Arab Arabia : Prior to the rise of Muhammad & the unification of the tribes of Arabia under Islam, Arabs followed a pre-Islamic Arab polytheism, lived as self-governing sedentary nomadic tribes that often raided neighbouring ones. Following the early Muslim conquests of the Arabian Peninsula, the region became unified & most of the tribes adopted Islam. Andre Wink: In 653-4 AD…a force of 6000 Arabs penetrated… [up] to the shrine of Zun in Gāndhāra (q.v.).… Slaves & beasts remained the principal booty of the raids, & these were sent to the caliphate court in a steady stream.” &re Wink describes that this aspiration to conquer India had existed since the time of the Prophet, as is evidenced by the sacred texts: In the hadith collections the prophet Muhammad himself is credited with the aspiration of conquering India. Participants in the holy war against al-Hind are promised to be saved from hell-fire. And the Kitāb al-Fitān (Book of Trials) credits Muhammad with saying that God will forgive the sins of the members of the Muslim army which will attack al-Hind, & give them victory. The plunder was also achieved by an ingenious system of leaving the prosperous population alone, so that they would continue to bring donations to the temples, & then the Muslims would loot these temples. In order to save their temple from destruction, many Hindu warriors refused to fight: An even greater part of the revenue of these rulers was derived from the gifts donated by pilgrims who came from all over Sind & Hind to the sun-temple at Multan. The possession of the sun-temple – rather than the mosque – is what in later times the geographers see as the reason why the local Muhammedan governors or rulers could hold out against the neighbouring Hindu powers. Whenever an ‘infidel king’ marched against Multan & the Muslims found it difficult to offer adequate resistance, they threatened to break the idol or mutilate it, & this, allegedly, made the enemy withdraw. In the late tenth century however the Ismailis who occupied Multan broke the idol into pieces & killed its priests. A new mosque was then erected on its site. R.C. Majumdar et al: Under the successors of Prophet Muhammad, called Khalifās or Caliphs, who led the Faithful from c.632, the arms of the Moslems advanced in all directions & the banner of Islam floated over many countries from Iran to Spain. From the beginning the Arabs had their eyes on the rich ports of Western India & the outlying parts of the north-west borderland. In c.637 an army was sent to Kanheri (Thana near Bombay). This was followed by expeditions to Bharuch, the Gulf of Debal (in Sindh), & Al-Kikan (the district round Kelāt). About the middle of the 7th century, the satrapy of Zaranj in southern Afghanistan fell into the hands of the Arabs. The turn of Makran in Baluchistan came next. The Arabs now made repeated onslaughts on the Shah of Kabul, supposed to be a descendant of the great Kanishka (q.v.), & the Ratbil of Zābulī in the upper valley of the Helmand River & some adjoining districts. The latter succumbed after a brave struggle (AD870). The Turkī Shāhīya kings of Kabul maintained a precarious existence till the closing of the 9th century when they were supplanted by Kallār, usually identified with Lalliya, the founder of the Hindu Shāhīya (Shaiva) dynasty of Udabhandapura (Waihand, Ohind or Und on the Sindhu). …. Meanwhile, the Arabs had followed up their success in Baluchistan by the conquest of Sindh. That province figures in the narrative of Bāṇa (q.v.) as one of the territories overrun by Prabhākarvardhana & his more famous son, Harsha (q.v.). In the days of Hiuen Tsang (AD 600-04) the throne was occupied by a Śūdra dynasty which gave way to a Brāhmaṇa family founded by Chach. Dāhar or Dāhir, son of Chach, was on the throne when al-Hajjaj, governor of Irāk, incensed at the action of certain pirates of Debal, sent several expeditions to Sindh. The earlier incursions were repulsed by Dāhir. Thereupon al-Hajjaj entrusted the work of punishing the Indian king of his nephew & son-in-law, Muhammad ibn-Kāsim. The young commander stormed Debal, captured Nerun & some other cities & strongholds, & pushed on to the western bank of the Sindhu. His work was greatly facilitated by the treachery of certain Buddhist priests & renegade chiefs who deserted their sovereign & joined the invader. With the assistance of these traitors, Muhammad crossed the vast sheet of Sindhu’s waters separating his army from that of Dahir & fell upon the Indian ruler near Raor (AD 712) [Rohri Aror in author’s map on p.176-77 in Op. Cit.]. Dahir offered a brave resistance, but was defeated & killed. The fort of Raor fell next after a heroic defence by the widowed queen. The invaders now pushed on the Bāhmanābād & Alor, which submitted. The turn of Multan came next. The whole of lower Sindhu valley was now dominated by the Arabs. But the invaders had no mind to stop there. Already in the time of Muhammad ibn-Kāsim minor operations were carried on in the neighbouring provinces. A later governor, Junaid or Junayd, pursued a more aggressive policy…. The immense wealth of Gujarat, due particularly to active commerce through the rich ports of Khambhāt, Surat, & Bharūch, drew upon itself (sic) hostile invasions. The Arab governor of Sindh & Multan sent expeditions which, according to Indian inscriptions, included Sindh, Cutch, Anārta (Kāṭhiāwād, west Gujarat) Saurāshtra (south Gujarat), Chavoṭaka (a Chāpa principality of Gujarat or western Rājputāna), a Maurya principality apparently in south Rājputāna or Mālwā, & the Gurjara territory apparently round Bhinmal or Bharūch. A feudatory Chālukya chieftain, belonging to a junior branch of the royal line [see Chālukyas] stationed in South Gujarat, distinguished himself in a struggle with the formidable Tājikas, who are identified with the Arabs of Sind. And the progress of the Arabs was stopped in south by the Chālukyas in the south, in the east by the Pratihāras (north-west Rajasthan), & in the north by the Karkotas (north-west India). The Hindus of the age lacked the invigorating & dynamic influence of the new motivation that was then moving vast hordes of Mohammedans in Western & Central Asia. [André Wink: quoted by Rajiv Malhotra in “How Gāndhāra became Qandahār”, Infinity Foundation; R.C. Majumdar et al, Advanced History of India: 168-9, 171-72, 405-06, 411-12; s/a D.I.H.: 59-60.]
... gave even less trouble and was completely in Arab hands by 642. Only the outbreak of civil war in Arabia slowed this first wave of conquest. It will be only after the foundation of the Ommiad dynasty that the entire Muslim world will again be united. Stability and prosperity made it then possible for the Arabs to undertake further conquest. By 750, the Arab empire was extended from the frontiers of... and be on their way to Spain. The explosion of the Arabian peninsula into the conquest and conversion of half the Mediterranean world is the most extraordinary phenomenon in medieval history. Arabia is the largest of all peninsulas, geologically a continuation of the Sahara, part of the sandy belt that runs through Persia to the Gobi desert. Arab means arid. Around some grassy oases, the sands... Pre-lslamic Arabia was a primitive kinship-structure of families united in clans and tribes. The Arab felt no duty or loyalty to any group larger than his tribe. Each tribe or clan was loosely ruled by a sheik chosen by its leaders from a family traditionally prominent through wealth, or wisdom or war. In spite of all this disunity certain strong ties bound them together. The desert Arab had his ...
