On 12/11/2014 6:03 PM, s3raphita wrote:
>
Funny that you should reply to my post as when I didn't get any
response from my original message I was going to post another one saying:
>
Yes, it is funny, but not unusual. I must have posted thousands of
messages and essays to Yahoo and Google Groups without getting any
cogent replies in over 14 years. I figure most folks just don't have the
time to reply; or they don't know anything; or they don't care - or all
of the above. Doesn't matter - my ramblings are just notes for my own
book anyway. I used to get some feedback from The Corrector, but she's
probably dead by now - so I'm really glad you joined the group. Some
people just feel better when they have someone to talk to.
>
"So you don't to talk about gymnosophists. Go figure."
I resisted the temptation.
Yes, the lack of info about what effect those Indian sadhus had on the
Greeks leaves a gap that means our imaginations want to rush in and
fill in the details. There are probably very few scholars who are
sufficiently knowledgable about both ancient Greek thought AND ancient
Indian metaphysics to do the spade work that could fill in those details.
I wonder what Alexander the Great made of his encounters with those
naked philosophers but his empire was noted for its tolerance of all
the different religions of the peoples he'd conquered. Don't think I
would have risked crossing him though.
>
Especially when he was always hanging around with a group of 50,000
armed soldiers at his beck and call!
>
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <punditster@...> wrote :
On 12/9/2014 6:07 PM, s3raphita@... <mailto:s3raphita@...> wrote:
>
The Greeks had a word for it - "Gymnosophist"
>
Thanks for posting this - it brought back memories of when I first
attended several classes at my local community college - World Civ
101 and 102. I enjoyed these course so much that I enrolled in WC
101 a third time, just to get another perspective from my other
professor, Dr. Braugham. I've been fascinated with Alexander the
Great's conquests since I first read about them in junior high
school back in 1955.
Everyone probably knows that Alexander's teacher was reputedly
Aristotle, who by all accounts was a polymath, if not a genius. We
can assume that Alexander learned a lot about philosophy, wisdom
and books from his teacher.
One of the most famous stories about Alexander is his visit to the
famous Stoic, Diogenes. Briefly, the story is that Alexander
wanted to meet philosophers wherever he traveled and to find out
what they were about. Alexander is reputed to have requested a
meeting with Diogenes but the wise man couldn't be bothered to go
see the great warrior, so Alexander decided to go meet Diogenes
himself.
Alexander found the philosopher lounging in the sun. Approaching
Diogenes, Alexander posed to him a question:/"Is there anything I
can do for you?"/ To which Diogenes, lifting himself up on his
elbow replied: /"Yes you can move aside, you are blocking the
sunlight."/ LoL!
According to Roman, Alexander arrived in India in 326 BC and
apparently defeated King Porus at the River Indus. Around that
time Alexander met up with several India "gymnosophists" or "naked
philosophers". The story of this meeting is related by Vikram Chandra:
Translator: /He wants to know why you’re naked./
Sadhu: /Ask him why he’s wearing clothes./
Translator: /He says he’s asking the questions here./
Sadhu: /Questions give birth only to other questions./
Translator: /He says people who get funny with him get executed./
Sadhu: /Why?/
Translator: /Because he’s the King of Kings. And he wants you to
stop asking questions./
Sadhu: /King of Kings?/
Translator: /He came all the way from a place called Greece,
killing other kings, so he’s King of Kings, see./
Sadhu: /Fool of Fools, Master-Clown of Clowns. Maha-Idiot of idiots./
Translator: /You want me to tell him that?/
Sadhu: /I said it, didn’t I?/
Translator: /You’re crazier than he is. He says he’ll kill you.
Right here, right now./
Sadhu: /I’ll have to die someday./
Work cited:
*Red Earth and Pouring Rain*
by Vikram Chandra
Faber and Faber, 1996
pp. 222-23
*The Campaigns of Alexander*
by James Roman
Anchor Books, 2000
p. 389
