat, Alison & Busby (London, England), 1998.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse on Probation, Alison & Busby (London, England), 2000.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse on Vacation, Alison & Busby (London, England), 2002.
~ Monsieur Pamplemousse Hits the Headlines, Alison & Busby (London, England), 2003.
Contributor of short stories to Strand magazine and Malice Domestic 7.

OTHER
~ (Editor) Michael Bond’s Book of Bears, Purnell (London, England), 1971.
~ The Day the Animals Went on Strike (picture book), illustrations by Jim Hodgson, American Heritage (New York, NY), 1972.
~ (Editor) Michael Bond’s Book of Mice, Purnell (London, England), 1972.
~ (Translator with Barbara von Johnson) The Motormalgamation, Studio-Vista (Eastbourne, England), 1974.
~ Windmill, illustrations by Tony Cattaneo, Studio-Vista (Eastbourne, England), 1975.
~ How to Make Flying Things (nonfiction), photographs by Peter Kibble, Studio-Vista (Eastbourne, England), 1975.
~ Mr. Cram’s Magic Bubbles, illustrations by Gioia Fiammenghi, Penguin (West Drayton, England), 1975.
~ Picnic on the River, Collins (London, England), 1980.
~ J. D. Polson and the Liberty Head Dime, illustrations by Roger Wade Walker, Mayflower (London, England), 1980.
~ J. D. Polson and the Dillogate Affair, illustrations by Roger Wade Walker, Hodder (London, England), 1981.
~ The Caravan Puppets, illustrations by Vanessa Julian-Ottie, Collins (London, England), 1983.
(With Paul Parnes) Oliver the Greedy Elephant, Methuen (London, England), 1985, Western Publishing (New York, NY), 1986.
~ (And photographer) The Pleasures of Paris (guidebook), Pavilion (London, England), 1987.
~ A Day by the Sea, illustrations by Ross Design, Young Lions (London, England), 1992.
~ Something Nasty in the Kitchen, Young Lions (London, England), 1992.
~ Bears and Forebears: A Life So Far, HarperCollins (New York, NY), 1996.

Also author of radio and television plays for adults and children, including Simon’s Good Deed, Napoleon’s Day Out, Open House, and Paddington (various short- and full-length animated films), which have been shown in Great Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Scandinavia, Canada, South Africa, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Italy, Ceylon, and many other countries. Contributor to British periodicals.

SOUND RECORDINGS
~ A Bear Called Paddington, Caedmon (New York, NY), 1978.
~ Paddington: A Disappearing Trick and Other Stories, Caedmon (New York, NY), 1979.
~ Paddington for Christmas, Caedmon (New York, NY), 1979.
~ Paddington Turns Detective, Caedmon (New York, NY), 1979.

Also author of audio version of Paddington’s Storybook.

Many of the “Paddington Bear” works have been adapted to videocassette, filmstrip, and cassette tape.

English author Michael Bond has delighted children all over the world with his stories of Paddington the Bear. He began his series with A Bear Called Paddington in 1958, and has continued writing for decades about the bear from Peru who lives with the Brown family. Bond’s “Paddington” projects have ranged from picture and pop-up books for younger children to activity books, and Paddington has been featured in plays as well as television series and specials. The bear’s appeal, according to critics, is his ability to get into trouble and then manage to come out of it without any major harm being done. Bond has also created such memorable children’s characters as the lovable guinea pig Olga da Polga, Thursday the mouse, Parsley the lion, and J. D. Polson the armadillo. In the early 1980s Bond also began publishing works for adults, most notably the “Monsieur Pamplemousse” mysteries. Bond was born January 13, 1926, in Newbury, Berkshire, England. He grew up in a home where he was surrounded by books, and he began to read at an early age. His mother enjoyed English mystery writers, but young Bond’s favorite books were Bulldog Drummond and The Swiss Family Robinson.

Unfortunately, Bond enjoyed reading at home more than he liked attending school. Though his family was Anglican, he went to a Catholic school, and feeling like an outsider, he often faked illnesses to avoid attending class.

