Between Asgard and the Western ParadiseBetween Asgard and the Western ParadiseBetween Asgard and the Western ParadiseBetween Asgard and the Western ParadiseBetween Asgard and the Western Paradise
Traditions, Culture, Spirituality, and more…
Traditions, Culture, Spirituality, and more…Traditions, Culture, Spirituality, and more…Traditions, Culture, Spirituality, and more…Traditions, Culture, Spirituality, and more…Traditions, Culture, Spirituality, and more…
The early Hebrew religion, which no doubt inherited some of the Aryan tradition through Zoroastrianism, employed a concept of fighting in the name of God. The Torah (Tawrat) recounts many instances of war under the auspices of God, and the act of a just war was seen as an act of pure faith, fearlessness, and trust in God. Islam grew from the same Abrahamic lineage as the religion of the ancient Hebrews, and in recent years is the religion most associated with jihad, which is erronerously transated as ’holy war’ by many sources.
The inner meaning of jihad is “struggle”: to struggle against unrighteousness, atheism, and shirk. In the historical context of early Islam, jihad grew out of the need for the early Muslim community, the Ummah, to defend itself from persecution against hostile, pagan Arabs. Again, this was not simply a political or military struggle, but rather a defensive war to safeguard the access for believers to a way outside that of the visible world. While the fruits of warfare ultimately resulted in the formation of a Muslim state, the ultimate purpose of the earliest jihad is true to its inner meaning of “striving in the Path of Allah” (which is thus linked in concept to the Zoroastrian aša and its Sanskrit cognate rtá). In other words, as with the Hindu kśatriyas, the goal of the mujahid was to be an intermediary of servant of a higher authority, and not to fight for personal gain. This is very clear in when the Quran says “let there be no hostility except to those who practice oppression” (Quran 2:118). Moreover, an echo of Krishna’s reminder of moral duties is echoed as well in the Qu’ran:
Do ye think thou shalt enter the Garden of Bliss without such trials as those who passed away before you? Fighting is prescribed for you and ye dislike it. But it is possible that ye dislike a thing which is good for you, and that ye love a thing which is bad for you. But God knoweth, and ye know not (Quran 2:214,216)
According to one Hadith, Abdullah bin Abu Aufaa reported: The messenger of Allah (pbuh) said: “And know that paradise is beneath the protection of the swords” (Bukhari 56:22). In the absence of a doctrine of reincarnation, this is remarkable since it echoes Krishna’s earlier advice to overcome the power of death.
Furthermore, when discussing jihad, the Sunni tradition tells us that, there exists a “jihad of the heart” (jihad al-kalb), a jihad regarded as being greater (jihad al-akbar) than a jihad of the sword. The “greater holy war” is man’s struggle against the enemies he carries within. More exactly, it is the struggle of man’s higher principle against everything that is merely human in him, against his inferior nature and against chaotic impulses and all sorts of material attachments. According to Evola, the two holy wars “mirrors the relationship between the soul and the body…the ‘little holy war,’ or external one becomes almost a ritual action that expresses and gives witness to the reality of the first” (118). Thus, the act of jihad becomes synonymous with (to use Confucian terminology) proper ritual (li), merely a portion of the procession of the Universe.
Yesterday, I went to the National Museum of History (國立歷史博物館) here in Taipei with my uncle to see some paintings by the French painter Jean-François Millet and his contemporaries. Since you can see those paintings in the Musée d’Orsay in France, I won’t be writing about those today. Instead, I’ll be bringing you a short segment on early ‘coffee culture’ in Taiwan. Originally, I had planned to write my second installment regarding Jihad in various traditions, and we’ll return to this regularly scheduled program after this is over.
Today, Starbucks Coffee franchises are a rather common site in Taiwanese cities, and the popularity of coffee is increasing, but for much of Chinese and Taiwanese history, it was cha, tea, which held prestige has the favored drink of commoners and literati alike. This began to change with trade contacts with the West. Coffee might have arrived as early as 1624, when Dutch traders first brought it to satisfy their tastes. The coffee crop was later re-introduced by the British in 1884, coffee production reached nearly 1,000 hectares by 1940’s. Coffee is grown in the mountainous regions in the South of Taiwan, where the climate is suitable for cultivation. Some notable places for coffee production in Taiwan are the Huisun Forest Farm in Nantou County, Hepao Mountain in Kukeng township, Yunlin County, and the Tungshan township of Tainan.
In 1895, the Qing Dynasty was forced to cede the island of Taiwan in the Treaty of Maguan (馬關條約). The Japanese, in the midst of the Meiji Restoration (明治時代) which had frustrated them towards their more tradtional Chinese and Korean neighbors, had recently become acquainted with all things Western, including the consumption of coffee. It was in fact the Japanese who set up the first coffeehouses in Taiwan, called kahuē (カフエー) in the Japanese language. During this time, it was mainly Japanese living in Taiwan, or Taiwanese who had studied abroad who frequented these establishments. Eventually, coffeehouses because the place where educated Taiwanese familiar with Western knowledge met and exchanged ideas, strengthening the integration of coffeehouses into Taiwanese society.