... Even before his death, all Arabia had submitted to Mohammed; Arabia, that had never before obeyed one prince, suddenly exhibited a political unity and swore allegiance to the will of an absolute ruler. The great work of unity succeeded and at the time when Mohammed died, there prevailed over the greater part of Arabia, a peace such as the Arab tribes, with their love of plunder and revenge... all the tribes of Arabia. Of similar importance was the incorporation of the ancient Arab custom of pilgrimage to Mecca into the circle of the religious ordinances of Islam - a duty that was to be performed by every Muslim at least once in his lifetime. In order to appreciate the position in Medina after the Flight, it is important to remember the peculiar character of Arab society at that time... of idolatry, and the duty laid upon man of submission to the will of his Creator. These were the truths to which he claimed their allegiance. However, he faced a lot of resistance from the Arab tribes in Mecca. Mohammed fled from Mecca to Medina in 622 A.D. when he learned that the Qoreish tribe planned to take his life. The Muslim calendar begins on the day of this flight, known as the Hijra ...
... do in the world," said the Prophet. That is why his noble life was a simple one. Believing in his mission, he wanted to instruct the whole of Arabia. He did not care for luxuries: his heart was set on loftier thoughts. The following story from Arabia shows that to a healthy soul the simple life offers more happiness than any other. Maisun was a daughter of the tribe of Kalb; she had spent... Tales of all Times Tales of all Times Tales of all Times Words of Long Ago Six The Simple Life The Prophet Mohammed, who devoted his life to teaching the Arab people, cared not for ease or riches. One night he slept on a hard mat, and when he awoke his skin bore the marks of the knots and fibres of his bed. A friend said to him, "O Messenger of Allah... Brown garments of camel's hair are fairer in my eyes than the robes of a queen. The desert tent is lovelier to dwell in than the grand chambers of a palace. The young colts that run about the Arab camp are lovelier than the mules weighed down by their rich trappings. The voice of the watch-dog who barks at an approaching stranger sounds sweeter than the ivory horn of the palace-guard. Her ...
... honey-hiding mouth And passionate Arab girls and strong-limbed youth Of Tartar maidens for his harem doors. Page 156 For now not vainly the fair child implores Of Shaikh or of Emir his love for boon, But with high marriage-rites some prosperous moon At last has brought into the marble pride Of that great house for envy edified. So in Bagdad the Arabian dwelt nor seemed Other his life... Irremeable Ocean Canto XII–The Journey of the Land without Pity Epilogue–The Arabian and the Caliph Prologue Alnuman and the Peri In Bagdad by Euphrates, Asia's river, Euphrates that through deserts must deliver The voices which of human daybreaks are Into the dim mysterious surge afar, The Arabian dwelt; after long travel he. Regions deserted, wastes of silent sea, Wide Ocean ignorant... with summer, forth Page 147 The Arabian rode from great Bagdad and turned Into the desert. All around him burned The imprisoned spirit of fire; above his head The sky was like a tyranny outspread, The sun a fire in those heavens, and fire The sands beneath; the air burning desire And breathless, a plumb weight of flame; yet rode The Arabian unfeeling like a god. Three hours he rode ...
... something deeper 1 ARABIA Far arc the shades of Arabia Where the Princes ride at noon, 'Mid the verdurous vales and thickets, Under the ghost of a moon; And so dark is that vaulted purple Flowers in the forest rise And toss into blossom 'gainst the phantom stars Pale in the noonday skies. Sweet is the music of Arabia In my heart when... and gleaming and delicate. The sound-suggestions are perfect. I suppose it comes from some plane of intuitive inspiration." A Comparison between "Pharphar" and Walter De la Mare's "Arabia" 1 "It is indeed charming—De la Mare seems to have an unfailing beauty of language and rhythm and an inspired loveliness of fancy that is captivating. But still it is fancy, the mind playing... earth I see But shadowed with that dream recalls Her loveliness to me: Still eyes look coldly upon me, Cold voices whisper and say— "He is crazed with the spell of far Arabia, They have stolen his wits away." I am speaking—a spiritual state not hinted at or abstractly put as the metaphysical poets most often do it but presented with a tangible accuracy ...
... July 1967 issue of Mother India . On the typed sheet sent for approval, the Mother added the final sentence in her own hand. ) THE JEWS AND THE ARABS SOME ANSWERS BY THE MOTHER How is one to explain this age-old enmity between the Jews and the Arabs (although having a common ancestor), hating each other generation on generation up to the impasse in which we have been living from some days back... represent the two religions where the faith in God is the most extreme. Only, the faith of the Israelites is a faith in an impersonal God and faith of the Mussulmans is a faith in a personal God. The Arabs are passionate natures. They live almost exclusively in the vital, with its passions, its desires, while the Israelites live chiefly in the mind with a great power of organisation and of realisation ...
... system of medicine. It was from India that this science went to Greece and then to Arabia. Indian physicians used to go to Arabia. What Hippocrates and Galen speak of as the three humours is an Indian idea. India also discovered the use of the zero with mathematical notations. Astrology too went from India to Arabia. NIRODBARAN: At Calcutta, people are trying to found Ayurvedic schools. That will ...
... world seems to be engulfed in a sort of violent chaos. They're fighting at the Olympic Games!... An athlete was killed by bullets. 2 That's how it is. Yes, they killed an Israeli. Yes, the Arabs did it. These Muslims really have something which is... something that must disappear, Mother. They're so fanatical! They are very violent. Yes, fanatical. Very violent. I don't... Which means 11: 00 instead of 10: 30! × In fact, a dozen Israeli athletes were killed by Arab terrorists. ...
... search of work. She knocked at many doors, but they were all closed to her. She went on inquiring here and there and finally arrived at Ram Allah, where she presented herself at a boarding school for Arab girls. The headmistress was a Dutch lady who had been posted there by a Quaker association. She felt very sorry for Janina, whose qualifications were irrelevant here. "Do you know how to cook? how... serious. Though there was no need of a special attendant, Janina was appointed to this task. Later on, she helped in teaching and gardening and assisted the headmistress in solving the problems of the Arab girl students. As time passed in that foreign land, the friendship between the two deepened. Once, in Jerusalem, a lecture on Sri Aurobindo was delivered by a German clergyman (Heinz Kappers, who... school in Poland, but had never developed her talent, or only as much as was necessary for her teaching. Here, in Palestine, she began to paint water-colour landscapes. Work in the boarding school for Arab girls came to a stop at the end of the British Mandate in Palestine. As Janina was not a Jew, there was no reason for her to stay there and she decided to go back to Poland in February 1948. She worked ...