Completing his schooling at the age of fourteen, Bond went to work in a lawyer’s office. Soon afterward, he responded to a newspaper job advertisement for radio work, won the position because he had handled radio sets as a hobby, and began his career at the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). One of his colleagues at the BBC supplemented his income by writing short stories. This coworker inspired Bond to attempt something creative, and he submitted a cartoon to Punch. It was rejected, but the editor had written favorable comments on it, so Bond was not discouraged.

Bond took time out during the 1940s to serve in the British Armed Forces, beginning with the Royal Air Force until airsickness forced him to transfer to the British Army. While serving in Egypt, Bond wrote an adult short story and submitted it to London Opinion. To his delight, it was accepted. From that time on, he continued to write and submit stories and plays, making occasional sales.

On Christmas Eve in 1957, Bond stopped in a London store to find a present for his wife. “On one of the shelves I came across a small bear looking, I thought, very sorry for himself as he was the only one who hadn’t been sold,” Bond recalled in Something about the Author Autobiography Series. “I bought him and because we were living near Paddington station at the time, we christened him Paddington. He sat on a shelf of our one-roomed apartment for a while, and then one day when I was sitting in front of my typewriter staring at a blank sheet of paper wondering what to write, I idly tapped out the words ‘Mr. and Mrs. Brown first met Paddington on a railway platform. In fact, that was how he came to have such an unusual name for a bear, for Paddington was the name of the station.’ It was a simple act, and in terms of deathless prose, not exactly earth shattering, but it was to change my life considerably. . . . Without intending it, I had become a children’s author.” A Bear Called Paddington was published in 1958.

Since his first appearance on the literary scene, Paddington has “become part of the folklore of childhood,” wrote Marcus Crouch in The Nesbit Tradition: The Children’s Novel in England 1945-70. The now-world-famous bear is recognized, despite his diverse representation at the hand of a variety of illustrators, by his unkempt appearance, Wellington boots, and duffel coat. A foreigner from Peru, Paddington exhibits both innocence and a knack for trouble. “The humour of Paddington is largely visual; it is not what he is but what he does and how he does it that is funny,” observed Crouch. In the New York Times Book Review, Ellen Lewis Buell cited the bear’s “endearing combination of bearishness and boyishness” as one reason for his popularity. According to Pico Iyer in the Village Voice, “Paddington is a resolute little fellow of strong principles and few prejudices, full of resourcefulness and free of rancor: both the bear next door and something of a role model.”

With sequels such as Paddington Helps Out, Paddington Abroad, and Paddington at Work, Bond has continued to add to his creation’s popularity. Eric Hudson wrote in Children’s Book Review that “one is immensely impressed by the way each collection of stories comes up so fresh and full of humorous and highly original situations.” Bond has also adapted his Paddington stories for even younger readers in a series of picture books that include Paddington Bear and Paddington at the Circus, and he has written several Paddington activity books, some with the assistance of his daughter, Karen Bond.

In the late 1960s Bond began experimenting with other children’s characters, such as Thursday the mouse and Parsley the lion. The latter was a feature of a stop-action animation show on the BBC television network in addition to being the subject of children’s books. Bond’s most successful children’s character, after Paddington, is perhaps Olga da Polga, the guinea pig he began writing about in the early 1970s. Though Olga is restricted to the hutch her owners keep her in, she entertains herself and her animal friends by telling imaginative stories. Horn Book contributor Virginia Haviland asserted that in Olga, Bond “has drawn another beguiling creature with a distinct personality—a guinea pig whose cleverness equals that of Paddington.” Olga is featured in books such as Tales of Olga da Polga, Olga Meets Her Match, and Olga Moves House.
In the early 1980s, Bond branched out into the field of adult mystery books with the “Monsieur Pamplemousse” books. The hero of these, Monsieur Pamplemousse, is a French food inspector who solves mysteries with the aid of his dog, Pommes Frites. For the works, Bond draws on his knowledge of France, a country he enjoys visiting frequently. Sybil Steinberg, writing in Publishers Weekly, noted, “Pamplemousse and his faithful hound are an appealing pair and offer an evening of civilized entertainment.”

Despite Bond’s varied literary output, he will always be remembered for the character of Paddington. “Most critics agree . . . that to think of Michael Bond is to think of Paddington Bear,” observed Dictionary of Literary Biography contributor Charles E. Matthews. And Bond enjoys his role as a children’s author. In Something about the Author Autobiography Series, he remarked: “One of the nice things about writing for children is their total acceptance of the fantastic. Give a child a stick and a patch of wet sand and it will draw the outline of a boat and accept it as such. I did learn though, that to make fantasy work you have to believe in it yourself. If an author doesn’t believe in his inventions and his characters nobody else will. Paddington to me is, and always has been, very much alive.”