Among the primitive religions around the world, there are tales in which a hero accomplishes a great feat for mankind. For example, the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican societies held the warrior ethos in highest regard, and consecrated their soldiers through complex initiation rites. Meanwhile to the Greeks, the characters of the Iliad were not only skilled warriors, but also devotees of the Greek gods. In more developed religions, warriors still serve as archetypes of righteous action and “defenders of the faith”. Guanyu (關羽), a famous Chinese general, gained a place in the Daoist and Buddhist pantheons as a patron saint of those who observe the code of brotherhood and righteousness.
In the earliest stages of Hinduism, Indo-Aryan society divided itself into four castes: the śûdras, the vaiśya, the kśatriya, and the brahmana. With the exception of Agni, Indra, the god of war, is the chief god of the Rig Vedas, and his exploits against the Asuras in the struggle between the dharma and lawlessness. A Vedic him invoking Indra states: “Indra, bring wealth that gives delight, the victor’s ever conquering wealth…by means of which we may repel our foes in battle hand to hand.” Thus, if Indra was the “patron saint” of the earliest kśatriya, then their role was also integral to early Hindu society. Vedic tradition likens the kśatriya who upholds dharma to the hand of the Gods, carrying out the divine will, and in rank only to the Brahmans. This dichotomy parallels the Platonic worldview in which “the warriors (φύλακες) corresponded to the animus and to the chest (θυμοιδές),” (Evola, 90) while the other rulers corresponded to the head, and lower classes correspond to the faculty of desire. Neither the act of war nor the status of a kśatriya is something that is regarded with irreverence, but a duty and a necessary method of preserving society.
If the Vedic texts lay the groundwork for the relevance of the kśatriya, then the Bhagavad Gîtâ is a parable for perfecting the lifestyle of the warrior ascetic. The Bhagavad Gîtâ is the discourse before a climactic battle at Kurukshetra, between Krishna and Arjuna. When the battle is about to begin Arjuna states his despondency at the task set out before him. He is not only frightened by the battle about to ensue, but also is facing the dilemma of having to kill his kinsmen. Responding to his claims, Krishna tells him almost immediately, “the wise grieve for neither the dead nor the living” (Bhagavad Gîtâ 2.11). Krishna says this for two reasons: from the ethical perspective, if the Kauravas are ignoble, then there is no harm done to the world in killing them. Likewise, is the Pandavas are noble, then there is no sense in expressing grief for righteous conduct, for “in death [they] will gain heaven” (Bhagavad Gîtâ 2.37). Similarly, these verses also reveal the ascetic dimension of the warrior. In verse 2.11, Arjuna has been scolded for uttering words of wisdom whilst grieving unwisely; this is a command to cut through doubt that leads to delusion. Krishna later expounds on the same asceticism by saying, “The man who, giving up all objects of desires, moves about seeking nothing…wins peace” (Bhagavad Gîtâ 2.71) and admonishes Arjuna to fight without concern. This demonstrates detachment from the material the emotional. In other words, the true warrior ascetic feels neither anger nor fear towards his enemy, elevating the purpose of battle from the earthly to the righteous.
To the Hindus, each person had a station in life. While non-violence later came to be preferred in everyday affairs with fellow man and animals, this applied only to the law-abiding, moral citizens who followed the rites of the Vedas. We can thus clearly see that for the kśatriya, fighting was not only permissible, but sanctioned and indeed a religious fufillment required for social stability in early Hindu society. Through the physical act of battle, they fufill the martial aspect of the warrior, and in in striving to enjoin the righteous and preserve moral harmony without involving personal concern, they fufill the spiritual aspect of the ascetic. Thus, holy war predates Islam, and the Islamic concept of jihad (striving, struggle) is merely another manifestation of the same archetype.
June 8: San Fransisco, USA — When is a felony not a felony? When it involves sending a political message and the District Attorney happens to agree with the message being sent. Such was the rather peculiar case of Mac Sutherlin, Duane Martinez and Hannah Strange, who unfurled “Free Tibet” banners while suspended 150 feet over the Golden Gate Bridge several days before the Olympic Torch Relay in San Fransisco. San Francisco District Attorney Kamala Harris (D) ruled that the three were eligible for pretrial diversion and community service and will have all charges against the dropped from the record after completing twenty-five hours of community service. The District Attorney’s office further assigned them to complete their community service with none other than Students for a Free Tibet, the very same organization which organized the April 7th incident.
Originally prosecuted for felonies at the request of the California Highway Patrol, the charges were later downgraded to misdemeanors, such as tresspassing. The DA’s office claimed that there was “not enough evidence” to charge the protestors for shutting down the major San Fransisco thoroughfare.
Some are criticizing the punishment as a gesture against free speech, but more, including John Moylan, president of the Golden Gate Bridge District Board of Directors, are concerned that the penalty is not enough. “There could have been a collision with all of the distractions they caused,” Moylan said. “They put our workers in jeopardy. It was a very dangerous situation. They should have been prosecuted to the full extent of the law.” Some people felt the light punishment was acceptable because it indirectly allowed the the DA’s office to express sympathy for the Tibetan cause. “Harris apparently understands that San Francisco admires people who have the guts and altruism to stand up for oppressed people,” Larry White of San Fransicso said. Still others felt that the light punishment of the protestors was an unacceptable example of legislating from the bench. “Can anybody believe that three people climbing the Golden Gate Bridge and unfurling a banner saying ‘Stop Abortion Now’ would be sentenced to 25 hours of community service with Operation Rescue?” asked Bill McGregor, a Berekley resident.
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