... pagan and peace-loving people of Arabia into a group of marauding conquerors. India with her powerful assimilative capacity had absorbed the earlier aggressions of the Greeks, the Sakas, the Kushanas and the Hunas; and it is certain that in normal circumstances, the culturally and temperamentally compassionate society of the Hindus would have absorbed the Arab and Turk invaders too after their... their conquest. But the new invaders - the Arabs and Turks themselves had been swallowed by the aggressive ideology of Islam. Consequently, the Muslims were always dreaming of reviving their empire in India. Their whole behaviour pattern has thus been dominated by this psychological attitude of reconquering India and converting it to Islam, something they failed to do in their earlier attempt. It may ...
... she went farther than any country before the modern era, and even Europe owes the beginning of her physical science to India as much as to Greece, although not directly but through the medium of the Arabs. And, even if she had only gone as far, that would have been sufficient proof of a strong intellectual life in an ancient culture. Especially in mathematics, astronomy and chemistry, the chief elements... one aspect, speak of it often as a land of metaphysics, philosophies, dreams and brooding imaginations, and certain artists and writers are apt to write in a strain as if it were a country of the Arabian Nights, a mere glitter of strange hues and fancies and marvels. But on the contrary India has been as much a home of serious and solid realities, of a firm grappling with the problems of thought and... rest of Europe! If an Indian were to set about the same task in the same spirit, he would no doubt similarly pour out an interminable list of Indian names with some great men of Europe and America, Arabia, Persia, China, Japan forming a brief tail to this large peninsular body. These exercises of the partial mentality have no value. And it is difficult to find out what measure of values Mr. Archer is ...
... does Spengler say about the future—after the decline of the West? PURANI: He dismisses China and India as countries whose cultures are useless now. SRI AUROBINDO: Then we have the Arabs. PURANI: Not even the Arabs. They are also effete. SRI AUROBINDO: Then the Africans remain, and the Abyssinians. PURANI: I think his hope is in the Americans and the Africans. SATYENDRA: But America goes... some universities in the south of France-for example, Montpelier which is a famous university there-they admit this vital force. This is because the south of France as well as Spain came much under Arab influence. The vital force theory may come back everywhere. At one time physical science claimed to explain everything according to its laws. Now they admit they can explain nothing. PURANI: The... in history and the action of these inrushes has been to change the destiny indicated by the physical forces; it has changed in fact the course of human history. Take for an example the rise of the Arabs, A small uncivilised race living in arid deserts suddenly rises up and changes completely the course of history. That is an inrush of forces. PURANI: Thinkers like Emerson and Shaw believe that human ...
... sentence, “the” appears to have been inadvertently omitted in the transcription before “first normal obstacle”. Nolini also agrees, but we must ask you about it. Put back the “the”. P.S. The Arab-Israeli statement of yours hasn’t still reached me. Three days ago I gave it to be typed for you! 10 July 1967 ...
... "had with him for many years an illustrated edition of the Arabian Nights which he had himself selected as a prize." Dinendra Kumar Roy, who was in Baroda for two years to help Sri Aurobindo improve his Bengali, recalls with enthusiasm the deluxe edition of the Arabian Nights. "Never before had I seen such a voluminous edition of the Arabian Nights, it was like a sixteen-volume Webster 1 And with i ...
... mind which always wants clean cuts. It is only a total vision both in time and space that can understand. 14 June 1967 How is one to explain this age-old enmity between the Jews and the Arabs (although having a common ancestor) hating each other, generation on generation up to the impasse in which we have been living from some days back? Perhaps the enmity exists only because they are... the two religions where the faith in God is the most extreme. Only, the faith of the Israelites is a faith in an impersonal God and the faith of the Mussulmans is a faith in a personal God. The Arabs have passionate natures. They live almost exclusively in the vital, with its passions, its desires, while the Israelites live chiefly in the mind with a greater power of organisation and of realisation ...
... incongruously in an Arab dream, Tlemcen's little station must have jarred on a sensitive traveller like Mirra, seeming as it did like a blunder transported from some Parisian suburb. But the town itself presented another picture. Situated at an altitude of 800 metres or so, in the foothills of pink cliffs rising sheer and forming its enchanting backdrop, Tlemcen was like an Arab song. Its bracing air... courtyard was surrounded by high walls set with ogival doors decorated with huge amphores. The waters in the square basin sang ceaselessly below the yard. The spring was reputed to be miraculous. The Arabs, who came and went freely on certain paths, stopped to bathe their feet in its water. A little beyond the top left of the park was the shrine of an ancient marabout, Sidi Boumedine. He had lived ...
... Dearest Mother, People who have read the recent letter written by you to Vishwa (Dr. Ponnou) tell me that it is a very enlightening one. It is about the religious consciousness of the Jews and the Arabs. I am told that there is nothing political in it nor anything personal to Vishwa. If you consider it publishable, will you kindly permit me to approach Vishwa to give me either a copy of it or let me ...
... Do you believe that what you think about it has the slightest importance? (2) One of the world-problems has been whether the existence of Israel would be firmly established or not. The Arab countries had sworn to exterminate Israel from Palestine. Now the Israel victory will call for a final acceptance of her existence by all and the assurance of a life-line for her in the Gulf of Aqaba ...
... seems, in Sri Aurobindo's words, that "Rudra still holds the world in the hollow of his hands." In this connection I would like to know what attitude one should keep with regard to this developing Arab-Israel war. Whether our thoughts should be on the Israeli side or otherwise. Or we should be indifferent to the victory of either if none incarnates the Divine in its fight. In any case, I am sure it ...
... itself there is evidence for at least five such floods, each lasting for several decades, even up to a century. Evidence has also been found of considerable rise in the coast-line of the Arabian Sea. Hence, there is no need at all to posit a horde of invading Aryans for demolishing imaginary dams where natural forces are found to be responsible. Chattopadhyaya also fails to notice that... 950 B.C. as the date of Asoka's accession. The next challenge is harmonising this with the wide-spread variety in traditions regarding Buddhist chronology (Ceylonese, Chinese, Tibetan, Arab, Puranic and the Milinda-panha and Rajatarangini). Sethna infallibly locates a sure guiding light to Page 339 steer clear of this welter of confusion: Buddha's... Another such major twisting of chronology which has been unquestioningly accepted by modern historians is exposed when Sethna examines Al-beruni's travelogue to show that Fleet misrepresented the Arab visitor's categorical description of the Gupta Era as celebrating the end of a dynasty that had come to be hated and not the beginning of the dynasty! A third misconception is that the earliest ...