Over the years, Paddington has become something of a cottage industry. Bond’s creation has been reproduced as a stuffed animal and as a float balloon in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, and his image has appeared on a British postage stamp. In 2000 a life-sized bronze statue of the bear was unveiled in Paddington Station in London, and the official Paddington Bear Web site debuted in 2003.

Reflecting on his characters and life as a writer, Bond mused in the Something about the Author Autobiography Series, “Writing is a lonely occupation, but it’s also a selfish one. When things get bad, as they do for everyone from time to time, writers are able to shut themselves away from it, peopling the world with their characters, making them behave the way they want them to behave, saying the things they want to hear. Sometimes they take over and stubbornly refuse to do what you tell them to do, but usually they are very good. Sometimes I am Paddington walking down Windsor Gardens en route to the Portobello Road to buy his morning supply of buns, but if I don’t fancy that I can always be Monsieur Pamplemousse, sitting outside a cafe enjoying the sunshine over a baguette split down the middle and filled with ham, and a glass of red wine. I wouldn’t wish for anything nicer.”

Biographical and Critical Sources
BOOKS
~ Blount, Margaret, Animal Land, Hutchinson (London, England), 1974.
~ Children’s Literature Review, Volume 1, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1976.
~ Crouch, Marcus, The Nesbit Tradition: The Children’s Novel in England, 1945-70, Benn (London, England), 1972.
~ Dictionary of Literary Biography, Volume 161: British Children’s Writers since 1960, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1996.
~ St. James Guide to Children’s Writers, 5th edition, St. James Press (Detroit, MI), 1999.
~ Something about the Author Autobiography Series, Volume 3, Gale (Detroit, MI), 1986.

PERIODICALS
~ Armchair Detective, summer, 1991.
~ Booklist, December 1, 1990; September 15, 1991; December 15, 1991; September 15, 1997, Carolyn Phelan, review of Paddington Bear and the Christmas Surprise, p. 239; April, 1998, Carolyn Phelan, review of Paddington Bear All Day and Paddington Bear Goes to Market, p. 1329; May 15, 1998, Carolyn Phelan, review of Paddington Bear and the Busy Bee Carnival, pp. 1629-1630; August, 1998, Shelle Rosenfeld, review of Paddington at Large, p. 2002; January 1, 1999, Carolyn Phelan, review of Paddington Bear, p. 886; April 15, 2002, Carolyn Phelan, review of Paddington Bear in the Garden, p. 1405.
~ Books and Bookmen, February, 1985.
~ Books for Keeps, March, 1991; January, 1992.
~ Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, November, 1973, p. 38; February, 1974, p. 90.
~ Children’s Book Review, February, 1971.
~ Christian Science Monitor, November 3, 1960; May 6, 1965; May 2, 1973.
~ Contemporary Review, November, 1971; January, 1984.
~ Horn Book, February, 1961, p. 53; October, 1961, p. 443; December, 1967, p. 748; April, 1973; June, 1973; June, 1980, p. 335.
~ Kirkus Reviews, December 1, 2001, review of Paddington Bear in the Garden, p. 1681.
Los Angeles Times Book Review, June 9, 1985.
~ New Yorker, December 4, 1971; December 1, 1975.
~ New York Times Book Review, August 27, 1961, p. 22; May 9, 1965, p. 24; November 9, 1969; March 1, 1987.
~ Observer (London, England), March 10, 1985.
~ Publishers Weekly, July 29, 1988; June 23, 1989; July 28, 1989; October 12, 1990, Sybil Steinberg, review of Monsieur Pamplemousse Investigates, p. 48; September 6, 1991, review of Monsieur Pamplemousse Rests His Case, p. 97; November 8, 1999, “Together for the First Time,” p. 70.
~ Saturday Review, November 9, 1968; April 17, 1971.
~ School Librarian, August, 1992.
~ School Library Journal, March, 1968, p. 127; December, 1973, p. 41; September, 1989; February, 1992; December, 1992.
~ Times Literary Supplement, November 24, 1966, p. 1087; November 12, 1970; October 22, 1971, p. 1333; November 3, 1972; December 6, 1974; October 1, 1976; September 30, 1983.
Village Voice, July 16, 1985.
~ Washington Post Book World, December 15, 1991.
~ Wilson Library Bulletin, January, 1974, p. 381.

