“There are four very great events in history, the siege of Troy, the life and crucifixion of Christ, the exile of Krishna in Brindavan and the colloquy with Arjuna on the field of Kurukshetra. The siege of Troy created Hellas, the exile in Brindavan created devotional religion (for before there was only meditation and worship), Christ from his cross humanised Europe, the colloquy at Kurukhetra will yet liberate humanity. Yet it is said that none of these four events ever happened." Sri Aurobindo
The first great event, our Master says, was the siege of Troy by Greeks that gave rise to the growth of Hellenic culture. This war was fought between the Greeks and Trojans with their allies, upon a Phrygian city of Troy (Ilium), on Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The war lasted ten years and it has been traditionally dated from 1194 to 1184 BC and narrated in the great Epics of Homer ( Illiad and Odyssey) wherein the gods and the earthly beings intermingled as if belonging to adjacent provinces and the episodes were interwoven with beings of earth, heaven and hell. Greece had very close commercial as well as cultural interaction with the eastern civilized world like Persia, Mesopotamia, India and Egypt, all of which were cradles of earliest human civilizations.
Rational thinking, scientific reasoning, materialistic perfection and aesthetic outlook of life were the major highlights of the Hellenic culture. Western thought is greatly dependent upon the theories of Greek philosopher-scientists like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Archimedes, Pythogoras. Worldly prosperity, fit and well maintained physique by practice of sports activities, freedom of expression and intellectual growth were very important for the ancient Greeks. The spiritual and material aspects were never separated. They never believed in escape from life but gave more importance for all rounded happiness and enjoyment of life here on earth. Unlike in the post Christian era where science and religion were two contradicting forces, in ancient Greece all scientists, theologians, philosophers, thinkers, artists, socio political leaders were respected with equal position.
Ancient Greece is considered by most historians to be the foundation of Western Civilization and it has been immensely influential on the language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, art and architecture of the modern world, particularly during the Renaissance in Western Europe and again during various neo-Classical revivals in 18th and 19th century Europe. It was only after the Renaissance from 15th century, which promoted the revival of ancient Greek thought and ideals, that Europe again woke up from its deep slumber of the dark middle ages when progress was completely stopped or retarded by the religious or monarchic controls. Both adventure and scientific temperament that resulted in the growth of Europe in the coming centuries occurred during this period of Renaissance of Hellenic intellectual spirit.
Sri Aurobindo mentions in ‘Human Cycle’ about Hellenic culture,
“The Hellenic mind largely dominated by a love of the play of reason for its own sake, but even more powerfully by a high sense of beauty, a clear aesthetic sensibility and a worship of the beautiful in every activity, in every creation, in thought, in art, in life, in religion. So strong was this sense that not only manners, but ethics were seen by it to a very remarkable extent in the light of its master idea of beauty; the good was to its instinct largely the becoming and the beautiful. In philosophy itself it succeeded in arriving at the conception of the Divine as Beauty, a truth which the metaphysician very readily misses and impoverishes his thought by missing it” ( Human cycle page 95)
Sri Aurobindo has summarized the evolutionary journey of animal man towards the divine man in the above statement of four great events that had triggered progressive changes in the history of mankind. Each again was an hour of God bringing down one aspect of the Divine Sachidananda and accordingly the Hellenic culture reached the peak of Beauty in its perfection making the Beauty aspect of “ ‘Wisdom, Strength, Harmony, Perfection’ wherein the Perfection is by Mahasaraswathi the Mother’s Power of Work and her spirit of Perfection and order.” The Mother by Sri Aurobindo.
.....to be continued.
- Sundari
The first great event, our Master says, was the siege of Troy by Greeks that gave rise to the growth of Hellenic culture. This war was fought between the Greeks and Trojans with their allies, upon a Phrygian city of Troy (Ilium), on Asia Minor (modern Turkey). The war lasted ten years and it has been traditionally dated from 1194 to 1184 BC and narrated in the great Epics of Homer ( Illiad and Odyssey) wherein the gods and the earthly beings intermingled as if belonging to adjacent provinces and the episodes were interwoven with beings of earth, heaven and hell. Greece had very close commercial as well as cultural interaction with the eastern civilized world like Persia, Mesopotamia, India and Egypt, all of which were cradles of earliest human civilizations.
Rational thinking, scientific reasoning, materialistic perfection and aesthetic outlook of life were the major highlights of the Hellenic culture. Western thought is greatly dependent upon the theories of Greek philosopher-scientists like Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Archimedes, Pythogoras. Worldly prosperity, fit and well maintained physique by practice of sports activities, freedom of expression and intellectual growth were very important for the ancient Greeks. The spiritual and material aspects were never separated. They never believed in escape from life but gave more importance for all rounded happiness and enjoyment of life here on earth. Unlike in the post Christian era where science and religion were two contradicting forces, in ancient Greece all scientists, theologians, philosophers, thinkers, artists, socio political leaders were respected with equal position.
Ancient Greece is considered by most historians to be the foundation of Western Civilization and it has been immensely influential on the language, politics, educational systems, philosophy, art and architecture of the modern world, particularly during the Renaissance in Western Europe and again during various neo-Classical revivals in 18th and 19th century Europe. It was only after the Renaissance from 15th century, which promoted the revival of ancient Greek thought and ideals, that Europe again woke up from its deep slumber of the dark middle ages when progress was completely stopped or retarded by the religious or monarchic controls. Both adventure and scientific temperament that resulted in the growth of Europe in the coming centuries occurred during this period of Renaissance of Hellenic intellectual spirit.
Sri Aurobindo mentions in ‘Human Cycle’ about Hellenic culture,
“The Hellenic mind largely dominated by a love of the play of reason for its own sake, but even more powerfully by a high sense of beauty, a clear aesthetic sensibility and a worship of the beautiful in every activity, in every creation, in thought, in art, in life, in religion. So strong was this sense that not only manners, but ethics were seen by it to a very remarkable extent in the light of its master idea of beauty; the good was to its instinct largely the becoming and the beautiful. In philosophy itself it succeeded in arriving at the conception of the Divine as Beauty, a truth which the metaphysician very readily misses and impoverishes his thought by missing it” ( Human cycle page 95)
Sri Aurobindo has summarized the evolutionary journey of animal man towards the divine man in the above statement of four great events that had triggered progressive changes in the history of mankind. Each again was an hour of God bringing down one aspect of the Divine Sachidananda and accordingly the Hellenic culture reached the peak of Beauty in its perfection making the Beauty aspect of “ ‘Wisdom, Strength, Harmony, Perfection’ wherein the Perfection is by Mahasaraswathi the Mother’s Power of Work and her spirit of Perfection and order.” The Mother by Sri Aurobindo.
.....to be continued.
- Sundari
No comments:
Post a Comment