... kinds of stories in the countryside, terrible stories," about Theon. He inspired fear and awe in the local Arabs. They were awed by his power which healed their sick almost immediately; no matter if three days or three months later the healed one fell sick again. The neighbour hood Arabs venerated him and, among themselves, called him 'the Marabout.' We can surely term her stay at Tlemcen... y occurrences which go outside the ordinary course of physical Nature," as Sri Aurobindo puts it, became everyday occurrences at Zarif. When the eight-legged table flung itself upon the unfortunate Arab merchant with nobody within touching distance, one could have perhaps called it magic. But the apport? When Mirra regularly found flowers on her bed in a locked room? Or when she regularly heard the ...
... the Muslims. "Violence and enmity ... When brothers hate each other, they do so much more intensely than others do. Sri Aurobindo said: 'Hatred denotes the possibility of a much greater love.' "The Arabs have a passionate nature. They live almost exclusively in the vital and its passions and desires, while the Israelites live mostly in the mind, with a great power of organization and realization, something... The action now looks to be similar. India is going on in the same old way, placating Pakistan and the Musulmans and Russians. "One sentence in the Mother's reply in connection with the Israeli-Arab war seems to me to be very ominous: 'This is not the conflict that will decide the future of our civilisation.' Does it mean that there will be another bigger conflict in which the present civilisation ...
... without further delay. These last two days my health has been better. I am no longer constantly tired as I was before. In the evening I take a walk alone in the vast dunes near Rameshwaram, it feels like Arabia, and no loudspeakers! You rest in a sort of tranquil infinity. ........ The monkeys stole my mirror while I was taking my bath, and after marveling at themselves in it at length, they broke it ...
... played the part [of a] demi-official organ of Sir Andrew Fraser's Government, that Sir Andrew "has not the remotest idea of laying down the reins of his office before time"—and like the old man in the Arabian Nights he will, in spite of the repeated snubs he has received from his official superiors, continue to embarrass us for two more years. It matters little who rules the province. The policy of the ...
... packet of pomegranate flower petals (The Divine's Love) attached to it. The inscription was in French. Later it was translated like this: Long ago, very long ago, in the desert land that is now Arabia, a divine being incarnated on earth to awaken it to the Supreme Love. As one would expect, he was persecuted by his assailants; he wished to die alone, quietly, so that his work might be accomplished; ...
... tapers to a point at Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin). The point is the meeting ground of three seas. It is washed by the Bay of Bengal from the east, and by the Arabian Sea from the west; mingling with them is the Indian Ocean. Bordering the Arabian Sea are the Malabar and Konkan coasts. The western coast extends from the Cape almost in a straight line towards the north up to the Gulf of Khambat, where... Nilgiris. The Deccan has a distinct slope towards the east. Most major rivers that rise Page 113 on the crest of the Western Ghats course down to the Bay of Bengal, and not to the Arabian Sea. From very ancient times, from the mouth of the Narmada to the mouth of the Ganges, there were well-known port towns studding the long coast lines of India. Among the ports on the Coromandel ...
... his parents. It would also be good to help a brother or a sister. But you will notice in the next story that a noble Arab spoke of a man as his brother, even though he was not really his brother. Page 277 A caravan was crossing the desert, and water ran short. The Arab travellers were compelled to measure out the water so that each may have a small and equal share. For measuring they... the heart of someone near. When Duryodhana fell, at once Nature grieved. When danger threatened his parents, Nandiya went out to protect them. When the man of Namir looked on in his thirst, the noble Arab chief immediately offered him his water. Sorrow quickly follows sorrow and joy goes with joy. When sympathy is slow to arise we do not value it so highly. The famous poet Firdausi wrote the ...
... utter delightfulness. Page 330 415—The Jew invented the God-fearing man; India the God-knower and God-lover. 416—The servant of God was born in Judaea, but he came to maturity among the Arabs. India's joy is in the servant-lover. 417—Perfect love casts out fear; but still keep thou some tender shadow and memory of the exile and it will make the perfection more perfect. 418—Thy soul ...
... The action now looks to be similar. India is going on in the same old way, placating Pakistan and the Mussulmans and Russians. One sentence in the Mother's reply in connection with the Israeli-Arab war seems to me to be very ominous: "This is not the conflict that will decide the future of our civilisation." 17 Does it mean that there will be another bigger conflict in which the present ...
... lines as 1 ARABIA Far are the shades of Arabia Where the Princes ride at noon, 'Mid the verdurous vales and thickets. Under the ghost of a moon; And so dark is that vaulted purple Flowers in the forest rise And toss into blossom 'gains the phantom stars Pale in the noonday skies Sweet is the music of Arabia In my heart when out of dreams... subtle and gleaming and delicate. The sound-suggestions are perfect. I suppose it comes from some plane of intuitive inspiration." A Comparison between "Pharphar" and Walter De la Mac's "Arabia" 1 "It is indeed charming—De la Mare seems to have an unfailing beauty of language and rhythm and an inspired loveliness of fancy that is captivating. But still it is fancy, the mind playing... beauty on earth I seeee But shadowed with that dream recalls Her loveliness to me: Still eyes look coldly upon me, Cold voices whisper and say— "He is crazed with the spell of far Arabia, They have stolen his wits away." Page 179 That would be an instance of the concrete convincing reality of which I am speaking—a spiritual state not hinted at or abstractly ...
... related the humorous episode of the tank which was much enjoyed by all. PURANI (after some time, smilingly): Have you read in the Sunday Hindu the article saying that there are Hindu tribes in Arabia? SRI AUROBINDO (laughing): Yes. It is like the Tamil Christ and the Madrasi Virgin Mary. SATYENDRA: What is that? SRI AUROBINDO: Oh, you don't know? A Tamil scholar discovered that Christ ...
... go to the extreme limit. In Palestine the British Government almost succeeded. in. crushing the terrorists. If they had persisted they could have put Nashishibi against the Mufti and ruled the Arabs by the Arabs. But they could not go on and have now called the Palestine Conference. If the Mufti is clever he will be able to get a good deal. In Ireland also the British came to a compromise. Even C ...
... 1967 ( At the beginning of this conversation, Mother expresses her strong displeasure that her so-called note on Arabs and Israelites was published in "Mother India" under the title "The Jews and the Arabs." Mother protests against the use of the word "Jew," which corresponds to only one Israelite tribe and has taken on a pejorative meaning. ) [See conversation ...