ONLINE
Offıcial Paddington Bear Web Site, http://www.paddingtonbear.co.uk (January 11, 2005).*

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org and http://biography.jrank.org/pages/1131/Bond-Thomas-Michael-1926.html
Bookmark and Share

Posted in Children story, Fables, Funny Story, Moral story, Panchatantra, Varta, Writers | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

What is Panchatantra?

Posted by kathavarta on July 11, 2008

For more than two and a half millennia, the Panchatantra tales have regaled children and adults alike with a moral at the end of every story. Some believe that they are as old as the Rig Veda. There is also another story about these fables. According to it, these are stories Shiva told his consort Parvati. The present series is based on the Sanskrit original.

The Panchatantra (also spelled Pancatantra, in Sanskrit: ‘Five Principles’) or Kalileh o Demneh (in Persian: Anvar-e Soheyii (another title in Persian: ‘The Lights of Canopus‘) or Kalilag and Damnag (in Syriac) or Kalilah wa Dimnah (in Arabic: Kalila and Dimna (English, 2008) or The Fables of Bidpai (or Pilpai, in various European languages) or The Morall Philosophie of Doni (English, 1570) was originally a canonical collection of Sanskrit (Hindu) as well as Pali (Buddhist) animal fables in verse and prose. The original Sanskrit text, now long lost, and which some scholars believe was composed in the 3rd century BCE, is attributed to Vishnu Sharma. However, based as it is on older oral traditions, its antecedents among storytellers probably hark back to the origins of language and the subcontinent’s earliest social groupings of hunting and fishing folk gathered around campfires.

Origins and function
The work is an ancient and vigorous multicultural hybrid that to this day continues an erratic process of cross-border mutation and adaptation as modern writers and publishers struggle to fathom, simplify and re-brand its complex origins. It illustrates, for the benefit of princes who may succeed to a throne, the central Hindu principles of Raja Niti (political science) through an inter-woven series of colorful animal tales. These operate like a succession of Russian dolls, one narrative opening within another, sometimes three or four deep, and then unexpectedly snapping shut in irregular rhythms to sustain attention (Story within a story).

A king, worried that his three sons are without the wisdom to live in a world of wile and guile, asks a learned man called Vishnu Sharma to teach them the ways of the world.

Since his wards are dimwits, Vishnu Sharma decides to pass on wisdom to them in the form of stories. In these stories, he makes animals speak like human beings. Panchatantra is a collection of attractively told stories about the five ways that help the human being succeed in life. Pancha means five and Tantra means ways or strategies or principles. Addressed to the king’s children, the stories are primarily about statecraft and are popular throughout the world. The five strategies are:

(1) Mitra Bhedha (The Loss of Friends)
(2) Mitra Laabha (Gaining Friends)
(3) Suhrudbheda (Causing Dissension Between Friends)
(4) Vigraha (Separation)
(5) Sandhi (Union)

Early cross-cultural migrations
The Panchatantra approximated its current literary form within the 4th — 6th centuries CE. No Sanskrit texts before 1000 CE have survived. According to Indian tradition, it was written around 200 BCE by Pandit Vishnu Sharma, a sage. One of the most influential Sanskrit contributions to world literature, it was exported (probably both in oral and literary formats) north to Tibet and China and east to South East Asia by Buddhist monks on pilgrimage.

According to the Shahnameh (The Book of the Kings, Persia’s late 10th century national epic by Ferdowsi) the Panchatantra also migrated westwards, during the Sassanid reign of Nushirvan around 570 CE when his famous physician Borzuy translated it from Sanskrit into the middle Persian language of Pahlavi, transliterated for Europeans as Karirak ud Damanak or Kalile va Demne.

How two jackals (in Part One) branded this (five part) book

Karataka (’Horribly Howling’) and Damanaka (’Victor’) are the Sanskrit names of two jackals in the first section of the Panchatantra. They are retainers to a lion king and their lively adventures as well as the stories they and other characters tell one another make up roughly 45% of the book’s length. By the time the Sanskrit version has migrated several hundred years through Pahlavi into Arabic, the two jackals’ names have transmogrified into Kalila and Dimna, and — probably because of a combination of first-mover advantage, Dimna’s charming villainy and that dominant 45% bulk — their single part/section/chapter has become the generic, classical name for the whole book. It is possible, too, that the Sanskrit word ‘Panchatantra’ as a Hindu concept could find no easy equivalent in Zoroastrian Pahlavi.

Be that as it may, each distinct part of the book contains (as Professor Edgerton noted in 1924) “at least one story, and usually more, which are ‘emboxed’ in the main story, called the ‘frame-story’. Sometimes there is a double emboxment; another story is inserted in an ‘emboxed’ story. Moreover, the [whole] work begins with a brief introduction, which as in a frame all five . . . [parts] are regarded as ‘emboxed’”. Vishnu Sharma’s idea was that humans can assimilate more about their own habitually unflattering behavior if it is disguised in terms of entertainingly configured stories about supposedly less illustrious beasts than themselves.

Another observation that Professor Edgerton makes challenges our persistent assumption that animal fables function mainly as adjuncts to religious dogma, acting as indoctrination devices to condition the moral behaviour of small children and obedient adults. Not the Machiavellian Panchatantra: “Vishnu Sharma undertakes,” Edgerton notes, “to instruct three dull and ignorant princes in the principles of polity, by means of stories . . . .[This is] a textbook of artha, ‘worldly wisdom’, or niti, polity, which the Hindus regard as one of the three objects of human desire, the other being dharma, ‘religion or morally proper conduct’ and kama ‘love’ . . . . The so-called ‘morals’ of the stories have no bearing on morality; they are unmoral, and often immoral. They glorify shrewdness, practical wisdom, in the affairs of life, and especially of politics, of government.”

This realistic practicality explains why the original Sanskrit villain jackal, the decidedly jealous, sneaky and evil vizier-like Damanaka (’Victor’) is his frame-story’s winner, and not his goody-goody brother Karataka who is presumably left ‘Horribly Howling’ at the vile injustice of Part One’s final murderous events. In fact, in its steady migration westward the persistent theme of evil-triumphant in Kalila and Dimna, Part One frequently outraged Jewish, Christian and Muslim religious leaders — so much so, indeed, that ibn al-Muqaffa carefully inserts (no doubt hoping to pacifiy the powerful religious zealots of his own turbulent times) an entire extra chapter at the end of Part One of his Arabic masterpiece, putting Dimna in jail, on trial and eventually to death. So much for naughty jackals!

Needless to say there is no vestige of such dogmatic moralising in the collations that remain to us of the pre-Islamic original — The Panchatantra. Technically, from the perspective of a more subtle and flexible functionality, Joseph Jacobs in 1888[31] offers a less coercive interpretation of how the Panchatantra/Kalila and Dimna stories might work more effectively to modify human behaviour: … if one thinks of it, the very raison d’être of the Fable is to imply its moral without mentioning it.

In short the learning opportunity is interactive, voluntary, dynamic, reflective, open, frustrating and risky — compared to the simplified, fixed and often terrifyingly authoritative lessons delivered from priestly heights that briefly excite and amuse, then are soon forgotten, like electric shocks. In such circumstance (which is the norm) the human animal is conditioned to respond to the approved socialising, tagline ‘message’ of a local time-and-culture-bound ‘moral’, and prevented from glimpsing anything objective beyond it at an individual pace.

The Shah Nama, Chapter XXXI (iii):
How Borzuy brought the Kalila from Hindustan
Initially Borzuy sought his king’s permission to make a trip to Hindustan in search of a mountain herb he had read about that is “mingled into a compound and, when sprinkled over a corpse, it is immediately restored to life.” The Shah gave his permission, equipped Borzuy fully for the journey and handed over to him a number of gifts, together with a letter for the Rãy of India, whom he requested to assist the physician in his search. On his arrival in Hindustan he was received with high honor and granted all facility for his task, including a retinue of local physicians to guide him on his way.