... For instance, in Palestine, the British Government have almost succeeded in crushing the terrorists. If they had persisted they could have easily put Nahashiby against the Mufti and rule the Arabs by the Arabs. But they could not go on and now they have called the Palestine Conference. If the Mufti is clever he will be able to get as much as possible, but not the whole of it. Disciple : What ...
... verdurous, magnificent. The population there is mainly Arabs and rich merchants; indeed, the city is very prosperous—it was , for I don't know what it is like now; I am speaking to you about Page 60 things that happened at the beginning of this century—there were very prosperous merchants there and from time to time these Arabs came to pay a visit to Monsieur X. They knew nothing, understood ...
... we turn to the Lord of the universe and to That which is beyond in a great aspiration towards the new Light. 31 October 1955 Kali Puja 1955 Long, long ago, in the dry land which is now Arabia, a divine being incarnated upon earth to awaken in it the supreme love. As expected it was persecuted by men, misunderstood, suspected, pursued. Mortally wounded by its assailants, it wanted to die ...
... civilisation and protected in that community with each other and in their diversity from others by favourable geographical circumstances. Thus Greece, Italy, Gaul, Egypt, China, Medo-Persia, India, Arabia, Israel, all began with a loose cultural and geographical aggregation which made them separate and distinct culture-units before they could become nation-units. Within that loose unity the tribe, clan... the governing State impelled by the military impulsion which had carried it so far attempted immediately to form by the same means a larger empire-aggregate. Assyria, Macedon, Rome, Persia, later on Arabia followed all the same tendency and the same cycle. The great invasion of Europe and Western Asia by the Gaelic race and the subsequent disunion and decline of Gaul were probably due to the same phenomenon... origination or self-regeneration; vitality could only be restored through the inrush of the vigorous barbarian world from the plains of Germany, the steppes beyond the Danube and the deserts of Arabia. Dissolution had to precede a movement of sounder construction. In the mediaeval period of nation-building, we see Nature mending this earlier error. When we speak indeed of the errors of Nature ...
... The Divine Love is the essence of Truth and cannot be affected by human confusions. Page 116 An Old Chaldean Legend 1 Long ago, very long ago, in the desert land that is now Arabia, a divine being incarnated on earth to awaken it to the Supreme Love. As one would expect, he was persecuted by men, misunderstood, suspected, hunted after. Mortally wounded by his assailants, he wished ...
... Page 262 When she too passed away, the authorities put up the property, which was in Madame Théon's name, to auction since there were no legal heirs. It was a very nice young Arab boy, who told Patrice that his maternal grandfather had bought the house in 1930. * * * 6 March 1988. "BUSHAOR! It's Bushaor!!" exclaimed in unison all the old men crowding around... inside his property. But he would be seen now and then, just like that, when he came down into town. We would see him walking; he had long hair, wore a beret, and also a great big costume. For us," the Arabs said, "only prophets dress in that fashion. So then ..." At any rate, it was one of the old men who kindly guided Patrice to Zarif. It was there that the latter met the young boy and his family ...
... assist. In Page 391 the teachings of Buddha, the speculation of Shankara, the poetry of Kalidasa their souls could find pasture and refreshment. The alien form and spirit of Japanese and Arabian poetry and of Chinese philosophy which prevented such an approximation with the rest of Asia, was not here to interfere with the comprehension of the human soul & substance. There was indeed a single ...
... Egypt — 5 A.M. It is still dark; then suddenly broad daylight. In the port are other vessels flying English and German flags. Our steamer is immediately besieged and surrounded by small boats in which Arabs gesticulate and shout. "Port Said has nothing attractive or impressive, and resembles a big toy for the Universal Exposition. The men are nothing special; the women, like lost souls, glide along... seems quite surprised at having come up amid this sea of sand. We pass big sailing boats of antique shapes, with long pointed sails listing gently and seeming to skim the water's surface, while the Arabs hoist or lower shorter sails. "A tiny train runs between a row of thin greenery and, with a trail of smoke, breaks the monotony of the horizon. Several big vessels stop to let us pass and the ...
... Being is eternal and universal and infinite and cannot be the sole property of the Mussulmans or of the Semitic religions only,—those that happened to be in a line from the Bible and to have Jewish or Arabian prophets for their founders. Hindus and Confucians and Taoists and all others have as much right to enter into relation with God and find the Truth in their own way. All religions have some truth in ...
... has conquered, as happened with the ancient invaders of India, or by the conversion of the conquered people to the religion of their rulers, as happened in Persia and other countries conquered by the Arabs. Even if no such general change of creed can be effected, yet the two religions may become habituated to each other and mutually tolerant, or the sentiment of a common interest and a common sonhood ...
... hillside, from, the plains all the way up to almost the middle of the mountain.... 7 and a rose garden that was “a work of art,” according to Themanlys, for "Aia” (as Theon had himself called by the Arabs; Aia Azis, "the Beloved," which is a little more amiable than "Supreme God" but hardly more reassuring) was also a gardener—as well as a painter, sculptor, carpenter and ironsmith; he did everything... sure about Scheherazade. But there were those terraced gardens. And a grand concert piano in the middle of the living room, with Theon himself standing there in his dark purple toga. There was also an Arab gong, which had the strange habit of resounding all by itself, whenever Theon looked at it somewhat seriously. I really saw all kinds of things there, Mother would tell us, and we can well believe... herself. It was simply a different knowledge and different laws that were at work. Sometimes, however, they indulged in rather dubious jokes, for instance, like the day when that somewhat limpet-like Arab merchant had planted himself in the dining room and would not budge. All of a sudden, I heard a scream—a terrified shriek. The table had started moving (a huge oak table), and with an almost heroic ...
... to serve. The arm is gradually "forgotten", while the "memory" of the highly sensitive hand and fingers lingers on. Since earliest times men have tried to alleviate pain. Hundreds of years ago, Arab doctors hit on the idea of anesthetizing a patient's arm by packing it in snow. And for at least 2500 years, Chinese acupuncturists have been inserting fine needles into the body at certain precise ...
... Fischer quotes several sources who state: “The Germans pursued in the Ukraine a precise economic and political goal. They wanted to keep permanent possession of the most secure way to Mesopotamia and Arabia, and to [the oilfields of] Baku and Persia, which they had won by their invasion of the Ukraine … [One policy maker] went so far to postulate that, ‘as long as England blocks Germany’s expansion toward ...
... civilisation of early Asia, flanks her on the right and has already arisen. The Mahomedan world, preserving the aggressive and militant civilisation of Islam, flanks her on the left and in Egypt, in Arabia, in Persia, is struggling to arise. In India the two civilisations meet, she is the link between them and must find the note of harmony which will reconcile them and recreate a common Asiatic civilisation ...
... of you all. With affectionate remembrance in the Mother's Truth and Love Huta On December 30th the Mother sent me a painted card depicting a white bird—the Phoenix, the mythical bird of Arabia—coming out of leaping flames. These elevating lines accompanied it: 30.12.55 Bonjour! My dear little child, I hope this day will be a good one for you with my love always near you ...
... military and local conditions, and as a result entered into alliances with individual rulers by clever diplomacy, as before his Indian campaign, or sent out voyages of exploration, as before the Arabian expedition. On the other hand he never advanced without having covered his rear. (...) When he made his first conquests in Asia, he began at once to secure the conquered territories from the military... for trade: the voyage of Nearchus connected his new colonial territory in India with Babylon; he himself intended shortly before his death to connect Babylon with Egypt by an expedition by sea around Arabia; he rendered the Tigris navigable, and a "new Phoenicia" was designed on the coast of the Persian gulf; great harbour works were begun in Pattala and Babylon for the pro- motion of navigation and trade ...
... person only who, using such teeth, had yet the fiery spirit of a hundred-fanged dragon. It was an Arab chief, a Sheikh of the desert, who had joined hands with T.E. Lawrence when this Arabianised English-man rallied the Bedouins against the Germans and their allies the Turks in the First World War. That Arab chief was so angry with the Germans that, when he remembered that the false teeth which he had ...
... refer to Persia, the old Persia that has a glorious story to tell for more than a thousand years (from Cyrus to the last of the Sassanides) ending or suffering a sea-change with the advent of the Arabs. The Arabs themselves and also the Hebrews were likewise long-lived peoples, although both of them have this especial characteristic that theirs is not a land-locked civilisation, that is to say, they were ...
... possession of Europe's discovery and corrects its exaggerations, its aberrations by the intuition, the spiritual light she alone can turn upon the world. When Greek and Roman had exhausted themselves, the Arab went out from his desert to take up their unfinished task, revivify the civilisation of the old world and impart the profounder impulses of Asia to the pursuit of knowledge. Asia has always initiated ...
... of conquerors coming from the outside and establishing regimes of long or short durations in this country - the Iranians, the Greeks, the Parthians, the Scythians, the Kushans, the Huns, the Arabs, the Turks, the Mughals, the Portuguese, the Persians, the Dutch, the French, and the British. The scenario had been given a finishing touch by converting the authors of India's earliest civilization ...
... only 10% is so covered. The flora and fauna of the Pleistocene began to resemble those of today. Among the significant mammals that evolved during the Pleistocene were humans. 2 Now called the Arabian Sea. Page 96 as the lost civilization of Atlantis. But they were no longer living. The civilization that developed along the banks of the Saraswati had something different in... Ganga and Narmada, of Godavari and Krishna, of Kaveri and Tamra-parni.... From the Himalayan peaks to Dakshina Jalanidhi (Indian Ocean), from Purva Sagar (Bay of Bengal) to Pashchima Payodhi (the Arabian Sea), India's air filled with a strange aroma. Swami Vivekananda of our own times put it so well. "India," he said, "shall rise only through a renewal and restoration of that highest spiritual con ...
... Aesop, 21 Agastya, 74 Agni, 133, 138-40, 144 Ajdeb, 277 Algeria , 12 Amrita, 38, 192, 194 Andamans, the, II Androgyne, 296-7 Anu, 71n Arabia (L'Arabie), 1I8 Arcturus, 297 Arjuna, 38, 68, 112 Asura, 148,272 Aswins, the, 144 Ashram (Sri Aurobindo), Iin., 63, 70-1 BACH, Richard ...
... troops will be sent to Saigon, they say. SRI AUROBINDO: Added to these fifty thousand they can raise another fifty thousand in Africa, and the same from the Senegalese and about one million from the Arabs. The difficulty will be getting equipment. It is as in India. India has man-power but that is all. Mittelhauser said to America that what is required are aeroplanes and other machines. NIRODBARAN: ...
... John's Gospel: "I and my Father are one." Richard Burton, the famous nine- teenth-century translator of the unexpurgated Arabian Nights which he entitled A Thousand Nights and a Night, a version Sri Aurobindo intensely admired, wrote a long poem called The Kasidah with an Arabian atmosphere. Among the lines I remember from it are these two: "I am the truth, I am the truth," we hear the God-drunk ...
... led by Dr. S.R. Rao and sponsored by the Union Department of Science and Technology, has claimed more discoveries connected with the legendary Dwaraka site during the underwater excavation in the Arabian Sea in April [1986]... "Dr. Rao said... that the expedition found the remains of a temple, a stone-built jetty and perforated stone anchors. This led the expedition to conclude that Dwaraka was ...
... Tales of all Times Tales of all Times Tales of all Times Words of Long Ago Four Self-reliance Hatim Tai had a great reputation among the Arabs of old for the lavishness of his gifts and alms. "Have you ever met anyone more excellent than yourself?" his friends once asked him. "Yes," replied Hatim Tai. "Who was he?" "One day I had forty camels ...
... but that most unexpected symbol of his country — the mango! In the world of fruits the mango is as essentially Indian as olives are Greek, grapes French, figs Spanish, oranges Maltese and dates Arabian. Even more so — since it is a stauncher nationalist than any of them inasmuch as it has refused to thrive to any marked degree in a non-Indian soil, although Burma, Ceylon, Egypt, Brazil and the U ...
... SRI AUROBINDO: Yes. The Muslims will call in somebody and the Socialists somebody else. The Muslims may call in Mussolini because he proclaims himself defender of Islam. But he has removed half the Arabs from Tripoli and replaced them by Italians. India must get into the habit of freedom for about twenty or thirty years and then prepare for independence. To my mind the best thing is to have Dominion ...
... preserved for us scattered instances of this travail, instances of failure and success which are full of instruction. We see the struggle towards the aggregation of tribes among the Semitic nations, Jew and Arab, surmounted in the one after a scission into two kingdoms which remained a permanent source of weakness to the Jewish nation, overcome only temporarily in the other by the sudden unifying force of Islam ...
... Karl May, fertile writer of some seventy adventure stories for the youth. “Adi” (Hitler’s pet name) had also liked Don Quichote , Robinson Crusoe, Gulliver’s Travels, Uncle Tom’s Cabin and The Arabian Nights , but May remained his favourite author even in adulthood. “Hitler’s cult of May weathered time unscathed. It is said that even when Chancellor of the Reich he took the time to read May’s complete ...
... how Omar Pasha Lufte was the chief culprit, and how the gendarmerie and the police had deliberately purchased beforehand and distributed a large quantity of naboots or lathis to the lowest class of Arabs and Bedouins. The evidence of unofficial and disinterested eyewitnesses has been also recorded to show that knives and bayonets which the police had supplied were the instruments by which people were ...