But when Borzuy locates and prepares the miraculous mountain herb and sprinkles it over various corpses provided for his experiments, alas — the magic potion does not work. He is sore distressed at his failure and angry at the false information that has led him so far astray, not to mention the shame which will descend upon him when he returns empty-handed to Persia and faces his king’s displeasure. In desperation he asks the Indian physicians accompanying him what to do. Do they know anyone who can help him?

With one voice they replied: ‘There is an ancient sage here who surpasses us in years and wisdom and who in his science is superior to any of the great.’

They guided Borzuy to this man, whose mind was filled with contemplation and whose lips were ever ready for speech. Borzuy laid all his trials before him, speaking of the book which he had discovered and the words which he had heard from men expert in knowledge. When the ancient sage began to speak he discoursed on every branch of science.

‘Kalila is the herb you seek’

‘I too have found this thing in books,’ he said, ‘and have moved eagerly, led by the same hopes. When nothing came to light after my travails, I had perforce to listen to a different interpretation. The herb is the scientist; science is the mountain, everlastingly out of reach of the multitude. The corpse is the man without knowledge, for the uninstructed man is everywhere lifeless. Through knowledge man becomes revivified. Happy is he who submits himself steadfastly to labor. In the king’s treasury there is a book which the well-qualified call Kalila. When people become weary of their ignorance, the herb for them is Kalila, knowledge being the mountain. If you seek this book in the king’s treasury you will find it, and it will be your guide to knowledge.’

Borzuy rejoiced to hear this and all his past toil appeared in his eyes as empty wind. He blessed the sage and departed for the king’s court, and, traversing the road like fire, he arrived in the Rãy’s presence and lavished compliments upon him.

‘May you occupy your throne as long as India exists!’ he said. ‘Ray, you whose triumphs are widespread, there exists a certain book whose title in Hindu is Kalila. In your majesty’s treasury it is sealed as precious and it contains guidance mingled with discernment and wisdom. That herb is a metaphor for this Kalila, nought else. I beg that your majesty, lord of India, may bid your treasurer consign the book to me, if you will not hold that to be irksome.

The Ray’s spirit was rendered unhappy by this request and his body was agitated where he sat.

‘Borzuy,’ he said, ‘no one has ever sought this of me, either recently or in times past. Yet were the emperor Nushirvān to demand my body and soul I would not withhold them from him, nor anything else. I have not any person noble or humble here. But read it in my presence here, lest some malevolent person hostile to me should claim that the book was written by a mortal. Read, understand and investigate it from every point of view.’

The book’s cultural migration after Borzuy’s Pahlavi translation.

Borzuy’s 570 AD Pahlavi translation (Kalile va Demne) was translated nearly two centuries later into Syriac and Arabic — the latter by Ibn al-Muqaffa around 750 CE under the Arabic title, Kalila wa Dimma.

The Brethren of Purity and part 2 of the Kalila wa Dimna
Scholars aver that the second section of Ibn al-Muqaffa’s translation, illustrating the Sanskrit principle of Mitra Laabha (Gaining Friends), became the unifying basis for the Brethren of Purity — the anonymous 9th century CE Arab encyclopedists whose prodigious literary effort, Encyclopedia of the Brethren of Sincerity, codified Indian, Persian and Greek knowledge.

A suggestion made by Goldziher, and later written on by Philip K. Hitti in his History of the Arabs, proposes that:

“The appellation is presumably taken from the story of the ringdove in Kalilah wa-Dimnah in which it is related that a group of animals by acting as faithful friends (ikhwan al-safa) to one another escaped the snares of the hunter. The story concerns a ring-dove and its companions who have become entangled in the net of a hunter seeking birds. Together, they left themselves and the ensnaring net to a nearby rat, who is gracious enough to gnaw the birds free of the net; impressed by the rat’s altruistic deed, a crow becomes the rat’s friend. Soon a tortoise and gazelle also join the company of animals. After some time, the gazelle is trapped by another net; with the aid of the others and the good rat, the gazelle is soon freed, but the tortoise fails to leave swiftly enough and is himself captured by the hunter. In the final turn of events, the gazelle repays the tortoise by serving as a decoy and distracting the hunter while the rat and the others free the tortoise. After this, the animals are designated as the Ikwhan al-Safa.”

This story is mentioned as an exemplum when the Brethren speak of mutual aid in one rasa’il (treatise), a crucial part of their system of ethics that has been summarized thus:

“And their virtues, equally, are not the virtues of Islam, not so much righteousness and the due quittance of obligations, as mildness and gentleness towards all men, forgiveness, long-suffering, and compassion, the yielding up of self for others’ sake. In this Brotherhood, self is forgotten; all act by the help of each, all rely upon each for succour and advice, and if a Brother sees it will be good for another that he should sacrifice his life for him, he willingly gives it. No place is found in the Brotherhood for the vices of the outside world; envy, hatred, pride, avarice, hypocrisy, and deceit, do not fit into their scheme, — they only hinder the worship of truth.”

The crucial Abbasid classic by Ibn al-Muqaffa’
After the Muslim invasion of Persia (Iran) Ibn al-Muqaffa’s 750 CE Arabic version (by now two languages removed from its pre-Islamic Sanskrit original) emerges as the pivotal surviving text that enriches world literature.

From Arabic it was transmitted in 1080 to Greece and in 1252 into Spain (old Castilian, Calyla e Dymna) and thence to the rest of Europe. However it was the circa 1250 Hebrew translation attributed to Rabbi Joel that became the source (via a subsequent Latin version done by one John of Capua around 1270 CE, Directorium Humanae Vitae, or “Directory of Human Life”) of most European versions. Furthermore in 1121 a complete ‘modern’ Persian translation from Ibn al-Muqaffa’s version flows from the pen of Abu’l Ma’ali Nasr Allah Munshi.

It seems that any pre-Arabic or post-Arabic format the Kalila and Dimna animal fables take is relative. This loose collection is an oral and literary oddity that flows on, forward and yet also backward into the mists before anything was written down. One simply cannot pin these stories down like butterflies under glass in a tidy Victorian museum display drawer. They exist cross-culturally virtually in perpetual flux, like the 1001 Nights, adapting even now to current conditions to remain fresh and employable, freighting some vestige of an ancient message to new generations. They are alive as conduits of traditional wisdom, of a durable and vital survivalist psychology that requires no formal schooling or even, as remains true to vasts swaths of humanity, literacy.

Modern adaptions and difficulties in establishing a fixed attribution
Recently Ibn al-Muqaffa’s historical milieu itself, when composing his masterpiece in Baghdad during the bloody Abbasid overthrow of the Umayyad dynasty, has become the subject (and rather confusingly, also the title) of a gritty Shakespearean drama by the multicultural Kuwaiti playwright Sulayman Al-Bassam. Ibn al-Muqqafa’s biographical background serves as an illustrative metaphor for today’s escalating bloodthirstiness in Iraq — once again a historical vortex for clashing civilizations on a multiplicity of levels, including the obvious tribal, religious and political parallels.

Al-Bassam’s imaginative modern work entitled Kalila wa Dimna, while provocative and educational, is technically a misnomer. There is only one brief play-within-a-play tableau that genuflects towards the actual telling any of the animal fables found in the Arabic original. Understandably this contradictory nuance (where are al-Muqaffa’s classic fables?), obvious and even irritatingly puzzling to any literate Middle Easterner, appears to have been intellectualized away by some Eurocentric commentators. The English literary equivalent would be attending a play called Hard Times expecting to see something of the characters Grandgrind and Bounderby only to find yourself immersed in an imaginary biography of Charles Dickens and the social turmoil of his day, with only a three minute confrontational drawing-room scene alluding to a certain Mr Grandgrind and his part in the horrors of Victorian factory conditions and child labour.

Yet in the prevailing belief system of the Western post-modernist world, anything goes. Every expression achieves legitimacy. This tolerant climate is ideally suited to the book’s sui generis flexibility. Any attempt to re-brand the Panchatantra or Kalila and Dimna or The Fables of Bidpai for the utilitarian Western consciousness, while at the same time avoiding cultural chauvinism, proves elusive and fanciful.