... wrapped in gold-trimmed saris and jewels as they entered the palace. Tehmi said the streets were sometimes filled with parades of camels and that the Nawab (Begum’s son) had a stable of beautiful Arabian horses that were also often paraded through the streets during times of pageantry and festivals. Tehmi went to Queen Mary School in Bombay and was finely trained in the arts, academics and gymnastics... ns fled Persia in search of religious freedom and came to the Udwada section of Gujarat in India. They brought burning lamps with them from their temples in Persia on their ships that crossed the Arabian Sea. The ruler of Gujarat welcomed them and gave them religious refuge there. They promised to live as his own people. One of the Zoroastrian High Priests asked for a cup of milk that he then mixed ...
... long face when carrying out a task exactly. And to prove it to you, we shall end this lesson on order with a little laughter. Listen to this example of punctuality, which should not be copied. An Arab lady had a servant. She sent him to a neighbour's house to fetch some embers to light her fire. The servant met a caravan going towards Egypt. He began talking with the men and decided to go with ...
... typical example of this experiment. Next, there was what can be called the racial line. Many attempts have been made in this direction, but nothing very successful has taken shape. Pan-Slavism, Pan-Arabism, Pan-Jewry are some of the expressions of this movement. It has the fatal fault of a basis that is uncertain and doubtful: for a pure race is a myth and in modern conditions the cry must necessarily ...
... typical example of this experiment. Next, there was, what can be called, the racial line. Many attempts have been made in this direction, but nothing very successful has taken shape. Pan-Slavism, Pan-Arabism, Pan-Jewry are some of the expressions of this movement. It has the fatal fault of a basis that is uncertain and doubtful: for a pure race is a myth and in modern conditions the cry must necessarily ...
... military that directly consumes a very large portion of its budget after debt payments. The military has gained strength by opportunistically aligning itself with the United States, China and Saudi Arabia. It has directly ruled the country for most of its history and has cultivated relations with the fundamentalist Islamist clergy to strengthen its hold. In fact, the military is a bastion of Islamists ...
... are expressly informed that Paul did not "go up to Jerusalem" but "went off to Arabia at once" . The mention of going "straight back from there to Damascus" does imply that Damascus figures in the "crucial event": still, it is as if it took place in this city itself where he was staying before going off to Arabia and not on the road to Damascus. The road, however, is not quite ruled... might preach the Good News about him to the pagans. I did not stop to discuss this with any human being, nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were already apostles before me, but I went off to Arabia at once and later went straight back from there to Damascus. Even when after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas [Peter] and stayed with him for fifteen days, I did not see any of the ...
... with me, I am your friend for ever." This boy had controlled his anger as Caliph Hussein had done. But there are many other things that also need to be bridled. Page 175 The Arabian poet, Al Kosai, lived in the desert. One day he came across a fine Naba tree and from its branches he made a bow and some arrows. At nightfall he set out to hunt wild asses. Soon he heard the hoof-beats ...
... events), Shooting (11 events). Swimming (34 events), Table Tennis (7 events) Tennis (7 events) Volley ball (2 events) Weightlifting (10 categories), Wrestling (10 categories), Yachting (4 events in the Arabian Sea and Bombay) 10th Asian Games: 1986 Seoul (South Korea) 1st Asian Winter Games: 1986 Sapporo (Japan) As the Asiad gained recognition as the Olympic of Asia, the desire to develop... Bangladesh, China, Chinese Taipei, Page 324 Honking, India, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, North Korea, Oman, Pakistan, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Syria, Thailand.) 2nd Asian Winter Games: 1990 Sapporo (Japan) Due to various difficulties, India had to renounce the privilege of hosting the 2nd Winter ...
... She acquired fame by her magnificent terrace temple at Deir-el-Bahri and by her Obelisks at Thebes, the expenses of which were partly met by the treasure-hunting expeditions which she sent to South Arabia. The long military inactivity of her reign, during which state affairs were in the hands of her partisans, shook Egyptian power in Asia. In 1841 her tomb was discovered on a cliff behind the valley ...
... enter the room? You take a key and open the door! You must find the key. Or you sit down in front of the door until you have found the word, the idea or the force which opens it―as in the Arabian Nights tales. It is not a joke, it is very serious. You must sit down in front of the door and then concentrate until you have found the key or the word or the power to open it. If one doesn't ...
... greater chance of bringing about a happier solution for the nation too, and not the other way round. The more significant urge today is towards this greater aggregation—Pan-America, Pan-Russia, Pan-Arabia, a Western European Block and an Eastern European Block are movements that have been thrown up because of a greater necessity in human life and its evolution. Man's stupidity, his failure to grasp ...
... Italians have exterminated half the native people in Libya? Whatever independence England has given the Egyptians, they will lose if Italy comes there. Are they so foolish as not to know that? The Arabs know the Italians very well. Hence they are completely supporting Britain though they were fighting with her before. ...
... greater chance of bringing about a happier solution for the nation too, and not the other way round. The more significant urge today is towards this greater aggregation – Pan-America, Pan-Russia, Pan-Arabia, a Western European Block and an Eastern European Block are movements that have been thrown up because of 'a greater necessity in human life and its evolution. Man's stupidity, his failure to grasp ...
... Aurobindo said one evening to his disciples. "Her father, King Revat, wanted to get her married and wished to consult Brahma, the Creator, about it." King Revat was the king of Kushasthali on the Arabian Sea; it is over its ruins that in another age Krishna built his Dwaraka. Revat lived in Treta Yuga when men mingled freely with gods. Princess Revati accompanied her father. "So he went to the Brahmaloka ...
... again Sri Aurobindo made a speech. On the 23 rd the train reached Bombay. This was the terminus. Everyone got down. Another train would take the party to Surat. On Bombay's beach, lapped by the Arabian sea, a meeting was arranged to be addressed by Sri Aurobindo. "We could hardly walk to the place through the living streams converging by the streets and lanes towards the chosen spot, automatically ...
... quite a lot from those 1The History and Culture of the Indian Peofjle, vol. Ill, the Classical Age (Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan). I have often wondered why we always quote Chinese or Arab travellers for the records of Indian history. Then I remembered that the Muslim invaders had laid waste the renowned Nalanda and Taxila universities and others. Their well-stocked libraries were burnt ...
... the entire fleet, _______ 1 Adversity: distress; affliction; hardship. 2 Laconically: (of a person's speech) using very few words. Page 73 would explore the sea route from the Arabian Sea to the Persian Gulf. As for Alexander, he had decided to reach Pasargadae and Persepolis by passing through Ramballa, Poura and Hormuz, that is to say following the Southern road, the closest ...