The persistent trend, for more than a hundred years and often encouraged by scholars defending their fields of literary expertise, is to select and promote a single ancient ’source text’ as the ‘true classic material’, whether it be in Sanskrit, Syriac, Arabic or Persian, and ignore, even denigrate, the other three sources. Such behaviour can reach the extreme of one expert within a single language seemingly dismissing the contribution of another, as occurred in the 1990s when two English versions of the Panchatantra translated from separate Sanskrit manuscripts (both, incidentally, dated significantly after al-Muqaffa’s 750 AD Arabic version) were published independently as ‘classics’ of Indian Wisdom by (a) Penguin (1993) and (b) Oxford University Press (1997). To literate outsiders such prejudicing of texts can appear absurd, even deliberately confusing. “So which translated Sanskrit manuscript,” one might ask, “offers the true Panchatantra classic?” And the answer, entering the purest realm of literary quantum reality, must be “Both!”. And if we include the many Arabic, Syriac and Persian versions known under the various guises of Kalila and Dimna or Fables of Bidpai and the derivatives thereof, then we can immediately add a couple hundred more versions, all of them also ‘classics’, yet each with an individual treatment and arrangement in the voice of a different “singer of the song”, delivering the goods somewhere in the last 2000 years.

The regional difficulty, as the novelist Doris Lessing says at the start of her introduction to Ramsay Wood’s 1980 “retelling” of only the first two (Mitra Bhedha—The Loss of Friends & Mitra Laabha—Gaining Friends) of the five Panchatantra principles, is that “…. it is safe to say that most people in the West these days will not have heard of it, while they will certainly at the very least have heard of the Upanishads and the Vedas. Until comparatively recently, it was the other way around. Anyone with any claim to a literary education knew that the Fables of Bidpai or the Tales of Kalila and Dimna — these being the most commonly used titles with us — was a great Eastern classic. There were at least twenty English translations in the hundred years before 1888. Pondering on these facts leads to reflection on the fate of books, as chancy and unpredictable as that of people or nations.”

Ibn al-Muqaffa’s influence
Professor James Kritzeck, in his 1964 Anthology of Islamic Literature, confronts the book’s matrix of conundra:

“On the surface of the matter it may seem strange that the oldest work of Arabic prose which is regarded as a model of style is a translation from the Pahlavi (Middle Persian) of the Sanskrit work Panchatantra, or The Fables of Bidpai, by Ruzbih, a convert from Zoroastrianism, who took the name Abdullah ibn al-Muqaffa. It is not quite so strange, however, when one recalls that the Arabs had much preferred the poetic art and were at first suspicious of and untrained to appreciate, let alone imitate, current higher forms of prose literature in the lands they occupied.

Leaving aside the great skill of its translation (which was to serve as the basis for later translations into some forty languages), the work itself is far from primitive, having benefited already at that time 750 CE from a lengthy history of stylistic revision. Kalilah and Dimnah is in fact the patriarchal form of the Indic fable in which animals behave as humans — as distinct from the Aesopic fable in which they behave as animals. Its philosophical heroes through the initial interconnected episodes illustrating The Loss of Friends, the first Hindu principle of polity are the two jackals, Kalilah and Dimnah.

It seems unjust, in the light of posterity’s appreciation of his work, that Ibn al-Muqaffa was put to death after charges of heresy about 755 CE.

La Fontaine’s debt
The French fabulist Jean de La Fontaine famously acknowledged his indebtedness to the work in the introduction to his Second Fables:

“This is a second book of fables that I present to the public… I have to acknowledge that the greatest part is inspired from Pilpay, an Indian Sage”

Two links with Aesop
A strong similarity exists between two stories (’Ass in Panther’s Skin’ and ‘Ass without Heart and Ears’) in The Panchatantra and Aesop’s fables. Similar animal fables are found in most cultures of the world, although some folklorists view India as the prime source.
Bookmark and Share

Posted in Aesop Fable, Children story, Fables, Hindu story, Moral story, Panchatantra, Varta, Writers | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Who is Rohini Chowdhury?

Posted by kathavarta on June 27, 2008

ROHINI CHOWDHURY was born in Kolkata and educated at Loreto House, Jadavpur University, and IIM, Ahmedabad. She has written several books for children.

There is a wonderful website http://www.longlongtimeago.com run by her, showcases fables, folktales, fairytales, and myths that kids and even adults can enjoy. Also features books by Rohini Chowdhury.

She now lives behind a keyboard in London, with her one husband, two daughters, a herb garden and no pets.
Bookmark and Share

Posted in Writers | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

« Previous Entries