... began in the eighth century. In the eighth century A.D., there began a series of invasions, which had a profound and lasting effect on India. These were the invasions of the Muslims, first through the Arabian Sea into Sind and later, by the Turks through the passes on the northwest of India. These invasions came through the northwestern passes, the Khyber Pass and the Bolan Pass. This was the beginning ...
... civilised than the Negroes? Have you read Phanindra Bose's book on the Santals? He says that the Santals are not at all inferior to other classes of people in the matter of ethics. So also with the Arabian races. Wilfred Scawen Blunt praised them highly as a very sympathetic and honest people. Do you think the average man today is better than a Greek of 2500 years ago—or than an Indian of that time? ...
... Divinity who is veiled in the fire and the cloud, Jehovah on Sinai, Allah speaking through his angels. Mahomed, as we know, only developed the existing social, religious and administrative customs of the Arab people into a new system dictated to him often in a state of trance, in which he passed from his conscient into his superconscient self, by the Divinity to his secret intuitive mind. All that may be ...
... an impression.... He never said who he really was, or where he was born, or his age. Nothing." All about him was shrouded in mystery. Even his name. "He had two assumed names. He had adopted an Arab name when he took refuge in Algeria — I don't know for what reason —after having worked with Blavatsky and founded an occult society in Egypt. After that he came to Algeria; and there he was first called ...
... factor. Here is a piece of land cut off from the rest by the Himalayas on the north east, the Hindukush on the north west; in the south are the three big seas — the Bay of Bengal on the south east, the Arabian Sea on the south west and the Indian Ocean on the south. It is as if Nature herself had marked out this piece of land as a distinct unit and a separate entity. India is the name given to the... India as being "constituted with a four-fold conformation" (chatuh samasthana samsthitam). On three sides, the South, West and East are the three great seas, the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea and the Bay of Bengal; while the Himavat range stretches along its north like the string of a bow". The name Himavat in the above passage refers not only to the snow capped ranges of the Himalayas... Jhelum, Chenab, Ravi, Beas, and Sutlej —that give Punjab (the food bowl of India) its name as the "land of five rivers," join it. It is this very same river that flows into Pakistan and then into the Arabian Sea. However, much of the myth and sentiment attached to India is related with the Ganges. The gushing waters of the Ganges are at once peaceful and tumultuous. Nature's glory and ...
... king and government elected by the people, but promises to establish an indigenous government subservient to the European Page 676 interest and its mandate. England offers Mesopotamia an Arab government saddled with an Anglo-Indian administration and the moral and material benefits of the exploitation of the oil of Mosul; meanwhile she is fighting the insurgent population in order to force... Russia is in alliance with or sovietises and controls the policy of the existing independent states of central Asia, casts a ferment into Persia and lends whatever moral support it can to the Turk or the Arab. This tendency may have in itself little meaning beyond the sympathy created by reaction against a common pressure. Page 677 The result was a disparateness between the highest inner Forces ...
... new lease of life and a great dynamic impulse. Of the Mahomedan races, not a single one is decadent. Persia rises from her weakness full of youthful enthusiasm and courage though not yet of capacity. Arabia in her deserts surges with life. Egypt after her calamities is undergoing new birth; as far as Morocco the stir of life is seen. And today Turkey, the sick man, has suddenly risen up vigorous and whole ...
... centuries all trade between the East and the West. But canons placed aboard ships enabled European vessels to dominate foreign waters—an advantage fully exploited in the game of overseas expansion. Arab maritime powers were greatly curbed, and the Europeans had only themselves to contend with. The Europeans had also embraced a strange religion. Christianity. As happens with 'religions' Christianity ...
... published in the Sri Aurobindo Mandir Annual , as well as separately. The source of the plot of The Viziers of Bassora is "Nur al-Din Ali and the Damsel Anis al-Jalis", a story told in the Arabian Nights (thirty-fourth to thirty-eighth nights). Sri Aurobindo owned in Baroda a multi-volume edition of Richard Burton's translation of the Arabic text (London, 1894), which he considered "as much ...
... Mooltan weighed anchor on the morning of 15 February 1870. Steaming south in the Bay of Bengal, the ship's ports of call were Madras on India's Coromandel coast, Galle in Ceylon; then crossing the Arabian Sea she made a halt at Aden, in Persia; there they witnessed the "gigantic steamer, the wonder of the age," the Great Eastern laying the Anglo-Indian telegraph cable. The Mooltan then passed through ...
... itself is built in a valley encompassed by a circle of mountains, not very high but higher than hills all the same. The valley is fertile, green, superb. The population over there consists mainly of Arabs and rich merchants, in any case the town is very — it was, I don't know what it's like now [in 1957], I am speaking to you of things that happened at the beginning of the century; very prosperous ...
... The quiet beauty and rhythm of Nature permeate the limbs if one lives in close proximity to Nature. We in our country had, no doubt, the advantage of forests. But even in other countries like Arabia or Egypt which had no forests but only desert tracts with their wide stretches of bare sand, the same method was followed. There the seekers and the saints and mystics lived in the heart of the desert ...
... March 1980). Satprem told me that it is quite likely that both the Barons were descended from an ancient family from Nantes in Western France. Page 148 wherever the Europeans (and the Arabs) went. It is interesting to hear Sri Aurobindo. "In India the institution of slavery was practically absent and the woman had at first a freer and more dignified position than in Greece and Rome; but ...
... soul? Well, it means reincarnation; the soul, whatever that may be, had got out of one case of flesh and is now getting into another case of flesh. It sounds simple,—let us say, like the Djinn of the Arabian tale expanding out of and again compressing himself into his bottle or perhaps as a pillow is lugged out of one pillowcase and thrust into another. Or the soul fashions for itself a body Page 270 ...
... servant." Here is the second story. One day the Prophet was at a meeting-place where many people were gathered, and there was not much room to sit. So he sat with his legs folded under him. An Arab of the desert was present, and knowing that Mohammed was a great leader of men, he was surprised that the Prophet was not seated like a lord upon a throne. "Is this the way to sit?" he scoffed. ...
... the leader of Israel, who demanded from the Pharaoh of Egypt the freedom of the oppressed Jewish people. Such was the courage of Mohammed, the Prophet, who imparted his religious thought to the Arabs, and who refused to be silenced even though they threatened him with death. Such was the courage of Siddhartha, the Blessed One, who taught the people of India a new and noble path, and was not terrified ...
... gold A wave disguised in moonlight seemed, Whose every curve and curious fold With opal facets gleamed. Her nestling mass of rounded curls Were soft as velvet cloths, Once fingered by Arabian girls Or piled in Syrian booths. She was an ebon-framèd lyre Where wind-waked murmurs dance, A tinted statue of Desire In studios of Romance. Her glowing cheeks just ripe with youth ...
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